Legal Disclaimer
This light novel is inspired by the beautiful landscapes and cultures of Bolivia and South Korea. However, the characters, events, and situations portrayed are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, places, or events is purely coincidental. This content does not intend to represent or reflect the historical, social, or cultural reality of either country. The author disclaims any legal liability arising from the interpretation of these elements.
Chapter 94 — The Call of the Land
94.1 A Horrific News
The television hummed in the background of the dining room.
Zayra distractedly stirred her coffee with a silver spoon, still in her short pajamas,
while Ryu scrolled through the digital newspaper on his tablet.
Outside, the Korean summer pressed in with heavy humidity,
but inside that small bubble of luxury, everything was calm.
Until the news anchor's voice shattered that bubble.
"Breaking report: fire has devoured 40% of the protected forests in the Bolivian Amazon.
The government speaks of control; the people speak of disaster."
Zayra looked up.
Her hand stopped mid-stir.
A second later, her phone vibrated.
It was a message from Chief Pablo of the Besoró indigenous community.
< "Zayra, the burning continues and strangers are entering to start new fires.
This is getting out of hand. Please, come.">
The coffee trembled in her hands.
She dialed a number.
Then another.
No one answered.
"What's wrong?"
Ryu asked, setting down his tablet and watching the color drain from Zayra's face.
She took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and handed him the phone without a word. She began to pace the living room, as if movement could soothe her rising anxiety.
Ryu read the message. His eyes didn't show alarm; they showed calculation. "In Korea, no one burns anything without backing," he murmured. "And no one invades without protection."
He looked at her with incredulity. "Zay... are you telling me they are... burning it intentionally? But the news says it's just chaqueo (controlled clearing)."
Zayra spoke in a hollow voice. "In Bolivia, this time of year, it's common to burn to prepare the land. But according to the community chief, strangers are trespassing and igniting the fires."
Ryu frowned. How was it possible for someone to invade and burn without consequences? A heavy silence fell. Ryu lowered his head, reflecting. If that's the case... who is behind this, and why?
Zayra's fingers gripped her phone until her knuckles turned white. Her eyes welled up, but she didn't cry. The decision was already made. She was going back.
Then Ryu, without hesitation, made a decision with the same clarity he used to sign multi-million dollar acquisitions. He stood up and declared: "We're going."
Zayra blinked in surprise. "Ryu... you have pending matters here. I don't want this to affect your work. I can go alone."
Ryu shook his head, looking at her with absolute seriousness. "I'm not asking. We're going."
She looked at him. A spark of tenderness flickered in her sad eyes. "Are you sure?"
Ryu met her gaze with a determination that left no room for doubt. "Completely."
Zayra nodded. This time, she didn't argue. She simply took a deep breath and felt that sacred weight in her chest. The weight of having to fight again. The weight of loving a land so much that, even if it burns you, you cannot let it turn to ash.
94.2 When Silence Screams the Loudest
The rain had not stopped. The lounge smelled of jasmine. Everything remained intact. Zayra tried to stay present, but her mind was still in Bolivia.
Camila had assured her everyone was okay. Her parents were still on the land, cut off from communication by the fires, fighting the flames. She promised they would call as soon as possible. Chief Pedro mentioned that the man arrested in the community had been released for lack of evidence.
Knowing they were alive was a brief relief, but the threat remained—invisible and untouched.
She remained lost in thought until Ryu placed a hand over hers. She snapped back to reality and saw her mother-in-law in front of her.
Clearing her throat, she spoke softly. "Thank you for receiving us, Mrs. Min Seo-Yeon." She gave a precise, measured bow.
"You will always be welcome, Zayra. You are part of this family now," the matriarch replied with her characteristic balance of coldness and courtesy.
Seo-Yeon, sitting upright beside her, barely tilted her chin in a silent but not indifferent greeting. It was the closest thing to a hug that family knew how to give.
The rain was still falling when Zayra said her goodbyes with an impeccable bow. She smiled just enough. But her fingers squeezed the phone that wouldn't turn on. No signal.
Ryu watched her in silence. He had learned to read boardrooms with a single glance, but reading her pain was different. He had always seen her face everything with her chin held high—arguments, challenges, provocations. Never this vacant. That absence unsettled him more than any argument. It was as if she were listening to a fire on the other side of the world.
The car moved through the wide avenues toward the airport. Inside the vehicle, the silence weighed more than any goodbye.
Zayra remained steady, but her eyes were fixed on the window. The lights of Seoul passed by like cold flashes reflected in her pupils. Ryu knew why there was no word from her parents. There were no lines that could cut through the smoke.
Even so, seeing her this way made his chest tighten. He wanted to say something, but at that moment, nothing would help. Her hands were clasped together, clutching the locket around her neck—a small piece of jewelry holding a dried Toborochi flower.
It wasn't just a keepsake. It was her root.
"Any news from your family?" Ryu asked bluntly.
She shook her head. Slowly and with restraint, she swallowed before speaking. "Nothing new since I talked to Camila."
Minutes later. "Zay..." he murmured.
"I'm fine," she cut him off. Her voice was firm, but empty.
He nodded. He didn't believe her. That woman who had faced political meetings, cultural prejudices, and personal doubts... was silent. And that silence was screaming.
On the plane, the hum of the engines seemed to accompany the restlessness sleeping beneath Zayra's closed eyelids. But she wasn't sleeping. She couldn't.
In her mind, the fire advanced. It always advanced. The land burning. And her... so far away.
Zayra pressed the locket against her chest. As if by letting go, she would lose more than a flower: she would lose her home. What if I get there and it's too late?
Ryu noticed her breathing change, just slightly. He didn't know what image was crossing her mind, but he recognized that kind of silence: the one that precedes a loss.
He had discreetly activated two contacts in Seoul to track foreign investments in the area. The preliminary report was baffling: no irregular movement. It was as if someone had learned how to leave no fingerprints.
He looked at the woman who had always resisted... resisting once more.
In his country, when something burned, the system responded. There were protocols and consequences. Zayra had explained that her country had strict environmental laws, but between the paper and the execution, there was a void that many knew how to exploit.
In her world, even with written rules, it was often the people themselves who had to defend what they loved.
He gave a small sigh and reasoned: "I'm not going to let her burn alone."
He slid his hand over hers in silence. Because there were silences that hurt. And others... that held you up.