Camellia 124

Seolyeong instinctively knew it. When Sahyeol Amje spoke of “cheap and easy feelings,” he was including the ones Seolyeong had begun to harbor for him.

That must have been why he felt a sudden sting of resentment.

Sahyeol Amje had clearly sworn he’d handle things so that Seolyeong would never fall in love with him. But he had acted like a spring breeze, as if he’d forgotten that promise completely. He was the one who caused all this.

Thinking that his husband had deliberately seduced him, Seolyeong snapped with a sharp tone.

–If all the people who’ve fallen for you are driven by cheap and easy feelings, then doesn’t that make you the cheapest and easiest of them all? Maybe that’s why everyone’s going mad over you.

–Like you?

The sect leader who never lost an argument made Seolyeong want to beat him senseless. Especially that awful mouth of his. Just once, he wanted to grab those lips and twist them until he begged.

But as he stared at those well-shaped lips, something stirred in him again.

He couldn’t help it. The memory of that first kiss they shared atop the tree came back vividly. The warmth of his lips, the bliss he felt, the way that soft tongue had gently stroked his own…

‘…My first kiss was stolen by someone like you.’

Despite his grumbling, Seolyeong licked his lips unconsciously. He was the one who accepted that kiss. No one forced him. No one pushed him to share it with that man. There was no reason to feel wronged after the fact.

He was still distracted by Sahyeol Amje’s mouth when it happened.

“…Why, Why won’t you even allow me to die?”

Si Pungjae’s voice cracked with pain. He remained on his knees, looking up at the god he had worshipped with his life.

The burning intensity in his eyes even left a deep impression on Seolyeong. That gaze wasn’t something you could reduce to mere love.

“God… if you truly consider me your follower, I beg of you, please grant me the mercy to die under your grace.”

“Didn’t I say your god died a long time ago?”

Tang Yujae, now bored with Si Pungjae, muttered flatly. As his killing aura flared like it would tear flesh apart, Si Pungjae shut his mouth.

“You fool. Are you saying you want even the mercy I gave you taken away?”

It was a final warning. After this, Tang Yujae had no plans to overlook Si Pungjae’s reckless behavior. Yuwon might be sad about it, but cutting off his limbs and letting him crawl around like a worm seemed…

“Even if my god has fallen to the mortal world… the moment he saved me with his grace will never vanish.”

Si Pungjae staggered to his feet, arms trembling, and finally met Tang Yujae at eye level. His tear-streaked face could have stirred pity, but Tang Yujae didn’t budge. He muttered like he saw nothing special.

“If you’d used that determination on martial arts training, you could’ve become first-class even without a gu insect.”

–Stop it already!

Seolyeong couldn’t understand how his husband could keep stacking up so much bad karma with that mouth of his. If the man was leaving anyway, couldn’t he at least give him a gentler farewell? Especially since the boy would live the rest of his life clinging to that one memory.

Seolyeong clicked his tongue, but the words that came next nearly made him choke.

“If you won’t grant me death, then… at the very least, I beg you to duel me once, using the years I have left.”

Wait. What? Isn’t he the one who can’t even wield Qi properly? Seolyeong was certain. Si Pungjae was so physically weak he couldn’t push a single thread of internal energy into a sword swing.

But he drew his sword with a steady face.

“If you could fight me with all your heart, even if it is just for a moment. I, as a believer, would be able to live the rest of my life…cough!”

“Pungjae!”

Before he could finish, Sahyeol Amje’s formless attack knocked him out. Seolyeong rushed forward in alarm and caught the collapsing Si Pungjae in his arms.

“Get a hold of yourself, idiot. Your little brother’s worried about you. You can’t just start coughing blood from one palm strike. Don’t you have any pride?”

He held the nearly dead man with an anxious expression, then glared at his husband.

“You’re unbelievable.”

None of this had gone cleanly. If they were going to end things like this, it might’ve been better not to restore the memories at all.

“What if he never wakes up again? What are you going to tell your sister…!”

“He hasn’t passed out yet.”

“…Really?”

At Tang Yujae’s words, Seolyeong glanced sideways awkwardly. Si Pungjae was still awake, looking straight at Tang Yujae. For a moment, Seolyeong considered just knocking him out himself to end this mess.

“If you really can’t forget me—”

No half-hearted rejection or consolation would break Si Pungjae’s resolve. What could quiet his fire might be something else entirely. A new chance. The chance to rise above his weakness and one day stand tall in front of the man he revered.

“If you plan to waste your life clinging to meaningless memories.”

Yuwon’s presence was approaching. Tang Yujae pressed his foot into the patch of dirt where Si Pungjae’s hair had been buried. The god crushed everything that remained of his follower underfoot.

“Seek out Sa Yeoho, the head of Geukmungak. Become his disciple and learn spirit-calling techniques. You know better than anyone that sorcery isn’t about skill. It’s about obsession, persistence, and blind faith. That suits you well, doesn’t it?”

Strangely, Seolyeong’s heart pounded even harder than Si Pungjae’s. The ground trembled. Hidden birds flapped their wings and scattered.

“Get stronger. Then come challenge me again. When you do, I’ll break your neck myself and grant you the glory of death.”

The smiling Sahyeol Amje stirred a gust of wind. Seolyeong felt someone’s hand pull him away from Si Pungjae. That cold, slippery skin, like a serpent… it was Tang Yujae’s.

The wind swirled and lifted Seolyeong high into the sky. Below, he saw Si Pungjae slump in defeat. He also saw the boy’s trembling hands begin to dig into the dirt.

“…Was that hole always that deep?”

As far as Seolyeong remembered, the hair had been buried much more shallowly.

And he was right. Si Pungjae was wasting his effort. Before summoning the wind, Tang Yujae had already taken the hair and tucked it into his sleeve.

The memories that had made Si Pungjae live like a ghost had gone with his god, just as planned.

“Don’t worry about it. If he can’t find it, that’s fate.”

Tang Yujae whispered as he hugged his bride from behind and kissed his pale neck. The wind around them began to settle. Seolyeong placed a palm over his pounding heart and muttered honestly.

“If I were Pungjae… I think I would’ve fallen for you too. You always get soft at the crucial moment.”

Tang Yujae really was a terrible man. Seolyeong wished the ache in his chest would go away, but that soft reply made him cave again.

“Because you’re with me.”

Tang Yujae gently provoked the heart of the one beside him.

“You’re the kind of person who gets upset if I’m not gentle.”

“I’ve never said that…”

“If I don’t want to disappoint my lover, I can’t help it, even if it’s annoying.”

“… Lover?”

“Yeah.”

“Who’s a lover with who?”

“You and me.”

“….”

“Am I wrong?”

Seolyeong felt his heart drop. He shoved his husband away and bolted with gyeonggong, faster than ever before.

Lover?…We’re lovers?

“Aaaagh!”

The word echoed in his mind until he screamed loud enough to shake the mountains. His face turned beet red. His hands and feet prickled. Even his ears felt like they were on fire, his eardrums ringing.

Only after putting some distance between them did Seolyeong manage to send a hasty sound transmission.

–We’re already married. What’s this lover nonsense? We’re not lovers. We’re married. Married. Just don’t ever say that again. I hate it so much it gave me goosebumps.”

“Because you liked it.”

“No I didn’t—!”

Tang Yujae found his flustered bride endearing. He started to regret not teasing him like this from the start. Who knew it would be this fun.