“Someday you’ll leave Muritmaegol too.”
“Why? I could live here all my life.”
“Just like when you came here with your mother a year ago, you’ll leave for somewhere soon. It must have something to do with the reason you’re hiding your identity.”
It was more of a certainty than a question.
“I heard from the elder. Your mother asked for a travel pass.”
“Ah.”
“When is it?”
“…”
“When are you leaving me?”
He asked with tranquil eyes. The travel pass had been seen, so lying was out of the question, and revealing it later would only lead to disappointment. Better to be honest now.
“I’m not sure yet. I should leave before the weather gets cold.”
She hadn’t planned on saying goodbye to the young master separately. Not just to him. She was determined to leave Muritmaegol without a word to anyone she had made memories with, even briefly. But she was found out by the young master, a son of a powerful family.

“So you don’t know when?”
“Yes.”
“Then don’t forget about me when you leave.”
He said something unexpected and laughed. They were still holding hands. It was the first time someone had said something so embarrassing to her, and she was slow to respond.
“But as time passes, you will naturally forget. What can I do to ensure you remember me for a long time?”
He began to ponder seriously. Even if they had spent a lot of time together, wouldn’t they easily forget once out of sight? He then let go of her hand and started walking up the riverbank toward the pine forest she had never visited while living in Muritmaegol. It was an unfamiliar forest, and she didn’t know how far they had drifted, but she could see the thatched roofs on the far hills, so the way back wouldn’t be difficult.

“The way to remember. I know.”
She spoke without thinking.
“Can I give you a name before I leave?”
His expression vanished momentarily. It wasn’t a radical idea, but he stood still as if he had heard something completely unexpected.
His eyes were cold. She hadn’t anticipated such a reaction.
‘Will he dislike it?’
Would he be offended that someone of uncertain status like her, a wanderer who had lost her father and disguised herself as a man, dared to suggest such a thing?

“It’s not about having a ‘young master’ title without a name, but if you had a name, our relationship would feel more solid.”
Seeing no change in his expression even after her justification, it was difficult to tell whether the young master’s attitude was cold or hot. She had never seen such a piercing gaze, yet it was cold, and there seemed to be a dark heat lurking about to burst forth.

“Young master.”
“I had a name.”
“Really? What is it?”
“I’ve forgotten.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
Was it a metaphor for having lived in seclusion for so long that no one called him by his name anymore?

He avoided her gaze and any detailed answer. The moist wind scattered a warm sensation on her cheeks and disappeared. The sweat had cooled, and a slightly damp river breeze lingered on her sticky skin.

The shadows of the mottled leaves on the young master’s face distorted and scattered with the wind.
“I have lived believing that the young master had no name.”
“That’s right.”
First, he said he had a name, now this enigmatic statement.
As she nudged the tip of his shoe and urged him on, he moved his lips expressionlessly.
“Now it’s as if I have no name, so Beodeul, you give me one.”
If only the name she called him was Hong Sahye, it would have been better.

It was ironic. Just as he wanted to remain in her memory, she also hoped to occupy a corner of his memory for a long time.

Her mother’s admonition not to take anything with her to the afterlife lingered sorrowfully. It soothed her foolish desire to pick up and take more of his belongings.
In front of her one and only opportunity, she pondered for a long time amidst the faint fishy smell and the bitter scent of grass, inadvertently tilting her head back to see the white clouds floating in the vast sky.
“Unhyeok.”
“Unhyeok?”
“’Un’ is taken from the word for cloud, and ‘Hyeok’ is a common name for boys. There’s no grand meaning… It’s just that I hope the young master gets healthier and freer than now.”
Could that be all? Like clouds trailing at the end of the wind, it was her unexpressed innermost wish that wherever she went, she hoped a part of him would always remain in the corner of her heart.