By Zephyria 
It was such an absurd, ridiculous, and unfounded line. Who in the world would think that Jin Geum-ryeon would say that to Ak Mujin?
Ak Mujin sighed, pressing his throbbing temples with his middle fingers. Jin Geum-ryeon didn’t miss even that gesture, fixing his gaze on him as if not wanting to miss a single moment.
“…Where does that heart of yours come from?”
“…You made me this way.”
Jin Geum-ryeon’s answer sounded as if he was resenting Ak Mujin, but there was no such emotion to be felt in his expression or tone. Ak Mujin, who felt like he had gained nothing from asking the question, closed his eyes tightly and thought for a moment before asking again.
“What I mean is… what happened in the last three years that made you so obsessed with me?”
Ak Mujin’s gaze fell on Jin Geum-ryeon. He was still looking up at Ak Mujin, taking him in with his eyes.
“You’re not the same as before.”
That was certainly true. That appearance, that change, was quite unwelcome to Ak Mujin. Jin Geum-ryeon seemed to hesitate, unable to answer immediately, then laughed self-deprecatingly.
“…It’s not because of what happened in the last three years that I became like this.”
He lowered his head and carefully placed his forehead on Ak Mujin’s knee. Ak Mujin felt a firm yet warm sensation, but for some reason, he couldn’t dare to look down.
“…Well. Isn’t it all my fate to be like this?”
Jin Geum-ryeon raised his head again, his eyes desperately looking at Ak Mujin. Hearing those words, Ak Mujin knew. Jin Geum-ryeon’s fate had already gone awry. And not by someone else’s hand, but by his own.
He finally shut his mouth and flopped down on the spot, closing his eyes as if trying to fall asleep immediately. Then Jin Geum-ryeon, kneeling, looked down at his face and hesitated.
“Won’t you give me some space?”
“…”
Ak Mujin tried to ignore him, placing his hands neatly on his stomach. Jin Geum-ryeon simply stared blankly at him.
“What is it? You told me to come up.”
But Ak Mujin seemed to have no intention of answering, let alone acknowledging him. Eventually, Jin Geum-ryeon admired Ak Mujin’s closed eyes for a long time, and when he seemed to have finally fallen asleep, he slowly got up and headed for the doorway. His extremely trained body didn’t need to sleep for a few days anyway. He decided to stand guard at the door.
A small smile hung on Jin Geum-ryeon’s lips as he crossed his arms.
*
Ak Mujin’s group was able to reach Hubei quickly without much interference. However, Ak Mujin, who was supposed to be dead within the cult, couldn’t just freely come and go from the Fragrant Flower Pavilion. In the end, Ak Mujin had no choice but to rely on Jin Geum-ryeon’s help this time.
The Evil Cult, organized in a point system, had branches everywhere. And among the four factions that made up the Evil Cult, the Hao Gate was an organization made up of four professions: coachmen, Boatman, Server, and porters. Their shops also existed everywhere, so arranging a meeting place with Chun-wol was not a difficult task.
From Ak Mujin’s point of view, it was quite fortunate. Except for the fact that Jin Geum-ryeon was being more compliant than necessary, which was a bit suspicious.
There was no way that he, with his quick mind, wouldn’t know what Ak Mujin was thinking. So, even though he knew Ak Mujin’s purpose, the fact that he was letting him do whatever he wanted was quite unsettling.
Jin Geum-ryeon’s face looked much more relaxed as he headed to the Hao Gate-affiliated teahouse. No, it had been like that for a few days. Somehow, since he had shared a room with him, his attitude had regained some composure, and he seemed closer to the way he used to be.
Ak Mujin kept glancing at him. What else was he happy about that made him feel so comfortable? He couldn’t figure it out.
“We’re here, Lord. Just in case, I’ll go in first and check the situation.”
Cheong-aeng said. Although she had introduced Jin Geum-ryeon as Cheon-myeong, Ak Mujin was not treating him as Cheon-myeong, and Jin Geum-ryeon was not acting like Cheon-myeong either, so she had already roughly grasped the situation between the two. Cheong-aeng, who had been leading them, bowed politely to Jin Geum-ryeon and Ak Mujin and entered the shop. The sign hanging at the entrance of the shop read ‘Celebration Affairs Tea House’.
Left alone, they stood silently among the tables and chairs lined up outside the shop, waiting for Cheong-aeng to come out. Jin Geum-ryeon, who was standing one step behind Ak Mujin, said.
“If you’re curious about the news of the last three years, I can tell you as much as you want.”
Ak Mujin turned to look at Jin Geum-ryeon. In any case, Jin Geum-ryeon was being friendly to him. He could lean on him as much as he wanted. But to escape from Jin Geum-ryeon, he needed the help of Chun-wol, not Jin Geum-ryeon.
His being attached to Jin Geum-ryeon didn’t seem to be very helpful to his future, let alone his own. As proof, Jin Geum-ryeon had suddenly become the Evil Cult Lord, and Ak Mujin himself had suffered in the Spirit Mausoleum for three years. He wasn’t confident that he could endure another ordeal of that magnitude.
“You don’t think I’m going all the way there just to hear about the last three years, do you?”
Hearing those words, Jin Geum-ryeon smiled slightly as if he had expected it, but Ak Mujin pretended not to see it, only looking at the entrance of the shop.
“You don’t think that meeting that courtesan will allow you to escape me, do you?”
Ak Mujin flinched at those words, but this time again, he maintained his nonchalant facade and didn’t turn to look at Jin Geum-ryeon. Soon, Cheong-aeng came out, brushed past Ak Mujin, and whispered something to Jin Geum-ryeon. Jin Geum-ryeon, bending down to listen to the whisper, smiled and nodded with his eyes lowered.
“…Let’s see how good your skills are.”
For some reason, Jin Geum-ryeon seemed to be in a good mood after hearing the message, which made Ak Mujin even more uneasy. He followed Cheong-aeng’s guidance and entered the teahouse.
*
Unlike the relatively simple outdoor area, the inside of the teahouse was decorated lavishly with lanterns with red tassels. The tables located throughout were already crowded with customers. A woman was plucking a zither on the stage, but no one paid attention to the music and it was noisy with chatter.
The shopkeeper who greeted Ak Mujin’s group led them across the crowded first floor to the back door, then headed to a large pond behind the building. The grounds were not that large, but the camellias were blooming red, creating a charming atmosphere.
Ak Mujin admired the scenery and looked across the pond, where a small detached building stood on the water, embraced by a large weeping willow. The leaves of the weeping willow had all fallen, but instead of green leaves, icicles that had not yet melted hung in clusters. Unlike the main building located on the main street, the detached building had a rather secluded atmosphere. Ak Mujin was inwardly impressed and followed the shopkeeper’s guidance inside.
That’s when it happened.
“Young master!”
Someone seemed to be running, making the floorboards creak, and before Cheong-aeng could stop him, he grabbed Ak Mujin’s arms and burst into tears.
Ak Mujin’s eyes widened at the appearance of the unexpected person.
Jin Geum-ryeon, who witnessed the situation, also momentarily placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist, but seeing this person burst into tears as soon as he saw Ak Mujin, he didn’t think he would harm Ak Mujin and withdrew his hand again. And he stopped Cheong-aeng, who was about to shout in panic.
“Young master! You’re really alive!”
The man who burst into tears, Seo-mok, almost sobbed with tears in his eyes. To encounter Seo-mok in a place where he had come to meet Chun-wol. Ak Mujin’s eyes widened as he faced him in this unexpected encounter.
“Young master…! How… how did you get so hurt…. It’s all, all my fault. Sob…. Young master……”
Seo-mok must have watched Ak Mujin being placed in the Spirit Mausoleum after drinking the medicine because the plan had gone awry. He could tell without even hearing how much he had suffered. He suddenly felt a pang in his heart, thinking that Seo-mok must have had a hard time outside as well.
“If only I hadn’t given you that medicine…. No, if only I hadn’t told you that useless, plan…”
Seo-mok’s lament was about to begin. At this point, Jin Geum-ryeon’s eyes flashed meaningfully.
However, Ak Mujin, who swore he didn’t want to reveal this story to the world, wanted to shut Seo-mok’s mouth somehow. He hurriedly stuffed the handkerchief he was carrying into Seo-mok’s mouth.
“Mmph.”
Seo-mok, now that he had confirmed Ak Mujin’s survival, seemed to have lost strength in his legs and was sliding down while still holding onto Ak Mujin with the handkerchief stuffed in his mouth.
“We’ll talk about that later. Get up.”
Ak Mujin tried to hide his embarrassment and ordered Seo-mok, who nodded while suppressing his sobs. He barely managed to get up. Jin Geum-ryeon’s eyes were constantly on Ak Mujin, but Ak Mujin was too flustered to notice.
At that moment, a woman slowly emerged from the end of the hallway behind Seo-mok.
“I was wondering why you weren’t coming…. Sir Seo. Please maintain some decorum.”
The one who appeared while saying that was Chun-wol.
She also seemed quite excited, but it was obvious that she was suppressing it as much as possible. Ak Mujin finally felt relieved when he saw her face.