IBMAW 14

The Couple’s Night Is Sweet

Smoke filled the entire house. It must have been because the firewood hadn’t dried properly. Well, he had expected something like this. There was a reason the stove had a chimney attached.

Coughing from the acrid smoke, Dorothy hacked repeatedly.
Even so, for some reason she seemed delighted, running around the house like a small bird.
Through the hazy smoke, she flashed here and there like a super mouse.

Liz endured the smoke for a while, apparently disliking the cold air coming in, but eventually couldn’t take it anymore and opened the wooden window. Beside her, Dorothy stretched out her small hand as if to help. Both of them coughed.

At first, the firewood had barely been burning, but soon the flames began to catch properly, and the smoke gradually decreased. The thick haze gathered in the center like poisonous fog, wriggling as it escaped through the ceiling toward the sky.

He felt like he now understood how to build a smoking setup for curing meat.

If I diligently gather and dry firewood this year, maybe there’ll be less smoke next year.

Juhwan muttered to himself and lightly patted Liz on the back as her eyes watered from the smoke.

Next year…

If they were still in this cabin next year, he hoped things would be a little better.

He wanted to catch rabbits or wolves, smoke the meat, and even cultivate a small field. Rice might be difficult, but perhaps they could harvest barley. If they spread barley straw on the bed and used it to cover the walls and roof, winter might become a bit easier to endure.

He should also hunt more diligently. If he could catch wild rabbits alive, maybe he could raise them. That way, they could secure a more stable source of meat. Though he hadn’t even properly hunted yet, his imagination grew like a budding sapling.

“…”

Anyway, it would be good if they had plenty of meat left over. He would feed Liz and Dorothy well, and sell the rest.

When a peddler came to this small village, he could trade leftover meat for goods. Maybe he could even sell it for money. Silver coins, gold coins—he could almost hear them clinking in his head.

Liz and Dorothy’s clothes were nearly rags. They were so worn it was surprising anyone could even wear them.

Imagining buying them clothes and seeing their happy faces, Juhwan unknowingly murmured aloud.

That would be nice. It would be truly nice if such a future came.

After confirming the fire was properly burning, Juhwan brought in more wood. By the time he finished chopping firewood with the axe, the sky had grown dark.

He poured lamp oil and inserted a wick into a small container, then lit it. Even with the lamp lit, the house remained dim. One small lamp in such a large space—it couldn’t possibly brighten it enough. Shadows fell across their faces, making them look eerie.

The lamp didn’t smell good either. It seemed to be made from animal fat, giving off a foul odor.

Ah, could wolf fat be used for something like this? He recalled Liz’s delighted face when she saw the white chunks of wolf fat.

The acrid smoke mixed with the smell of the lamp made his stomach churn. If Juhwan felt this way, Liz and Dorothy must have felt the same. Even so, the two of them seemed cheerful the entire time.

That evening, they boiled water with wolf meat and salt in a pot and ate it. With nothing else added, the flavor of the meat stood out even more.

Maybe it would taste better if aged, but even so, the wolf meat wasn’t bad. Honestly, it was quite delicious.

He couldn’t tell if it was because he was hungry, or because everything he’d eaten since coming here had been so poor.

Or perhaps it was because Liz and Dorothy ate it so happily. There was a saying that watching others eat could fill you up—and it really felt that way.

By the time she finished eating, Dorothy was half asleep. Her head nodded forward and back, her body swaying in all directions. Even so, she never let go of the meat in her mouth. It made him think that a child’s greed was more primal and stronger than an adult’s.

Juhwan met Liz’s eyes, and they silently laughed together.

While Liz held Dorothy, Juhwan moved the bed from the corner to beside the hearth. The house was too cold to sleep in the corner.

The bed was large enough for all three of them. There was barely any straw, but he spread what little there was evenly underneath and laid a piece of cloth from their bundle on top.

When they laid Dorothy down where the warmth of the fire reached, she curled up and immediately fell into a deep sleep. The mouth that had been tightly holding meat now hung slightly open.

The firewood crackled continuously as it burned. Adding a few more logs to keep the fire going through the night, Juhwan spread a large cloth bag on the floor and laid a thin cloth over it.

When Juhwan quietly looked at Liz, her face turned bright red in the firelight, and she lowered her head.

When he held out his hand, Liz nodded slightly.

But instead of taking his hand, she awkwardly stood up.

Soon, Liz scooped some water from the pot on the hearth.

She poured hot water into a small container using a ladle with a long handle. It was something they had found in the hunter’s workshop, cleaned thoroughly, and dried in the sun.

After mixing hot and cold water, Liz soaked a cloth in it.

Near the fire it was warm, but just a little away from it, it was very cold. Instead of undressing, Liz lifted parts of her clothing little by little and wiped her whole body with the warm cloth.

Then she approached and wiped Juhwan’s body as well. Her slender fingers traced his muscles as the cloth brushed against his skin.

Her hands felt rough, yet still soft. They were unmistakably a woman’s hands. Each time her hands passed over his body, his breath grew uneven.

After cleaning here and there, Liz quietly extinguished the lamp.

The two lay down on the cloth spread on the floor, overlapping each other.
Under the softly burning firelight, their body heat grew hotter than the flames. Liz bit her lips, suppressing her breathing, her face more beautiful than anything in the world.

The emotions that had been floating all day finally seemed to settle.

Ah… this woman really is my wife. These two are my family.

As he thought that, tears welled up.

May this happiness continue in the midst of life. May these two never leave this world before him.

Juhwan made a wish to the Santa from his memories, who had laughed strangely. If you’ve given this, please don’t take it away. Until the moment I die, let this woman and this child keep smiling.

Nobles like lords might be different.
But commoners like Liz were similar in every household. Children, without exception, grew up in the same space as their parents. From infancy until they married and left, they remained in the same space.

This was no different at night. As children grew, they came to understand how couples spent their nights.
Older sisters, brothers, younger siblings—they all knew what their parents did at night.
Even if they didn’t understand when they were young, it was only a matter of time. No one needed to teach them; they would eventually learn.

Liz was no different. And unlike her siblings, she had always felt disgust toward that time between husband and wife.

That time was rough and cruel. Her father’s harsh voice was always frightening. After he fell asleep, her mother would sometimes cry alone. Thinking that such a future awaited her filled her with fear.

“…”

At dawn, when no one else was awake, Liz woke up and softly smiled amid the quiet crackling of the firewood.

When she had fallen asleep, she was on the floor—but now she was in the bed. She was nestled against her husband’s arm, her face buried in his firm chest.

A small, warm body clung to her back. Dorothy’s little leg wrapped around her waist like sticky resin.

She and Dorothy were lying side by side, sharing Juhwan’s arm as a pillow. Warmth flowed from his thick arm.

Held in this arm…

Caught between her husband and child, Liz smiled shyly again. Her face and body flushed red with embarrassment, and her mind filled with one thought after another. She didn’t know what to do. Yet she kept smiling, feeling like a fool.

She had always felt disgust toward the time between husband and wife, but to think it could be this sweet—her past self would never have believed it. How could something like that become this? Ever since she met this man, her world had kept changing.

Perhaps because she moved slightly, Juhwan seemed to wake up. Shadows danced across his face in the flickering firelight.

Embarrassed again, she hid her face against his chest. Juhwan pulled both her and Dorothy into his arms and spoke softly.

“###.”

She didn’t understand the words, but she could tell they were gentle. That made her even more embarrassed.

Liz closed her eyes. Her heart pounded—she couldn’t tell if it was hers or her husband’s. Maybe both. Amid the quiet rhythm of their heartbeats, she fell asleep again.

Faintly, she heard Dorothy mumbling in her sleep, “Meat, meat.” Perhaps she was eating meat in her dream. The child’s mouth moved as if chewing, her body wriggling slightly against her back. Even as she drifted into sleep, a smile escaped Liz’s lips.

Soft sunlight streamed in through the open ceiling.

When Juhwan opened his eyes, only he and Dorothy were on the bed.

Liz had already woken up and was sorting through the ashes and glowing embers in the hearth.

She moved the embers to the edge, away from the main fire, and poured a little water on them. With a faint sizzling sound and a wisp of smoke, they turned into charcoal—something Juhwan was familiar with.

Juhwan got up and took the metal poker and shovel from Liz. Following what she had done, he picked out the glowing embers and poured water on them. After finishing, he added more firewood.

Watching him quietly, Liz said something softly.

“##, ###.”

Judging by her tone, it was probably a greeting—asking if he slept well. When Juhwan mimicked her words, her face flushed red. She dropped the first part and repeated only the latter.

Perhaps the first part had been a way of addressing her husband—like “dear” or “honey.”

Pointing to himself and repeating what seemed to be the term of address, Liz nodded with a red face.

“Liz?”

Pointing to himself, then saying the term, and pointing at her, Liz softly said a few words. When he repeated them after her, she grew embarrassed and ran off to the corner.

Juhwan got up and followed her lazily, repeating what she had taught him.

“Wife… spouse… my woman.”

The back of Liz’s neck turned red as she faced away. Feeling a bit playful, he lightly touched it with his finger, making her flinch with a strange sound.

Touching, teasing, whispering “wife” to her—there was a hint of sweetness and something slightly suggestive mixed in.

But their brief sweetness was broken by a lively sound. Dorothy suddenly jumped up with a strange cry of “##!”

Startled, Liz flinched, then giggled. She pointed to the container of wolf meat and repeated “##” several times to teach him.

Whether Dorothy had seen meat, eaten it, or watched it run away in her dream—who knew—but it seemed she had dreamed about meat.

“Meat.”

When Juhwan carefully repeated the pronunciation, Liz nodded as if praising him.

As if drawn by the word, Dorothy jumped off the bed and ran to the meat container. She opened the wooden lid as if checking whether it had run away, then smiled in relief.

Watching her, Juhwan made a firm resolution.

Let’s hunt diligently.

Meat. They needed meat.

After cooling and drinking a cup of boiling water, Juhwan stepped outside.

He cleaned up the scraps he hadn’t managed to organize while chopping firewood the previous day, then sharpened his axe using a whetstone from the workshop. By the time he finished, the sky had fully brightened.

“!”

Suddenly, he felt something like a crawling sensation on his skin. He spun around and glared into the forest, gripping his axe tightly.

But what emerged from between the trees was the limping old hunter.

The old hunter’s gaze was fixed on Juhwan’s left arm, where the wolf’s bite marks remained.