Chapter 23: WALKING TOGETHER
After leaving the man, Jieun began to feel a little sorry for herself because she had been walking since before but still had not found a way out. She looked at the thick forest with a heavy sigh.
"Waaa... Which way am I suppose to go?" She began to whimper like a little girl.
Jieun make an attempt to calm herself by taking a deep breath as much as possible then releasing it slowly. But, it turns out that it was only in vain when she still felt unhappy with the situation she was facing.
"Arghh! Why does everything in here look the same?" Her eyes only see green leaves everyway, making she thought that she just walking in circle.
"I should have asked him in a better way." Jieun say with a tone of regret. But, deep in the corner of her heart, Jieun knew that if she continued to plead with the man, her ego would be trampled on and she couldn't bear to see the man smile triumphantly.
Jieun then takes a look at the bird that is still weak in her arms. Her pity for the bird was actually higher than her pity for herself.
"No, I can do this. Don't worry Mr. Bird. I'll find a way out." She says, but was actually more to appease her own heart.
With that, she continued her journey while still guessing herself, which path is right. While Jieun hesitated to walk, she didn't notice that Eun-Woo didn't actually leave her alone instead watching her in silence behind the trees that were in the forest.
"Stupid girl. Still don't want to give up?" He is complaning alone.
Eun-Woo is actually waiting for the girl feeling unsure to herself and cries for help. He did not think that the girl was still enthusiastic and did not give up even with her very tired condition. She also clearly did not know the intricacies of the forest anyway, so he thought that in less than a minute the girl would cry out in fear. But it seems that his thinking is not true at all.
"Interesting."
He's still conceal his own movement, doesn't want Jieun to know he's there. Jieun on the other hand is still wandering aimlessly. Her heart at the time was suddenly feeling angry out of nowhere but did not know to whom she should direct her anger.
"Perfect. It's perfect. I went into the forest to visit my mother's grave, suddenly brave enough to go into the deep forests. Fleeing without thinking about the consequences. Meet the enemy. And now try hard to survive in this bright jungle puzzle. Am I filming Jumanji or what?! My bad luck continues and continues and still continue… " Jieun expressed her frustration non-stop, stomping her feet while walking recklessly.
"Is she already become crazy or what?" Eun-Woo said to himself after seeing the girl's bizzarre behaviour.
Suddenly he hears a branch crack and sees Jieun now losing her footing.
"Ah!" Jieun make a small scream when she realizes that she already want falling down, and get her hands upwards to save the bird from also falling to the ground.
As fast as lightning, Eun-Woo ran towards Jieun and pulled her shirt from behind to stop the girl from falling.
Jieun at the time closing her eyes to brace herself before her face comes in contact with the dirt. But, the wait never came. Slowly she opened her eyes to see what was really going on and found that she was standing at 90 degrees.
Only then did she realize that Eun-Woo was by her side and helped her before she fell.
"Eh?" Jieun found it a little weird to see the guy be there. She really thought that the man had long gone since she left him. Just him being there, making Jieun feel like meeting a saint.
"Why are you always clumsy?" Eun-woo scolds her a little while releasing his hand after Jieun is back to her feet. He doesn't understand why there was always something that happened to the girl when they met.
When she saw the man's face, Jieun cannot hide her relieved that also make her heart now to be filled with sadness. But with all her might she restrained herself from crying in front of the man.
"Why are you here?" Jieun asking slowly to hide her true feelings at the time.
"Don't get me wrong. I just worried about the bird not getting enough treatment so I come here to see if you manage to find the way out. And guess what? You're definitely walking in the opposite direction. "
Jieun just looks down because the man's words are indeed true. No matter how much she was determined and positive to keep trying, she was still there and not going anyway. The man must have felt that she was so troublesome right now.
Eun-Woo can see changes in Jieun's face and feel a little bit guilty for asserting the girl's fault. That was not his intention in the beginning actually. Quickly he walked in front of the girl so that it easier for the girl to follow him and didn't overly serve her feelings.
After a few steps, Eun-Woo looks back and finds out that the girl has not followed him.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up while it's still bright. It will be hard if the sun goes down." Eun-Woo said softly.
Listening to that Jieun raised her face and returned enthusiastically following Eun-Woo from behind.
"Be careful." Eun-Woo said without looking back.
Jieun smile a little after hearing the man's last verse. She realized that the man was actually a good man, otherwise, how could the man have helped her so many times now.
So, they walked together in silence. No more conversations between them. All that was left was the sound of their footsteps moving and their breathing. But, satisfying enough for Jieun to calm down and no longer be frustrated like before. How grateful she is.
Jieun unaware of how far she is in the woods as she takes longer to walk until they arrive at a small river that she feels familiar. She looks from her right and left confirming that's where her mother's grave is. She feels very relieved now.
"It's the small river." Jieun speak in a lower voice, but still caught in Eun-Woo's ear.
"You noticed this place?" Eun-Woo asking breaks the silence between them.
"Yeah. That is my mother grave. " Jieun show the place to Eun-Woo.
Eun-Woo only sees from a distance the place indicated by Jieun at the time and then goes on to say, "You can find your way to the village from here?" Eun-woo wants certainty.
"I can. I remember this much. " Jieun said confidently.
"Alright then." With that Eun-Woo turned back wanting to go back into the forest leaving Jieun there.
Feeling rushed when she saw the man start to leave, Jieun hurriedly said,
"Thank you!" She tells him honestly.
This time too Eun-Woo stopped his trail and watched the girl. He could see the sincerity in the girl's eyes when she utters the words just like when they were in the palace before. With that, Eun-Woo continues his journey with a small smile.
After her eyes no longer saw the man's, Jieun wash her dirty hands in the river and give some water to the bird. The bird drinks the water greedily now may cause by excessive thirst.
"Slow down Mr. Bird. There's plenty of water for you." Jieun said cheerfully.
Only a moment later, Ayana's voice was heard from afar.
"Lady Jieun! Are you there?"
Listening to that familiar voice makes Jieun feel happier. She is no longer alone now.
"I am here!" She screamed with all her might.
"Oh my! What happened to you? Why are you so dirty? And why are you hugging... A bird?" Ayana was shocked to see Jieun who was in an unmanageable state and now bombarded her with lots of question.
Jieun show a big smile to Ayana before explaining. "I rescued this bird just now and then fell after losing a foothing while in action." Jieun make a white lie. She didn't want Ayana to be so protective to her next time if she knows the truth.
"I knew something must happen when you are not back in the village after going for so long. Turns out my hunch is correct. " Ayana half scolding Jieun.
"Don't get mad Aya. I'm doing a good job in here by saving lives. You're supposed to be proud of me. "
Ayana sigh slowly didn't know how to react by that.
"So what are you going to do with the dove?"
"Oh, this is a dove?" Jieun watch the bird closely as she also didn't know its type anyway.
Ayana just smiles while watching her lady bizarre behaviour. "You rescue it, but don't know what its type? How if it's a bird that are carnivorous? You'll be dead right now. "
"Aii... There no such thing as that in here you know. Now now let's get back home. I already feel so hungry and I'm sure it also the same for Mr. Bird. Lets ask granny what to do then. "
Jieun hushes Ayana from continuing to nagging and drag her back to the village.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Aira_Rin
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Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone