THE RESTLESS AUTUMN (completed) (a full-length novel)

Circle

Chapter 22

The man unfastened her strap as soon as she was lowered from the chopper. Another man dragged her to her feet, playing deaf to her pleas, but making sure she wasn’t hurt. Blindfolded with hands in cuffs and two men escorting her, she fumbled on rough grounds with bare feet. They stopped walking after reaching a spot. One of the men forced her to stay still, telling her to wait for further instructions, extending her agony infinitely. A rush of relief came when her hands were finally unbound. She thought of the danger looming. Her foes had finally caught up, and this was her fate from the beginning. After the sound of the chopper faded off, and footsteps turned into silence, she knew she was finally left on her own. She lifted the blindfold from her eyes, realizing she was on a mountaintop. Far from where she stood, Father Vincent looked on with a bible in his hand. He had an old familiar stare, telling her not to be scared. She opened her mouth to call him, but she saw him turning his eyes to another direction. She followed him and saw a man in an all black suit, face down, his hair tousled from the fury of the wind. It all made sense. But her heart couldn’t keep up. His hands stayed in his pockets while he kicked the dust away. “I’m sorry I had to snatch you away from your wedding.” His voice sounded eerily cold, like a battered soul speaking through its wounds. He slowly lifted his face and looked Euna in the eyes. “You really think I would let you get away so easily.”

“Let me go,” Euna said, forcing her voice against the wind.

“That’s not possible,” Ji-heon said.

“I want to start a new life with Jae-gun.”

Ji-heon smirked. “Why? Was it so bad with me?”

“Yes, and I don’t want to go back.”

“Too bad. I thought you feel the same way as I do. Nine years ago, you told me you want to have a wedding in a place like this. Here we are, yet you still want to marry another man.” He quieted down his temper. “I gave you everything you want, but you say you can’t be with me. Because you can’t forgive yourself.”

“You don’t understand.” Euna put her hands on her chest and said, “For the rest of my life, I have to live with the fact that I betrayed you.”

“How about now? I betrayed you too, didn’t I? Now we’re even. Do you forgive me?”

Euna turned her back, lifted the sides of her gown and started walking away.

“If you leave now, there will be no turning back.”

“That’s what I want,” she shouted back.

“Is that what you really want?” he asked, raising his voice again.

Euna continued walking, ignoring the sound of his voice.

In a gentle tone, Ji-heon said, “Then, take care of Seung-jin. Tell her I love her.”

Right in that instance she stopped on her track. She made a quick turn and saw him facing the cliff with both hands on his sides, his head hanging low in a complete surrender. Strong winds nudged him back and forth and he swayed without defiance. She saw Father Vincent looking shocked too, one hand stretching out but he was too far to reach Ji-heon on time.

Remembering the images in her head and the pain of losing him, Euna quickly ran toward Ji-heon and grabbed his arm, forcing him to face her. She secured him by locking her arms around his body and burying her face on his shoulder. “Don’t,” she said weakly, feeling her lungs running out of air. Ji-heon attempted to move but Euna pressed his body against hers so he wouldn’t be easily knocked off. “Don’t move,” she whispered again, her heart pounding wildly against his chest. His hands reached for her back and soon, they were locked in a full embrace.

“I can’t breathe,” Ji-heon whispered back.

“I’m not letting you go.”

“I really can’t breathe.”

“You know I’ll hold you like this every night.”

Ji-heon smiled. “Then, I don’t mind.”

Euna looked at his face, seeking his soul in his eyes. “Then, will you marry me?”

He finished reading a passage as the setting sun waited on the horizon. Lifting his eyes from the bible, Father Vincent smiled at the couple and said, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” Turning to Ji-heon, he said, “You may now kiss the bride.”

Ji-heon looked at Euna. With the help of the last sunrays he saw the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Her whole body turned warm in his arms, just like how their love had stayed aflame all along. Unabashedly he began to cry. He found it hard to believe that he now had Euna, not just her presence, but her sacred vow to stay with him for a lifetime. Euna reached for his cheeks and wiped his tears away. Slowly he leaned and found her waiting lips. He gently kissed her but unlike the previous kisses they’d shared, this one tasted sweeter. This kiss, signified the union of two withered souls coming to life again.