Recurring Memory

Chapter II

She was running as fast as she could, like she was chasing someone or she was chased. Her breathing was labored. Her throat was dry and she was sweating a bit more than the usual. She needed water. She was thirsty. A cold quench would be nice, she thought. But she had no time to stop running. She was beating the hands of time. Her mind told her about a certain deadline she never had idea about.

She ran and ran – as swift as she could; as if her life was depending on it. But as they say, acting too quickly and without due diligence and attention to the smallest details will result in undoable mistakes.

She slipped and fell off the cliff, causing her to scrape her knees. It hurt, badly. There was a gush of blood. But she could not afford to lose more time. Immediately, she got up to run again but this time, with tears. As to why was she crying, nobody else knew.

She was panting. Drips of sweat were running down her face. Yet, she kept running, running and running lost in the woods.

It was an endless cycle.

And the cycle caused her immense fear, leaving her in a helpless situation.

"Eon Jin... Eon Jin... Wake up!"

"Eon Jin... Wake up! You're having a nightmare!"

"Eon Jin!" Tae Pyung screamed.

Finally, she was awake from an awful dream – a very awful one. If not for Tae Pyung, she would have been running on a deep, dark forest for the rest of her time.

She hugged him tight. He noticed her lips were pale. He touched her forehead and felt layers of sweat in between his fingers. He embraced her back. She was trembling and scared. Poor Eon Jin, she couldn't even tell Tae Pyung how bad her nightmare was. She was too scared to even talk about it. Tae Pyung knew how to read between the lines. Her eyes spoke of distress. He thought, the best comfort was not to ask about the dream.

Tae Pyung poured her a glass of water and soothed her back while she was drinking. It somehow calmed her down.

"Are you fine now?" She nodded in answer. "I tried waking you up for a morning walk but you seemed so tired. So I didn't bother to wake you up. I'm sorry I left you for a while."

"It's okay. You came back and that's all that matters, right?"

He nodded as he tucked the loose strands of her hair behind her ear. "So, what are we going to do today?"

"Hiking?" It was the first word that came out of her mouth. "Or maybe, hunting? I don't know."

"I never knew you like hiking, love." His brow rose. "It's a no for hunting. That sounds way too violent. We don't practice cruelty on every living thing."

"I just thought of about it last night before going to bed."

It was spring, a perfect time to hike and be one with the nature. But for some reason, it was just the two of them trailing up the mountain. It was absurd for a National Heritage to have no tourists around, Eon Jin thought. Nevertheless, she forced herself to enjoy the scenery. A walk in the woods was never too easy. It required a certain amount of energy and stamina. The pilates workouts were of a big help to her, and triathlon training to him.

She still couldn't believe her eyes. After a long time of being separated with Tae Pyung, it felt nice and calming to have him by her side. Eighteen days were too long. It was surreal to be close to him again. She clasped her hand with his and made sure that there was no way for him to get away from her. Tae Pyung noticed that. He couldn't blame her. After the unreasonable disappearance, it was normal for her to be a bit more possessive of him. She only let go of his hand when she took out her phone to take a shot or two of the view. They haven't even reached the top just yet, but the view was already breath taking. It deserved to be captured in a photograph.