Childhood Friend of the Zenith

༺ The Walking Dead (2) ༻

  The night was accompanied by a shining moon, 

  A spread-out blanket,

  One candle that barely lit up the room,

  And the presence of only one man and woman within it.

  Everyone knew what that meant.

  It was not like I didn’t have such an experience in my previous life, so I knew what kind of situation I was in.

  However, the problem was the person that was in the room with me. 

  “…What are you doing here?”

  Namgung Bi-ah tilted her head in confusion, wondering why I’d asked her that question.

  No matter how I looked at it, it looked like she was preparing herself for you-know-what, but… this was Namgung Bi-ah we were talking about. 

  There was no way someone as blank as her could have intentionally set up this mood. 

  Knowing that, I asked Namgung Bi-ah. 

  “They probably gave us two separate rooms so, why are you here?”

  “…They said… there were no rooms?”

  “Who?”

  “The sect leader…”

  The Celestial Plum Blossom did?

  There was no way that they’d run out of rooms though, the Mount Hua Sect wasn’t a small clan…

  While I wondered to myself, Elder Shin barged in.

  ｢Good senses were passed down to the Lords of the Mount Hua Sect, and they are quick to act on it too.｣

  ‘…Weren’t you the one who pretended to not know what Mount Hua was before?’

  ｢…Life is just like that sometimes.｣

  When I turned to Namgung Bi-ah, I noticed that she’d already had her clothes changed and her hair was a bit damp.

  Because of the moonlight, her already fair skin appeared to shine further. 

  She looked incredibly beautiful.

  “…Sigh.”

  But even so, what is she doing?

  Even if she was this dull, did she really not know what kind of situation we were in?

  As I continued to gaze at the expressionless Namgung Bi-ah in front of me, I couldn’t help but think,

  ‘…I will admit that she’s insanely beautiful.’

  The view of Namgung Bi-ah, who was sitting down on her blanket whilst looking at the moonlight which was in turn shining down on her, was extremely beautiful.

  The violent and cold aura that the Demonic Sword used to release in my memories was a different kind of charm to the elegance and beauty that the Namgung Bi-ah in this life had to her.

  ‘Her face is a weapon.’

  Even if I didn’t want to admit it, I couldn’t deny the fact that Namgung Bi-ah was beautiful.

  Especially when we were staring at each other face to face…

  I probably wouldn’t have been able to keep my mind straight if I faced Namgung Bi-ah like this in my previous life whilst being around this age.

  I probably would have gotten charmed by her right away.

  But what about now?

  Could I maintain my composure?

  I honestly wasn’t sure.

  That was how stunning Namgung Bi-ah was.

  Because of the thoughts that were flooding into my mind, I frowned and turned away from her.

  I felt like I couldn’t stay here any longer. 

  “…It seems like there’s been a problem, so you can sleep in this room. I will just go and sleep with the escorts.”

  I’d just ask them for one more room… they’d definitely give us another room considering it was for a member of the Namgung clan.

  ｢You idiot…｣

  I knew what Elder Shin was going to say and I had no intention of listening to him. 

  All I felt was that I needed to get out of here as soon as possible, but…

– Grip

  I felt myself being tugged back; a hand was holding onto my clothes. 

  When I turned around, I saw Namgung Bi-ah pulling on my clothes firmly. 

  She was holding onto it so hard that it wouldn’t be easy to escape her grip.

  “What are you…”

  “Don’t go.”

  Namgung Bi-ah looked serious when saying those words.

  What do I say to her?

  Seriously, how do I even respond to her…?

  “Then, do I have to sleep with—”

  “Can you not?”

  “I mean, why can I…?”

  “Because you are… my fiancé.”

  Namgung Bi-ah didn’t even seem to be sure herself as her expression seemed strange.

  After thinking for a while, Namgung Bi-ah finally spoke with quivering lips.

  “I’ll… sleep while only holding onto your hand…”

  “Huh?”

  What? 

  …Did I hear wrong?

  What had I just heard?

  While I visibly froze at her shocking words, Namgung Bi-ah seemed visibly calmer after saying them. 

  Wasn’t I the one that was supposed to say such a line…?

  “…Is that not okay?”

  “Where did you learn such a line…?”

  “…Hongwa told me that this would work.”

  Isn’t Hongwa the servant that has always been with Wi Seol-Ah? 

  When did they become so close?

  Because her line didn’t work, Namgung Bi-ah started to think deeply which I found funny. 

  I found it funny that she’d spat out those words without even knowing the meaning behind it… 

  And that I was the one who was their recipient. 

  Because of that, I accidentally chuckled which made Namgung Bi-ah’s eyes bigger. 

  “You smiled…”

  “…Sorry, I found it funny.”

  “You smiled at me.”

  “Uh…”

  I’d been trying to make an excuse because I thought that she would be hurt by it,

  But I stopped talking.

  I had to.

  Because Namgung Bi-ah was smiling.

  It was quite faint, but was just enough to make it clear that she was smiling.

  Then, as if charmed, my hand slowly reached for Namgung Bi-ah’s cheek. 

  I’d extended my hand to her by myself. 

  You idiot, just what am I doing?

  As I realized what I’d done, I quickly tried to retrieve my hand, but found that I couldn’t, because Namgung Bi-ah had grabbed my hand that was touching her cheek. 

  I felt her warmth in her hand.

  Namgung Bi-ah’s cheek was cold,

  But my hand was warm thanks to my Qi.

  However, unlike her cold face, her hand that was grabbing my hand was even warmer than mine.

  The expression she had on her face even made me tremble on my feet and I tried my best to ignore it. 

  Namgung Bi-ah who was leaning her cheek against my hand, spoke. 

  “…Let’s sleep together.”

  Her cheek was redder than usual while uttering those words. 

* * * *

  It was midnight.

  I was extremely tired since I had to run around all day, but I couldn’t fall asleep easily tonight.

  Moonlight filtered in through the window that was slightly open. 

  The moonlight was shining on Namgung Bi-ah’s hair while she was sleeping. 

  I was looking at Namgung Bi-ah. 

  ｢She fell asleep quickly.｣

  Elder Shin appeared suddenly after being quiet for a long time.

  I couldn’t help but laugh quietly after hearing him.

  ‘Did you go somewhere?’

  ｢Go somewhere my ass, I just fell asleep for a bit.｣

  ‘I bet you had a good nap.’

  ｢Yes, I did.｣

  Elder Shin wasn’t capable of sleeping nor could he hide.

  He’d just stayed quiet. 

  And while I knew that, I didn’t know whether to thank him or not.

  When things were getting hotter, Elder Shin stayed quiet, but the thing he wanted to happen didn’t pan out the way he would have preferred. 

  Namgung Bi-ah actually didn’t have any hidden intentions behind her words in the first place, after all. 

  She’d just really wanted to sleep with me. 

  And to prove that, she fell asleep as soon as she laid down. 

  Then shouldn’t I have just slept somewhere else after all? 

  ‘…She does fall asleep rather quickly.’

  Was her blank face because maybe she slept a lot?

  I even had these funny thoughts.

  ｢What do you think?｣

  ‘About what?’

  ｢About the girl that fell asleep next to you.｣

  I couldn’t say anything to the sudden words Elder Shin spoke. 

  I couldn’t answer easily. 

  Elder Shin knew that himself, and so he continued to speak.

  ｢I know your feelings for her are closer to guilt than affection.｣ 

  ‘…’

  ｢I don’t know what kind of sin you committed at your age for you to feel like that, but I’m sure you know yourself why she looks at you like that.｣

  I couldn’t deny that.

  I knew that from the way she looked at me from time to time whenever she would come to me. 

  But… Why?

  Just why?

  Why was Namgung Bi-ah trying to be with me even in her new life?

  Why does she feel like that towards me when I have nothing? 

  I slowly reached my hand towards Namgung Bi-ah who was sleeping with a purring sound. 

  It was to put aside her hair that was tickling her face.

  When my hand was about to touch her hair,

— …Is the moon up…?

  I heard the voice that haunted me in my memories. 

  Because of the voice that stabbed my heart, the hand that was about to touch her hair came back to me.

  That rainy night didn’t happen yet.

  And I wanted to make sure that something like that would never happen again. 

  The moon that was shining in the sky was still the same.

  I remembered her endlessly looking at the moon whenever it became night.

  Even the last moments she’d spent in my arms were clear to me.

  ‘So far…’

  I was slowly accepting the fact that Namgung Bi-ah was not the same person I knew in my past life.

  To put it in another way.

  It meant that the Demonic Sword no longer existed.

  Yet I still didn’t dare to be close to her.

  Because what I felt for her wasn’t necessarily love. 

  I wasn’t in a situation where I could afford to love anyone in my previous life, as I was busy with other things.

  ‘But what about now?’

  I asked myself.

  If it was different from back then. 

  I knew the answer to my question right away, but I wasn’t sure.

  No matter what, I couldn’t help but hesitate. 

  Because I’d already lost everything once, and that made it harder to grab onto anything a second time.

  ‘…It seems like I’m still afraid.’

  Because of all the things I experienced in the past, I didn’t know whether I should be afraid or not.

  Because I couldn’t be sure about anything I did.

  If I messed up, I would lose everything again. 

  Furthermore, I felt more like that way right now because I was in a situation where I could die at any moment.

– Flinch

  Namgung Bi-ah moved her body closer to me.

  It seemed like she was having a nightmare as she was frowning, so I poked the middle of her face with my finger.

  “…Hmm.”

  Then she made a weird sound and moved her body again.

  I smiled unconsciously after looking at that.

  It’d only been a few months since I regressed.

  So it was still hard for me.

* * * *

  The night had passed and soon it was morning.

  Along with the sound of chickens clucking from far away,

  Namgung Bi-ah woke up, struggling to move her body.

  She always slept a lot in the morning, so it was hard for her to get up. 

  She was able to see someone through her foggy vision while she wasn’t still fully woken up yet.

  “You woke up?”

  Gu Yangcheon was sitting down in the room.

  ‘…Oh.’

  Namgung Bi-ah then realized that she fell asleep next to him last night.

  Thanks to that, she had been able to sleep without any stench. 

  She didn’t have the nightmares she always had, and it even felt easier for her to wake up in the morning compared to usual. 

  She was only able to feel like that only after meeting him. 

  That feeling grew even stronger than usual because she slept directly next to him that day.

  Gu Yangcheon spoke while looking at Namgung Bi-ah.

  “I didn’t know you’d fall asleep that quickly.”

  “…I was sleepy.”

  “You should get rid of your sleep crust first.”

  “…!”

  Namgung Bi-ah quickly rubbed her eyes after hearing him, but she strangely didn’t feel anything.

  Gu Yangcheon then spoke while laughing.

  “I was lying, there’s nothing there.”

  “…?”

  Namgung Bi-ah who was glaring at Gu Yangcheon after he teased her, felt something unusual.

  It was different from usual.

  His aura? It’s not that…

  What was different?

  Gu Yangcheon asked while Namgung Bi-ah was trapped in her thoughts. 

  “I’m going to go eat, you want to come?”

  “I’ll com—… Oh!”

  Then Namgung Bi-ah finally realized what was different. 

  Gu Yangcheon was speaking to her casually!

  When did that start to happen?

  Even the usual feeling of him trying to push her away was gone. 

  In just one night.

  Namgung Bi-ah, after realizing that, felt something thump inside her chest. 

  ‘…Huh?’

  What’s this feeling?

  Namgung Bi-ah didn’t know. 

  “What?”

  Namgung Bi-ah quickly shook her head when Gu Yangcheon asked.

  Because she didn’t want to risk him going back to his old way of speaking to her by asking him about it.

  Gu Yangcheon slowly stood up.

  It was because he said he wanted to go eat.

  Namgung Bi-ah also started to stand up, following him, but,

  “Young Master! I’m here—”

 
  “Oh…”

  Wi Seol-Ah who was nowhere to be seen yesterday, suddenly appeared.

  Wi Seol-Ah who was running in with a bright smile, froze after seeing the two. 

  Likewise, Gu Yangcheon also froze like a rock after seeing Wi Seol-Ah.

  He felt cold sweat slowly dripping down his forehead. 

  In that icy atmosphere, the only one who maintained a calm expression was Namgung Bi-ah.