SYM 62

At Eun-hyeon’s shout, Cheong-un raised his head and grinned. Only then did Eun-hyeon realize he had been tricked.

Eun-hyeon roughly pulled away his hand, which was still being held, and touched his forehead.

He was definitely kind and innocent when he was young…

“Haa, what on earth are you thinking…”

“Master. This disciple is Cheong-un. Please accept my bow.”

Cheong-un prostrated himself before Eun-hyeon, who sighed.

“How on earth did this happen? This disciple still can’t believe it.”

“I can’t believe my young disciple has become such a heinous bastard either.”

“Master. So, it really is you.”

“After making fun of me like that, what are you saying now…”

Eun-hyeon, dumbfounded, looked at Cheong-un and then turned his head away.

“Haa, really… you really are Master.”

“Wasn’t that what you were aiming for?”

“Still, there was a sliver of unease in my heart.”

“Ahem, ahem.”

Eun-hyeon cleared his throat and calmed himself. Cheong-un raised his head, looked at Eun-hyeon, and smiled innocently. Seeing him narrow his eyebrows and give an affectionate, defenseless smile, his heart raced.

“But Master, were you also well-versed in Taoist arts? I clearly saw you close your eyes that day. But how is it that you have now appeared as the Namgung Eldest Young Master? Could it be that you killed the Namgung Eldest Young Master and stole his body?”

Cheong-un’s eyes sparkled particularly brightly as he said, “killed the Eldest Young Master.”

“What, what are you saying? Why would I kill the Namgung Eldest Young Master…”

“This weak…, no, I mean, this disciple thinks your old self was better, but actually, I’m just so happy that you’ve returned. If it’s a secret you can’t tell me, you don’t have to. It’s enough for me that you’re by my side, Master.”

Seeing Cheong-un carefully choosing words like “weak” and “feeble” in front of his Master, Eun-hyeon felt like he had returned to his days as Ha Eun-hyeon.

“Haa… What secrets would I hide from you? If I could tell you, I would have long ago. But I don’t know what’s going on either, so I can’t tell you anything.”

“It’s alright, Master. Your current appearance isn’t bad either.”

“…Cheong-un.”

Upon hearing his name, Ha Yeo-un closed his eyes for a moment with an unreadable expression, then opened them.

“Master has called this disciple’s name. You don’t know how long this disciple has waited and waited for the day Master would call my name.”

Cheong-un smiled brightly at Eun-hyeon.

His appearance was so beautiful that Eun-hyeon couldn’t take his eyes off him and stared for a long time.

How much must young Cheong-un have suffered after he closed his eyes?

How many twists and turns must he have gone through to become the current Heavenly Demon, just like in the story?

“Cheong-un, I…”

He hesitated, not knowing where to start or what to say. At that moment, Cheong-un rubbed his face against Eun-hyeon’s leg. Eun-hyeon was startled and flinched, looking at Cheong-un, but Cheong-un pretended not to notice and pressed his face against Eun-hyeon’s leg.

Rubbing his face against his leg like this was something Cheong-un often did to him when he was young. But now, neither he nor Cheong-un were the same as they were back then. Seeing Cheong-un, who was much bigger than him, acting like a child as he did in his childhood, felt strange.

It felt somewhat ticklish, and the air in the room seemed strangely warm.

“W-wait, step back for a moment. It’s stifling. What’s with the childish behavior from a grown man? Now, tell me your story. How have you been?”

Eun-hyeon tried to push Cheong-un away and escape, but Cheong-un gripped Eun-hyeon’s leg tightly and wouldn’t let go.

“Master, don’t say such things. I will never let go of you again. Never again.”

Cheong-un smiled gently at Eun-hyeon.

It was definitely a gentle smile, but for some reason, he felt a chill.

* * *

“Um, Un-ah. Do you really have to be like this?”

Eun-hyeon sighed inwardly as he spoke.

Even though the single personal bed in the room was large, it wasn’t big enough for two large men to lie down on.

Yet, Cheong-un stubbornly insisted on lying right next to Eun-hyeon and sleeping together.

“Master, if it’s cramped, come closer to me. And didn’t you say you were cold earlier? Isn’t it cold because you keep going towards the wall?”

Seeing Cheong-un, who wouldn’t budge no matter how much he told him to go, Eun-hyeon sighed.

“You have your own bed right next to me, why…”

“This disciple is afraid that you won’t be there when I open my eyes again. I miss you so much, Master, so could you please bear with it for a little while, even if it’s uncomfortable? Or else, I’ll lie on the floor or sit in a chair.”

Cheong-un, the leader of the Demonic Sect, would be fine even if he slept on ice instead of the floor, but he couldn’t bring himself to say that.

Eun-hyeon eventually swallowed a sigh.

It was the karma of a Master who had left his young disciple, who had no parents, alone.

“But why didn’t you tell me your identity? You would have had many opportunities to tell me.”

“…If I said I was your dead Master, would you have believed me, Un-ah? You would have thought I was up to some strange trick and cut off my head, if I was lucky. And, the one who appeared before me wasn’t Cheong-un, but Ha Yeo-un.”

“But you recognized me, didn’t you? That I was Cheong-un. Master recognized me even though my appearance had changed, but I didn’t recognize you even though your appearance had changed, so you have every right to scold me.”

“No, why is it turning into that…”

Eun-hyeon scratched his head. It was true that he had recognized Cheong-un’s changed appearance at once.

How was he able to notice Ha Yeo-un’s identity at once?

He found it a bit strange himself that he had recognized him at once by seeing a trivial habit like the way he ate.

“Un-ah, you still hide the food you don’t like and don’t eat it, just like before. And you save the things you like for last.”

Cheong-un’s eyes wavered at those words.

“You knew because of that?”

“Yeah… I was sure when I saw that.”

“…Ha, hahaha, hahahahaha.”

Cheong-un burst into laughter. He laughed so hard that tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.

“You knew for that reason? You really are Master.”

Seeing Cheong-un laughing so loudly, Eun-hyeon felt a little embarrassed.

“Now, let’s talk about you. Are you going to refuse to tell me how you’ve been all this time?”

“Let’s talk about that later. You’re very tired today, Master, so please get some rest.”

“Cheong-un, how can I sleep when you’re acting like this… Haaam. Instead of that, you should lie down comfortably too…”

Eun-hyeon’s words trailed off, and soon, he fell silent.

It was partly because he had been through too much and his energy was depleted, and partly because Cheong-un had lightly touched a pressure point that induced sleep without Eun-hyeon noticing.

Eun-hyeon soon fell into a deep sleep, snoring softly.

Cheong-un watched the sleeping Eun-hyeon without moving. He couldn’t take his eyes off him, fearing that Eun-hyeon would disappear even for a moment.

Cheong-un carefully and gently moved Eun-hyeon’s head onto his arm and held Eun-hyeon in his arms. Eun-hyeon was so deeply asleep that he showed no signs of waking up at all.

“Master…”

Even though he had just heard it from Eun-hyeon’s mouth, he couldn’t easily believe that Namgung Eun-hyeon was Ha Eun-hyeon. Was it because he missed him so much? Was it because he was so desperate?

The past years, which were like a terrible nightmare, kept coming back to him.

His Master, growing cold in his arms.

He had even thought that perhaps the heavens had taken his Master away early because of his own dirty desires.

But as time passed, longing turned into resentment, resentment into anger, and those unknown emotions solidified over the years.

And yet, his Master appeared before him in such a young and fragile form.

Watching Eun-hyeon sleeping in his arms, Cheong-un stroked Eun-hyeon’s hair. Seeing Eun-hyeon burrowing into his arms like a child, he couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s nice to see Master younger and weaker than me too. A Master who needs me to protect him and wants my help. It’s like receiving a reward.”

Cheong-un raised Eun-hyeon’s hand and kissed the back of it.

In a reverent manner, he kissed Eun-hyeon’s fingertips, knuckles, and the back of his hand in turn.

“Seeing that we met like this even after being separated by death, it seems we were destined to be together. I will never let you go again.”