By Zephyria 
“Where have you been all this time?”
“I…”
Being trapped in the Spirit Mausoleum wasn’t something to be proud of, and Ak Mujin hesitated, unsure if he should tell Jin Geum-ryeon.
Jin Geum-ryeon seemed to wait patiently, but when he didn’t open his mouth, he spoke first.
“Three years.”
“…!”
“It’s been three years this year. Since you were declared dead.”
Ak Mujin opened his mouth without realizing it. Sometimes, the time inside the Spirit Mausoleum felt like an eternity, so it wasn’t unreasonable that three years had passed. However, it was quite shocking to Ak Mujin, who had vaguely thought that only a year or so had passed.
Three years…. He had endured that time.
“…”
Would it have been easier to endure if he had known that three years had passed? Ak Mujin recalled desperately searching the entire Stone Cave to escape, digging through all sorts of corpses for survival, and carefully rationing the dwindling Spirit Herbs. He was fortunate enough to find a Spirit Pill, but without it, he would have died inside, even if he had eaten Spirit Herbs for the rest of his life.
Ak Mujin didn’t answer and downed a glass of wine from his cup. His throat burned, and his esophagus felt hot, but he kept wanting more wine. As his hand reached for the bottle again, Jin Geum-ryeon intercepted it and refilled Ak Mujin’s cup.
Then, he lightly blocked the cup with his hand.
“Aren’t you going to tell me where you’ve been?”
After pouring him wine, he blocked him from drinking it, and Ak Mujin stared blankly at Jin Geum-ryeon.
“Is it the Third Young master of the Demonic Cult? …No, it can’t be….”
Jin Geum-ryeon began to speculate wildly. All sorts of names floated through his head until one person suddenly struck him. Jin Geum-ryeon widened his eyes and immediately distorted his face.
“Could it be… Seo Moon-gwang? Could that person….”
Ak Mujin scoffed at the absurd speculation, cutting off Jin Geum-ryeon before he could finish speaking. Then, he lightly brushed his hand away, picked up the wine glass, and said,
“No.”
Ak Mujin emptied the glass in one go again and took a deep breath, narrowing his brows. The high alcohol content made his mouth feel hot.
Ak Mujin found himself ridiculous.
Wasn’t it so? He had intended to play dead, but now that he had truly come back from the dead, it was a truly ridiculous story. If Jin Geum-ryeon heard this story, he would probably think of him as pathetic.
He began to chuckle as he felt the alcohol rising. He wasn’t usually this weak to alcohol, but even though he had regained his Inner Force, it didn’t seem to have much to do with his alcohol tolerance. Ak Mujin poured himself another drink and downed it in quick succession. Unable to watch any longer, Jin Geum-ryeon snatched the bottle away and placed it far away.
“Shouldn’t you tell me what happened? So that I can take revenge….”
“Who are you to me?”
Jin Geum-ryeon’s mouth involuntarily closed at those words. Ak Mujin looked at him with slightly unfocused eyes.
“Who are you to take revenge for me?”
That was right. Jin Geum-ryeon was not yet anything to Ak Mujin. But he somehow looked at him with hurt eyes and hesitated before opening his mouth.
“…Am I that hateful and resentful to you?”
Ak Mujin’s mind was filled with question marks at the unexpected words. What on earth was he talking about? Jin Geum-ryeon’s attitude seemed like a child resenting him for not liking him.
He was the one who drank the alcohol, but why was Jin Geum-ryeon suddenly throwing a tantrum? And to his enemy, no less.
At first, Ak Mujin just felt a ticklish and strange feeling in his stomach, but soon, Jin Geum-ryeon’s seemingly serious attitude became so ridiculous that he finally burst into laughter. Jin Geum-ryeon, who should be loving Mae-yeong, had completely missed the mark, so he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Geum-ryeon-ah. Jin Geum-ryeon.”
Ak Mujin’s voice, drunk, was quite affectionate. Jin Geum-ryeon looked at him with expectant eyes at that voice. But Ak Mujin’s face soon turned cold.
“I thought you were a smart kid, but now I see that you’re not.”
Ak Mujin glanced at the well-prepared food. The dishes, which he hadn’t touched since entering the room, were cooling down.
“What am I to you?”
“…You are my benefactor.”
Jin Geum-ryeon looked at Ak Mujin with confident eyes as he spoke.
He couldn’t understand what had happened in these three years that Jin Geum-ryeon was looking at him with such eyes. The fact that Ak Mujin was still the second-in-command of the Demonic Cult remained unchanged, and the fact that his death was somewhat responsible for the death of Jin Geum-ryeon’s parents also remained unchanged.
“That can’t be. I am the enemy who contributed to the death of your parents.”
At those words, Jin Geum-ryeon shook his head strongly, as if he knew something.
“I know. It wasn’t you who killed my mother back then. I’ve found the real enemy too. In the Martial Alliance, I….”
Ak Mujin scoffed. That was true. Even from afar, it was a Namgung family warrior who stabbed Jin Sang-aeng to death, so Jin Geum-ryeon, who had witnessed the scene up close, would not be able to forget it.
But Ak Mujin interrupted Jin Geum-ryeon and retorted.
“Do you know how your father died?”
Jin Geum-ryeon’s pupils shook slightly for a moment. But Ak Mujin pretended not to notice and continued.
“How could I have appeared so quickly before you and your mother?”
Jin Geum-ryeon’s fists, which had been resting quietly on his thighs, clenched tightly. He finally averted his gaze from Ak Mujin, which had been directed at him since he entered the room.
“Your father was hopelessly outmatched to face the Crimson Kill Squad and me.”
“…”
“If,”
Ak Mujin’s long, slender fingers circled the teacup. A little bit of wine that had been lingering remained on his fingertips before quickly evaporating.
“Even if I hadn’t personally stabbed your father with a sword, I was the one who drove your parents to that point. How can I say my hands are clean?”
“…Please stop.”
Jin Geum-ryeon couldn’t bear it any longer and stood up from his seat. Ak Mujin looked up at him, his cheeks slightly flushed.
“Is that heart of yours… something that can be directed towards an enemy?”
Ak Mujin’s drunken, gentle voice painfully pierced Jin Geum-ryeon’s heart. Jin Geum-ryeon pressed his lips tightly together and turned around without showing his face to him any longer, leaving the inner chamber as he was.
It was only a very brief moment, but Ak Mujin, who had seen Jin Geum-ryeon’s face, couldn’t say anything.
Even after the door closed, Ak Mujin stared at it for a long time before bringing the wine back, pouring himself a drink, and tasting the cold dishes.
He had thought that the first food he ate after leaving the Stone Cave would be very delicious, but for some reason, he couldn’t feel any particularly special taste.
*
Ak Mujin woke up in the morning sunlight, feeling a hangover, and raised his body. His head was throbbing too much, and his stomach was churning, as if he was about to throw up at any moment, so he looked around.
Ak Mujin, who had only kept drinking, had clearly fallen asleep on the table, but somehow his body was lying neatly on the bed. Not only were the leftover dishes on the table gone, but everything was so clean and fragrant that it seemed the servants had come in and cleaned up while he was asleep.
Ak Mujin staggered out of bed. The scent that filled the room was certainly fragrant, but it wasn’t very pleasant for someone suffering from a hangover. He found the window, opened it, and took a deep breath of fresh air. The window opened easily, so it didn’t seem like he was being confined.
After finally getting some clean air into his head, his mind seemed to clear up a bit. And naturally, the stories he had shared with Jin Geum-ryeon last night began to surface little by little.
Ak Mujin’s words were intended to turn Jin Geum-ryeon’s misguided path back. He hadn’t said anything he shouldn’t have, but somehow the face Jin Geum-ryeon had shown before leaving remained in Ak Mujin’s mind, constantly causing a bitter feeling.
Ak Mujin shook his head to try to shake off that face.
Well, even if the other person is an extra, it’s natural to be hurt when you’re dumped. How could the protagonist, who will overcome the serious injuries he will suffer in the upcoming battle with the Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult, not endure this much heartbreak?
“Attendant Ahn. I’ll come in for a moment.”
At that moment, a calm voice was heard from outside.
“Ah, please come in.”
As soon as Ak Mujin’s answer fell, the door opened and a woman dressed differently from the servants entered. She walked in with something on a tray and placed it on the table.
“It’s honey water. Lord Ryeon sent it, saying that you seemed to have drunk too much last night.”
At those words, Jin Geum-ryeon’s face, which had looked like a lost puppy yesterday, naturally began to resurface.
Ak Mujin cleared his throat and looked at her.
“Um… When can I leave?”
When he asked what he was most curious about, the woman looked at Ak Mujin with a calm attitude and said.
“Lord Ryeon said that you are expected to stay here for a long time….”
Ak Mujin narrowed his eyes slightly. He still comes out like this after hearing that story yesterday? He bit his lip slightly.
“Well… I don’t think I ever said I would do that.”
“My name is Cheong-aeng. I will be in charge of serving you here from now on. I oversee all the servants in this manor, so please feel free to tell me if you have any inconveniences in your life.”
Cheong-aeng, as if she hadn’t heard Ak Mujin’s words, bent her knees slightly and poured out her words in a businesslike manner. Ak Mujin was dumbfounded, but he managed to show a smile.
“…Can I go out?”
The compromise he quickly came up with in his head was this. At those words, Cheong-aeng bowed her knees again and nodded her head.
“Yes. When you go out, I and two guards named Cheon-myeong will accompany you, but you can go anywhere.”
It was unexpected. It seemed that Jin Geum-ryeon had no intention of completely confining him.
Ak Mujin’s eyes sparkled.