He dreamt it.

  He dreamt of disappearing into thick smoke while walking somewhere uncertain. He passed the same big boulder multiple times when he suddenly saw a cliff. In front of him appeared a very big staircase made of logs. The staircase only went halfway down the cliff but, there was a hut built at the end of it.

  It looked just like the hunter’s past shelter rest areas of his father. On one side there were tigers and on the other, there was a family.

  Jaehwang walked down the staircase without even thinking. No one was calling him but he unintendedly followed to where the dream would lead him. The stairs felt like they’ve gone on forever by the time he reached the end of them.

  He then heard a voice when he arrived at the end.

  “We are left here to do the work for our descendants.”


  Said a man with a high-pitched voice that looks to be in his 40s.

  “I know.”


  One replied with a hoarse voice.

  “The last of the family’s descendant. Now…… We need to make an escape out of this tiresome place.”


  “Yeah but we can’t get away from that monster. It’s been hundreds of years but it’s still so powerful.”


  “The world has changed. Soon we won’t need to carry everything on our shoulders.”


  “That’s not enough for the monster.”


  “Sanjo…… if we keep going like this, then it’ll all be over soon. Our fate is here, we just have to block the roads ahead of our descendants. It’s not a bad thing! How long do we have to be controlled by this monster!”


  The two guys talked to each other. He didn’t understand what they were talking about but he listened to every word they said carefully.

  ‘Trapped?…… Does that mean, they are my ancestors?’


  His family…… They were locked up in the middle of a remote village like this. They knew that they once had a great history thanks to the tales of his deceased father.

  “It’s great.”


  A man with a clear voice suddenly joined the conversation.

  “Tell us the story. It’s a good one.”


  “The one about the village and your kids……”


  He eventually couldn’t hear their voices anymore. He wanted to walk closer but he could no longer move. He asked himself how much time has already passed. He wanted the thick fog to surround him and change where he’s standing.

  “Ah……”


  Jaehwang sat down and leaned back as he just watched their mouths move.

  One of them looked like they’ve lived a lonely life and one of them were wearing fancy clothes. One looked like a deceased mother in a horsehair-woven headband and a red hanbok. But the one that caught his attention the most was the one sitting on the side. His head, shoulders, and arms were covered with armor.

  He stood there like his father. He could already see that he was an amazing tiger hunter during the Joseon Dynasty period.

  “Ieaya.”


  “Yeah?”


  He calls to the one wearing the fancy clothes. Jaehwang then unknowingly fell to his knees trying to get a bit closer to hear what they were saying.

  His heart felt solemn as if he was being pulled.

  “I want to talk with you but we have a lot of work to do and we can’t waste anymore time. Let’s finish this and try to take back our freedom. We could maybe do it sooner but our situation has become harder. But after we finish this, we would be forgiven.”


  She then disappeared as soon as he finished speaking without saying anything.

  “Hey! We’re almost free. Our family will be able to stand tall again!”


  The amazing tiger hunter then disappeared along with the girl in fancy clothes.

  “I’m sorry. The family is stuck in a debt that has been passed down for years and now we’re stuck here trying to fix it. But now is the time to put a stop to it, it’s time to bring back the family name.”


  “Ieaya, I have one more favor to ask of you. After you’re done here, the star of your destiny will take you back to our hometown. We’ll be left to finish up the debt, someone will show you the way.”


  Paat……

  He disappeared after saying that and so does the mother in the Hanbok.

  Jaehwang looked around and was surprised by what he saw. He thought that there were only three but there are actually hundreds of them here. They were all wearing formal attire and their ages…… he didn’t know but the group looked like they shared the same age.

  “This is the last of our debt.”


  He looked at them and saw their eyes darken by sadness yet glimmering in hope. Another guy then showed up who didn’t look as old as the others, his eyes were different from the them. There he walked and stood beside Jaehwang.

  Not knowing when it would all end, they were filled with sadness but also love.

  Jaehwang didn’t have any thoughts going through his head as he just stared at them blankly.

  As much as he would like to talk with his ancestors, he couldn’t think of anything to say.

  “Son.”


  “Dad……”


  He knew that it was only a dream but tears instantly started to well up in Jaehwang’s eyes. The tears began to fall as he wiped them over and over again. He didn’t want to miss a single second of seeing his father.

  “Dad?……”


  “Appa (Father)……”


  His dad liked it when he would always call him appa (father) even though he started to call him dad as he got older. He did have one more daughter and she called him that. Now that Jaehwang and his father had met again, he was very ashamed of what happened to the family and was scared of what could come next.

  “Let’s hug one more time, son.”


  His dad opened his arms wide and hugged Jaehwang. He felt happy that he was able to feel his father’s warmth once again. He then heard a voice of someone he wished for from behind.

  “My son……”


  A pure and caring voice echoed from behind him. Jaehwang turned around to see who it was. There stood a person with a height that only reached his shoulders. The moment he turned around, tears had begun to well up in his eyes again.

  “Mom.”


  “Son, you just don’t stop growing, do you? Haha.”


  She soon let go after they hugged but Jaehwang didn’t want to move his arms away.

  “No! No! Don’t let go. Don’t go! Please don’t go! Just stay here, please……”


  Jaehwang started to cry as their memories from before came rushing to his head.

  He didn’t care that it was just a dream. He had been swept into this tragedy and he knew that he had already suffered enough. There were so many things that he wanted to say…… He never even got to say goodbye.

  “I know, son…… Your dad and I both know.”


  “No…… You don’t know. You don’t know anything…… You don’t know how much I’ve missed you both……”


  “Don’t worry, we know……”


  Patpat

  She lightly pats his back as he cried and talked.

  “.……I’m sorry. I have nothing to show you both…… Nothing……”


  His mother then pulled away and laughed.

  “How do you not have anything to show us?”


  “We’re here with you and we’re so happy.”


  “You’re here with us and that’s all that we could ever ask for.”


  “Mom…… Dad……”


  Everything was just how he wished it would be. He was happy that he finally got to see them again.

  He hugged his father again and he felt that all of his stress and worries melting away. He felt healed and cried again. He kept himself inside the cabin to protect himself from strangers but he decided to forget it all and change how he feels about himself even though he understood that it won’t be easy.

  “Son……”


  “Yes, dad?……”


  “Be strong. You’ll get hurt but…… You can do it, we believe in you.”


  “Your mom and I will be going now……”


  Jaehwang didn’t let go. He thought to himself that it would be okay even if he dies now, at least they could be together again…… then they would be able to talk more.

  “You have to be strong! We are always watching you! Everyone is cheering for you!”


  “Us both and your ancestors will give you strength and If you still can’t do it, that would be okay. But you and us all will have to pay for that later. You are next in line, be proud of the name you carry now, we have now come together to cheer you on…… Okay?! We’re watching.”


  “..Wait”


  Before answering him, they both suddenly disappeared and reappeared along with the rest of their family down in the cabin area. They looked towards Jaehwang with tears welling up in their eyes. One of them soon slowly reached out their hand and walked towards him. They surrounded him as they reached out to him. Jaehwang responded with a warm smile.

  “Mom……Dad……”


  He realized that now was the time to go. He didn’t want to leave but he knew now that his parents would never be far away from him.

  “You can do it, son.”


  “We love you.”


  Jaehwang let out a bright smile like a child as he waved and said his goodbyes. He told them that he will keep pushing forward and said everything he wished he could have told them before……

  “I love you. I love you…… I love you.”


  “We love you too, son. Forever.”


  A Wound 2, The end.