Chapter 39

"Mr. Darwin, are you sure you want to climb first without waiting for the officers to arrive first?" Choi asked Darwin in thick Korean. Currently, they are indeed gathered while discussing.

Darwin who was very worried immediately nodded with certainty. He thought, he could no longer delay the time to find his wife immediately. He was so worried that something bad would happen if he didn't immediately look for Velove up there.

Immediately the image of his frightened wife crossed Darwin's brain. What's more, he knew that this was the first time Velove had climbed. Surely up there his wife was panicking and scared. It's getting even darker now.

"I can't wait any longer, sir. As I said before, I know this track by heart. Even if we go back up via the ascent route, it will take longer. Besides, my wife was lost on the descent route. It's good, Let's go straight down the path we came down before."

Choi thought for a moment. Contemplating whether the suggestion that Darwin conveyed just now is possible for them to execute after this. Choi certainly has to think about all the risks that exist. This is done by them not taking the wrong step or making the wrong decision.

"Fine. I will accompany Mr. Darwin to climb back up the descent lane. However, I beg you not to do anything dangerous. Everything must be carried out according to procedure so that we can all return safely."

Darwin nodded in agreement. While he was climbing back up, Samuel and Park Hyo Jin were assigned the task of waiting for the mountain officials who had previously been contacted for help.

"How can Velove disappear, Win. Wasn't he in front of you?" she asked.

At this time, he decided to go back to climbing the mountain to help Darwin find the whereabouts of Velove who had been left somewhere. Together with Choi Min Soo and Lee Byun Hae, they slowly walked down the path they had previously passed. Really hoping Velove gives a hint. Or hear the screams and calls that have been echoed by them in turn.

"For God's sake, along the way, I felt that he just walked straight ahead of me. Even if I realized he wasn't in line, I might have warned you earlier."

"It could be that Mr. Darwin's wife disappeared during the thick fog that had hit us on the way down earlier," said Lee interceding. It is undeniable, the fog that had descended did interfere with vision. They just have to turn on the flashlight so they don't go wrong.

"Makes sense," said Choi, who walked in front. Staring straight ahead, the man continued to speak. "It is possible that because of the short and obstructed visibility, Pak Darwin's wife took the wrong direction or left the group. Moreover, the distance between our lines was indeed not close. This may also have been the cause of her eventually being left behind. Not to mention her condition, which also does not know the track at all. "

Darwin in his step increasingly thought. Especially after 30 minutes of walking down the mountain, he and his entourage had yet to find any sign of his wife.

"Duh, how about this, Ran?" Darwin asked worriedly. The man really couldn't hide his worries at this moment. I'm afraid something bad will happen to my wife.

"Be patient, Win. Here we are trying."

"The problem is it's starting to drizzle. There's no raincoat in the Velove bag. I'm worried what's wrong with him," the man complained honestly.

"Okay, you just pray. I'm sure Velove is waiting for us to pick him up. I'm sure he's up there waiting for us."

Darwin and Randy just kept walking down the mountain. Directing the flashlights they held to the right and left while calling out Velove's name many times.

Once they arrived at the post where they had stopped before, Darwin and his entourage tried to search all corners while calling out Velove's name. Hoping that the beautiful woman replied, but apparently the result was still nil.

In fact, when the mountain officials finally caught up with them and helped look for them, Velove still couldn't be found.

"Pak Choi, is it possible if we continue our search to the next post? I'm sure my wife is left there," Darwin asked, asking for confirmation.

"Isn't it at the post after the lake, Velove is still there, Win? He even had a drink too, right? So, most likely, he disappeared from this last post. Not up there," explained Randy.

Darwin was then stunned for a moment. A few seconds later, the man glanced at Choi.

After seeing the Navigator's expressionless face, Darwin seemed to know what answer the man would give him. It was as if there was no hope for him to find his wife at this time.

"It's dangerous now that we continue to search the next outpost." Not Choi, but one of the mountain officers who gave an explanation to Darwin. Trying to give understanding so that the man does not act outside the existing procedure. "It's getting dark, sir. It's better if we go down. If it rains let alone a storm, we might not all be trapped."

"But sir. What about my wife?"

"I promise, tomorrow morning I will return to combing the mountain with more rescue teams so that your wife can be found soon."

At that moment, Darwin immediately glanced at Randy. He shook his head repeatedly, hoping that his cousin would defend him or help strengthen his argument.

"What if Velove gets caught in the rain, Ran? Then if I don't meet him now, how will he sleep? He must be really scared now."

Rand took a deep breath. What should I do wrong myself? On the one hand, he is also concerned about the fate of Velove, whose whereabouts are unknown. But, forcing the will to keep looking is also not an easy choice.

"Win, we'd better just follow the advice of the mountain officials. They ----"

"Ran!" interjected Darwin. "I can't let Velove be up there alone."

"But you also can't be selfish, Win. I'm sure Velove will be fine. Besides, officers know better what they are doing. I understand how you feel right now. What can you do? We have to follow the existing procedures."

Darwin growled in annoyance. In the end, inevitably do what people ordered. While descending the mountain, he kept hoping on the way back, to find Velove's figure so he could be invited to come home soon. But, still his wife was not found.

While looking down limply, Darwin tried to strengthen his heart all the way back. In fact, when he arrived, he didn't really care when Samuel called his name repeatedly. His head hurts too much to think about Velove's questions that he can't find.

"Darwin!" kept calling Samuel. The man even caught up, then pulled Darwin's arm to follow him.

"What's wrong, Ken," snapped Darwin as he was still being pulled by Samuel, who didn't know where to take him.

"Did you hear my call?"

Darwin let out a long sigh. He seemed lazy to serve his cousin.

"Come on, Ken. I'm having a headache. We can't find Velove. So you don't have to give me more headaches."

"In fact, I want to help you," Samuel said, then the man quickened his pace and then stopped at one of the postal buildings. "Velove has been found," continued Samuel afterwards.

At that moment, Darwin was shocked. As soon as he looked up, he found his wife sitting in front of him and being examined by a medical officer who was on duty at Mount Hallasan.

Without asking or talking much more, Darwin approached Velove. As soon as his wife finished undergoing the examination, the man immediately took a kneeling position right in front of Velove. Then without being awkward and caring about the people around him, he hugged his wife's body tightly.

"Where have you been, Ve? I even went around looking for you!"

Darwin didn't loosen his grip one bit. He just kept hugging Velove's body tightly. He let go of the anxiety and fear that had once overpowered him.

"I'm scared, Win. After the fog, suddenly I can't see you and all the entourage in front of me," said the woman.

Darwin finally loosened the hug. Lowered his gaze, then stared closely at Velove's two black beads.

"Then, who helped you to finally be able to return?"

"After I didn't see where you were, I kept trying to slowly walk down the road. Once I arrived at one of the posts, I accidentally ran into one of the other groups who also happened to be going down. So, I decided to join in. Once I arrived, they immediately contacted the officers and finally brought me here to meet Samuel."

"But how come we didn't cross paths? In fact, we all went back upstairs to find you," Randy said confused. He, who had also been there, could no longer hold himself back from asking questions to Velove, who seemed successful and had survived the disaster.

"I'm sure Velove will definitely go down by another route. In Hallasan itself, the descent route is indeed divided into seven parts," explained Darwin to Randy.

Velove who heard Randy's previous question also nodded. He confirmed the explanation that Darwin conveyed to his cousin.

"I don't know which way to go down," Velove replied. "I thought at that time, the important thing is to get down quickly and meet all of you."

Darwin seemed to clearly breathe a sigh of relief. He said thousands of thanks in his heart because he was finally able to meet Velove again.

"I'm sorry for neglecting to take care of you. I promise something like this won't happen again. Even if we get separated, I will try to find you as soon as possible."

***

After checking himself and making sure that Velove was in 100% good condition, Darwin and his two cousins decided to immediately return to the resort. They should have left for Seoul tonight and stayed there until it was time to go home.

However, due to the incident that had happened to Velove, Samuel decided to postpone their departure to tomorrow morning. He wanted Darwin, Samuel and Velove to rest first until their conditions were completely stable as before.

"I suggest, after cleaning up, you guys just take a rest," Samuel ordered when she and Randy were standing right in front of the resort door where Darwin and Velove were staying. "Tomorrow morning, as soon as we finish breakfast, we will leave for Seoul around nine or ten o'clock," continued the man then.

Darwin, who was also standing in the doorway, immediately nodded. After this, he did plan to rest soon. What he went through today was so draining his energy and mind.

"Yeah, Ken. We'll be taking a break right away. Thank you again for your help."

"Velove," Randy called. The man's face clearly showed a very serious expression. "Honestly, I'm really grateful that you survived. Just so you know, Darwin almost went crazy because he was dizzy looking for you. He was really worried. In fact, he almost cried when the mountain officials suggested postponing the search until tomorrow morning."

"Don't overdo it," Darwin interjected. As usual, at a time like this, Randy still had time to make fun of and even bring up what had happened.

"Oh yes?" Velove said right then and there, in response to what Randy had previously told him.

"I swear to anything, I'm not lying or exaggerating. I'm telling the truth. Darwin looks really afraid of losing you. He ----"

"Enough ... already ..." this time Darwin hastily interrupted. A moment later pulled Velove to immediately enter the Resort. "It's getting late. We both want to rest. You guys, please go back to your rooms too. We'll continue our conversation tomorrow morning."

Without further ado, Darwin immediately closed the bedroom door. The two then took turns cleaning themselves. As soon as it was time to sleep, Darwin seemed to come over and then rebuked Velove who at that time was sitting leaning back on the bed with his legs stretched out.

"Why don't you just take a break?"

Velove glanced at Darwin. A second later the woman shook her head.

"Wait a minute. I'm still stretching my muscles. Besides, my legs are really tired."

Darwin nodded. The man came closer, then took a sitting position right next to Velove's feet.

"Want me to help massage?" Darwin offered without the slightest preamble.

Velvet smiled. His heart suddenly warmed after hearing Darwin's offer that sounded so sincere.

For some reason, she felt that her husband's attitude from the time he came down from the mountain to the resort, showed a very caring and sweet attitude than usual. Maybe also feeling guilty for neglecting to take care of Velove until it disappeared for a while.

"Are you sure you want to massage me? You must be more tired than me, Win."

Even though it really hurts, it's a pity that Darwin even bothers to help massage his feet. Meanwhile, the man must have been more tired than he was all day.

"No problem, Ve. I'm fine."

Darwin then brought his hand to touch Velove's leg. Start massaging it gently and slowly. Alternately starting with the right foot then moving to the left foot.

"Enough, Win," Velove ordered after feeling much more comfortable. "My feet are already comfortable, really."

"In that case, it's time for you to sleep. As Samuel said, tomorrow we will go to Seoul and stay there until it's time to go home. So, so you don't get tired, you have to get some rest quickly."

Velvet nodded. Follow all orders Darwin orders. After lying down, she could see how her husband followed her slowly crawling up onto the bed. Pulled the blanket, then covered Velove's entire body.

"Win," Velove called before Darwin lay down too. "Thank you so much because you were worried and even tried to find where I was when I disappeared this afternoon."

"You don't have to talk about it all the time, Ve," said Darwin. "Besides, it's my duty to look after you and protect you."

Velove smiled faintly. As a husband, it can be said that Darwin is indeed fully carrying out his role as well as his obligations.

"Anyway, I thank you very much for what you have done today."

Darwin didn't answer. Instead of responding, he leaned forward, then kissed Velove on the forehead before finally deciding to go to sleep.