Stigma Ch 2 part 1

“Haa, haa…”

More than her panting breaths, her red cheeks seemed to express how alarmed and confused this maiden was.

She had been following her brother up the mountain to visit their maternal family.

Maybe the trouble began when she left her handmaiden behind at their home. Her handmaiden usually followed her wherever she went, but since she was accompanying her older brother this time, the handmaiden stayed behind.

They had to climb over this mountain in order to get to their maternal family’s house, but since the mountain was so perilous, they couldn’t travel by horse or palanquin. Feeling a sense of adventure, EunSeo and her brother had decided to climb over the mountain themselves. She had been looking at the leaves of the yellow adonis flowers underneath the snow when she lost her brother.

Her probably hadn’t realized that his sister wasn’t following behind him and continued on his way up the mountain.

The maiden had never climbed this mountain alone before.

This was the first time she was traveling to her maternal family’s house by herself.

Last year, a flood had taken out the bridge going across the river, so they couldn’t go that way this time. Now that the winter was almost over, they decided to go and visit their maternal family by leisurely walking through the mountain.

As a well-known soldier in this country, her brother would be able to run around and leap through this mountain. But for EunSeo, this mountain path was unfamiliar and scary.

If she were with her brother, she wouldn’t have been so scared. But her brother was nowhere in sight, and the sky was getting dark. She couldn’t suppress the fear anymore.

Her heart began to race. She felt as if someone was going to burst out of the shadows of the forest at any moment.

As the snow and ice began to melt, she could hear the sound of the river in the valley nearby. She could also hear the cries of the mountain animals far away.

Just how far had her brother gone?

Just how far had he walked without turning around to check on his sister?

Pointlessly cursing her brother, the maiden grasped a crooked pine tree when she turned around.

“Aaagh!”

She had stepped on some twigs on the ground, causing her to slip and fall. She began to tumble down the mountain.

The ground had still not thawed and remained icy. After she had stopped rolling, the maiden awkwardly sat up as she let out a faint moan.

Her skirts were a mess and her palms were covered in scratches.

It had gotten dark, so she couldn’t see clearly, but she could feel that her hands were wet with her blood.

She was about to burst into tears.

“Um, are you okay?”

The unfamiliar voice of a man tickled her ear.

She was more scared of this strange man’s voice than she was of the dark.

Meeting an unfamiliar man in the mountains at night was more scary than meeting a tiger.

After she suddenly heard the man’s voice, she quickly looked around, trembling in fear. Pushing aside the branches of the trees, the man revealed himself.

Unlike the terrified maiden, the man approached her with confident strides.

“I’m not a wicked man, so please don’t be alarmed. The fear written so clearly on your face is making me feel a bit awkward.”

He kneeled in front of the maiden and dug his hand into his pocket as he laughed bitterly.

“Ah…!”

She shouted in surprise when he suddenly took her hand, but he didn’t seem to care. He began to wind a strip of cloth around her hand.

“I don’t harm women or children, so don’t worry.”

She couldn’t tell whether he was telling the truth or not, but she did know very well that she wouldn’t be able to win over his strength.

He could do whatever he wanted to her, and she wouldn’t be able to stop him. Therefore, she kept her mouth tightly shut.

“Can you get up?”

At his words, the maiden nodded.

“Aaah!”

However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get up.

The moment she tried to stand up, she collapsed back onto the ground with a shout.

She had definitely sprained her ankle as she rolled down.

The man watched as her brows furrowed. She tried to hold back her tears as she held her ankle. The man turned around and showed her his back.

Not knowing the man’s intentions, the maiden blankly stared at his back.

“Get on.”

“But…”

Climb onto the back of an unfamiliar man? That was proper at all.

“Who else is here on this mountain? There’s a temple up ahead. I’ll only take you up to there, so get on. Once you get to the temple, you’ll be able to find some help. Then you can send a message back home.”

“But getting on your back is a bit…”

“Then are you planning on spending the night here? If that’s what you want, that’s fine with me. I’ll go to the temple by myself and call for some help.”

He was going to leave her here alone?

When it was this dark already?

Afraid that he’d really leave her behind, she quickly climbed onto his back.

She was a bit embarrassed getting on a strange man’s back, but it was better than being afraid.

“Ah!”

Once the maiden had gotten on his back, the man quickly stood up.

Startled, the maiden tightly hugged his neck.

“If you hold me that tightly, I won’t be able to breathe.”

“Ah…!”

Bewildered by his words, she moved her hands to his shoulders.

Grasping his shoulders tightly, she buried her head into his back. She felt as if her heart was going to burst out of her chest.

With the maiden on his back, the man walked through the dark path with ease.

The moonlight flickered playfully through the trees as the two of them went up the mountain path.

Now that she was on this man’s back, the eerie sound of the running water in the valley and the cries of the wild animals didn’t scare her as much anymore.

All she could hear now was the soft sound of the man’s breaths. She could feel his heartbeat through his back touching her chest.

Like that, time passed by.

“EunSeo! EunSeo—!”

The maiden raised her head as she heard the frantic voice of her older brother. The man also stopped walking.

They could hear the sound of rustling branches up ahead.

It was definitely the sound of her brother frantically coming down the mountain as he searched for her.

“I think he’s looking for you.”

As he spoke, the man slowly crouched down and let the maiden get off.

“If you wait here a bit, some help will be coming, so I’ll be taking my leave as I have some business to attend to.”

As he began to turn around, the maiden quickly called out to him.

“Wait…”

She was indebted to him.

It wasn’t right that she didn’t even know his name.

Shouldn’t she at least know the name of her savior?

“Your name…”

He turned around and looked at her.

When their eyes met, she quickly lowered her head.

She suddenly felt shy.

The man didn’t speak for a while.

She was fidgeting around with the cloth binding her hands as her ears turned red. The man stretched out his hand and placed it on top of her head.

When she felt his warm hand, she looked up.

He lightly picked off the leaf stuck to the crown of her head in a friendly manner.

“My name isn’t important.”

With that, he stepped back.

He disappeared into the forest, and a few moments later, the rustling sound disappeared.

As she gazed at the spot where he had disappeared, the moonlight poured down over the maiden’s head.

The wind began to blow past her, lightly brushing over her disheveled hair.

The moonlight, the wind… all of it made her feel faint.

Was she drunk on the moonlight or on the wind? Or was she drunk on the warmth coming off of the strange man’s hand? She didn’t know the reason, but she began to feel dizzy. As if she were drunk.

“EunSeo—!”

Her brother was ghastly pale when he finally found her not that much later.

He apologized over and over again for not realizing that she wasn’t behind him. For leaving without her. However, her brother’s voice didn’t enter her ears.

She only heard…

“Um, are you okay?”

The strange man’s voice was the only sound that lingered.

She could only hear the voice of that unfamiliar man even though she didn’t know his name or whether they would ever meet again.

* * *

In the middle of the mountain, there was a mountain temple. Behind the temple, there was another building that often had a few visitors.

The building was reserved for those who offered big donations to the temple, so the Buddhist monks paid no mind to what went on in there.

“It’s such an honor for us to receive such a noble guest in such a humble place. If you wait a little longer, we will soon be able to bring you back to the palace.”

Even though it was called a building, it wasn’t very large.

Two men were sitting inside the simple room.

The younger man was sitting in the place of honor while the older man was kneeling before him.

It was obvious that the younger man was of a higher status.

“I’m fine. How is the revolution coming along?”

“It is going as planned. I feel that the time is drawing near. Before the rainy season ends, we will finally be able to come down from here.”

“The rainy season, you say… It really is quite soon…”

“Yes, Your Highness. It is coming soon. You truly won’t have to wait long.”

“The palace…”

The young man muttered.

He couldn’t remember how many years had passed by since he had last stepped foot in the palace. He could barely remember what it looked like. The young man laughed bitterly.

“And who is the man outside that you brought with you?”

He was referring to the young warrior outside who seemed to have an imposing aura about him.

“His name is Heo SeoYoon. He recently lost his parents and his sister because of the king. He has taken up the sword in the name of revenge, and he will be quite useful in the coming days.”

“Too many people have lost their lives.”

“That is why we need to right this wrong. Don’t you think so?”

“I don’t know if I’ll do any better if I shed all this blood on my way to the throne.”

There was no doubt that these men were currently planning a rebellion to overthrow the king.

“Please take care of your royal self, Your Highness. The water in the valley is melting as we speak. Spring is coming, and soon the summer rain. Once the rain stops, everything will return to its rightful place. Once the dry autumn arrives, we will be reaping the bountiful harvest.”

“I also wish that to be the case.”

The young man’s mutter lingered inside the room.