15. Traces of the Past!

15. Traces of the Past! “Their dwelling place was from Mesha, as you go toward Sephar, the mountain of the east. These are the descendants of Shem, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.” (Genesis 10:30-31) General Bear and Hwanung, who had not known each other for long, walked together and exchanged many stories. Then, General Bear suddenly brought up an unexpected topic. “Prince! Do you have a lady in your heart?” “No! I guess I’m not old enough for that yet.” “Then, you don’t have much to worry about yet!” “Why do you ask such a question suddenly?” “I wanted to let you know that if you have a lady in your heart, you need to pay a lot of attention to her.” “Is that so?” “Of course.” “In what way?” “Well, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly, but for example, three days ago, my daughter Asanyeo picked up a stone and has been staring at it blankly every night. Seeing her so absorbed in looking at a stone that is just lying around in the valley, I said that women are truly incomprehensible. My wife then said, ‘How can a man like you understand the heart of an eighteen-year-old girl?’” “Soon, you will also meet a good person, Prince. Anyway, I wanted to let you know that women require a lot of attention.” Hwanung felt secretly pleased to hear that Asanyeo cherished the crystal he had given her. However, he did not show any particular reaction to General Bear. He simply said, “Asanyeo must have her own secrets that only a young lady can have!” Hearing the prince say something similar to his wife, General Bear laughed heartily, saying,“Prince! Somehow, I feel like I’m the only one left out here.” As they walked together, exchanging various stories, they became as close as a king and his loyal subject who had been together for a long time. After walking for a day, they saw a large mountain standing tall in the distance. General Bear pointed to it and said that it was where the Tiger Tribe lived. Hwanung, eager to confirm‎ the past events and meet the people of that time, hurried his steps without feeling tired. Finally, they reached the foot of the mountain and continued walking towards the valley where the Tiger Tribe lived without resting. As the sun set and the shadows of the mountains stretched into the valleys, dusk began to fall. General Bear then said to Hwanung, “Prince! It would be better to reach the Bear Tribe’s village before it gets darker. Please bear with it a little longer.” “Don’t worry! I can still manage.” Hwanung followed General Bear as if nothing was wrong. Suddenly, something jumped out of the forest with a roar and bit General Bear’s leg. Hwanung was startled to see that it was a tiger. He had heard stories about wild animals attacking people more frequently, but now he understood what those stories meant. The important thing was that General Bear was being bitten by a tiger. Hwanung was in a hurry. He looked around and saw a stone the size of a head. Without thinking further, he picked up the stone with both hands and struck the tiger’s back with all his might. The tiger, which was biting General Bear, let go of his leg and rolled away in pain from the blow to its back. However, the tiger got up again, growling in pain, and glared at Hwanung. Hwanung stared back at the tiger with a clear mind. After a moment of hesitation, the tiger charged at Hwanung. Hwanung tried to strike the charging tiger with the stone again, but the stone was heavy, and the tiger bit his shoulder. Hwanung felt unbearable pain. Losing his balance on the slope, he fell down, and the tiger also fell towards General Bear. Despite the pain, General Bear saw the tiger attacking Hwanung and regretted not preparing a staff or something in advance. He looked around for something that could be used as a weapon. Ordinary stones wouldn’t do. Then he saw a sharp stone in front of him. General Bear quickly picked up the stone. As Hwanung fell, the tiger slid down towards General Bear. General Bear used all his strength to stab the tiger’s leg with the sharp stone. The tiger, in pain, let go of Hwanung’s arm and glared at General Bear with a fierce roar. At that moment, people with spears rushed in and stabbed the tiger’s chest. The Tiger Tribe, like the Bear Tribe, was always on guard and had been watching the two approaching their village.Seeing them being attacked by the tiger, they rushed to save them by attacking the tiger. The tiger, stabbed by the spears, roared in pain again.Meanwhile, the Tiger Tribe members stabbed the tiger with three or four more spears, and the tiger, unable to endure any longer, trembled and died. The people quickly stopped the bleeding of General Bear and Hwanung and moved them to their village. Hearing the news, General Tiger hurried to see them and found that it was none other than General Bear. The night had already fallen, and the valley was dark, but the village was busier than usual. The village’s medical experts were mobilized, and they stopped the bleeding and sealed the wounds to reduce the pain. General Bear was already unconscious, and the young man who came with him groaned in pain from time to time. After some time, the pain seemed to subside, and he fell asleep. The next morning, as soon as the day broke, people gathered at the chief’s house with worried expressions. They carefully went to the room where the patients were and checked on them. The young man who had fallen asleep during the night woke up and grimaced in pain from his wounds. General Bear, who had been bitten on the thigh and neck by the tiger, was still unconscious, or perhaps he was sleeping. The people left the patients to rest and recover, leaving them in the care of Suroa, the daughter of the Tiger Tribe chief. After a while, Suroa ran out to find her father. The Tiger Tribe chief, surprised, hurried to Suroa. “What is it, Suroa?” “Father! General Bear has woken up!” “Really?” The Tiger Tribe chief quickly went into the room. There, General Bear was grimacing in pain but seemed to be able to endure it. He spoke first. “Tiger Tribe chief! Was there any trouble?” “Are you alright?” “I’m fine!” “No! What brings General Bear here without any news?” “Nice to see you, Tiger Tribe chief! How have you been?” “Except for the commotion caused by an intruder last night, we’ve been fine since we moved far away after the last incident. But I’ve always been worried about General Bear, who lives not far from the palace!” “Fortunately, we live in a deep mountain where the military can’t reach, so we’ve been fine so far!” “That’s a relief!”“Is your wife, Asanyeo, doing well?” “Yes, she is doing very well, thanks to you.” “And who is this young man accompanying you?” Even while conversing, the Tiger Tribe Chief was conscious of Hwanung, who had come with them. The Bear Tribe Chief then remembered and explained. “Oh! I momentarily forgot about our companion due to the pain! This is Prince Hwanung, the son of the Assyrian King!” “Prince Hwanung? Really?” “Yes! In fact, we came here to introduce the Prince to the Tiger Tribe Chief. But we were suddenly attacked by tigers just as we arrived!” Upon hearing this, the Tiger Tribe Chief said, “Thank you for coming such a long way, Prince!” And Hwanung greeted him as well. “Nice to meet you. From what I hear, you have endured many hardships serving the late king and fleeing from the current king.”The Tiger Tribe Chief, moved, replied to Hwanung. “I never dreamed I would meet the Prince. You came all the way to this humble place and almost faced a great disaster.” “Fortunately, I only suffered minor injuries, but the Bear Tribe Chief was severely wounded while guiding me, which worries me.” “Prince! It’s alright. It will heal with time.” Then the Tiger Tribe Chief continued. “Anyway, please rest here until your wounds are fully healed.” The Bear Tribe Chief, despite his pain, made a joke. “Yesterday was a day when the Bear was completely defeated by the Tiger!” “You should have known how scary the Tiger is!” “Haha, don’t underestimate the Bear either! This is the first time I’ve seen a foolish Tiger attack a Bear! In the end, it only got its skin peeled off!” Everyone laughed at the Bear Tribe Chief’s joke, and the Tiger Tribe Chief continued the joke. “Indeed! I was so embarrassed by that foolish Tiger that I ordered my tribe members to completely skin it as punishment!” Everyone laughed again at the Tiger Tribe Chief’s joke, but Hwanung and the Bear Tribe Chief, whose laughter strained their wounds, grimaced in pain. Seeing each other’s expressions made them laugh again, which again strained their wounds, causing more pain. After a while, when the atmosphere calmed down, the Tiger Tribe Chief spoke. “It’s fortunate that it ended like this. Please take enough rest here to heal your wounds before moving again.” The Bear Tribe Chief then spoke. “The Prince wanted to meet the Tiger Tribe Chief and King Ebel, so I brought him here. It seems my wounds will take longer to heal, so please guide the Prince to King Ebel once his wounds are healed.” The Tiger Tribe Chief, as if to reassure them, said, “First, the recovery of your wounds is important. Please rest comfortably until you are fully healed.” Hwanung and the Bear Tribe Chief simultaneously thanked him. As time passed, Hwanung’s wounds healed relatively quickly, but the Bear Tribe Chief’s deep wounds took much longer to heal, causing him considerable suffering. The treatment of Hwanung and the Bear Tribe Chief’s wounds was entirely handled by Suroa. Due to his youth, Hwanung’s wounds healed quickly, allowing him to walk around and take short walks. During these walks, Suroa accompanied him like a shadow, guiding him around the village or the foothills and treating his wounds. As time passed, they naturally had many conversations, and thanks to Suroa’s dedicated care, Hwanung’s wounds eventually healed completely, restoring him to his former self.