Chapter 19: Where the answers begin
Eun-woo walked quietly around the house until he reached a clearing where the grass thinned out, revealing a patch of damp, dark soil. The fog wasn’t as thick as it had been in previous days, allowing him to better see the twisted trees surrounding the place and the grass and bushes sticking out of the ground.
He knelt beside a line of small insects moving slowly across the ground. They were tiny, about the size of a marble, bright red, and carried a kind of leaf on their bodies that seemed part of their anatomy. The leaf pulsed faintly, as if it were breathing.
Eun-woo watched the insects with curiosity, fascinated by their orderly way of moving and the way their small legs sank into the wet mud.
He knew he needed to talk to Rhys. He could no longer carry the weight of unanswered questions, doubts, and the tension that kept them both in limbo. He had to face it.
And then, as if his thought had been heard, Rhys appeared at his side.
Rhys didn’t say anything. He just stood there, avoiding Eun-woo’s gaze.
Eun-woo felt his throat close. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know whether to look at Rhys, reproach him, or remain silent. So he looked away at the insects and reached out to touch one.
As soon as he did, a sharp sting pierced his finger. The insect had quickly latched onto his skin and began sucking his blood with a thin, almost imperceptible structure that emerged from beneath the blade.
Rhys immediately knelt beside him and, firm yet gentle, pulled the insect from his finger. He tossed it away as blood began to drip from his finger.
"They’re not doing anything wrong," Eun-woo said, finally looking at him.
"They’re sucking your blood."