Stigma | 낙인

CH 2 PART 1

"Haa, haa..."

More than her panting breaths, her red cheeks seemed to express how alarmed and confused this maiden was. She had been following her brother up the mountain to visit their maternal family.

Maybe the trouble began when she left her handmaiden behind at their home. Her handmaiden usually followed her wherever she went, but since she was accompanying her older brother this time, the handmaiden stayed behind.

They had to climb over this mountain in order to get to their maternal family's house, but since the mountain was so perilous, they couldn't travel by horse or palanquin. Feeling a sense of adventure, EunSeo and her brother had decided to climb over the mountain themselves. She had been looking at the leaves of the yellow adonis flowers underneath the snow when she lost her brother.

Her probably hadn't realized that his sister wasn't following behind him and continued on his way up the mountain.
The maiden had never climbed this mountain alone before. This was the first time she was traveling to her maternal family's house by herself.

Last year, a flood had taken out the bridge going across the river, so they couldn't go that way this time. Now that the winter was almost over, they decided to go and visit their maternal family by leisurely walking through the mountain.

As a well-known soldier in this country, her brother would be able to run around and leap through this mountain. But for EunSeo, this mountain path was unfamiliar and scary.
If she were with her brother, she wouldn't have been so scared. But her brother was nowhere in sight, and the sky was getting dark. She couldn't suppress the fear anymore.
Her heart began to race. She felt as if someone was going to burst out of the shadows of the forest at any moment.

As the snow and ice began to melt, she could hear the sound of the river in the valley nearby. She could also hear the cries of the mountain animals far away. Just how far had her brother gone?

Just how far had he walked without turning around to check on his sister?
Pointlessly cursing her brother, the maiden grasped a crooked pine tree when she turned around.

"Aaagh!"

She had stepped on some twigs on the ground, causing her to slip and fall. She began to tumble down the mountain. The ground had still not thawed and remained icy. After she had stopped rolling, the maiden awkwardly sat up as she let out a faint moan.
Her skirts were a mess and her palms were covered in scratches.

It had gotten dark, so she couldn't see clearly, but she could feel that her hands were wet with her blood. She was about to burst into tears.

"Um, are you okay?"

The unfamiliar voice of a man tickled her ear.
She was more scared of this strange man's voice than she was of the dark. Meeting an unfamiliar man in the mountains at night was more scary than meeting a tiger.

After she suddenly heard the man's voice, she quickly looked around, trembling in fear. Pushing aside the branches of the trees, the man revealed himself. Unlike the terrified maiden, the man approached her with confident strides.

"I'm not a wicked man, so please don't be alarmed. The fear written so clearly on your face is making me feel a bit awkward."

He kneeled in front of the maiden and dug his hand into his pocket as he laughed bitterly.

"Ah...!"

She shouted in surprise when he suddenly took her hand, but he didn't seem to care. He began to wind a strip of cloth around her hand.

"I don't harm women or children, so don't worry."

She couldn't tell whether he was telling the truth or not, but she did know very well that she wouldn't be able to win over his strength.
He could do whatever he wanted to her, and she wouldn't be able to stop him. Therefore, she kept her mouth tightly shut.