A Forest flowing with Milk and Honey - Chapter 8.1

When the police called by Do-hoon and Hae-yeon arrived, the situation had already settled. Yoon-seok and Mi-jung were found as charred corpses, and those who had been possessed by the ghost had no recollection of the events following Yoon-seok killing Mi-jung.

Do-hoon and Hae-yeon insisted that the people may have been drugged and demanded drug tests. However, the results came back clean, with no substances found. With no further evidence and no significant injuries apart from minor ones, their claims lacked strong support. The case was ultimately closed with the conclusion that Yoon-seok had killed Mi-jung before committing suicide.

Woo-rim left the mansion and moved into a penthouse apartment. Kim the butler and Hae-yeon helped with household chores, while Do-hoon joined as part of the security team, but they no longer surrounded her with as many people as before.

“I thought my instincts were sharp, but they were useless,” Woo-rim reflected, noticing a small scar on her palm. Tae-oh, on the other hand, constantly blamed himself for arriving later than the police that day. Even though everyone assured him it was inevitable given his location, it didn’t ease his guilt.

Yet Woo-rim believed Tae-oh’s instincts were, in fact, remarkably sharp—he always seemed to know when she was in danger, almost as if he had a sixth sense.
On the day Tae-oh couldn’t reach her in time, it was because Woo-rim hadn’t truly been in danger. She realized that the moment Tae-oh had reduced the number of petals to one, she had become safe.
Whenever Woo-rim faced true peril, Tae-oh always found her.

13 years ago.

It was the story of how Tae-oh saved Woo-rim after she had been kidnapped.
‘A high school student?’
‘Yes, he’s considered untouchable, even by the older students at his school…….’

The secretary, who was relaying information to Chairman Baek about Tae-oh, hesitated briefly, struggling with how to characterize such an unusual individual.

Tae-oh was far from ordinary. At a school split between diligent students and troublemakers, Tae-oh was not only an exceptional fighter, respected and feared, but also incredibly intelligent, maintaining the top academic rank since his freshman year.

He wasn’t a typical delinquent, nor a model student, but his abilities were exceptional. Yet, there was a shadow over his past that raised concerns.

Among the information the secretary gathered, Tae-oh’s parents’ mysterious deaths stood out, with suspicions surrounding his behavior on that day.

Chairman Baek scowled as he absorbed this strange history.

‘There were even whispers that Kim Jin-tae intended to groom him as his right-hand man.’
‘Jin-tae? That’s the bastard who kidnapped our Woo-rim!’

The secretary quickly clarified that while Tae-oh had been associated with Jin-tae, he had ultimately betrayed him to rescue Woo-rim, complicating the situation further.
‘There’s nothing straightforward about this boy from start to finish…….’

Suddenly, Chairman Baek recalled something from long ago.

‘He has a strange aura,’ a shaman had once remarked about Woo-rim at birth. ‘This child is marked by strong and fiery energy. She will draw all sorts of influences to her, both good and bad. But amidst the chaos, there will be a tiger—a protective figure, her noble one.’
At the time, those words had troubled Chairman Baek, prompting him to give Woo-rim her name: Woo, meaning “to meet,” and Rim, meaning “forest”—a place where she would encounter her destined protector.

Now, as these memories resurfaced, Chairman Baek examined Tae-oh’s school photo. Unlike typical awkward graduation photos, Tae-oh’s was striking. His expressionless face and piercing, emotionless eyes gave him a cold, eerie presence. His handsome features added an unsettling depth, making him appear as if he were staring out from a dark, murky swamp.

Chairman Baek wondered whether this boy was the tiger destined to protect Woo-rim or another kind of lurking danger.

‘Fortunately, the surgery went well, and his recovery has been remarkable for someone his age,’ the secretary added.

‘I’ll need to see him myself.’

Chairman Baek decided to visit Tae-oh at the hospital. Upon arriving, he saw that Woo-rim had already come to visit, offering Tae-oh juice. Her voice drifted through the slightly open door, while the bodyguards outside bowed respectfully at Chairman Baek’s arrival.

“What happened?”

Chairman Baek gave a questioning look to his secretary, clearly wondering why Woo-rim was there. The secretary looked flustered, as he too didn’t know. Quickly, he signaled to the bodyguards.

“She insisted on visiting him…”
After the recent traumatic incident, Woo-rim had been feeling unwell and fragile. Even so, the doctors had determined that she wasn’t suffering from severe psychological trauma. Rather than hiding at home in her sadness, Woo-rim had repeatedly asked to see Tae-oh. Eventually, the bodyguards, unable to resist her persistent requests, brought her to the hospital.
Chairman Baek quietly observed the scene in the hospital room.

“I don’t want it.”
Tae-oh avoided the jelly Woo-rim was trying to offer, looking disinterested. In truth, it wasn’t that he didn’t want it—he couldn’t eat due to the gunshot wound in his stomach. But Woo-rim, unaware of this, kept cheerfully trying to convince him how delicious the jelly was.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in school?” Tae-oh asked.

“You’re not in school either, oppa.”
“…Just go home.”

Tae-oh sighed, clearly annoyed.
Woo-rim, pretending not to hear his dismissal, sat on the guest bed, eating the jelly herself.
“I’m sleepy.”

Woo-rim, trying to come up with a reason to stay longer, laid down on the bed. Tae-oh sighed like an old man, looking past her toward the window.
Chairman Baek, observing from the doorway, raised an eyebrow. His face showed no discomfort, but inwardly, he was taken aback.

Woo-rim had always been a gentle child, but seeing her persistently trying to connect with Tae-oh, despite his coldness, was surprising. It was the first time Chairman Baek had seen anyone reject Woo-rim’s kindness so directly, and even more surprising was her refusal to back down.
Tae-oh shot a look that seemed to say, Take her away, but seeing that his displeasure wasn’t going to change anything, he frowned. Even though Tae-oh had clearly been through a lot, he wasn’t intimidated by anyone.

Chairman Baek realized that Tae-oh was indeed an extraordinary young man.

After Tae-oh’s recovery, Chairman Baek decided to offer him financial support and made sure Kim Jin-tae was permanently dealt with. As part of the arrangement, Tae-oh was to live in Chairman Baek’s household.

No one was more excited about Tae-oh moving in than Woo-rim.

Nine years passed. Woo-rim was now 20, and Tae-oh had turned 27.

By that time, Chairman Baek had been observing Tae-oh for nearly a decade and had made up his mind about him.
But it was one particular incident that solidified Chairman Baek’s decision.

“Mr. Kim! I’ll be right back, I’m just going to step outside for a minute.”

“Where are you going alone?”

“Just to the garden! It’ll only take a second.”
Upon hearing that Tae-oh had returned from the U.S., Woo-rim became excited. Though they hadn’t been apart for long, as their overseas stays had overlapped, she still wanted to surprise him and welcome him back.

“Of course, I need to write a letter too!”
Woo-rim crouched down, retrieving a hidden shoebox, and began writing a letter.
Just then, a spark from the ashtray at the entrance of the shed dropped onto the dry autumn leaves, causing the flames to rapidly grow.
Smelling the fire, Woo-rim quickly stood up and rushed to the entrance.

“The door…”

Flames were already creeping through the large wooden door blocking the exit, causing Woo-rim to step back hesitantly.

Five minutes before the fire.
Tae-oh was in the middle of a conversation with Chairman Baek.

“Now that you’ve graduated, join the company. You’ll start in the management support department. After a year or so, I want you to take over.”

Chairman Baek was practically announcing Tae-oh as his successor, promising a rapid promotion to head of the management support division.

Tae-oh understood perfectly, but instead of responding, his attention was elsewhere.
Outside, something seemed amiss. Like a hound catching a scent, Tae-oh’s face twisted, and he stood up abruptly.

“Something urgent has come up, I need to go.”
Without waiting for Chairman Baek’s response, Tae-oh rushed out.

“What on earth…?” Chairman Baek was too stunned to be angry. He knew Tae-oh had no real aspirations outside of what was offered to him, so what could possibly be more important than this moment?

Just then, the secretary burst into the room, yelling, “Chairman! There’s a fire!”
The vision of Tae-oh rushing out replayed in Chairman Baek’s mind.

Outside, Tae-oh ran toward the commotion, his eyes filled with a sharp, fierce determination.
“Please, not again…”

Woo-rim, who always seemed to be at the center of accidents, was nowhere to be seen. Tae-oh’s instincts told him Woo-rim was in the fire, and he bolted toward the rising smoke.
“Baek Woo-rim!”

Peering through the shed window, Tae-oh spotted Woo-rim hesitating near the burning door. His heart raced with fear, almost as if anger fueled it.

“Don’t touch anything! Get over here, NOW!”
The sight of Woo-rim standing so close to the flames filled Tae-oh with a rage-laced terror, and he yelled louder than he ever had.