Through the Crack in the Door
Whether it was because the moon had slipped behind the clouds, Ak Seo-a and Dang Gangjin talked well into the late hours of the night.
Even in those days when she had lain bedridden, envying her peers as they ran free, she had never once let go of her dream of becoming a righteous hero. Yet when she was with him, she could set that hard-won, aching dream down for a little while.
A foolhardy Ak Seo-a who charged blindly ahead might not have needed it — but for the excessively rational, fragile Ak Seo-a, such rest was essential. Had either Dang Gangjin or Cheongwol been absent from her life, she might well have stopped dead in her tracks by now.
But the candle had already burned halfway down. Linger any longer and she and Dang Gangjin would be watching the sunrise together.
"The night has grown quite deep already. I should take my leave."
As Ak Seo-a rose from her seat, Dang Gangjin nodded, poorly concealing his reluctance. He had known he ought to have sent her away earlier — yet he had pretended not to notice the moon's descent, wanting just a little more time at her side.
Perhaps she had sensed that wish.
"If a man and a woman watch the sunrise together in the same room, what will people say? It would only invite needless misunderstanding."
As Ak Seo-a spoke with quiet composure, straightening her clothes, a dizzying realization struck Dang Gangjin. Even knowing each other's hearts, the mere circulation of such a rumor would be a humiliation for a woman.
And knowing that, he had still tried to keep her near. He felt wretched.
"I'm sorry. My selfishness put you in an awkward position."
To take something so easily brushed aside this seriously —
Knowing that her unnecessary worry had been born of him, Ak Seo-a let out a soft laugh and stepped closer.
Then, slowly, she slipped her arms around his neck and rose onto her toes.
Not a breath of wind could enter the room — yet the candle, as if politely looking away, bowed its head and went out.
Light vanished. Darkness settled over the chamber.
For a long while, only the sound of heated breath lingered at each other's ears.
The joy of having made some progress with Dang Gangjin was short-lived. When Ak Seo-a returned to the room they shared, she was mildly startled.
Cheongwol, whom she had expected to find asleep, was gazing out the window, savoring the moonlight. Moreover, the rims of her eyes were stained red — something must have happened in Ak Seo-a's absence.
"...Lady Cheongwol. Are you all right?"
She hurried to her side, but Cheongwol only managed a forced smile, her face full of sorrow.
"Yeah. Everything's been sorted out."
Her voice was so hoarse from crying that it cracked — and yet she claimed everything was fine?
"I told you before, didn't I? That there was something I had to do. So I've decided to leave with Elder Hong Chilgong."
Cheongwol's cold hands closed around Ak Seo-a's.
"Thank you. For being my friend. I don't know when it'll be, but... once I've finished what I need to do, I'll come find you. I promise."
Sudden as the words were, Ak Seo-a understood by instinct. The friend before her was bidding a farewell that would last a very long time.
"This humble one has yet to repay the debt owed to Lady Cheongwol. Therefore, this humble one shall also—"
She spoke in haste, but Cheongwol slowly shook her head.
"What debt is there between friends? Don't say things like that. It hurts."
Feeling tears threaten, Ak Seo-a bowed her head deeply.
"...Must you truly go alone? Even if this humble one is set aside — what of Young Master Seomun Hwi, who will be left behind?"
Cheongwol regarded her in silence for a moment, then the corners of her eyes curved faintly.
"So it wasn't Hwi you had feelings for after all?"
Ak Seo-a's heart lurched. The way she changed the subject made one thing clear: no matter what was said, Cheongwol would never change her mind.
In that case — better this.
"...You only just noticed? Lady Cheongwol can be rather dense at times."
Ak Seo-a forced the corners of her mouth upward. Knowing she could not hold those departing footsteps in place, the least she could do was lighten the traveler's burden.
"I figured out ages ago that you were fond of Young Master Dang. I just pretended not to notice."
Cheongwol answered the gesture in kind, and the two of them spent the rest of the night laughing, recounting everything they had been through. Their first meeting had been a little rocky, yet somehow they had ended up raiding a bandit stronghold together. The time they had faced the black-clad men before the inn at Wuhuahai, putting chivalry into practice. And the day they had finally put an end to the matter that had tormented Ak Seo-a so mercilessly at the Emei Sect.
Looking back, they had lived through a remarkable amount in less than a month — enough to sustain them through the long wait for a distant reunion.
At last, as their stories ran dry, a thin thread of sunlight began to seep through the window.
Birdsong drifted in, as if announcing that the end had truly arrived.
Neither of them spoke another word. Instead, they held each other tightly, sharing their warmth. No matter where they went or what they did from this day forward, they would never forget this warmth.
"Take care of yourself. Until the day we meet again."
And so Cheongwol and Ak Seo-a — their extraordinary companionship, begun somewhere in the mountains of Sichuan — drew to a close, woven through with shared memories.
It should have been such a beautiful farewell.
"Hah... nn..."
What Ak Seo-a saw through the slightly open crack in the door left her utterly speechless. She had been watching out of concern — Cheongwol, who had not slept a wink after staying up all night, had gone outside claiming she would sweep with a broom of twigs — and then, out of nowhere, Seomun Hwi appeared and pulled Cheongwol into a fierce embrace.
It was rough enough to look almost forced. Ak Seo-a was half-rising to intervene when Seomun Hwi's head dropped to Cheongwol's lips.
Her shock lasted only a moment. Something even more astonishing unfolded before her eyes.
...
Seomun Hwi bit into Cheongwol's lips as though he meant to devour her, and then their tongues began to tangle.
Ak Seo-a's face flushed scarlet of its own accord. A kiss that intense was the sort of thing lovers shared only in the deepest intimacy of the bedchamber. Even if it was early morning and few people passed this way — to exchange affection so brazenly outdoors!
What unsettled her further was Cheongwol's response.
Didn't she say she was parting from Seomun Hwi as well...?
Wherever last night's sorrow had gone, she was panting, quietly receiving him. At first she had at least made a show of pushing him away, telling him to stop —
"Ah..."
— but now she was clinging to Seomun Hwi, trembling. In truth her legs had simply given out, but to Ak Seo-a's eyes it looked like something else entirely.
How long did the two of them hungrily consume each other? Looking down at Cheongwol, whose eyes had gone unfocused, Seomun Hwi whispered softly:
"That fiancé of yours. I think I need to meet him at least once."
A fiancé? Cheongwol had never once mentioned such a thing to her. Ak Seo-a was frowning in puzzlement when —
Cheongwol wrenched her head aside and shoved Seomun Hwi away.
"...What nonsense are you spouting. Why would you meet him?"
"Why? Because I'm worried my friend might have gotten tangled up with some strange bastard."
Listening to their exchange, Ak Seo-a felt a peculiar disappointment settle over her.
...So she told Seomun Hwi about it.
Last night, she had believed they had poured out every word in their hearts without holding anything back.
But the disappointment did not take long to turn into fascination.
"He's the one the Elder arranged for me. Don't speak of him carelessly."
"He might only look decent on the surface. The world is full of men like that."
"He's gentle. Unlike someone I know."
Cheongwol touched her bitten, swollen lips and let out a dry little laugh.
She really shouldn't do that...
Just as Ak Seo-a feared, Cheongwol's behavior only provoked Seomun Hwi further.
"He must have cherished you quite a bit. Not that it matters — thanks to him, I got to take your first kiss."
His words said one thing, but his face snarled as though he might pin her down at any second.
"How nice for you. Since you stole it by force. But it wasn't your first, was it? You looked pretty practiced. Go on — tell me. Who was your first?"
Ak Seo-a swallowed hard.
Cheongwol might have thrown those words to wound Seomun Hwi — but to Ak Seo-a's ears, it sounded exactly like a lover interrogating her beloved about other women. Whether intentional or not, Cheongwol was goading him without pause.
"Didn't I tell you then? That everything of mine begins with you. If you'll allow it, I'll prove it right here and now."
"...!"
At Seomun Hwi's words, not only Cheongwol but Ak Seo-a herself flushed crimson. Was this man truly the taciturn young master of the Seomun Clan she had known?
"If — if you lay another hand on me, you can forget about ever seeing my face again."
Cheongwol stammered, thrashing free of Seomun Hwi's arms. Sensing he could no longer restrain himself, he released her without resistance.
"Don't follow me!"
Cheongwol hurried away with her head bowed. Seomun Hwi exhaled a thin sigh and followed after her — not forgetting, just before he left, to cast one sharp glance through the narrow crack in the door.