Chapter 29
Forget the darkness—it was freezing cold with no sun in sight.
Soya huddled beneath the tree trunk, shivering.
Seolyo approached the shivering Soya and rubbed its head against her.
“Whine, grr……”
“You’re cold too, huh? Come here, I’ll hold you.”
Seolyo hadn’t approached because it was cold. It wanted to warm Soya up.
But unaware of Seolyo’s intentions, Soya smiled brightly and pulled it into her arms.
“Whine?”
Suddenly, Seolyo found itself nestled softly in Soya’s embrace.
Unwittingly relaxing into the warmth of her small body, Seolyo abruptly leaped out of her arms.
“Grr!”
“Huh? What’s wrong? Did I make you uncomfortable?”
Soya tilted her head, asking, but her lips had turned blue. Seolyo had stolen her warmth.
It had wanted to warm her, but ended up making her even colder.
Unable to warm Soya with its beast body, Seolyo drooped its ears dejectedly.
Pacing anxiously around Soya, Seolyo suddenly vanished, then reappeared with two large, thick leaves clamped in its jaws.
“Huh? Leaves?”
They were as big as Soya’s body.
Seolyo offered the leaves, but Soya stared blankly, unsure what to do.
“Grr! Whine!”
Seolyo set the leaves on the ground, slipped underneath, and poked its head out, crying out.
“Grr, grr!”
“……?”
“Whine……”
Failing to communicate, Seolyo let out a soft sigh and picked up the leaves again.
It approached Soya and draped the two large leaves over her shoulders like overlapping layers. It felt much warmer, just like wearing a coat.
“Ah…… You found these because you were worried I’d be cold?”
“Whine! Grr!”
“Thank you so much.”
Seolyo’s drooping ears perked up again.
Tail held high, it bounced around happily before vanishing once more. This time, it returned with a fruit in its mouth and set it down in front of Soya.
“Whine, grr!”
As if urging her to eat, Seolyo pawed at the ground.
“This is for me to eat?”
“Whine!”
“Let’s eat it together!”
“Whine, whine……”
Soya split the fruit in half and offered some, but Seolyo shook its head vigorously.
“For me to eat alone?”
“Grr, grr!”
“But……”
Right then, Soya’s stomach let out a loud gurgle.
Seolyo snorted as if to say, “See?” with a “Grr grr.”
Then it thrust out its belly, puffing it up proudly and patting the round tummy with thumping thumps.
“Uh…… yeah, you’re not hungry, right? Then I’ll eat it all deliciously.”
Embarrassed, Soya said that and crunched into the fruit.
Seolyo watched with a smug face before curling up a short distance away from Soya.
“Still, I’m glad you’re here. If I were alone, I would’ve been so scared.”
Soya spoke in a soft, gentle voice.
Seolyo tilted its head as if not fully understanding, but it stayed by her side, guarding her.
But as the night deepened, the smile gradually faded from Soya’s face.
What would happen if she couldn’t get down the mountain like this?
She hadn’t kept her promise with Yeon-jeong to return before sunset, nor had she brought flowers to the Second Young Master.
Just then, as Soya peered into the basket at the flowers with a darkening expression—
Boom!
A loud noise shook the ground.
Soya’s eyes widened as she looked up.
Seolyo bristled its fur and leaped in front of her.
Thud!
Thud!
Boom!
Seolyo bared its fangs toward the source of the sound.
A moment later, the noises stopped.
Could it be another mountain beast?
Soya swallowed hard in tension and peered in the same direction as Seolyo.
Rustle—
A cool breeze from the opposite side rustled the branches.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
Amid the wind, urgent footsteps approached.
‘Huh……? This is……’
Suddenly, Soya’s lips parted.
‘It’s not a mountain beast! It’s human footsteps!’
Even so, the tension didn’t leave Soya’s face.
After all, every person she’d met so far had been scarier than any mountain beast.
The footsteps drew closer. Soya clenched her fists tightly.
Soon, a boy slightly bigger than Soya appeared, panting heavily.
“Soya!”
Unlike his usual gentle smile, his pale face showed not a trace of amusement. It was none other than……
“Little Young Master……?”
It was Gahyeon.
* * *
Gahyeon had run all over the mountain searching for Soya.
She had definitely said she was climbing with Gayul during the day, but there was no trace of her scent.
It was as if her trail had vanished completely.
‘What if she got lost and went the wrong way? What if she misjudged in the dark and fell off a cliff……’
A chill of fear gripped him.
[I don’t need trashy pebbles like that……]
Her wide-eyed shock as she fled was his last memory of her.
That wasn’t it.
He hadn’t meant to dismiss her sincerity or hurt her.
He was sorry for saying those mean words.
He hadn’t even delivered that apology, and now he might never see her again. The thought made his heart sink.
Just then, a faint scent brushed his nose.
Gahyeon bent down to the dirt and sniffed.
It was the soft, fluffy scent she always carried.
The scent was so faint that Gayul, still in his childhood as a young suin, must not have noticed it.
Gahyeon followed the scent deeper into the mountain.
At one point, he stopped and cautiously reached out into the air.
‘This is……’
He felt an invisible, transparent barrier.
‘A barrier……?’
The unfamiliar energy felt thick and sturdy, as if protecting someone inside.
‘She’s in there.’
There was no time to wonder why she was inside a barrier.
If Soya was in there by any chance, she’d be trapped, trembling in the darkness.
Gahyeon threw himself at the barrier.
Thud!
Though he had passed childhood and entered Primary Growth at eleven, Gahyeon wasn’t yet an adult.
His body bounced off the barrier and he tumbled to the ground.
But he got up and charged again.
The impacts shook the earth, startling small beasts into fleeing.
Gahyeon didn’t stop, slamming into the barrier repeatedly.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
After several tries, cracks began to spiderweb across it……
Shatter!
The barrier broke just as his body rolled across the ground, his Beast Transformation releasing.
Even so, he sprang up immediately.
And that’s when he spotted Soya inside the broken barrier.
“Soya!”
“Young Master……!”
Relief spread across Soya’s face as she recognized him.
Gahyeon froze in place.
Soya had never made that expression in front of him before.
She’d always worn a vague smile, watching his mood.
So she had known from the start. That he avoided her.
And knowing that, for her to greet him so gladly now—how terrified she must have been, left alone in this dark, cold forest.
Gahyeon strode toward Soya, draped his outer robe over her shoulders, and pulled her small body into a tight embrace.
“Uh…… Young Master?”
Soya’s eyes widened in surprise.
Gahyeon’s shoulders were shaking.
What should she do in a moment like this?
Suddenly, she remembered how Sara had patted his back not long ago.
Recalling that, Soya patted Gahyeon’s shoulders with her small hands.
Gradually, his shaking subsided.
“I’m sorry. You must have been so startled because I suddenly disappeared.”
“You……”
Gahyeon started to say how she could apologize in this situation, but trailed off, biting his lower lip hard.
He realized it was he who had always made this homeless child watch his mood and feel displeased.
It was he who had made this child, left alone cold and scared on the mountain, apologize first.
In that moment of realization, a surge of emotion welled up.
“Yeah, I was really startled. Soya.”
Gahyeon swallowed the lump in his throat and said to her.
“Not because of you, but because of me. You got lost alone on the mountain, and I was the fool wandering around unable to find you—that’s what startled me.”
“Huh……?”
Gahyeon looked at Soya blinking her eyes and firmly tucked the large outer robe flapping over her shoulders.
“I’m sorry, Soya. For taking so long to get here.”
