By Zephyria The End of Denial (1)
They say no news is good news.
That day, and the next, armed Law-protecting Warriors didn’t barge into Emerald Pavilion and drag Baek Ryeo-il away. It was all thanks to Seong Mu-yeon’s selfless sacrifice.
But Baek Ryeo-il didn’t seem particularly grateful.
“……Why are you looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong again?”
He followed Seong Mu-yeon around all day, sending him intense glares.
“What!”
Baek Ryeo-il shouted.
“Never mind.”
It wasn’t like this was a new thing.
Seong Mu-yeon shook his head and went into his room, causing Baek Ryeo-il’s displeasure to peak. Hot air puffed out of his nostrils.
Unbelievable!
‘What? ‘Worried’? Who should be saying that!’
Baek Ryeo-il was extremely annoyed when he recalled Seong Mu-yeon’s noticeably relieved expression.
He was the one who should be worried. If a Righteous Sect Taoist who revered ‘righteousness’ was caught up in an inappropriate scandal with the Demonic Cult, the one whose reputation would be tarnished was Baek Ryeo-il.
Does anyone think I’m happy to be stuck with him?!
“Hmph!”
Baek Ryeo-il jumped up from his seat, and Gang Woong, who was studying while sitting on a chair, raised his head.
“Master, where are you going?”
“Ahem, this Master has urgent business to attend to.”
“I see! Don’t worry! I will protect Young master Seong well while you are away, Master!”
The boy clasped his hands and shouted enthusiastically. Seeing his pure and ardent eyes, Baek Ryeo-il felt a little bitter. Even his disciple saw him as Seong Mu-yeon’s protector.
“Y-yes…”
“Have a good trip!”
How polite.
Baek Ryeo-il stormed out of Emerald Pavilion and wandered around aimlessly.
See!
I don’t care about Seong Mu-yeon or anything!
There was nothing he had to do. As if making excuses to himself, he muttered words to no one in particular as he wandered around, eventually settling in a secluded warehouse in the Finance Division.
This place, rarely visited and covered in dust, was the perfect place to spend time alone quietly. Baek Ryeo-il spread out the neglected piles of documents to make a bed and lay down on it.
“……”
The gaze directed at the empty air was initially fierce, but gradually the strength in his eyes faded.
〈Do you like me?〉
That question had left a big impact on Baek Ryeo-il. He had never held anyone in his heart in his entire life. He never imagined that such a thing would happen in the future. He was confused.
The other party was from the Demonic Cult, which he loathed, and even the Cult Leader’s son, so ‘affection’ or ‘love’ would never be possible. No, it must not be.
Eventually, he turned to his side and let out a long sigh.
‘Then what is this feeling?’
Lying in the quiet and even desolate space, he could hear his heartbeat. Thump, thump. The sound of pulsating life traveled through his blood vessels to his chest, arms, and ears. Even the air seemed to weigh heavily on his body.
How much time had passed?
With a creaking sound, someone entered the warehouse. Baek Ryeo-il remained motionless at the appearance of the uninvited guest, waiting for the person to leave. But as luck would have it, Wang Ho-jun, the unfortunate protagonist who happened to disturb the depths of the long-abandoned warehouse at this hour, clutched his heart.
“Ugh! You scared me!”
Wang Ho-jun almost fainted. Who would have expected to find Baek Ryeo-il lying in a gloomy expression among the secluded dust pits in the corner of the warehouse, which he thought was empty?
Baek Ryeo-il listlessly raised himself up.
“It’s you…”
“Senior Brother…! What are you doing here! No, I don’t want to know. I’ll just put this down and disappear quietly, so please continue what you were doing.”
Wang Ho-jun quickly turned around, but Baek Ryeo-il’s voice grabbed his ankle.
“Freeze. Turn around and sit down, now.”
“……”
Wang Ho-jun tearfully trudged back and sat down with his back against the wall in a similar manner to Baek Ryeo-il.
“……”
“……”
The person who had called him to sit down kept his mouth shut and didn’t say anything. Wang Ho-jun glanced at him. Strangely, Baek Ryeo-il was uncharacteristically gloomy. The black aura emanating from him seemed to be the cause of the warehouse corner feeling even darker and more humid.
“Um, Senior Brother… I’m a bit busy.”
“Junior Brother Wang, listen to me for a moment…”
“Yes, please speak.”
Wang Ho-jun, who had been trying to sneak away, plopped his butt back down.
Baek Ryeo-il hesitated for a long time before continuing.
“This is about someone I know, who knows someone else…”
…Words that start like that usually meant it was about himself.
But Wang Ho-jun nodded enthusiastically as if telling him to continue, without revealing such thoughts. He had a mountain of work to go back and deal with. By now, the Junior Brothers would be complaining that he was slacking off. It was wise to listen to the story and leave, whether he listened with one ear and let it out the other.
“If you keep thinking about someone, get annoyed when they’re not in front of you, and want to smash everything whenever you think about them hooking up with someone else… does that mean you like that person?”
“……Pardon?”
A love consultation was unthinkable. Baek Ryeo-il, the upright Heartless Sword, of all people? The heavens would laugh.
But Baek Ryeo-il was serious.
“But that person has a disease. And they say they won’t live long, but if, if. If they hook up with someone else, the disease will be cured. But the person I know, who knows someone else, hates that so much. Isn’t that liking them? What do you think, Junior Brother?”
“Uh…”
At the word ‘disease,’ Wang Ho-jun momentarily thought of Seong Mu-yeon, but quickly shook his head vigorously to shake it off. No way, surely not. The two of them were always fighting. Wasn’t Wang Ho-jun’s first meeting with Seong Mu-yeon when he was mediating a fierce fight?
“You also think that person likes them, right? Right?”
“Um… I understand why Senior Brother, no, the person Senior Brother knows, who knows someone else, is worried. But I don’t think that’s liking them.”
“Why? If you don’t like that person, you wouldn’t care if they hooked up with someone else, right?”
“Well… human emotions aren’t that clear-cut, are they? It could be a relationship where you don’t want to have them, but you don’t want to give them to someone else either.”
Baek Ryeo-il’s eyes lit up at those words.
“Really? Tell me more.”
“If you truly cherish that person, shouldn’t you help them cure their disease rather than focus on your own desires? I don’t think it’s love if you can’t let them go even if they die. If there was a physical relationship, it could just be possessiveness.”
Baek Ryeo-il, who had been slowly rubbing his chin, suddenly glanced at him.
“But Junior Brother Wang seems to have a lot of dating experience? You know that kind of stuff well.”
“Me? I’ve never even held a woman’s hand.”
Baek Ryeo-il’s face rapidly soured.
“You wasted my precious time with your ignorance? What was I thinking trusting someone like you… Forget it. Just go.”
“Yes! Thank you!”
Wang Ho-jun hurriedly ran away.
“……Hmm.”
Left alone, Baek Ryeo-il fell into deep thought.
The thought of Seong Mu-yeon and Seomun Yuha even holding hands made the blood in his body seem to flow backward. But since there was no way he could like Seong Mu-yeon, there was only one conclusion.
That’s right, it’s not that I like Seong Mu-yeon, it’s that I like his ‘body.’
He nodded to himself, convinced. His eyes, which had been gloomy, regained their sharpness.
Although he didn’t want to admit it, Seong Mu-yeon’s body was quite appetizing.
‘That’s right. Who do you think I am.’
Thinking that way, Baek Ryeo-il felt relieved. The soul of Mount Hua, which should be pure and clean, was not tainted. He had not fallen so far as to harbor the Demonic Cult Young master in his heart, even if he coveted his body. Fortunately.
By the time he had come to a conclusion about the dilemma that threatened his life’s honor, it was already dark outside. Baek Ryeo-il returned to Emerald Pavilion with light steps. There was no need to avoid him if he didn’t have feelings he shouldn’t have.
Emerald Pavilion was quietly asleep. His disciple Gang Woong, like the model student he was, had already gone to bed, as the lights in his room were off. A faint light leaked from the room where Seong Mu-yeon was staying.
Baek Ryeo-il sensed a rustling sound from inside. It seemed he was getting ready to sleep.
“Seong Mu-yeon.”
He called out his name softly beyond the paper door, and the inside became quiet. Soon, a blunt voice replied.
“What were you doing all day that you’re only coming in now? I’m going to sleep now, so if you have anything to say, tell me tomorrow.”
Hearing his voice, his grumpy face naturally came to mind. Baek Ryeo-il unknowingly raised the corners of his lips.
With a creak, he opened the door, and Seong Mu-yeon, who was sitting on the bed in his sleeping clothes and about to turn off the light, glared at him with fire in his eyes.
“What is it!”
Baek Ryeo-il quietly went inside and closed the door, putting his index finger to his lips.
“Shh, you’ll wake the kid.”
As he said, Seong Mu-yeon was worried that Gang Woong would wake up from the commotion, so he kept his mouth shut even though he looked very displeased. Instead, he asked with fierce eyes what he was doing.