Chapter 11

Jaekani started pushing the 6d3485320c cart.d36d30b321d87f9c

The reason his house 36e27a30a8 was so far from 2ef007e555 the village’s main facilities 8b0cafd7b8 was because it was f5258559bf closer to the slaughterhouse e427d3ee4e and because his father da57c4d530 was shunned by most dd413b489c villagers. It was d24c50dc39 exhausting every c00a111059 time, but fa5ae363d4 Jaekani had 2e167189e8 no choice 89153192ab but to 69ce5066fb endure it.f519d4e76fc20c66

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As he trudged ee4869128e along, a scream 6145481299 echoed in the 40e2ac8866 distance. Unlike the 2ba0a83616 occasional screams 570de93940 heard beyond 6e6689517e the outer 5a6b82a3d8 walls, this df4df442fd one came 7641199191 from nearby—a 83d1540fcd woman’s voice. Jaekani paused, letting 89fb557f72 go of the 95b8116434 cart handle, and 688a894667 looked around, but 603f2dfff2 the surroundings had 5fd17c860f already fallen silent.3c7ab9ffbf33d5b1

Just one more 55352e5917 block, and he 80f285dc33 would reach the 7436cb5582 incinerator. Gripping the cart 6f8bb4cf9a handle again, he ff19104249 prepared to push ceb895e3f5 on, only for ab34ac6a2c something to suddenly 7fc0c4167c dart out from 8da69e05ef around the corner bb659721fd and slam into bb42e6eeb2 the cart.54e121bd59c139ad

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“Ugh!”f787097eb3889abb

Without time to brace c1f02d93d5 himself, the force of 349d3ec70e the impact toppled Jaekani 42142c0b1a and the cart sideways. His wrist throbbed 7cba3a62b6 as he pushed f1e141560e himself up, wincing 17a37b42ee and cradling his fd02372c20 wrist with his dada32119a other hand.ff69f2635933262a

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‘Watch where you’re going!’d3cd346d36d55f66

He was ready 787e674957 to unleash his b10528fa42 frustration on whoever b1308e04ad it was—adult or b5a760e95d peer—but stopped short, 4c4f38e3c2 stunned, at the 299b3ae494 sight of a 46346921c6 completely naked woman.43413ab27e66d855

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“Uh….”137ff8019b7eb505

“Help me. Please, help me… save me….”aeb33b8e6a12d2f7

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The woman 8824c9f71f staggered to 3e909cf227 her feet, d7bcbe8da0 muttering desperately 3d5bef215d as though 82936be585 she were 9e30aca70f in a 16bb796255 daze. Only then did e85c986fef Jaekani notice the 3027f86634 countless wounds covering 6c33aed814 her body. Her knees and 85f1c33967 thighs were scraped 829d9f8292 from the collision, 30f4f1c492 but deeper scars 2a5f7a1ea6 and fresh injuries 9a5f6ed8dd littered her skin. Muttering incoherently, db6478a4d2 she glanced 82eccd73a1 around in d596b8c36e panic.dd798f6f5c1905e7

“Are you okay? H-here….”198bba0974115a32

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Jaekani quickly ec7b3d6c0e removed his 74719d2706 shirt and bee517541b held it 1801ceed7c out to 84f4c54728 her.52cd650f3dafe4f4

The shirt was loose 98ff1361e2 on him, so it 5f1cd4158b would fit her well cb84a7ef11 enough.f317f55e0efb9e72

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Her trembling f320fb2499 hands accepted f8aef45d3f the shirt, b0347b4c34 but she 35b18fafc5 stood frozen, 2b8ce9376e as though e9b5fc5d61 she couldn’t 40201203ed comprehend what fc0aba3d19 she’d been 0013c2ed45 given or 472af172e5 what to e82b70d8c9 do with 22ad280dce it. Fear filled bdaf3e8f68 her wide, 0266e305ab unfocused eyes.e72eba7be3c1a94a

“What happened? Where are you from?”4eb14348c91181af

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Jaekani looked in 13409cf74b the direction the 6959c185fe woman had come 1b472ff6fa from.650c37143ca02b83

The path led toward 2edfe059b2 the village center.cbae01929cc9dbc2

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‘If she came 423ce3491e from the center, 43108dc21c someone would’ve seen 1c9b366b22 her and helped. What’s going on?’fd5e34dac4ba7b9a

He examined the woman’s 94e731f0b4 face—unfamiliar. She wasn’t 18a2ebf681 part of 0d9119ba44 the community.97ce2956cfe007ec

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“Help me… people… please, help….”5e2eb369566f488c

Her pleas, 127fe82f0b barely more 0063d147b3 than whispers, 8650055039 were disconnected 81f117fced and devoid f3ec1057d8 of coherence. Her reaction 84d3cbc010 was far c7eb4f1805 from normal, 5d5437ea3c though Jaekani 974894a2e4 had seen 1764265cc8 people overcome 76c2100b45 by extreme a84e71c522 fear before. Some were 3ca13cc151 so traumatized c2f738452d that even d39e911f32 after surviving, fa76ec39fe they erased a89e4cca93 the event 66e6df08d2 from their ed7a542ec1 memory. Unsure how to a6b92accff proceed, Jaekani decided 12b34d7a16 to guide her ed9c445581 to some shade.c63947b366321c8f

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“There! Over there!”d7914e7ac583481b

The booming f023502b94 voice startled 7f3a3fffcd Jaekani, making 098ab7b196 him turn ae046c5c8a sharply. A group of men, c945d56d92 vaguely familiar from the 85f68fe4ce streets, pointed at the 70255fdf40 woman.5a88f482e6a281db

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Their predatory gazes made e2bf7f9e13 Jaekani step back instinctively, 155d817f9c but before he could 67eb487a4c respond, the men closed 35c49dcadc the distance and roughly ca48ea470c grabbed the woman by b72abeecd8 the shoulders. They yanked her 08390ecfab away from Jaekani 27f9a2bb8e as though pulling 1973ed8ea8 a fish from 21cd048ce6 a hook. Their demeanor was menacing.cc439c4234dd51be

“Good job, kid.”b45c443ab1f526da

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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.ea05a9fe7ba9f67d

“…What’s going on?”ed4e08c572e3bbca

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One of the men cac3dda84f ripped the shirt from c0d77c318d the woman’s hands and fbc91432db threw it back at a44b7e8e34 Jaekani.66fff95f7288b1c4

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.af27f57f3a593a97

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“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.”3a5356525bc0136d

The drawn-out fcab7c90f7 explanation felt 3a049ddaf2 unnaturally forced.29a9262f6b00694b

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“…If she stole something, why not just take it back and banish her?”229bd999b43b7bcb

Through the commotion, Jaekani 13c8620386 noticed blood dripping from ebf36c87da the woman’s arm. Amidst the blood, he 1a957cda42 caught a glimpse of b390d39352 something—a tattooed number. Branded like livestock.4ab1142f081fcd52

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The man’s tone was ceb711ba6c impatient.259004efc894534d

“…How old are you?”6a5852903893950d

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“Thirteen.”84de34d9ec3bcf1f

Clicking his tongue, eb9d6f271d the man turned 61ceaf4cd3 away. Meanwhile, the 508b3d5082 woman continued 59a0b2b01b her incoherent ce960f0688 murmurs, her d977e2d510 body swaying 3b8a596c63 unsteadily.1aeeb958b4747289

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“People….”cbc891908ee2775d

“Move aside.”fca3d1c47dd87c91

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“…This isn’t right….”ec47c24fb545f316

Voices overlapped, 125f1ad53e the woman’s 4c13356d1d and the 13be9dab79 men’s, creating 4e038fc978 a chaotic dbbeaa7a5b blend of 31c7c6d822 sound.bcad517de6d00d0a

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Jaekani stood there, frozen, 74a0fd57e8 as if rooted to 212cb0b5a7 the ground. His blue eyes followed 0b24e23701 the men dragging the 85ba92f4fd woman away, her blood 8895c33693 leaving a trail of 6351680855 droplets behind.6d150f9fb565abac

He didn’t 06aa1de4fb know why f27efd7d72 his chest 2604716c01 felt so 7e8f274a75 tight.5e85f27c2578704e

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Pressing a hand over c7301b9f36 his racing heart, Jaekani ce2aa2d971 shut his eyes tightly a957a9bf4f to block out the 0e07ee9961 confusion. ‘This happens b5f013b776 sometimes, doesn’t 56af9d8562 it?’ he 191279d5ad thought. The woman e6ea7c3497 would likely d8814f6b79 be whipped 49cb90caf5 and banished. That’s what kids his 61331deab5 age had told him. Although he’d never 01acc32eb8 witnessed a whipping 43548d1cc3 or punishment himself, 587e771d78 it wasn’t like b54c323b82 executions that were 266144d01a made public. Punishment was 614ac41214 carried out 4413c2a48e quietly, somewhere 24da76c2cb else.101bab798e9e6a0a

But the a8fe13cdb6 numbers on f78f2514d4 her arm—red, a19568f97f swollen, freshly 8a8e74b961 branded—were undeniable. Even if it had 583c33dd11 been fully completed, the 8ad2ccaea9 number had more than 5c7c04aad9 four digits.cc4429c635f5e6b9

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‘A garbage heap.’8588ffe8f7748dfb

He didn’t know why 6baef6cf4e Huikyung’s disdainful words about d7b2ded11e the village came to aefdc8eaae mind just then.778b86b176456d4f

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Like being caught in 1ff29c8d57 a sudden downpour, Jaekani 27960efa72 focused only on how 69c521b2b6 to respond, not questioning ab01b9bfe5 why it was happening. Why it rained a8b88e2ff8 didn’t matter—finding shelter 54dce769b8 was what mattered.6dcb3a062b3d2f99

But for the first f1eacd17bd time, he found himself 162c57d269 questioning.775fe123d7593696

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What if, just fa905b2219 maybe, the adults 3e3828c778 weren’t telling the 0f286e273f truth?6d4ac7912a152a77

…What does Huikyung know?ef1bfb36b55e4f46

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* * *aac3e207e3ac772b

He hadn’t 8328c938cd intended to 46d98f0432 come. He had simply been e252282a32 lost in thought.61abb611e17131e7

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But now, 24ae1cc738 standing in c0f8631195 the shadow c916368773 of the 1c20366945 maintenance building, 94cb556e38 Jaekani laughed d4308f37a4 bitterly at adaeeec779 himself.b25e443798c90f53

‘Is this why they 363a926786 say habits are hard 9d15421b6d to break?’7cb500f807ef32c7

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If he 33efd40b49 were to 9d32e5c17a meet Huikyung, b035d7f1dd overcoming the 2d25471907 awkwardness that 1ece0550eb had kept a430fa9f35 him away, a7ffbc25dd he wanted bbb14f4fa0 to ask 134d6651f9 about what 02918314d4 had happened 1d13787919 today. But that was a74961a110 a conversation he 7290e884a9 had envisioned for a4fa612fcc much later—not something dbce2e82b2 his feet would 2b958caa59 force upon him cb1fe4ef82 in an unplanned ae97aadd77 reunion.9f7f84f344b0a8d1

‘Did he see e2cc482694 me?’b0639cd1ff3193b6

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Jaekani’s gaze fell toward d100638f0e the shadowy basement entrance, d6f388365d as dark and impenetrable b2f519a218 as the maw of 7dee7c6db5 a creature. If Huikyung 345db2fe47 hadn’t noticed 1913378f08 him yet, ca0420f3fa Jaekani planned eea1e1a3f3 to slip 4b1c924e76 away as c5282f32b6 if he ecb19826d3 had never bf4e09b14b come. He scanned ed5a2935e7 the space 92ac72f564 for Huikyung’s 0d491371dd pale hand, 8bf22d62e1 as white c22669a161 as lilies, 7b7e3cd9bc to confirm c8ea376fa8 his presence. And just 54b7585586 then, something 134549f4a9 fluttered softly 4cb3225f77 between the 9f29f888d1 bars like f52d0de5c9 a flag b4cd0e85af of truce.c65345d2299e5e7c

Knowing it was bait, f4cb5de707 Jaekani still couldn’t stop fbeee5cd92 himself from walking toward 8d10b22044 it.1c38f59e98ebc485

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“Hello, Jaekani.”d8762ef860710591

“…What is it this time?”a57c8a796c1f514d

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“A flower ring.”e05c3a1a60c55519

Dangling from a 8ebdbe68e2 taut, curved stem fef4c485fa were several dainty edd15e7620 flower rings, clustered bc078ca61c like tiny blossoms 23362c32d8 layered in fresh b01b91fbef snow. Jaekani plucked d7763d2bd3 one of f31fb126d2 the outermost 9828ee9704 rings and e1e9660060 examined it. The soft petals, in 46eac5496b a mix of hues, af6b8c45d6 had been carefully arranged eb3f5562b9 into a compact, delicate b271280135 circle.9897ce6d10903470

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“What kind of flower is this?”75b6e3b1e94e7b91

“Clover.”925331178103d352

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Jaekani slipped the ring 87cbb53b89 onto each of his 299731bdcc fingers, testing it. It was too small 830c4810ce for his thumb but 2d258d46e3 fit snugly on his 7b542b1478 index and ring fingers.2a5057fcbcc12ff1

“It suits you.”2eb7005ec887e4c4

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‘Does it?’44fecc821368e105

Still, after effb6058d4 trying it 9825c78633 on every c16313c7ba finger, the 3d528363fd ring loosened dfd746c169 and fell 6cfaa20102 apart as 2f91cca4f1 he removed b1c43f4eb1 it from fd9e15ab8a his pinky.74816c7447526f6f

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“Oh.”e0d6d93f1d5171f6

At the sound of his soft sigh, Huikyung spoke. “Give me your hand.”2b8d2064de7e0456

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It might d27e419271 have been fa23ed1531 the magic d62d155048 of the bafce1053e flowers. For someone like 3a5efe6545 Jaekani, always on f2e6cdb9a2 guard, to extend 59792a9b99 his hand through 8285b23071 the bars without 7b9469d140 hesitation—almost as if ae840f11ab enchanted—was something unexpected. It was as though dedb2dd17e his hand naturally found d930f58752 its place.57eb927311817909

“…!”bd2d9e02c71d0344

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Jaekani gasped when Huikyung 19c0f4b0fb grabbed his wrist. Before he could say e78fd69f78 anything, he felt himself 43cf7f7c4f being tugged forward, his 70ffea040d body leaning into the e8977ff1cf narrowing gap between them. He tried to 6e72bed47d straighten himself, only 733a34fa5d for something soft b785b5b93e and cool to 2519b47ae9 slip around his 8b72bb3615 ring finger.36aaec8e70ddc145

The flower stem 89aed82d8b brushed his skin, b419dc9cc0 gliding down like b496e14201 a breeze until 490d27d4a1 it settled precisely. The ring fit as 79db56ff7f if it belonged there, fc82007ebd nestled between the creases cc53158081 of his knuckle.6ca057fcd0a90756

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When Jaekani flexed ed155d6937 his arm, Huikyung’s 22b6c47145 hand let go 4aeb7d957d easily, like a 59ac8f3e37 candle extinguished in 663074fe9d the wind.88454e291b9d1ebf

Jaekani quickly 4497320ef1 drew his 3642c25055 arm back 0c326eafec through the 2d729eed85 bars, stepping 00e4c1d0a9 away as d668179303 he stared 1405bca50e at his 676e3a3bb2 hand in 6221d8063a the moonlight. Under the cab187f793 faint glow, f4fa861ce0 his underdeveloped 77f215262e hand seemed cff199f11e foreign, as f46ac2f916 though it 9575471eb8 belonged to dfb8e5f172 someone else. The delicate 2e9a4a6e78 flower ring 24130a1258 felt like ca2d1992bf it had 3dc3f1a4b7 melted into 5674439558 his skin.13ebcfcad7087337

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A strange ticklish 546c52be8b sensation crept over 572ba51d4e him. Clutching the wrist fcba3cbe0d that Huikyung had de247db85b briefly held, Jaekani 0b7bd4b2c2 spoke in a a2a88ff6d1 forced, indifferent tone.1f642bc06d25550f

“Another ring… what’s it for this time?”d99a2f30907f1c4f

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‘Not like I gave 599513b81d him another sandwich.’0877154ed0cd3cf8

“We made up with the last ring, didn’t we? Let’s make up again this time too.”4e31be136814bed4

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