xvii. Escape!

The village turned into chaos. The villagers shouted violently. Furious. Sunggyu was dragged out. Tied up tightly in the middle of the village.

"K'll! K'll!" The villagers shouted wildly.

Fortunately the elders held them back.

There were no inmates of that village ever dared to climb Adam Alp. There were no one who dared to even just stare at the sacred mountain top. So, even though they were so angry, the elders decided not to go after Sungyeol to the mountain top. They would wait for him. That ungrateful o'tsider would definitely back. That village was the only way back. The other routes were steep slopes which could not be bypassed, except by birds with their wings.

Sunggyu was left tied to a pole in the middle of the village until afternoon. Burnt under the bright sun. The locals now turned their amiable toward Sunggyu into hatred, they pelted him with various objects. At first it was only rotten fruit and small gravels. In the long run they started to throw him dirt, waste, and larger stones.

"Let it be, maybe this is a revenge from Woohyun…" Sunggyu sobbed silently, sagging in his pole.

The night came. The weather was so cold, piercing the bone. Sunggyu lowered his head, toughening himself. His lips dried and chapped. The villagers didn't give him water, even a drop. He had bruises everywhere in his body. Tied in a standing position, his legs started to tremble supporting his own weight. At midnight, when Sunggyu was slipping in and out of his consciousness, he heard sound of footsteps approaching. With the rest of his power, Sunggyu lifted his head and saw the almond-shaped eyes beautiful man bringing a culm of bamboo in his hand. His eyes moved to the left and right, he tiptoed in alert.

Slowly he put the edge of the bamboo close to Sunggyu's lips, before tipping it. Water. Carefully he helped Sunggyu drink. The warm water helped Sunggyu to regain his sense and he stared at the face that was so close to him. The anxious and fearful face.

Sunggyu sighed. He didn't want to imagine what would happen to this young native  if the elders knew what he had done, helping a captive. His eyes looked at the man's face again. The face was so pretty under the moonlight. His dark eyes looked mesmerizing. Sunggyu gulped.

No. He couldn't see at the man in the same way again. Unlike the last days. When they were chatting on the stone by the river. At this moment in time, Sunggyu could only stared at him emptily….

The auspicious music from his strings that warmed his heart for the past few days now had died. Crushed by a dream about his Woohyun last night. Straightaway. Untraced. How could such feelings disappeared just in one night? Sunggyu frowned. But what remembered by him was Woohyun's smile, Woohyun's face…

Sunggyu sighed once again. Stammering say his thank when the young native started to move away. The man nodded, Sunggyu's cheek. His almond-shaped eyes filled with hope. Sunggyu turned away, closing his eyes tightly.

Woohyun hugged him tightly in that foggy morning…

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On the next day, once again Sunggyu became a show of the village. Some children started throwing him banana peels and durian peels. Sunggyu grimaced in pain. In no time they would pelt something bigger and more dangerous.

They didn't fed him anything daylong. But the almond-shaped eyes native timidly came up to him fifteen minutes before four in the morning, bringing some food wrapped in leaves.

The sun shone brightly, lighting up the mountain slopes. The hot weather drained Sunggyu's energy. Unfortunately for him, such searing day only meant one thing in that mountain, a sign that later in the night it was going to rain. And it was pouring, indeed, but not just usual water pouring, it was hailing. The ice clanked, bombarding Sunggyu's face and head.

Sunggyu shivered. Even without the rain he was already in a pathetic condition. He was tired from standing, hunger, hot weather, and wounded from the things that thrown at him, it all made him suffer. And now the cold ice rain also adding his pain.

He needed something to drown out the pain of his body. Something that could make him forget about his crushed bones, and could turn his consciousness back. He shouldn't be asleep, once he fell asleep he might wouldn't wake up for ever.

Sunggyu sighed. In such distressing condition, what else might keep him awake? Sunggyu bit down his lower lip. That sorrow. Only that heartbreaking memories.

And Sunggyu was right. Nothing could beat physical pain except pain in heart. So for the first time Sunggyu allowed his brain to remember Woohyun as he was. Calling his name in silent earnestly. Retaining Woohyun's words in the old chapel. Recalling his empty vows.

"Would you die for me?"

Sunggyu groaned. Lowering his head. He should have chose that path. Doing all this was useless. He would never able to forgive himself. He could never remember about Woohyun with a smile. He would never bury the hatchet, even for a second.

Sunggyu gave permission for his heart to get hurt. Remembering everything. And he could last until the new day came.

It was such a painful sight, because from behind the window of the headman's house, a young native with almond-shaped eyes bit his lip witnessing Sunggyu's suffering. Look at how two human was thinking about two very different sides.

One was thinking about the promise of tomorrow, about the outside civilization. While the other one was remembering about the past promises he could never forget.

Two very contrasting expectations.

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