Chapter v10c12

Yoon Junho’s Sword Dance

“Ryu Yeon!”

“Hyo Ryong!”

“Jang Hong!”

Yoon Junho called out to his friends as he walked through the darkness. He felt as if he would be consumed by the darkness if he didn’t keep calling their names. He hadn’t fully realized how terrifying this pitch blackness, devoid of any light, could be.

Particularly distressing to him was the fear that a hidden weapon launcher might suddenly activate somewhere and shoot arrows or poisoned darts at him. The problem was that he had no means to evade such surprise attacks. Whether or not it actually happened didn’t matter. The mere possibility within this darkness drained his blood with fear.

He had passed the third fork and was now turning into the fourth. However, he couldn’t feel any human presence. He had no choice but to rely on his sense of touch, using his hands to guide him along the walls as he slowly moved forward. The dreadful thought that he might be trapped forever in this darkness continually tormented him.

He was afraid. It could have been a fundamental fear. Even though he successively called out his friends’ names, there was no answer. Only an ominous, directionless echo returned emptily to him.

“Aaahhhh!”

Suddenly screaming, Yoon Junho rolled on the ground. Rolling recklessly on the rough stony floor caused pain all over his body. He had tripped over a rock in the darkness due to his carelessness.

‘Why am I always like this…?’

He despised his inept self. He wanted to be strong-willed and live with his chest puffed out just like everyone else. However, no matter how hard he tried to steel his resolve, actually acting on it wasn’t so simple. He found this indescribably frustrating.

Yoon Junho got up again, dusting himself off and fixing his messy hair, then took another step forward. There was no turning back now. Only advancement was left.

And then it happened.

In the darkness where not even an inch ahead was visible, lights returned faintly, and people appeared. The moment he saw those figures, Yoon Junho’s heart sank. They were the executioners who always tormented him in Hwasan. They all approached him with sinister smiles.

Yoon Junho trembled with fear.

“Aaahhhh!”

His piercing scream echoed through the Phantom Demon Cave and vanished into the darkness.

“Ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha!”

“You fool! Idiot! Dummy! Moron!”

“You should just die! You’re worthless!”

Yoon Junho covered his ears and rolled on the floor. The executioners, his master, and others from Hwasan who always mocked him, were laughing at him. Finger pointing and ridicule were endless. Then came merciless punches and kicks.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Yoon Junho writhed in agony.

“Ugh! Ugh! Arrgh! Gak!”

Screams burst from his mouth. Even if it was an illusion, if one perceives it as real, then it becomes reality.

At that moment.

‘Stop!’

A voice of salvation echoed in his ears. Instantly, all mockery and unwarranted kicks came to an abrupt halt. A man walked towards Yoon Junho, who lay crumpled on the floor. Yoon Junho trembled. The one who stopped their actions was his respected master, Maehwa Swordsman Yu Hwankwon.

“Master!”

He brightly called out to him. Yu Hwankwon looked at him with a gentle smile. And then…

Thump!

A horrifying sound like an explosion rang out, even though it was right next to him, it felt as if it came from a far distance, devoid of any sense of reality.

“Why… why?”

Blood flowed down along his heart.

“……”

No matter how desperately he called, his respected master did not reply. He only looked at Yoon Junho indifferently, as if looking at an inanimate object. Just like seeing a cow or a chicken…

Yoon Junho’s greatest fear! It was being abandoned by his master, Maehwa Divine Sword Yun Hwankwon.

“How could this happen… This… Ha ha… Ha ha… Ha ha ha ha!”

“Ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha!”

Yoon Junho raised his head and burst into mad laughter. Endless tears streamed down his cheeks.

Wriggle! Wriggle!

Sway! Sway!

Suddenly, the hand holding the sword began to dance exuberantly, and his mind went blank. Thus, he could not realize what he was doing.

His sword was drawing thousands of plum blossoms in the air, filling the Phantom Demon Cave with the scent of plum flowers…

“Hmm? Nice scent…”

Lee Jinseol, who wasn’t far off in the dark corridor of the Phantom Demon Cave, caught the scent of plum blossoms. It was a fragrance that somewhat ached her heart.

“I wonder how the sisters are doing? Where exactly are they?”

Being trapped alone in the darkness made her incredibly uneasy. Suddenly, the faces of Na Yerin and Dokgo Ryong came to mind. Then, Hyo Ryong’s face flashed in her thoughts.

“Hmph! If I ever meet that person again… I’ll stomp on him with my feet!”

She resumed walking with a petulant face.

“Ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha!”

The deepening sword energy gradually erased the illusion. Yet, Yoon Junho remained completely unaware that he was throwing his body and soul into a frenzy of sword dance.

“Come to your senses. Hey, Mr. Hyo! Mr. Hyo!”

Lee Jinseol called out desperately for Hyo Ryong, but he lying on his knees, showed no sign of waking up.

It was purely by chance that Lee Jinseol found Hyo Ryong. Drawn by the strange scent of plum blossoms, she stumbled upon him by sheer accident. Initially mistaking him for a rock in the darkness, the ‘thump’ sound and the squishy feeling upon stepping on him indicated otherwise.

Upon closer inspection, she noticed a faint silhouette. She was startled. The person she had stepped on and tripped over was none other than a person. She had an expensive necklace given by her father, adorned uniquely with a luminous pearl that glowed even in the dark. She placed her necklace near the person’s face to identify them.

“Gasp!”

She almost dropped her necklace. The person was indeed Hyo Ryong. From that moment on, she kept calling Hyo Ryong’s name, trying to awaken him, but he did not regain consciousness. Moreover, his breathing was sporadic, and his pulse was extremely faint. It felt as if he could stop breathing at any moment. Tears welled up in her large eyes.

“Mr. Hyo! Hyo Ryong! Hyo Ryong! Please come to your senses. I’m sorry for ignoring you all this time. I’ll forgive everything, so please wake up.”

Tears falling from her eyes dropped onto his face.

‘Where am I?’

Hyo Ryong looked around. His consciousness wasn’t clear. It was dark. No matter how much he looked around, only pitch-black darkness existed. It felt as if he was at the bottom of a deep abyss.

‘What am I doing here?’

No sound was heard. No light was seen. He felt nothing. A peculiar sensation as if his body didn’t exist, as if his spirit alone was adrift in this dark space.

‘Why am I here?’

Then, suddenly, the face of his brother, Hyo Bong, flashed in his mind again. The dreadful nightmare he feared to even think about reappeared before his eyes. The memory he dreaded to replay was a terrible one! The unbuttoned front of Hyo Bong revealed hell itself.

Yes, it was no different from hell for Hyo Ryong. It was a clear imprint of his sin!

Hyo Bong’s torso had a long diagonal sword scar, gruesomely prominent, and endless red blood flowed in between. The wound was as terrifying as a valley of hell. The blood that flowed through the wound eventually fell to the floor, turning the ground into a sea of blood. The endlessly flowing river of blood expanded and reached Hyo Ryong’s feet. Standing atop the sea of blood, Hyo Bong gave a wicked smile, loud enough to be heard. The sea of blood that colored everything red in sight surged upwards, gradually engulfing his body. Hyo Ryong screamed with all his might. However, no help was to be had. His body sank deeper into the sea of blood, like quicksand, where struggling only pulled him deeper. When blood reached his face and darkness suddenly enveloped him…

It was dark.

Regaining his consciousness in a drowsy state, he found himself deprived of all senses within the darkness. It was as if he was in a dream state.

He wanted to thrash around fiercely, but he doubted whether even his head existed.

‘I’ve lost!’

In a self-deprecating voice, he muttered to himself, but it was the truth. He still hadn’t been able to shake off the shadow of his brother.

‘Is this it? The most terrible and frightening thing in this world that one could see…’

Indeed, it was the most harrowing thing in this world.

‘I could die like this. Maybe it’s better for someone like me to just die!’

As such thoughts filled his head, his body began to sink deeper into the swamp of darkness. Hyo Ryong’s body was becoming submerged deeper into the abyss. His field of vision darkened.

‘Am I finally finding peace?’

Suddenly, he felt a coolness on his face, seemingly out of nowhere, as if rain were falling. It was the first sensation that his deprived senses had picked up.

“Hyo Ryong! Hyo Ryong! Hyo Ryong!”

The moment he heard that voice, Hyo Ryong felt as if he was basking in a shaft of light piercing the darkness. The voice came to him with a sweet and melodious resonance, cradling and healing his wounds.

His vision filled with light.

“Are you okay? Hyo Ryong! Hyo Ryong!”

Lee Jinseol’s face brightened up like a blooming flower as Hyo Ryong finally opened his eyes, but he seemed yet to comprehend his state.

“Uuuum…”

Hyo Ryong blinked several times, and the blurry images imprinted on his retinas began to sharpen and take form. His lips moved slightly.

“Is… is it you, Miss?”

The one who had pulled him from the depths of darkness was indeed Lee Jinseol. When he opened his eyes, he realized he was lying with his head on her knees.

“Ugh!”

An attempt to sit up brought on intense pain. Despite battling an illusion, the pain he felt was all too real.

“Mr. Hyo, you’ve come around!”

Her eyes brimmed with tears, ready to burst at any moment.

“Are you okay? You’re so pale. I thought you had stopped breathing for a moment.”

It seemed she had navigated through the ordeal unscathed. Fearful of imminent tears, Hyo Ryong felt ill-equipped to deal with a woman’s tears.

‘Am I really okay now?’

Lying with his head resting on her knees, Hyo Ryong checked over his body. His eyes clearly saw her adorable face, his ears distinctly heard her voice, and the back of his head felt the softness of her thighs.

Thump, thump, thump!

Aside from his heart rate having upped a little, there seemed to be no other issues. There was no sign of his brother anywhere around him.

‘A moment ago, I was trapped in pitch-black darkness… Would I have been able to escape that darkness if she hadn’t been there?’

He wasn’t sure. Just before, he was about to succumb to a tremendous blow to his mind and ready to lock all doors from the outside world. Had it not been for Lee Jinseol’s voice, he would have self-exiled himself to a prison of the heart forever.

“It seems I’m back to normal. Thank you. I owe you my life.”

He was thankful to her. Had it not been for Lee Jinseol, he could have become autistic, at least, or worse, a fool or a madman. She was nothing less than his savior. Suddenly, her face appeared dazzling to him.

At Hyo Ryong’s words, Lee Jinseol hesitated for a moment before speaking cautiously.

“So… then…”

“Yes! Whatever it is, just say it.”

Suddenly, she blushed.

‘…What?’

“Then… could you get up, please?”

Lee Jinseol managed to express her intended request. At that moment, Hyo Ryong was startled to realize he shamelessly continued to recline on her comfortable knees despite being fully conscious.

“Ah!”

He got up abruptly, nearly bumping into her face.

“I’m so sorry! I’m truly sorry! I’m completely embarrassed.”

Hyo Ryong repeatedly bowed, apologizing, his face flushed as red as a persimmon as hers. But apologies aside, feelings were feelings, and right now, he felt a vast sense of regret.

‘Did I actually enjoy that…?’

Discovering a new aspect of himself, he didn’t feel pleased at all.

“What kind of dream did you have to wear such a sad expression? And to cry like that?”

Touching his face, Hyo Ryong could feel the dried trail of tears. His face clouded again. He could have claimed it was an embarrassing subject to avoid the question, but somehow with Lee Jinseol, he didn’t want to hide.

“… I saw an unforgivable sin I had committed. The blood on my hands will never wash away.”

Regret flowed over Hyo Ryong’s face as he stared at his own hands.

“Waaaang!”

Startled by the sudden wailing, Hyo Ryong jumped.

Eh? Eh? Eh?

“Miss, why on earth are you crying?”

Seeing someone break down in tears without warning would shock any man. Hyo Ryong was almost in a state of chaos.

“But… but… you’re sad because of me. You’re recalling a memory you want to forget. Waaaang!”

Lee Jinseol sobbed intermittently, seemingly choked up. Yet, Hyo Ryong found her appearance to be quite endearing.

“Puhaha! There’s no need for you to cry. Come on, stop crying. You’ll ruin your pretty face.”

Suddenly her sobbing ceased. It seemed Hyo Ryong’s words had found their mark.

“Really?”

“Yes? What’s really?”

“Is my face really pretty? Do you really mean it?”

Her eyes, still full of tears, shone like lakes, reflecting a gaze that seemed to hold so much significance for a woman. Hyo Ryong found himself in a quandary but what could he do?

“Of course! You are truly beautiful! I swear it upon my honor!”

“Really? For real? Truly not fake, but really?”

“Ah! Of course.”

“Truly, truly, truly?”

“I’m telling you so.”

A cold sweat now ran down Hyo Ryong’s spine. Yet, she seemed to have no intention of halting her questioning.

Hyo Ryong had to break out in a nervous sweat to calm down Lee Jinseol.

“Uuuum…”

It was some time later that Yoon Junho came to. When he looked around, he was alone, which made him think the nightmare was over, but it was not. There was still one left.

“Sob sob sob! Sob sob sob!”

Before him, on the ground, curled up and trembling pitifully, was a child. He knew exactly who the child was – it was himself, the person who had been bullied and disregarded.

‘That’s… is that pitiable human being really me?’

In that moment, an inexplicable emotion arose within him.

‘The fear that freezes your heart and binds your body is yourself. The fear inside you is within you! Never forget that!’

It was what Bi Ryu Yeon always said to him.

The fear that he was now facing took on a rather pitiable form. Suddenly, his eyes welled up. His heart had always been wounded due to his weakness and timidity. Always trembling with nervousness and anxiety…

‘It was all my fault!’

Yoon Junho stepped forward, reaching out towards his fear, and then he made a deep commitment in his heart.

‘I won’t ignore the truth anymore. No matter what dire circumstances come my way.’

For those who can see the truth, fear does not come. Such people can embrace their fears. Those who avoid fear are the truly weak and pitiable. Yoon Junho reached out with a smile to the fearful self locked within him.

The child took his hand.

He thought he saw the child smile at that moment. Eventually, he was left alone. Tears streamed down his cheeks.