TMLOWSC 23

Chapter 23

“Mel?”

Joohee called out to Mel, but there was no response.

She called a couple more times, but still, Mel did not answer.

Worried that something might have happened, Joohee carefully stepped outside.

She slowly turned her head back and forth, until her gaze suddenly stopped on the hill.

Something faintly shimmering was on top of Ru’s head as he lay sprawled out.

Joohee slowly walked up the hill.

The closer she got, the clearer Mel’s voice became.

It didn’t seem like she was trying to hide—Mel was too busy talking to notice her surroundings.

—Joohee’s been low on energy lately. Don’t you think so too?

“Woof.”

—Right? I guess we really need Rowen. What do you think?

Ru’s ears perked up.

Hearing Joohee’s footsteps, he wagged his tail and suddenly stood up.

Because of that, Mel, who had been sitting on Ru’s head, wobbled and fell off.

“Ahh! Whoa—Joohee! You’re awake?”

Mel noticed Joohee and flew over.

Ru also approached her and nudged his head against her.

It was a clear request to be petted, and Joohee unconsciously raised her hand and stroked his soft fur.

—You didn’t even eat dinner and just kept sleeping. Aren’t you hungry?

“I’m fine.”

—Are you just too lazy to cook?

“…It’s just that I’m not hungry.”

There was also a bit of laziness involved.

When Rowen was around, he often cooked, so she didn’t feel lazy then.

—Joohee, your expression is weird.

“……”

Joohee closed her mouth tightly.

She began to wonder if she was the kind of person who got attached this easily.

But no matter how much she thought about it, she didn’t believe she was an affectionate person.

Then why Rowen?

What was so special about him?

Joohee sat down heavily.

She had consciously tried not to think about Rowen, but now that he suddenly came to mind, the thoughts flooded in again.

—Joohee, do you keep thinking about Rowen?

“……”

Joohee didn’t answer, but Mel took her silence as confirmation and spoke carefully.

—You’ve always been alone, haven’t you?

“…Alone?”

—Yeah. When you came to the forest, there was no one beside you.

“Right…”

The previous “Airil” who lived here before Joohee seemed to have lived the same kind of life as her.

—So when Rowen entered your life, he probably stayed in your memory longer.

“I guess…”

Joohee murmured and hugged her knees, burying her face in them.

Ru sat down and licked her hand, whining softly.

Mel flew around anxiously, then landed on Ru’s head and watched Joohee with concern.

The wind blew.

Joohee’s black hair swayed in it.

—Joohee, aren’t you cold?

“I’m fine. I just want to stay here.”

—Then I’ll stay too!

Joohee sat on the hill, counting how much time had passed since Rowen left.

It felt like about two months.

She wasn’t sure of the exact day he left, so it might have been more or less.

It surprised her that so much time had already passed.

Or maybe it felt slow?

Since coming here, she no longer paid attention to dates or time, and had become numb to its flow.

After watching the faint sunrise, Joohee slowly stood up and went down the hill.

Even though she had stayed up all night, she didn’t feel very tired.

But she also didn’t feel like moving.

She thought she was becoming lazier.

Then Mel asked,

—Joohee, do you know what a sunflower is?

“Yes, I do.”

Joohee nodded while tying her hair for the first time in a while.

—I found something! I’ll only tell you!

“What is it?”

After finishing her hair, Joohee looked at Mel.

Mel, full of excitement, shouted:

—You’ve never gone beyond the hill, right? If you go over it, there’s a huge sunflower field!

“A sunflower field?”

—Yes! I found it! It’s huge!

Mel stretched her arms wide to show its size.

Joohee tilted her head.

“Isn’t someone cultivating it?”

—Huh? Really? Then… are we not supposed to go?

“There must be an owner, so we probably shouldn’t just go in.”

Joohee murmured while putting on her shoes.

A huge sunflower field sounded intriguing.

If it really existed, it couldn’t have appeared naturally—someone must have planted and maintained it.

At Joohee’s words, Mel looked upset and grabbed the end of her hair, hanging from it.

—Can’t we just visit? Please? You’ve never gone beyond the hill before!

Mel, unusually stubborn, began pleading.

—Let’s go, please! I want to see it!

“…Alright.”

—Really? Yay!!

Mel let go of her hair, flew above her head, spun around, and kissed Joohee’s cheek.

Ticklish, Joohee scratched her cheek with her finger.

Mel led the way, and Joohee followed behind.

Up until now, Joohee had only ever gone as far as the hill.

Beyond it, nothing particularly bad would happen—but she had never gone.

—Hurry, Joohee!

Mel’s wings flapped rapidly, showing her excitement.

Joohee slowly stepped over the hill.

—This way!

After walking downhill for a few minutes, sunflowers came into view, just as Mel had said.

It was no exaggeration—they were enormous.

“Wow…”

A small breath escaped Joohee’s lips.

The sunflowers were taller than her, densely packed together.

Almost entranced, she walked into the field.

There was no fence, so it was easy to enter.

—They’re so tall! Taller than Joohee! Maybe even taller than Rowen!

Mel mentioned Rowen without thinking.

Then she froze, covering her mouth, and glanced at Joohee nervously.

But Joohee seemed too absorbed in the flowers to notice.

Relieved, Mel quietly sighed.

Joohee wandered through the sunflowers in awe.

She had never cared for flowers before, but these were so beautiful she even thought about planting some herself.

—How is it? Nice, right?

“…Yeah.”

—Hehe, thanks to me!

“Yes, thank you.”

Joohee smiled faintly and stayed there for a long time.

After that, she often returned to the sunflower field.

Every time, she checked for an owner, but there was no one.

—Are you going to see the sunflowers again today?

“Yes.”

Even though she didn’t particularly like flowers, the field brought her peace.

One day, she found Ru lying asleep there.

“…Ru?”

Hearing her voice, Ru’s ears twitched and he opened his eyes.

“What are you doing here?”

—What were you doing? Huh?

Mel quickly flew over and landed on Ru’s head.

Ru sneezed because Mel’s sparkling dust tickled his nose, almost shaking her off, but she held on tightly.

—Hey! What if I had fallen?!

Ignoring her, Ru walked toward Joohee.

She instinctively reached out and stroked his fur.

“You were sleeping?”

As if confirming it, Ru yawned widely.

Joohee brought him into the sunflower field and sat down in an empty spot.

Leaning against Ru like a cushion, she stared at the sky.

She wondered what Rowen, now an emperor, would be like.

He must have regained all his memories by now.

He would be busy—probably even whispering love to the heroine.

Maybe he had already forgotten her completely.

At that thought, something in her chest tightened.

It was good that she was no longer involved in the story, but at the same time, it felt a little sad.

No—it wasn’t just sadness. It was something more complicated.

She frowned slightly, unable to define the emotion.

Without realizing it, Rowen had already deeply embedded himself within her.

But eventually, that feeling would fade.

There was no way Rowen would ever come back here.

Their connection had already been severed months ago when he left.

Holding onto him would only make things harder for her.

So she consciously pushed him out of her mind.

She decided she would no longer think about Rowen.

Tomorrow, she would go to the village to sell medicinal herbs.

Thinking she was becoming lazy, she stood up to go gather herbs.

—You’re leaving already?

“I need to gather more herbs for tomorrow’s sale.”

—But I wanted to stay longer…

“Still, I shouldn’t delay what I need to do.”

Joohee stood up, and Ru followed her.

He walked behind her without complaint.

Even though she moved slowly, he didn’t seem bored.

When she reached home, Ru waited outside.

Korean summers were fairly hot, but this place was not too warm.

However, winters were extremely cold, as Mel explained.

In winter, many poor families and street children died from the cold.

Even though it was still August, time passed quickly, so Joohee decided to prepare early.

She grabbed her basket and headed to the forest.

Normally it took about 15 minutes to walk there, but with Ru, it took less than five.

He even carried her basket, so she didn’t have to.

After collecting herbs all day, she returned to the village the next day.

With a basket full of herbs, the old man began talking about a festival.