Beeep—
A shrill ringing tore through Yeonhwa’s ears, scraping at her insides. She couldn’t hear anything else—just that awful, piercing sound. The chaos around her was swallowed up in an instant.
Sahyeon turned toward her slowly. He was wearing a mask, but somehow, Yeonhwa could almost see the real face behind it.
He staggered, blood gushing from his mouth. As she caught his falling body, the life was already draining out of him.
“Hey… Sahyeon. Hey.”
She called to him under her breath, but even her own voice got drowned out by the ringing. Sahyeon opened his mouth, like he was trying to say something—but his head slumped forward, and he stopped moving.
“Yeonhwa!”
Moyong Cheon slashed through the enemies around her in a flash. He thought his younger sister had gone numb from the shock of losing a servant so suddenly.
“Young Hero Dang!”
He shouted urgently. Moyong Ha cleared a path for Dang Iheon to approach. Moyong Cheon helped Yeonhwa up—still holding Sahyeon—and passed her to Iheon.
“Leave this place to us. Get Yeonhwa out of here.”
There was no point in asking if the two brothers would be all right. Iheon simply nodded and scooped Yeonhwa up into his arms.
“Wait…!”
He took off before she could resist, slicing down any enemy who tried to block their way.
The farther they got from Sahyeon’s crumpled body on the ground, the wider Yeonhwa’s eyes grew. Slung over Iheon’s shoulder, she started to thrash violently.
“Put me down! Let go! Sahyeon—!”
“Yeonhwa. Not now! I’ll go back later, okay?”
“Let go of me!”
But Iheon was more unyielding than he’d ever been. Even as she struggled with everything she had, he didn’t budge—just kept up the fastest movement technique he could manage. He didn’t let her down until it was already too late to go back.
The second her feet touched the ground, Yeonhwa shoved him away and bolted back toward the chaos. But Iheon snatched her wrist. He turned her around and grabbed both her shoulders.
“Yeonhwa! Get a grip. There’s nothing you can do if you go back now!”
“If we leave him there, he’ll die!”
“If you get hurt, then that servant’s death—the one who jumped in to save you—it’ll all be for nothing.”
Yeonhwa opened her mouth to yell something—but nothing came out.
“Dead…? Did you confirm that?”
“No, I mean…! Shit.”
Iheon loosened his grip. Truth be told, he hadn’t expected Yeonhwa to be this rattled.
“Yeonhwa. I said the wrong thing. My brothers will take care of it. I’m sure they’ll bring him back. Let’s just return to the Moyong Clan estate. You’re injured.”
“No. Then I’ll just go check for myself. I’ll sneak back in—”
“Moyong Yeonhwa!”
She moved like she’d lost her mind, trying to bolt again. Iheon stopped her, gripping her arm hard. There was a flicker of fury in his face.
“If you go back now, you’ll only get in their way! You already rescued Proprietor Chae—your part’s done.”
That word—burden—hit her like a brick to the head. Her shoulders trembled.
“Ye, Yeonhwa. Are you…?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she curled in on herself. Then, with a gagging sound, she vomited a mouthful of blood. It splattered across the ground in thick, red streaks.
Iheon’s face drained of color.
Yeonhwa collapsed unconscious.
* * *
The sun was high, the light already harsh. But the breeze was cool, and not entirely unpleasant.
Sahyeon lay down, arms behind his head.
‘My lady, you should shift your weight more onto your back foot.’
‘Ugh. You nag like an old man.’
Even as I grumbled, he just smiled. He had a blade of grass in his mouth, looking every bit the lazy bum.
I can’t even remember what day this was. Just one of those plain, ordinary ones.
‘If you’re gonna keep nagging, then at least spar with me.’
‘Hmm… I dunno.’
Sahyeon spit out the blade of grass and replied slowly. His smile looked… off. A little awkward.
‘Why not? You don’t want to?’
He’d never reacted like this to a sparring request before. Something about it felt off. Sahyeon slowly sat up and said,
‘It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just… I think it’d be hard.’
‘Why?’
As he stood, his abdomen began to bloom with dark, bloody red.
My heart plummeted.
I tried to move toward him, panicked—but suddenly my feet were rooted to the ground. Like I’d been buried there.
He dropped his smile.
‘Why do you think? I’m dead.’
I shot awake, drenched in cold sweat.
A familiar ceiling swam into view. The moment I stirred, people rushed in.
Hyangah. Dang Iheon. Moyong Cheon. Moyong Ha. All four were here.
My body didn’t hurt. No fever. No sign of serious injury.
But I couldn’t move.
I looked at them blankly. Then finally opened my mouth.
My voice came out hoarse and grating, like something clawing at my throat.
“…Sahyeon?”
No one answered.
I looked between Iheon and the twins, but they just stood there, mouths opening and closing uselessly.
That faint ringing returned in my ears. I forced myself upright and looked at Hyangah.
“Water.”
She brought a bowl immediately. Must’ve had it ready for when I woke up. Poor Hyangah. Must’ve been hell caring for such a constantly injured lady. I wanted to thank her—but I didn’t have the strength to say it.
Iheon spoke with a heavy voice.
“You did cough up blood, Yeonhwa. But you’re not seriously hurt. Just… overexerted yourself. You’ll be okay if you rest.”
“…”
“Everyone from Hwaan Tea House is safe. The enemies were dealt with.”
Everything but Sahyeon.
They were all dodging it. The way they avoided the topic was loud as hell.
Moyong Cheon looked more serious than I’d ever seen him.
“Yeonhwa. Why did you act so recklessly when you weren’t even fully healed?”
“…Later. Cheon.”
“No. We need to talk now. You can’t keep doing this to yourself. You don’t have more than one life!”
He’d clearly been shaken by what happened. Moyong Ha tried to calm him, but didn’t disagree with a word.
But the scolding, the concern, the affection—they didn’t land. Just floated somewhere out there. I felt like I’d lost something too big to touch.
Even when I destroyed my energy center and lost all my internal strength, I didn’t feel this empty.
This was different.
This was… wrong.
“Sahyeon… is he dead?”
The words spilled out before I could stop them. Even saying it made my brain ache. No one answered.
“…his body?”
That was the third question.
And honestly, I didn’t want an answer.
But this time, Moyong Ha spoke up. Calmly, evenly. No attempt at comfort.
“There was a fire where he fell. A big one. The bodies there… weren’t in good condition.”
“So you didn’t find him.”
“…We didn’t. Yeonhwa. I know it hurts, but—”
“So he could still be alive.”
Moyong Cheon let out a long sigh. He clearly wanted to say ‘that’s impossible,’ but held it in.
But none of them knew how skilled Sahyeon really was.
He could still be alive.
Hell, of course he was. That bastard—like he’d really die that easy.
Like he’d jump in with no weapon, just as a servant, take one hit, and drop dead.
Yeah, right.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, a tiny light flickered back on.
Then, Moyong Ha hesitated—and pulled something from his coat.
“While you were unconscious… Proprietor Chae came by. He found this while handling the bodies and asked if it belonged to anyone. I thought you might know it.”
He handed me something wrapped in cloth.
I opened it.
A blue jade ornament. Just the right size to hang from a sword hilt.
It was smudged with ash, but I recognized it immediately.
‘…Thanks. I’ll take good care of it.’
‘That just means you don’t plan to sell it.’
It was a gift I gave him that night at the night market. I couldn’t stop the hollow laugh that came out.
“Guess he really didn’t sell it, huh…”
“It’s his, right?”
“…Yeah. It is.”
He didn’t sell it. But he didn’t keep it safe, either.
Said he’d cherish it—and it still ended up right back in my hands. Fucking bastard.
“I’m gonna sleep. Save the thanks and the apologies for later.”
I pulled the blanket over my head and lay back down.
They stayed quietly for a moment, then shuffled out.
Hyangah whispered something gently, but I didn’t catch it.
Seol Danhae was a martial artist. She lived close to death.
Losing someone at your side was nothing new. She’d used a subordinate’s corpse as a shield once. That’s just the kind of life she’d lived. Death wasn’t unfamiliar.
But not this time.
This death was like sand—gritty, jagged. Refused to settle. Refused to feel real.
Lying sideways under the covers, I rubbed my thumb across the charm.
The streak where ash had smeared it caught the light.
Blue jade is rare. You can get good money for it. Especially when it came from the Sharp-Crane King’s collection. No one’d even question if it’s real.
…I should just pawn it.
If he’s alive, use the money to run. If he’s dead, it’ll cover the passage.
Any second now, he’d climb through the window with that dumb grin on his face—
But it was silent outside.
I think Sahyeon really is dead.
* * *
I was fine after a day of heavy fever. Iheon said it was an illness of the heart.
I guess he found it strange, how shaken I was over the death of a mere servant. But he didn’t ask.
He just stayed close. Spoke gently. Listened when I said weird, out-of-nowhere shit. That was it.
“Ah, Yeonhwa. My clan said we should probably tell Muhyeok about what happened. Just to keep everything clean. That okay?”
“…Yeah, whatever. He’d find out eventually anyway.”
“Right…”
“And besides, Sahyeon… he was really your older brother’s man, wasn’t he? You just borrowed him. Didn’t you?”
Iheon stared at me, then poured me another cup of tea.
“Yeonhwa. Are you… really sad?”
I paused.
When people are sad, they usually cry. But I didn’t cry.
Then again, I don’t think I’ve ever cried just because I was sad.
But if you asked if I wasn’t sad… that’s not true either.
It felt like I had a lot to say. Or nothing at all.
And the one I wanted to talk to wasn’t Iheon.
It was Sahyeon—who was gone.
So I said nothing.
And drank the tea.
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