SFNFS Ch 6

Chapter 6

He was completely drunk.

Although he knew that an overflowing cup is worse than an empty one, today’s drinking session had been started with the intention of getting drunk from the very beginning, so he didn’t particularly regret it.

Thanks to having passed out cold and slept for a while, Bipa had regained a bit of clarity and energy. He cheerfully swung his legs, floating midair.

As he took in the cool early morning air in deep gulps, his suffocating heart and tangled thoughts seemed to be thoroughly washed away.

Now that the festive atmosphere had calmed and the quiet darkness of dawn had settled in, Bipa was being carried on someone’s back through an alleyway.

He had been so drunk at the time he was hoisted up that he had dozed off completely, and so he didn’t know who was carrying him now. But it wasn’t something to be too concerned about.

When it came to matters concerning Bipa, his overly anxious eldest sister, Manpa, had handpicked and assigned five elite bodyguards from the escort corps to remain by his side. Among them, the one acting as captain—Baekbong—was known to be the most skilled individual in the entire merchant guild, so there was truly no need to worry about his safety!

It was probably Baekbong.

And if not him… then one of the other escort warriors, surely.

“And besides, this isn’t Seoha… There’s no danger of terrifying mangryang⁽¹⁾ popping out with the Ilwolju⁽²⁾ shining so brightly… and there are five whole warriors carrying and protecting me right now…”

“How fortunate for you, indeed.”

The unexpected reply came from Baekbong, who had been quietly walking while Bipa muttered to himself for quite some time.

“Huh?”

Startled, Bipa jerked his head up.

“What did you just say?”

“…”

“I wasn’t really listening because I didn’t think Baekbong would answer. What did you say, Baekbong? Say it again.”

“I didn’t say anything in particular.”

“Aww, seriously?”

Even so, he didn’t press the issue further. It seemed he hadn’t noticed that Baekbong’s tone and voice were different from usual.

As if he had just pulled a playful prank, Bipa giggled brightly, then leaned his head comfortably against Baekbong’s back again.

“Wanna hear something funny, Baekbong?”

“…”

“I’m talking about what I said earlier. The day I made that bet about starting a relationship with that person. The truth is, I was totally wasted and collapsed.”

“…”

“That means I lost, right? Since I wasn’t sober! But… they still went out with me, you know?”

“…”

Though it should’ve been embarrassing, Bipa spoke cheerfully about his past relationship with someone he had already broken up with. Before long, he fell silent. Perhaps he had fallen asleep mid-sentence again.

Since he couldn’t see who was carrying him while slung over their back, he tried hoisting himself up a bit. The arms wrapped around his neck tightened slightly as if to keep him from falling.

He’s still awake, he thought, and just as he suspected, Bipa immediately continued.

“React to it.”

“…What?”

Caught off guard, the other person asked again, and Bipa whined once more.

“Say, ‘Why?’ or ‘What happened?’… Ask me how things ended up that way…”

The one listening let out a short breath, “Hmph.”

“Baekbong, you’re so quiet, it feels like I’m just talking to myself.”

Bipa even began to stomp his feet like a whining child.

After he begged several more times, the listener finally gave in and responded.

“Ha… Indeed. Why would that man make such a decision even after winning the bet?”

It was a sincere question, but Bipa burst out laughing, thinking Baekbong was joking.

Only after laughing for quite some time did he continue with what he had really wanted to say.

“The reason he granted my wish even though he won the bet… was because that person’s wish was also to become deeply, deeply involved with me. He said from the very first moment he spoke to me, he had wanted to be with me like that, forever.”

“…”

“So from that day on, we decided not to chase other people but to be each other’s chosen one… It wasn’t just my wish—it became his too, and we promised to cherish and love each other… Right? Isn’t that so funny… so incredibly cool and wonderful…”

“…”

“But you know what’s even funnier?

He said our first night together would be unforgettable, that he’d leave nothing to regret until dawn. He said he’d hold me even if I was a mess, that he’d be wild like a scoundrel. He made it sound all fancy and passionate, right? Like, seriously?”

“…”

“But then when we actually slept together, he just gently tucked me under the blanket and held me in his arms all night, doing absolutely nothing… The real first time happened way later. And no one knows how agonized I was during that time! I even wondered if he was impotent, I swear.”

“Impotent…”

“Right? Isn’t that hilarious, Baekbong? He’s seriously… seriously such a funny person.”

“…”

“That night, I was carried on someone’s back just like this too.”

“…”

“It was his back I was on that night. Just like now.”

That had been during the summer when Bipa was twenty—over five years ago.

These kinds of memories, though usually kept submerged beneath still waters, would resurface vividly when the right trigger came along, as if they’d happened just yesterday.

That’s how memory tends to work, but the memories involving Geonryeon were especially like that.

Even when Bipa tried to bury them deep and move on, once recalled, they poured out completely—every moment, every emotion of that day—tormenting him all over again.

Driving him to long for it with a painful intensity.

But longing didn’t bring back that time.

That time when simply loving each other was enough, free of worries—it wasn’t something he could return to.

So the longing turned into suffering, and the suffering dragged him back into tears again.

It was relentless.

“That bastard… should’ve just not dated me in the first place.”

“…”

“If we were going to break up so easily anyway, he shouldn’t have gone out with me in such a cool and charming way.”

Bipa kept muttering similar things for a long while.

But in the end, he whispered something different, in a voice so faint only someone in direct contact with him would’ve heard it.

“No… Still… I was so happy. So I don’t regret it. Even if I could go back to that time, I’d still meet him. I’d still love him. I’d love him better…”

And with that last whisper, Bipa fell asleep again.

His muttering voice and restless fidgeting vanished, and he slipped into deep slumber.

As his soft breathing settled into a steady rhythm, the man carrying him suddenly stopped walking.

Despite carrying someone soaked from having fallen into a pond—someone limp from both drink and sleep—the man’s breathing hadn’t faltered even once.

He stood there quietly, listening to the breath of the person asleep on his back, deep in thought.

Contrary to Bipa’s belief, he was not Baekbong.

Nor was he any of the other escort warriors.

He was none other than General Hwa Geonryeon himself—the man at the center of all the gossip that had consumed the capital’s people all day long.

The very man who had made Bipa so profoundly sad.

He had just returned from showcasing a once-in-a-generation miracle of Ilwol Jimyeong⁽³⁾ and visiting the sacred chamber within the Eastern vein of Seogyeong, preparing for tomorrow’s grand event, when he received a sudden message from his long-missing senior disciple.

What awaited him there was not a joyful reunion or warm greetings, but a cryptic statement accompanied by a hard push on the back:

“From now on, you’re the one who has to protect him again.”

And so, quite bewildered,

Geonryeon found himself carrying the one person he had vowed never to get involved with again, walking down a dark alley on the night of Yeongbyeol, when the Ilwolju shone brightest only once a year.

Just beyond the alley, on the open street, couples stood two-by-two, looking up at the Ilwolju, having come to make their vows of eternal love.

According to legend, if lovers made a promise under the Ilwolju on the night of Yeongbyeol⁽⁴⁾, they would be blessed with eternal union—never separated by final farewells.

“…What a fool.”

As he stood in the dark alley, carrying his drunk and unconscious former lover, looking up at the Ilwolju he himself had caused to shine, Geonryeon let out a quiet murmur.

Whether the “fool” he spoke of was those lovers gathered on the bright street believing in some empty legend,

or the man on his back who had unknowingly revealed his entire romantic past and inner feelings,

or perhaps himself—who, despite every resolve to stay away, had come rushing in and was now shielding and carrying this man down a dark alley—

only General Hwa Geonryeon knew the answer.

Footnotes:

Mangryang (망량, 妄魎) – A supernatural entity or spirit often associated with the mountains or wilds in Korean folklore. Used here as a metaphor for haunting spirits in the dark.

Ilwolju (일월주, 日月珠) – Literally “Sun-Moon Orb”; in fantasy or poetic fiction, often refers to a celestial or mystical object associated with fate, divine events, or romance.

Ilwol Jimyeong (일월지명, 日月之命) – “Fate of Sun and Moon”; a symbolic phrase suggesting divine providence or a rare cosmic event.

Yeongbyeol (영별, 永別 / 另別) – This word is a pun. The written word Yeongbyeol (永別) means “eternal farewell,” but in the context of the festival, it’s twisted to mean Yeongbyeol (另別), “another parting,” a night where couples promise not to ever part permanently. It’s a legend-driven cultural motif in the story.