SYM 131 Side Story
by EmerlynIt was a sweltering summer day where sweat trickled down even when standing still.
Eun-hyeon fanned himself with his sleeve. It had been a long time since he had felt such heat.
“Are you very hot, Master? If I had known you would be this uncomfortable, I would have moved us to Cheonsan sooner. The peak of Cheonsan is covered in perpetual snow, so it’s cool even in the summer.”
“I know that, disciple.”
Eun-hyeon pouted.
He had frequented Cheonsan as if it were his own backyard while living as a Taoist. Even after being expelled from Kunlun, he couldn’t leave Cheonsan and lingered nearby, so he never had the chance to experience the summer heat of the Central Plains.
“Master, you haven’t been to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, have you? It’s on the same mountain range as Cheonsan, but the scenery of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, where the Demonic Sect is located, is a bit different. How about we go together now?”
“You speak of going to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains as if it were a trip to the neighbor’s. I don’t have the energy to go there in this heat. I’d rather just play in the water here. It’s fortunate there’s a valley nearby.”
Even as Eun-hyeon spoke, he continuously fanned himself with his sleeve, creating a breeze.
Seeing this, Cheong-un tried to circulate his Inner energy to create a breeze for Eun-hyeon, but Eun-hyeon glared at him.
“Cheong-un! I told you not to waste your Inner energy unnecessarily!”
Cheong-un momentarily looked embarrassed and quietly lowered his energy.
After Eun-hyeon found out that Cheong-un had shared his Innate True Qi with him, he had asked him not to waste his energy on unnecessary things. But when Cheong-un didn’t listen, he glared and followed Cheong-un around.
Eun-hyeon could sensitively feel Cheong-un’s energy, so if Cheong-un seemed to be wasting even a little bit of his Inner energy, he would invariably follow him and nag.
Even as he sweated profusely from the heat, Eun-hyeon glared at Cheong-un.
“Wouldn’t it be alright to just create a little breeze? I’ll make sure a cool breeze only blows around Master.”
“No. How far are you going to make me out to be shameless? I’m not such a spoiled brat that I can’t even bear the heat after taking your Innate True Qi.”
Cheong-un clicked his tongue as he looked at Eun-hyeon, who was drenched in sweat as if he had just come out of a bath.
Thanks to Cheong-un, Eun-hyeon was now recognized as a person of this world.
However, Eun-hyeon’s body was unstable because he had not yet fully made Cheong-un’s energy his own.
Later, when Eun-hyeon’s energy and his own were completely merged, he would reach the state of unaffected by heat and cold, no longer affected by heat or cold, but right now, he was having a harder time with the summer than usual.
“Master, it may be difficult, but feeling and enduring this heat won’t last much longer. Once this year passes, you will reach the state of unaffected by heat and cold next year.”
“Well, I don’t know about the timing. Your Innate True Qi is so difficult to handle that absorbing it is not as easy as I thought. But someday, I’ll be able to absorb it all.”
Eun-hyeon saw Cheong-un looking at him with concern and deliberately grinned, jumping to his feet.
“We came to the valley, so we can’t just stand here and watch. I need to soak my body.”
Eun-hyeon quickly threw off his sweat-soaked, cumbersome clothes and ran towards the valley.
“Ah, Master? W-wait a moment…!”
This place was the Demonic Sect’s villa area, and only members of the Demonic Sect existed nearby.
But now, even those Demonic Sect members had been kept far away, so only Eun-hyeon and Cheong-un were in the vicinity.
Eun-hyeon jumped into the valley water wearing only his underwear.
“Ah! So refreshing!”
Eun-hyeon shivered in the bone-chillingly cold water.
The water flowing from the deep mountains was quite deep, submerging him up to his waist.
He put his long hair into the water and shook it. His hair scattered, and water droplets sparkled in all directions.
Cheong-un belatedly came to the front of the valley and smiled as he watched Eun-hyeon playing like a child.
“The water is quite cold; are you alright?”
“Yes. I feel alive now.”
“Master, once you have fully absorbed my energy, how about learning Fire Art? You seem to have a talent for Fire Art.”
“Fire Art?”
Usually, those who practiced Fire Art were also at a considerable level of external Martial Arts, so many of them were burly and large.
So he had never even thought about Fire Art, but listening to Cheong-un, it seemed quite reasonable.
“I’ll find a good Fire Art primer. I thought Ice Art would suit Master better, so this is a bit unexpected.”
“I know. I never thought about Fire Art either, but seeing how much I’m suffering from the heat, it seems like Fire Art might really be the right fit…”
Eun-hyeon swam quite well even in the cold valley water.
His long legs came out of the water as if to seduce Cheong-un, splashing around before disappearing back into the water.
Cheong-un swallowed hard as he looked at Eun-hyeon’s smooth legs, which were occasionally revealed out of the water. He thought that no one should be allowed near this place while Eun-hyeon was staying here.
Cheong-un swallowed dryly as he watched the scene.
“Cheong-un, aren’t you coming in?”
Eun-hyeon lightly splashed water at Cheong-un.
Cheong-un could have easily avoided it, but he deliberately took the hit. Eun-hyeon burst into a clear laugh as he saw Cheong-un’s hair and clothes lightly wet.
“Come in and play together!”
Eun-hyeon scooped up another handful of water and splashed it towards Cheong-un.
Eventually, Cheong-un chuckled and took off his clothes.
It was Eun-hyeon who had dragged Cheong-un into the valley, but as soon as Cheong-un took off his clothes, he swallowed hard.
The small muscles that were not visible under the clothes were dazzling as water was poured over them.
“…You really have an enviable body.”
Cheong-un smiled as he heard Eun-hyeon mutter to himself without realizing it.
He had not given much meaning to his body until now, but if Eun-hyeon liked it, it was worth it.
Eun-hyeon flaunted his muscles as if to show them off, and Eun-hyeon splashed water at him.
“Wow, are you showing off in front of me right now? Once I fully absorb my Inner energy, I’ll learn external Martial Arts too!”
“Master, you look perfect as you are now. There’s no need to learn external Martial Arts. You already have the Inner energy to realize most martial arts.”
“No! I’m going to learn external martial arts and become a burly man suited for Fire Art. How about that? Do you think you’ll lose interest in me then?”
Eun-hyeon often tested Cheong-un like that.
He was asking if he would continue to love him even if he became like this.
But this was a question he asked because he really didn’t know himself.
If his heart would change because his appearance changed, he wouldn’t have felt anything when he was in Namgung Eun-hyeon’s body in the first place.
“Master, no, Eun-hyeon.”
Eun-hyeon flinched and froze at Cheong-un’s words.
Seeing Eun-hyeon like that, Cheong-un raised the corners of his lips and smiled.
“No matter what you look like or where you are, I will always be with you.”
Cheong-un slowly approached and held Eun-hyeon’s face in both hands.
Eun-hyeon’s face turned slightly red, but he did not avoid Cheong-un’s hands.
Cheong-un slowly lowered his head and placed his lips on Eun-hyeon’s. A soft tongue entered and scraped against the roof of his mouth.
Eun-hyeon trembled and wrapped his arms around Cheong-un’s neck. Hot heat rose again on the skin that had been cooled by the valley water.
“Hng.”
A faint groan escaped.
Their touching lips did not part, stealing each other’s breath. Coldness and heat coexisted at the same time.
Eventually, Eun-hyeon’s legs gave out. If Cheong-un hadn’t wrapped his arms around Eun-hyeon’s waist to support him, he might have fallen into the valley water.
His body quickly heated up as his gums were rubbed and his palate was scraped by Cheong-un’s tongue.
After a long time, their lips parted.
Cheong-un pushed back Eun-hyeon’s wet hair to reveal his round forehead. And he lightly kissed it.
Eun-hyeon, who was panting like someone who had done strenuous exercise, looked at Cheong-un with hazy eyes.
He loved the thought that the heat rising on Cheong-un’s face was because of him.
Eun-hyeon couldn’t bear it and grabbed Cheong-un’s face with both hands. He slowly kissed the face that was only looking at him.