Ji-woo was climbing the mountain, carrying a bag of tools to check on the trees she had treated. Accustomed to the uneven terrain, she moved easily through the dense brush, following the winding path.
“Ji-woo.”
Seo Tae-joon had stubbornly followed her all the way up the mountain, ignoring her repeated pleas for him to go home. He reached out and snatched the tool bag from her hand.
“Wait.”
“Why?” Ji-woo kept walking, not even sparing him a backward glance, but his words brought her to a reluctant halt. Her expression was stony.
“You don’t look right.”
“…”
“Are you not feeling well? Or are you angry with me?” His sharp eyes studied her face.
“No, it’s not that—” Ji-woo’s words trailed off into a sigh. There was no point in fabricating another excuse. Seo Tae-joon could read her like an open book, and her face was a clear testament that something was wrong.
His gaze was intense, determined to uncover the source of her unhappiness. Finally, the sullen mask she had worn since they left the hospital began to crack.
“I heard something shocking.”
“From who?”
Ji-woo couldn’t bring herself to answer.
“The doctor?”
Seeing his brows furrow in concern, Ji-woo waved her hands frantically. “No, no. Me! From me!” She was startled by the panic in her own voice.
If his strange behavior was a symptom of his illness, and not because he was blinded by her lies, it gave her an escape route. But instead of relief, she felt a strange sense of humiliation, a heavy weight settling on her shoulders.
“I must have been born under an unlucky star,” she sighed.
“What?”
“I really underestimated how screwed up my life is,” she muttered, slapping herself on the forehead.
“Stop it.” Seo Tae-joon caught her hand, covering her forehead with his own.
A breeze rustled the leaves overhead. To Seo Tae-joon, she might have seemed calm, but he couldn't see the chaotic battle raging within her. She was a mess.
“Mm… I have a lot of trees to check. Wouldn’t it be better for you to go back now?”
“Does that mean you want to be alone?”
Ji-woo avoided his eyes and scratched her head. He raised his eyebrows, as if trying to decipher her thoughts, but eventually dropped his gaze and took a step back. “Then I’ll just follow you from behind.”
“That’s distracting.”
“I don’t know the way back. And the bus is still difficult for me. My head is so full of you, there’s no room for anything else.”
He only ever pretended to be weak and helpless at times like this, she thought.
As if to prove her point, his eyes held the glint of a wildcat, a stark contrast to his slightly pouted lips.
Then, his head snapped to the side.
“...!”
His eyes sharpened, and the muscles in his neck went taut, cording from his ear to his collarbone. His expression, fixed on something beyond her, was so severe it felt as if she'd been erased from his world entirely.
“What’s wrong—”
“When I give the signal, run as fast as you can and don’t look back.”
“What?”
Seo Tae-joon grabbed Ji-woo’s wrist, pulling her close. “You’re good at climbing trees. Can you get up this one and stay there?”
Before she could process his words, Seo Tae-joon pushed her hard against the trunk. The heat of his hands through her shirt made her flinch.
A piercing squeal ripped through the air.
The ground seemed to tremble. A menacing growl sent a chill down her spine. She whipped her head toward the sound just in time to see a massive wild boar charging down the slope.
“Seo Tae-joon!”
“Get up the tree, Ji-woo! Now!”
His voice was harsh, his authoritative gaze leaving no room for argument. Scared witless, Ji-woo scrambled up the tree like an obedient child, her feet slipping on the bark and her hands trembling.
Seo Tae-joon opened her bag and, without hesitation, pulled out a hatchet and several stakes.
“Ouch…! Seo Tae-joon, don’t be reckless! That’s for cutting trees, not for fighting animals! I’ll call for help, just get up here first!”
She clung to a branch and stretched a hand down to him, but he paid her no mind. Biting her lip, she fumbled for her phone.
Meanwhile, Seo Tae-joon was swinging the hatchet against a nearby tree. He struck it dozens of times in a matter of seconds, carving a deep groove into the wood.
“Seo Tae-joon, what are you doing? Run!”
The wild boar was closing in fast, but he kept chopping.
“Stop! Put that down!”
He didn’t listen, his focus absolute.
“I said put it down!”
“Just stay still.”
“Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”
“Haha.” He chuckled, a sound completely at odds with the situation. “There’s only one reason a dog turns its back.”
His unnerving calm left Ji-woo speechless. She couldn't begin to fathom what was going through his mind.