Chapter 8
When Joo-hee started getting ready to go outside, Rowen asked her,
“Joo-hee, are you going into the forest?”
Since Joo-hee had rejected him once for calling her “young lady,” Rowen now called her by name.
“Yes.”
“Let me come with you. It’s dangerous out there.”
Hearing that, Mel burst into laughter.
—You’re saying that to Joo-hee? The forest would never hurt her. You’re really clueless, Rowen!
As Joo-hee put on her robe, she said,
“I’ll be fine.”
“But still…”
“I’m used to doing things alone.”
She was so used to handling everything by herself that having someone tag along just felt like a hassle.
Rowen didn’t know any of this—he just felt hurt.
He wanted to get closer to her, but Joo-hee always stayed distant, treating him coldly or putting up invisible walls to keep him away.
“If you’re bored, just take a walk around the area. But don’t go into the forest alone.”
Joo-hee’s serious gaze sent chills down Rowen’s spine. He swallowed hard and quickly nodded.
“Okay. Take care.”
“Be safe, Joo-hee.”
Joo-hee was heading into the forest to gather dry firewood—they were running low.
As she walked away, Rowen hesitated for a moment, then suddenly got up and followed her.
“Joo-hee!”
She turned quickly to look at him.
“Use me.”
“…What?”
Joo-hee frowned slightly at the random statement.
Rowen, realizing how weird it sounded, rushed to clarify,
“Ah! I didn’t mean it like that! I meant you can use me like a helper. A worker!”
“A worker?”
“Yeah, like… chopping wood?”
Joo-hee paused to think.
That actually didn’t sound like a bad idea. If he chopped firewood, they could gather a lot more at once.
She could have a spirit help carry the wood home.
After a brief moment of thought, Joo-hee nodded.
“Okay. Come with me. But whatever you see, don’t ask any questions.”
“Got it, Joo-hee.”
Even though that warning was strange, Rowen agreed quickly, grabbed an axe, and followed her into the forest.
They found a good spot, and Rowen began chopping trees.
Joo-hee had worried he might hurt himself, but he was surprisingly skilled—and fast.
In no time, he had cut down two or three trees.
Sweat rolled down his forehead and dripped off his chin.
Now it was time to carry the wood back.
Joo-hee, who had been sitting nearby, stood and walked toward him.
She figured she should give him some water once they got home.
“Sylph.”
The Sylph spirit appeared in front of her.
Only then did Rowen begin to understand what she meant earlier about “don’t ask.”
He had so many questions but stayed silent—he had promised.
—Need something? Just say the word! I’ll help!
“Can you carry this wood back to the house?”
—Of course!
The Sylph answered cheerfully and stirred up a breeze.
A cool wind brushed their faces as the cut wood rose into the air, floating.
Rowen watched in awe, then quickly followed Joo-hee as she started walking back.
—I’ll leave it here!
“Thanks.”
—Call me anytime! I’ll be waiting!
The Sylph vanished, and Joo-hee went inside, returning with a cup of cold water.
“Drink this.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Rowen had been really thirsty from all the sweating, so he gratefully accepted the water and drank it with a smile.
After a short break, he got back to work—without resting again, he chopped all the wood into neat firewood stacks.
“How is it?”
“That was fast.”
“I did good, right?”
“…Yeah, you did well.”
Rowen looked like he really wanted praise, so Joo-hee, looking a bit unsure, gave him a small compliment.
His face lit up with joy.
She didn’t expect someone to get that happy over a single compliment, so it caught her off guard.
“I’ll take care of things like this from now on. You just relax, Joo-hee.”
“By yourself?”
“Well, I’m living here for free. I should help out however I can.”
Joo-hee figured that telling him “it’s fine” wouldn’t stop him anyway, so she just nodded slowly.
Still, she didn’t actually plan to leave all the work to him.
Rowen neatly stacked the firewood in a corner.
There was so much of it that they probably wouldn’t need to go back into the forest for a while.
Then something crossed Joo-hee’s mind.
When she had first found Rowen, he had been bleeding heavily in front of her house.
That meant he had come through the forest.
There was no way to reach her house without passing through it.
But when she had checked his wounds, there weren’t any scratch marks from monster claws—only cuts from a sword.
She thought about asking him but gave up since someone with no memory probably couldn’t give her a real answer anyway.
Joo-hee simply decided it must’ve been luck that Rowen made it out of the forest alive.
Just then, Rowen said,
“Joo-hee, you should go wash up first.”
“Thanks. I’ll be back soon.”
While Joo-hee headed to the pond to bathe, Rowen quietly got up and walked toward the forest.
Earlier, he had seen a beautiful flower blooming there.
He suddenly remembered Joo-hee’s warning not to go into the forest alone, but since nothing had happened earlier, he didn’t take it seriously.
“Is it darker than before…? Maybe I’m imagining things.”
It had been bright when he was with Joo-hee, but now the forest seemed much dimmer.
He felt something strange, but brushed it off and walked in.
Meanwhile, Joo-hee returned to the house much quicker than usual—but Rowen was nowhere to be found.
She checked inside—he wasn’t there either.
Mel flew around searching and then shouted,
—He’s in the forest! He went into the forest!
“Sigh…”
Joo-hee sighed and quickly headed into the woods.
Once inside, she shouted loudly,
“Rowen!!”
But there was no response. Only the rustling of leaves in the wind.
Joo-hee decided to ask the trees for help.
“Show me where Rowen went.”
A few leaves gently floated down from a tree, all drifting in the same direction.
Following the leaves deeper into the forest, she found Rowen facing off with a monster.
“Rowen.”
“…Joo-hee? It’s dangerous! Don’t come any closer!”
Joo-hee ignored him and walked calmly toward him.
The monster shifted its attention from Rowen to Joo-hee.
Drool dripped from its open mouth as it stared.
Just as it lunged at her, a massive tree swung its branches and smacked the monster away.
“Kyaaa!!”
The creature screamed and was flung far into the distance.
Rowen stood in shock, staring at the tree that had moved on its own.
“Wh-What… is going on?”
“Told you not to go into the forest alone,” Joo-hee said calmly as she reached out her hand to the shaken Rowen.
“Let’s go.”
She helped him up.
When they looked toward where the monster had landed, the scene was gruesome—several thick branches had pierced through its body.
It twitched for a moment, then died.
Rowen was now even more desperate to understand who Joo-hee really was.
He had already been amazed when she summoned a spirit. Now the entire forest seemed to protect her.
“Joo-hee, so… why did the tree move on its own?”
“You’ll get hurt if you know too much.”
The truth was, she just didn’t feel like explaining.
Sensing her mood, Rowen quickly apologized.
“Sorry, Joo-hee. I saw a pretty flower earlier and wanted to give it to you. I thought it’d be fine since nothing happened last time. I’m really sorry.”
“…”
“I won’t do it again.”
Joo-hee didn’t reply and just turned her head away sharply.
Rowen’s face fell.
Things had been going well earlier, and now he felt like he had ruined everything.
“Rowen, the forest is off-limits for you.”
“Ugh…”
He didn’t argue.
Joo-hee had clearly warned him not to go alone, and even if it wasn’t intentional, he had disobeyed.
“You can go anywhere else—just not the forest.”
“Okay…”
“I’m not doing this because I’m mad. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
Rowen looked over at Joo-hee, who had spoken in her usual calm tone.
“The forest is dangerous for most people. If you enter without knowing what you’re doing, you could die without anyone even knowing.”
“…”
“You were lucky the first time, Rowen. But next time, you might not be.”
Rowen perked up at her words.
He realized—Joo-hee was worried about him.
Of course, Joo-hee was a little concerned about him.
But deep down, her main thought was that if Rowen died or came back seriously injured, it would be a huge hassle for her.
Anyone else might think that was cold-hearted.
But Joo-hee had always lived life solo.
In her world, giving anything away meant she would be left with nothing.
If someone else had lived her life, they wouldn’t be able to blame her.
“Joo-hee… were you worried about me?”
Rowen’s question pulled her out of her thoughts.
She looked over to find him gazing at her with sparkling eyes.
For some reason, it felt like she had to say yes—even if she wasn’t really that worried.
“…Yeah, well… you’re someone I know.”
“I’m happy you worry about me.”
“…”
Joo-hee had never met someone so openly emotional before.
It left her flustered.
“Oh? Wait for me, Joo-hee!”
Feeling awkward, Joo-hee suddenly sped up her pace.
Not understanding what was going on, Rowen scrambled to follow after her.
