By Zephyria 
From that day on, Cheon Mu-gyeong gave up on destroying the ice wall and attempted to find the barrier he had entered through. Unlike the Flame Mountain, where he had easily located the traces of the barrier, not a single crack was visible here.
Mu-gyeong couldn’t help but doubt if this place was truly the Eternal Snow Mountains of the North Sea. Since the distance from the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains to the Eternal Snow Mountains was unfathomably vast, he wondered if it was even possible to leap across space through a single barrier.
However, since divine beasts like the ice dragon and fire dragon existed, it stood to reason that gates allowing them to pass between realms existed as well. Furthermore, looking at Wi Ho-yeon, whose eyes were sparkling beside him, this place was certainly the North Sea. Aside from Wi Ho-yeon, Mu-gyeong had never seen a person from the North Sea, but Ho-yeon looked exactly as the stories had described.
It was said that the higher one’s level of ice art, the whiter their hair and bluer their eyes, but despite his snow-white appearance, Ho-yeon was a complete novice when it came to martial arts. Based on looks alone, Ho-yeon seemed less like a North Sea native and more like a being who would dwell in the celestial realm.
“A fire dragon lived in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains?”
He wondered how many times he had to ask. Ever since hearing Mu-gyeong say he came from the demon sect, Ho-yeon had asked the same question repeatedly.
“Flame Mountain.”
“You said Flame Mountain is inside the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.”
Mu-gyeong gave a short nod. One might have been irritated by Ho-yeon’s repetitive questioning, but Mu-gyeong answered him patiently every time.
“I’ve never seen a member of the demon sect in my life.”
Having been trapped in a place like this for over ten years, it had likely been a very long time since he had seen any human at all.
“I heard that demon sect members have horns on their foreheads and bright red skin.”
Chattering incessantly, Ho-yeon chewed on a fasting pill with a reluctant expression. He claimed he was forcing himself to eat it to soothe his hungry stomach, but since Mu-gyeong had never cared much for the pleasures of eating, he couldn’t quite empathize with Ho-yeon’s gloom.
“But you’re very handsome.”
Suddenly, Ho-yeon thrust his white-deer-like face close, nearly making Mu-gyeong flinch and step back. Perhaps it was because he had been trapped here since childhood, but he spoke words that others would be too shy to utter. Ho-yeon stared intently at Cheon Mu-gyeong with eyes full of pure admiration. That gaze seemed to ask, What about me?
Mu-gyeong cleared his throat awkwardly and spoke lightly, as if letting the words slip.
“Among the people I’ve seen, you’re…”
“Among the people?”
When Mu-gyeong failed to finish his sentence, Ho-yeon tilted his head slightly. His silver, thread-like hair, which had been tucked behind his ear, swayed and fell downward. The gaze looking up at him with drooping eyes was terribly innocent.
Mu-gyeong had not lived a particularly long life, but the threat of death had always loomed everywhere. The only person who had been entirely on his side and stayed by him without asking for anything in return was his deceased biological mother.
The people he had seen in the demon-taming cave were all prone to betraying yesterday’s comrade today just to survive. It was common to push a friend’s back and run away to preserve one’s own life from the monsters living throughout the demon-taming cave, and because the fasting pills were woefully insufficient for the number of children trapped inside, they fought desperate battles to reduce the number of mouths to feed.
Since he was told that several children from the North Sea had originally been trapped here, he wondered if Ho-yeon had survived until now by using them as sacrifices. With that innocent face, who knew what sinister deeds he might have committed.
Having learned painfully that one should not trust others easily, Mu-gyeong tried not to let his guard down around Wi Ho-yeon, but his heart kept softening. He figured that someone so weak, with barely any martial arts, couldn’t possibly stab him in the back.
“Among the people you’ve seen?”
As Mu-gyeong kept his mouth shut, Ho-yeon asked again after a considerable amount of time. Even then, Mu-gyeong couldn’t take his eyes off him.
“The whitest.”
Ho-yeon, who had been tense waiting for the answer, burst into a laugh.
“That again? Everyone in the North Sea is white. But I don’t know why my hair suddenly became like this. It used to be a dark color.”
Ho-yeon moved closer to Mu-gyeong, continuing to chatter. Mu-gyeong pretended to examine his chipped sword.
“Are you always this talkative?”
“Am I… talkative?”
“You’re certainly not on the quiet side.”
“When I’m alone, I don’t get to talk, so I didn’t know if I was.”
Ho-yeon stealthily gauged Mu-gyeong’s reaction, worried that Mu-gyeong might dislike him for talking too much. This was because he liked the Cheon Mu-gyeong beside him very much.
Of course, even if the person who had entered this place wasn’t Cheon Mu-gyeong, Ho-yeon would have given his heart, but he wouldn’t have clung to them every single moment like this.
Cheon Mu-gyeong was like a torch lighting up a cave without a single glimmer of light. Perhaps that was why the last sun he had seen felt so hot. He remembered how the sun, when it shone upon the white snow mountains, was so dazzling that he couldn’t even look at it properly.
Suddenly, Ho-yeon felt it becoming difficult to look at Cheon Mu-gyeong, just like back then. He was unaware that it was because a sudden wave of shyness washed over him as Mu-gyeong looked directly at him.
“If you’re talkative, it’s not boring.”
Before he knew it, Mu-gyeong had stood up with his back turned, holding his sword.
“I’m glad.”
Ho-yeon smiled brightly and trotted after Mu-gyeong. Mu-gyeong, who walked slower than his usual pace to match Ho-yeon, glanced into the pond. It seemed there were freshwater fish living inside, yet Ho-yeon had eaten nothing but fasting pills the whole time.
“Eat this if you’re hungry. You mustn’t eat those fish.”
Ho-yeon stopped Mu-gyeong as he reached out to snatch a fish. Once again, he abruptly held out a fasting pill.
“Why?”
“I think… they might be spiritual creatures. The kids who ate them all froze to death.”
Mu-gyeong thought that since it was a place where one could freeze to death anyway, it wasn’t necessarily because they ate the fish. Mu-gyeong plunged his arm deep into the pond and snatched a fish. The thick-bodied fish struggled to escape his grip, but it was nothing more than the head and tail thrashing about.
“No…!”
Ho-yeon clung to his arm. His eyes turned red in an instant, transforming from a white deer to a snow rabbit in a heartbeat. He looked as if he were about to cry, but once again, not a single tear fell.
“Y-you mustn’t die. Please stay with me.”
Whether it was because his body was shaking or his voice was trembling, Ho-yeon was convulsing violently.
“Wait.”
Mu-gyeong brushed Ho-yeon’s hand away and focused his concentration intensely on his right hand holding the fish. Ho-yeon watched him anxiously, fearing the fish might go into his mouth. However, a burning smell suddenly wafted up. The scent originated from Mu-gyeong’s hand.
He placed the steaming fish down on the icy floor. He looked around for something to use as firewood, but the only thing that caught his eye was the seven-stringed zither.
He considered burning the seven-stringed zither for firewood, but seeing the ice beads and the board game placed nearby, it seemed to be how Ho-yeon spent his time.
Normally, Mu-gyeong would have acted for his own purpose regardless, but he didn’t want to set fire to Ho-yeon’s few meager possessions. Thus, he focused only on searing the fish on the floor with his own hand.
“If it’s cooked, it shouldn’t kill you.”
Mu-gyeong handed the golden-brown cooked fish to Ho-yeon. Perhaps it really was a spiritual creature, for instead of a fishy smell, it gave off a strong scent of mint.
Rather than taking the fish, Ho-yeon looked at Mu-gyeong’s hand with curiosity, examining it here and there.
Can he light a fire inside his body? Right, that might be why he’s so warm. Ho-yeon continued to hold Mu-gyeong’s forearm, unable to close his mouth in amazement.
Mu-gyeong tightened his already muscular forearm and clenched his fist at the touch of Ho-yeon, who was sticking to him. It felt as if a ticklish sensation was spreading from the forearm where Ho-yeon’s touch landed to his entire body.
If he didn’t clench his fist to stop the tickle, he felt as if his hand might instinctively reach out and pull that white body into an embrace.
“Stop touching me.”
“S-sorry.”
Ho-yeon hurriedly pulled his hand away as if burned.
“No, I mean, you can touch me… anyway, I’ll try it first.”
Mu-gyeong put the head of the mint-scented fish in his mouth and chewed. As expected, the taste was quite different from an ordinary fish. He could feel the texture of fish meat, but the taste was closer to that of land animal meat.
“You eat too.”
Mu-gyeong handed the fish to Ho-yeon to show him that he was perfectly fine.
“If I can touch you, then when can I?”
Ho-yeon asked while holding the fish. Even though they weren’t touching now, that ticklish sensation from before began to creep back in. It was accompanied by a strange feeling, as if blood were rushing to a place even lower than his lower abdomen.
“Just eat.”
Ho-yeon took a bite of the fish meat and his eyes widened. The taste that melted and spread in his mouth was truly superb.
In truth, as long as it wasn’t a fasting pill, even cheap noodles would have been a magnificent feast for Ho-yeon. It had been so long since he had eaten such warm food that Ho-yeon beamed with a wide smile.
Then, he drove a final nail into Cheon Mu-gyeong, who was agonizing over the unknown phenomenon occurring in his body.
“I can be touched anytime!”