Jaegyeom,whohadbeenstandingthereinadaze,immediatelystrodetowardthedoor.First,heneededtogetoutofthisplace.
Butnomatterhowhardhepulledonthehandle,thedoorrefusedtoopen.
“......”
Stillgrippingthedoorknob,Jaegyeom’sexpressionslowlyhardened.
edidn’tknowwhyhehadbeenbroughthere,buthecouldalreadytellhewastrappedinsidethisroom.Mostlikely,Yoonaeheehadarrangedit.
Justthen,hefeltanunfamiliarpresencebehindhim.
Standingbeforethedoor,Jaegyeomimmediatelyturnedhisheadandlookedtowardthedarkcorneroftheroom.ncehiseyesadjusted,henoticedafigureleaningagainstthewalllikeashadow.
twasPaehyeon.
Recognizinghimastheintelligentghosthehadseeninthelibrarybefore,Jaegyeomregardedhimwarily.iddeninthedarknesswithhisarmsfolded,Paehyeonhadapparentlybeenstandingtheretheentiretime,silentlywatchinghimlikeaguard.Jaegyeomsimplyhadn’tnoticedhimearlierbecausehehadbeentooflustered.
“Whoareyou?”
Jaegyeomasked,lookinghimoverfromheadtotoe.
“wasorderedtoremainbyyourside.”
hepoliteanswermadeJaegyeomnarrowhiseyes.
SoitreallywasYoonaehee’sdoing.
nceagain,Jaegyeomfounditbizarrethataeheewasusingintelligentghosts.ecouldnotunderstandwhyproudbeingslikethem—ghostscapableofdoingnearlyanythingiftheywished—wouldfollowahuman’sorders.otjustone,either.Several.
omatterhowstrongaeheewas,hewasstillonlyhuman,yethecommandedintelligentghostsasthoughheweretheirmaster.hewholethingwasabsurd.
ewouldbelyingifhesaidhewasnotcuriousaboutthestorybehindit,butthatwashardlythemostimportantissuerightnow.
“penthedoor.”
Jaegyeomspokeflatly.
Paehyeondidnotmove.
“saidopenit.”
Attherepeatedcommand,Paehyeonfinallyanswered.
“einstructedmenottoletyouleavethismountain.”
Jaegyeomtookaslowbreathandshuthiseyes.
twasanefforttosuppresstheemotionsrisinginsidehim.
Foramoment,hehadthoughtaeheewasactuallylisteningwhenhetoldhimnottofollowhim.
Apparentlynot.
Yoonaeheecouldbeunbelievablychildishsometimes.
ealwaysactedlikesomecomposedadultwhoalreadyunderstoodeverythingintheworld,butattimeslikethis,hewasnodifferentfromastubbornchild.mmature.Clumsy.Convincedthathisownfeelingsmatteredmorethananythingelse.
“don’twanttofight,soopenthedoor.”
twasalreadydeepintothenight.
Jaegyeomwasexhausted,mentallyandphysicallyalike.Morethananything,heneededpeaceandquietrightnow.ehadnoenergylefttodealwithanintelligentghost.
ejustwantedtogohomeandrest.
“cannotdothat.Pleasestepawayfromthedoor.”
Paehyeonshookhisheadwithouttheslightesthesitation.
“haterepeatingmyself.”
Jaegyeom’seyesnarrowed.
“penitbeforesmashthisentireplaceapart.”
Still,Paehyeonremainedsilent.
“......”
ntheend,Jaegyeom’sexpressiondarkened.
“heonlypersongoeasyonisaehee.”
isvoicedroppedlow.
“onlyobeyaehee-nim.”
heintelligentghostbeforehimtrulywasanexcellentsubordinate.
“......”
Afterabriefsilence,acrookedsmilespreadacrossJaegyeom’slips.
“Whatifbreakthedoordownandleaveanyway?”
“einstructedmetostopyouevenifhavetocutoffyourankles.”
Atthosewords,somethingsharpslowlysurfacedinJaegyeom’sunfocusedeyes.
“Cutoffmyankles?”
Aquietlaughescapedhim.
hesituationwassoabsurdhecouldonlylaugh.
Still,heknewitwasnoemptythreat.
AswordhungatPaehyeon’swaist.
WhichmeantYoonaeheehadgiventheorderseriously.
AndPaehyeonintendedtocarryitout.
“see.”
Acoldgleam,sharpasablade,settledintoJaegyeom’seyes.
AfterstaringatPaehyeonforamoment,hesuddenlyturnedandcrossedtheroom.estoppedbesidethefoldingscreenandgrabbedtheswordhangingthere.
“hengoahead.”
heinstantJaegyeomwrappedhishandaroundthesword,Paehyeon’sexpressionstiffened.
“o.Youshould.”
Jaegyeom’svoicewascoldenoughtosendchillscrawlingdownthespine.
“Becauseifyoufailtocutthemoff,youdieinstead.”
iltinghisheadslightly,Jaegyeomstaredstraightathim.
Swordinhand,heslowlyapproached.Paehyeonstoodmotionless,watchinghimwithoutretreating.
Jaegyeomstoppedthreestepsaway.
“itheryoucutoffmyankles...”
ishanddrewthebladewithacleanmetallichiss.
“...orcutoffyourhead.”
hepolishededgeslidfree.
“......”
Paehyeon’sexpressionvisiblydarkened.
edidnotwanttoshowit,buthewasgenuinelytroubled.
ruthfully,hehadnodesiretofightJaegyeom.
ewantedtotreathimwithasmuchrespectaspossible.
Paehyeonhadlivedaverylongtime,andheknewimmediatelythatJaegyeomwasnoordinaryhuman.
Butthatwasnottheonlyreason.
Jaegyeomwassomeonehiseadercherished.
Becauseofthat,Paehyeonwantedtoavoidhurtinghimifpossible.
fcourse,hehadneverexpectedJaegyeomtoobedientlycomply.Still,hehadhopedtheboywouldcalmdownandremainhere★𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭★quietly.
nstead,itseemedhehadaccidentallyprovokedhim.
owtherewasnoroomlefttoretreat.
Jaegyeomleveledthetipofhisswordtowardhim.
Paehyeonrestedahandagainsthisscabbardandslowlysteppedback.
iseaderhadorderedhimtokeepJaegyeomhereevenifitmeantseveringhisankles,buttakingthosewordsliterallywasimpossible.iseaderwasfarmoreemotionalthanusualatthemoment.
fpossible,itwouldbebesttosubdueJaegyeomwithoutseriouslyinjuringhim.
ntheend,Paehyeonreluctantlydrewhissword.
hemomenthedid,Jaegyeomattacked.
CA!
hetwobladescollided,andaheavyshocktraveledstraightintoPaehyeon’sgrip,numbinghishand.
wistinghisbodyaside,Paehyeonblockedthestrikeandimmediatelythrusttowardtheopeningleftbehind.
fheleteventheslightestgapappear,itgenuinelyfeltasthoughJaegyeomwouldcuthisheadoff.
fcourse,anordinarybladecouldnottrulykillaghostunlessitwasaswordcapableofcuttingdownspirits,buttheboy’sspiritualforcewasextraordinaryenoughthatprolongingthefightfeltgenuinelydangerous.
Untilnow,Paehyeonhadfoughtdefensively.
owhisattacksgrewnoticeablysharper.
Asthepressureshifted,Jaegyeomtightenedhisgriponthesword.
Paehyeon’smovementswererestrainedyetagile.Smooth.Fluid.isfootworkwasmysterious,almostimpossibletofollow.
Andthemoretheirswordscrossed—
—themorefamiliaritfelt.
hisis...
Jaegyeom’seyeswidened.
“...wirim?”
heinstantthenamelefthismouth,Paehyeonfaltered.
isswordhaltedmid-motionashestaredatJaegyeominsurprise.
Seeingthatreaction,Jaegyeom’seyeswidenedaswell.
hetwostaredateachothersuspiciouslyforamomentbeforespeakingattheexactsametime.
“Youknowwirim?”
“Youknowsomeonenamedwirim?”
“Shorthair.xtraordinarywithasword...”
“hegreatestswordsmanunderheaven.”
hemomenttheycompareddescriptions,shockspreadacrossboththeirfaces.
Almostsimultaneously,PaehyeonandJaegyeomloweredtheirswordsandslidthembackintotheirscabbards.
verythingmatchedperfectly.
Jaegyeomwasstunnedthatthisintelligentghostknewwirim.
Paehyeonwasequallysurprised.
eitherofthemhadimaginedtheywouldbeconnectedthroughsomeonelikethat.
“owdoyouknowwirim?”
“oncecrossedswordswiththathuman.”
Paehyeonwasaswordghostbornfromasoulthathadclungtoanabandonedblade.ongago,hehadwanderedacrosstheeightprovincescuttingdowneverythinginhispath.
hatwaswhenhefirstmetwirim.
“Seriously?”
Jaegyeomcouldnothidehissurprise.
Justmomentsearliertheyhadbeentryingtokilleachother,yetnowtheconversationhadtakenanutterlyunexpectedturn.
hetensionbetweenthemvanishedalmostinstantly.
Jaegyeomcasuallytossedasidetheswordinhishand.Paehyeonalsoreturnedhisbladetoitsscabbard.
ncetheweaponsdisappeared,theconversationcontinuednaturally.
“hendidyouteachaeheeswordsmanship?”
“Yes.”
hatexplainedit.
Backwhenhehadencounteredaeheeattheongjubranch,Jaegyeomhadfounditstrangethataeheeusedwirim’sswordsmanship.
SoPaehyeonhadlearneddirectlyfromwirim,thenpasseditontoYoonaehee.
“Shewasatrulyremarkablehuman.”
ereallywas.
Myojeongoccasionallyvisitedwirim,butJaegyeomhimselfhadonlymethimonceandneversawhimagainafterward.ehadmerelyheardoccasionalstoriesfromMyojeong,whocontinuedmeetingwirimfromtimetotime.
henJaegyeomseveredtieswithMyojeongaswell.
Afterthat,eventhosestoriesdisappeared.
Still,despitemeetinghimonlyonce,wirimhadleftanunforgettableimpressiononhim.
(*Jaegyeomhadalwaysbelievedwirimwasaman.)
“swirimdead?”
Paehyeonnoddedquietly.
noughtimehadpassedthathehadnaturallyassumedshewasdeadbynow,yethearingitspokenaloudstillfeltstrange.
wirimhadbeenasstrongasMyojeong.Paehyeonhadoncewonderedwhethershemighthavebecomeanintelligentghostafterdeath.
Apparentlynot.
“thoughtthatpersonmight’vebecomeaghost.”
“Sodid.”
Paehyeongenerallydislikedhumansandavoidedattachmentswheneverpossible.
Buthehadlikedwirimquiteabit.
Sowhenhelearnedshehaddied,hehadgenuinelyfeltregret.
“twasawasteinmanyways.Suchapowerfulhumandyingsoyoung.”
wirimhadbeenstraightforward,unpretentious,andstrong.
“Sheleftthisworldonlymonthsbeforegivingbirth,withoutevergettingtoholdherchildinherarms.thoughtshemightremainbehindasaghostbecauseofthat,solookedintowhatbecameofher.Butintheend,itseemsshedepartedthislandwithoutregrets.”
twaswhilePaehyeonspokewithdistanteyesthat—
“What?”
Jaegyeomabruptlyfroze.
Somethinginthosewordscaughtsharplyinhisears.
estaredatPaehyeonwithwideeyes.Paehyeon,meanwhile,lookedbackathiminconfusion.
“wirimhadawife?”
Jaegyeomaskedblankly.
“......”
Paehyeon’sexpressionturnedstrange.
“Youdidn’tknow?”
ookinggenuinelybewildered,Paehyeonanswered:
“wirimwasawoman.”
