Reunion (1)
She had always believed they would reunite someday, yet never imagined the moment would arrive so suddenly.
Cheongwol paced restlessly back and forth across the room.
Just as she had thought of Seomun Hwi whenever a free moment presented itself at the Kongdong Sect, had he thought of her as well—aside from the times he wrote those letters?
And how was she supposed to explain that she had become a woman while still concealing the affairs of the Im family?
In the midst of these swirling worries, as she tried to calm her trembling heart, her eyes suddenly fell upon a book that had slipped out of her luggage.
It was the very volume Soga-yul had clicked her tongue at the instant she saw it, and that had made Unhak frown.
The Yin-Yang Union Divine Art.
The sole reason she had never burned it, despite their scolding that was not quite scolding, was that it held a brief memory of Seomun Hwi.
Back then, I didn’t even know Hwi had been sending me letters.
If she ever left the Kongdong Sect, she had planned to fling this erotic manual in the face of a Seomun Hwi who had forgotten her. That way, even if he hated it, he would be forced to remember her.
Of course, after learning that he had been sending her letters for the past two years, that plan had become rather awkward.
Cheongwol traced the cover of the book with her fingertips, recalling those all-too-brief memories.
Looking back now, meeting him in this vast Central Plains—and not even in Anhui, but in Gansu—was more than mere fortune.
Since fate brought us together, that must be why we met.
Just as she was about to recall Unhak’s smiling face as he said those words, the voice of the man she had longed for these past two years came from beyond the door.
From the very beginning, he had never set his heart on a free life.
Having shouldered the burden of being the young master of one of the Six Great Clans, everything he was belonged to the clan.
That was why, even when talk of an engagement arose, he accepted it without particular resistance. He had no woman he favored, and forming a marriage alliance with a daughter of the Dang Clan would only expand the Seomun Clan’s influence further.
Moreover, Dang Sohye’s appearance was as outstanding as Clan Lord Dang Hyeongeuk had claimed, so he had no reason to withdraw from the marriage talks.
More than twenty years ago, when the current Dang Clan Lord’s younger sister had married the lord of the Namgung Clan, how tense the Seomun Clan had become—he had heard it from his father countless times. Had it not been for the tragedy that struck the Namgung Clan, the Seomun Clan might well have lost a considerable portion of its influence in Anhui. A chilling thought.
...
Though they were rivals, to find comfort in another’s misfortune…
A bitter feeling rose, and he let out a sigh. Beside him, Dang Sohye asked,
“I don’t understand why you’re sighing. Being with me should be enough to make anyone smile.”
Whether he had simply grown used to that shamelessness by now, Seomun Hwi answered her calmly.
“…Is that so. It almost makes me wonder whether the young lady’s confidence might not be a touch excessive.”
When he teased her lightly, Dang Sohye shot him a sidelong glance.
“Hardly. If anything, I regret several times a day that I am far too modest. There’s a saying that excessive courtesy is no courtesy at all, isn’t there?”
Having moved past mere shamelessness into outright self-praise, a faint smile touched Seomun Hwi’s lips. Dang Sohye grinned in return and gave a small nod.
“I like it when you smile. From now on, whenever you’re with me, I’ll make sure you always do.”
Just as Dang Sohye curved her eyes prettily and began to draw closer to his side, an unwelcome voice cut between them.
“Lady Dang! Young Master Seomun! It has been far too long!”
Frowning slightly, he glanced over and saw Ak Seo-a approaching with a wave of her hand.
At last it had seemed he might draw this indifferent man a little closer. Yet of all moments, the daughter of the Shandong Ak Clan had to appear here and spoil things? Coincidence this perfect was almost enough to leave one speechless.
“It has been a while. Have you been well?”
“Indeed. Young Master Seomun looks to have fared well himself, so this humble one is reassured.”
And then there was the way she looked at Seomun Hwi. Anyone could see the affection in that gaze, and Dang Sohye’s mood grew steadily more sour. Still, the other girl was her friend; she could not simply keep glaring.
“Your face has brightened. That way of speaking is the same as ever.”
Even though Dang Sohye showed little delight at the reunion, Ak Seo-a beamed just as Cheongwol had earlier and seized her hand.
“There is a joyous matter, you see. Lady Dang’s complexion looks fine as well.”
“I am always beautiful, of course.”
She answered offhandedly yet did not pull her hand away; Seomun Hwi realized the two were closer than he had expected.
Well, odd people do tend to flock together.
Just as he was about to let out a dry laugh, Ak Seo-a abruptly turned her head and, with a faint smile, spoke a name he had never anticipated.
“Young Master Seomun. Young Lady Cheongwol wishes to see you.”
Not a single letter in all that time, and now she was suddenly waiting for him in some room of the Dang Clan.
He could not begin to guess the reason, but that could be asked later, at leisure. He had tried to bury the past after two years of silence, yet the thought of meeting her again set his fingertips trembling.
However vast the Dang Clan might be, if they were within the same inner compound it would not take long. Yet no matter how he hurried his steps, the path to his friend stretched on endlessly.
A short while later, when he reached the place Ak Seo-a had indicated, his heart pounded so loudly he could hear it himself.
A friend with whom he had shared friendship for a mere ten days or so. A man of whom he knew nothing beyond a name and a fragment of the past. And still, why did it feel so overwhelming? He could not say.
He drew a deep breath to steady the tumult in his chest and stood slowly before the door. Then he spoke the name he had uttered so many times while writing those letters.
“Cheongwol. It’s Seomun Hwi.”
“Just a moment!”
The trembling must have been mutual; a loud clatter of something toppling over came from inside the room. Seomun Hwi let out a soft laugh and slowly pictured the face of the friend beyond the door.
A youthful face that, no matter how one looked at it, had seemed closer to a girl’s than a boy’s. He could not even guess how much it might have changed by now.
Still, now that he’s of age, he ought to look somewhat more like a man.
Had he grown tall? Or had those slender limbs filled out? Various images of Cheongwol rose and fell in his mind until, at last, a voice emerged from within.
“…Come in.”
He had expected the door to open in welcome, yet he was told to open it himself and enter. Thinking that among their peers only Cheongwol would dare address him so casually, Seomun Hwi carefully took hold of the latch.
Had the moment finally come to end two years of waiting?
The question of what to say first upon seeing that face lasted only an instant; what met Seomun Hwi’s eyes was not Cheongwol but a thick quilt.
“…Cheongwol?”
“Mm. I’m here.”
From the voice alone, the one beneath the quilt was unmistakably Cheongwol. Yet why, after so long, would a friend hide their face and play such a prank?
When Seomun Hwi sat down beside the quilt, it flinched and trembled faintly.
“…Hwi, have you been well?”
Even in this bewildering situation, Cheongwol spoke first, and Seomun Hwi found a smile rising unbidden to his lips.
“Not well at all. Someone somewhere never once answered a single letter, you see.”
Another flinch. Soon a sheepish voice drifted out from under the quilt.
“I’m sorry. I really wanted to send them too…”
He had meant only a light tease, yet at the trembling end of Cheongwol’s words Seomun Hwi hastily laid a hand atop the quilt.
“I made a needless joke. Daoist Unhak told me you could only read the letters after finishing your training.”
“…You knew?”
“Of course. Otherwise why would I have kept sending letters you wouldn’t even read?”
At the gentle touch that reached through the quilt, Cheongwol slowly nodded.
“Hwi… thank you. For not forgetting me.”
The sudden, earnest gratitude left Seomun Hwi momentarily without words.
“You have no idea how happy I was reading those letters. Truthfully… I thought you must have forgotten me. And I told myself that would have been only natural…”
“…Why did you think that?”
“Because our meeting was so very short. Of course, to me it was a memory more precious than anything, but to you…”
Before Cheongwol could finish, Seomun Hwi cut in.
“It was precious to me as well. More than anything.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. It feels a little awkward saying such things between men… but you are my first friend, are you not? Forgetting you is something I never have done, never do, and never will.”
When Seomun Hwi lightly patted the quilt with his palm, Cheongwol was glad she had kept it over her head. She would have been wearing the most foolish expression of pure joy.
“…You sure know how to say such embarrassing things.”