By Zephyria 
He had spent barely a single day with Jegal Yeom-mi.
He couldn’t understand it then, but he knew now.
As the enemies approached the cave and the risk of discovery grew, Jegal Yeom-mi had acted as a decoy herself, luring them away. Because of that, Baek Ryeo-il had remained unseen by the enemy and survived.
However, what she had given Baek Ryeo-il that day was not a moment of comfort, but a lifetime of waiting. He would not be able to escape it until the day his life ended.
They say one must watch to see if a wound has healed well, but there are some wounds that are better left untouched.
I’m exhausted now…
Baek Ryeo-il dropped his head, letting out a faintly trembling breath.
I can’t live like this anymore…
I…
I no longer have the strength to endure.
What Baek Ryeo-il had touched was a massive dam he had barely managed to hold back during his childhood. It had been precarious, with cracks appearing everywhere as if it might collapse at any moment, but it had held for a long time regardless. However, because he had poked at it himself, it collapsed completely before he could do anything about it.
Baek Ryeo-il bitterly regretted coming here. There was a reason why the forgotten memories had been forgotten.
But now that he had regained those memories, he couldn’t simply erase them again. The time had come to resolve the problem he had postponed for so long.
But how?
Just recalling the memories made him feel a suffocating terror and helplessness, as if he had returned to the past.
If he had faced the problem head-on in his childhood instead of avoiding it, it would have been very painful, but he would have recovered somehow. But Baek Ryeo-il had already grown up.
The pus and stench that had accumulated layer by layer in the neglected wound had burst all at once.
“Haa… haa…”
Baek Ryeo-il trembled violently, gasping for air.
Anyone… please…
Someone get me out of here.
Tears that had flowed without him even realizing it drenched the ground.
Rustle.
Just then, he heard the sound of someone lingering near the cave. It felt like a recurring nightmare. No one who had waited in that place where the light leaked in had ever revealed themselves. This time would be the same. Since everyone he waited for was dead, his waiting would never end in this lifetime.
The presence wandering nearby soon approached the entrance, just as other people who had sought this place had done.
Someone’s shadow blocked the light at the entrance. The cave grew darker.
Baek Ryeo-il held his breath.
The first thing he saw was a hand gripping a sword. Leaning against the rock wall, the person soon bent their upper body and peered inside.
“…Found you.”
It was Seong Mu-yeon. Upon discovering Baek Ryeo-il, he grinned. Baek Ryeo-il’s eyes widened. A golden necklace he had seen once before glittered on his neck.
Struggling his way inside, Seong Mu-yeon straightened his back and looked around.
“Took me a while to find you.”
Baek Ryeo-il stared at him blankly, as if looking at a strange creature. Seong Mu-yeon flinched upon noticing his damp cheeks and slowly approached.
As Seong Mu-yeon leaned down, the necklace swayed before his eyes.
“Oh boy…”
He asked nothing. He simply narrowed his brow and used his sleeve to meticulously wipe Baek Ryeo-il’s cheeks and the corners of his eyes.
“What on earth were you doing in a place like this… Let’s go! It smells musty in here.”
Seong Mu-yeon wrinkled his nose and snatched his hand. Then, he dragged him straight out of the cave.
Baek Ryeo-il was led outside helplessly. The pouring sunlight stung his eyes.
Baek Ryeo-il looked up at the sky. It was certainly the same sun he saw every day. But it felt different somehow.
He lowered his gaze to the back of Seong Mu-yeon, who was marching forward.
“…”
The chain of the gold necklace was slightly visible outside the collar.
…I see. You are her…
Baek Ryeo-il suddenly lunged forward and hugged Seong Mu-yeon from behind. As Seong Mu-yeon’s body stiffened, Baek Ryeo-il buried his face in the nape of his neck and stood there for a long time, inhaling his body fragrance to the fullest.
Seong Mu-yeon felt a damp sensation on his shoulder and looked up. Suddenly, Baek Ryeo-il’s body pressed heavily against him.
“Master…? Master!”
Baek Ryeo-il lost consciousness and went limp. Seong Mu-yeon almost dropped him.
“Ma-Master! Wake up!”
Seong Mu-yeon’s face turned pale.
When Seong Mu-yeon appeared carrying the unconscious Baek Ryeo-il on his back, the Hwasan Sect Disciples were thrown into a state of utter chaos.
“Move, move!”
Disciples with worried expressions crowded around, creating a bustling scene. Of course, among them, there were more disciples who had gathered for the rare sight of a fainted Baek Ryeo-il than those who were actually worried.
“Young master…? How did Master…”
Even Gang Woong turned pale, witnessing Baek Ryeo-il in such a helpless state for the first time. Unable to hide his agitation with shaking eyes, he looked at Seong Mu-yeon with suspicion.
“Did you do this to the Young master?”
Who else in the vicinity would be a Master capable of putting Baek Ryeo-il in this state?
“How could that be possible!”
Seong Mu-yeon struggled to lay Baek Ryeo-il down in the hut. After chasing away the disciples who had followed him to the door, he flopped down on the floor.
He didn’t know what state of mind he had been in while returning.
When a perfectly fine person suddenly lost consciousness, Seong Mu-yeon couldn’t help but be terrified. It was an even more serious situation because it wasn’t just any ordinary person, but Baek Ryeo-il.
Seared with fear, thinking he needed to see a physician immediately, he had hoisted Baek Ryeo-il onto his shoulder and started running.
However, before long, he realized that Baek Ryeo-il hadn’t fainted, but had fallen asleep. It was even more absurd.
A grown adult falling asleep while standing?
Is he crazy?
And he was so heavy that Seong Mu-yeon became drenched in sweat in a short time, which was utterly unpleasant.
‘…He probably hasn’t been able to rest properly.’
Even after rescuing Seong Mu-yeon, he had gone straight to look for the Poison Freak, so it would be lucky if he had slept even a few hours over the past few days.
Seong Mu-yeon rested his chin on the edge of the bed and watched the soundly sleeping Baek Ryeo-il.
The thick, dense eyelashes and the slender bridge of his nose formed a beautiful curve. Seong Mu-yeon soon recalled the image of that beautiful face being moist with tears.
Baek Ryeo-il shedding tears.
Who would believe it?
Equally exhausted, Seong Mu-yeon let out a long yawn. Just then, Gang Woong visited cautiously to inform him that they would be leaving now. Soon, the village became empty and quiet.
He climbed onto the bed and burrowed into Baek Ryeo-il’s side. Because the bed was narrow, his hip stuck out even when he pressed himself as close as possible.
Left with no choice, Seong Mu-yeon clung to him, almost climbing on top of Baek Ryeo-il’s body. Listening to the steady beat of Baek Ryeo-il’s heart, he slowly closed his eyes.
When Seong Mu-yeon woke up, it was evening and the sunset was glowing. He had been hugging Baek Ryeo-il when he fell asleep, but when he woke up, he was alone.
Baek Ryeo-il was standing with his back turned near the window, watching the sunset beyond the shutters of the hut.
As Seong Mu-yeon sat up, Baek Ryeo-il turned around.
‘…What is this?’
Somehow, he felt a different atmosphere coming from Baek Ryeo-il. The pitch-black eyes looking at him were calmly settled.
Seong Mu-yeon carefully stepped down from the bed.
He stopped a few paces away from Baek Ryeo-il. He couldn’t easily approach due to a strange sense of alienation.
“…Are you alright?”
He asked, carefully examining his face with eyes full of concern.
Baek Ryeo-il slowly shook his head.
Seong Mu-yeon’s heart sank. As expected, something had gone wrong after he went to that cave.
Baek Ryeo-il was the most reliable and strongest person in the world, but he harbored a secret, painful wound. If it weren’t for him, Baek Ryeo-il would have had no reason to come near here, nor would he have poked at old wounds for nothing.
Seong Mu-yeon worried if his heart had been hurt. Above all, he was anxious that a change in his state of mind might have changed his feelings toward him.
While Seong Mu-yeon was hesitating, Baek Ryeo-il moved away from the window first and approached him. He reached out gently, wrapped his arm around his shoulder, and pulled him in.
Baek Ryeo-il let out a long breath and spoke.
“I wasn’t alright, but I am now.”
Fortunately, it seemed his feelings hadn’t changed, and Seong Mu-yeon felt relieved.
He lowered his head and pressed their foreheads together.
“Everything is alright now.”
There were many things Baek Ryeo-il wanted to tell Seong Mu-yeon. Such as the fact that he had met his mother in the past and had unintentionally formed a deep bond.
Jegal Yeom-mi could not return, but Seong Mu-yeon had come in her stead. He had pulled him out of that place.
That thanks to him, the long wait had ended.
But more than that, Baek Ryeo-il wanted to feel him right now.
There would be plenty of time to talk later.
He carefully pressed his lips onto Seong Mu-yeon’s. Seong Mu-yeon’s eyes widened as if unexpected, but he soon relaxed his body.
The anguish and the pain all scattered into a blurred past.