TDIMEH Chapter 60

 60. Amihan’s Help

“It’s okay. I’m here. I’ll find a way to buy us some time, so you hide.”

Junhyuk urged Se-ah, who stood frozen, to hide under the desk. Then, he extinguished the light he was holding.

The room darkened to the point where only vague shapes could be discerned.

She curled up as tightly as possible in one corner, motioning for Junhyuk to join her.

“It’s spacious enough. Let’s hide together.”

She couldn’t let him fight alone when he had no weapon.

“What do we do if we both hide? I have to protect you. While I stall them, you need to escape somehow. Got it?”

“I don’t want to.”

“Neither do I.”

“Then why are you acting like this?”

“Just listen to me. I’m the captain here.”

He ultimately refused to hide and instead crouched near the door. Soon, a cracking sound, like someone twisting their joints, echoed in the room.

It looked like he was preparing to fight whoever entered.

Se-ah pretended to follow his orders and stayed hidden, but she scanned the surroundings, ready to jump out the moment Junhyuk was in danger.

Her eyes gleamed when she spotted a golf bag standing in one corner of the room.

Thud, thud.

The approaching footsteps halted in front of the door.

“[I think the sound came from here.]”

“[This is the boss’s room. You know we’re not allowed to go in. Besides, even if someone did come, there’s no reason for them to be here. There’s nothing to steal.]”

“[You think so?]”

“[Yeah. Let’s not cause any misunderstandings and just go downstairs.]”

Hearing their conversation, Se-ah swallowed a breath of relief.

Just as she was about to relax, the doorknob turned with a click.

“[Still, since we’re here, we might as well take a look. We have the key, so we can just open the door, check, and leave if everything’s fine.]”

The sound of keys jangling cut through the deathly silence.

Hearing that they were only planning to peek inside, Junhyuk quickly hid behind a nearby sofa.

“[Where’s the right key?]”

Click. Click.

The doorknob kept turning without success.

Each time it rattled, Se-ah felt her heart drop.

She desperately prayed that they had lost the key.

After multiple failed attempts, they finally managed to unlock the door.

Sniff, sniff.

A brief silence was followed by the sound of someone sniffing the air.

Cold sweat trickled down Se-ah’s forehead.

“[Do you still smell it? I don’t notice anything.]”

“[I swear I do. But there’s no sign of anyone being here… That’s strange. Should we check a little more?]”

“[I said no!]”

“[Just a little more.]”

As they argued and their footsteps grew closer, Se-ah’s face turned pale.

Even in the darkness, their rifles glinted ominously.

She wasn’t worried about herself—she was more concerned about Junhyuk.

A few more steps, and they would find him hiding behind the sofa.

Her heart pounded anxiously.

Even though their guns terrified her, Se-ah bit her lip, preparing to leap at them at any moment.

Just as Junhyuk had protected her, she wanted to do the same for him.

The men had reached the middle of the room.

The moment she decided she couldn’t wait any longer and was about to stand, a commotion from outside echoed through the walls.

The footsteps of the two men came to an abrupt halt. Through the gap under the desk, she could faintly see them turning toward the door.

“[What was that?]”

“[Something’s happening downstairs. Let’s go check it out.]”

“[Who’s trying to escape this time? Lately, this keeps happening.]”

“[We’ll find out when we get there.]”

Without hesitation, they hurriedly left the room.

They were safe.

Se-ah’s legs gave out, and she sank to the floor, feeling as though she had just used up all her luck in this single moment.

“Are you okay?”

Junhyuk peeked under the desk and grabbed her arm, helping her up.

She took a deep breath and forced strength into her trembling legs.

“I’m fine. I’m just really relieved we weren’t caught. But next time, don’t act so recklessly. We both have only one life, you and I.”

“I can’t promise that. For now, let’s check what’s going on downstairs. If things go south, we’ll escape through the window. There’s a rope, so we can do it.”

“Yeah. That sounds better than taking the stairs. I’ve climbed down a cliff before, so a second floor should be easy.”

She said it confidently, but escaping from a building full of armed men wouldn’t be so simple.

Falling wasn’t the real concern—dangling from a rope made them easy targets.

How did things end up like this?

Even if she made it out alive, she was sure she wouldn’t be able to go near the ocean for a long time.

Not that the forest was any better.

She had had enough of both the sea and the woods.

She’d rather live in a bustling city, surrounded by tall buildings, even if it meant sleeping on the streets.

“Just hang in there a little longer. Someone’s coming to rescue us.”

“Yes, you’re right. But… what’s happening down there?”

Se-ah was curious about the sudden chaos below.

“Maybe someone else tried to escape.”

“In this weather?”

She pulled back the curtain slightly and peeked outside. The storm had intensified, rain and wind howling fiercely.

Trying to escape in this weather? It was pointless. No one could leave the island anyway.

“Well, we’re here in this storm too.”

“True.”

Just as she was about to nod in agreement, she noticed something familiar.

“Huh? Huh?”

Se-ah pressed her face close to the window.

“What is it?”

Seeing Se-ah frozen in shock, Junhyuk followed her gaze to the window.

“Isn’t that… Amihan?”

Se-ah stared at the figure running through the pouring rain, unsure if she was seeing things. She turned to Junhyuk for confirmation.

“It looks like him.”

Junhyuk narrowed his eyes and nodded. His confirmation drained the color from Se-ah’s face.

“Why is Amihan out there? W-We have to help him!”

She looked like she was about to jump out of the window at any moment, but Junhyuk grabbed her tightly.

“Calm down and wait. We need to understand the situation first.”

“Isn’t it obvious that he’s in danger?”

“And what exactly can we do? We don’t have weapons. If anything, we’d just get caught too.”

His words were cold but true.

Unlike the armed men outside, they were completely defenseless.

Se-ah bit her lip and fell silent.

Seeing her despair, Junhyuk reassured her.

“Your safety comes first. Everything else is secondary. But if you’re that worried about him, we’ll find a way to help.”

He opened the window slightly, letting the outside sounds filter in.

The armed men looked just as startled as they were.

“[How the hell did Amihan survive the sea? This is insane. Should we just get rid of him?]”

“[He’s already lost it. He won’t last much longer, so just leave him be. Besides, he’s been useful to us until now.]”

“[That’s true.]”

“[For now, lock him up in the barracks. We’ll ask the boss what to do with him tomorrow.]”

“[Understood. We’ll tie him up.]”

At the man’s order, several soldiers rushed toward Amihan.

Drenched in the rain, he screamed as he tried to resist, but the burly men quickly overpowered him.

Surrounded by soldiers in uniform, Amihan looked even smaller and more fragile.

Se-ah’s eyes welled with tears.

As they dragged him away, Amihan suddenly lifted his head and looked straight at her.

As if he knew she was there.

A chilling thought crossed Se-ah’s mind—had Amihan come here to save her?

Knowing his kind nature, it wasn’t impossible.

A sharp pain spread through her chest.

“Don’t cry. No matter what, I’ll save him.”

At some point, tears had started streaming down her face.

Junhyuk gently wiped them away with his fingertips.

Se-ah swallowed her sobs.

It wasn’t until the dead of night, when everyone was asleep, that she and Junhyuk finally managed to sneak out of the building.

After the commotion earlier, the guards had fallen into a deep sleep, and no one was patrolling.

The rain had stopped, but the damp grass soaked their clothes as they moved through the field.

Between the rain and the sleepless night, a chill crept into Se-ah’s bones.

She felt the early signs of a cold.

When they reached a safer area, Junhyuk pulled a jacket from his bag and draped it over her shoulders.

Even while escaping, he was looking out for her.

“You’ll catch a cold. Wear this.”

“What about you?”

“I don’t get cold easily. I naturally run warm. Want me to take off another layer?”

“N-No! I’m fine.”

When he started lifting his shirt, Se-ah panicked and grabbed his hand to stop him.

Junhyuk chuckled and pulled her into his embrace.

True to his word, he radiated warmth.

“Don’t get sick. If you do, it’ll hurt me even more.”

“…Okay.”

Se-ah nodded against his chest.

With the medicine Junhyuk had given her, drowsiness soon overtook her.

By the time they reached their group’s hideout, the first light of dawn had begun to creep in.

Boss Nam, who had been pacing anxiously, spotted her and rushed over like he was rolling down a hill.

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