Hidden Heart
A gentle breeze stirred Ak Seo-a's hair, drawing Dang Gangjin's gaze and holding it there.
The girl who had somehow stolen his heart, ever since their first meeting at the Wulin Alliance.
Even now, he could still remember the child who had approached him without the slightest hesitation.
This humble one is Ak Seo-a, eldest daughter of the Shandong Ak Clan. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Young Hero Dang.
She had looked roughly the same age as Dang Sohye — so what on earth was that peculiar, old-fashioned way of speaking?
I am Dang Gangjin, Young Master of the Sichuan Dang Clan.
His younger self, for reasons he could no longer recall, had answered her curtly and turned on his heel, making it plain he had no wish to continue the conversation.
That night.
Summoned by his father, he entered the room to find the man regarding him with a distinctly uncomfortable expression.
This was the same father who would scold him sternly when he was wrong and clap him on the shoulder with warm encouragement when he had done well. Yet now his face was neither one thing nor the other, and Dang Gangjin had been wondering what was amiss when the unexpected words left his father's mouth.
Gangjin. Did you by any chance meet the daughter of the Shandong Ak Clan today?
Recalling the little girl with the elderly manner of speech, Dang Gangjin had nodded.
Yes. We exchanged brief greetings. But why do you ask…?
His father had let out a long, complicated sigh.
…Sit down. This will take some time.
What could possibly warrant such a reaction? Tension seized him unbidden, and his face went rigid.
After a moment's pause, his father carefully began to explain why he had called him.
…And so I am told she has refused all food and drink and does nothing but weep. Of course, the Shandong Ak Clan has said they hold no grudge against you — but in my view, it would be best if you went to see the child yourself.
He had been stunned.
That healthy-looking little girl had, until only a few years prior, been a patient suffering from an incurable disease. And of all people, the first person she had mustered the courage to speak to on her first journey into the Central Plains had been him?
He had not meant any harm — but if he simply pretended nothing had happened, the wound would be branded deep into Ak Seo-a's heart. And if that came to pass, relations between their two houses might well sour.
The fault is mine. I will go to her first thing tomorrow and offer my apologies.
Good. That is well thought. I shall speak to Clan Head Ak separately.
At the pride in his father's eyes, Dang Gangjin had bowed his head slightly.
It was not so much guilt as the responsibility of a Young Master. And to fulfill that responsibility, he had set out for Ak Seo-a the moment dawn broke.
Back then, could he ever have imagined things would come to this?
"Brother, what are you thinking of so deeply?"
At Ak Seo-a's lovely smiling eyes, Dang Gangjin smiled faintly in return.
"I was remembering the day we first met."
"At the Wulin Alliance, you mean?"
"Yes."
Her eyes curved even more prettily at his words.
"When I think on it, it was truly fortunate, was it not? That the first person I met that day was you, Brother."
He felt only guilt whenever he recalled that day — so why did she look so genuinely happy?
Ak Seo-a edged a little closer to his side.
"Had this humble one not met you then, Brother… I do not believe I would have endured. So is that not fortunate?"
"…"
It was not fortunate at all.
He had known what Ak Ji-ho was doing to her, and yet — terrified that relations between their houses might fracture — he had offered her no help whatsoever.
The softness that had been on Dang Gangjin's face only moments before hardened visibly.
When that child Cheongwol had first come to the Dang Clan, and he had heard she had dueled Ak Ji-ho, two opposing emotions had crashed over him at once.
However clumsily they tried to conceal it, that duel must have been connected to the very matter he had so carefully turned his eyes from.
Relief that Ak Seo-a would no longer suffer such terrible torment. And the wretchedness of having done nothing but watch the misery of the woman he loved, hiding behind the excuse of a Young Master's duty.
He despised his own cowardice — and yet Ak Seo-a carefully took his cold hand in hers.
"Brother."
Foolish man.
He had done nothing wrong, not even a little — so why had he spent so long apologizing?
Ak Seo-a glanced up at him.
"I heard that Young Master Seomun Hwi and Sohye have been discussing a marriage arrangement."
At the mention of Seomun Hwi — the subject he had most wanted to avoid — Dang Gangjin lowered his eyes slightly and bit his lower lip.
"I'm sorry. I should have told Father sooner that you admired Young Master Seomun. I never imagined things would turn out this way. Once Father returns, I will take full responsibility and—"
Before he could finish, Ak Seo-a pressed herself into his arms, gripping his hand tightly so that he could not pull away.
"…Seo-a!"
Dang Gangjin cried out in surprise, but she had no intention of retreating any further.
"Brother — do you truly wish for me to be joined with Young Master Seomun Hwi?"
Of course not. But he had no right to say a single word of it.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
When he continued to feign ignorance, Ak Seo-a pressed on.
"When I heard that the two of them were discussing marriage, I was truly disappointed. Do you know why?"
"…Because you admire Young Master Seomun, is it not?"
Ak Seo-a shook her head with a bitter expression.
"Because I thought you would run away from me again, Brother. Look — the moment you have a little room to breathe, you start spouting nothing but things you don't mean."
"…"
"Just because this humble one aspires to be a chivalrous hero, do not think I have truly become a fool. I have known for a long time that you care for me."
Feeling Dang Gangjin's heart pounding fiercely against her, Ak Seo-a smiled softly.
"I know you are trying, Brother. Still… please do not make me wait too long. I think I am beginning to grow tired."
"The Young Master says the hour is late, and that he will receive you with proper courtesy tomorrow."
Chewing over the message a Dang Clan martial artist had brought, Hong Chilgong drained his cup.
Who is there to blame? The fault is mine for arriving unannounced.
Indeed — judging by the moon's descent, it was rather late for conversation. Or had the sunset not yet faded when he first laid out the wine?
The wine was good, so it hardly mattered. After all, his recent missions had left him unable to enjoy so much as a comfortable sip of water, let alone drink.
Drinking beneath the moon, the memories he had so carefully buried began to crawl back up through the haze of intoxication.
…I never thought even you would try to kill me.
His dearest friend, weeping tears of blood, hurling words thick with resentment. At the sight of him, Hong Chilgong had dropped his Dog-Beating Staff to the ground.
He had come under the Alliance Leader's secret orders — to help cast the Heavenly Net Formation and root out those who practiced demonic arts, leaving none alive.
Why would you…
A crushing sense of betrayal had washed over him, but looking at the corpses strewn all around, he could say nothing. No matter what excuse he offered, in his friend's eyes he would only ever be the one who had slaughtered them. And that, cruelly, was also the truth.
So the only thing left to him was to kneel and bare his neck.
…I truly did not know.
He who had walked the righteous path in pursuit of justice and chivalry had — deceived though he may have been — killed people who had done no wrong. And among them, the family of his closest friend.
This sin, I shall repay first in hell.
He had spoken those words and was about to bring the blade down upon his own neck when a foot shot out of the darkness and slammed hard into his chest.
Gah…
Sprawled on the ground, unable even to breathe properly, he heard a voice like scraping iron above his head.
If you were truly only deceived, then you must never forget what happened here today.
— Thud!
A blade whistled past his ear and buried itself in the earth.
I will survive, no matter what, and return to the Central Plains. And I will find every last person connected to this affair and make them pay. When that time comes, I will give you the chance to prove your innocence.
Those words had become shackles. Nearly twenty years he had waited for his friend, unable even to die.
When he heard that the Dang Clan's Heavenly Net Formation had been breached, he had thought that someday his friend might truly return to the Central Plains. But the man had not appeared even now, when Hong Chilgong himself was nearing the end of his natural span — and slowly his strength was failing, his vision growing dim.
His friend had left no children. There would be no heir to take up his vengeance in his stead.
Must he truly bury that day's events in his heart and leave them there forever?
To ease the stifling weight in his chest, Hong Chilgong set aside his cup and put the bottle to his lips instead.
He could not understand why the memories that had grown so hazy should rise so vividly today to torment him. Was it the wine?
"Khhaah…"
Emptying the bottle in one go, Hong Chilgong wiped his mouth roughly with his sleeve.
No. That can't be it. All this time I've drunk and forgotten just fine.
The reason his friend had suddenly come to mind was not the wine — it was because he had met someone who reminded him of the man.
A way of speaking that somehow called him to mind. The small habits at mealtimes. The face bore no resemblance at all, and yet while they talked, it had felt as though he were sitting with his friend in his youth.
She said she came from Qinghai, didn't she? Once you leave Sichuan, Qinghai is right there…