The Mountain With Melted Snow Caps | Ateez San

Part IX

Mingi lied in bed all night, the pain in his hand still aching. He stared at the scar the burn left, knowing that he deserved worse than it. Although he was angry at Haeun, he couldn't help but feel guilty for the way he treated her. Without his parents, he needed her company more than ever. But if he had never met her, things might have gone different. He couldn't understand his grandfather's crazy theories, but they were the only thing keeping him sane as they acted as an explanation as to why the village was in ruins. Though, he couldn't remember when his grandfather became so hateful. Before Haeun came into his life, his grandfather was a kind man who told many stories with lots of facial expressions and gestures. They were filled with imaginative ideas that Mingi grew an admiration for. Yet, his grandfather's story about Haeun was strange even for him. But, it was easier for him to cope by blaming her for all the chaos that was going on. Even if she was innocent, there was definitely a correlation between her existence and his grandfather's sanity, or lack thereof, and that was enough for him to grow a disliking towards her.

Still, he couldn't deny the feelings that were blooming. In any other circumstance, Haeun would have been the love of his life. But the reality was that him and her were clearly from two different worlds. Haeun possessed evil in her that couldn't be shunned even with all the goodness in the world. Mingi was scared to share the same outcome as his parents. He went to sleep with images of the fire in his head, the gruesome death replaying over and over again.

When he awoke the next morning, the village had been in a frenzy, news of Areum's disappearance spreading. Mingi didn't care much as he barely knew her. The only memory he had of her was the way she treated Haeun so brutally. But Mingi would be a hypocrite by saying she was a bad person, as he was doing the same thing now. He wanted to escape the madness, so he strayed away into the forest to take his mind off things. Of course the method didn't work as he eventually stumbled upon Areum's body laying unconscious on the ground. He stood in shock before debating on whether he should bring her back himself or alert the people of her whereabouts. He decided it'd be much quicker to do it alone. Once he checked her pulse to make sure she was okay, he gently shook her body to see if she would wake up. After many failed attempts, he took a break to examine her face. She was more beautiful than he remembered. Granted back then he only acknowledged Haeun's beauty.

He tried tapping her cheek now to see if she would regain consciousness. The girl rolled her head to other side, revealing the handprinted scar on her other cheek. He was mortified to see such a painful branding. He looked down at his own burn, his hands trembling as he brought them up to see if the shapes aligned when he placed his hand upon her cheek. He quickly retracted when he realized how perfectly they matched up.

"What happened to you, Areum?" he thought to himself.

There was no doubt in his mind that Haeun was responsible for the scar. But why did his hand fit exactly? He thought back to the strange boy who appeared in the village last night and how he somehow managed to burn his hand. Just as he thought things were becoming sensical by pushing the blame onto one person, more factors kept coming in.

"If Haeun's hand fits exactly in mine, maybe she really is supposed to be my soulmate," Mingi theorized.

But more components came into the equation. Haeun and San both had the ability to burn others but had completely opposite powers, they chose Areum and Mingi as their direct victims, and Mingi's scar completed Areum's as if it were a puzzle piece. But what did it all mean?

Mingi sat for a while, thinking up a whimsical story that would make the impossible make sense. He grew frustrated as he couldn't find any correlation. While he was busy, Areum slowly started moving her body.

"Areum? Wake up!" He violently shook her, knowing that she could help him understand more when she tells him what happened. She jolted up, terrified by the sudden outburst.