As dusk settled, casting long shadows across the bustling market, Hajime and Yul navigated the throngs of people, collecting supplies for their uncertain journey. Their path led them to a grim area, where the air hung heavy with despair: the slave market. Sitting across the street, shielded by the anonymity of the crowd, Hajime looked at the women held in crude wooden cages, and a profound realization pierced him – life truly wasn't fair. His heart trembled with a deep, echoing loneliness, for no one could understand that feeling better than Hajime himself. He remembered the countless moments of utter despair in his own life, the suffocating hopelessness.
Hajime's gaze fixed on one particular woman, hunched in a cage, secretly wiping tears from her eyes. Yes, he knew that act intimately. He had endured those moments himself, forced to hide his own tears, to cry silently and alone in his room. Staring at the woman, a forgotten memory, one he had desperately tried to bury, surged back to the forefront of his mind. The more he resisted, the stronger and clearer the unwelcome memory became, circling inside his head with a relentless intensity.
Flashback
Hajime had been sitting patiently at a small cafe table, waiting for Kenji to arrive. He had sat there for nearly four hours, watching the raindrops slowly descend from the windowpane, each tiny drop merging with others to form larger, faster streaks that raced down the glass.
It was almost closing time when Kenji finally arrived, pushing through the cafe door, a fine mist clinging to his clothes. Kenji sat across from Hajime, his posture stiff, his eyes avoiding Hajime's.
Hajime searched Kenji's face, and he knew instantly that whatever Kenji had to say, it wasn't good. "Kenji-san," Hajime began, his voice barely a whisper, "what do you need to talk about?"
Kenji sighed, a long, heavy sound, and hesitated for a painful moment before speaking. "Hajime-kun…"
Hajime offered a tremulous smile, trying to project a calm he didn't feel. "What is it?"
Kenji finally met his gaze, his voice low but firm. "Hajime-kun… I… I'm… I'm getting married."
With just those three words, Hajime's heart felt as though it had been physically torn apart. He had known this day would come, had always known. When he became Kenji's casual lover, Kenji had made it abundantly clear that he wanted to get married in the future, to have a conventional life. But Hajime had been too stubborn, too naive, clinging to the foolish belief that if he truly loved Kenji, he could change Kenji's heart, that his devotion would be enough.
Though a crushing sadness threatened to overwhelm him, Hajime forced a smile onto his face, a brittle mask. "Congratulations. Thank you for telling me this," he said, his voice remarkably steady. "Is this the last time we see each other?"
Kenji nodded slowly, but did not offer a verbal answer.
Hajime maintained his fragile smile. "Do you want to order anything?"
Kenji smiled faintly and shook his head. "No, I'm meeting my parents and Yua's parents." He took out a credit card, placing it gently on the table between them. "This is for you."
Hajime picked up the credit card, his fingers trembling slightly, though his smile remained fixed. "A parting gift?"
Kenji nodded again, then stood up. Without another word, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the rainy night.
"Kenji-san!" Hajime called out hurriedly, the word catching in his throat. He looked at Kenji's retreating back, desperately trying to hold back the tears that burned behind his eyes. "If I were a woman, would you marry me?"
Kenji paused, his back still to Hajime. "No," he said, his voice flat, devoid of emotion. Then he continued walking, leaving Hajime utterly alone.
Hajime's tears finally overflowed, streaming down his face, blurring the cafe lights. He murmured, a heartbroken whisper, "Kenji-san, thank you."
Three months later, Hajime heard the news: Kenji and Yua had gotten married. Hearing this, his heart shattered completely, crumbling into a million irreparable pieces. He tried to run, to hide, to escape the unbearable pain, but somehow, his feet carried him to Kenji's workplace. He wanted to go in, just to catch a glimpse of Kenji, but he was afraid of violating Kenji's privacy, of breaking the unspoken rule of their painful separation. So, he stood outside, waiting patiently for lunchtime, hoping for a fleeting sight. He waited for a while, but Kenji hadn't walked out of the office building when his cell phone suddenly rang, jarring him from his vigil. He decided to leave, pulling out his phone. It was Kenji calling.
"Kenji-san," Hajime answered, his voice tight with suppressed emotion.
Kenji's voice, when it came, was furious, tinged with desperation. "Hajime-kun, we talked about this before! We agreed that no matter who gets married, whether it's you or me, we would cut off all contact with each other! Please stop following me!"
Hajime's tears suddenly flowed, hot and stinging, down his face. "I'm sorry," he choked out, his voice thick with sorrow. "I won't contact you again." He slowly wiped away his tears, turned, and walked away, the phone still pressed to his ear until Kenji hung up.
Hajime knew in his heart that it would be incredibly difficult to let Kenji go, perhaps impossible. Kenji had entered Hajime's life when he was at his absolute lowest, a beacon in his deepest despair. He had wanted to die, to leave his ridiculous, painful life behind, but Kenji had given him love, hope, dreams, and a warmth he had never known before. Kenji had changed everything. So, it might have been easy for Kenji to let him go and start a new life with his wife, but it was not, and would never be, the same for Hajime.
End Flashback
As the old, painful memories slowly faded, the bustling sounds of the market began ringing more clearly and loudly back into Hajime's ears once again, dragging him back to the present.
Meanwhile, Yul had been wandering the labyrinthine streets, asking passing merchants if they had heard of No Man's Land. But every person he met shook their heads, their faces blank. His hopes were beginning to deflate, when he suddenly spotted a man dressed in robes weirder than any other merchant in the market.
The merchant, a wiry figure with a gleam in his eye, quickly approached Yul. "Are you looking for directions to No Man's Land?" he asked with a wide smile, revealing an unsettling flash of golden teeth.
"How do you know?" Yul asked, surprised.
The merchant's smile widened. "I heard it from other merchants, whispering on the wind."
"Can you point me in the right direction?" Yul pressed, a flicker of renewed hope.
"Not only can I point you the direction," the merchant said, his voice conspiratorial, "but I do have a map, all at the low price of three silver leaves."
"How do I know your map is exactly what I'm looking for?" Yul questioned, his skepticism returning.
The merchant giggled, a thin, reedy sound. "You want to enter No Man's Land because you want to get the White Dragon Tail."
Yul's eyes narrowed. "Show me the map."
The merchant reached into the back of his jacket, pulled out an old, rolled leather map, and handed it to Yul with a flourish. "Here's the map to No Man's Land," he said with a laugh.
Yul took the old leather map and quickly unrolled it, but his face fell. The leather map was completely blank. Yul threw the blank leather back to the merchant, his voice grim. "Don't waste my time."
"You don't believe me?" the merchant asked, his golden teeth glinting in the dim light.
"There's nothing written on that piece of leather. It's blank," Yul stated flatly.
The merchant smiled wickedly. "That's because you didn't point it in the right direction. Would you like to try again, dear sir?"
Yul, intrigued despite himself, held out his hand. The merchant placed the map back in his palm. Yul unfolded the leather sheet again, and this time, he turned his body to the right, then slowly to the left. As he began to turn to the left, the blank map began to glow rapidly, then lines of light traced themselves onto the leather, drawing a clear route and the name of a town. Yul stared, astonished, as a gleaming lotus flower appeared on a distant mountain peak on the map. He memorized the details, trying to etch every line into his mind.
Yul looked at the old, strangely dirty merchant, a new resolve in his eyes. "I'll purchase this map," he said, pulling out his pouch and counting his silver leaves. He pulled out three silver leaves. "This is your money." He looked up at the merchant, but the old man was simply gone, vanished as if he had never been there.
In the end, Yul got the map for free, without paying any fee to the mysterious merchant. Even though Yul himself had doubts about the magic map, this was the first concrete clue they had. The merchant's assurance that his map would take Yul to No Man's Land echoed in his mind. He stuffed the glowing map into his inner robe, bought some remaining supplies, and headed back to the hawker stall where he and Hajime were supposed to meet after dark.
When Yul arrived at the hawker stall, he found Hajime staring intently at the women in the cage. He walked to their reserved table and sat down, but Hajime didn't look at him. It seemed Hajime was deep in thought, clearly unaware of his surroundings.
"Hajime," Yul said softly. "Hajime." When Hajime didn't respond, Yul stretched out his hand and gently touched Hajime's left shoulder, shaking him lightly. "Hajime!"
Hajime startled, turning to Yul with an irritable frown. "What?" He moved his shoulder away from Yul's touch, a clear gesture of discomfort. "You don't have to touch me."
Yul was surprised by Hajime's sudden, sharp reaction to his touch. Only a few nights ago, Hajime had been fine sleeping with him in his arms. He shook his head, a hint of confusion in his voice. "I called you, but you didn't answer."
"I heard it, but I didn't respond," Hajime stated flatly.
"If you hear me, say something so I know you heard me," Yul argued, a touch of frustration in his voice.
Hajime frowned displeasedly, his face closed off. "What's wrong?"
Yul sighed, letting the previous tension dissipate. "I got a map."
Hajime, his expression instantly changing, stretched out his hand. "Where's the map?"
Yul took the map from his inner robe and handed it to Hajime. "Here. The merchant told me this map would take us to No Man's Land," he explained.
Hajime stared at the map, turning it over in his hands. "Are you sure? Although this map looks old, it feels old." He held the leather map up to his nose and sniffed it twice. "Just because it's old doesn't mean it's the correct map. Look." He put the map on the table. "It's completely blank, which means you've been tricked into buying a fake map."
"That's what I thought too," Yul conceded, "but you have to hold the map in your hand and turn in the right direction for the text to appear."
Hajime shook his head, still skeptical, not believing a single word Yul told him. But he figured that since the map was already blank, there was nothing to lose by trying. He held the map in both hands, turned slowly to the left, and watched, stunned, as the blank leather began to glow. His heart, usually so guarded, leaped with excitement. "Unbelievable," he murmured.
"That's what I thought too," Yul said, a triumphant smile.
"How much did you spend on this map?" Hajime asked, his voice filled with newfound interest.
"The merchant asked for three silver leaves, and I was about to pay, but he disappeared," Yul recounted.
Hajime felt a little uneasy. "He disappeared?"
Yul nodded. "I think it's good to go with what the map shows because we don't have a lead anyway," he said. "We'll go back and see if the other two agree with us."
Hajime stood up, returning the map to Yul. They began walking back to their reserved room at the inn.
"Why do you need their consent?" Hajime asked, a hint of his pragmatic nature surfacing. "Since you are the captain, you should make the final decision."
"This is not a one-man task," Yul explained, his voice serious. "Every decision counts and touches the lives of all five of us. My decision could endanger everyone's life, so I want them to have a say as well."
Hajime sighed, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Whatever, since you are the boss."