You can’t leave me here. The thought was a raw, primal scream in her mind. I don’t want to stay in this terrifying place by myself.
Ji-woo’s fingers dug into his arm, trying to anchor herself to him. But he was like a rock in a current, shrugging her off with an implacable force. She lunged for him again and again, but he simply shifted his weight, breaking her grip each time. Still, she persisted, latching on with a frantic strength that scratched his skin.
With a rough grunt, Seo Tae-joon finally tore himself away, sending both Ji-woo and the backpacks tumbling to the ground. He shoved her bodily into the mouth of a shallow cave then stacked the two heavy packs across the entrance, ignoring her furious protests. “Hold on tight!”
Ji-woo’s voice was a livid shriek. “Seo Tae-joon!”
Through the barrier, she heard his voice, unnaturally calm. “We could have done so much more. So, if you die in a place like this, I’ll kill you again.”
Ji-woo froze, his words cutting through her panic. Tears welled in her eyes, but not from fear. Those weren’t the words of a man saying his goodbyes. They were a command, an unwavering promise that vibrated with life.
Then the world outside roared, and the landslide swallowed him whole. In that same instant, Ji-woo felt it—a sharp, physical severing of the strange connection that bound them.
“Seo Tae-joon!” she screamed, her cry lost in the thunder. The cave shuddered. Gritty soil and sludge began to ooze through the gaps between the backpacks, and a new terror seized her: that she would be buried alive right here.
She threw her weight against the packs, bracing them with all her might.
The bags shook violently against her shoulders, and her arms screamed in protest. She held on until she felt a grinding ache deep in her bones, but it was impossible to block it all. Mud splattered her clothes and face as the immense pressure of the earth continued its assault.
It was a blur of noise and motion, a chaotic impact she couldn't possibly comprehend.
Seo Tae-joon was gone. Just… gone.
Her world was collapsing.
And then, as suddenly as it began, the landslide stopped.
Silence descended, broken only by the sucking sound of the mud that had already risen to her waist. Her clothes were soaked through, and a deep, shuddering cold set in, turning her lips blue. Every muscle in her body ached with a profound exhaustion.
She slumped against the stone wall and a sob tore from her throat. Burying her face in her hands, she let the tears come.
“Seo Tae-joon,” she whispered into the darkness. “Are you out there? Tae-joon? Are you there?”
Only the damp, oppressive silence of the cave answered.
After a long moment, Ji-woo forced herself to move. She wiped at her tear-streaked face and pushed off the wall, a sharp pain lancing up her back. A chilling draft now seeped through the makeshift barrier.
One of the backpacks was half-submerged in the muck. She wrestled it free and fumbled with the front pocket until her fingers closed around the hard shape of the tablet PC. She pulled it out, her hands shaking as she pressed the power button.
The screen flickered to life, its dim light a small comfort. The corner of the display showed no signal, but that wasn’t what stole her breath. It was the wallpaper.
A photograph of her, back to the camera, tending to the trees. A picture Seo Tae-joon must have taken.
A knot tightened in her throat, and a fresh wave of grief washed over her. He told me he’d kill me if I died here.
That bastard.
She closed her eyes, letting the pain consume her for a long moment. When she opened them again, something had settled in its place: a cold, hard resolve.
She would find him.
In all this chaos, I will find you.
She couldn’t just wait here, cowering in the dark. Even now, the thick slurry of mud was still trickling in, a slow, inexorable tide. Her expression hardened as it crept past her waist, inching its way up to her collarbones.
She had to get out.
Even if she was hurt, she had to get closer to him.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed the heavy backpack away from the entrance. A torrent of muddy water surged in, rising instantly to her chin. A startled gasp escaped her lips as the cold shock hit.
She took one last gulp of air, closed her eyes, and plunged into the murky water. The world became a blind, abrasive rush. Small pieces of debris scraped against her face, and every cut on her skin stung as if doused in salt.
When she broke the surface, she was a creature of the mud, camouflaged from head to toe in a thick, brown coat.
She blinked, trying to clear her vision, and the sight that greeted her made her blood run cold. She had expected devastation, but this was utter annihilation. The forest was gone. Every tree in sight had been snapped like a twig, splintered and buried under the river of earth.
“Seo Tae-joon!” she screamed, her voice raw. It was swallowed by the desolate landscape. No reply came.
He was nowhere to be seen. There was no way to know where the slide had carried him, no clue as to where he might be buried. She could only move forward, wading into the carnage with the desperate hope of finding a sign.
“Seo Tae-joon!” she called again and again. Each step was a battle. The mud was a greedy mire, sucking at her legs, clinging with a heavy, relentless pull that fought her every move. Her body was screaming for rest, but that physical pain was nothing compared to the cold, hollowing despair that had taken root in her heart.