Chapter 340 – Hong-Yeon (5)

“Do-won…”

Hong-Yeon’s hand traced every corner of my face.

Beginning with my nose, she touched my jawline, caressed my earlobes, and gently tapped my eyelids. She seemed to push the sensation of touch into her own fingertips.

“Really… Is it you, Do-won?”

Yet, Hong-Yeon seemed unable to believe the reality before her. She asked this question while wiping the blood from my lips with her own hand.

Intermittently, her breath grazed my skin.

“…It’s not a dream, is it? No. It cannot be a dream.”

The faint smell of blood and the raw aroma of autumn leaves mingled with the subtle salty scent of evaporating tears.

“Where have you been, what-”

Suddenly!

Hong-Yeon’s arms encircled my neck, pulling my face into the warmth of her embrace.

“I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you. I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.”

The absurdity of a deceased person returning. It had only been a few months for me, but for Hong-Yeon, it must have been years of waiting.

No. There wouldn’t have been any waiting. She must have thought I was dead. Despite this, her reaction was beyond my expectations.

“The wound… The wound…”

She started sobbing while gingerly touching the part of me that had started to decay horrendously. Her tears streamed down as she clung to me tighter.

“Fool… You… Even at that moment, were you trying to protect me…? You foolish man. Stupid… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

I wished she would either apologize or scold me, but not both.

Perhaps the feelings Hong-Yeon held for me were not as light as I had assumed. A colleague. That was the extent of our relationship. But there was a strangely high level of affection. I thought it might be because she was left with only pleasant memories of our past times. But perhaps there was more to it.

Of course, all that was left behind.

I couldn’t decipher her emotions, which had collapsed while she was defending Do-won without me.

In some ways, the task I had left to Hong-Yeon was heavier than I had expected. What kind of burden had Hong-Yeon tried to bear after Heavenly Demon’s death?

As far as I knew, Hong-Yeon had a greater affection for Do-won than Heaven did.

The more I thought about it, the clearer Hong-Yeon’s hardship became. I could almost understand why she was with Flower now.

I understand if you accept.

“…I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”
“Why are you so sorry?”

At my words, her shoulders shook violently. She trembled all over, as if she were afraid to speak the next words. Hong-Yeon, who had been overwhelmed by her emotions, was too enraged to regain her reason. I had no choice but to hold Hong-Yeon in my arms.

When I embraced her slender frame, her trembling subdued significantly.

“Tell me. What has happened? Is it because I was caught in the explosion in your stead?”
“Yes… I’m sorry for that too.”

“Do you want to converse under threat or just converse without it?”
“…….”

Perhaps this approach is more familiar to her.
The moment I said it, Hong-Yeon’s movements ceased abruptly.

Surely my intimidation isn’t taking effect just now.
She’s like a machine, unflinching in the face of all manner of manipulation, not to mention parental influence.

Hiding the injury on my back as best as I could, I waited for Hong-Yeon’s response.

I conjured up an image in my mind to somehow make light of her words, to parry them as jest.

“…I.”

But her response, which came not long after, was entirely different from what I anticipated.

“I failed… to protect Do-won…”

A despair so deep it was almost tangible, it choked in my throat and refused to pass. Hong-Yeon clutched at my clothing as if she might tear it apart.

“The place you tried to protect… I was too weak. I failed miserably to protect it.”

Her words pounded against my chest, anger or regret.

“…The child you went out of your way to save, I couldn’t save. Even the boy who was good at understanding… And the mother who lost her child past the age of forty. All of them.”

Images of people I knew passed fleetingly through my mind.

The girl I had directly picked up and given her share of work to. The strangely talented fellow who managed all the paperwork. The widow I met when I went to the lower ranks of Do-won’s command to maintain order.
Hong-Yeon still remembered them all, even after all this time.

“I was insufficient… incompetent. I failed to protect them. I should have… done better.”

The things she had been afraid to voice.
Once she began to let it out, it seemed her frustration was overwhelming, and her voice escalated into a cry.

Hong-Yeon vented her emotions for a long time.
Detailing the weight of the burden she’d been carrying and the sense of loss she felt after it was gone.

“I am… I. Hic, sob.”

On the other hand, each time Hong-Yeon cried out like that, I couldn’t help but deeply consider where her anger had been directed all along.

-Drop, drop

Tears gathered on her chin and fell, thoroughly soaking the floor.

In that short span of time, we were reunited.

‘…….’

I had managed to console Hong-Yeon, but it seemed my injuries were more serious than I had thought.

My knees began to give way, and my weight gradually shifted onto Hong-Yeon, until at last, under my weight, she collapsed, and I fell atop her.

“…Do, won?”

Hong-Yeon, whose crying had just subsided, noticed something amiss with me.

‘Sisyphus…’

Though it was not to the point of blackout, I had exerted my full strength for a brief moment.
No matter how hard I had tried to protect Hong-Yeon, exposure to the explosion was only for a very brief moment.

-Ugh.

I coughed up blood again.

Feeling the dampness on her shoulder, Hong-Yeon abruptly pushed herself away and lifted her head to gaze at my face.

Tears she’d managed to suppress threatened to burst forth once more.

“No… No. Wait… I-“
“Stay calm. You won’t die.”
“You… How can I stay calm when I see you like this!”
“Hey.”
“…”

Hong-Yeon swallowed a gasp, belatedly regaining her composure and closing her mouth.

“You’ve changed a lot. Why the shock when I say I won’t die?”
“…I…”
“I had no choice. The rumor of my death… It was inevitable then.”
“I’m not blaming you!”
“Then you understand. You know my nature. If I feel I’m going to fall, I say I will. Do you really think I would have ascended to Heavenly Demon if I had died this way?”

If the healing power wasn’t taking effect as it should. The force of the explosion was stronger than any power I’d ever been subjected to. A level of destruction without any means of defense.

To worsen the situation, remnants of the Flower were slowly closing in. No matter how strong I was, continuing the fight in this state was akin to suicide.

“Yeon-ah.”

Did she read the emotions in my eyes? Hong-Yeon urgently grabbed my hand.

“… Where are you going?”

There’s no time to spare.

“Are you really intending to kill me? If the Flower arrives like this, I’ll die next. I told you before. If I feel like I’m about to fall, I’ll say I am. This is that moment.”
“I… I will cease the attack.”
“Then I’ll fall to the World Tree for colluding with the Flower.”
“If I protect you–“
“Do you think I’d go there?”
“…”

Her eyes wide open, her hands shaking. A look of bewilderment on her face. At last, Hong-Yeon grabbed my arm. She held me tight, as if refusing to let go with her whole body.

“… Don’t go. I don’t want to part ways anymore.”

Don’t hold me back.

I came here to seize a World Tree, but who could have predicted this outcome?

‘Damn it.’

The World Tree of Growth. For now, it’s a keeper.

“Hey.”

With no choice, I loosened Hong-Yeon’s grip and hugged her as if I were about to burst.

“Why are…!?”

Hong-Yeon, flustered by the sudden embrace. She wore a stunned expression at the unexpected display of affection.
Why this sudden change?
Her face seemed to ask that question.

I had plenty of time to think. As Hong-Yeon appeared in my own plan, I felt a need for some modification.

And there was much to say.

“First of all, umm… That.”

Her original sin, putting all that aside. As someone who has been by Hong-Yeon’s side, even if just for a little while, I wanted to convey my sincerity.

Regardless of her actions, the lifespan Dowon was granted by Hong-Yeon was sufficiently long. It allowed the three Peaches I knew to create more memories.

There must have been many regrets.

In the midst of that time, a void existed. Although I, Lee Si-heon, failed to fully grasp what Hong-Yeon was experiencing.

“It must have been arduous.”

I felt I owed Hong-Yeon, who had been harboring such pain, at least that much recognition.

“You’ve endured much.”

Hong-Yeon stared at me, her face vacant as if she’d been struck on the head, seemingly surprised by my words.

“…Endured?”

“A drink is warranted, though circumstances don’t allow. We will surely encounter each other again.”

“Ah, wait…!”

“The Flower… it seemed to hold considerable power.”

Just before her expression hardened, like a mask flipping over, I bowed my head to meet Hong-Yeon’s gaze. In the brief moment of our eyes meeting, a glimmer of light ignited in her pupils for the first time.

I smiled.

“Stay where you are.”

After uttering one more sentence, I instantly vanished from my spot. The Flower possesses enough vitality to escape the cradle.

I didn’t reach out to grasp Hong-Yeon’s urgently extended arm. Though her face was on the brink of tears, she was not as overrun by despair as before.

I couldn’t discern her thoughts.
Yet, perhaps she held a less pessimistic outlook than before.

In the end, I was the only one who suffered damage, as if my back had melted.

-Thud!

Despite focusing on healing far from the base, my scar refused to mend. I wondered if the cost of merely encountering an old connection was truly worth it.

“Sigh.”

Until I managed to repair the internal damage, I had no choice but to pass the time perched on a tree branch.

I looked up at the sky.
Through the long night of the raided cradle, the dawn was slowly approaching.

* * * * * * * * *

El Academy. Lee Si-heon.

The only two words Hong-Yeon received. She mulled over this name throughout the night, his words likely revealing his identity.

Perhaps.
Since Do-won never disclosed his name, that must truly be his name.

“…I need to find out.”

Hong-Yeon, who had never interacted with the world beyond her studies, finally began to express interest in the outside.

Inside her sphere of influence, rumors were already circulating.
Her face, Hong-Yeon’s face, had changed significantly.
If her eyes were previously lifeless and haggard, akin to the dry eyes of a dead fish, now they seemed to accept some measure of the world’s brightness.

Beneath her, Gu-seul harbored doubts about the rumors.

“Strange.”

How could she have changed so suddenly?
Hong-Yeon’s face was something Gu-seul had seen countless times. She remembered the expression.
A pessimistic visage that couldn’t possibly change through ordinary means.

The fact that she had changed was too strange.

“…Nevertheless. Could a broader perspective be beneficial?”

Rumors are afoot that his temperament has worsened considerably.
If that holds true, wouldn’t Hong-Yeon, an influential figure in our ranks, lend a hand in our plot to ensnare King Mokryeong?

“Excuse me, Deputy Director.”
“What is it?”
“Regarding King Mokryeong’s capture. Perhaps, we should gather more information.”

Gu-seul, who had been observing her superior all day, cautiously broached the subject.

The incident has once again cloaked the existence of King Mokryeong, Lee Si-heon, in uncertainty.
It’s necessary to gather further intel. She requested additional personnel to be assigned.

“Have you lost your mind?”

However, what ricocheted back was Hong-Yeon’s icy refutation.

“I… I apologize.”
“I’ll assign you to a different task.”
“But… this is my primary duty.”
“Do you intend to defy the commands of your superior?”

Caught off guard. All this, because of one misplaced remark.
Gu-seul swallowed hard, bitterness welling up at her predicament.

“I’m sorry… What would you have me do then?”

It was only then that Hong-Yeon softened her expression.

“Lee Si-heon of the El Academy.”
“Pardon?”
“Probe into that man. Use any resources necessary, be it money or manpower. But, under no circumstances, should he come to any harm. Don’t even dare to ruffle his feathers!”

She had suggested an investigation into King Mokryeong.
Rebuffed in a pitiful manner, she was now tasked with investigating King Mokryeong, a task akin to being put on the back burner.

“What is this? Some sort of twisted hidden camera show?”

All Gu-seul could do was nod awkwardly, her face a picture of bewilderment.