Chapter 12

‘I guess we really did fight last time. Or maybe it was just a small argument? So… does this mean we’re fighting again? It felt more like I ran away out of embarrassment… Does that mean he’s trying to make up with me, even when I’m the one sulking?’

Jaekani didn’t want to reveal that his anger could be soothed so easily by a single flower ring, so he stubbornly shook his head.

“N-no.”

“Why not?”

Why? Jaekani hadn’t thought that far ahead and blurted out the first excuse that came to mind.

“Because I hate you.”

But Jaekani’s defiance was feeble and transparent, his sincerity showing through the cracks. Huikyung smiled softly, almost teasingly, and said.

“Don’t hate me. I like you, you know.”

‘H-he said what?!’

Jaekani practically jumped in place like a startled cat. Sure, Huikyung was the kind of person who could joke about marriage, but this—this was too much! Saying something so embarrassing out loud, just like that?

‘How can he say he likes me so casually when we’ve barely spent any time together!’

As Jaekani floundered in his embarrassment, something softly tickled his fingers, pulling his attention away. It was the stem of a flower, stripped bare of its leaves. Huikyung held the stem by its end like a fishing rod, gently brushing it against Jaekani’s hand.

Occasionally, the tip of the stem poked at the flower ring on his finger, as if prodding it. The delicate, playful movement drew Jaekani’s focus back to the ring, making him absentmindedly stroke it with his other hand.

The clover ring, cool to the touch despite its tiny size, felt oddly comforting in his fingers. The sensation calmed him, and his gaze wandered to the cement edge where more flower rings lay in a small pile. He asked.

“Are those all for me?”

“Yep.”

“There’s more.”

Huikyung said, sliding a few more flower rings through the bars like grains of sand pouring through fingers. There were so many they nearly filled Jaekani’s hands. The rings tumbled and spilled over his palm like water, so he hurriedly began slipping them onto his fingers.

There was no one to take the rings from him, no competition for them in this desolate place, but Jaekani, who had never acted greedy in his life, hoarded the rings with fervor. He slipped them onto his fingers one by one—first his left hand, then his right. But when only one ring remained, he found there was no room left to wear it.

Reflexively, he glanced at Huikyung’s hand. The man, as if waiting for this, stretched out his fingers. His neat, well-shaped hands tapered to fingertips tinged with a healthy pink. Hesitant, Jaekani looked down at the simple flower ring in his palm—made from clovers and oxalis, plain yet vibrant against Huikyung’s pale skin.

After a moment’s pause, Jaekani slid the ring onto Huikyung’s index finger.

“Why, thank you. What a thoughtful gift.”

Huikyung’s exaggerated tone of gratitude made Jaekani let out a breathy laugh. After sharing the rings, Jaekani sat down cross-legged in front of the bars. He wanted to as, ‘How have you been?’ but quickly dismissed the idea. Whether Huikyung had been fine or not, what difference would it make?

Still, he felt the need to say something.

Just days ago, he had anxiously waited for night to fall, restlessly pacing until he could come here.

After some hesitation, Jaekani finally spoke, his voice quieter than usual, “Huikyung, you said this village is garbage.”

“Yeah,” came the blunt reply.

“…Why? Is it because they locked you up?”

Huikyung’s sharp eyes studied Jaekani as the boy fiddled with one of the flower rings, as though Huikyung were analyzing every move.

“Is that why you hate it here? Because of this place? But… you’re the one who did something wrong, right? You’re here because you committed a crime.”

There was an unspoken plea in Jaekani’s tone.

‘Please say yes.’

Did the boy realize how much his words sounded like a desperate prayer?

Huikyung recognized that he stood at a crossroads. Everyone struggles between the paths of righteousness and convenience. For Huikyung, choices had always been easy; he interpreted his moral compass however he pleased and took whichever path suited him. Yet now, with an easy and clear answer before him, he hesitated. For the first time, he felt the weight of a decision he didn’t want to make.

He needed more time.

“Jaekani.”

“…Yes?”

Despite having made up his mind to delay, Huikyung spoke.

“Your words are right. I want to leave.”

Jaekani’s mouth fell open slightly.

To Jaekani, Huikyung had always seemed carefree, adaptable, able to fit into any mold and mimic its shape with ease. Yet, when Huikyung occasionally stared directly at him without expression, it felt as if even Jaekani’s most private thoughts and memories were being laid bare. Was this why Huikyung often masked himself with a bright, easygoing demeanor, like wrapping a blade in paper?

“As soon as possible.”

Though his tone carried a faint smile, it was even and unwavering. Jaekani understood the gravity behind the words.

Sometimes, inside or outside the village, they would come across the remnants of creatures—claws, scales, or corpses. Rarely, when he found a scale, Jaekani would hold it up to the light. Though dull gray at first glance, the scales revealed a metallic sheen under sunlight, their ridges refracting light into a sharp spectrum that cast shadows across his face.

Huikyung was like one of those scales—a dangerous remnant of something greater.

“Will you get me out of here?”

Jaekani didn’t understand why he was smiling.

He couldn’t even figure out his own emotions, yet there he was, grinning ear to ear. He nodded eagerly, as if he had been waiting for this moment.

With renewed determination, he immediately asked, “How?”

Truth be told, Jaekani had wondered before. When they first met, and even afterward, Huikyung never asked to be freed. Did that mean he was the type of bad person who accepted his punishment? Or was he just the kind of bad person who actually enjoyed being confined?

“That’s for you to figure out,” Huikyung replied.

The brightness on Jaekani’s face cracked. He reevaluated Huikyung—not just a bad person, but a ‘crazy’ one.

“Are you here because you shoved all your work onto someone else and got locked up for it?”

Was his crime something like ‘laziness’ or ‘shirking duties’? Why else would he pass the burden of his escape plan onto ‘me’?

“You might as well insult me outright,” Jaekani muttered.

Huikyung lightly tapped Jaekani’s shoe with his flower-ringed finger. The touch was as fleeting and gentle as a dragonfly landing, yet Jaekani missed the sensation as soon as it was gone.

“Don’t mess around,” Jaekani said.

“I’m serious,” Huikyung replied.

“…You’re serious?” Jaekani asked, incredulous.

“Come inside first.”

“Inside? …Oh.”

At first, Jaekani thought Huikyung meant to crawl through the bars. Realizing he was referring to the maintenance building itself, Jaekani felt embarrassed. He shook off the dust from his pants and stood up, deciding it was best to seize the moment while he was there.

“All right, I’ll go in now.”

“Be careful. Just follow the footprints—you’ll see them.”

“Footprints?” Huikyung spoke as though many people had been coming and going from his cell. Brushing the concrete powder from his hands, Jaekani nodded.

The entrance to the building looked even more decrepit than when he’d first discovered it. There was no light, not even a flicker. Luckily, it was daytime, and Jaekani could avoid the scattered debris. If it were night, entering without a flashlight would surely mean injury or worse.

As he stepped closer to the darkened entryway, where rainwater and rust-colored stains pooled ominously, a voice stopped him.

‘Jaekani. …Jaekani!’

Huikyung’s urgent tone made Jaekani retreat outside. Startled by the unusual urgency, Jaekani ran back to the basement vent. Kneeling down and lowering his head, he saw Huikyung’s lips pressed close to the bars as he whispered hastily.

“Someone’s coming. Go back.”

Jaekani turned instinctively, but there was no one behind him.

‘Did I mishear?’

He was about to reassure Huikyung that he didn’t see anyone when a pale hand shot out, gripping his wrist tightly. The sudden warmth of the fingers, like a shackle, made Jaekani inhale sharply.

“Not the way you came—take a different route. Go. …Now!”

With a forceful shove, Huikyung pushed Jaekani’s hand away. His command was urgent, leaving no room for argument. Scrambling to his feet, Jaekani glanced back at the path he had come from, then turned toward an unfamiliar side path. He had never been that way before, but it was still within the village walls—it should be safe.

Jaekani started to run, his foot barely leaving the ground before he froze, as if caught in vines.

His blue eyes didn’t look at his unmoving feet but instead turned back toward the faintly visible crack of the basement, where Huikyung remained hidden behind the iron bars.