It was such a great shock to Yeorum’s confused mind that she was lost as to what to say.
Six months after losing her vision, her eyes opened; and after six months of hearing nothing, her ears picked up sound again. And the person behind the voice and the face just happened to be her youngest unni.
It was that one person whom she wanted to meet no matter what the cost if she were to die and go to the afterlife. Yeorum confessed what was on her mind.
‘I wanted to see you too.’
Her sister walked up and approached the weak, injured and crumbled baby dragon.
‘You look extremely fatigued.’
She then hugged Yeorum’s invisible head with the same arms that used to cover her young self who had to stay in the corner after getting bashed up by the other sisters of the generation.
‘You tried hard. And you did very well.’
Yeorum did not weep like before.
She was too mature to do that – at least that’s what she herself thought. But even then, the warmth of her sister that substituted for her parent’s embrace felt so cozy that it was almost like a dream.
The youngest unni said while caressing her hair.
‘I hope you do not suffer any longer.’
You hope I don’t suffer?
‘Isn’t it about time you took a rest?’
Her words sounded so sweet but Yeorum could not do so because she was still weak. Hearing that, her youngest unni smiled.
‘Is there a need to get stronger?’
What?
‘Let’s go with unni, and enjoy our time together.’
Yeorum shook her head.
She couldn’t go with her unni yet.
‘Why?’
There was something she had to wait for, and things that she had to accomplish in the future.
That was when the youngest unni curiously asked back.
‘Is the person you are waiting for worth all the suffering? Is there a need for you to be in so much pain?’
Yeorum was about to reply but hesitated. Her mind wasn’t functioning straight.
That’s true…
Who was I waiting for…?
What did I have to do…?
In any case, she had the subconscious feeling that she should not follow her. This was a strange thought because she liked her youngest unni the most. Her wish at the end of the long life given to her was to be buried at the same place as her sister.
Sensing her hesitation, the youngest unni smiled.
‘There is no need for any more suffering. Let’s go together. There is a world built for us red dragons over there.’
She pointed somewhere while saying that.
A world built for red dragons? Yeorum suddenly became curious.
‘It’s a land full of lava and unending flames.’
Her sister began whispering with a dreamy expression and voice.
‘Above ground is filled with all sorts of delicious restaurants and wines of every dimension are gathered there. They treat us like princesses.’
‘Underground is covered with all sorts of casinos and underground gambling houses. There are illegal clubs and fighting clubs where you can bash people to death any day. And you know what? You can grab millions of drugs there. It’s insane.’
‘You can play around with males and females you like any time and anywhere. When I first got there and enjoyed it, I couldn’t even come to myself for a fortnight. The people of that world are so creative and there are countless unimaginable delights.’
Saying that, her youngest unni smiled with the brightest smile on her face.
‘So Yeorum. Come with me.’
‘Let’s go, eat and drink day and night.’
‘With me, your sister.’
She appeared absolutely entranced. A short explanation was enough to entice Yeorum as well since the ‘exciting city’ that Yeorum had enjoyed for a short time before was not even close to that.
Her heart wavered.
If a place so happy and joyous actually existed, she wanted to try visiting it as well.
‘Hungry, right?’
Her youngest unni reached her hand out while her voice remained ringing in her ears. There appeared to be light emanating from her body.
‘Now… let’s go and have food together…’
Yeorum unconsciously reached out and grabbed onto the hand. Her sister’s hand wrapped itself around her hand that was so ruined and left without any fingers.
The hand she had found so cold was now ever so warm.
But that was when her body suddenly came to a stop. Without knowing the reason herself, Yeorum uttered such words.
I can’t…
A crack appeared on the warm face of her sister. Her expression was weird – it looked as if she detested Yeorum, and it came to her as a big shock.
‘What’s wrong? I’m telling you to come with me.’
Yeorum replied.
I’m waiting for someone.
And that person is also waiting for me.
That was when the youngest unni asked with a slightly more stern voice.
‘And who is that.’
Yeorum was scared of the expression that was on her sister’s face.
As her mind tried to remember who it was, memories of that ‘human’ which had become hazy began to resurface.
Forcing the fear down, Yeorum opened her mouth again.
No, I can’t go. There is a human male waiting for me – a human that taught me many things.
Hearing that, her youngest sister’s expression turned all the more serious.
‘A human…? Did you just say human?’
Yeorum nodded.
‘You. Come here,’ she said with a straight face.
Although Yeorum tried to stand her ground, her sister shot her hand out.
‘Come here, you trash!’
Her youngest unni grabbed her by the hair. With unimaginable strength, she dragged Yeorum somewhere like how she did in the past.
By the time Yeorum reopened her eyes, the darkness had long vanished.
‘Look. Open your eyes wide and see.’
Unveiled before her eyes was a city of enjoyment and pleasure with a large erupting volcano at the back.
It was a suffocating scenery for Yeorum. A world more dazzling than anything she had seen before in her life was in front of her but she still shook her head.
‘Are you saying you won’t follow me there? Even though I’m asking you to do so?’
Yeorum stubbornly remained firm as her sister began to shout.
‘Why wouldn’t you come! Huh? What’s with that stupid human!’
There is a reason, unni…
‘Are you looking down on me now just because I’m no longer a part of your life? Are you telling me that you will remain just because of a stupid human?’
I’m not looking down on you…
The human taught me a lot of things.
And I’m not staying behind because of that human…
‘What? Teach you a lot of things? Hah… do you have no sense of pride as a red dragon? How can you ever boast about learning from a human?’
The youngest unni scornfully laughed at her with a burning temperament.
‘Hey. How come you haven’t changed a single bit after all those freaking years?’
What…?
‘There is a world here better than your life and you wanted to come with me, so you should just come with me. And yet you want to stay back? In a world that only gives you pain? Just because a stupid human is looking for you?’
I told you that’s not…
‘Shut your mouth! When will you ever grow up!’
She was furious. Yeorum could not look straight back into her eyes but her sister grabbed her by the collar and forced her to look back.
‘What did that freaking human give you?’
Yeorum listed the things she received from him.
‘What? Food? House? That’s all to lock you up in one place and confine you. How do you not know that?’
No.
That human also taught me how to fight…
‘Karl-Gullakwa? That’s something etched into the hearts of every red dragon from birth. Wake up Yu Yeorum! That human was just imitating the red race!’
Her shout scattered the world into ashes.
Yeorum thought about it. She pondered about everything one by one and funnily enough, everything her unni said was correct.
The reason he provided her with food and shelter was because he kidnapped her.
The thing that he taught her was indeed a technique unique to the red dragons.
It’s true. Then what did I gain? What have I learned from that human till now…?
Something deep in her mind threatened to crumble.
‘Now. Let’s go. Come with me to the place where there is no more suffering.’
Yeorum’s heart wavered from the words of her youngest unni but she decided to go through it one last time.
What did she learn from him?
Firstly, Yeorum learned [pulsation] out of the Karl-Gullakwa Stand-up Martial Art from Yu Jitae. Her heart that she couldn’t differentiate from a dragon’s body when in a human form began to beat. Like I said, you can’t teach me okay? She expressed her doubt but Yu Jitae remained headstrong.
…On that day, Yeorum’s heart began to beat.
Next, Yeorum learned how to [breathe]. It was tied to effectively making use of the [pulsations] and finding the right balance through inhaling and exhaling to circulate mana within the body. Late at night, when the chains strangled her heart, Yeorum asked him to stay back out of fear. He sat next to her and listened through her grumble about the stories of the past – stories that she had never told anyone before.
…From that day, Yeorum began to breathe.
After that, she learned how to [walk]. That too was in relation to effectively making use of [pulsations]. Back then, she shook, unable to walk properly due to the heaviness weighing her body down. Yu Jitae had walked alongside her hand-in-hand and she remembered other cadets of Lair teasing and laughing at her. Even then, Yeorum was happy because she felt power building up in her legs.
…That day, Yeorum stood firm on the ground on two feet and walked.
He made her heart beat,
He taught her how to breathe,
And he showed her how to stand.
After that, she learned how to run; how to see and how to hear.
She didn’t think about it when learning it, but now that she laid them down one by one, it was the same as the process of a baby being born and learning how to live.
‘Come with me. You tried really hard and you deserve some rest. You have the right to do so! Don’t you agree? Life is a continuation of despair and pain!’
‘Let me say it one last time. Come with me. Live happily with your unni in a world where neither pain nor sorrow exists.’
‘My dear sister Yeorum.’
While her sister hurriedly flooded out words in a rush, Yeorum realised what she learned.
She learned how to live from Yu Jitae…
– You might stumble on a rock, or get scraped by a thornbush and you might even fall in a quagmire.
– But that’s fine. No matter what, we can stand back up and walk forward again. Do you know why?
Even if every breathing second was exhausting,
Even if your legs were to get scraped and even if you were to stumble from thorns,
You can stand back up. That’s what he told her.
– …Because, we are looking at what’s far ahead?
– Yes.
Because there is tomorrow that is worth waiting for.
After regaining her mind, Yeorum raised her body. She then looked straight into the eyes of her youngest unni who was still looking at her as if she was trash and met face-to-face with that liar.
It had wavered her heart because it was a spitting image of the one that had been so precious to her in the past. But now, she was certain.
I’m not going.
‘What?’
I’m not going anywhere. You fuck off.
‘You, you—-’
In the blink of an eye, she smacked the face of her youngest unni as hard as she could.
Slamm—!
Despite it being an illusion, the head of her sister turned and she flew back all the way to the veil of darkness. With an abnormally distorted face, she shouted ‘Yu Yeorumm–!’ but Yeorum laughed. Who was she calling Yu Yeorum?
“Silly bitch. You should have prepared your script properly.”
How desperate was her mind for things like this to be seen?
“My youngest unni doesn’t know I’m Yu Yeorum…”
Although her will for survival was there, Yeorum found her circumstances to be very daunting and shed tears.
Even then, she will live on.
“It’s the name that human gave me…”
Because that’s what she learned from him.
At that moment.
The distorted fake youngest unni dissipated like mist.
At the same time, the black illusion covering the world cracked open.
***
The moment she came to herself, someone grabbed her by the hand. Her hand was a hand devoid of any fingers but the person paid little regard to it.
Tightly, he grabbed her hand.
It seemed that they had gone past a certain section of the depths – she could hear stuff although faint and she could hazily see his face through the darkness.
He was Yu Jitae.
It had almost been half a year since the last time she saw his face. It seemed unreal, so much so that she felt stuffy at heart.
But soon, her gaze travelled further in and found approximately ten enormous swords and spears piercing through his back.
‘Come closer. We’re almost there. We have to hurry.’
Turning her head, she found numerous things following from behind. She realised at a glance that those were what Yu Jitae had been fighting against.
It was shocking.
Was he fighting against those?
Under the same conditions and circumstances as her?
Does that even make sense…?
She found it absurd but now wasn’t the time for such thoughts.
His face was a welcome sight, and his hand was so, so warm but now wasn’t the time to enjoy such things. Once again, she tensed her body and began to follow him while enduring the pain that was digging into her body.
Soon, his will was conveyed into her disoriented mind.
‘You did well enduring it. Sorry for being late. We’re almost there.’
Almost there…?
‘Yes. It’s all done.’
Those words that it had all ended came as such a big relief to her. Holding in her jumping emotions, Yeorum endlessly swam forth and at the end of the long swim was an underground cave which Yu Jitae and Yeorum both entered.
Near the end of the cave was a red flag. The flag which they had come all this way for.
How deep did you have to put it, you son of a bitch…
At one point, the ones that were chasing from behind saw where they were going and stopped, before disappearing into the distance. Yeorum approached the flag and tried to hold it but had no fingers that could allow her to do so.
“Uhhkk…”
The pain belatedly came flooding in so Yeorum embraced her hands and fell on the ground.
It wasn’t completely over yet.
Using her polymorph, Yeorum healed her hands while Yu Jitae also began healing himself after plucking out all the javelins, knives and arrows that were on his back.
For half a day, the two of them focused on healing their wounded bodies without saying a single word and entered the water again only after most of their wounds were healed.
‘From here is a shortcut. It’s a place where the turtle has less influence over.’
Yeorum noticed something strange about her body.
They were 2000 metres deep.
Although they were swimming through the dense water over such a long distance, she did not feel fatigued in the slightest.
That wasn’t the end.
Storming traps flew in and tried to bite her foot but Yeorum kicked them away. They vanished after only inflicting small wounds on her body and couldn’t damage her legs like before.
Yeorum once again realised how much stronger she had become, and how vast the ocean of mana became inside her body.
Therefore, the way up wasn’t as hard as before and Yu Jitae no longer let go of her hand.
At last they found light shining from above and popped their heads out of the water.
The moment fresh air landed on her face, Yeorum felt herself bubbling up with indescribable emotions as more power entered her clenched hand.
We pulled it off…