“Ung.”

At her calm call, Ung—who had been smiling with a tired face—lit up in an instant.

“Sister!”

Ung turned to Seolhwa with a delighted voice.

He hurried over to her.

Somehow the sight was a little cute, so a soft chuckle slipped out of her.

“Congratulations, Ung. It suits you.”

Ung was wearing a splendid silver long robe embroidered with the Namgoong Clan crest.

Ung, who had been holding his seat with a grown-up air all this while, turned gloomy the moment he stood in front of Seolhwa.

“Sister. This outfit is way too heavy. Having to receive greetings from the elders is a huge burden too. I’m not even sure I’m doing this right.”

“You were doing great. I heard what the hall lords were saying a moment ago—out of all the Young Clan Lords in history, they said the silver robe suits you best.”

“No way. How could I ever beat the Clan Lord’s looks? They’re just saying that to make me feel good.”

“No. It really suits you.”

Seolhwa patted Ung’s drooping shoulders.

Until yesterday, the day before the public announcement, Ung had kept insisting that this seat didn’t feel like his, and he’d tried to hand the Young Clan Lord position to Seolhwa.

But Seolhwa knew better than anyone.

Ung was the one who suited the Namgoong Clan Lord’s seat more than anyone else.

He was the one who would protect his family to the end.

“Thanks to you, I feel light as air. Makes me a little sorry, you know?”

“If you feel sorry, then even now—who knows? Maybe the one the silver robe suits best is actually you, Sister.”

“I don’t particularly want to know.”

At their chuckling back-and-forth, Ung’s expression grew even more sullen.

Seolhwa patted him again and looked around.

“Come to think of it, I don’t see Hwarin?”

“Ah. He probably went straight back to his quarters as soon as it ended. He’s under reflection.”

“Reflection? What for this time?”

“Looks like he made something on his own again, and because of that, every window in his quarters got smashed.”

“Windows? All of them?”

Seolhwa blurted back, startled.

“What did he make to do that?”

“I’m not sure. He said it was some kind of weapon that uses stones... he mentioned showing something like it before at the Heavenly Martial Festival.”

“...!”

Seolhwa’s face flashed with surprise.

A weapon that uses stones.

‘...The Divine Pellet Bow.’

Back then, little Hwarin had shown the first foundation of the Divine Pellet Bow at the Heavenly Martial Festival.

The Divine Pellet Bow was the Namgoong Clan’s weapon that had caused the Great Blood Cult no small headache in her previous life.

‘So this is when he finished it.’

Seolhwa’s lips curved into a quiet smile.

‘Good boy. Our Hwarin.’

Hwarin, in his own way, has been working hard to protect the main family too.

“Hwarin must be bored.”

“He won’t be bored. Soyeok is with him.”

Not long ago, Soyeok had become an inner-hall martial force member, and he was now assigned to guard Hwarin.

Soyeok had wanted it, and maybe because he’d been stuck to Hwarin as a friend since they were little,

Hwarin’s parents seemed to treat Soyeok like their own son.

“With that, reflection is... no, it isn’t.”

“Of course not. {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} It just means he should restrain himself, doesn’t it?”

Ung laughed lightly as he thought of his two younger siblings.

The Ung who—when he was young—had hidden his own desires and lived holding his breath as nothing but an obedient son and little brother, now carried a proper older-brother air.

It reminded her of the old promise she’d made, telling him to grow up well.

Of course, even if she’d never said it, Ung would have grown up well.

Still, seeing how splendidly he’d matured made Seolhwa’s smile linger.

“Ung.”

“?”

“If you’re okay with it, tonight, with Uncle and—”

Just as she was about to ask him to share a meal—

“Seolhwa...!”

Someone grabbed her arm hard and spun her around.

Seolhwa looked at him in surprise.

It was her father, Namgoong Cheongun.

“Father?”

“Yu Gang... woke up.”

“...!”

****

TATADAK—

The Namgoong Clan Lord’s hall, inner room, where she ran in breathlessly the moment she heard.

Namgoong Mucheon and Ouyang Do were already standing before the door when she arrived, panting.

“Grandfather...!”

The two men, who had been speaking with stiff faces, turned to Seolhwa.

Seolhwa asked in a rush.

“He woke up—he woke up...?”

“He hasn’t recovered fully. The Immortal Physician said he seemed to regain consciousness for a moment.”

“...!”

Seolhwa clamped her lips tight.

She knew it was greedy to hope he’d fully recovered.

But if he’d come to his senses, didn’t that mean there was at least some improvement?

A small hope pricked at her chest.

“We don’t know when he’ll lose consciousness again, so go in quickly.”

Seolhwa nodded fast.

Then she opened the door at once.

TAP— 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

After Seolhwa went in, Namgoong Mucheon and Ouyang Do stared at the closed door for a while.

“Won’t he resent you?”

At Ouyang Do’s question breaking the silence, a thin breath leaked from Namgoong Mucheon’s lips.

“Even if he does, it can’t be helped. No matter how long it’s been, a promise is a promise.”

“Was it truly because of a promise?”

“...”

Namgoong Mucheon fell silent.

Taking that silence as his answer, Ouyang Do turned and left down the corridor.

STEP. STEP.

His slow footsteps faded little by little.

Listening to them, Namgoong Mucheon lifted his head and let out another long sigh.

****

TAP—

She shut the door and stepped into the formation.

Only still silence flowed inside, but THUMP, THUMP—her heart pounding made Seolhwa’s head roar.

The Immortal Physician, who’d been sorting herbs, sensed her approach and turned.

Seeing it was Seolhwa, she quietly gathered her things and made space for her without a word.

“...”

Seolhwa took a small breath, then walked toward the bed.

Beyond the curtain that covered the face of the one lying there, ragged breathing drifted out, uneven and faint.

Seolhwa slowly drew the curtain aside.

And the next moment, she froze without meaning to.

“W-wow... you came... to see me...?”

A bright smile, a powerless voice that didn’t match it, a breath that sounded like it was going out.

Yu Gang’s condition was obviously worse than the last time she had seen him.

More than half his face was stained purple, and the eye on the fully stained side was barely half open.

Below his face, even the hand beneath the sleeve was purple, so the force had crossed his neck and chest and was slowly creeping down.

How much did it hurt?

How much did it torment him?

Her breath tightened as if someone were squeezing her heart, and Seolhwa bit the inside of her lip.

Then she forced a smile.

“...How are you? Your body, even a little...”

At her question—still stiff from shock but trying to smile—Yu Gang grinned at her.

“I’m fine. This much is nothing. You know it. I’m tough.”

“...I know. Then why are you lying down? Get up already.”

“I don’t know. I’m kind of sleepy. My body feels heavy, like it soaked up water. Maybe I got lazy.”

“Yeah. You must have. Seeing you just lying there when you’ve got so much to do.”

“So what do you think? A guy this lazy?”

Yu Gang curled his lip into a crooked smile.

Even though he was the one who needed comfort,

he was still trying to lighten her worry with a silly joke, and it hurt.

Even while he was in pain.

Even while he could barely breathe.

‘You, to the very end....’

You only think about me.

Like an idiot.

“I like it.”

“Huh...? Right? Lazy people are... uh...?”

Yu Gang, who’d been talking as if resigned, finally understood and looked up at Seolhwa with startled eyes.

His one round eye trembled in tiny shakes.

“...Huh?”

“I said I like it. I like you.”

“...”

Yu Gang’s lips parted slightly.

He’d waited for those words his whole life, yet somehow he couldn’t believe them.

“Uh... was that a hallucination...?”

He blinked slowly.

A dream?

Am I dreaming right now?

Am I not in my right mind?

As he just kept blinking, blank—

Swoosh—

Her long hair fell over his face.

Soft, warm lips touched his.

“...!!”

Yu Gang’s eyes widened, slowly.

Whether this was dream or reality, whether what he’d heard was real or an illusion—

none of that even surfaced.

No thought could wedge itself into the space between them.

Hot breath, warm softness.

That unfamiliar sensation lingered for a long time, and also like a blink.

When it passed, their clear black eyes locked together.

Seolhwa looked into the transparent eyes still shaking, still not understanding.

“I like you.”

“...”

“I’ve always been that way. For a long, long time. Maybe... since even before you could imagine.”

She had only pretended not to know.

She’d kept him in her heart from long ago.

Back in the previous life, when she couldn’t even name her feelings—

from the moment she watched him gladly burn his life for his brothers.

From the moment her gaze began to drift to the martial artist of a ruined sect who roamed battlefields alone.

From the moment she started searching for him on every battlefield.

Now she knew what it was.

It had always been attention, and love for him.

Before he ever knew her, her heart was already going toward him.

“I’m sorry I pretended not to. I’m sorry it took so long... I’m sorry.”

Seolhwa pressed her forehead to Yu Gang’s chest.

His arms were still hot and broad.

They were so hot that his uneven breathing hurt to hear.

Swoosh—

Yu Gang lifted his only moving right hand and caught Seolhwa’s hand.

Slowly, he held it.

“Seolhwa.”

Seolhwa raised her head and looked at him.

She met the transparent eyes of the man who was still looking at her warmly.

“I also...”

“...”

“Take me with you too.”