The old log cabin didn’t have a hearth in the kitchen.
Instead, there was a fireplace in the living room.
The fireplace tucked in the corner was in a messy state with dust, cobwebs, and herbs scattered about, having not been used for a long time.
[The wind is getting stronger. It would be better to clean it beforehand.]
Although Ren had belatedly discovered the fireplace, he couldn’t touch it without Sharti’s permission, so he had just tidied up the area around it whenever he had time.
[……She doesn’t even glance at the fireplace. It must be colder in the mountains, so why doesn’t she use it?]
But contrary to Ren’s expectations, even on windy days or rainy nights, Sharti ignored the existence of the fireplace.
As Ren was about to ask Sharti the reason, he suddenly realized.
[Is it because she doesn’t have firewood?]
How easy would it be for a woman alone to chop firewood?
Besides, the log cabin was old overall, so if sparks flew the wrong way, it would be dangerous.
[So she gave up and lived with it.]
From what Ren had observed, Sharti seemed to be the type to endure and persevere if there wasn’t much inconvenience in her daily life.
She had few household items, and herbs occupied most of her life. Her wardrobe mainly consisted of robes, and her small dressing table had only everyday items like sewing tools and scissors.
There was no apparent material desire in Sharti.
[With the right tools, I should be able to chop firewood.]
Since they were halfway up the mountain, there were trees all around the log cabin, so what was needed was an axe.
And Ren finally managed to get an axe through Vireta.
As soon as he held the axe, Ren became certain of his assumption. It was too heavy and dangerous a tool for Sharti’s slender wrists to handle.
[But how do I light a fire?]
His broken memory couldn’t recall how to light a fire.
Ren clicked his tongue at the gaps in his flawed memory.
He became more convinced that he certainly hadn’t been a slave.
[If I don’t know, I’ll just have to try.]
So as not to worry Sharti unnecessarily, and knowing she might refuse due to her personality, Ren diligently chopped firewood while Sharti was bedridden.
With Sharti down with a cold, he was even more motivated.
He wanted to let her rest in a warm room as soon as possible.
Perhaps his enthusiasm was too much; the axe handle, which he had barely swung a few times, broke so weakly.
[Is this enough?]
Ren checked the pile of firewood he had stacked behind the log cabin and lightly dusted off his hands.
After that, Ren practiced lighting fires diligently, avoiding Sharti’s eyes.
Fortunately, relying on the muscle memory his body remembered, Ren finally succeeded in producing smoke.
[Now I need to clean the fireplace.]
There was no need to delay any further.
Sharti’s mood had improved thanks to the flowers he had discovered by chance, and Ren had just been honest at a crossroads.
He wanted to show his usefulness to Sharti and be seen as someone she could rely on, not just someone she pitied.
Only then could he confide his choice to her.
[Hmm, it would be better if it looked natural.]
Ren quickly cleaned the fireplace after Sharti went into the herb room.
Rather than obviously lighting the fireplace in front of Sharti, it seemed better for her to naturally feel the warmth in the house.
Ren didn’t want to appear as if he was showing off or boasting about his concern and consideration for her.
He just hoped that Sharti would naturally appreciate his kindness.
And when Sharti finally came out to the living room, Ren was hopeful.
He waited for Sharti’s reaction, expecting her to be pleased with the unexpected gift, just like when he gave her the flowers.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH-!!!!!!”
But the moment Sharti screamed, Ren realized how arrogant and terribly wrong his decision had been.
Sharti’s short trimmed fingernails dug into Ren’s forearm.
Despite the pain of her nails scraping his skin, Ren did not release his arms that enveloped Sharti.
“Please, please, ahhhhh……! Save me, save me…. hic, no……!”
“Sha! Get a hold of yourself, Sha!”
No matter how tightly Ren held her, Sharti’s body trembled uncontrollably.
Crouched down and crying out, Sharti was in a state where she couldn’t even recognize that he was beside her.
Faced with Sharti’s extremely changed state, Ren desperately held onto her without even having time to be bewildered.
“Sha! Look at me! Sha!!”
Her small, delicate body remained motionless as if it had turned to stone.
Ren exerted strength in his hands and raised Sharti up.
With that momentum, Sharti’s hood slipped off smoothly.
“Save me, save me……. fire, fire……!!”
Her reddish-orange eyes, reminiscent of a summer sunset, were unfocused and stained with tears.
Her pale face was completely wet with tears.
“……Sha-. Please, it’s okay. It’s okay.”
Ren hurriedly embraced Sharti.
Holding Sharti’s face to his chest, Ren strongly wrapped his arms around her back.
He didn’t want to see her face like this.
She wouldn’t want to show such a face either.
“The fire keeps, growing……. please, me……. sob, save me…….”
“It’s okay. I’m here. I, I was wrong. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Please, it’s okay, because I’m by your side.”
Ren whispered repeatedly into her ear with a contorted face.
He continued to make his presence known until her trembling subsided.
Sharti’s hand, begging to be saved, clutched tightly at Ren’s clothes with strong force.
“……sob, I, I…… don’t want to die………….”
Perhaps feeling the strong support holding her body, Sharti’s voice gradually became quieter.
And soon, as if a thread had been abruptly cut, Sharti’s body collapsed in his arms.
“……Sha!”
Ren hurriedly checked her breathing first.
He let out a sigh of relief at the sound of Sharti’s faint, wheezing breath. His startled heart was beating rapidly.
Ren put her hood back on before carrying her in his arms and heading quickly to the bedroom.
He tried to lay Sharti on the bed, but it wasn’t easy because she was holding onto his clothes tightly.
“…….”
Ren quietly looked down at Sharti’s small hand that wouldn’t let go of his clothes.
Being held back as if telling him not to leave made a corner of his heart both ache and tremble.
His teal eyes distorted with pain and regret.
“……I’m sorry, Sha.”
Painfully removing Sharti’s hand that was desperately holding onto him, Ren left the bedroom and hurriedly extinguished the fireplace.
The air, which had been comfortably warm at first, had now heated up to an unpleasant warmth.
Ren looked down at the blackened firewood and fell into thought.
‘……Damn it.’
Ren roughly rubbed his face with both hands.
The curse that rose up his throat lingered in his mouth.
It wasn’t that Sharti didn’t light the fire; she couldn’t.
‘There are other things to presume. What do I know about Sha.’
The image of Sharti wailing as if having a seizure at the sight of the fireplace kept flickering in his mind.
Ren’s face, filled with self-reproach, hardened.
The self-loathing for his foolish and stupid self was indescribable.
‘……Repaying kindness with enmity.’
Looking at the cooling fireplace, Ren lowered his gaze.
Not only had he intruded into Sharti’s peaceful life, but he had also stirred up her trauma out of selfishness.
Ren despised himself.
“The worst.”
Standing motionless, with his head tilted, looking up at the ceiling, Ren mulled over his mistake.
As his head became calmer, Ren headed to the bathroom.
Right now, caring for Sharti took precedence over reflection.
“Sha…….”
Ren approached Sharti, who was quietly moaning, with a wet cloth he had prepared.
Sharti was having slight convulsions as if having a nightmare.
Ren carefully wiped the sweat from her neck with the wet cloth and thoroughly massaged her arms and legs.
“……I’m sorry.”
Feeling a tightening pain in his solar plexus, Ren made his decision once again.
It was right to leave Sharti.
It was selfish desire for him, who couldn’t do anything properly, to stay by Sharti’s side.
Helplessly realizing his place, Ren lightly held Sharti’s hand and then let go.
“I’m sorry for hurting you, Sha.”
Ren swallowed and swallowed again the anger and regret that welled up in his throat.
The dark, sunken, mixed emotions soon turned into sadness.
That night, Ren quietly and lengthily suffered in his sorrow.
Now, only one day remained for him to stay by Sharti’s side.
However, it was far too little time to erase the selfish desire of not wanting to leave.
****
The next day, Ren stared at Sharti’s back with a desolate expression.
Sharti, who had only woken up late in the morning when clouds covered the sun, had been handling accumulated work since leaving the bedroom, skipping meals.
She appeared fine on the outside. There was no trace of the seizure-like state from yesterday evening.
However, far from being relieved, Ren felt a chill in his heart.
“……Sha.”
“…….”
Even if Ren called her or approached her, Sharti didn’t give him a single glance.
She was thoroughly ignoring and avoiding him.
“Sha-.”
When Ren couldn’t stand it anymore and blocked her path, Sharti immediately turned around and walked in the opposite direction.
By this point, Ren was also becoming heated with frustration.
With a face stiff from tension, Ren had guarded the doorway of her bedroom all night without getting a wink of sleep.
He had thought about it staying up all night: once Sharti woke up, he would apologize first, explain about the fireplace, then tell her he would leave, and say he was sorry.
But Sharti chose avoidance.
“Sha, I need to talk to you for a moment.”
Unable to grab her forcefully, a voice distorted with frustration and impatience flowed out.
“……Yesterday evening, I-.”
“……!”
As if she had no intention of talking with Ren, Sharti, who was trying to escape, stumbled as her feet got tangled.
Ren quickly extended his hand and grabbed her arm at that moment.
Pa-! Sharti reflexively swatted his hand away.
“…….”
Ren, whose expression had disappeared, looked at the rejected hand and slowly clenched it.
A heavy silence briefly passed between the two.
Without even glancing at Ren, Sharti quickly entered the bedroom.
Left alone, Ren gritted his teeth.
‘What should I do in this situation?’
Ren calmed his boiling frustration and wiped his eyes with one hand.
Having done something wrong, he couldn’t pretend to be hurt or pitiful.
‘She probably wants to act like nothing happened.’
He wasn’t unaware of Sharti’s feelings.
She wanted to treat someone’s mistake, trauma, everything as if it never happened.
So he too should cover up yesterday’s incident and live on.
‘……Because there’s only one day left.’
It wasn’t a difficult thing to do.
Suddenly frowning, Ren let out a snicker.
None of these things that weren’t difficult didn’t apply only to Sharti.
“Even in this situation, I’m looking for an excuse.”
Mocking the cowardly intention that was just waiting for a chance to reverse his decision, Ren left the spot.
Entering the room, Ren lay down on the blanket and supported his head with both hands.
‘Now I really need to worry about my future.’
Vireta seemed displeased with him. Ren had a strong certainty that he would have to be self-sufficient from the moment he followed Vireta.
But he hardly felt the motivation to make plans for the future.
He was just staring at the ceiling, mulling over complicated and uncomfortable feelings when it happened.
“……!”
Ren abruptly got up at the sound of small footsteps outside. It was definitely the sound of footsteps that had come close to the door and then disappeared.
When Ren hurriedly went outside, he found clothes placed in front of the utility room door.
It was the clothes Sharti had been making.
“…….”
His expression naturally soured at the neatly folded clothes without even a note.
Ren had thought that Sharti would at least give him the clothes tomorrow.
He thought she would hand them over before he left, telling him to wear them.
‘Is this the end?’
Could it be that she wanted him to leave right now?
At this sudden supposition, Ren’s face hardened.
“Sha!”
He couldn’t leave like this without saying a word to Sharti.
He hated the thought of leaving without apologizing, after having hurt her.
Ren strode forward and flung open the bedroom door.
“……!”
Startled, a frozen Sharti was looking at him, her body shrinking.
As Ren was trying to calm his crumbling expression and step into the bedroom:
Knock knock! Knock!
“……!”
“…….”
Both Sharti and Ren swallowed their breaths in place.
Someone was knocking on the log cabin door.
As they were staring at the door, tensed up, a gruff voice echoed from outside.
“Ah! Miss! It’s me! From the general store! Are you home?”
