1149 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

For some reason, I began to walk a bit faster, feeling slightly embarrassed. Yet, Hyeonsoyeon was determined not to let me slip away, following persistently. Honestly, it was annoyingly tenacious. "Ugh... why are you so fast!" "...Why do you keep following me?" "It's not following! I just asked if you wanted to chat while taking a walk and you left first!" Then why follow me? Why not just let it go? Really, her persistence was bewildering. Her relentless pursuit eventually brought me to a halt. "...So, what is it?" I asked, feeling my patience wearing thin. "Oh, well, there was something I thought I'd ask." "What is it?" "It's about... Namgung Hyung." "......" Narrowing my eyes, I thought, 'So it's about Namgung Hyung.' It wouldn't be about Namgung Jin. If it were, she wouldn't be asking with that expression. "......Namgung Hyung?" "Yes." "You're asking me about him?" "Yes." "...?" What was she getting at? I looked at her, puzzled. "...Do you know where he went?" She asked cautiously. Her question made me hesitate briefly. Where he went? If he went anywhere... 'The Wudang, perhaps.' If he went where I suggested, it would indeed be Wudang. Whether he actually went is unclear. However. "...Who knows? Why ask me?" The fact that she was asking me felt like the main issue. Did she know something and was asking to confirm? I questioned her curiosity in return. "Because I thought Baek Gongja might know. Am I wrong?" "......" Hyeonsoyeon spoke as if she were certain. Although, her tone was confident rather than her actual feelings. This implied. 'Grasping at straws.' It seemed she was asking with the hope of finding any lead. But. "I don't know about that." I couldn't disclose anything. Especially not something uncertain like Wudang. Even if it were certain, I couldn't tell her. "...I see." Hyeonsoyeon's face darkened instantly at my response. I felt a twinge of guilt, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn't afford to be concerned about Hyeonsoyeon at the moment. All I was curious about was. "Miss Hyeon." "...Yes?" "Why him, specifically?" "..." My question made Hyeonsoyeon pause. Why was it Namgung Hyung? I was curious about why she chose him over Namgung Jin. And her response was. "...Can I just say I don't know either?" She replied with a bitter smile. Hearing that embarrassed me a bit. 'This person knows I’m lying.' She seemed to know my words were untruthful. Hearing that, I shrugged my shoulders. What else could I do? "No, you don't have to answer." "..." It wasn't such an important matter, so I thought it was fine even without an answer. "It’s nothing significant." It seemed Hyeonsoyeon started answering anyway. "He just saw me as I am." "...What does that mean?" "I'm pretty, aren't I? Exceptionally so." "..." I made a strange face. It was truly bewildering. What was she saying? "Hahaha." Hyeonsoyeon laughed heartily, as if my expression was amusing. "Yes, that was exactly his expression. He was the sort who'd tell me not to spout nonsense when I said I was pretty." "And that made you happy?" "Ridiculous, right? But it did." She liked someone who didn't care about her looks? It made no sense. "He was the only one who saw me as I am, without caring about my appearance." "I don't see what's so great about that." I didn't understand. "Yeah, it's not really a big deal. It’s just that there aren't many people who do that. Surprisingly, you seem a bit like that too... but you're a little different." "How am I different?" "Well, you have someone already. And... you feel familiar, which isn’t easy with pretty things. Makes me think your fiancée must be exceptionally beautiful. Oh, come to think of it." Hyeonsoyeon nodded, as if she made sense of it. "If she looks like me, that's possible." "You're obnoxious." "Gongja. Your inner thoughts slipped out." "Oops." I couldn't help it. "Well, that was the reason. Young folly, perhaps." "It seems more like a curse, considering you’re still like this." "Love is inherently a curse. You didn’t know? You're still young." Her chuckling annoyed me. "But doesn't that make Namgung Jin no different?" Considering Namgung Jin still seemed to like Mi Hyoran, I wondered if there wasn’t much difference. So, why not love Namgung Jin then? When I asked. "There's something unsettling about him, so I feel less drawn. Well, not that it matters." I could relate to the unsettling part. Besides. "Yet you're still going to marry him?" "I have no choice. It's not an issue I can resolve within the family. And...” Her smiling face darkens. "I lack the courage or recklessness to break this and choose something else." "..." It was a stark realism I couldn't meddle with. "I see." "You're not asking more?" "Yes, it's not my place to interfere." "Haha... You're right." She wiped her nose lightly. It didn't seem like there was anything on it, just a habitual gesture. "If you don't mind me asking." "Yes." "What would you have done?" "In what context?" "In my situation. Would you have had the courage?" "..." I pondered the question. If I were in Hyeonsoyeon's situation? Breaking off from family matters and choosing the other person... 'Who would that be...?' A shameless thought briefly crossed my mind. I could think of a few women. Among them, who...? I quickly dismissed those thoughts. 'Whoever it is.' Whoever it might be. No matter who I substitute in, would my response change? 'No.' It wouldn't, I figured. So, I shared my genuine feelings with Hyeonsoyeon. "I wouldn't put it on the scale or anything." "What?" "Family or whatever, I wouldn't give up that person." "..." Whether recklessness or bravery. Without needing to attach frivolous words to it, I wouldn't choose anything else. 'That's why I'm living the way I am now.' Whether it's the Blood Demon or Taechun. Despite the cursed fate I look upon, I'm tenaciously crawling through life for this very reason. Because I don't want to choose anything else. That's why I'm living this way. "...That's a resolute statement. I'm a bit envious." "It's not really." "Had I been like that, would things have been different for me?" "I wouldn’t know. That's not for me to answer." "Haha..." Hyeonsoyeon chuckled quietly and started walking again. "I'm envious of your fiancée." She continued to speak to me. "A man willing to ignore everything and choose the other person? Can such a man exist?" "......" Hearing this, I tilted my head. There was a clarification I needed to make. "No, that's not it." "Pardon?" "It's not your envy for my fiancée, is it?" "...What do you mean?" It seemed there was a misconception. That wasn't what she envied. "You envy me." "...!" Hyeonsoyeon's eyes widened at my words. "Not my fiancée. You envy the choice I make, because you couldn't." "......" She appeared as if she had been struck by a hammer. "Ah..." "I'm leaving now." Leaving Hyeonsoyeon behind, I walked away. There wasn't anything more I needed to do. Perhaps she would realize it herself. 'Not that realizing it will change anything.' Even if the prospect of some change frightened her. I didn't want to leave it as it was. It's quite contradictory. I worry about changes regarding the Celestial, yet I didn't touch it. 'But here I am, meddling.' There isn't a bigger fool than this. 'All of this...' I looked up at the moon while walking. 'It's because of you.' Because its resemblance was uncanny. Even when I want to ignore it, it catches my attention. "Sigh." I let out a sigh. 'Are they doing well?' Whether it's the child who resembles the moon. Or the child who resembles the sun. The children I've tried to contain—are they living well? It was a night when the worries I had hidden began to surface. * * * In the charcoal-blackened cave. Splash. The space filled with the metallic stench of blood. A passage dimly lit with not a single beam of light. Within it. Crackle-!! For a brief moment, a bright light erupted. "Gurgh... ugh..." ZGVPdDc2cnQxMFU0bVlrbnZITXlVbFAyUS9lVTdZQXVHOWRjV25GZWFmTTFvYU5jdU8yV1FzZFREZXI2VUg5QQ A shriek followed as someone collapsed, and the smell of burning flesh seeped into the bloody atmosphere. A blackened, burnt figure, electrocuted, perished in the pool of blood. Squelch. Leaving the dead behind, someone walked through the puddle. Growllll...! As the figure moved, a huge form nearby let out a noise. It conveyed uncertainty rather than hostility. Perhaps sensing this feeling, the moving figure paused momentarily. Ssss. With a pale hand, they stroked the massive creature. At the touch, the large being swallowed its cries. In those clear blue eyes, the lightning cracked, giving a dim glow. "Ah..." A feeble voice escaped. "...It seems it's not here either..." Growl... In response, the being let out a whimper. The white hand that had been gently caressing the creature moved to the figure's face. "...Where is it? Where are you...?" A hesitant and overwhelming emotion. "Where..." Where could you be? The figure searched around but found nothing in sight. Whoosh. "..." A rising stench. The woman's face contorted as she closed her eyes, fighting the unbearable aroma. "...Where are you..." When the woman closed her eyes, even the faint light was extinguished, and darkness crept in. The moon, with nowhere to shine, quietly hid its light. Thus, all that remained was darkness alone.