Night had fallen fully over the cavern, the magical pond outside casting a soft green glow through the opening.
Bella and Ji-ho had ventured back into the collapsed cave earlier, collecting broken branches and bits of driftwood, small miracles in themselves, and carefully brought them back to the wider cavern.
By now, a fire crackled, small but warm, flickering against the high stone walls that curved like a sleeping volcano.
Bella watched the flames dance, feeling the heat on her chilled skin. Ji-ho sat nearby, leaning on one elbow, his leg still sore, wincing occasionally as he adjusted himself on the uneven ground.
The quiet between them was comfortable, almost sacred, until Bella spoke, her voice soft, weaving through the crackling of the fire.
"My mother," she began, poking at the fire with a stick, "she… she was the kind of woman who could light up a room without trying. And my father… is an army major. Brave, strong… but every time he went to war, we lost a little of him."
Ji-ho listened quietly, eyes on her, his hands folded neatly in his lap.
"He'd be gone six, eight months sometimes," she continued. "And when he returned… it was never the same. I loved him so much… I really did. But things changed at home. My parents; they didn't fight exactly, but… it wasn't the same anymore. And my brother… he didn't know how to fix it. I… I didn't know what to do either."
Her voice cracked slightly, and she looked down, absently tracing a circle in the dirt with her fingers. "When I was eleven, I ran away. I just needed the noise to stop. I didn't even make it to the next town. I was found crying at the bus station."
Ji-ho's brow furrowed, a pang of helplessness in his gaze. "That… must have been so lonely."
"It was," she admitted, swallowing hard. "I lost my mother when I was younger to cancer, and my father tried so hard, but there were only so many pieces of him to give. My best friend… she stayed, she helped. She held me together when I felt like I was falling apart. High school was rough. I didn't even notice my younger brother craving attention, I was too busy surviving my own world."
She paused, letting the warmth of the fire settle over them. "By university… I slowly learned to reconnect. Year one, I stayed away. Year two, I went home. Year three… I finally felt like I could be… happy again. I finally felt like I could try rebuild what was lost."
Ji-ho tilted his head, studying her. "And love?" he asked softly.
Bella chuckled, a tired, wistful sound. "Love? Love… has been… complicated. I've made good and bad choices, mistakes, experienced things; intimacy, romance… life. Sometimes I wonder if a family would only bring me trouble, the way my childhood did."
Ji-ho's eyes softened. "I see… I've never… lost anyone the way you have. My mother… the rebellion took her from me. And my father… I lost him too, in a way. I think… I understand more than I realized."
They shared a quiet moment, the fire crackling, shadows moving across the cavern walls. The magical pond outside glimmered faintly, the cherry blossom tree a quiet witness to their confessions.
Bella broke the silence with a small smile, teasing, "Have you ever… been with someone? A girl? Or a guy?"
Ji-ho froze, his cheeks flushing, eyes wide. "N-no… I haven't."
"And you?" he asked, hesitantly, returning the question.
Bella shrugged, smirking faintly. "I had my first kiss when I was twelve. First… experience at sixteen. High school first love."
Ji-ho blinked, his hands tightening slightly in his lap. There was surprise there, maybe a hint of… disappointment. He stood abruptly, pacing near the fire, still cautious with his injured leg.
"Are you angry?" Bella asked softly, noticing the tension in his shoulders.
"No," he said quickly, voice strained. "I… I don't know your customs… how things are where you come from. But… here… we don't… we don't do… that. Not without intent to marry."
Bella's eyes softened, realizing his discomfort, his innate sense of innocence, of purity. She leaned back, letting the firelight catch her face. "It's normal… if you care for someone, you spend your days and nights with them. That doesn't make you wrong."
Ji-ho's hands fell to his sides. His eyes flicked away from hers, the faintest flush warming his pale cheeks. "I… I could not… be with someone I did not intend to marry. I-"
She let a small, mischievous smile tug at her lips. Leaning back slightly, her voice smooth, even, almost teasing, she said, "And… what about me? Would you… would you do it with me?"
He froze. His breath caught. The words hung between them like smoke above the fire. For a moment, all his carefully maintained composure slipped. His gaze darted, unsure, wide and innocent. "I… I-"
Bella tilted her head, studying him, calm, her smile softening into warmth, reassuring. "It's alright," she murmured, her voice gentle but steady. "I'm not asking you to do something you don't wouldn't want to. I'm just asking… what your heart would what."
He swallowed hard, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly as he realized her tone was teasing, not demanding. His lips parted, and for a heartbeat, the boyish innocence in him shone through, bright and vulnerable. "Then… I… would only ever choose someone I could marry," he said quietly, voice firm yet fragile.
Bella let out a soft laugh, a sound that melted the heaviness around them. She reached a hand toward him, brushing it lightly against his sleeve. "Good," she said, her smile both playful and tender. "Because that… that is exactly the kind of honesty I like about you."
The fire crackled between them. Shadows flickered on the cavern walls, but for the first time since the fall, they felt a small, shared warmth, not from the fire, but from the trust, the teasing, the understanding blooming between them.
She stared at him for a moment, allowing herself to feel protective, almost tender. He's so new to this… so pure… She thought, tracing the rim of the fire with a stick. And yet… he'll grow. He'll grow strong, wiser… and I'll be here.
Outside the cave, Poong Yeon continued to search relentlessly, questioning villagers, enlisting their aid, promising silver and threatening steel.
He refused to relent.
Back in the cave, the fire flickered between Bella and Ji-ho as they finally leaned back, watching the glow of the pond and the white cherry blossom, sharing quiet laughter at small memories and confessions.
Their bond had deepened, delicate and unspoken, forged in the heat of firelight and the magic of a hidden, secret place.
And for tonight, they rested.