By Zephyria 
Ak Mujin and Jin Geum-ryeon’s gazes simultaneously turned toward the doorway. They looked at him with puzzled expressions, but Mae-yeong simply stood there, staring at the two of them.
“Mae-yeong, please step aside!”
It was Bong-myeong’s voice. At the sound, Ak Mujin looked behind Mae-yeong and saw Bong-myeong urgently squeezing between the door and Mae-yeong to enter the inner chamber. Then, he was stunned by the sight that unfolded before his eyes.
Jin Geum-ryeon was currently kneeling at Ak Mujin’s feet, holding a small tray with both hands.
“…Ah. What brings you here?”
Ak Mujin, feeling a bit awkward at Bong-myeong’s reaction, placed the teacup he was holding on the tray and gestured for Jin Geum-ryeon to take it away. Jin Geum-ryeon obediently rose from his spot, placed the tray on the table, and stood beside Ak Mujin.
“You must leave this place immediately.”
“Yes? What do you mean…”
Ak Mujin’s eyes widened at the sudden news, and Bong-myeong spoke urgently. Mae-yeong, still with an expressionless face, closed the door and took a step into the inner chamber.
“Madam Lou has sent urgent news. It seems that you have been… discovered by the Demon Cult.”
Ak Mujin’s heart sank. Discovered by the Demon Cult. The moment he heard those words, the only thing Ak Mujin could think about was whether Chun-wol was safe. He jumped up and asked Bong-myeong urgently.
“Chun-wol. Is Chun-wol alright?”
“W-Well, I don’t know. The letter I received only stated that the Cult Leader’s direct guards have been dispatched to Anhui, so you must move Ak Mujin immediately…”
Where on earth had he been discovered? Ak Mujin stood blankly with his brow furrowed, and Jin Geum-ryeon said in a calm voice.
“It’s my fault. If I hadn’t let you use your Martial Arts back then…”
‘Back then.’
Hearing that, something flashed through his mind. ‘Back then’ must have referred to the day the Martial Artist of the Namgung Clan raided Mae-yeong’s residence.
Ak Mujin could only sigh quietly. At the time, he had been too busy desperately fending off the Martial Artist to save Jin Geum-ryeon to pay attention to anything else, but now that he thought about it, it was obvious that the Namgung Clan Martial Artist would have realized that he was using Demon Art because Ak Mujin had used his Martial Arts.
The Namgung Clan, having sneakily intruded into someone else’s hideout, would have tried to keep it quiet, but since more than one or two people were injured, it wouldn’t have been easy to silence everyone. Ak Mujin anxiously swept back his hair. Jin Geum-ryeon, who had been watching him quietly, said cautiously.
“…Then, how about entrusting yourself to the Sandow Union for a while? Even if the Demon Cult are bold, they wouldn’t dare to search the Sandow Union.”
“Even if I move and am safe, it’s meaningless if something happens to Chun-wol!”
Jin Geum-ryeon’s suggestion wasn’t bad in the current situation. Since he had been caught using Martial Arts at Mae-yeong’s residence, it was easy to associate him with them. In this situation, there was no need to hide his friendship with them.
However, Ak Mujin was simply anxious because he didn’t know the situation of Chun-wol, who had given him so much help. As he stood there, unable to do anything, Jin Geum-ryeon wrapped his large hand around his shoulder and said.
“You must be safe in order to go and save Chun-wol if something happens to him.”
“But… I…”
Ak Mujin’s heart began to ache with guilt. Come to think of it, he hadn’t been still for a moment since he arrived at the Drunken Dream Pavilion. Since he had been causing all sorts of accidents, it was only a matter of time before the Demon Cult reached out. It was a regretful thing, but even if he regretted the past now, he couldn’t turn back time.
“…I felt it from the strike that killed Seo Moon-gwang, but you were indeed a Demon Cult.”
Mae-yeong suddenly spoke. Only then did Ak Mujin look at him.
“I…”
Ak Mujin seemed to hesitate for a moment, but as he began to pronounce clearly and precisely, Mae-yeong quietly listened to what he had to say.
“That’s right. I was a Demon Cult. I can’t hide the sinister nature of the techniques I learned. But I am someone who already died in the Heavenly Mountain three years ago. So I am no longer a Demon Cult…”
He paused briefly after saying that and quietly added.
“…I don’t want to be.”
Mae-yeong seemed to look at Ak Mujin for a moment, then shifted his gaze to Jin Geum-ryeon and asked.
“Why did you allow yourself to be with someone who was a Demon Cult?”
At that, Jin Geum-ryeon flinched. And after looking down at the floor once as if thinking for a moment, he raised his head straight and looked back at Mae-yeong.
“…From the moment I was entrusted to Master, I chased after this person for life. But I realized after losing him once. I didn’t just have simple curiosity or a desire for revenge towards this person.”
As he said that, Jin Geum-ryeon knelt in front of Mae-yeong. Ak Mujin, as well as Bong-myeong, were surprised and looked down at him.
“What does that mean? Say it simply.”
“I love this person. Deep in my heart.”
“…No, this isn’t the time for this…”
Bong-myeong interjected.
“Didn’t you say that this person was the enemy of your parents?”
Mae-yeong, cleanly ignoring that anxious voice, stared at Ak Mujin and said in a plain tone. Then Jin Geum-ryeon nodded once.
“But at the same time, he is the benefactor who sent me to Master and saved my life.”
Jin Geum-ryeon seemed confused himself as he said that, but soon his eyes hardened. He raised his head and looked up at Mae-yeong.
“To be sure… even if it’s not my mother’s death, he is involved in my father’s death. So I was always curious. Why this person saved me.”
Mae-yeong was now listening quietly to what Jin Geum-ryeon was saying with his arms crossed.
“But as I spent time with this person, I couldn’t possibly think of him as a ruthless person like a Demon Cult. I believe that a person who cherishes even small lives would not have treated my father without any emotion. …As someone who has such parents, I apologize, but I can no longer stop this feeling.”
Listening to Jin Geum-ryeon saying all this, Ak Mujin suddenly realized that the drama really started to go wrong from the moment he first met Jin Geum-ryeon, and that no matter what he did, he might not be able to change his mind.
Ak Mujin stared blankly at Jin Geum-ryeon, feeling as if the ground was collapsing beneath his feet.
…Could it be that… the main couple changed back then?
Jin Geum-ryeon continued to speak without hesitation.
“You can say I’m worse than a dog. You can say I’m ungrateful. But I didn’t just give myself to him.”
The more confidently he continued to speak, the more Ak Mujin’s face began to fill with astonishment. The more he thought that the assumption he had never even considered before wasn’t entirely absurd, the more confused he became.
“I am imprinted with this person.”
Ah, no, why would you say that?! Ak Mujin glanced at Mae-yeong, worried that he might show anger on his face.
Mae-yeong blinked once.
“What is imprinting?”
…….
It was the moment when Ak Mujin’s slight curiosity was resolved. That’s right. The reason why Jin Geum-ryeon had no knowledge of sex was because of his master!
He tried to organize his confused mind, but he felt like he would faint if he continued to listen to Jin Geum-ryeon’s words any longer, so he hurriedly tried to wrap up the situation.
“Okay, okay. Never mind that, and as Bong-myeong said, this isn’t the time to be doing this. If we don’t quickly assess the situation…”
At those words, Mae-yeong’s gaze was fixed on Ak Mujin. Ak Mujin flinched for a moment at that gaze and stopped talking.
“I find Ryeon’s story very interesting. If you’re worried about the Demon Cult chasing after you, I went for a walk at dawn and found some suspicious guys and put them in the kitchen basket. I was going to look into it later, but I forgot.”
“…Yes?”
Hearing those words, Bong-myeong hurriedly left the inner chamber. Ak Mujin, who had been staring blankly at Mae-yeong, was able to see a faint smile appearing on his face.
“If the news from the advance team is cut off, more guys will come. It would be better to talk about the details after we leave this place, but what does Master Cho think?”
Mae-yeong nodded once towards Jin Geum-ryeon, ordering him to rise from his seat. Jin Geum-ryeon obediently dusted off his knees, his cheeks slightly flushed, and looked at Ak Mujin.
“Master is right. Let’s go to the Sandow Union first and assess the situation.”
In the end, Ak Mujin had no choice but to follow their opinions. Even so, he was curious about Mae-yeong’s intentions and stole glances at his face several times. For some reason, he didn’t seem to be in a bad mood, so he decided to relax for now.
“But if we all leave, this sound chamber…”
“Wouldn’t it be safe to leave Seo Moon-gwang behind? The Demon Cult will quickly leave once they realize you’re not here.”
Mae-yeong, who had replied simply as if there was nothing to worry about, left the inner chamber first. Ak Mujin said while looking elsewhere to avoid eye contact with Jin Geum-ryeon as much as possible.
“First, we need to evacuate the people. The Demon Cult won’t leave innocent people alone.”
“I understand.”