Miss Yeo Il-ye ran away.
I recalled the last face of Miss Yeo Il-ye I saw.
The expression on her face was undoubtedly one of confusion.
“Hmm…”
I felt confused as well.
I was filled with worry that Hyeok Gi-rin would be hurt if he read my mind. My thoughts were completely focused on that direction.
But in reality, it was Yeo Il-ye who broke the formation.
I asked for my companions’ understanding and set out to find Yeo Il-ye.
As I continued walking on the grass within the formation, a familiar figure caught my eye. For some reason, the crouched figure looked particularly small.
I sat beside her.
Yeo Il-ye was hugging her knees, staring gloomily at the grass.
How long had it been,
“I’m sorry. I showed an ugly side of myself.”
“There’s no need to apologize.”
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t surprised when Yeo Il-ye broke the formation and ran away.
However, I thought it was understandable now.
It wasn’t easy to show one’s true feelings to others. Just today, I had a dream about revealing my inner self to Hyeok Gi-rin.
But I was surprised because I had never thought that Yeo Il-ye, who always showed maturity and composure, would run away.
Since she always appeared strong, perhaps I had mistakenly thought she was strong all the way to her core.
I wrapped my arm around Yeo Il-ye’s shoulders.
I felt sorry, grateful, and at the same time, I felt pity for her.
If I hadn’t been involved with the Blood Sect, if I hadn’t decided to fight them, Yeo Il-ye wouldn’t be in this situation.
Startled by my hand wrapping around her shoulder, Yeo Il-ye looked up at me. After a moment, her eyes wavering, she awkwardly rested her head on my shoulder.
“Honorable Person.”
“Speak.”
“You are truly a bad person.”
On the surface, it sounded like she was criticizing me, but her tone was very gentle.
“It’s been quite a while since we became a couple, yet you haven’t looked at me properly, and now here you are, treating me kindly just when my heart is weak.”
Is that so?
I couldn’t lift my head at Yeo Il-ye’s not-so-constructive criticism.
“Hehe.”
Seeing my reaction, Yeo Il-ye giggled softly and leaned comfortably against me with a satisfied smile.
It was a different side of Yeo Il-ye.
It was nothing like the usual image of her standing back, smiling gracefully.
This feels a bit odd to say, but it seemed like she was being a little spoiled and enjoying it.
Looking at the content smile on Yeo Il-ye’s face, I realized that this too was her true self.
She hadn’t expressed it, but deep down, Yeo Il-ye wanted to spend this time with me, her lover, and to indulge a bit.
Thinking about it, it was a natural desire.
Everyone probably has a desire to lean on others.
Yeo Il-ye, who acted maturely without showing such a desire, must have had many things built up inside.
We spent some time in silence.
“Um…”
“Speak.”
“…Can I call you ‘Gaga’?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, I turned towards Yeo Il-ye. I noticed her ears turning bright red as she covered her face with her palm.
“I-it’s not that big of a deal..! Dokgo I-seol Miss isn’t even my lover but she called you ‘Gaga’ already…!”
I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Is that what had stuck in my mind so much?
“Of course.”
“…G-Ga.”
“Hmm? I can’t hear you.”
Yeo Il-ye shot me a glare. Her gaze was fierce, but her face was so red.
“…Gaga!”
“Why do you call me that, Miss?”
“Ugh!!”
Yeo Il-ye seemed unable to bear the embarrassment and started to fidget.
I quietly held her shoulders.
Why did Yeo Il-ye, who always appeared so composed, suddenly become this spoiled?
This was Yeo Il-ye’s effort in her own way.
Yeo Il-ye, who fled without being able to open her heart.
In order to open herself up, she might be sorting through her desires.
I watched Yeo Il-ye, trying to suppress her rising embarrassment, and thought about it.
What a simple desire it was for her.
It was a desire so adorable that even Yeo Il-ye seemed cute.
After a while, Yeo Il-ye’s fidgeting stopped.
Once again, silence fell between us.
This time, it was a silence that felt relaxed, unlike the suffocating silence from before.
“I’m scared.”
What is she afraid of?
I could have asked, but rather than opening my mouth, I waited for Yeo Il-ye to continue.
“I’m scared to show my feelings to Big Brother.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I’m scared.”
Yeo Il-ye leaned into me as if being spoiled. Completely reliant on me, she seemed relieved, and with a more relaxed expression, she confessed to me.
“When the lodge burned down, I hated the world. If my innocent parents and the lodge’s people were killed, shouldn’t the world also burn in such a way? I harbored twisted poison and resentment.”
“The Jeomchang Faction’s teachers. And my good brothers extended their hands to me, but I raised thorns against them. The teachers and brothers, who were pricked by those thorns, retreated awkwardly.”
“Only Big Brother, despite being pricked by thorns, never let go of my hand.”
Yeo Il-ye reminisced about that time with a wistful expression.
“I did many things I shouldn’t have done to Big Brother. I hurled insults, expressed hatred, and filled him with disappointment. Yet, each time, Big Brother showed an pained expression but never retreated and guided me.”
“I received so many things from Big Brother, beyond words, yet…”
Yeo Il-ye fell silent.
“Am I not truly ungrateful? Given all I’ve received, it would be a pittance to truly wish for Big Brother’s happiness, yet here I am…”
I silently took Yeo Il-ye’s hand.
“How would Big Brother react to my ungrateful inner thoughts? The moment that thought crossed my mind, I subconsciously stopped channeling my energy. While I clung to Honorable Person under the pretense of repaying a favor… but for Big Brother…”
From then on, Yeo Il-ye continued to ramble on and on; mainly about how when she caused trouble in the Jeomchang Faction, Hyeok Gi-rin would clean up after her.
She realized just how reckless she was back then.
And just how devoted Hyeok Gi-rin was at that time.
Listening to Yeo Il-ye’s complaints, I gradually began to understand her thoughts.
In Yeo Il-ye’s eyes, Hyeok Gi-rin was a brother but also a sister and a sibling, a person who had a deep place in her heart.
It’s scary to show one’s true self to such a person.
It’s scary to disappoint them by revealing one’s inner self.
“What should I do…?”
The weight of the bond between Hyeok Gi-rin and Yeo Il-ye.
That weight was what burdened Yeo Il-ye’s heart.
* *
Ho Cheon-an returned with the runaway Yeo Il-ye during training.
Yeo Il-ye immediately apologized.
“I’m sorry, everyone.”
Her companions didn’t particularly blame Yeo Il-ye. After all, anyone might have a few things they’d rather keep hidden.
The problem arose from there.
“Miss Yeo Il-ye. Are you okay?”
“…Yes. I’m okay.”
Worried, Hyeok Gi-rin circled around Yeo Il-ye, who felt uncomfortable with him. Confused with Yeo Il-ye’s behavior, Hyeok Gi-rin finally realized that she was uncomfortable with him and created some distance.
A subtle tension flowed between Yeo Il-ye and Hyeok Gi-rin.
Seo Mun-yeon watched the not-so-confrontational standoff from a distance.
“So the person Miss Yeo Il-ye didn’t want to reveal her inner self to wasn’t Ho Cheon-an, but Hwang So-wol.”
It was an unexpected twist, but ultimately, it was something that had to happen.
“Showing one’s true self to others isn’t an easy thing to do.”
“I see you’re not wearing a cheerful expression.”
Seo Mun-yeon lifted his head at the words from Tang So-yeol, who stood beside him.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Isn’t this the situation you wanted? Yet you don’t seem very pleased.”
The situation we wanted.
Seo Mun-yeon smiled bitterly.
It was indeed true that rather than recklessly facing the Blood Sect, we hoped to know each other’s inner selves and cause some division.
That would be better than losing our lives.
But as such a situation unfolded before our eyes, my heart felt unsettled.
“That might be true.”
“Hmm…”
Seo Mun-yeon had already picked up on Tang So-yeol’s motives swirling in front of him.
“But irrespective of those intentions, I also have pride as a Master of Formation. Even if things don’t proceed as I intended, I won’t do anything to harm the formation, so don’t worry.”
“Well, if that’s the case.”
After hearing the desired response, Tang So-yeol stepped back.
Suddenly, Seo Mun-yeon grew curious.
Someone born riding on the qi of the celestial body.
Tang So-yeol, who has the intuition to unravel the formation at a glance.
What must Tang So-yeol see in the current situation?
“Do you think Miss Yeo Il-ye will participate in formation training again?”
Tang So-yeol nodded silently. It was a half-hearted reply as if he hadn’t thought deeply about it, and Seo Mun-yeon’s curiosity surged.
“Why?”
“Because it’s not a big deal.”
…Not a big deal?
“Are you saying Miss Yeo Il-ye’s reluctance to reveal her inner self is nothing?”
“I didn’t mean to put it so harshly…”
Seo Mun-yeon realized he had overreacted at Tang So-yeol’s fumbled scratching of his head, and he held his face in his hands.
He thought he had processed everything well, but because it involved feelings, he inadvertently reacted sensitively.
“The point was that she will eventually overcome it.”
“…Is that so?”
“You don’t seem to think so.”
“It’s a difficult matter.”
“Well, if that’s how you think, then why not just watch?”
Tang So-yeol pointed at Yeo Il-ye and Hyeok Gi-rin.
“Look at how those two resolve things.”
“…Alright.”
Seo Mun-yeon replied and smiled bitterly.
“Do you still have lingering feelings?”
He had resolved to teach the formation to their group to divide them, yet what a shameful change of heart this was.
The matter with Jegal Seong-chan was concluded. Although the mind-interaction was developed, they had ended up with nothing but wounds inflicted on each other without fulfilling their intended formation.
Even if Ho Cheon-an’s group overcame the side effects of the mind-interaction and achieved the formation, the bonds that were already broken wouldn’t return.
Lingering feelings.
It truly was lingering feelings.
However.
Even knowing it was lingering feelings, a corner of Seo Mun-yeon’s heart churned.
If Tang So-yeol’s words were true, that the discord between Yeo Il-ye and Hyeok Gi-rin was nothing serious and could be easily resolved, then.
Maybe the conflicts he had with Jegal Seong-chan were also just something trivial, merely a product of his own misconceptions.
He felt like he could think that way.
If so…
Seo Mun-yeon shook his head, repressing the thoughts that began to swell.
If Yeo Il-ye and Hyeok Gi-rin truly reconciled, then it wasn’t too late to think about it.
So let’s just watch.
Whether they can achieve it or not.
Resolutely, Seo Mun-yeon decided.
“You’ve always been so stubborn! I will teach you a lesson today!”
“Fine! Today, we shall test our skills properly!”
Within just a short time, I could see the two, genuinely igniting their wills and drawing their swords.
Seo Mun-yeon glared at Tang So-yeol, who stood beside him with an embarrassed expression.
“Reconciliation, you say?”
“…Kids grow by fighting.”
Despite Tang So-yeol’s awkward excuses, the two collided, fueled with all their might.
