The intelligent ghosts and the Leader were strangely awkward.
Maybe because of that, the tension slowly began to leave Jaegyeom’s shoulders. He had been far more nervous than he let on, but somehow, sitting across from these two made it easier to speak.
“My name is Kim Jaegyeom. I came because I have a favor to ask.”
As soon as Jaegyeom introduced himself, the Leader—still sitting perfectly upright—picked up a brush and began writing on a sheet of paper.
The characters were elegant classical Chinese.
Standing behind him, Heukje read the written words aloud.
“He asks how you learned about this place.”
The Leader knew perfectly well that avoiding Jaegyeom altogether would have been the safest choice.
And yet he had still come out to meet him himself.
If they had simply turned Jaegyeom away by saying the Leader was absent, they might have avoided immediate danger. But considering Jaegyeom’s personality, he would almost certainly return and continue searching for this place.
It was better to hear him out completely, reject his request cleanly, and make sure he never came back.
Besides...
The Leader wanted to know why Jaegyeom had gone this far—why he had hidden things from him and sought out Byeoksadan in secret.
The situation was dangerous in countless ways, but having someone else impersonate him was impossible.
Saero and Paehyeon were out of the question. Jaegyeom had already met both of them before. That only left Hyeongwoon and Daga. He had briefly considered using one of them as a stand-in, but abandoned the idea almost immediately.
In the end, after considerable hesitation, the Leader came out himself.
Instead, he concealed his face and silenced his voice completely. Covered this thoroughly, there was no way Jaegyeom could recognize him.
At least, that had been the plan.
“There’s a ghost I’ve known for a long time.”
Jaegyeom finally spoke.
“He wanders all across the eight provinces, and he’s obsessed with the affairs of the world. There’s basically nothing he doesn’t know. He told me about you once. Said that if someone pays the price, Byeoksadan accepts requests. Doesn’t matter whether it’s a human or a ghost.”
The Leader quietly bit down on the inside of his lip.
Things really could go this disastrously wrong.
“So I asked him to bring me here.”
The Leader suppressed a silent sigh and moved the brush again.
“He asks what favor you wish to request.”
As Heukje relayed the words, Jaegyeom hesitated briefly.
“There are actually two things I want to ask for first....”
He carefully organized his thoughts.
To explain the request properly, he first had to explain who he was.
“There’s something I need to tell you before that.”
And saying it required courage.
“The truth is... I’m a Naja.”
Jaegyeom raised his head and looked toward the black veil.
“If I tell you this, it probably wouldn’t be strange for you to attack me or capture me right here.”
He paused for a moment before continuing.
“A while ago, I came to Gongju. I don’t know if you realized it then, but the one who fought you there was me.”
Jaegyeom lowered his gaze and lightly turned the teacup in his hands.
“I’m sorry for injuring you. I didn’t do it because I hated you.”
His voice remained calm.
“I know Byeoksadan holds a grudge against the Office of Narye. I also know you’re preparing to wage war against them because of it. So what I’m about to say is probably going to sound strange. You may not even believe me.”
Jaegyeom slowly tightened his fingers around the teacup.
“But my goal is the same as yours.”
He spoke with complete sincerity.
“I’m not alone. I have a friend... and he’s trying to take revenge on the Office of Narye. He’s been preparing for it for a very long time. I became a Naja to help him.”
Jaegyeom lowered his eyes slightly.
“But because of me, the entire plan was ruined.”
The Leader and Heukje listened quietly without interrupting.
“He’s smart. Strong too. I can’t just sit by and watch the plan he spent his whole life building collapse because of me.”
Jaegyeom lifted his head again.
“That’s why I came here to ask for your help.”
The moment he finished speaking, the Leader immediately wrote something down.
“Are you proposing that we join hands?”
Heukje read aloud.
“Yes.”
The Leader fell briefly into thought after grasping Jaegyeom’s meaning.
But before the silence could settle—
“That’s the first favor.”
Jaegyeom continued quietly.
“The second is...”
His voice slowed.
“I’ve lived for a very long time.”
The Leader’s fingers tightened slightly around the brush.
“I don’t age. I don’t die.”
Jaegyeom stared down at the tea in front of him.
“At first, I thought my master cursed me. But now... honestly, I don’t even know anymore.”
For a moment, only silence filled the room.
Then Jaegyeom quietly continued.
“For a very long time now, I’ve wanted to stop living.”
The Leader listened without moving.
“I want you to seal me away.”
Jaegyeom lowered his gaze.
“You’re intelligent ghosts who’ve existed for ages, so I thought maybe you would know a way. I can pay whatever you want.”
His fingers slowly traced the rim of the teacup.
“And I’m not asking you to do it immediately. There’s still something I have to finish first.”
Then he looked directly at the Leader again.
“But once everything is over... I want you to seal me away then.”
The Leader remained perfectly still.
A long silence passed before he finally lifted the brush again.
Jaegyeom quietly watched him, waiting for an answer.
But the Leader merely held the brush between his fingers.
He never lowered it to the paper.
He never wrote a single word.
Because Yoon Taehee knew.
“......”
The moment he tried to write, his hand would tremble like a fool’s.
But he had to say something.
Anything.
He could pretend ignorance. Ask why Jaegyeom wanted something like that. Listen to the story calmly, then refuse him politely.
Regretfully, Byeoksadan does not accept requests of that nature.
He could send him away disappointed and empty-handed.
Then, once evening came and the sun went down, he could go pick Jaegyeom up as though nothing had happened.
Stay beside him while pretending not to know anything.
“......”
The Leader quietly set the brush back down.
He almost wanted to laugh.
He had truly believed that winning Jaegyeom’s heart meant possessing him completely.
The absurdity of that belief filled him with bitterness.
At the same time, resentment rose inside him—resentment toward Jaegyeom for never intending to stay beside him until the very end.
Countless emotions tangled together chaotically.
The person who understood better than anyone that the past ten years had been ruined...
...was Yoon Taehee himself.
And yet he truly did not regret it.
From the very beginning, he had known the road ahead would never be smooth.
Long ago, he had already made up his mind.
As long as he could remain beside Jaegyeom—
As long as he could have him—
Then any misfortune would be worth enduring.
Even a path covered in thorns.
Even hatred.
Even if Jaegyeom eventually despised him, resented him, or treated him coldly for the rest of his life.
He had prepared himself to endure all of it.
Silence settled over the room again.
Still sitting rigidly upright, the Leader slowly turned his head.
Beyond the wide-open window, the mountain ridges stretched into the distance like a painting. The sun had already begun sinking behind them.
Suddenly, his vision blurred.
When it came to Jaegyeom, Yoon Taehee wanted to know everything.
Anything at all.
But he did not want to know this feeling.
“......”
For a long while, the Leader silently stared outside.
Eventually, Jaegyeom followed his gaze.
At some point, a faint breeze drifted through the open window.
The black veil fluttered softly in the wind.
Jaegyeom, who had been looking outside, suddenly seemed to stiffen.
Slowly, he turned his head toward the Leader.
The Leader, sensing the stare resting on him, looked back as well.
“......”
Jaegyeom stared at him for several long seconds.
Then suddenly, he picked up the tea in front of him and drank it down in one gulp.
The tea had long since gone lukewarm.
After swallowing ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) it, Jaegyeom muttered quietly,
“The scent is nice....”
He stared blankly into the empty cup for a moment before speaking again.
“Hey. Pour me another cup.”
At the request, Heukje visibly flinched.
He looked toward the Leader for instruction before stepping closer to refill Jaegyeom’s cup.
But Jaegyeom stopped him.
“No. You don’t have to pour a fresh one.”
He raised a hand casually.
“I want it cold. Just give me his.”
Jaegyeom gestured toward the Leader with his chin.
His gaze looked indifferent, yet somehow seemed to pierce straight through the black veil.
Heukje looked back and forth between the two of them uncertainly.
“You haven’t even touched it anyway.”
The Leader slowly lowered his gaze to the teacup in front of him.
After staring at it for a moment, he lightly picked it up between his fingertips and moved to place it within Jaegyeom’s reach.
Then—
Jaegyeom suddenly grabbed his wrist.
“Hey.”
The Leader flinched.
Jaegyeom lowered his head toward the captured wrist.
For a brief instant, it almost looked as though he intended to kiss it.
Instead, he pressed his nose lightly against the skin.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t recognize you?”
Jaegyeom slowly lifted his head.
And glared directly at Yoon Taehee.
