By Zephyria That’s How It Happened (6)
The first day of the new year, around dawn.
Gang Woong passed through the gates of Mount Hua and took a deep breath of the clear, fresh air.
‘I really do love Mount Hua.’
According to his original plan, he was supposed to spend a few more days with his family before returning. But he missed Mount Hua so much that he came back a little earlier than planned.
Of course, his concern for Seong Mu-yeon also played a big part in his early return.
He was worried about Seong Mu-yeon’s health, but he was also concerned about the recent tension between Baek Ryeo-il and him. They always bickered, but they never stopped talking to each other, which made him even more worried. What if they ended up having a major falling out?
Gang Woong didn’t want to choose between the two. Baek Ryeo-il was his precious Master who taught and guided him, and Seong Mu-yeon was… well, he didn’t do much, but he was a precious presence who made the Emerald Pavilion feel more like home than his actual home.
The Emerald Pavilion would become noticeably gloomy and depressing if even one person was missing. Knowing how lonely it was to be alone in such a place, Gang Woong thought he should return quickly to fill the void, so he hurried his steps. He even brought a lot of food for Seong Mu-yeon.
He hummed a tune as he entered the Emerald Pavilion. It was quiet because it was still too early for Seong Mu-yeon to be awake. He tried not to make any noise as he headed straight to the kitchen, not wanting to wake Seong Mu-yeon.
As he passed Seong Mu-yeon’s room, he suddenly stopped. Then he took a few steps back. Seong Mu-yeon’s door was slightly open, so he glanced inside and was startled.
‘Hup!’
Gang Woong was so surprised that he couldn’t even make a sound and froze like a stone statue.
Under the window where the blue dawn light streamed in, two men were lying naked. It was Baek Ryeo-il and Seong Mu-yeon. They were spooning each other like affectionate lovers.
At that moment, Baek Ryeo-il slowly opened his eyes and made eye contact with Gang Woong through the crack in the door. His mind went completely blank, and he froze, unable to run away.
Baek Ryeo-il yawned leisurely and waved his hand dismissively, as if he was annoyed. Gang Woong, taken aback by his nonchalant and natural demeanor, bowed unconsciously and quietly closed the door.
He creaked into the kitchen. Then he blankly placed the luggage he had brought on the table.
A moment later, he covered his flushed cheeks with both hands.
‘What do I do, what do I do!’
The innocent boy was shocked to see the two men sleeping in each other’s arms, but only for a moment. He became flustered and stamped his feet, his face flushed.
‘I guess they made up!’
He felt relieved for some reason.
It was like being reassured that his parents, who were always fighting, had a solid relationship. He started humming again and began preparing food for the three of them.
Not long after, a shrill scream was heard from Seong Mu-yeon’s room. Even that sounded sweet to Gang Woong. He smiled contentedly and sped up his hand movements.
“W-W-What are you doing here!”
Seong Mu-yeon clutched his pounding heart and shouted in a shrill voice. He had woken up to the faint clattering sounds, and Baek Ryeo-il was staring at him right in front of his nose.
“You’re awake?”
Unlike Seong Mu-yeon, who was confused and unable to grasp the situation, Baek Ryeo-il scratched his stomach with a nonchalant attitude and got up. As he did, the thin blanket covering his chest slipped down, revealing his naked body.
“What is going on! Why are you here!”
“Don’t you remember?”
The moment Baek Ryeo-il asked that, the memories of last night flashed through his mind.
〈Haa… Touch me. Quickly.〉
〈It’s hot and itchy here, I can’t stand it.〉
〈Deeper, deeper… Thrust it in.〉
……I’m crazy, really crazy.
Seong Mu-yeon wanted to bite his tongue off right then and there. His tongue, which had committed such an absurd act, needed to be thoroughly punished. This is why you shouldn’t drink alcohol.
But right now, the priority was to get out of this situation. Seong Mu-yeon pretended not to know anything without changing his expression.
“What memories?”
Although he was sweating buckets on the inside and his fingertips were trembling slightly, fortunately, he was the type of person who didn’t show his true feelings.
Baek Ryeo-il’s eyes narrowed.
“You seem to be pretending not to remember.”
“E-Excuse me? What are you talking about? Who is the one who sneaked into someone else’s bed and harassed a drunk person, and now you’re acting like I’m in the wrong? Is this how they taught you at Mount Hua? Huh?”
“Don’t accuse me of something I didn’t do! You were the one who came at me first!”
“Ha! Are you slandering me like this because I said I don’t remember? There’s no way I would do that!”
Why did you do that, Seong Mu-yeon.
Go die, Seong Mu-yeon.
After a round of bickering, Seong Mu-yeon finally remembered that he had been awkward with Baek Ryeo-il for a while. That was why he drank alcohol, which he never usually touched. He remembered being upset that Baek Ryeo-il had been ignoring him for some unknown reason.
But today, Baek Ryeo-il was completely back to his usual self. He was nagging and lazy. It seemed like he was in a better mood for some reason.
He always does whatever he wants.
Seong Mu-yeon looked at Baek Ryeo-il, who was constantly scoffing as if he was dumbfounded, and concluded that the fault ratio was 0:100. Of course, Baek Ryeo-il was 100. In the first place, if he hadn’t ignored him, Seong Mu-yeon wouldn’t have drunk alcohol. If he hadn’t drunk alcohol, such a scandalous thing wouldn’t have happened. So everything was Baek Ryeo-il’s fault.
Clatter, clatter.
As the surroundings became quiet, the noise that had been coming from outside since earlier pierced his ears. Seong Mu-yeon felt uneasy.
“…If Master Baek is here, then who is making the noise in the kitchen?”
“Who else could it be? Who else lives in this house besides you and me?”
Baek Ryeo-il said, yawning languidly, with an attitude that showed no sense of crisis.
“……”
There are a total of three people living in the Emerald Pavilion. Seong Mu-yeon, Baek Ryeo-il, and Gang Woong. But the young boy was supposed to be gone for a few more days before returning…?
Seong Mu-yeon screamed for the second time. The only difference was that this time it was a silent scream. He jumped out of bed with a pale face. His body, which had been overworked for the first time in a long time last night, screamed, but he ignored it and began picking up the clothes scattered on the floor.
“A-Are you crazy? Why are you so calm? What if Gang Woong finds out?”
Seong Mu-yeon lowered his voice and snapped. He grabbed Baek Ryeo-il, who didn’t seem to have any intention of getting up.
“Get out! Before he finds out…!”
Just then, Gang Woong knocked lightly on the door twice.
“Young master, are you awake? I’ve prepared a meal.”
“!”
Seong Mu-yeon’s hair stood on end, worried that Gang Woong would open the door and come in at any moment. He pushed Baek Ryeo-il towards the window.
“Get out, get out! Quick, quick!”
“You want me to go out like this?”
Baek Ryeo-il seemed dumbfounded. He hadn’t done anything wrong, but he was being told to run away naked through the window from his own house, as if he had been caught doing something inappropriate. Seong Mu-yeon shoved the clothes into Baek Ryeo-il’s chest, who had been pushed out of the window in a daze, and slammed the window shut.
Then, he hurriedly checked to make sure his clothes were in order and opened the door slightly.
“H-Haha… Gang Woong, weren’t you supposed to be at home? How did you come back so soon? W-When did you arrive? Did you come this morning?”
Seong Mu-yeon prayed desperately in his heart. Please, please let him not have been at the Emerald Pavilion last night…
“Yes! I haven’t been back for long. I brought some food from home, so let’s eat together.”
As Gang Woong glanced around as if trying to peek inside the room, Seong Mu-yeon desperately twisted his body to block his view.
“I-I’ll be there soon. Just need to wash my face.”
“But what about Master?”
“Why are you looking for Master in my room?! Master Baek must be in his own room.”
“No, I definitely saw him earlier…”
Just then, Baek Ryeo-il’s door across the hallway creaked open. He hadn’t even buttoned up his top, revealing his upper body.
“Bring it over when you’re done.”
“Master? Why are you there…”
“Are you unhappy that I’m in my room?”
Baek Ryeo-il acted so nonchalantly that Gang Woong couldn’t question him any further.
The three sat around the table and shared the food. Seong Mu-yeon glanced suspiciously at Gang Woong, who was smiling brightly, and then glared at Baek Ryeo-il.
‘What kind of change of heart suddenly happened that made him so normal again?’
Seong Mu-yeon decided to ignore it. Only the person himself would know the reason, and even if he tried to find out, Baek Ryeo-il would never say it out loud, given his personality.
But after the meal, when Baek Ryeo-il showed signs of going out, Seong Mu-yeon unconsciously became alert.
“Where are you going!”
Baek Ryeo-il flinched at the loud shout. Eventually, Seong Mu-yeon grabbed his sleeve and clung to him.
“Where are you going and what are you doing! When are you coming back!”
“Ah, what’s wrong with you? Let go!”