Kisa was transfixed for a second and then said with an awkward expression, "Why are you talking about that all of a sudden? You can quit if you like. I don't care, and I don't want to care."Gilbert suddenly stopped talking and just smoked in silence. Smoke lingered around, and the side of his face looked a little sad.Kisa wrung her fingers and said softly, "Smoking too much is not good. It is bad for your health and the people around you. If you can quit, then quit it. It is also for your own good."Gilbert just smiled and said nothing. Kisa pursed her lips and accompanied him in silence. She felt like he took forever to smoke this cigarette, especially in this silent atmosphere. After a long while, he finally finished the cigarette and tossed the cigarette butt into the fire with the flick of his fingers. He then put his hands on his knees, looking worried, as if something was on his mind. Kisa felt he was not in a good mood, so she kept quiet.Gilbert kept his head low in silen
Gilbert could not help but chuckle. "How do I get up there? Step on your shoulders?""I...""I could crush your shoulders if I step on them. Besides, are you sure you can stand up, carrying me on your shoulders?"What he said left Kisa speechless. She knew now that she could never bear the weight of a man like him. But what he just said panicked her, and she was not sure if she could pull him up once she was up there. Regardless of how many grudges they had between them, it was absolutely impossible for her to leave him alone in this cave at this moment."Gilbert, is there another way to get up there, preferably a way we can go up together?""No, this is the only way." Gilbert looked at her with a serious look in his eyes, and when he saw her worried face and hesitation, he could not help but laugh. "Are you so afraid that I won't be able to go up there and you will miss me?""Yes." Kisa nodded without hesitation.Gilbert was moved, and he could not help but draw her into his ar
Perhaps because of stepping on another fellow human, Kisa felt sorry and almost went weak at the knees, as if she would fall at any time.Gilbert held her ankles and said to her, "Don't stand up yet. After I get to my feet, you can stand up slowly. This way, you won't fall easily."Kisa nodded subconsciously, then uttered an acknowledgment when she realized he could not see her. Gilbert slowly rose to his feet. Still gripping her ankles, he got up slowly and steadily. Kisa looked at his thick hair; somehow, her eyes welled up, and she felt a lump in her throat.She took a deep breath and said to him again, "Don't you lie to me, Gilbert. You can definitely go up there too, right?""Yeah, as long as you are up there, I will have a chance to get up there, too.""Are there really vines around here?""Yeah.""You really saw it?""Yeah.""You're lying to me?""I'm not."Kisa pursed her lips and believed him for the time being. She thought he was right; this was the only way they c
"Because I lied. There are no vines around here at all."Kisa stiffened in place. She shook her head stiffly and giggled. "Stop kidding. You just clearly said you didn't lie to me.""But I really lied to you." Gilbert stood on the stone and looked up at her expressionlessly. He did not look like he was joking. Kisa's heart sank, and she kept shaking her head. "What do you mean? You said you would come up, and there were vines around here. You said you wouldn't lie to me. Gilbert, why are you always like this? You never keep your word. I really hate you. I hate you so much." Kisa's eyes reddened, her voice choked with grief and aggrievement.Gilbert quietly looked at her sad face and suddenly chuckled. "If I didn't lie to you, would you be willing to get up there? Weren't you afraid I would die here and couldn't take you out of here? Now you are out of this cave. Follow the direction where you rolled down earlier, and you can find the way back. So, you shouldn't be crying. You should
"When we return, we will investigate and find the perpetrator together. The main thing now is to bring you up." Kisa stood up. "I will follow the direction from where I fell. If I see vines, I will come back for you. If I don't see any, I will speed up to get help.""Listen to me—go now and don't look for any vines," Gilbert spoke in a low voice, sounding sad and powerless as if he had suddenly lost any hope.Kisa frowned at him. "Why, Gilbert? Don't you want to come up?""I do, but... Even if I go up, I won't survive. So, don't waste your energy. Go back by yourself." The headache was getting increasingly intense. His body was getting sorer and weaker. Gilbert even had difficulty speaking. He almost exhausted all his strength when he helped her escape the cave. Mustering all his remaining strength, he looked up at Kisa just to see her for one last time. He saw her eyes wide open, her pale face, her lips shivering as she repeatedly shook her head as if she could not believe somethin
Kisa went to the huge tree and clenched a bundle of vines. The tree trunk was so thick even an adult could not wrap his hands around it. The countless vines, growing from the branches to the treetop, stacking on top of each other, were strong and sturdy.Kisa tried hard to pull the vines off the tree until they hurt her hands, but none were torn off. Satisfied with the sturdiness of the strong vines, which could carry a lot of weight, Kisa grabbed the vines tighter and started to climb up the tree with the help of the vines.The vines on the upper part of the tree were less thick than the ones at the bottom.After climbing up toward those vines, Kisa balanced herself, clenching onto the vines single-handedly while stepping on them. She grabbed a bunch of ten vines with her other hand and started biting on them. Biting off the vines, one at a time, Kisa slowly unraveled them from the tree. Finishing the task, she free-falls into the thick and soft snow underneath her, exhausted, crea
Gilbert's body felt so cold that Kisa flustered after feeling his body temperature. She grabbed Gilbert's hand and said, trembling, "Gilbert, wake up. I found the vines. I'll get you out of here now. You're going to be just fine. Can you open your eyes and look at me? I beg you, Gilbert, please open your eyes."Kisa kept talking to Gilbert, but he would not wake up. Still panicking, she wiped her tears off and said in a determined yet choked voice, "You're not going to die. I haven't gotten you back for how you treated me previously. It's unfair to me if you die like this. Gilbert, I'm not going to let you die. I'm going to save you no matter what."As she said that, she grabbed the rope on the ground hurriedly, tied the rope around Gilbert three times, and ascended out of the cave. Climbing up the rope was harder than descending as Kisa's arms were swollen and numb, feeling a burning sensation in her palms. Kisa took her time to climb out of the cave, grabbing the rope and trying to
Afraid that it was just her hallucination, Kisa did not even dare to blink. "Gilbert..." She called out to Gilbert in a trembling voice, sounding weak and listless as if she would pass out anytime. Finally, Gilbert slowly opened his eyes, which got Kisa so agitated she almost stopped breathing."Y-You're awake?" She cried with happy tears, and her messy face looked a little hilarious though Gilbert thought she looked very beautiful in that way. He arduously lifted his hand and touched Kisa's choppy hair that was dampened by the snow, saying softly, "You really got me out of there."Kisa nodded hard, "I'm pretty impressive, huh?" Her lips were cracked and colorless, matching her pale, ghastly face as she smiled. Gilbert's heart broke at the sight of her chapped lips. He mumbled, "Yes. You're the best."A joyous smile appeared on Kisa's face as she snuggled into his arms weakly, not feeling like moving at all. Gilbert held her tight in his arms but hastily lifted and looked straight a