cene 4. [The Oath in the Barn]

  "AAAAAAH—!"

  A scream tore through the silence.

  Simultaneously, ragged breath burst from the depths of my lungs.

  "Haa, haa, haaa...!"

  I opened my eyes. The white snowy mountain was gone. The smell of musty mold and old straw pierced my nose. It was the abandoned barn of the estate.

  Reflexively, I sat up. My back was damp. Cold sweat soaked the bedsheets. A chill, like ice water running down my spine, made my whole body tremble.

  'A dream...'

  I wiped my face with trembling hands. The sweat on my palms was cold.

  Ten years had passed, but that blizzard raged in my dreams every night. Mocking me for being a coward, for only hiding.

  Rustle.

  I felt a presence beside me.

  Someone approached in the darkness. It was Yeon-hwa. She must have woken from a nap at my scream. Without even time to fix her disheveled hair, she rushed to me. Her eyes, full of worry, shone like stars in the dark.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "...Sorry."

  A raspy voice came out.

  But she acted as if the apology didn't matter, wiping the cold sweat from my forehead with her sleeve.

  Swish, swish.

  Every time the rough cotton touched my skin, the remnants of the nightmare washed away.

  I snatched her hand. A slender wrist. Scars remaining on the back of her hand. That hand, roughened by hard labor and abuse, was the warmest spark in the world to me.

  Yeon-hwa didn't pull her hand away. Having lost her speech, she simply looked at me.

  'It's okay. I'm here.'

  Her eyes were speaking. My throat burned.

  In my dream, she shouted at me, 'Don't come.' To save me, she told me to abandon her and run. The me back then ran away. I was a cowardly beast who hid behind a rock and felt relief.

  I pulled her hand and pressed it against my cheek. The warmth of her palm melted my frozen cheek.

  "Yeon-hwa."

  I called her name softly. Her shoulders flinched.

  "That day, the boy hiding in the snow died."

  I whispered, burying my face in her hand. Hoping this sincerity would seep into her silence, having lost her tongue.

  "I won't hide anymore."

  I lifted my head. Moonlight seeped through the cracks of the barn, illuminating Yeon-hwa's face.

  I gripped her trembling hand tight. It was a grip strong enough to crush finger bones, but she held back without showing pain.

  "I will hide you. Behind my back, so no one can find you."

  The world calls me a tiger. They say I'm a monster that chews on human bones and tears steel. It doesn't matter. If I must become a monster to protect you.

  "I promise."

  I looked straight into her eyes. My amber pupils shone ferociously in the dark. They were no longer the eyes of a terrified herbivore.

  "Even if the whole world points fingers at me and calls me a monster..."

  I kissed the back of the hand I was holding. It wasn't a prayer; it was an oath.

  "I will be the monster that protects you. Even if my bones turn to dust and disappear."

  Moisture gathered in the corners of Yeon-hwa's eyes. She opened her mouth soundlessly and smiled. Tears flowed down, but the corners of her mouth turned up—a smile both incredibly sad and beautiful.

  Outside, the sound of the wind returned.

  But inside the barn, it was no longer cold. Two wounded beasts leaned on each other's warmth, preparing for the coming winter.