When she said she would wear a black dress instead of white, Lee Wooshin studied her face for a moment, then silently nodded.

In a hurry, Seoryeong borrowed a black dress from the innkeeper. Upon hearing the situation, the owner clapped her hands, saying she happened to have a little black dress from a luxury brand over sixty years old in an old wardrobe.

It was a sleeveless sheath dress with an elegant round neckline, shoulders bare, clinging snugly at the waist and falling sleekly to the ankles.

The owner added that the dress had become even more famous because Audrey Hepburn had worn it, then wistfully patted her now-plump belly. “Back in the day, I also...”

After a late lunch, Seoryeong walked up the hill with Wooshin. She had been running nonstop in search of Kim Hyeon, so even this brief leisure felt unreal.

She gazed at the man who had been her husband all along, and who tomorrow would become another husband. Her dry lips tilted into a crooked smile. Holding tightly to the unmistakable hand of Kim Hyeon, she pointed toward the sky.

“Instructor, look over there. The birds are gathering.”

On the hillside, people had gathered to summon the birds that would carry away the dead. They cut open the ribcage of the corpse and pulled out the entrails with their hands to scatter them, then smashed the head with a large stone so the birds could feed easily.

Some turned their heads away or covered their noses and mouths with handkerchiefs as they wept, but Seoryeong tilted her head back and only looked up at the incoming flock.

So you respond to the smell of rotten flesh and blood... Her eyes narrowed.

“......”

“......”

Wooshin quietly watched the scene, then bowed his head as if in silent prayer. She didn’t know who it was for, but she didn’t bother to ask.

There was no need to speak it aloud—he too surely could not forget what kind of place they had just left behind.

She closed her eyes briefly, then stared straight at the mangled body.

The funeral would not end until the flesh was gone and only the bones remained. Which meant that while the corpse was being eaten, they would be holding their wedding nearby. It suited them perfectly.

Seoryeong closed her eyes again and offered her own silent prayer.

Wooshin went out with the innkeeper to buy lamb for tomorrow’s celebration, and left alone in the room, she regarded her reflection in the mirror with a strange sense of detachment.

You’ve grown up, Sonia. You really lived to become an adult. Rubbing her cheeks, Seoryeong touched her own features as if they felt foreign.

Knock knock. Just then, the landlady came in holding a scented candle.

“Does the dress fit well?”

Hearing the casual Russian, Seoryeong answered in the same language.

“Well enough that I had to tell myself not to steal it.”

The owner’s eyes widened before she burst into hearty laughter. “Don’t tell my husband,” Seoryeong said, bringing a finger to her lips. Otherwise you’ll think I had an affair with a Russian man, she joked, and the owner promised she could trust her.

“But is it really all right to wear a black dress for a once-in-a-lifetime wedding? If I said something unnecessary—”

Seoryeong shook her head. The thought of a funeral being held here was complicated, but that was because of the final moments she had witnessed for someone—not something the landlady needed to feel sorry for.

“By the way, you and your husband seem to have such a good relationship.”

“We do?”

“He couldn’t take his eyes off you...!”

“......”

“When I told him to call me right away if anything happened, he kept rubbing this old woman’s prickly hand and smiling that sly smile—he’s not an ordinary man. You {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} must have had a hard time with him.”

“A lot.”

The owner’s warm wrinkles deepened as she chuckled. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

“Come, I’ll show you the house.”

Following the landlady, Seoryeong took in the antique interior. The owner pointed out every detail of the front yard where tomorrow’s party would be held—centrally located so guests could look down from the second- and third-floor terraces.

More excited than the bride herself, the owner said, “My husband used to pluck a few strings when he was young. He’s been polishing the tar for days now.” Seoryeong only smiled faintly.

“But is it really all right for complete strangers to celebrate for you?”

“Yes. I’d like you to remember it only briefly, enough to forget once you turn away.”

“Your family’s not coming?”

After a pause, Seoryeong said, “Maybe... one person might...”

She let her voice trail off as she gazed at the open land beyond the terrace.

“For now, it’s just the two of us.”

“All right, I’ll grill the lamb so well for you! Have you heard this is the Land of Fire? Flames shoot up from the ground like a flamethrower, and it hasn’t gone out once in four thousand years. That’s why couples come here often—they say they’ll love each other forever for four thousand years. You’ve come to the right place!”

Seoryeong’s cheek twitched for a moment, almost like a spasm. Four thousand years... with Wooshin...?

“They say it’s because of gas. Methane, sulfur, and oxygen fusing naturally—”

Watching her hurry to correct it, the owner’s lips curved mischievously.

“What, is four thousand years too unbearably long?”

“Ah, well...”

“Of course. Love’s only nice for a while—once a husband sticks to you, it’s just a nuisance. The older a woman gets, the more she wants to live alone. But what will you do now, girl? You’ve been hooked.”

With a sigh, the owner patted her shoulder.

“The groom’s tall and handsome, but he stares at you too much. If he’s still like that when you’re older, the one living with him will go mad!”

As if to make sure the warning sank in, the owner glanced at the clock. “Goodness, listen to me...!”

“You can find your way back to your room without getting lost? I have to go out to my husband’s hunting ground.”

“Hunting ground?”

Her eyes, indifferent even under the wisteria blossoms, suddenly sharpened. The owner pointed to an old jeep.

“There’s a hunting ground nearby my husband used to run. It’s set to be demolished soon. We’re planning to clear it and build a second house.”

Seoryeong took hold of the owner’s arm in a friendly way.

“Can you show me too?”

By the time they returned from touring the shabby hunting ground in the rattling jeep, Seoryeong was utterly exhausted. The place still held old shotguns and animal tranquilizers—it seemed more useful than she had expected.

Back in her room, she sat in the rocking chair and fell asleep. Through the open terrace, the breeze softly brushed her skin—until, suddenly, the swaying of her hair stopped. Someone had lifted her up.

“——”

Ah, is it Hyeon...? No... the Instructor.

She didn’t know what she had called him. Even in her hazy consciousness, she burrowed deeper into his embrace. He flinched for a moment, then hugged her tightly and lay down with her on the bed.

Gentle hands kept brushing her hair back, smoothing each eyebrow. It tickled, but also made her sleepier. Then their heads touched fully, their breaths mingling. It was a moment of comfort.

She wanted to open her eyes, but her overtaxed mind and body—still dulled from venom—were completely drained.

The hand caressing her face slid down to her chin. When he touched somewhere near the nape of her neck, fine goosebumps rose. Seoryeong stirred, murmuring like a sleep-talker.

“Tomorrow...”

“Tomorrow what?”

“Do it tomorrow...”

“Look at you.”

He responded immediately to her muttering.

“What are we doing tomorrow?”

“First night...”

The man chuckled briefly and leaned closer. Hot breath fanned over her neck.

“Shouldn’t a person be either wicked or cute—just one or the other?”

His lips pressed playfully to her nostrils, then bit lightly at the corner of her mouth. Small, nibbling kisses kept coming without pause.

It shouldn’t be like this, yet it was warm and happy. The unchanging warmth of Kim Hyeon, of Lee Wooshin, was quietly devouring her.

“Today I heard a lot from the innkeeper—”

Then Wooshin tucked the blanket up to her neck and spoke to himself, his voice like sinking deep beneath a lake.

“One of the famous sights here is called the Maiden’s Tower. Do you know why it’s named that?”

No answer came.

“There was a princess here who loved a man, but she was forced to marry another prince. The prince built a tower to win her heart, and it reached the height it is today. Later, the princess was dancing at the top of the tower and—”

Wooshin paused, then held her tighter.

“She jumped.”

He looked at the curtains swaying in the dark breeze.

“No one here seems to know how the prince lived afterward.”

Burying his lips in her hair, he whispered softly.

“But why do I think I know, Seoryeong.”

In the distance, the cries of the raptors tearing at the corpses grew louder.

“My Owl, I’m sorry, but you’re not going anywhere.”