Hotel Blue Moon (Inspired by Hotel Del Luna)

Chapter 25: Into the unknown

(Do not forget to turn on the audio above for a better experience!)

The golden sunlight shone through the curtains in Chan Seong and Ae Ra's room, right on Chan Seong's face. He squinted, looking at the window with a sigh. He rolled over and noticed his phone clock which read 6:10. "Great." Chan Seong murmured, rubbing his eyes. "Ae Ra? Are you awake?" Chan Seong called out groggily. He did not receive an answer, however. 
"Ae Ra...?" Chan Seong got up from the bed to see the sofa undisturbed, not even the sheet he gave Ae Ra opened. His mind switched to a panic mode all of a sudden as he scrambled out of the room, calling out her name.
"Here!" He heard Ae Ra's voice from the far end of the corridor. He followed it to find a small cafe at the end. Ae Ra was sitting on one of the chairs near a window overlooking the garden. Chan Seong pulled up a chair and sat opposite her.
"Slept well?" He asked, stretching his arms above his head. Ae Ra shook her head.
"I did for a while, but woke up very early." She said, sipping her iced Americano. "This is my third coffee in this morning."
"You should slow down." Chan Seong grabbed her cup away from her. Ae Ra looked at him pleadingly, but he did not budge. 
The next few minutes was silent, but it was a comfortable silence. Ae Ra could feel how much she relied on Chan Seong these paast few days, despite him being her former boss.

Former boss. This seemed like a distant time when it has only been a few weeks since she left her old job. Everything felt so far away for Ae Ra in this moment. She desperately needed that coffee.
"When do we leave to King Jumong's tomb?" 
"In half an hour." Chan Seong replied, taking a sip from Ae Ra's coffee. "You go take a shower. I'll go after you." 
Ae Ra knew protesting would not work with Chan Seong and left for their room wordlessly. Chan Seong watched her leave, shaking his head. 

Chan Seong and Ae Ra were ready to leave and were waiting for Chang Min on the porch. Ae Ra sat on a stone bench in the corner with Chan Seong leaning beside her. The two did not exchange any words, but it was hard not to understand what each other were thinking. 
"I spoke to Hyunjin a bit earlier." Ae Ra broke the silence. "Yi Sook is getting better." 
"That's a relief... He should be better by the time we return." 
"If we return..." Ae Ra looked down at her feet. Chan Seong placed his hand on her shoulder. 
"We'll be okay... We have to be." Chan Seong replied in a low voice. Ae Ra tried to talk but she choked up, wondering if they really will be okay.

Chang Min came back and with him, two more police officers and a man introduced himself as a tour guide. All of them split into a car and motorbike with Chang Min, Ae Ra, Chan Seong, and the guide in the car. The guide was rambling some historical facts to the group who were clearly disinterested.
"I cannot believe you knew about the tomb in Jeju-do! A lot of people don't." These words from the guide got Ae Ra's attention.
"What do you mean? I saw it on some site. I'm sure plenty of people saw it too."
"That must be one hell of a site because not a lot of people know about this. So this is kinda crazy." 
Ae Ra nudged a sleeping Chan Seong who woke up startled. She continued to press the tour guide for information. 
"Well, there are tombs for King Jumong but the well-recognized ones are all in North Korea." The guide turned to look at Ae Ra and Chan Seong in the backseat. "There is only one here in South Korea, and it is not even a recognized tourist spot."
"Wait, you said 'tombs'?" Chan Seong's bewildered look reflected in his voice. The guide nodded.
"Yeah, there is the royal tomb, and there are 62 other tombs designed to throw enemies off from desecrating the king's tomb." 
Ae Ra and Chan Seong looked at each other and scooted a little bit closer. 
"Did you hear that, Ae Ra?" Chan Seong whispered to her in panic. "There is more than one tomb!" 
"Then what did I find from that site? I showed them to you and we triple-checked! There wasn't any other info about other tombs!" 
Chan Seong opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. 
The car glided through the forest road. The green completely engulfed them, with the sky's blue peeking through the gaps. Under normal circumstances, Ae Ra would have absolutely enjoyed their surroundings, but now, she was under sheer panic. 
Chan Seong took out his phone to check what they had heard, but his cell had no service. So was Ae Ra's phone. 
"Sir, you said the one in South Korea is not recognized as a tourist spot." Chan Seong got the guide's attention. "Why is that?"
"Ah that" The tour guide adjusted in his seat. "That's because the way to it is quite dangerous. We have to walk through the forest, the whole deal. That is why the Government did not advertise the site either because they have to destroy a lot of forest ground to make the tomb accessible."
"Then how..?" Ae Ra started, to which the guide chuckled.
"How do I know about this? I've lived in Jeju my whole life and know every corner of this island at the back of my hand! This is nothing!"