the forest
UNCHANGEABLEit settles down after they get past the bridge.
seulgi can feel how jisoo's trying to help by ambling down the trail and encouraging her to take pictures of the forest. it was effective because soon after, seulgi gets engrossed with getting good shots.
because of that, they stay on the trail longer. they even bought a banana roti from a vender along the way because it reminded seulgi of yerim. she knows they won't be able to catch up with joohyun and her family as they were way ahead of them.
but boy, she was wrong.
because at the end of the trail awaits a troubled-looking junmyeon, pacing back and forth. not far from him is joohyun sitting on a log, palms on her face. seungwan and her mom trying to comfort her.
seulgi meets junmyeon's eyes. he gestures for her to come over to joohyun, which seulgi does with no hesitation. the moment joohyun feels her presence, the woman stands up and grabs her quickly in a tight hug.
"seulgi..." joohyun sobs, burying her face in seulgi's shoulder.
confused, seulgi hugs the woman back and taps her back gently. seungwan and joohyun's mom both look worried. seulgi glances around and realises one person is missing.
"where's yerim?" she asks. joohyun clutches the back of her shirt.
"she... she went... ran ahead of us..." says seungwan. "we can't find her after."
"what?"
"maybe she got lost on the track and went the wrong way?" says jisoo.
"the rescue team is already looking for her," says joohyun's mom. "they advised us to stay and wait here."
"what if... what if they won't?" asks joohyun, sobbing. "and the wild animals, seulgi... what if something happens to her...?"
"shh..." seulgi cups the back of joohyun's head. "she'll be fine... they'll find her..." she shifts her eyes at junmyeon, who's still looking away, jaws clenched.
she sighs, focussing back on joohyun. "maybe you should sit again so you can calm down?"
joohyun nods and pulls back. seulgi guides her to sit back on the log. but the woman doesn't have plans of letting her go, wrapping her arms around seulgi's waist. seulgi feels awkward, not sure if it's okay for them to be like this in front of the others.
seungwan gives her an assuring nod. "let her be. she needs you."
seulgi briefly remembers jisoo. but she's too busy to mind that. she crouches on the ground and looks up at joohyun.
"hey..." she wipes joohyun's tears with her thumbs. "they'll find her. i'm sure of that. i'm sure she hasn't gone that far."
joohyun just looks at her, her chest heaves as she struggles to breathe.
seulgi couldn't stand the sight. she pulls the woman to her chest. joohyun's body softens in her embrace. seungwan comes to rub joohyun's back.
an unusual flock of birds suddenly flying over them catches seulgi's attention. she traces back where the flock came from, which seems to point in the middle of the forest.
"i think i know where yerim is..." she pulls away from joohyun.
"where are you going?" asks joohyun grabbing seulgi's arm when the latter stands to her feet.
"i'm bringing your daughter back." seulgi looks up at the sky. "those birds came from that direction. something or someone might have bothered them."
"but you can't go there alone," says joohyun.
seulgi smirked. "guess what, i can..."
"not in that situation of yours, seulgi. you might encounter something in there that might trig--"
"i'll worry about that later, hyun." seulgi pulls her hand away. "yerim is way more urgent than that."
and before joohyun can protest further, seulgi jumps outside the marked trail and strides into the forest's depths.
---
her instincts are right. it didn't take her long to spot yerim standing in the middle of the trees, holding a banana roti in one hand.
seulgi closes her distance only to find yerim talking to a small baboon.
"you shouldn't go out here alone," says the kid. "don't you know that it's dangerous here in the forest?"
"where's your mom? you should be with your mom," adds yerim, concerned. the baboon sits there in silence, eyes focussed on the kid.
"you should be with your mom too," says seulgi, startling yerim. "you're jumpy like your mom, huh?" she chuckles. "what are you doing here? you're supposed to stay on the trail, remember?"
yerim points at the little baboon. "but i found him walking alone earlier. i thought he got lost. that's why i followed him out here."
seulgi stands beside the kid, placing an arm around yerim's shoulders. "that's a noble act, yerim. but your mom is crying now, do you know that? she's worried about you. they even sent men out here to search for you."
yerim pouts. "i'm sorry."
"let's go back now, okay?" she pulls the kid, but yerim won't budge.
"i don't want to go back yet..." yerim's voice cracks.
"why?" seulgi crouches on the ground. "hey. what's wrong?"
there is a sniff this time. yerim's tears are dripping onto the ground. "i don't want to be with them... they're... they're fighting again..."
seulgi's mouth opens but she can't make out a word.
"they're always fighting lately..." yerim sobs. "they're trying to hide it from me... but i know it... i can feel it... i know when they're not okay... and mommy, i sometimes see her crying in her room..."
still not knowing what to say, seulgi wipes the kid's tears.
"i ran ahead of them because i know daddy's mad at mommy... and i don't want to see them ignoring each other again..."
seulgi eyes the ground, somewhat feeling guilty. it may have something to do with what happened on the bridge.
"they'll make up soon. don't worry." seulgi holds the kid in her arms, disregarding how painful it is to say something like that herself. "every marriage goes through struggles from time to time. i'm sure they'll fix it soon, for you."
yerim shakes her head. "they've been fighting for a while now... dad always works late... mom always sleeps in my room..."
seulgi ruffles the kid's hair, trying to comfort her.
"can... can you take me with you instead...?" asks yerim.
"hey... it'll be okay. trust me. they're going to--" seulgi's eyes widen when she sees an adult baboon now standing tall beside the baby baboon earlier, flashing its menacing canines at them.
she hides yerim behind her.
the adult baboon barks once, startling them. yerim screams.
"don't make eye contact with it!" a male staff with a tranquilliser gun appears behind them. "stand up straight but not threateningly..."
seulgi nods. she stands up, her eyes on the ground.
another male staff appears. he is clapping his hands. "now, back away slowly, but don't turn your back against it. i'm clapping to encourage them to go away."
"you heard him, yerim? let's back away slowly..."
yerim nods, and they slowly step backward.
but the baboon still charges towards them. yerim screams again.
". . ." seulgi turns around and carries yerim.
"i said don't turn your back against it!"
"it's attacking us. dammit!"
"the food!" says the guy. "throw the food away!"
"huh?" seulgi remembers the banana roti yerim is holding. she throws it to the attacking baboon. this seems to have distracted the little baboon, but the adult one keeps chasing them.
the baboon eventually slams into them. seulgi and yerim roll down the hill a few yards. seulgi hugs yerim to her chest while she digs her shoes in the ground to stop them from tumbling further.
but instead of stopping or slowing down, their speed increases because of the steep landscape. seulgi slides down the hill with yerim in her arms. the momentum makes it hard for her to control the direction they would go.
she knows this isn't good. seulgi knows it's a dangerous fall. they are sliding down in a haste.
so she covers the yerim's head with her arms, hoping to protect the kid, hoping for something to stop them now before it's too late.
before it gets more dangerous for them.
the next thing she knew is their bodies ramming hard into a pine tree.
---
seulgi feels like she's dreaming.
she hears voices: worrying, arguing, instructing.
she felt people lifting her body to put her into a stretcher. she's getting carried. a little later, junmyeon is flashing a light into one of her eyes.
"brain functions seem normal." he checks the other eye. "but we need to bring her to the nearest hospital to undergo several tests."
she lost consciousness again.
---
she can hear the motorboat engine and the waves of the sea.
she can feel the boat shaking as it glides on the water.
she opens her eyes and glimpses joohyun, who's sleeping with yerim in her arms.
seulgi felt relieved.
she falls asleep again.
---
she opens her eyes. this time she's in a room--a very much familiar room.
she thinks she's imagining things again because she can't be in joohyun's room.
why would she be in joohyun's room?
but the wedding picture hanging on the wall proves seulgi isn't dreaming. and seeing the cast from her shoulder down to her left arm proves it further.
'then why did you leave me...? why...?'
seulgi closes her eyes and massages her temples, hoping to get away from the memory that happened in this very room two years ago.
'why did you leave me, seulgi...? why did you leave me...?'
she can hear joohyun's voice and feel the pain in it. she looks back up at the wedding photo, and she shakes her head. they look happy. as what seulgi expects, joohyun looked beautiful in her white dress. and junmyeon looked dashing in his coat and tie.
there's no point still lingering on what joohyun told her two years ago. even if they want to be together, they can't. they shouldn't. and yerim, she's already in pain because of what's happening between her parents.
seulgi stands up to collect her wallet and phone from the bedside table. she needs to get out of this house now.
"would you like to eat something first?"
seulgi jumps at the voice, finding joohyun's mom on the couch just outside joohyun's room.
seulgi bows. "i... i'm sorry. but i've already caused you too much trouble. i need to go now."
"why are you such in a hurry to leave?"
seulgi can't answer. she tightens her grip on her wallet and phone.
the older lady stands up. "why don't you sit here first so i can get you something?"
"but, ma'am, i'm--"
"joohyun's at work and won't be back until afternoon. junmyeon's out for a few days to attend a conference. yerim's in school. now, would you relax over here?"
knowing there are no other choices left, seulgi obeys.
---
"the staff said you and yerim rolled down the steep and rammed into a tree. the impact broke your shoulder as you were protecting yerim in your arms. she had light scratches, but nothing serious. junmyeon checked on you first before rushing you to the hospital. after getting clearance from the doctor, they brought you here."
seulgi sips the coffee and nods.
"thanks to you. i'm not sure how my family can even repay you for what you've done to my daughter and granddaughter," says joohyun's mom.
"it's always my pleasure, ma'am. and there's no need to repay me. i'm always happy to help."
the older lady bites the inside of her cheek, thinking. "she's worried sick, you know... she's worried about you."
seulgi smiles. "yerim's a sweet child. she was even helping the baby baboon when i saw her."
"no... i... i didn't mean yerim. i was talking about joohyun."
"oh."
the woman looks out the window and sighs. "i guess some things are unchangeable, huh? because even after all that happened, it's still you, isn't it? and is it still her to you, isn't she?"
seulgi doesn't answer.
"i'm not mad." the older woman sighs again. "but i'm worried about yerim."
"me too, ma'am. i am hoping joohyun can fix any issues she's having with her husband," says seulgi. "yerim... she knows her parents are fighting. she knows they aren't okay, and it's hurting her."
"tsk." the older woman's shoulders fall. "they had another fight on the forest trail. they tried to keep it low-key, but my granddaughter seemed to have caught up and got mad at them."
"is that because of what happened on the bridge, when joohyun rescued me?"
"it's not your fault," says the older woman. "junmyeon, he's jealous of the attention joohyun and yerim are giving you. can't blame him. being one of the best surgeons in this district eats up a lot of his time. he rarely gets quality time with his family. he usually goes home after yerim's bedtime and leaves even before his daughter wakes up. and the little free time he got for himself is spent seeing his wife worry about you and listening to his daughter talking non-stop about you. i mean, i don't blame it on you, but you'd understand where he's coming from."
seulgi nods. "i'm sorry."
"don't be. and again, it's not your fault. i just don't know what to do with those two anymore."
"maybe they'll work on it if they found out yerim's already getting hurt?"
joohyun's mom stares at seulgi. "and what about you?"
"this isn't about me and joohyun anymore, ma'am. it's about yerim. i know joohyun would do anything for her daughter's happiness."
the older woman sighs in response.
seulgi stands to her feet. "i should go now. thank you for taking care of me. please extend my gratitude to joohyun and her husband."
"can you just at least wait for joohyun so she can drive you back to the city?"
seulgi shakes her head. "it's an hour drive to the city, and another hour to get back here. that's too far. i'll just call someone to pick me up."
"but will you be okay?"
"i have doctor friends whom i can talk to about this cast on my shoulder."
joohyun's mom nods. "will. you. be. okay?"
seulgi's mouth is hanging opened when she realises what it meant. she forces a smile.
"i need to. i will be."
---
"so, here are all your things from the island. the camera is here too."
"thanks, jisoo."
"so, how are you feeling? does it still hurt?"
"it's just hard to move, but i'll be fine. i've experienced worse in sau."
jisoo smiles. "i'm sorry i wasn't around after they brought you to the hospital. my manager called me for an urgent schedule. besides, i don't feel needed there because your ex-roommate never left your side. it makes me think, were you just plain roommates before?"
seulgi looks down, not planning to answer the question.
"you know what, that's not important." jisoo waves a hand. "i... uh... i want to tell you something..." she hesitates for a moment. "after what happened this weekend, seeing you having attacks and stuff... i... i felt scared..."
"scared... like scared of my condition...?"
jisoo shakes her head. "you know how bad my reputation is with relationships, right? i never want to commit myself to a serious relationship. it's a distraction. and after seeing you like that, i realised that what you need is someone who will be committed to you, to help you and understand you... i am not ready for that with you yet. i can't be that person for you, seulgi..."
"i'm not asking you to do that," says seulgi.
"i know. but let's admit it. eventually, we will need to put a label on this relationship of ours. we can't be buddies forever."
that made seulgi chuckle. "i understand. thank you for being honest with me."
"but i don't want you to feel bad about yourself. it's just me, you know? i won't be as caring as to how your friends--or that joohyun--are to you. it's not just who i am. i'm sorry, but i don't think i can still do this with you."
there was a slight pinch in her chest which seulgi covers with a warm smile.
"it's fine. as i've said, i understand. thank you for trying."
"thank you for understanding." jisoo smiles back. "would you still want me to be the face of your hotel even after i chickened out on you?"
"if it still pleases you to do that, i don't see any problems."
"just call me whenever." jisoo steps back and heads to the door. she looks around the room then she smiles. "take care, seulgi."
seulgi nods. "take care."
in case you missed reading the foreword, this is a sequel story. if you haven't read untouchable yet, i suggest you go over that before proceeding with this.
enjoy!
enjoy!
Comments