Chapter 4 Part 35

Breaking that period, someone gently took his shoulder and shook it. Jeong Tae-ui opened his eyes. In front of him, Qing Ren-zhao was tapping his wristwatch, pointing to it.

Jeong Tae-ui blinked in confusion and sat up, finding that everyone else was already asleep, with only the campfire crackling. He turned his head and saw that his uncle, who had been sitting on a rock speaking in a quiet voice, was also gone.

He thought he had only closed his eyes for a moment, but it seemed he had drifted off to sleep.

“It’s already this late. I just thought I was closing my eyes for a bit. Oh dear, my back…”

Mutting “my back,” Jeong Tae-ui rubbed his shoulders and stood up, shrinking from the chilly night air. Qing Ren-zhao, who had been on guard duty before Jeong Tae-ui, crawled into his sleeping bag with extremely sleepy eyes.

“Keep watch for an hour. I’m going to sleep first. See you tomorrow morning.”

Qing Ren-zhao, pulling the sleeping bag zipper up to his nose, poked a few fingers out from beside his head to wiggle them, then slowly burrowed completely into the sleeping bag. Jeong Tae-ui, greeting him with “Oh, sleep well,” rubbed his cool arm and leaned against the rock where his uncle had been sitting earlier.

It was silent. Only the flames of the campfire moved, along with bushes and leaves rustling in the wind, or occasionally small animals darting away in the distance. Everything else was embraced by the night’s silence.

Jeong Tae-ui suddenly turned his head. Beyond the trees, the group from the Europe Branch was visible. They, too, were silently still in the night forest. A young man on guard duty on that side was yawning and rubbing his eyes, clearly sleepy. Then, when his eyes met Jeong Tae-ui’s, he stiffened his posture with a feigned stern expression. Jeong Tae-ui, who had thought, ‘It’s fate to meet like this, should I wave my hand?’, simply smiled at the sight of him.

Jeong Tae-ui looked up at the sky. The sky was not clearly visible, obscured by lush leaves. However, through the gaps in the leaves, the sky appeared faint and reddish. Hong Kong’s night lights were washing out the color of the sky. He found it strange to think that such a desolate natural environment existed so close to a bustling metropolis that never slept.

He checked his watch. Night had deepened. He looked around, examining each of the sleeping people. Even if their faces couldn’t be seen, tucked inside their sleeping bags, he could tell who they were by their belongings. That was Qing Ren-zhao, that was Carlo Sagisawa, that was Wien-ho…

Then, in the distance, he heard the sound of the sea. Swoosh, a low sound that stirred a vague unease.

He recalled a trip to the night sea long ago. On the pitch-black sea, where nothing else was visible, only several squid fishing boats shone dazzling lights, drifting on the horizon. The waves that washed onto the shore, hitting rocks and pebbles, sparkled faintly as if sprinkled with dust, then vanished.

Was it like that now?

Jeong Tae-ui looked towards where the sound of the sea came from. His sleepiness was completely gone. He turned his head and saw the other sentry beyond the trees, sitting propped against a tree trunk, nodding off.

“Maybe I’ll go for a short walk.”

He chuckled softly. If someone were to wake up midway and start yelling, asking where he’d gone instead of standing guard and if he intended to put them all in danger, it wouldn’t actually be dangerous. He could confidently stake his neck that the sleeping groups nearby wouldn’t draw knives, gather en masse, and stab everyone here once.

Jeong Tae-ui quietly bade “Good night” to his already sleeping comrades and began to walk.

The path leading to the sea was not properly cleared. Just like the journey to get here, he had to navigate through rough grass, branches, and sharp rocks embedded in the ground, either avoiding them or stepping on them.

In fact, he couldn’t get his bearings well. Fortunately, his sense of direction was excellent, so returning the way he came would be easy, but since there was no proper path, he didn’t know which way would lead more easily to the sea. He could only rely on the fact that the sound of the sea was gradually getting closer.

Rustle.

Jeong Tae-ui paused. He thought he heard someone nearby. Standing still, Jeong Tae-ui silently turned in the direction the sound seemed to have come from. There was nothing but the dark forest there.

“…”

The sea was already approaching ahead. A few dozen more steps and the forest would open up to reveal the sea. But in this still dark forest, he sensed someone’s presence. He held his breath and waited, but even after a long time, no more sounds were heard.

Then, something seemed to move a few steps away. It was close.

Jeong Tae-ui instinctively reached into his pocket and turned in that direction. The moment his fingertips grasped the knife, warmed by his body heat, was almost simultaneous with his eyes recognizing the object.

It was a snake.

Instantly, the tension drained from Jeong Tae-ui’s body. The snake was a dark, plain-colored ground snake, common in moderately deep mountains. It was not venomous or fierce. Even if it had a slight venom, it would only affect small mice; for humans, it would only cause a bit of swelling.

Was that it? That presence.

Jeong Tae-ui sighed as he put away the knife he had half-drawn. But then it happened. This time, his eyes caught something moving faintly in the distance.

It was a person. Someone was moving silently through the forest, going somewhere. His face was difficult to distinguish clearly, but he didn’t look familiar. He was probably from the Europe Branch.

The man seemed not to have noticed Jeong Tae-ui and was heading in a different direction. His steps were cautious and uneasy, as if he were chasing something.

Jeong Tae-ui pondered for a moment. No matter how he thought about it, the situation wasn’t natural. Someone quietly trailing another person in the middle of the night couldn’t possibly be just going to relieve himself or enjoying a stroll.