Chapter 46 - If you die, I won't forgive you

Deep inside the cave, the poisonous purple moss is growing on the walls. The ground is wet. There is the scent of death inside the cave. Just a little ahead, he sees a familiar figure yawning lazily.

"Kyuri?"

She turns around and looks at him. "Li Jun, are we inside the cave?"

"Why are you inside?" He asks her anxiously. "You shouldn't be here."

"I didn't choose to come here." She rubs her eye. "Where are General Yu and the fifth prince?"

"They are outside." He looks behind. "Kyuri, you have to leave this place. The cave is dangerous. The moss growing on the wall is poisonous. If you stay here for too long, you will get poisoned."

She looks at him from the head to the toe. "Are you immortal? If you know that the cave is a bad place, why are you here?"

"You need the time crystal." She is small and thin. She doesn't have enough strength to survive in the cave. "I will bring it out. Wait for me outside."

She jerks his hands off. "Get out of here. I know when I will die. That's why I can be brave. But you? Idiot, don't just walk into death confidently. You aren't god. Leave before I become your widow."

His wife is a stubborn woman. She is worse when she is angry.

"Kyuri." He tells her in a pleading voice, "Trust me. I will bring it."

"Leave." She turns her back to him and walks ahead. He can't leave her alone in this place. He runs to her side.

"Together." He holds her hand. He gives her a peck on her lips. "Or I will drag you outside with me."

She closes her mouth. "If you die, I won't forgive you."

"I won't die at a place like this." He ȧssures her.

Li Jun feels like he is being watched. The cave is alive and listening. He pulls her closer to his side.

"Kang Si An told me that he would accept you." Kyuri entwines her fingers with his. "He doesn't know the whole story. I feel like a bad person."

"You are already married to me." The statement is enough to tell her that she should choose him and let go of Kang Si An. "When we leave this place, let's go somewhere far away. I want to start a new life with you."

The smell of death is getting stronger. Black vines grow on the wall in front of them. Li Jun hears the sound of breathing. There's a low sarcastic laugh. Whatever it is here, it's laughing at them. It's waiting for them.

He admires his wife's courage who hasn't screamed once. She has changed a lot since he met her.

She chins up and says, "If we find the time crystal, we will start a new life."

Another giggle. The vines move on its own to make the path for them. At the end of the path, they find a metal door. Kyuri purses her lips. The vines have completely covered their escape routes. They are trapped.

"Kyuri, we can't turn back now." He guesses her thoughts. "If we resist, the vines will drag us inside."

"Do you regret coming here?" Her lips tremble. She holds back her tears. "It would have been better if we had never met."

"Don't say that." He cups her face. "Kyuri, I have a secret too. Do you want to hear it?"

She nods adorably.

"I dreamt about you before I met you on the battlefield." He tells her with a smile, "After you told me about Kang Si An, I am sure that my dreams were his memories. Because of those memories, I fell in love with you before I met you. This is the reason why I am not afraid. I will meet you again and I will fall in love with you again in my next life. Kang Si An might not remember this life of mine, but the love that he feels for you comes from this life."

She lowers her head. "Don't say words like that."

He rests his chin on her head. "I will never regret meeting you. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have known that I could ever love someone like this. I am glad that you appeared in my life. I am thankful for your ability that brought you to me. You have been wandering to me, but Kang Si An is your final destination, isn't?"

"You came here prepared to die." She punches his ċhėst. "Li Jun, if you die, I will die with you. Get it?"

He just smiles and says nothing. He takes her hand and pushes the door. Bones crack under his boots when he steps inside. Kyuri gasps when she realizes that those are human bones.

"It's carnivorous." She points at the tall purple and black plant in the middle of the room. "Damn it! We have to get out of here."

"It's fine." He doesn't move from the spot despite her pleadings. The door closes behind them on their own. "It's waiting for me."

"What?" She yells at him. Li Jun lets go of her hand and moves toward the plant. The black vines are growing from the bottom of the plant. The leaves are small and sharp as a blade. She runs and blocks Li Jun's path. "Don't go close to it."

Li Jun can feel its calling. "It's waiting for me."

"Li Jun!" She slaps his face. "Snap out of it."

She pulls out his sword. "I will kill this thing before it eats you."

He reaches for her. She jumps forward and stabs it with the sword. A loud inhuman laugh echoes in the cave. The sword begins to disintegrate. She lets go and steps away, afraid. She takes one glance at Li Jun who is moving toward her. His eyes are blank. There is a content smile on his face.

"Take me." She touches the plant. "Let him go. I am going to die anyway. I am also younger than him. My flesh is soft and juicy. You can bloom better flower with my flesh."

It accepts her and begins draining her energy. Li Jun walks forward and pulls her away. She falls on the bones.

She screams, "Please don't do it."

She sees the blood tears drop from his eyes. "I am the chosen timekeeper to erase you from the world?"

The vines envelop his body. His life source is drained right before her eyes. His bones drop to the pile of bones. She goes to his remains and touches his bones with shaking hands. It's still warm. She looks up at the monster. "Why not take me?"

'Because of your existence, many lives have been changed. You have done exceptional work.' She hears it in her mind. 'However, your reason for existence is gone. You are now an anomaly that is no longer needed. You must leave the world of the living when your time comes. Someone else will be born and take your place to right the wrong. Another timekeeper will be chosen to erase that anomaly when the time comes. Don't run. Accept death as it comes. Your next life will be rewarding."

Kyuri thinks about the pregnant future self who met her in the alley. Why did she tell her that getting the time crystal could change her fate? All of her efforts has been leading to Li Jun's death. Her body begins to become transparent. She keeps crying as she reappears in Kang Si An's living room. He wakes up because of the sobbing noise.

Now, she knows why she comes back to him. He's the timekeeper. She is no longer useful. Day of her death is already decided. She is supposed to live her remaining days with him to make the memories that Li Jun cherished in his life.