Chapter 1.1

Hae–gang closed her eyes.

The thin slippers provided by the hotel dangled on her dry feet, and the only clothes she wore were a long cardigan for the changing season.

Her skin was white beyond paleness due to the cold weather. She could feel the tingling and bitterness on her forehead. But she didn’t care about the cold or the pain it caused. As if nothing was wrong with her, she only concentrated on running. 

Breaths exhaled in between sprints were scattered in the air in white.

How far had she run?

She ran along the bridge that seemed to be the edge of the world and only stopped until she reached a place where there were no eyes, no ears, no bright lights—only flickering street lights.

Even if she didn’t want to make a sound, it was not something she could control. She gasped as if she was about to vomit her beating heart, which was beating at an excessively fast pace.

The sound of a pulse broke through the silence. 

Even though she could feel it in her body, it’s been a long time since she had experienced it, and it came unfamiliar to her. It felt like being proven alive. 

Hae-gang lifted her knee and raised her head. The quiet night road and the cold winter air can be felt through her five senses.

She let out an even breath after a long time and couldn’t hold back the laughter that escaped her lips.

A person passing by would think it came from a ghost. But Hae-gang couldn’t stop her laughing. It felt so good. Her hair was disheveled by the strong wind and her body trembled from excitement mingled with exhaustion.

She pulled up the clothes that had fallen below her shoulders and wiped the tip of her nose. But hot tears fell from her eyes. The sound of her laughter gradually lost its power and eventually turned into a sob.

Hae-gang cried. The mere fact that she didn’t have to hold back her tears was enough reason to cry.

Covering her face with both hands, she sat down and expressed her sorrow. Her tears damped her long cardigan, but she didn’t care and cried, laughed, and cried again. She repeated only two things like a psychopath.

She couldn’t help it. It was her first freedom in two years.

Giving strength to her shaky legs, she stood up again, wiping the tears with her sleeve before the tears froze on her face, then pressed on her eyes. A cold feeling touched her feet.

She looked down at her feet for a moment and reached out into the air. The snow, which was pouring down without end, fell on the palm of her hand. Perhaps there was still something called warmth in her frozen hands, but it quickly melted away.

Hae-gang heaved her chest and breathed in the morning air as cold as frost.

“It’s cold,” she muttered.

Unlike the mind, the body was honest. With her trembling voice, expressing her feelings in just two words, she took her outstretched hand and patted the nape of her neck. 

Her skin, which had properly faced the midwinter weather, was frozen like ice, and it seemed that even her fingernails would soon feel pain too.

She didn’t care what it would become of her now. Whether her voice was shaking or not, whether her skin was frozen or soft, it was just all good now.

With her hair fluttering in the wind roughly behind her ear, she gazed at the quiet path.

Where should I go now? I feel like I can go anywhere right now.

The street without any sign of life was wide and empty. No matter how far she walked, she never imagined that an endless road would excite her so much.

The fear of being alone on the road in the middle of the night was never felt; only pushed down by the overwhelming feeling of freedom.