너를 잃어버린 - Lost On You

In what is now known as Jiseong, previous Auch, there is a small desolate village amongst the snow-ridden north. While beautiful in scenery, the history behind its founding and ending is a bittersweet one.

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The Entries

The founder recorded entries of his daily life as a wayfarer, though he never talked about what made him choose this life-style. These entries, while restricted in information due to the journal being home to his personal thoughts and feelings more so than academia, do hold a glimpse into the more intimate relationships he had with his eventual partner and the village as well.

Beginnings

I had been trekking for days in this wilderness by myself, so of course, I thought I was hallucinating when I saw her. Across a frozen valley, on another mountainside was a single girl, even from so far away her beauty shined through the flurries and I felt a storm take hold of my heart. While there was very little interrupting the distance between us, it quickly became apparent that she still was not aware of my presence. The sun was quickly setting when I cleared a spot under a small tree grove and began to build a fire with the help of one of the funky glowing fungi I got from trade. The fire shows no signs of slowing down, so I grabbed a torch of it and am about to make my way to introduce myself and offer my makeshift shelter to this mystery girl.

I must've been a fool, she laughed at the invitation and kept her distance from the moment on, insisting that she didn't need help, especially from the likes of someone like me.

The first waking breath is always the crispest, the cold stings but the fire provides warmth like no other. It wasn't until I was about to go off and forage that I noticed her, bundled up on the other side of the fire, still asleep. I'm not sure what she did when she awoke, I was still out foraging when that happened but I came back to the fire secured and a small cloth bundle placed where I had taken hold the night before. I think this is her silent way of thanking or repaying me for the fire and shelter, even so, I offered it in good taste and hopes she doesn't feel the need to repay me always.

In these past days it seems we've made an unspoken agreement, to help each other in our efforts to forage and survive. Our only conversations are that of comments on the cold, and the moons, anything else is short and fleeting. I want to learn more about her

She has to be a scout, or, at the very least, she was someone sent to gather materials for another place, perhaps she was sent to find a new home. Either way, the wind blows, I never got to ask her name, the small talk was too tense and I didn't want to overstep my boundaries. She left in the middle of the night.

Days have passed, exactly how many I can't tell, it was long enough to lose count; I still find trinkets she left behind, but I don't disturb them, the placement is too set in for them to not have an intended purpose. Amongst these is some form of charm, crudely made from animal bones and needles from the trees, it looks like the moons combined as one, I wonder what it meant to her.

Aspirations

Aha! I KNEW she was a scout! Her people are crossing down the other end of the valley right as we speak! Oh my, I should tidy up the place-

Nostalgia Trip

Oh, how the years have not been good to you my friend, I suppose I should catch you up on everything that's happened, yes? Ah but the night is over and I need my rest, I'll see you again when the light shines once more. Goodnight, dear friend.

I'm no good at entertaining information so I'll just recap the biggest points to make this easier. When Seo-Yeun's people came, it was an instant integration to the area. I had my arms open metaphorically and literally, and their leader accepted me. Of course, it wasn't always harmonious, especially at the beginning. Cultural differences between how I was raised and their own past made for some small clashes and Seo-Yeun still didn't talk to me a lot yet. As the years went on, I helped the people build most of the structures in the now small village; in turn, they invited me to their celebrations, parties, festivals, and the like.
After their celebration of life, when the elder passed away, is when I was truly able to see Seo-Yeun more often. We got to talking, truly talking, and soon we were inseparable. I remember how I felt when I first saw her, the breathlessness and excitement and terror all in one; and I can say with 100% certainty that she was as beautiful and smart and kind as I always believed. I loved, and continue to love, her; forever and always.

Alternative Name(s)

neoleul ilh-eobeolin

Type

Summit