Price of berries

The very moment she stepped into the cave, Han Aeng felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. Tears threatened to fall as her eyes beheld what had become of her blackberries. She stretched out her arms to reach for the black pulpy mess on the ground but halted mid-action and dropped to her knees.

Much to her horror, someone knocked her basket of blackberries over. More than half of what she collected had been eaten, and the other half heartlessly trampled on.

"Why! Why must you do this? I painstakingly spent two hours picking these berries and even picked a fight with a small bear, and still - still you took them from me?!"

The sorrow she felt was incomparable to anything she had yet experienced. She wanted answers but knew no one would seek justice for her. Han Aeng's miserable state resembled someone who had been greatly wronged, and anyone who saw her would rush to protect her.

Mourning the loss of her blackberries, an intense sense of revenge took over Han Aeng. Drying her eyes, she ran outside, cradling the empty basket and goods from Lucky Son. There was a faint trail of black pulp left behind by the culprit, but it stopped not too far away from the little cave.

Alas, even with all her pent up rage, there was nothing she could do.

Sighing in frustration, Han Aeng looked up to the sky, only to catch a glimpse of something clinging tightly onto the branch for dear life. It was small, furry, and most importantly, covered with the pulp of the blackberry!

"You-" Han Aeng's eyes widened, and her jaws dropped to the floor as the realisation hit her with full force. "You and I already fought over these berries, and I had won! It is cheating to steal the plunder when I'm not around - more so since you lost."

The Little Bear she was accusing paid no heed to her screaming but turned away. The two of them already had a head to head this morning when Han Aeng came to collect her berries. Naturally, Han Aeng won when she ran away with her berries, but while Han Aeng returned to the palace, the little bear came and had its fill of her hard work.

"Aa, Little Bear, are you listening to me? Don't look away!" Rolling her sleeves, she prepared herself to go to war against the little furry creature. "Didn't your mother teach you not to steal?"

Amid Han Aeng's wrath, the baby bear lost its grip and flung itself onto the ground. Startled but not willing to let the little bear get hurt, Han Aeng dropped everything in her hand and forced herself to endure the weight of its fall.

"Little Bear, you are so heavy after devouring all my berries. I guess I'll just have to cook and eat you to make it even!"

Despite her harsh tone and her vaguely menacing threat. The little bear, wrapped in her arms, affectionately buried its head to her neck.

Han Aeng took a sharp breath at the abrupt movement and felt her anger vanishing into thin air. "Erh, I will let you off just because I'm a very nice person and because I do not argue with cute babies... Baby!"

Suddenly a wave of realisation hit and Han Aeng panicked, frantically looking around. It might not have hit her earlier, but bears are extremely protective of their young. Honestly, Han Aeng was not willing to take the risk of encountering the fury of a mother bear who would walk in to find her cub with a human.

As if the heavens heard her worry, a few branches snapped, accompanied by an unruly growl.

Concealing her dread deep down, Han Aeng turned around to face a furious mother bear.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Han Aeng cautiously placed the little bear down on the ground. The little bear ran to its mother once its feet touched the ground, which luckily diverted the mother bear's attention from her to its cub.

Seizing advantage of the diversion. Han Aeng slowly started to back away with her hands up in the air, hoping that the bear would leave her alone, seeing she was nothing but a twig with clothes.

However, as her eye wandered over the bear, she noticed an arrow stuck on the bear's leg. In an instant, Han Aeng knew she was dead meat. An attacked mother bear was not letting a human with her cub leave here alive.

Just as Han Aeng had predicted, after ensuring her cubs safety, the mother bear charged at Han Aeng with built-up frustration.

"Ekk!"

Like the life fearing human Han Aeng is, she ran with all her might, miraculously managing to picking up her mochi and candle in her fight for life.

Han Aeng ran while busily trying to navigate through the woods, attempting to find loops where she could squeeze through, wishing she made better life decisions when faced with situations like this. However, she knew all too well that she would not listen to her advice and continue making trouble for herself.

She turned around, only to see that the mother bear was getting closer and closer, forcing her to pick up her speed. As a last resort of survival, Han Aeng pushed herself off the trail and slid down a muddy track, jumping down into the river bed.

Splash!

Once Han Aeng resurfaced, she noticed the mother bear had received a fatal arrow wound to her shoulder and headed back to her cub, leaving Han Aeng alone in the river.

"Who shot the Mamma bear?"

Not having the luxury to ponder the question, Han Aeng used the last of her strength to drag herself to dry ground. Simultaneously, the young man, who drew his bow to shoot at the raging mother bear, speared Han Aeng a glance making sure she was alive before heading off his way.

Drenched in water and drained of all her strength, Han Aeng decided to head home instead of hanging around and jeopardising her life again.

"Aish, my mochis are soaked."