Ashen remnants of our village pollute the air. The autumn breeze lashing at our backs carries the screams of women and children with it in waves. The sporadic rattle of echoing gunfire forces my eyes shut as I wearily plant one foot in front of the other, dragging myself up the mountain.

The North has finally come for us. 

The sky looks like Hell, and the horizon is bathed in blood—the same colour that is spilling from the open gash on my right shoulder.

I’ve been shot. Hunted by one of my own. 

The collective dream of a united peninsula, which had fermented for decades, has now turned pungent.

It seems unsalvageable now.

As we scale the mountain, the thick, earthen stench of mud and smouldering hay clings to us, and the long-dead foliage crunches underfoot. 

My heartbeat thumps in my ringing ears, and the world around me spins violently. If it weren’t for Youngmi’s near death-grip on my hand, I’d have collapsed long ago.

The sickly red haze of the setting sun glows behind us, its light rapidly fading. I can hardly see. 

Perhaps, this is for the best, though. 

I hope it sets as fast as possible. 

Disappearing with the aid of the night will at least give us a chance at outrunning them. We’ll need all the luck we can get where we are going. That place we claimed as ours—‘Lover’s Falls’.

I remember last summer, when Youngmi and I stumbled upon it as we wandered off the main trail. 

She’d heard stories from her mother that there was a ‘treasure’ hidden up here somewhere, so we’d venture up each week in hopes of discovering it. 

Her eyes would light up at the mention of hidden riches, and she’d even gone as far as believing that maybe a mountain spirit was protecting a cave of gold. 

We’d spend hours in search of it, just walking and talking—alone on this mountain. Needless to say, whether we discovered anything or not, I’d already found my ‘treasure’. Kim Youngmi.

One day, we ventured onto a plateau about halfway up the mountain. After weaving through the trees for almost an hour, we could suddenly faintly hear the sound of cascading water in the distance. When we got close enough, the roar of the water was so loud that we had to shout just to hear each other. 

Obscured by a tall, dense thicket, the mysterious waterfall hid itself from us, as if it didn’t want to be found. Without a second thought, I impatiently clawed my way through the thicket, despite Youngmi’s barely audible protests. 

A few seconds later, I found myself one misstep away from an involuntary excursion to the underworld. 

A sheer drop of about thirty metres where the mountain just ends. Lover’s Falls. The treasure of Mt. Jinsan.

Luckily, Youngmi was there. She always was.

“…Ugh!” she groaned, her brows almost kissing each other in frustration.

“Why are you always walking around like you have nine lives, you idiot!?” Her hand snapped at my wrist, pulling me back from the edge just in time. 

What followed next was Youngmi’s signature move; I call it ‘The Hyeon-woo Special’; a firm slap dead in the middle of the back, followed by an assault on my eardrums. 

“Because one life with you just isn’t enough! I need more!” I shouted, holding my arms out and puckering my lips. I’d hoped to lighten the mood, but as I glanced back at Youngmi, I was met with an understandable look of disbelief and worry. 

I guess I didn’t need my ears to know how upset she was with me this time.

“... Please be more careful…” she trembled, as she raised her hands to her eyes, wiping them. 

“One of these days… I-I feel like you’re just going to get into some crazy accident when no one’s around…”

I continued backing away from the edge, my knees beginning to tremble. I’d kiss the ground if I could, but I’d lose any chance with Youngmi later. I sank to the ground as if to thank it.

“Gotcha… I’ll be more careful,” I apologised with a sigh. 

I truly was sorry. She was always looking out for me, especially since trouble always seemed to find me. My father calls me ‘blank hands’—a nickname that means I have terrible luck. It’s true for the most part, but not entirely. I have a woman like Youngmi, after all. 

Maybe I used up all my luck on her?

“But hey,” I said, trying the light-hearted approach once more, “Neat find, though, right? I think that if I take a blade to this, this could become our new spot!” 

It’d take a while to clear the thicket completely, but I figured this place would be an amazing spot to come on dates if we could see the falls. I didn’t get a proper look anyway. 

“We can have picnics here, even!” I added, getting lost in my imagination.

“Mmmhmm,” Youngmi sighed, unamused. 

“Just make sure you don’t come back here without me. Let’s go. It’ll be dark soon.” 

Her small, soft palms extended out towards mine. Youngmi swiftly helped me off the ground and linked my arm in hers as we began our descent back home.

…

Next time, huh?

…

As it turned out, such a time never came. 

We got word that Youngmi’s father had passed on the battlefield that Spring. Shot straight through the heart, they said. 

No body. No burial. 

For Youngmi and her mother, it was like they’d each taken a bullet that day—the life in their eyes all but disappearing entirely for the months that followed. The war grew even fiercer after that, and we’ve not been up here together since.

They say no news is good news, but no news, frankly, hurts more. I’d give anything to know if my father is alive right now…

“!!!”

A pair of footsteps suddenly dashes around behind us, freezing my blood. My legs charge forward, while my heart skips. 

“Just… keep going!” I repeat frantically to Youngmi as her legs begin to stumble, and she glances behind us.

“Don’t ever look back!” 

“D-do you think they’re coming?!” she asks, her lungs panting harder at the thought.

“I don’t know!...”

“...All we can do right now… is get there…”

“…So keep your head down… and don’t let go.” 

It was probably just a hare, but I’d rather not look. 

Youngmi responds only with a tighter squeeze of my hand. Her small, soft palms now tremble, desperate not to separate from mine.

I hold my throbbing arm to the side of my body tightly to not draw attention to it. If she finds out about it, she’ll freak out. 

The girl of that day at Lover’s Falls is now nowhere to be seen. Now, these unlucky hands have to protect the only person I have left. Kim Youngmi.

Our fingers, now intertwined for the first time in months, leave me wondering how we got here and mourning the life that we may never get back.