The One Who Should Never Return

Memories of the past began to gnaw away at Garam.

“Taegu hyung!”

“Garam?”

“Yeah! Where are you coming from?”

“From work.”

Saying that, Seo Tae-ju ruffled Garam’s hair.

“What work?”

“Work is just work. You don’t need to know about that yet. Here, eat this.”

He handed over a small piece of meat.

It was monster meat, but back then, even that was precious.

“If I eat this, what about you?”

“I already ate.”

“Liar! Let’s eat together.”

“I really did eat.”

“I’m good at grilling meat. Just wait.”

Garam picked up some dry branches, lit a fire, and placed an old metal plate on top.

When the meat hit the plate, it sizzled loudly as it cooked.

The smell wasn’t good, but eating it would fill her stomach.

Her belly, empty all day, rumbled angrily.

Still, Garam held back and passed the meat to Seo Tae-ju first.

“You eat it.”

“I already had something earlier. So you eat first.”

The smell of cooking meat made a few starving people nearby look their way, but no one approached.

People were afraid of Seo Tae-ju, the man who was always strangely kind to Garam.

She should have known back then.

“Now you eat.”

“Okay!”

Garam devoured the remaining meat in an instant.

But she didn’t eat all of it—she saved a portion separately.

She felt sorry toward her hyung, but too many starving people lived here.

Especially children.

There were so many children wandering here that she couldn’t ignore it.

So Garam always saved food to share with them.

Seo Tae-ju probably knew.

Looking back, she had been painfully obvious.

But he never said anything.

At least, not to Garam.

One day, the starving children began disappearing one by one.

And every time a child disappeared, Seo Tae-ju gave Garam a can of food.

Garam never knew how he got them.

If she had known, she would never have eaten them.

If she had known they were the price of someone’s life.

If she had known the rough-looking men who worked with Seo Tae-ju were human traffickers.

If she had known Seo Tae-ju found her a nuisance.

Would she have avoided being sold to a s*ave dealer that day?

At first, she refused to believe the truth.

That the hyung she trusted with everything had sold her.

But she had to accept it.

She wasn’t the only one who had been sold.

‘I trusted you.’

To the Garam who remembered nothing of her past, Seo Tae-ju had been the only person she thought she could trust.

‘I really trusted you.’

Seo Tae-ju had betrayed her.

Hellish days followed.

The dealer was delighted, saying Garam would fetch a good price.

But Garam could not be happy.

Because she learned what happened to children who were sold.

Then she finally snapped awake.

‘I can’t die here.’

Garam waited for a chance to escape.

And that chance came quickly.

Someone attacked the dealer.

The guard died.

The iron bars opened.

Garam seized the moment and ran with everything she had.

And she escaped.

She was free.

Afterward, she did everything she possibly could to survive.

And she tried her hardest not to trust people.

Trust anyone too much, and one day, you might be betrayed.

So wouldn’t it be easier to trust no one at all?

That’s what she told herself.

‘Right… that’s how it was.’

Garam tore her gaze away from Seo Tae-ju.

Right beside her was a pillar, and she had been standing pressed against the wall.

That must have been why he hadn’t noticed her.

“Could I go out for a moment?”

She asked Jeong Jin-young for permission, and the woman looked at her with concern.

“Are you feeling sick? You’re pale.”

“A little. My stomach hurts. I think I ate too much. I’ll rest a bit. Is that okay?”

“It’s fine. Just don’t go too far.”

“Yes.”

Garam nodded and slipped out, hugging the wall.

She had said “a moment,” but she had no intention of going back to the event.

Once outside, Garam headed around the side of the building.

There was a stone garden with sculptures—quiet and serene.

And, importantly, benches were scattered around.

Garam sat on one and washed her face with her hands before letting out a long sigh.

The sky looked unusually blue today.

She stared at it blankly, trying to empty her thoughts.

She had met Seo Tae-ju again.

So what.

He clearly held an important position in another city now.

There was nothing Garam could do to someone like that.

The best she could do was pretend she hadn’t seen him.

“How annoying.”

She messed up her hair and lowered her head.

She wanted to return to the farm and tend to her crops.

That would calm her.

But that would require telling Jeong Jin-young—and would she really let her leave early?

She wasn’t sure.

As she sat there for a long time, a shadow stretched over her.

Someone had approached from behind.

‘I didn’t even sense anyone…’

Moments like this made her resent awakening as a farmer.

What was the point of being awakened if she couldn’t sense people approaching?

‘Maybe Jin-young came to find me.’

Thinking that, she lifted her head.

But then a voice she had tried desperately to forget echoed into her ears.

“Garam.”

Hearing it made something surge painfully up inside her.

Her hands on her knees trembled.

When she didn’t answer, a hand touched her shoulder.

“Garam.”

He called her name again.

Grinding her teeth, Garam jerked her arm and slapped the hand away.

“Don’t say my name!”

“So it is you.”

The man—Seo Tae-ju—smiled with his eyes.

She felt sick at that smile.

She had no idea what he was thinking approaching her like this.

Her mouth opened, but no words came out.

He spoke again.

“Don’t you recognize me? I’m your Taegu hyung.”

As if she could forget.

It was a nightmare she still couldn’t erase.

Garam glared at him.

“It’s been so long. Can’t you be at least a little happy to see me?”

At last, Garam was able to speak.

“Do you not remember what you did to me at the end?”

“I remember.”

“Then how dare you talk to me?”

“Garam, I couldn’t help it. Things were bad back then.”

And so he sold her to human traffickers?

Garam had been lucky—she ended up as a s*ave.

Those worth nothing were butchered like livestock.

Which meant Seo Tae-ju hadn’t cared whether she lived or died.

“It seems like there’s a misunderstanding. I knew you wouldn’t die. You’re pretty cute, you know. They don’t butcher valuable ones.”

It felt like he was reading her thoughts.

“You awakened too?”

“I awakened long ago. But I’m not a mental-type, so relax. It’s just you. I know because it’s you.”

“You bastard.”

Garam growled, backing away.

“Your mouth’s gotten harsh.”

“Think about what you did!”

“But I fed you for years. Doesn’t that count for something?”

What the hell was he talking about?

He was insane.

Garam felt dizzy.

“Should I apologize? Would that make you feel better?”

Now she was terrified of him.

He was completely unhinged.

“I’m sorry, Garam.”

“Stop.”

“Garam. I’m apologizing.”

“Stop.”

Garam felt nausea rising.

She turned to run—

But her body froze.

Seo Tae-ju had used some kind of trick.

“We’re not done talking.”

He approached her, removing his glove as he neared.

Just as his hand was about to touch her cheek—

Her body suddenly came free.

And someone yanked her backward.

“What are you doing?”

A voice as cold as ice whispered in her ear.

Garam knew that voice too well.

Shaking, she turned her head.

Of course—it was him.

“Jaeheon-ssi…”

It was Lee Jae-heon.

“Lee Jae-heon, is it?”

Seo Tae-ju slipped his glove back on and extended a hand.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Seo Tae-ju, mayor of Hyunmu. Didn’t expect to meet you here. Looks like your raid ended faster than expected.”

He greeted him pleasantly, but Lee Jae-heon had no intention of returning the politeness.

“What were you trying to do?”

Jae-heon asked again.