Like a fox staring at grapes, Sihyun deliberately forced himself to think of nothing but bad scenarios and let out a sigh.
He still had a lot he needed to do. And yet the helplessness that kept surging up on its own stole the strength from his legs.
Why was he in this state? What the hell did he even want that made him keep acting like a fucking idiot? Why was there nothing he could actively do?
In the end, Sihyun dropped straight down onto the floor, bit down hard on his lower lip, grabbed his head, and spat out self-reproach and curses.
'If it was going to be like this, wouldn’t it have been better to just reveal the existence of the quests and the secret and push through together?'
The past kept resurfacing, and doubts crept in about the choices he’d made.
But a moment later—just when even his will to deal with the Gate was about to snap—a new memory suddenly surfaced.
"Right. There was one more place the Heavenly Demon could be…."
Right behind this Heavenly Demon Grand Hall, there was a pavilion—small, but so splendid you could tell at a glance.
Originally, it should’ve been the Heavenly Demon’s own private quarters, but since Sihyun himself had used it all that time, it hadn’t come to him right away.
There was only one way to get there. The only door was in the most hidden, deepest part of the Grand Hall.
One path. One target. He wasn’t expecting much, but if he didn’t check the place that had come to mind, then even if he cleared this Gate, it would gnaw at him to the very end.
"Hoo… Yeah. I’m just checking. Just checking…."
Unlike before, Sihyun took a shallow deep breath and slowly started walking toward the place where he’d ended the quest—where he’d personally taken a neck and finished it.
Everything along the way was familiar. From the glossy black wooden fence to the garden packed tight with nothing but pine trees. Sihyun forced down the swelling tension and gripped his mind tight so it wouldn’t fly away.
Maybe because the path was so familiar, he arrived in an instant.
Sihyun looked over the door made of ten-thousand-year cold iron as if seeing it anew, then slowly wrapped his hand around the doorknob.
But after that, he couldn’t move even an inch.
His heart was pounding like crazy and cold sweat was pouring down, so Sihyun had to take several deep breaths, scolding himself not to expect anything.
'But… do I even have the right to look for him? And if—if I actually meet him, even at a one-in-ten-thousand chance… what do I even say?'
No matter the reason, it was true that he’d hurt him. As fear suddenly swelled over his anticipation, Sihyun squeezed his eyes shut.
Dampness filled his grip on the doorknob, and his hand kept slipping.
"Jeong Sihyun, get it together. You’re just scouting. Just scouting."
Even so, he couldn’t not open this door. There might be nothing, or what was inside might just be a monster—but even then, he wanted to see that face one more time.
Swoosh.
The door opened as smoothly and silently as if it had been oiled. Unable to look inside right away, Sihyun kept his eyes on the floor, then let out a small, self-mocking laugh at the stillness he could feel on his skin.
So his heart had expected it on its own, after all.
Slowly, he lifted his head. Light poured in through a wide window, a bed that looked soft, and elegant objects decorating the room in a refined, lavish way—everything was painfully familiar.
But that was all.
"Hah…."
A laugh came out. There was nothing about this situation—or himself—that wasn’t ridiculous.
Sihyun just stared blankly inside, unable to even step in, then turned his back without lingering.
"Master…?"
Freeze.
At a voice Sihyun had thought he could never hear—yet had wanted so desperately—he stopped like he’d been nailed to the ground.
Was it an auditory hallucination?
"Master."
It felt like the body that had been bound up in ropes suddenly came loose.
Unable to believe it, Sihyun slowly turned back and looked into the room that had been empty.
No—now it wasn’t empty. The beautiful man stepped out from behind layers of fabric hanging like a tapestry.
Yeon Taewoon’s face looked a little gaunt, but even that was nothing more than an ornament that made him seem even more detached, even more serene.
The corners of Sihyun’s mouth trembled faintly.
A voice that usually came out just fine wouldn’t come out now. Sihyun stared blankly into ruby-like eyes, then forced his lips to move.
"Taewoon…?"
Like someone had pressed a button, a clear droplet began to form at the edge of Sihyun’s eye.
Ah. I really missed this kid.
All the walls he’d built in his heart, pretending he was fine, collapsed with a crash. The head that had been crammed full of thoughts felt like it was being wiped white.
Without hesitation, Sihyun stepped inside and ran straight at Taewoon.
Then he hugged the kid standing there blankly and bit down hard on his trembling lip.
Taewoon’s eyes widened for a moment at Sihyun’s unexpected reaction, then drooped halfway again as he smiled lazily.
And raising the hands that had been hanging down, he hugged Sihyun’s solid body back and buried his face at the back of his neck.
Finally. Finally, he caught him.
"Taewoon! It’s really you, right…? What the hell is going on?! And—there’s supposed to be a boss here!"
Maybe because he was out of his mind, Sihyun grabbed Taewoon by both shoulders and babbled in a frantic jumble, tossing words out at random.
"Master, I don’t know either. When I came to my senses, I was left alone…."
"What?"
Maybe embarrassed, Sihyun scrubbed at his damp eyes, but at Taewoon’s answer, he jerked his head up.
Then, with a faint shadow under his eyes, he slowly rubbed at the bloodshot corners, making a face like he was about to cry.
So how long have you been alone?
"Master. I missed you so much…. Why did you do that? If I did something wrong, please forgive me generously, Master. Don’t… abandon me."
A hoarse voice, softened low, drove itself clearly into Sihyun’s heart.
His heart stung and burned like it was being carved up. Sihyun couldn’t bring himself to meet his gaze and lowered his head.
But in the moment he fumbled there with a pale-blue face, he startled at a droplet falling on Taewoon’s lapel and had no choice but to snap his head up.
Yeon Taewoon’s expression hadn’t changed much, but his eyes were filled with thick, dark emotion and pain he couldn’t name, and tears were dripping down, bead by bead.
"No! Don’t cry, Taewoon. I—! It wasn’t because I wanted to! Haa… I’m sorry. I’m really sorry."
"…Then you won’t leave my side anymore, right?"
"Of course!"
Back then, he’d promised he’d never leave too, and then he’d still gone far away alone—but now there were no quests or anything, and he meant it, sincerely.
Stacking the guilt piling in on top of itself, Sihyun clenched his fist tight and made a firm vow to protect him to the very end.
"But… Master. You got younger…?"
"Huh? Uh… Yeah. That happened."
"…I see."
And you got weaker.
Taewoon gently cupped both of Sihyun’s cheeks—still damp—and applied a little pressure, lifting his head up.
Those wet eyes that looked at him without holding anything back, the hand trembling faintly, the vivid reaction aimed at him—it all felt satisfying.
For a moment, skin that had been stiffening inside his grip brushed by, but as if it were an illusion, warm body heat quickly filled it again.
When Sihyun’s lips twitched like he was about to say something, Taewoon slowly stroked down the damp skin with the hand holding his cheek.
Then he lightly grasped a wrist that wasn’t thin, but fit perfectly inside his palm.
"We need to get out of here. Taewoon, have you seen anyone else?"
"Yes. I haven’t."
"Haa… You’re probably really confused right now, but I’ll explain the details later. For now, will you follow me?"
Taewoon nodded without a shred of hesitation and, like he always had, stepped up behind Sihyun and stood there.
And somehow, the way he followed so obediently, without talking back, was unbelievably adorable. After nothing but bastards who’d been freaking out nonstop lately, seeing Taewoon made his eyes and his heart feel cleansed.
"Hide your presence and follow. You can do that much, right?"
"Ah."
"What. Don’t tell me your stats got cut too?"
"Stats…? Uh… I think so."
Clicking his tongue quietly to himself, Sihyun activated Sacred Eye.
'Sacred Eye'
[Error. Calculating.]
'Huh?'
He had to feel a little flustered at the unexpected situation. But he couldn’t show that in front of Taewoon, and that damned system was full of mysteries, so there wasn’t a single part he could be sure about.
And anyway, “calculating” meant it would produce a result eventually, so he decided to push the details to the back for now.
"Still, at the level of humans here, I think it’s possible. I’ll follow on my own just fine."
"Yeah? Then… okay. I’ll use voice transmission, so until then, come along hidden. Got it?"
"Yes, Master."
Sihyun couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from creeping up. Sure, his face was probably a total mess from crying a second ago, but right now he was so happy he didn’t care about anything.
Out of habit, Sihyun ran his hand once through Taewoon’s long, loosened hair, then took a little of the hair covering his face and tucked it behind his ear.
At some point, it had started to feel like Taewoon didn’t really like it, so he’d stopped doing it—but he’d just reunited with his disciple after so long, so what was he supposed to do, not touch him?
But unlike Sihyun’s worry, Taewoon’s eyes widened slightly, then he narrowed them again and gave a shy smile.
'Ah, cute.'
Sihyun smiled again, warmly, then turned his back and started walking quickly toward the door.
Forcing himself to calm the excitement bubbling up with effort, Sihyun fixed his gaze forward and moved fast.
Taewoon was following while hiding his body, but he was still letting his presence leak out, making it feel like they were walking side by side like before.
Even in the middle of all this, Sihyun couldn’t control the buoyant feeling floating up again and again.
'God, I’m such a mess.'
Then an unknown, heavy presence brushed past Sihyun quickly. Nothing had visibly changed, but it felt like the density of the air had packed in tight. A bad feeling started surging up fast.
Meeting Taewoon was great, sure—but he still hadn’t met whatever they called the boss, and he had no idea how long it would take to find and deal with the ten people, so his impatience was rising again.
"What the hell is this?!"
But he didn’t get far. Seeing the demonic cultists swarming and packing the area in front of the hall, Sihyun had to stop dead, mouth falling open in a blank stare.