By Zephyria 
Now, Baek Ryeo-il could not understand why he had feared Seong Mu-yeon for so long.
Seong Mu-yeon did not push him away. On the contrary, he wrapped his arms around his neck, clung to him, and responded actively.
Naturally.
Seong Mu-yeon had always acted for his sake. Leaving, and hiding his identity without revealing it, had all been done with him in mind.
However, Baek Ryeo-il had arbitrarily doubted his intentions and distorted the facts, choosing a path of self-inflicted suffering. It was a foolish thing to do, but at the time, he could not escape those thoughts.
Baek Ryeo-il had been in agony. Of course, parting is painful, but Baek Ryeo-il’s distress stemmed from old wounds that had piled up and overlapped over a long period. Unaware of this fact, Baek Ryeo-il had sought a justifiable reason for his suffering.
Seong Mu-yeon ought to have loathed him. That was why he must have abandoned him, and why he should not have wanted to return to his side.
Only then could this pain be rationalized.
He interpreted every action, every glance, and every single breath of Seong Mu-yeon in the worst possible light.
Seong Mu-yeon hates me.
He doesn’t want to be with me.
But it was all a false delusion he had created himself.
Liberated from his long-standing pain, Baek Ryeo-il could finally see the world clearly. Seong Mu-yeon was anxious, walking on eggshells while watching his reaction.
Apology and gratitude were written all over his face.
Why hadn’t he realized it sooner?
It didn’t matter anymore.
Seong Mu-yeon looked slightly bewildered, but his desire for him was evident. Just as Baek Ryeo-il had waited, he too had been longing for this moment.
The cautious kisses gradually grew more heated.
The two pressed against each other so closely that their legs intertwined. Before they knew it, their hands became urgent, caressing one another as they stripped off their clothes.
He thought he had forgotten all desire. But the moment he saw Seong Mu-yeon’s feverish breathing and flushed cheeks, it came rushing back vividly.
As blood rushed to his head, all other thoughts vanished into the distance.
Seong Mu-yeon also seemed poised to devour Baek Ryeo-il. Swept away by a lust he hadn’t felt in a long time, his reason nearly flew away.
He nibbled on Baek Ryeo-il’s lips as if to swallow him whole, then bit his jaw and neck, gradually moving downward.
Having loosened the half-open collar and descended to the navel, Seong Mu-yeon suddenly lifted eyes shimmering with desire. Baek Ryeo-il noticed what he was trying to do.
“Don’t.”
Baek Ryeo-il wasn’t particularly keen on it. Having never received oral pleasure, he was curious about how it felt, but right now, he wanted to fall into ecstasy side-by-side with Seong Mu-yeon, not just satisfy his own desire.
However, before he could stop him, Seong Mu-yeon stripped off his lower garments and took his already hard, swollen member firmly into his mouth.
“Ah…”
Baek Ryeo-il’s face contorted sharply.
The stimulation was excessive. The inside of Seong Mu-yeon’s mouth was practically heavenly. Forgetting his initial reluctance, Baek Ryeo-il sank into the hot, wet sensation enveloping him.
As Seong Mu-yeon began to suck him, his mind turned white. He helplessly surrendered himself, arching his neck back and letting out feverish breaths.
Seong Mu-yeon was clumsy. His rhythm and pressure were erratic. Sometimes he tightened too much, and sometimes he was too loose. But that very point felt more erotic, driving Baek Ryeo-il’s excitement to the peak.
The sight of Seong Mu-yeon, who had never taken another man’s member in his mouth, willingly kneeling to swallow his was excessively stimulating.
Baek Ryeo-il could no longer endure it. Feeling as if he would pour himself into that hot, soft mouth at any moment, he pulled Seong Mu-yeon up.
Baek Ryeo-il lifted him up and headed for the bed.
Laid upon the narrow bed, Seong Mu-yeon looked up at Baek Ryeo-il, his eyes and lips flushed red, perhaps from the stimulation of his throat while performing oral pleasure.
Without any hesitation, he opened his legs wide for him and reached out his arms to welcome him.
Baek Ryeo-il leaned down in response to his request. Seong Mu-yeon immediately wrapped his arms around his neck and coiled his legs around his waist. Their lips intertwined deeply.
Whenever they mixed their bodies, they were always blinded by an intense lust. However, their first union that day was clumsy and awkward, as it had been far too long since they had last engaged in sexual intercourse.
The narrow, old bed creaked and screamed incessantly, and whenever the wind blew, an eerie sound echoed, as if there were a hole somewhere in the wall.
Despite that, the moment the two reached their climax, they felt a pleasure incomparable to any night they had shared in the past. No special techniques were needed. The sincere longing of wanting the other desperately was more than enough to fill any void.
Once the climax, which could be described as a tremor, passed, the two looked at each other with slightly dazed eyes at what they had just experienced.
And immediately, a second spark flew.
That night did not end with just one round. It was a sweet rain after a long drought. It only ended once they had quenched their thirst enough to satisfy their longing.
It was the season transitioning from spring to summer. In the mountain valley after sunset, a gentle breeze of moderate temperature—neither too hot nor too cold—blew, tickling their sweat-drenched cheeks.
Seong Mu-yeon sat leaning against the stairs with the door of the hut wide open, staring blankly at the sky.
It was a strange feeling.
Until this afternoon, he had been busy running around frantically chasing Baek Ryeo-il, but the situation had changed abruptly. Now, wearing nothing underneath, wrapped in an old bedsheet like a blanket, he was cooling his heat in the night breeze.
It didn’t feel real at all.
He thought there were many more problems to solve before they could welcome such peace. Seong Mu-yeon had expected a long process of conflict and pain, but Baek Ryeo-il had skipped over everything.
Is this really okay?
This isn’t a dream, is it?
Seong Mu-yeon pinched his own cheek.
It hurt.
“What are you doing?”
Looking up, as if to prove that the passionate intercourse they just had was not a dream, a half-naked Baek Ryeo-il was walking toward him, carrying a handful of things. Seong Mu-yeon quickly removed his hand from his cheek.
“Gang Woong left some food for us to eat before he left.”
Baek Ryeo-il poured out what he had brought onto the floor. They were individually wrapped steamed buns, beef jerky, and snacks, designed for easy eating while traveling. He couldn’t help but admire Gang Woong, who hadn’t lost his attentiveness even while busy with his mission.
“He’s a good lad. He’s almost too good to be my disciple.”
“I suppose so.”
At the sincerity that popped out reflexively, Seong Mu-yeon flinched and covered his mouth. He didn’t want to break the peaceful atmosphere they had finally found, but his mouth was always the problem.
However, Baek Ryeo-il acted as if nothing had happened, picked up an apple, wiped it roughly on his sleeve, and took a large bite.
“…”
What on earth happened in that cave for a person to change like this?
Baek Ryeo-il did not explain in detail what had happened in the place where he regained his forgotten memories of the past.
But it was clear that there had been a significant change of heart. To think that Baek Ryeo-il, who would have flown into a rage asking what that meant in the past, was not getting angry.
Seong Mu-yeon also knew roughly what Baek Ryeo-il had gone through via Ma Jin-cheon. What exactly did he recall from that horrific incident to become as generous as an enlightened Buddha?
“Eat.”
When Seong Mu-yeon didn’t readily reach for the food and only watched his reaction, Baek Ryeo-il pushed a steamed bun into his mouth.
How could he be this kind!
Something must be terribly wrong. Seong Mu-yeon didn’t like the changed him. For some reason, he felt uneasy.
Is it really true that there’s no problem?! They say when a person suddenly changes, it’s because their time to die has come. Or perhaps the memories he recalled were so shocking that he’s lost his mind.
Filled with all sorts of thoughts, Seong Mu-yeon mechanically chewed and swallowed the steamed bun without even knowing what it tasted like.
But Baek Ryeo-il gave a faint smile when he saw him quietly accepting the food.
It was a comfortable and warm smile stemming from a sincerity that he hadn’t expected Baek Ryeo-il to be capable of.
And it was a smile he hadn’t seen in a very long time.
‘…’
For some reason, Seong Mu-yeon’s eyes grew stingy.
Not wanting to show tears, he lowered his head as if he couldn’t resist because the steamed bun was too delicious. Then, perhaps worried that he might choke while eating so hurriedly, Baek Ryeo-il handed him some water.
‘Hmm.’
Looking at it again, it’s not so bad.
Seong Mu-yeon thought as he stared blankly at the water that Baek Ryeo-il had personally opened the cap for and presented to him. In truth, Baek Ryeo-il wasn’t such a bad person. Rather, he was secretly a kind person. It was just that his rough attitude made his personality seem foul.
Seong Mu-yeon liked that side of Baek Ryeo-il, but it didn’t feel bad to have him be so openly nice.
Now, while Baek Ryeo-il’s heart was as wide as the ocean, was the perfect time.
“Um, about the seal.”
Seong Mu-yeon hesitated before speaking.
“I really didn’t do that on purpose, you know?”
“Eh?”
Baek Ryeo-il made a bewildered sound.
“I didn’t wear a mask on purpose to deceive the seal. I always wore one. With posters of my face all over the Central Plains, how could I walk around with my bare face? And I didn’t deceive you on purpose either! It was just that Young master Peng Do-hwan was there, so I had no choice!”
“…Suddenly?”
Baek Ryeo-il looked at Seong Mu-yeon as if he were utterly absurd.