85 – Aung (5)

Aww (5)

He stared at the weapon in the box for a long time before cautiously reaching out. With a touch as light as a feather, he stroked the handle and then ran his fingers over the firm joints of the main body.

“How did you ever think of this…?”

He couldn’t take his eyes off the whip. His pupils trembled incessantly.

“I really… I really never imagined it.”

Hesitantly, he finally gripped the handle, and it fit perfectly in his hand. It was as if he had been waiting for this moment since birth to hold it. A gentle wave washed over Seomun Yuha’s heart.

“Thank you, Young master Seong Mu-yeon.”

“Would you like to swing it once? No! Not here!”

Seomun Yuha merely flicked his wrist lightly, but the newly made whip vibrated elastically and instantly shattered the table next to him.

“…Not here.”

Seong Mu-yeon rubbed his forehead.

“I’m sorry…”

“W-Well, I’m glad you seem to like it.”

They went out into the yard and swung the whip a few more times. With each swing, Seomun Yuha adapted more quickly. Seong Mu-yeon’s heart also pounded. Was this what Hwahwagwi would look like in reality?

Whirr!

“Aaaah! Young master Seong! Help me!”

Seomun Yuha, whose body was entangled in the whip he had swung, fell to the side and writhed greatly. He struggled for a long time to untangle the weapon.

“You’ll get used to it soon enough.”

“Y-Yes, I will! Just trust me.”

Seong Mu-yeon chuckled. Now that Hwahwagwi had his weapon, things would go even better.

“The previous owner wasn’t worthy of having this. Young Master Seomun, please give it a new name.”

“….”

Seomun Yuha looked at Seong Mu-yeon with trembling eyes. His mouth felt dry for no reason, and he swallowed hard.

His mother had always urged him to hide himself, and his father had forced him to wield weapons that didn’t suit him. Seong Mu-yeon was the first person to see his true potential as it was and try to bring it out.

“Since Young master Seong gave it to me, you should name it.”

Seong Mu-yeon pondered for a moment before nodding.

“Then… Hwarin Sinpyeon, Hwarinpyeon, shall we say?”

“I like it. Hwarinpyeon.”

His heart swelled with joy.

“Thank you so much.”

“Aish, it’s nothing. Once is enough for thanks. No need to keep going.”

No. He could thank him for the rest of his life and it still wouldn’t be enough.

In Seomun Yuha’s eyes, Seong Mu-yeon seemed to shine even under the moonlight. Just like that night.

The image of him wielding his sword under the moonlight, indifferent but ruthless, seemed to unfold before his eyes once more. However, Seong Mu-yeon wasn’t covered in blood like he was then, and he was smiling comfortably without any of the tension of life and death.

Seomun Yuha suddenly made a decision.

‘…Let’s do it.’

When he entered Mount Hua, he made an oath before the Sect leader.

〈I will not use my abilities to fulfill personal desires.〉

The Sect leader, as well as the few Elders who knew that he was a Flowering Bone, were concerned about Seomun Yuha entering the sect. After all, he was an extremely dangerous person who could charm and manipulate people.

Only after making that oath was he allowed to enter the sect, and furthermore, he was even promised that his identity would be protected as long as he kept it. It was an exceptionally good condition.

However, the moment he broke the oath, he would lose his status as a disciple and have to leave Mount Hua.

He had judged that charming the warriors earlier was not an act of fulfilling personal desires because it was done to help Seong Mu-yeon.

Seomun Yuha wanted to make Seong Mu-yeon his own.

Not just to smile and greet him, but to completely bind him under his control and tie him down so that he could never leave.

To do that.

He had to break the oath.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

In any case, Mount Hua didn’t mean much to him. The only reason he chose Mount Hua was because Seong Mu-yeon was there. Because he wanted to know him better. That was the entirety of his motivation.

Seong Mu-yeon was a more valuable person than he had thought.

Someone who recognized me.

Someone who thought of me.

Someone who cared for me.

If he lost such a person, his heart would ache. He would regret it very, very much.

So before it was too late…

‘Let’s do it.’

As it happened, Seong Mu-yeon was completely unguarded. Even Baek Ryeo-il, who watched over him with eyes like a hawk, was away.

Now was the chance.

“Young master Seong.”

“Yes?”

“Look at me.”

Seong Mu-yeon was already looking at him, and Seomun Yuha immediately released his power. His red-tinged eyes stared deeply into Seong Mu-yeon’s light irises.

“Do you know that I’ve been following you around for the past few days?”

“Have you? I didn’t know. But why me?”

Seong Mu-yeon didn’t even blink. He wasn’t surprised by his confession either. Right now, all his attention would be completely focused on him. He had already begun to fall under the charm of the Flowering Bone.

“I really like you, Young master. That’s why.”

Seong Mu-yeon’s pupils widened. At the same time, his focus blurred.

“Is that so…? I’m not such a great person that someone like Young Master would like me.”

“You’re great to me. That’s enough, isn’t it?”

“Maybe…”

Seong Mu-yeon’s black eyes slowly began to turn red like Seomun Yuha’s.

This process didn’t simply end with charming and manipulating a person. The moment both eyes completely matched in the same color, from that moment on, he would become the most important person in Seong Mu-yeon’s life.

“Are you scared of me?”

“Young Master Seomun? Well… I’m not scared.”

Seong Mu-yeon tilted his head with a dazed expression.

Not yet.

‘Just a little more.’

This ability, which he had been with for his entire life, had never betrayed him. Ah, except for Baek Ryeo-il. He was such an inhuman person that it was okay to consider him an exception.

“Then? Didn’t you want to see me?”

“…Hmm.”

Even in his hazy consciousness, Seong Mu-yeon narrowed his brow slightly as if trying to recall whether he had wanted to see him.

In a little while, he would be completely changed.

“Why did you do that earlier? You avoided my eyes.”

“…I was afraid I’d get caught.”

“Caught doing what? Hiding your feelings for me? Wanting to hide how important I am to you?”

“No, not that… I was afraid you’d find out that my eyes aren’t very good.”

Seomun Yuha’s face stiffened.

“What? What’s wrong with your eyes? Were you injured? Because of the poison?”

Come to think of it, he had heard that Seong Mu-yeon had been poisoned and faced a crisis in Henan. Also, now that he looked at it, Seong Mu-yeon was squinting and leaning forward as if he had poor eyesight.

Seomun Yuha clicked his tongue inwardly. Why would he do such a thing and harm himself by trying to help someone he didn’t even know well? If Seong Mu-yeon was going to sacrifice himself, it should be for him.

However, Seomun Yuha completely froze at the next words Seong Mu-yeon uttered.

“No… To explain why my eyesight got worse, I’d have to explain the illness I have too…”

“…Illness? Wait, wait a minute. You have an illness?”

Seong Mu-yeon slowly nodded.

“How serious is it?”

“There’s not much time left… I don’t have much time… I… I might die…”

As he said that, Seong Mu-yeon’s brow furrowed as if in pain.

“Wait, wait, wait! What? What are you talking about?”

Seong Mu-yeon’s pupils began to take on a crimson hue.

“I didn’t want to worry you…”

“What illness is it! Tell me!”

“It’s okay. Everything will be alright…”

Damn it!

Seomun Yuha hurriedly withdrew his power. His red eyes instantly returned to their original color. At that moment, Seong Mu-yeon staggered greatly. He shook his head as if dizzy, looked around, and gradually began to realize the situation.

“Young Master Seomun…? What just…”

“What are you talking about? Young master Seong, you have an illness? What illness is it that you’re going to die from?”

Seong Mu-yeon flinched and took a few steps away from him.

“Where did you hear that from?”

“So it’s true.”

Seomun Yuha had seen Seong Mu-yeon wielding his sword. He had clearly seen how powerful his martial arts were. But Baek Ryeo-il had told him to keep it a secret, and the people of Mount Hua had treated him like an ordinary person who hadn’t learned martial arts, so he had just assumed it was a secret.

Come to think of it, Baek Ryeo-il seemed to have said ‘even while dying,’ but he wasn’t sure. At that time, he had been so deeply impressed by Seong Mu-yeon that he hadn’t been in a state to hear other people’s words properly.

“Don’t come closer. I asked where you heard that from.”

As Seomun Yuha tried to approach, Seong Mu-yeon immediately warned him with a defensive attitude. The eyes of a warrior who would never break, even if he died, burned fiercely like that day. Seeing those eyes, Seomun Yuha’s heart trembled helplessly. But that wasn’t important right now.

“I’m sorry. I did something I shouldn’t have done to you.”

“I see. Haa… So you heard it from my own mouth. Why did you do that.”

Seong Mu-yeon immediately recognized the situation and couldn’t hide his disappointment. He had seen Seomun Yuha charming people today and had clearly confirmed their reactions, so he was able to deduce it quickly.

“…I’m really sorry.”

Seomun Yuha bowed and apologized. If he had done it properly, there would have been no need to apologize, and he hadn’t prepared for this situation in advance, so he was embarrassed on the one hand, but he still had a truth to hear from him.

“Please tell me. What illness do you have? Are you really going to die? How much time do you have left…”

“Why should I explain that to Young Master Seomun?”

At the icy voice and expression that seemed to drip with coldness, Seomun Yuha covered his face with both hands in anguish. The pain was real. He had finally found the person he had been searching for his entire life, but he was going to die. It was impossible.

It was a complete tragedy in itself.