When he tapped her nose with his finger,
she looked at him in shock and tension. He then stepped away and left the tent.
Yuna sat down, smiling, holding her finger with her hand and swaying her body in a silly way.
Then she snapped back to reality, gathered her smile, and began talking to herself:
"Why… why are you smiling?"
But she smiled again.
She snapped out of it once more and began patting her cheeks.
Outside, there was a rustling sound from afar — as if someone was coming — but it sounded smaller than the footsteps of an adult.
Everyone started looking toward the sound while they were gathered around the fire, talking about their mission.
---
As the strange snorting noise grew louder, Sora tightened her grip on her flashlight. Jin, Mi-van, and the other girl stood close by, their eyes scanning the dark forest.
Suddenly, a large wild boar burst out from the bushes, its tusks gleaming in the moonlight. It charged straight at them.
"Run!" Jin shouted loudly, stepping back.
Everyone turned and started to run, their footsteps pounding on the soft earth.
Yuna came out of the tent and saw everyone running. She didn't understand anything.
Yuna froze in place, her eyes wide with shock. She couldn't move.
The boar was almost on her.
Her eyes filled with tears and terror as she stepped backward while it approached.
Just before it could reach her, Mi-van jumped from the shadows. With a sharp move, he pulled out a knife and struck the boar.
"Aaaaaaaaah!" Yuna screamed.
The boar growled loudly, stumbled backward, then fell silent.
Mi-van looked at Yuna, breathing heavily, his voice deep and serious:
"Are you okay?" he asked sharply.
Yuna was trembling, tears falling from her eyes onto her cheeks.
He came closer and hugged her, saying:
"Don't be afraid. Nothing will happen to you while you're with me."
She gripped the back of his clothes and began to cry.
Sora said angrily to Rosa and Hana:
"Look at how she's acting."
Then she walked up to them, clearly annoyed:
"Why didn't you run?" Sora asked, half-angry, half-worried.
Yuna stepped away from Mi-van and looked at Sora:
"I… I was scared. This is the first time something like this has happened to me," Yuna whispered.
Mi-van placed a firm hand on her shoulder.
Jin said:
"You have to be faster. This island isn't safe. If you hesitate, you could die."
Mi-van looked at him with disapproval for scaring her like that.
Yuna swallowed hard, tears filling her eyes.
Jin smiled softly, trying to lighten the mood:
"Well, at least you're alive. And Mi-van saved you again."
Yuna managed a weak smile, glancing toward Mi-van.
The team slowly walked back toward the tents, the danger still hanging in the night air.
---
Inside the tent, Mi-van was going through his notebook, holding a pen.
She stood behind him and asked:
"Why did you risk your life?"
He didn't answer.
She stepped in front of him and said:
"What if something had happened to you? Don't you think about yourself?"
He looked at her coldly and replied in a serious tone:
"From the moment I agreed to take you as a trainee and bring you onto this island, your life became my responsibility."
She looked at him with disappointment clearly written on her face.
He glanced at her with confusion and thought to himself:
"What's wrong with her?"
Then went back to what he was doing.
She stepped out in front of the tent, looking up at the stars, and said:
"What was I expecting him to say? You're just a trainee, of course he has to protect me. Why am I even angry?"
---
The morning fog curled around the trees like pale smoke. The air was heavier today — not just with heat, but with something unseen. Something wrong.
They had walked for over two hours. The trees seemed to press closer, the jungle thicker than before. Birds didn't chirp. Even the wind was silent.
Mi-van was in the lead with Sora and Jay.
Mi-van said:
"They must have realized we're on the island."
Sora replied:
"Does that mean we need to be extra cautious now?"
Jay nodded in agreement:
"Exactly."
Yuna was walking beside Lima, who was talking to her, but Yuna's eyes were only on Mi-van and Sora.
Suddenly, she said out loud in anger without realizing it:
"Jerk."
Lima looked at her, surprised:
"What?"
Yuna replied, embarrassed:
"Nothing, nothing."
She glanced back at them again, clearly irritated — or maybe just jealous.
Mi-van raised a hand. Everyone stopped.
Jay stepped forward, lowering his voice:
"What's that?"
Mi-van looked toward where Jay was pointing.
They moved closer.
Then they saw it.
A tree ahead — an old banyan — its trunk carved with words. Deep, jagged, angry:
> "Turn back, or be buried here."
The group went completely silent. Even the insects seemed to stop.
Sora touched the carving with her gloved fingers.
"Fresh. Maybe just a few hours old."
Jin scanned the surroundings.
"It means they're watching. Whoever 'they' are."
Mi-van moved his hand to the blade on his belt and said in a deep voice:
"Nobody moves alone from now on. Stay close."
He looked at Yuna, walked toward her, and said:
"Stay by my side."
She whispered in a low voice:
"What's happening?"
He gently patted her shoulder and said:
"Nothing. Just stay close to me."
---
They continued walking, more cautiously now. Every crack of a branch sent shivers up their spines.
Yuna was behind Mi-van while he was seriously discussing something with Sora, Jin, Jay, and Lima.
Her legs were moving, but she didn't feel them. Her eyes were on the path, but she couldn't see.
A vine brushed against her arm — she jumped.
She couldn't take it anymore.
She kept turning around to check behind her. She was terrified.
Eventually, she stopped to catch her breath — and everyone who was behind her had already passed her.
Jin, ahead, didn't notice. Sora didn't turn around.
Only Mi-van noticed. He walked back toward her, frowning.
"Yuna."
She looked up at him, tears welling in her eyes, falling down her cheeks before she could stop them.
"Why am I here?" Her voice cracked.
"Why me? I'm not strong like you. I'm not smart like Sora. I didn't even choose this… I'm tired. I want to go home. I don't want to be afraid anymore."
Mi-van said nothing.
She covered her face, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
He stepped closer. Then again.
And without saying a word, he reached out and pulled her into him.
Her breath caught as her face landed on his chest. She froze — then melted.
He said softly:
"Don't be afraid. As long as you're with me, nothing will happen to you. Don't be afraid."
They continued walking, with her staying by his side.
She held onto his arm tightly, terrified, constantly looking back.
---
At night, everyone was gathered around the fire, eating dinner.
As usual, Yuna was eating the soup Mi-van prepared for her.
Then she leaned toward Jin and asked:
"Who wrote that in the forest?"
Jin looked around, then answered in a deep, serious, quiet voice:
"Mi-van told me not to tell you, but… you deserve to know what's really going on."
Jin looked into the flames, then turned to Yuna and said in a low voice:
"There's something you need to know about Mi-van. Something he didn't want you to hear."
Yuna looked at him, curious and tense.
Jin continued:
"It started in 2016. Girls began disappearing under mysterious circumstances. One by one, they vanished — no traces, no witnesses, no clues. The police investigated for months, but the cases were closed. They called them dead ends."
He took a deep breath.
"In 2017, Mi-van — just 23 years old at the time — joined the force. Then it happened again. Ten girls disappeared in a single day."
Yuna's eyes widened.
"He took it personally. He investigated it by himself. Tracked their phones. But every signal was gone. Like they'd never existed."
Jin leaned closer, lowering his voice further.
"He broke into encrypted systems… hacked through firewalls. Eventually, he discovered the last pings from their phones — all from different nightclubs."
"He went to one of the clubs. They refused to give him the surveillance footage — said he didn't have a warrant. So he hacked into their system."
Yuna's lips parted slightly.
"And guess what? The cameras had all gone dark for 30 minutes. Right before the blackout, a black van appeared. When the cameras came back on, the van was gone."
"He tracked the van. It had headed straight to a port."
Yuna was now completely silent.
"When he went to the port and questioned a worker, the man said he had the day off when the girls disappeared. Something didn't add up. So Mi-van requested the shipping logs. There were 256 ships recorded at the port. But only 243 had confirmed arrival records."
Jin looked into her eyes.
"Yet… the radar showed only 242 arrived. One ship was missing. Or rather… hidden."
Yuna gasped softly.
"Mi-van hacked into their naval system. It took him four months. And he found it. A ship, masked by false signals, anchored near an abandoned island."
Her voice trembled: "And… did he go there?"
Jin nodded.
"Just as he discovered the truth, the ship moved again — heading back toward the country. He waited at the docks, disguised, watching as the passengers disembarked: all men dressed in black. He snuck aboard."
Yuna whispered, "What did he find?"
Jin's voice grew darker: "He found rooms. Women's clothes. Makeup. Brushes. He took a strand of hair from a comb and later compared it to samples from the victims' families."
"It matched."
Yuna brought a hand to her mouth in shock.
"He planted hidden microphones all over the ship — disguised as stickers, invisible to detection. Two months later, he heard the plan: another departure in one month."
"He informed the chief. The chief told him not to tell anyone — even us. Then, a week before the ship's next trip, we were sent here under the cover of a 'training mission.'"
Jin looked into her eyes, serious and quiet.
"And Mi-van? He's not just here for training, Yuna. He's here to finish what he started. And bring them down."
Yuna whispered, her voice shaken: "He… never told me."
Jin gave her a sad smile.
"He never would. Because to him… protecting you means keeping you far away from that truth."
She looked down, heart pounding
-