5. Meeting a certain someone

"This is him, Dae Hyun Joon!"

Seeing my favourite character standing before me my stomach flattered as I smiled through the green blood smudged on my face, making my face look more like a psychopath.

"Describe your existence in summary before I chop off your head."

He drove his sword closer to my face. The tip was glazing as I stared at it while taking a big gulp down my throat- as expected from a 'Kumdo'- Korean swordsman. 

"W-well, sir...I escaped from the eastern border. I'm a human."

I stuttered from anxiety, after seeing his cold alluring face up close. My small secret- I'm weak towards handsome faces.

"You escaped from...there?" He slowly withdrew his sword and stared at me with a frown, and his silky black bangs brushed against his brows. 

After hesitating for a moment, he cleared his throat while inserting his sword inside the sheath wrapped around his waist.

"Can you stand?" His voice switched from harsh to gentle.

"Yes." 

After standing up on my legs, I tried to wipe the slimy liquid from my face and glanced around to see the silent bodies of the ogres laying on the ground.

"Stop that and Follow me! We have water with us." He said as he turned his back towards me to get to his domain. I couldn't believe this strong person died in episode 6 only because of a betrayal.

"The regal one escaped," I said with a low voice as we crossed through the bushes, pushing away the spiky leaves one by one.

"So you're aware of them. Regals aren't something you can take down alone. They're ten times stronger than the normal ones. You're lucky that one left you in their hands." My eyes kept wandering to his wide back.

He was a professional swords master. Because of his training in the military, he's quite knowledgeable about survival. I'm glad I chose to meet him first. 

"Have you ever heard of the Grif-" Before I could finish asking, the sound of fire crackling came to my ear.

"Oh! We're here," He said as he leaned out of the bush and made a path for me.

"Hey, did you fi- Ah! Who's the new girl?" Asked the man in front of the fireside with his curled brown hair. His grin under the orange light of the fire reminded me of the person I needed to be wary of- Benjamin.

He is the person who betrayed Joon in the original novel. I glanced around to check where the other three were.

"Hi!" I grinned at Benjamin and turned towards Joon, who was busy collecting dry leaves.

"I forgot to say thank you for saving me."

"Leave it. You didn't look like someone who's polite." He threw a jar filled with water at me and continued doing his work with an unaffected expression.

"Tch! Was I that obvious?" I mumbled while splashing water on my face, and my gaze fell on Benjamin, who was staring at me.

"Your dress up...Looks like you're from the Zeltron tribe, but you seem to speak so well." He said as he peeked at Joon.

"She escaped from the eastern border." Joon's face lit up in front of the fire as it blew up by the leaves he put inside. 

"...I learnt how to talk and write. All of us weren't illiterate." I lied since no one survived so, I won't get caught.

So the name was Zeltron. I forgot the name since it wasn't an important part. Zaltron tribe's people were the only humans in this forest. They were similar to ancient people and livestock to every other creature. 

"Is it just you two? How did you get into the forest?"  I asked Joon to get more density of the current situation.

"...Well, there were three more, but they didn't make it." 

I stared at him with my eyes wide open. They're already dead. Which meant I barely made it. After the others died, there was an ambush, and Benjamin asked for his sword in the name of making a secret path. Joon was foolish for trusting his words, and Benjamin ran away, leaving him in the middle of the ogres. Of course, he died too later.

The fact that they were together and still alive, I couldn't tell when the ambush would happen. How am I supposed to prepare for that?

"Are you okay?" Joon's voice broke my thoughts. 

"Oh!" I didn't realize I was biting my nails aggressively.

"Do you think you can trust her, Joon?" Benjamin asked Joon in Korean, thinking I won't understand. What did that bitch think? I was an expert in seven languages. But to avoid getting suspicious, I remained silent.

"There's nothing about trust here. She's a human, and she's strong. Moreover, she's more knowledgeable about this place rather than us. She will be a great help." Joon stood up for me, replying in the same language. 

"But she could be usi-" Before Benjamin could finish his nonsense, I stopped him saying, "I have a feeling there might be an ambush...soon." 

"How can you tell?" Benjamin frowned at me.

"Instinct?" I continued, "There was a regal member there, remember? Isn't it normal for her to think, why aren't they reporting to me? So she might come and check. Then she'll see the bodies and plan an ambush!"

I glanced at them in awkwardness to see their silent resting faces staring at me.

"What crap are you sp-" Benjamin got interrupted again by Joon as he said,

"You're also very genius too!"

"Wait, you understood what she said?" Clueless Benjamin gaped at him with his jaws wide open. 

"Yes, it's brilliant. Besides, it's better if we're always prepared for the worst. Oh, I didn't get your name." I felt a clutch in my heart hearing Joon as he turned to me with curiosity in his eyes. I could see a slight smile in the corner of his lips. The question made me feel as if I had almost forgotten who I used to be.

"Ella...It's Ella Quin!"