Chapter 2

I stood side by side with my sister in front of the brightly blooming peony flowers.

Her delicate hands, gently touching the crimson petals, looked utterly lovely under the sunlight.

“Sister, isn’t this flower really pretty?”

Her clear, beautiful voice echoed on the breeze.

I was about to smile and reply when I felt a cold gaze from behind, freezing me in place.

Slowly turning my head, I saw my second brother sitting on the porch, staring at us.

His stern expression was as sharp and cold as a blade.

Especially his gaze toward my sister was filled with blatant displeasure.

‘Here we go again…’

I sighed quietly to myself.

Due to our father’s obvious favoritism, my second and third brothers had always been uneasy about our sister.

Their gaze wasn’t just simple annoyance—it carried a chilling, threatening aura.

I glanced at my sister.

Her innocent smile as she touched the petals was utterly pure.

Could she sense the discomfort in the air?

“Sister?”

Her voice pulled me back to reality.

I forced a smile and gently wrapped my arm around her shoulder.

I didn’t want her to notice my unease.

“Yes, it’s really pretty.”

My voice trembled slightly.

Holding her close, I turned my body as if to shield her from my second brother’s gaze.

His sharp eyes didn’t seem like they’d let this go.

“I’ll make a flower crown for you with these flowers tonight.”

I deliberately spoke in a brighter tone.

Her eyes sparkled as she smiled brightly.

I wanted to protect this peaceful moment, to keep her smile from fading.

I glanced at my second brother again.

His expression was still stern, but he wasn’t glaring at us anymore.

“Young miss, the master is calling for you.”

The sudden voice of Dol-soe made me turn my head.

Father was calling for me? What could it be?

I looked down at my sister for a moment.

Her sparkling eyes under the sunlight made my steps feel heavier.

“Wait here for a bit.”

I gently wrapped my arm around her shoulder and spoke.

The warmth from her small shoulders eased my mind, even if just for a moment.

After lightly patting her back, I moved on.

As I passed through the main hall, tension weighed heavily on my shoulders.

I took a deep breath at the door and carefully opened it.

The heavy scent of wood brushed past my nose, and inside, I saw my father solemnly seated.

“You’re here.”

Father spoke in a low voice, his expression stern.

I quietly knelt and sat down.

“Yes, Father.”

A long silence followed.

My heart sank.

What was he about to say?

“Now that you’re of marriageable age, it’s time to consider a match.”

My heart dropped.

The sudden topic left me speechless.

Marriage? I’d never seriously thought about it.

Father’s gaze felt as sharp as a needle.

“Not yet…”

I hesitated, swallowing my words.

Disappointment flickered across Father’s face.

“Perhaps… is there a young man you have in mind?”

The question caught me off guard.

I’d never thought about such things.

Marriage had always seemed like a distant future, something I couldn’t even imagine.

I bowed my head and remained silent.

Father’s gaze seemed to grow sharper.

My mind was a mess, unsure of how to respond.

Honestly, my heart was filled with other worries—like the old man’s mysterious warning.

But I couldn’t bring that up to Father.

“…There’s no one like that.”

I answered cautiously.

I tried to hide my emotions, but the awkwardness in my voice was unmistakable.

Father’s gaze softened for a moment before turning stern again.

A faint sense of disappointment passed through me.

But my heart wasn’t ready.

The thought of spending my life with a stranger felt frightening and unfamiliar.

“Hmm…”

Father cleared his throat and fell into thought.

The silence felt endless.

I waited, tense, for his next words.

“There’s a match I’ve arranged. How about meeting them soon?”

I bowed my head, struggling with my answer.

I knew I couldn’t go against Father’s wishes.

But my heart was endlessly conflicted.

“Understood…”

After forcing out my reply,

I quietly bowed and left the room.

As soon as I stepped over the threshold, the empty yard came into view.

My sister was nowhere to be seen.

A sense of unease crept up on me.

I hurriedly went to find Dol-soe.

He was carrying firewood, sweating, and bowed when he saw me.

“Dol-soe, have you seen my sister?”

My voice came out urgent.

Dol-soe hesitated for a moment before cautiously speaking.

“I saw the second and third young masters taking the young miss to the mountain earlier.”

My heart sank.

Sinister thoughts swirled in my head.

The cold gazes of my second and third brothers,

The old man’s ominous prophecy last night…

Everything tangled together like a knotted thread, turning into a deep suspicion.

“Dol-soe, did they say anything else? Did they mention where they were going?”

I tried to ask calmly, but my voice trembled.

Dol-soe shook his head, signaling he didn’t know.

There was no time to waste.

I had to find my sister.

I immediately headed for the mountain, quickening my steps.

The dust beneath my feet scattered in the wind.

As I breathlessly climbed the mountain path, my anxiety grew.

What if something had happened to my sister…

I gasped for air and looked up at the mountain.

The shadows of the green trees stretched long.

I stepped into them without hesitation.

“Pant… pant…”

As I frantically climbed the steep path,

Two familiar figures appeared in the distance.

It was my second and third brothers.

I stopped, gasping for breath.

“Sister, what brings you here?”

My second brother asked with a smile.

My third brother also looked at me with a sly grin.

Suppressing my rising anxiety, I asked sharply.

“I heard you took my sister with you. Where is she?”

My voice came out sharper than I expected,

And their gazes wavered for a moment.

My second brother feigned calm and asked again.

“Your sister? We’ve been here since morning…”

“Don’t lie to me!”

I shouted without thinking.

Dol-soe had clearly said they took her to the mountain.

My third brother awkwardly laughed and tried to explain.

“Ah, well… she wanted to pick some herbs…”

I glared at them, alternating between their faces.

Both avoided my gaze, wearing awkward smiles.

My heart began to beat faster.

The ominous feeling grew stronger.

The old man’s warning from last night echoed in my head.

Rat, cat, chicken… and cow.

Horrifying images linked together in my mind.

My chest tightened, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

“Where is she?”

I demanded coldly, my voice like a shout.

The excuses of the second and third brothers were no longer necessary.

The only thing that mattered to me now was my sister’s safety.

The smile disappeared from the third brother’s face.

The second brother looked like he was about to burst into tears as he spoke.

“…We left her in the mountains.”

I ran past them, deeper into the mountains.

Behind me, my brothers shouted something, but I couldn’t hear them.

My mind was filled with nothing but thoughts of my sister.

As the sun set, deep shadows swallowed the mountain slopes.

Though it was a familiar mountain, as darkness fell, it felt strange and eerie.

The wind shook the branches, making a chilling sound,

and the forest, which had been peaceful during the day, now seemed like a giant trap opening its mouth.

“Sister!”

I called out for her until my voice grew hoarse.

But there was no answer.

The sun had completely set, and the mountain path was engulfed in deeper darkness.

Like the fading sunlight, my anxiety grew thicker.

What if… something really bad had happened?

Every time that thought crossed my mind, I felt chills run down my spine.

In the distance, I saw the faint light of a torch.

It was the villagers.

Father must have sensed something was wrong and led the search party himself.

The torchlight flickered like a small star in the forest,

and the sound of burning wood cut through the quiet night air.

The faces of the people illuminated by the torch were all tense.

Everyone was searching for my sister in a state of nervous tension.

“My child!”

Father’s voice tore through the darkness.

His voice was filled with urgency and fear.

I also called out for my sister until my throat felt like it would tear.

But no matter how much I shouted, there was no answer.

We searched and searched, but there was no trace of my sister.

It was as if she had become one with the mountain, vanishing without a trace.

“Could it be…?”

The old man’s warning from last night came back to me.

Rat, cat, chicken… and cow.

Once again, a horrifying thought filled my mind.

Could my sister be the last in that sequence?

“I’ll keep looking!”

I shouted to Father and ran back into the darkness.

Without even a torch, I relied on the faint moonlight.

My steps were unsteady, and the mountain path grew increasingly slippery.

But I couldn’t stop.

It felt like I was being drawn by something.

How much longer did I wander?

When my whole body was covered in sweat and dirt, a man suddenly appeared out of the darkness.

He was wearing a tattered robe, looking utterly frail.

His face was pale, almost bloodless, and his dry skin looked like it might crumble at any moment.

He seemed to struggle even to breathe, swaying as he stood.

My heart sank.

I didn’t know who he was, but I could feel it instinctively.

This person was not normal.

“Who are you…?”

I asked in a trembling voice.

Instead of answering, the man stared at me intently.

His eyes were eerily empty,

and I felt a chilling sensation run down my spine.

“Miss, I’ve lost my way in this mountain. Could you help me?”

The man smiled pitifully and reached out his hand.

For a moment, I felt my mind grow hazy.

The man started to look like an ordinary person.

But when I saw the long, red claw marks etched into his chest, my senses sharpened.

Only a tiger could have made marks that size.

And the eerie aura he emitted proved that he was no ordinary injured man.

It was clear—a vengeful spirit, killed by a tiger, was trying to lure me.

I clenched my teeth and shouted.

“Do you think I’m crazy enough to help a ghost like you?”

At my words, the man chuckled with interest,

then let out a low, eerie laugh as he muttered.

“Oh ho, you’re not a shaman, yet you have quite the spiritual sense.”

His laughter echoed through the dark mountain, shaking the air.

The man slowly approached me.

A cold sensation crept over my skin, sending shivers down my spine.

My instincts screamed at me to run, but my legs were frozen like stone.

Just then, the man’s eyes changed strangely, and he began to laugh maniacally, his mouth stretching unnaturally wide.

“Hahaha! To bring such a monster into your home, you must be cursed! Poor thing, so pitiful!”

His voice grew increasingly mad, echoing through the mountains.

The sound was like nails scraping against my heart, painful just to hear.

“Fine, what you’re desperately searching for is right over there!”

The man pointed into the darkness, and then, without a trace, he vanished.

In the place where he had stood, only a sticky darkness remained.

I ran breathlessly in the direction the man had pointed.

A sense of foreboding tightened my chest, but the hope of finding my sister kept me moving.

After running deep into the darkness for a while,

I found my sister lying on the ground, breathing heavily as if asleep.

A wave of relief surged from deep within me.

I quickly approached her and gently shook her awake.

“Sister, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

My sister rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked up at me.

“Older sister…?”

Her voice was soft, still laced with sleep.

Seeing her like that, the anxiety that had weighed on me all night melted away like snow.

With trembling hands, I stroked her face and asked.

“Are you really okay? Nothing happened, right?”

“Yeah… I just got sleepy and fell asleep.”

My sister smiled and hugged me.

Her small, warm body radiated warmth throughout my entire being.

As I held her and walked down the dark mountain path, my sister held my hand tightly and chattered away.

Even in the dark forest, her voice was unusually bright and vivid.

“Older sister, in my dream, a really strange person appeared, but I can’t tell who they looked like… I’m not sure.”

I nodded silently and held her hand tightly.

I didn’t ask what had happened.

I just wanted to get her safely down the mountain.

When we reached the edge of the village,

I saw the light of a lantern shining brightly in our yard.

As I saw Father pacing in front of the gate, hot tears suddenly welled up in my eyes.

“You’re safe!”

Father’s voice was urgent,

and his embrace was infinitely warm.

“That’s enough now, come inside and rest.”

Tears glistened in the corners of Father’s eyes.

As we sat down to a warm dinner, the tension in my body finally began to ease.