Chapter 11

Jaekani started pushing the cart.

The reason his house was so far from the village’s main facilities was because it was closer to the slaughterhouse and because his father was shunned by most villagers. It was exhausting every time, but Jaekani had no choice but to endure it.

As he trudged along, a scream echoed in the distance. Unlike the occasional screams heard beyond the outer walls, this one came from nearby—a woman’s voice. Jaekani paused, letting go of the cart handle, and looked around, but the surroundings had already fallen silent.

Just one more block, and he would reach the incinerator. Gripping the cart handle again, he prepared to push on, only for something to suddenly dart out from around the corner and slam into the cart.

“Ugh!”

Without time to brace himself, the force of the impact toppled Jaekani and the cart sideways. His wrist throbbed as he pushed himself up, wincing and cradling his wrist with his other hand.

‘Watch where you’re going!’

He was ready to unleash his frustration on whoever it was—adult or peer—but stopped short, stunned, at the sight of a completely naked woman.

“Uh….”

“Help me. Please, help me… save me….”

The woman staggered to her feet, muttering desperately as though she were in a daze. Only then did Jaekani notice the countless wounds covering her body. Her knees and thighs were scraped from the collision, but deeper scars and fresh injuries littered her skin. Muttering incoherently, she glanced around in panic.

“Are you okay? H-here….”

Jaekani quickly removed his shirt and held it out to her.

The shirt was loose on him, so it would fit her well enough.

Her trembling hands accepted the shirt, but she stood frozen, as though she couldn’t comprehend what she’d been given or what to do with it. Fear filled her wide, unfocused eyes.

“What happened? Where are you from?”

Jaekani looked in the direction the woman had come from.

The path led toward the village center.

‘If she came from the center, someone would’ve seen her and helped. What’s going on?’

He examined the woman’s face—unfamiliar. She wasn’t part of the community.

“Help me… people… please, help….”

Her pleas, barely more than whispers, were disconnected and devoid of coherence. Her reaction was far from normal, though Jaekani had seen people overcome by extreme fear before. Some were so traumatized that even after surviving, they erased the event from their memory. Unsure how to proceed, Jaekani decided to guide her to some shade.

“There! Over there!”

The booming voice startled Jaekani, making him turn sharply. A group of men, vaguely familiar from the streets, pointed at the woman.

Their predatory gazes made Jaekani step back instinctively, but before he could respond, the men closed the distance and roughly grabbed the woman by the shoulders. They yanked her away from Jaekani as though pulling a fish from a hook. Their demeanor was menacing.

“Good job, kid.”

The comment directed at him made no sense. The nickname “kid” reminded him of something his father might say, but Jaekani couldn’t muster the presence of mind to reply. His gaze remained fixed on the woman, as though anchored there.

“…What’s going on?”

One of the men ripped the shirt from the woman’s hands and threw it back at Jaekani.

Despite his repeated questioning, they exchanged only glances, offering no answers. “What’s going on?” Jaekani asked again, his voice trembling. One of the men sighed.

“This woman’s a thief. She claimed she wanted to trade, so we let her stay, and then she tried to run off with our stuff. We caught her.”

The drawn-out explanation felt unnaturally forced.

“…If she stole something, why not just take it back and banish her?”

Through the commotion, Jaekani noticed blood dripping from the woman’s arm. Amidst the blood, he caught a glimpse of something—a tattooed number. Branded like livestock.

The man’s tone was impatient.

“…How old are you?”

“Thirteen.”

Clicking his tongue, the man turned away. Meanwhile, the woman continued her incoherent murmurs, her body swaying unsteadily.

“People….”

“Move aside.”

“…This isn’t right….”

Voices overlapped, the woman’s and the men’s, creating a chaotic blend of sound.

Jaekani stood there, frozen, as if rooted to the ground. His blue eyes followed the men dragging the woman away, her blood leaving a trail of droplets behind.

He didn’t know why his chest felt so tight.

Pressing a hand over his racing heart, Jaekani shut his eyes tightly to block out the confusion. ‘This happens sometimes, doesn’t it?’ he thought. The woman would likely be whipped and banished. That’s what kids his age had told him. Although he’d never witnessed a whipping or punishment himself, it wasn’t like executions that were made public. Punishment was carried out quietly, somewhere else.

But the numbers on her arm—red, swollen, freshly branded—were undeniable. Even if it had been fully completed, the number had more than four digits.

‘A garbage heap.’

He didn’t know why Huikyung’s disdainful words about the village came to mind just then.

Like being caught in a sudden downpour, Jaekani focused only on how to respond, not questioning why it was happening. Why it rained didn’t matter—finding shelter was what mattered.

But for the first time, he found himself questioning.

What if, just maybe, the adults weren’t telling the truth?

…What does Huikyung know?

* * *

He hadn’t intended to come. He had simply been lost in thought.

But now, standing in the shadow of the maintenance building, Jaekani laughed bitterly at himself.

‘Is this why they say habits are hard to break?’

If he were to meet Huikyung, overcoming the awkwardness that had kept him away, he wanted to ask about what had happened today. But that was a conversation he had envisioned for much later—not something his feet would force upon him in an unplanned reunion.

‘Did he see me?’

Jaekani’s gaze fell toward the shadowy basement entrance, as dark and impenetrable as the maw of a creature. If Huikyung hadn’t noticed him yet, Jaekani planned to slip away as if he had never come. He scanned the space for Huikyung’s pale hand, as white as lilies, to confirm his presence. And just then, something fluttered softly between the bars like a flag of truce.

Knowing it was bait, Jaekani still couldn’t stop himself from walking toward it.

“Hello, Jaekani.”

“…What is it this time?”

“A flower ring.”

Dangling from a taut, curved stem were several dainty flower rings, clustered like tiny blossoms layered in fresh snow. Jaekani plucked one of the outermost rings and examined it. The soft petals, in a mix of hues, had been carefully arranged into a compact, delicate circle.

“What kind of flower is this?”

“Clover.”

Jaekani slipped the ring onto each of his fingers, testing it. It was too small for his thumb but fit snugly on his index and ring fingers.

“It suits you.”

‘Does it?’

Still, after trying it on every finger, the ring loosened and fell apart as he removed it from his pinky.

“Oh.”

At the sound of his soft sigh, Huikyung spoke. “Give me your hand.”

It might have been the magic of the flowers. For someone like Jaekani, always on guard, to extend his hand through the bars without hesitation—almost as if enchanted—was something unexpected. It was as though his hand naturally found its place.

“…!”

Jaekani gasped when Huikyung grabbed his wrist. Before he could say anything, he felt himself being tugged forward, his body leaning into the narrowing gap between them. He tried to straighten himself, only for something soft and cool to slip around his ring finger.

The flower stem brushed his skin, gliding down like a breeze until it settled precisely. The ring fit as if it belonged there, nestled between the creases of his knuckle.

When Jaekani flexed his arm, Huikyung’s hand let go easily, like a candle extinguished in the wind.

Jaekani quickly drew his arm back through the bars, stepping away as he stared at his hand in the moonlight. Under the faint glow, his underdeveloped hand seemed foreign, as though it belonged to someone else. The delicate flower ring felt like it had melted into his skin.

A strange ticklish sensation crept over him. Clutching the wrist that Huikyung had briefly held, Jaekani spoke in a forced, indifferent tone.

“Another ring… what’s it for this time?”

‘Not like I gave him another sandwich.’

“We made up with the last ring, didn’t we? Let’s make up again this time too.”