He even redrew my eyebrows with expert precision. Watching him work so skilfully, I realised how often he must have been on the run, disguising himself to avoid capture. 

“You’re taking me with you?”

I asked, still trying to process the sudden turn of events. Startled by my question, he replied firmly,

“What, you want to stay here and get arrested?” 

“What about Grandma?”

“There’s no notice for her, is there? She’s an old, sick woman – they wouldn’t gain anything by arresting her.” 

My heart raced wildly. A wanted person? A fugitive? It was a situation I could never have imagined in my life. It wasn’t enough that Jae-yeol was already on the run—now I was about to become a fugitive too. 

No matter what, we had to leave Chungmu today and head to Busan. My mind was spinning. Would I end up being sent to America too? No, I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. There was no way I could leave my grandmother behind. 

Aunt Myungju stayed calm as she helped us prepare, even slipping some money into my hands for travel expenses. 

“Auntie, you don’t have to—” 

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll need money to stay hidden.” 

My stomach twisted at the thought of my emergency savings, now scattered and lost in the sea. If I still had that money, I wouldn’t feel this anxious. 

Looking at our reflections in the mirror, we truly did resemble a comical countryside couple. With my belly padded to appear pregnant, I was startled by my own image. It felt unfamiliar, yet strangely, my unease began to dissipate.

As absurd as it was, having Woo-jin by my side brought me a sense of reassurance. How foolish of me.

Quietly, we slipped out of Aunt Myungju’s house and took a taxi on the main road. As we bumped along the hilly roads towards the intercity bus station, the sight of the sea, where I used to scuba dive, tugged at my heart.

Would I ever be able to return to this ocean again? Surely, this couldn’t be the last time I’d see Chungmu.

When we arrived at the intercity bus station, it was already bustling with people leaving for various destinations in the early morning. Instead of buying tickets for Busan, Woo-jin bought tickets for Jinju first. Jinju had buses to many places in Gyeongsangnam-do.

To avoid drawing attention, I pulled my headscarf lower, partially covering my face.

“Ma’am!”

The sudden call made my heart feel like it had dropped.

“Y-yes?”

Startled, I turned around to see an older man rising from a wooden bench and gesturing toward me.

“Come sit here.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine. Really, I’m alright.”

“Ah, come on. You’re carrying a heavy burden—you should rest here for a bit.”

His gentle persistence left me flustered.

Ugh! The situation was unbearably nerve-wracking. Yet, to anyone looking at me, I appeared to be a pregnant woman. So…

“Ah, yes… thank you.”

I said hesitantly, feeling like I had no choice but to sit. The tension made my neck uncomfortably warm.

Buses from Chungmu to Jinju ran fairly often, but as I waited, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that someone might recognize me.

As soon as the bus arrived, I hurried on board and made my way to a corner seat at the back. Woo-jin sat on the aisle side, acting as a shield from the prying eyes of others.

The bus wouldn’t leave until all the seats were filled. Hurry up… just leave already. Time seemed to drag on endlessly, each moment feeling unbearably slow.

My heart was pounding so hard I couldn’t bring myself to lift my head. How do people live with guilt? I haven’t done anything wrong, yet here I am, terrified.

And it happened. A strange feeling swept over me, so I immediately turned to look out the window. There they were—Agwi and his men, stepping out of a car that had come to a sudden, noisy stop.

I gasped, holding my breath in shock. Sensing my reaction, Woo-jin quickly leaned over and pressed my head down.

It was clear that Agwi suspected that we had fled to the intercity bus station. I sank deeper into my seat, desperately trying to blend into the upholstery.

Like a magnet drawn to steel, Agwi somehow ended up right by the window beneath our seat. 

“What about over there? Did you check the bus going to Masan?” 

His voice echoed from directly below us and my heart felt like it was about to burst. The fear was overwhelming and it felt like we could be caught at any moment. 

Then, I heard Agwi’s deep voice softly call my name.

“…Kim Soon-young….”

I nearly screamed. The memory of his gaze at the shop flashed through my mind—those grotesque, bloodshot eyes, terrifying and unrelenting. It felt like he could turn his head at any moment and spot me. 

At that instant, Woo-jin reached for my hand. Startled, I looked up at him, and our eyes met. His gaze, deep as the ocean, held countless unspoken emotions, grounding me amidst my panic. 

…What should we do? 

I clung to him desperately, tears streaming down my face. 

‘Please, save me.’ 

The fear was unbearable, suffocating me completely.

He held my hand tightly as if to reassure me, silently promising that Agwi would never catch me. Finally, with a sharp hiss, the bus began to move. I sat frozen in my seat, my whole body tense and unyielding. Slowly, the sight of Agwi smoking in the distance faded. 

We switched buses three times on our way to Busan, and throughout it all, I couldn’t bring myself to let go of his hand. 

***

Busan was vast. Its mountains and sea were completely different from those in Chungmu. While Chungmu was gently cradled by clusters of overlapping islands, Busan’s ocean stretched out endlessly, meeting a wide, open silver horizon. 

The mountains here were steep and rugged, making Chungmu’s hills seem like nothing more than gentle slopes in comparison.