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Chapter 13
Gio spoke to me as I stood there, bewildered. His brows were tightly furrowed, and his voice was lowered.
“You still haven’t figured out the situation?”
“……”
As if he’d heard something he shouldn’t have, he stuck a finger in his ear before continuing.
“There’s someone outside. I heard movement!”
“Maybe it’s an animal?”
“I’m certain it’s not an animal.”
I clenched my fists and pushed at his back. Everyone has their strengths — and when it comes to weapons, Gio’s the one to handle them.
“You go check.”
“I was going to anyway! I just came here first because I thought you’d start screaming.”
As a silent promise not to make a sound, I pressed my finger to my lips. Gio chuckled, grabbed a dagger decorated with amber, and walked toward the door.
“Your little brother will check things out, so big sister, stay put inside the house.”
He tried not to laugh as he glanced back at me, still wrapped up in my blanket. Watching him step outside, I crawled deeper under the covers and groaned internally.
‘He’s never going to let me live this down. This is at least three days’ worth of cringe.’
Then I poked my head out and listened carefully.
Bang!
“Ah! You scared me!”
The surroundings were silent, and suddenly the door burst open — Gio stomped back in. I climbed down from the bed and walked toward him, silhouetted against the moonlight.
Judging by the heat radiating from his body in the cold dawn air, it seemed there had been a fight.
“Wipe yourself with a towel. You’ve got blood splattered here.”
Gio wiped the sweat off his forehead with a towel, but the bloodstains on his cheek remained.
“What was it? So it really wasn’t an animal?”
He tapped my cheek lightly with his finger.
“You’ve got something on you.”
When he reached over to wipe my other cheek, I got impatient and snatched the towel from him, rubbing at the spot myself. It didn’t come off easily, so I scrubbed several times.
“There. But why do you have blood on you?”
Gio half-covered his face with one hand and muttered something.
“What? I can’t hear you. What are you saying?”
Since I couldn’t catch his words, I pulled his hand down from his face. The early dawn light faintly illuminated the area — his ears were bright red, and his cheeks were burning.
“…It was a beast.”
“What?”
“A boar. It was a wild boar.”
“Ah, maybe it came down because of the vegetables in the back? Wasn’t it dangerous?”
Gio jerked his head away from me. He avoided my eyes, but he did nod twice in answer.
Why was his face so red? Was the fight that exhausting?
Still, I felt unexpectedly comforted by how reliable he’d seemed. I reached out and ruffled his soft brown hair.
“Good job. I thought you were useless, but turns out you can guard the house.”
“Don’t.”
Gio muttered, but his hair was so soft between my fingers that I didn’t want to stop.
“Okay, okay.”
I tousled it twice more before Gio suddenly grabbed my wrist with a serious expression I’d never seen before.
“I said, don’t.”
“Uh, sorry.”
His deep, low voice was completely unlike his usual gentle tone, and I instinctively stepped back, trying to pull my hand free. But he didn’t let go easily. I twisted and bent my wrist until he finally let go with a huff.
“Stop messing around and go to bed.”
He made no effort to hide his irritation and stomped upstairs. Thud. I heard the creak of the wooden bed as he lay down. I rubbed my wrist and glared upward.
* * *
Today wasn’t my turn to cook, but I decided to make breakfast for Gio since he’d protected the house. Carrying a roughly woven rattan basket, I went to the vegetable garden.
“Ahhhhh!”
The basket dropped from my hands and rolled on the ground.
“What is this?”
The carrot patch — which had just begun to sprout tiny green leaves — was completely dug up.
“My carrots!”
Footprints were all over the rich soil. The lettuce leaves meant for salad were trampled or uprooted.
“My lettuce!”
The tomatoes, just beginning to ripen from green to red, weren’t hanging from their vines — they were buried in the dirt.
“My tomatoes!”
I sat down on the ground, utterly despondent. The plants were crushed and uprooted beyond saving.
“Who could’ve done this…”
Following the chaotic footprints led me behind a large oak tree. Blood droplets marked the way. I quickly turned around and headed back to the garden.
“They say ignorance is safety. Don’t get curious. Just survive!”
I had to pretend I hadn’t seen anything.
Who cared whether those were human footprints or a boar’s? Whether it was a person trying to take me somewhere worse or not — I didn’t want to find out.
The important thing was that Gio could handle it.
“I’d better treat Gio even nicer. If he gets mad and leaves, I’ll be the only one who suffers. It’s not because I’m scared, obviously.”
I gathered what few unbroken vegetables I could find into the basket and went back home. Gio, buttoning the cuffs of his shirt, looked at me.
“Where were you?”
“The garden.”
His hands froze mid-button. I caught that tiny pause and quickly put down the basket with a bright smile.
“You must be tired. I’ll make breakfast today.”
Gio strode toward me, blocking my way. His voice was soft but held a chilling undertone.
“Did you see anything? Footprints? Blood?”
“No, nothing.”
“Hmm.”
“Really. My eyesight’s bad. I can’t see far, haha!”
Cold sweat ran down my back. It felt like I’d escaped a tiger only to face a leopard instead. Gio smiled faintly again and peered into the basket I brought.
“It’s my turn to cook. I’ll do it. You rest.”
“No, Gio, I’ll do it.”
“You didn’t sleep last night. You were up and moving around. I’ll handle it.”
“It’s fine! Then let me at least help — I can prep the ingredients!”
Ignoring his protests, I started peeling lumpy potatoes and cutting dirt-covered carrots into bite-sized pieces.
‘Did that boar Gio mentioned really leave alive? Why did it even come here?’
To keep the delicate balance between us, I moved carefully. Even if he treated me kindly, he was still my warden — keeping me from escaping.
The thought filled my head: I can’t stay here much longer.
While I was lost in thought, wondering how to find a way out of this maze-like forest, Gio suddenly leaned in close.
“Kyaa!”
Startled, I accidentally nicked my finger with the knife.
“Ah!”
“You need to be careful.”
Gio frowned as blood dripped onto the wooden cutting board. He had scared me, and now he was the one scolding me? Anger flared up inside me — along with the memory of his smirk from last night.
“I was being careful! You’re the one who suddenly shoved your face in when I was holding a knife!”
“Ahem. You didn’t answer when I talked to you. I thought you were lost in thought — or asleep.”
“What would I be thinking about! I wasn’t thinking about anything!”
“Really? Not about the little brother who climbed into your bed at dawn?”
He smirked and pointed at himself. I lost my temper and stabbed the knife into the cutting board.
Thud.
The knife quivered in place. Gio looked at me in silence.
“Listen carefully. I’ll only say this once.”
I lowered my voice, speaking without emotion. Gio nodded, waiting.
“To me, you’re… just a house guard dog. Whether you’re my little brother or a man — it doesn’t matter. So don’t get any ideas!”
People who were treated too kindly often got the wrong impression — no matter where you went. Gio’s face went pale, as if he hadn’t expected such harsh words.
“You’re saying I’m just a guard dog?”
“That’s right.”
“I’m… a dog? Me?”
Better to establish dominance early so he wouldn’t act up later.
Gio’s confidence crumbled before my eyes as he stared at me, nodding twice.
“You’re a talking dog, that’s what you are.”
* * *
Strangely, Gio didn’t go outside even during the day. Eventually, he came downstairs with a roll of bandages.
“Here.”
“For me?”
“I’m not hurt. You are.”
He tossed the bandages to me with little energy, then walked out without another word.
“Did I go too far? I shouldn’t have called him a dog…”
Feeling a little guilty, I decided to pick some persimmons — his favorite — and wash them. I used the errand as an excuse to check the forest’s perimeter again, but as always, I ended up right back at the cabin.
Leaving here alone might be impossible.
“Can I even make it out safely by myself…”
Worried he’d get suspicious, I threw a few unharmed vegetables into the basket and went down to the stream. I crouched by the water, washing the persimmons, when a brilliant idea struck me.
“That’s it!”
Why hadn’t I thought of it sooner? Maybe my mind had been too clouded.
“The water’s always flowing — if I follow the stream, I can get out!”
I’d been so sure escape was impossible that I’d stopped trying. But now, with this glimmer of hope, I stared downstream more intently.
The current was too fast to jump into directly. I didn’t know where it led, but at least I could follow it on foot.
“If I start walking just before dawn, when it’s not too dark, I should reach somewhere by afternoon. There must be people living near the river.”
