CH 127

“You shouldn’t don’t get too close!”

“Don’t worry, I’m just going to check its condition.”

Dong-mi tried to grab hold of her, but her hands swiped at empty air as Lee-yeon moved fearlessly towards the tree.

A 15-meter-tall artificial mountain on Hwaido sheltered the tree.

As soon as Lee-yeon answered the phone, she went to where the gingko tree was, Chae-woo following behind her as always. The rescue team was already there surrounding the tree with full equipment.

This was the second largest gingko tree in Korea. Many gingko trees were in danger of being submerged under water due to the construction of dams in the past, and the only reason this many trees have survived until now is that they have been designated as natural monuments.

In order to save this particular monument, this artificial mountain was constructed over several years and the tree was able to settle safely in its new home. What would have happened if no one had realized the value of this tree at the time?

“Lee-yeon, be careful.”

At that moment, Chae-woo, who was a few steps behind, grabbed Lee-yeon around the stomach with one arm.

“…!”

Ssss, ssss!

The snake, the size of a grown man’s forearm, bared its venomous teeth and opened its mouth wide. It’s long upright body, its thin slit-like pupils. When she looked into its eerie eyes, she felt a shiver down her spine.

However, feeling the warmth of Chae-woo’s arm around her, she quickly regained her composure.

“Th-thanks.”

Chae-woo patted her upper stomach before pulling his hand away smoothly, leaving a cold feeling where his hand had been.

This brief, gentle touch rattled Lee-yeon even more than the violently passionate embraces of the previous night. The scent of him lingered at the tip of her nose. She tried to control the intense beating of her heart as she said, “More than half of the trunk has eroded. Since the inside is hollow, I guess a snake made its home there.”

“Is that harmful to the tree?”

“It’s… hard to say.”

Dong-mi raised her thick, smooth eyebrows in response to the odd reply.

“What does that mean?”

“Since no one really comes to this area anyway, do you think it’s all that necessary to catch it? In my opinion, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”

“Even though there’s a snake inside the tree?”

“It seems to be accommodating the snake in its own way.” Lee-yeon said.

There were countless cavities that had rotted and eroded, so it didn’t seem like it sucked out one’s life force like the Sacred Tree. The gingko tree was just empty inside.

Nature adapting to its circumstances was just the result of years of endurance. Fortunately, there seemed to be no issues with its growth.

Sometimes people from the Cultural Heritage Administration would walk over to check up on it, but that was only once or twice a year.

It was an artificial mountain with no caretaker and no visitors. Lee-yeon felt suddenly overcome with loneliness as she looked around at the desolate scenery. Her eyes ultimately landed on Chae-woo.

“Without the snake, this tree will be alone again.”

She gazed into the boundless depth of his eyes.

“And I think this tree is well aware of that.”

***

All that was left was the foot of the mountain which had fallen into ruin.

Lee-yeon was completing her third round of examinations when she distorted her face and let out a heavy-sounding murmur.

“Ah…”

More than 200 pine trees had been uprooted, clearly displaying the extent of the accident. The wreckage of the aircraft was scattered all over the place, as smoke soared up from the flames.

About 10 days ago, an AirChina Boeing 762-7 crashed into the foot of the mountain in Gimhae while trying to land. A tragic accident in which at least a hundred people were killed. As she stared at the screen, Lee-yeon subconsciously bit her lower lip.

“Choo-ja, you said this happened recently?”

“It’s been all over the news for the last few days, but you’ve been dealing with other things, so you probably didn’t see it.”

Just as they were wrapping up their conversation, she heard a voice from the living room, saying, “Yes, I’m Kwon Chae-woo” and turned her head reflexively. But the photos she’d seen on the screen were so terrible, her attention was only turned for a moment and she turned her eyes back to the monitor.

Just below the peak of the mountain, the aircraft crash site looked as though a bombed had dropped. The aircraft had broken into three pieces, leaving only the cockpit and fuselage recognizable, the rest scattered around in bits of debris. The huge wreckage lay scattered around the top of the mountain, many of the large old trees horribly mangled.

Under the circumstances, thirty survivors.