Chapter 12
She took off her shoes and stepped inside. When she saw the raspberry pie on the table, her eyes widened.
Rowen watched Joo-hee closely, wondering if she didn’t like it.
Joo-hee wondered if anyone had ever made something just for her. Even back in Korea, or any time she had come here, this was the first time Rowen had done something special just for her.
Without a word, Joo-hee sat down in the chair, picked up a fork, and said, “…Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Rowen replied with a relieved smile.
Actually, Joo-hee already knew Rowen was planning to make the pie—Mel, who had arrived just after her, had told her everything. Since making the pie took a long time, Rowen had gone deep into the woods to gather raspberries. But when Joo-hee took her first bite and Rowen’s face lit up so happily, Joo-hee decided to keep it a secret.
* * *
A few days passed after that.
As usual, Joo-hee was about to head into the forest when she suddenly stopped. It looked normal, but to her eyes the woods seemed noisy. She thought she was imagining it, but she wasn’t.
Mel whispered to her softly, “Joo-hee, an uninvited guest has come.”
“Uninvited guest?”
Mel’s usually cheerful face was serious as she stared intently into the forest.
“Who is it?” Joo-hee asked.
“I can’t see clearly from here,” Mel said, “but I’m sure they’re not welcome. You need to go check it out.”
“Let’s go together.”
“No. I have a bad feeling.”
Mel shook her head.
“Joo-hee, it’s dangerous. You must stay home, okay?”
“All right.”
Mel gave Joo-hee one last worried look, then quickly flew off into the forest.
Joo-hee trudged home. Rowen jumped up like a dog greeting its owner, waiting anxiously.
But Joo-hee’s expression was troubled.
“Joo-hee, what’s wrong?” Rowen asked.
“I’m not sure,” she said.
Rowen leaned forward to look toward the woods. “Is something happening there?”
“I think so. How did you know?”
“Um… a feeling,” Rowen smiled.
Mel, who seemed to be back already, did not return for a long time.
“Rowen, I need to check the forest,” Joo-hee said.
“Let me go with you.”
Just as Joo-hee opened her mouth to refuse, Rowen spoke with a serious look.
“I’ll be worried if you go alone.”
“….”
“Please let me come.”
Joo-hee finally nodded and firmly took Rowen’s hand. It was to prevent another accident like last time.
“Um… Joo-hee? Why are you holding my hand…?”
“So it won’t happen again,” she said.
“Oh, I see…”
Rowen glanced at Joo-hee, then intertwined their fingers. When Joo-hee flinched, Rowen hurriedly explained, “I just don’t want to lose your hand…”
And so Joo-hee and Rowen, hands tightly clasped, headed into the forest.
* * *
“This place… always feels so dark,” Rowen said.
Joo-hee looked up at the sky. Normally it would be calm, but now the leaves rustled violently.
Rowen looked tense too, gripping Joo-hee’s hand more tightly so as not to lose it.
They entered deeper into the woods. Suddenly, a faint but clear sound echoed.
Bang—
A gunshot.
Joo-hee snapped her head toward the noise. “Rowen, was that… a gunshot? Someone’s here?”
“I need to go see,” she said, then ran toward the sound. Rowen followed close behind.
As they ran and their breaths got short, another shot rang out—louder this time.
Joo-hee’s heart pounded with fear. Then she saw white fur.
“…Roo?”
Just as she tried to dash forward, Rowen grabbed her. “Wait!”
Joo-hee looked at him with trembling eyes. Rowen pulled her behind a large tree.
“Someone’s here,” he whispered.
Joo-hee peered out. She saw four large men holding guns near Roo. Then she remembered the herbalist grandfather’s warning: “They say a monster hunter has appeared lately. Be careful.”
But she’d never thought a monster hunter would come this far. They must have mistaken Roo for a monster.
“Roo isn’t a monster. We have to tell them,” Joo-hee said.
“It’s too dangerous.”
“But…!”
Joo-hee stepped forward and accidentally snapped a dry branch.
“Who’s there?” one of the men shouted, spinning toward her.
Joo-hee and Rowen slowly came out from behind the tree.
“A human?” one man said in surprise. “No way someone lives here. Could it be a humanoid beast?”
Joo-hee’s eyes hardened. “Go away.”
“What?”
She rarely spoke so bluntly, always polite, but this time was different.
“I said leave now.”
Another hunter pointed his gun at Roo. “We have to capture that beast. Or are you a beast too?”
Joo-hee’s mind went cold. The forest seemed to echo her emotion.
Unseen by the hunters, vines crept rapidly along the ground.
In an instant, the vines wrapped around their bodies and lifted them off the ground. Their guns clattered to the earth. The vines coiled around the guns and flung them far away.
“Ugh! What is this?”
One hunter tried to pull out a knife, but the vines were too tough to cut.
All eyes turned to Joo-hee. She stepped forward, freeing the hunters from the vines that bound them to the ground.
“Roo, are you all right?” she called, rushing over.
Roo panted heavily in her arms. “I’m okay. Calm down.”
She held Roo and patted him gently. Roo, finally relaxed, licked her cheek with his tongue.
Rowen came close and wiped her cheek with his sleeve.
Roo bumped Rowen’s face playfully with his nose.
Then a rough voice bellowed at them. “Hey! Can’t you undo this?! Damn, why won’t it let go?!”
The hunters struggled, but the vines only tightened.
In desperation, one of the men drew a dagger and threw it at Joo-hee. She blinked, shocked, but the dagger never reached her.
“How… how—?” the man muttered, falling back in shock.
Joo-hee looked around in confusion until she saw Rowen catch the dagger midair. She thought that was impossible.
Rowen adjusted his grip and hurled the dagger back at the man’s leg. “Ow!”
He screamed in pain as the blade struck him.
Blood dripped from Rowen’s hand, seeping down his arm. Joo-hee’s heart skipped a beat. She stepped forward, trembling, and gently held his injured hand.
“Your hand… it’s bleeding.”
“I’m fine. Were you scared?”
Rowen hastily let go when he felt blood on Joo-hee’s hand. “Don’t touch me if it’s got blood on it.”
Joo-hee shook her head and held his hand again. Rowen tried several times to pull away, but she refused to let go.
She examined the wound—it was bleeding heavily but didn’t look too deep. Carefully, she wiped the blood from his hand with her sleeve.
“Ah—your clothes—”
“It’s okay,” he said. “Just help me.”
With the edge of her sleeve, she cleaned his hand until only a faint stain remained. She thought, I need to call Undine to heal him. Then a trembling voice echoed in her ear.
“What… who are you people?”
