OGHOU C15

Chapter 15

 

The dream again.

Cheongyeon slowly lifted his heavy eyelids. The room was exactly as he had seen in the previous dream, yet oddly, the ceiling spun in a dizzying circle.

‘Ah, it’s not the ceiling spinning—it’s me.’

His whole body felt damp and chilled, as if he had just emerged from water. Raising his heavy arm to touch his forehead, sweat beaded on his palm.

“Awake?”

Turning toward the familiar voice, he saw the same man from before sitting beside the bed. The sight of that pale face eased his anxiety and filled him with relief that he was not alone.

“Am I sick?”

“Very.”

“I see.”

“See, nothing to just ‘see.’”

Cheongyeon forced a weak smile. Thinking of how much that man had probably worried about him brought a pang to his chest.

“Drink this.”

He took the wooden spoon near his lips, and the cool water moistened his dry mouth. As soon as it eased speaking, Cheongyeon began talking as if he had never been ill, his voice rough and cracked, but he didn’t care.

“I’m supposed to take care of you since I’m the older brother, but it’s always you taking care of me. Can’t believe I’m such a lousy adult.”

“……”

“Maybe I should just call you ‘Brother Sir’.”

“Shut up.”

“Brother Sir, your junior owes you so much he doesn’t know how to repay it. I can only offer this worthless body to serve you again tonight… ugh!”

A cold wet towel suddenly slapped his face, startling Cheongyeon upright.

“Ahh… cold. That’s harsh, Brother Sir.”

“No fever until this is over.”

“But once it starts, it’s you who won’t let me go. It’s so unfair.”

“You started it.”

“When did I… what did I do?”

Cheongyeon pouted as the cool towel glided over his face, cooling the burning fever and bringing some relief.

He liked the gentle touch. Despite the calluses from years wielding a sword, the fingers were long, straight, and elegant. Especially when tending to him, Cheongyeon wanted to kiss each knuckle.

“…Let go.”

“Huh? Of what?”

Cheongyeon had bit one of Sirang’s fingers without realizing it.

“If you don’t let go, ten days of this.”

“That’s too much!”

His finger slipped from between his teeth as the cool towel brushed his face again. Cheongyeon closed his eyes, but he didn’t shut his mouth.

“But can you really go ten days without it?”

“Can’t you stop thinking about that for once?”

“Nope. My mind’s full of nothing else, just like when your head was full of nothing but swords as a child…”

Oops.

Sirang’s hand froze, and Cheongyeon snapped his mouth shut.

That was a slip of the tongue.

Cheongyeon opened his eyes cautiously and gauged Sirang’s expression. Fortunately, he seemed unbothered. But was he really okay?

As his uplifted mood plummeted, a wave of long-forgotten guilt surged over him, dragging him down like sinking beneath rippling waters.

Why did I say something useless?

“Sorry…”

He muttered in a barely audible voice.

“It’s not your fault.”

The callused hand gently stroked his cheek. Though the touch was kind, suggesting he not be troubled by such trivial things, his spirit already swam deep in turmoil.

Tentatively, Cheongyeon spoke.

“Sirang.”

“Hmm?”

“Can’t you just go back?”

“……”

“You still can leave. It’s not too late. Right?”

“Where would I go leaving you behind?”

He said firmly and pulled the blanket tightly over Cheongyeon.

“But…”

“You’re delirious because you’re sick.”

“……”

“Rest.”

Cutting him off, Sirang turned his back, signaling he didn’t want to continue talking. After he left the room, Cheongyeon lay alone on the bed.

…Useless guy.

So clueless.

Always, it was that damned mouth. Would it have been better if he’d never been able to speak? If so… if he hadn’t gotten involved with him…

In unending self-blame, his fever worsened.

As time passed, Cheongyeon’s consciousness drifted in and out, until a voice beyond the door woke him—one higher-pitched than Sirang’s, but somehow familiar.

“…The Lord… so…”

Who came here? Who would dare find him in this harsh mountain?

Rubbing his blurry eyes, Cheongyeon listened intently.

“Please return now, Master. It’s enough.”

Master?

A foreboding feeling swept over him. Hastily, he pulled the blanket over his head and covered his ears. His body shook uncontrollably, perhaps from fever. His heart pounded so fast it felt ready to burst.

Yet the voice pierced his haze clearly.

“Seeing Master in this state because of that person chokes my heart. How long do you plan to stay like this?”

Don’t want to hear it. Stop. Stop talking.

Writhing in agony, Cheongyeon shook his head wildly. The sharp words pierced like thorns, drawing blood.

“You see? If that person hadn’t been there, Master would have a bright future.”

How did they find him? Who else knew?

Fear buried deep in his chest swelled, threatening to swallow him whole. Instinctively, Cheongyeon curled up, clutching his lower belly.

“Then I’ll leave now. It’s not too late. Please take care.”

As the footsteps faded, Cheongyeon’s mind slipped further into madness.

The door creaked open, and when Sirang returned, Cheongyeon still trembled beneath the covers, muttering incoherent words with eyes shut and ears covered.

“Awake?”

Sirang hurried over and pulled back the blanket. Cheongyeon, pale and sweating cold sweat, clung tightly to him.

“I… I’m scared. Don’t leave me.”

Sirang’s hand flinched but then gently patted his back.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“No… no… just go. Go quickly.”

“……”

“Go tell them I’m dead, okay? Please…”

That he was dead, no longer part of this world. That was the wish. That no one ever came looking for him again.

“I can’t use my strength anymore… I’ll die soon. So please, you live on.”

The hand that patted his back stopped, and Sirang’s head dropped onto Cheongyeon’s shoulder.

“Sehwa.”

The man, who had seemed so strong, was breaking down. His seldom-heard voice carried tears, wetting his shoulder.

“Don’t do this to me, Sehwa.”

‘Damn, what is this?’

When he awoke from the dream, his face was soaked with tears. Though he knew this place was real, he couldn’t control the feelings from the dream and kept crying.

“What is this really trying to say…”

Why did it keep showing him this? What did it want him to do?

No matter how much he wiped his eyes, they filled with tears again. Eventually, he buried his face in his sleeves. Even telling himself this was just a dream, not reality, the tears would not stop.

He was emotionally drained. What he had thought was a lighthearted mature romance turned out to be a bleak tragedy.

He didn’t like tragedies. Yet he had somehow incarnated right into one, his heart torn apart until it was tattered and ragged.

It was only after crying until his eyes stung that Cheongyeon calmed down. Though still trapped in sorrow, the tears finally ceased.

The reflection in the mirror was a pitiful sight.

‘Wow… look at the bloodshot eyes.’

His face was haggard, his eyes hollow, reminiscent of Cheongyeon’s depiction in the original novel—an enigmatic figure who appeared and vanished without a word, distant and difficult to approach.

It seemed clearly wrong to try to sleep now.

Dressed in many layers, Cheongyeon went outside. If he stayed alone in the room, he would just keep crying all night, so he decided to walk in the garden to sort out his thoughts.

Though summer was nearing, the night wind was chilly. It felt like he was standing in the snowy mountains from his dream. He shivered.

‘Sehwa… that’s what he called me.’

At the thought of that name, he stifled the tears again. Was Cheongyeon not his real name? He’d thought he named the inn after himself, but maybe the opposite was true.

Sehwa. A name not found in the original story.

From what he pieced together, it seemed plausible that, as a fugitive, he was using a false name.

‘A fugitive.’

The worst scenario Cheongyeon had feared since possessing this world was slowly coming true.

That Yoo Cheongyeon was a bad person.

“You see? If only that person wasn’t there, Master would have had a bright future.”

Those words sounded as though Cheongyeon’s lover had to carry some burden together with him.

What could he have done? How many enemies did he not know? Among them, was there someone who destroyed the body’s dantian (energy center)?

‘Ah, I just want to quit everything!’

Cheongyeon wandered the garden in a daze. If he fell asleep, he would return to the dream, so he resolved to stay awake all night.

The sound of insects breaking the night’s stillness reached him, offering some comfort. As he walked, he realized another sound mixed with the insects.

‘Splashing… sounds like water?’

The sound was coming from the staff quarters.

Who was washing clothes at this late hour? Cheongyeon walked in that direction.

Footnotes

• Dantian (단전, 丹田): In martial arts and traditional Chinese medicine, the dantian is the energy center located in the lower abdomen, crucial for cultivation and health.