Chapter 220.2

Chapter 220.2

Clink. A few coins rolled across the ground and hit her shoe. When she lifted her dry eyes, a group of foreign tourists were walking away after tossing the coins at her.

Ha! A hollow laugh escaped her lips.

Do I really look that pathetic? In truth, her face was filthy after days without washing, and her body smelled faintly sour, like damp laundry that hadn’t dried. Seoryeong stared up at the blue sky with a gloomy expression.

Who was it that said misfortunes always come in threes?

For days now, she had been barely scraping by on the streets, having lost every bit of luggage Wooshin had so carefully packed for her.

She didn’t want to go to the embassy. She didn’t want to use any form of official power to find those children either. It was pure instinctive caution. But in her penniless state, there was truly nothing she could do.

“Haa!”

She never imagined she’d end up begging on a foreign street. Still, she couldn’t give up. Rather than be a hollow shell obsessed only with Wooshin’s every move, she wanted to have the whole of his life.

‘I want to uncover our beginning and our end with my own hands. I want to understand you completely and love you completely. I want to be proud of my love for you.’

So she wouldn’t leave, not just because her body was tired. That resolve was firm in her chest as she scratched at her itchy arm, when suddenly a long shadow fell over her.

“We don’t trust outsiders. Don’t take them in, either.”

The woman who appeared after a week was looking down at her with a sullen expression. Seoryeong was so relieved, and furious that she wanted to punch her square in the jaw, but clenched her teeth and held herself back, trying to act like the older, more composed one.

“But I think this should be enough.”

The woman extended her hand and said, “My name’s Asha.” She hadn’t gone by that name before… but living as Asha was still a hundred times better than living as one of Winter Castle’s children.

Hiding a sigh of relief, Seoryeong looked past her, to the two men standing behind her, both with black hair and black eyes.

The young men behind Asha were all broad-shouldered and strong enough to handle themselves. They were holding the luggage Seoryeong had claimed was stolen, perfectly intact but she didn’t feel angry.

Instead, a powerful certainty settled over her.

She blinked hard, forcing herself not to cry. The children of Winter Castle had grown up. They hadn’t died. They had survived. Her chest swelled until it almost hurt, and her nose stung with heat. Without a word, Seoryeong took Asha’s hand and rose to her feet.

“We don’t take just anyone to the island,” Asha said. “How was I supposed to know if you were a trap or not? So I had no choice but to watch you for a few days. There’s someone who wants to meet you.”

Who? Who could it be? Seoryeong tensed.

“I’m warning you. Try anything stupid, and you’ll be dumped straight into the sea.”

Asha’s teeth ground together as she issued the threat. The men ran a small detector over Seoryeong’s body, murmuring, “All clear,” before two of them grabbed her arms and shoved her into an old car. A wide blindfold blocked her view, but she didn’t resist.

The car jolted along, brakes squealing every now and then. The uneven road made her hips slam against the hard seat, but her heart kept pounding.

After some time, a faint smell of water drifted through the open window.

“Get out.”

As she was pulled from the car, the blindfold came off. Seoryeong forgot to even blink as her dry eyes drank in the sight before her.

Now she understood why Asha had mentioned “dumping into the sea.” The ocean before her, under a sinking red sun, was stained entirely crimson.

“The path to the uninhabited island opens only once a day,” Asha explained. “The water’s too deep for cars, and there’s no boat. In other words, you can’t get in easily, and you can’t get out easily either. Are you sure you’re ready for that?”

Good, she thought. I haven’t even washed for days anyway.

Instead of answering, Seoryeong stripped off her top and tossed it aside. Startled, Asha puffed her lips and muttered,

“The one who made that bracelet is Grandma Daria.”