Leon hadn't slept a second the night before.
After Yun Lan disappeared, a terrible weight settled in his chest—one he couldn't explain, only feel. Her absence was more than physical—it was as if her soul had gone somewhere unreachable. He searched the village, every trail in the nearby forest, and even questioned travelers passing through. Nothing.
Until he remembered one thing.
Weeks ago, when Yun Lan and he explored the cave with a field of glowing flowers and a waterfall.
Following only instinct and fragments of memory, Leon rode toward the southern cliffs—the most remote area near the old forest. The moment he stepped onto the flowered plain, something in the air changed. It smelled like her. Sweet, soft, alive.
That's when he saw the horse. Hers. Tied beneath a tree.
His heart jumped.
He ran through the field, his eyes scanning every inch—until he found the rope. It dangled from a thick tree branch near the edge of a hollow pit, leading into the earth.
He didn't hesitate. He went down and went forward to the tunnel until he saw the same plain with flowers and waterfall and after seeing the coat and the bag of Yun Lan.
And after he shouted " Yun Lan! where you are" but for nothing.
On the other hand when Yun Lan stepped out of the cavern's stone mouth, her boots damp from the waterfall she had swum through earlier. The glow from the inner chamber still lingered on her skin—faint, golden, otherworldly.
She took a deep breath, the scent of wildflowers and fresh water grounding her. In her palm, she clutched the velvet pouch that held the second flower—delicate, glowing faintly, and humming with a strange warmth. She tucked it safely inside her satchel.
She didn't expect what happened next.
"YUN LAN!"
The shout tore through the silence of the clearing.
She froze. Her heart stuttered in her chest. Her eyes widened.
She turned toward the voice—and there he was.
Leon.
Standing at the edge of the forest, eyes wild, breath heavy, his shirt half-unbuttoned, fists clenched at his sides. He looked like he had run through fire to get here. And maybe he had.
"Leon…" she whispered, barely able to believe her eyes.
But he was already moving. Storming forward. The next second, she was engulfed in his arms.
He crushed her to his chest, one arm around her waist, the other behind her head as if afraid she would disappear if he let go. She could feel how tightly he held her. How violently his heart was beating.
"I found you…" he breathed, voice shaking. "I finally found you…"
She said nothing—she couldn't. Her throat tightened as she felt the tremble in his body, in his hands.
"You scared me." His voice cracked. "I—I didn't know where you went. I searched everywhere. I tried—God, I tried—but there was no trail, nothing! You were just gone."
Yun Lan's fingers slowly wrapped around his shirt, feeling his warmth, his pain. "I'm sorry…"
Leon pulled back slightly, just enough to look at her, and she wished he hadn't. The anguish in his eyes made it hard to breathe.
"Sorry?" His brows furrowed. "That's all you have to say?"
She lowered her gaze, avoiding the questions she knew were coming.
"What were you doing in there?" he demanded, glancing behind her at the seemingly solid rock face. "What is this place?"
"I was just exploring," she lied softly.
"Exploring?" he repeated, voice rising. "You disappeared for hours! You left without telling anyone! Not even your grandmother knew where you truly went!"
"I told her not to tell you."
He stared at her. "Why?"
Yun Lan hesitated. "Because you would've stopped me."
He grabbed her shoulders, his grip tightening. "Damn right I would've! Do you even realize how dangerous that was?! You could've died in there, Lan!"
"I had to come," she said, more firmly now. "There was something calling me. I needed to see it for myself."
Leon's jaw clenched. "Calling you? Are you hearing voices now too?"
She looked away. "Please, Leon…"
"No!" he snapped. "Don't do that—don't shut me out again. You've been hiding things from me for too long. You leave when you want, lie when it suits you, and pretend like nothing's wrong when I can see you're suffering."
"I didn't want to worry you," she whispered.
His voice dropped, trembling. "I am worried, Yun Lan. Every second you're not near me, I worry. When I woke up this morning and you weren't there, I thought—I thought maybe you'd run again. Maybe you—"
She reached up and cupped his cheek. "I would never leave you, Leon."
"Then stop acting like I'm a stranger!" he exploded. "You're not alone in this! Whatever it is you're facing—I want to face it with you. But you won't even let me in."
Tears welled in her eyes. "I can't tell you… not yet."
He flinched, his jaw flexing, and for a moment he looked away, as if trying to stop himself from yelling.
"Why?" His voice broke, raw and wounded. "Why can't you trust me with the truth?"
Yun Lan's eyes filled with tears, but she smiled faintly, sadly. "Because if you knew it, Leon… you would never let me go. And right now, I need to finish what I started."
His eyes narrowed, but then he pulled her back into his arms and held her even tighter.
"Well, guess what?" he whispered against her hair. "You're right. I won't let you go. Not now. Not ever."
She felt his fingers dig into her back, not enough to hurt, but enough to ground her.
"You belong to me, Yun Lan," he murmured hoarsely. "You hear me? You're mine. And I'm not letting the world take you from me."
Her heart skipped. It wasn't possessiveness—it was desperation. A man who loved so deeply he couldn't bear the thought of losing her.
She buried her face into his chest, letting herself melt into his embrace for just a moment.
Leon pulled away and looked her over. "We're going home. Now."
She nodded, too tired to argue. The effects of the glowing flower had left her drained, mentally and physically.
As they began walking back toward the horses, Leon didn't let go of her hand once. In fact, his fingers tightened every time the wind brushed past or she stumbled.
They set up a small camp nearby for the night since the sun had nearly vanished behind the mountains. A soft fire crackled between them. Yun Lan sat wrapped in her cloak, staring into the flames. Leon sat beside her, his arms around her, pulling her against his chest.
"Promise me something," he said quietly.
She looked up.
"Next time you think of doing something like this, you tell me. No more secrets."
She wanted to promise, but her lips refused to form the words.
Leon noticed.
"You're still hiding something," he said, softly this time.
Yun Lan leaned her head on his shoulder. "Let me protect you, Leon. Just this once."
He exhaled, frustrated—but didn't push her.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said after a while. "You may not want to tell me everything, but that doesn't change how I feel. I'm staying right here, beside you."
She closed her eyes, letting the rhythm of his heartbeat lull her into sleep.
But deep in her mind, she knew: the second flower was only part of the cure. The third and final ingredient remained hidden—and time was running out.
And this time, when she went looking for it, Leon would follow. Whether she wanted him to or not.