TBML 20

With trembling hands, Yiyeon brushed the leaves off his legs and let out a sigh of relief, his face twisted in pain. At least the bottom of his trousers wasn’t soaked in blood.

He untied the cloth wrapped around his ankle and rolled up his pants to check it. It was hard to see clearly in the dark, but the pale skin of his leg was swollen and dark at the ankle. It didn’t look good. Yiyeon’s expression darkened like the sky above.

There was no way he could make it down a rainy mountain at night with this leg. And it wasn’t just the leg. Though not as bad as his ankle, his wrists and fingers ached, and the back of his head throbbed. His waist hurt too, whether strained or bruised, even the slightest twist made him groan.

He clenched his trembling hands together. It was a desperate attempt to steady the nerves that were shaking like his fingertips.

Tears ran down his cheeks, but the steady rain washed them away just as quickly. The salt from his tears stung the scratches on his face.

Though he’d roamed the mountains often, this was Yiyeon’s first time truly stranded. Being timid and cautious by nature, he looked around the pitch-dark surroundings, searching for something, anything, to rely on.

Scattered broken branches and debris littered the area, likely dragged down with him when he fell.

By some miracle, both his matchlock and the carrier with the deer tied to it were within reach, almost as if someone had laid them there.

Terrified, Yiyeon forced himself to stay rational as he reached out and grabbed the matchlock first. The cold, solid barrel in his hand gave him a small but real sense of relief.

As his eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, his vision began to clear. The cold steel of the barrel anchored his mind.

Yiyeon laboriously pushed himself upright and leaned against the tree just behind him.

It was only five steps away, but as if proving just how fragile he felt, Yiyeon nearly collapsed the moment he took a step. As soon as his foot touched the ground, pain ran up from his right ankle, intense enough to make him bite his tongue. The strength drained from his leg almost immediately.

His knee buckled, and he almost toppled forward, but managed to catch himself by leaning on the matchlock like a walking stick. Cold sweat mixed with rain trickled down his face, he couldn’t tell which was which.

There was no way he could go down a mountain in the rain at night with this leg. Whether he stayed here or tried to move, the danger was the same, but if he tried to walk in this condition, he’d likely fall again, and who knows where he’d end up then. Next time, he might not come to at all.

Conflicted over what to do, Yiyeon couldn’t bring himself to decide. In the end, he used the matchlock as a crutch and sat down, resting his back against the tree.

His jaw chattered from pain and cold as he looked around, driven by the thought that he had to do something. Among the scattered branches, he found the thickest, sturdiest one and placed it against his ankle. With no better option, he tied it with a cloth as a makeshift splint. The ankle throbbed as it was secured.

He clenched his teeth to keep himself from screaming and tightened the binding. Once the leg was braced, even the tears that had been flowing so freely suddenly stopped.

The mountain at night was bone-chilling. The rain only made it worse. Perhaps he should be grateful it wasn’t the dead of winter.

Though his body shivered like a poplar leaf, Yiyeon gathered the nearby leaves and tried to return himself to the position he’d woken up in, buried beneath them.

In a true emergency, one should change out of wet clothes, but he had no spare garments. Stripping in this weather would only bring a quicker death. He had gunpowder and fuses in his pouch, ready to light a fire, but the leaves and branches around him were all soaked. Useless.

He needed something, anything, to stave off the cold. With trembling hands, Yiyeon piled leaves over his body and clutched the deer carcass hanging limp over the carrier.

It stank of blood and musk, but he had no room for nausea or disgust. The smell was something he was familiar with. The deer’s bristly fur, which was preparing it for the [unauthorized copy]coming winter, still did a decent job of blocking the chill. Yiyeon clutched the carcass tightly in both arms and scanned the darkness around him anxiously.

Every part of his body that had hit the ground now burned with heat. His arms and torso, wrapped around the deer, were flushed and hot. Yet he shivered so badly that his teeth clacked.

He found himself wondering what good it was to survive like this. But he didn’t want to die, not like this. Not in the cold, alone, terrified, and in pain.

Suddenly, he thought of his mother. She was alone. Had Dusoe tended the fire in the hearth properly? Would she realize something had gone wrong, now that he hadn’t returned? Even if she did, what could she possibly do? No one would come searching for him in the middle of a rainy night, somewhere in the depths of a mountain range no one even knew.

His nerves, already stretched thin, tricked him into thinking the pain had lessened slightly. On a hopeful whim, Yiyeon tried to flex his toes, only to wince in agony. Not even close.

All he could do was cling to the dead deer and fight the cold, waiting for dawn. If any sign of people passed nearby, whether mountain patrol or a hunter, he would shout with all his might, “Please, help me!” That was the only option left to him.

Useless as he felt, the matchlock was just as useless in this moment, but Yiyeon still hugged both the deer and the gun as if they were lifelines.

Whether he’d dozed off or blacked out, he wasn’t sure. He’d tried to fight the drooping of his heavy eyelids, but somewhere in that struggle, a patch of blankness covered his memory. He had no idea how much time had passed.

But there was at least one good sign, the steady drizzle had stopped.

Yiyeon adjusted his grip on the matchlock and the deer that had slipped down, then looked up at the sky once more. The stars were still completely hidden behind thick clouds. If only he could see a few stars, it might’ve made things feel a little better.

In the chilly air settling over the mountain, an owl hooted, followed by the caw of a crow. The noisy chirping of grass bugs suddenly ceased, and the leaves rustled as if issuing a warning. At some point, even the owl fell silent, and the crow let out an unusually long cry.

Aware of the abrupt change in the forest’s atmosphere, Yiyeon slowly untied the straw mat wrapped around the matchlock and repositioned his grip. At that moment, the patterns of the leopard that had attacked him flashed through his mind. If the leopard reappeared now, while [unauthorized copy]he couldn’t even flee, he was as good as dead. The tension that had dissipated in his hazy state was taut again, and unbearable fear surged through him.

“Haah…”

His breath trembled at the end of a long exhale. Yiyeon held the matchlock more firmly and looked into the darkness. Between the black brush, two amber lights glowed faintly. They flickered slowly, and something about that eerie yellow glow made Yiyeon’s breath hitch.

He dragged his leaden body closer to the base of the tree behind him and fumbled at his waist pouch to pull out some gunpowder.

While he was distracted for a moment, preparing to load the gun, the yellow lights vanished. Fireflies, maybe? Spirit lights? Either way, it was nothing more than Yiyeon’s desperate wish.

What fireflies move in perfect pairs like that? But he needed to believe that, if only so he wouldn’t start screaming like a madman.

Overwhelmed by feat, Yiyeon quickly swung the muzzle of his gun around and checked the surroundings. The lights had been flickering slowly on his left, but now they were on his right. His breathing grew ragged. The end of the matchlock, which usually stayed steady, began to tremble, and like a cornered mouse, he turned it this way and that, trying to aim.

Tense like a bowstring pulled to its limit, Yiyeon flinched at even the smallest rustle. He aimed the gun – though he couldn’t even fire it – at every sound.

The flickering lights that had been to the left were now on the right. From close by, then suddenly far away again. Like being bewitched, those two yellow eyes blinked and darted around. East one moment, west the next. Pushed to his limit, Yiyeon finally forced out a voice. But just as he feared, the sound wouldn’t come easily. His mouth was parched, his throat tight as if it were stuffed with dry earth or caught on a grain of rice.

“…Is someone there?”

Of course not. What kind of person had eyes that glowed yellow like that? He knew it couldn’t be true, but he still clung to a sliver of hope. His voice trembled so much it was barely audible. Even if it were a person, they wouldn’t have heard him.

His small shoulders shook pitifully. At the sound of his voice, a crow flapped its wings and soared through the trees. Startled, Yiyeon turned his eyes toward [Read on]it, then quickly back to the yellow eyes that were still staring at him.

“Come out!”

No, that was wrong. If whatever had those eyes really showed itself, it would be worse. He quickly took back his words.

“N-no, no, don’t! Don’t come near!”

Was it trying to kill him with fear? Or were there more than one, surrounding him from every side? He couldn’t tell. Normally, even when scared, Yiyeon could keep his calm and not show it. But now, he was terrified, cold, and in pain. Just enduring this nightmare was already too much.

The unbearable tension dragged on. In the end, it was Yiyeon who gave up first. He no longer had the strength to keep the matchlock raised.

His ragged breathing turned into quiet sobs. Overwhelmed at last, he could no longer hold back the flood of fear.