TBML 78

When Yiyeon opened his eyes that morning, he was greeted by yet another unusual sight. It wasn’t the bare, empty bed where even the warmth had vanished, nor was it the sight of Hyunhak nestled in his arms like the previous morning. It was a completely new scene.

As soon as he woke up, Yiyeon found himself face-to-face with Hyunhak, who was sitting there looking at him, dressed in a way that wouldn’t look out of place if he were heading out. Even though he wasn’t fully awake yet, Yiyeon rubbed his eyes at the surprising sight and sat upright.

“……My Lord?”

“You’re awake?”

It felt strange. Usually, when he opened his eyes, the space beside him was either empty or Hyunhak was burrowing in his arms, but faced with this first “normal” morning scene, Yiyeon tilted his head in confusion. Though still half-asleep, he realized that Hyunhak had been waiting for him to wake up, so he straightened his posture and tried his best to clear his mind.

“Is something wrong?”

“Yeon-ah, I think I’ll have to go out a bit further. Do you want to come with me?”

Since Hyunhak had never made such a suggestion before, Yiyeon didn’t understand what he meant and asked him to repeat himself. Hyunhak’s eyes lit up as he told him their destination.

“Where are you talking about?”

“The village. There are some things we need.”

“Oh…”

Only then did Yiyeon fully grasp the situation; he let out a small sigh and opened his eyes wide. It was as if cold water had suddenly been poured over his head.

Last night, after finishing tidying up around the house and lying down, he’d talked with Hyunhak about various household items they needed. Some of the things that had been there were nowhere to be found, perhaps blown away by the blizzard, and others were broken beyond repair. Plus, since they’d been eating nonstop for the past two days, they needed to restock their empty food supplies.

Under normal circumstances, he would have made do with whatever he had or foraged for food in the mountains, but the heavy snow had piled up to his knees. It wasn’t feasible to go hunting or gather wild greens, even though they were available in winter.

So, before going to sleep, Yiyeon had roughly listed the necessary items to Hyunhak. He had grown accustomed to Hyunhak, who, as always, produced whatever was asked of him in the blink of an eye. So Yiyeon didn’t give it a second thought– not last night, not now, nor would he later –even though he knew it would normally be impossible to make the trip down the mountain, which was completely covered in snow.

In fact, last night, the black tiger had placed the snowmen Yiyeon had made on the mountaintop, then made his way down through the village where the bandits lived to the village where Yiyeon had lived, only to return empty-handed.

In contrast, the thatched houses deep in the mountains were in relatively good shape. In the village where Yiyeon had lived, the heavy snow had caused roofs to collapse, and the strong winds had left the village in shambles. The food supplies had frozen and then thawed, leaving nothing edible in the granaries, except for those at the county magistrate’s residence.

He went down to loot the village, but the place looked so desolate that even a mouse wouldn’t have found anything to eat. Not only that, but with houses collapsed and people cut off from the outside world, there were countless people injured, some severely, stolen content others only slightly. As a result, many people couldn’t sleep even late into the night, and since there was nothing to be gained by causing trouble during such a turbulent time, Hyunhak had no choice but to turn back.

The bandit village was even worse. The makeshift huts, barely more than shacks, had all been swept away by the snow and wind, and he couldn’t even find half of what Yiyeon had asked for.

In the end, Hyunhak had to change his plan: since he couldn’t find what he needed nearby, he decided to visit another village. But by the time he’d revised his plan, the sun had already risen, and Hyunhak ended up returning home empty-handed.

The feeling of returning home empty-handed wasn’t exactly pleasant. He felt like he hadn’t done his duty properly, and since Yiyeon must have been expecting something, he felt guilty for letting him down. Even though it was beyond his control.

When Hyunhak returned with a serious expression, Zao perched on his head and grilled him about why he’d come back empty-handed. As Hyunhak explained the village’s situation and the whole story, the crow chimed in as well. The two crouched in the courtyard and plotted in collusion.

–How about going with the human?

“With Yeon-ah?”

What Zao was suggesting was that they take a trip to the village, partly to get treatment for his left arm, which hadn’t healed for a long time, and partly to break the ice between Hyunhak and Yiyeon, who’d been growing distant lately, as a change of pace.

Hyunhak’s hidden ears perked up at Zao’s ingenious plan. Hyunhak agreed and thought it was a good idea. Yiyeon had seemed in good spirits until the accident happened during their last trip to the valley.

Since it was a bigger village further up the mountain, not the one where Yiyeon had lived, there would be no chance of running into the bullies who had tormented him, and he would be able to get whatever he needed as easily as he pleased. No matter how much Hyunhak promised to fetch everything [Read on]Yiyeon asked for, nothing could compare to Yiyeon, a human, personally selecting the items he would use. And above all, going out alone with Yiyeon made Hyunhak giddy with excitement.

Hyunhak praised the crow for making a smart remark for once. Flattered by Hyunhak’s admiration, the crow raised his beak high and cawed loudly. And so, Hyunhak had dressed himself and was waiting for Yiyeon to wake up.

Contrary to his expectation that Yiyeon would immediately say, “That sounds great! I want to go,” just as he had when they were going to the valley, Yiyeon hesitated instead of answering. Hyunhak wondered if he was hesitating to answer because he was still keeping his distance from him, so he urged him to respond.

“Let’s go together. We need a lot of things; let’s go and pick them out ourselves.”

“……Th-that…My Lord.”

Yiyeon looked hesitant. He knew that the village Hyunhak wanted to go to wasn’t the one where he used to live. In the remote village where he’d lived, it was difficult to even find silk clothes like the ones Hyunhak wore, and while everything Hyunhak usually brought back was high-quality, there were many items Yiyeon had never even seen while he was in the village.

Yiyeon knew he wasn’t suggesting they go to the small village where he used to live, but rather to the village over the mountain, yet he still found it hard to respond. There was a workshop nearby where high-quality goods could be obtained relatively easily.

People from his village often went there to buy what they needed, and it was also a village that mountain hunters like Yiyeon would deliberately visit to try to get a slightly higher price for their goods. Yiyeon couldn’t be sure what would happen if he happened to run into even a single person who knew him, or whether he and Hyunhak would be able to return safely to this house.

What if he ran into someone from the Byun family or the Seo family? No, he didn’t even need to go that far. Even if he ran into villagers and word got out that Yiyeon was roaming about, it would be a disaster.

It was certain that those vicious men would track Yiyeon down like a rat. If that happened, it wouldn’t end with just Yiyeon being dragged away, Hyunhak could also suffer harm. And more than, the mere thought of encountering another person– whether they knew him or not –made the blood in his veins freeze.

He was terrified. Even Hyunhak, standing right before him with a pitiful expression like a puppy, waiting for an answer, was a respectable person, yet the mere thought of meeting another person made his breath catch and his hands tremble.

His lips kept moving, but no sound came out. Yiyeon hid his trembling fingertips behind his back, swallowed nervously, and still couldn’t bring himself to answer, so he shook his head. When he saw Yiyeon shaking his head from side to side, Hyunhak felt disappointed.

Hyunhak, who had been excited at the thought of going out for a walk along the mountain path with Yiyeon, couldn’t hide his disappointment. He quickly put on a smile, but to Yiyeon that fleeting change was apparent. Yiyeon placed his hand on the ground and hurriedly made an excuse in a barely audible voice.

“It’s just… I’m not fully recovered yet, so I don’t think I can make it all the way to the village.”

“Let show the wound so they can prepare a new remedy. I said last time that I wasn’t sure if the medicine would be effective since I hadn’t examined you myself.”

“…It’s all right, My Lord. I don’t think I need to take any more medicine. As long as I rest and don’t overexert myself… I should be fine.”

It was a ridiculous excuse. Just a moment ago, he’d said he couldn’t go because he wasn’t feeling well, and now he was saying he didn’t need the medicine.

Moreover, just a few days ago, he’d even taken the initiative to tell Hyunhak that he was almost fully recovered and that he shouldn’t put himself through such hard work. He couldn’t take back the words he’d already spoken, and Yiyeon’s body trembled. He bowed his head as low as possible, like a sinner.

“Are you really not going to come with me?”

“……Yes. I’m sorry, My Lord.”

Yiyeon couldn’t bring himself to lift his head. He had become nothing more than a servant, sitting at home and ordering his master and benefactor around.

For the first time in a long while, Yiyeon bowed his forehead and apologized to Hyunhak, as if he were a true servant once more. He had no intention of breaking down the wall he had suddenly erected.

Hyunhak’s once-sturdy shoulders slumped.

“All right… I suppose there’s no helping it. I’ll be on my way.”

Unable to say anything in response to Yiyeon’s refusal, Hyunhak nodded in resignation and turned his back on him with heavy footsteps. Yiyeon crawled on his knees to the threshold.

He watched as Hyunhak put on his shoes and prepared to leave. Yiyeon couldn’t bring himself to step over the threshold and bit his lip nervously. Although Hyunhak quickly hid his disappointment and acted as if nothing were wrong, his back as he prepared to leave seemed heavier than ever. Yiyeon couldn’t bring himself to tell Hyunhak to be careful or to have a safe trip; he just clung to the doorway and stared at his retreating figure.

His journey there would be weighed down by disappointment, and his return would be weighed down by bags full of luggage. Yet, like a person sending a partner off to the battlefield, he dared not add a single word for fear it might bring bad luck, and could not even say a farewell. Instead, Yiyeon hung by the doorway as he watched Hyunhak leave.

Of all days, Hyunhak didn’t even look back today. If he had turned around, he would have realized the look in Yiyeon’s eyes and immediately ran back into the room, but perhaps he felt guilty about returning home empty-handed. [Read on]Today, Hyunhak was filled with such determination to find the items Yiyeon had asked for that he didn’t look back.

With no way of knowing Yiyeon’s true feelings, Hyunhak simply thought that if he brought back plenty of the necessary items, Yiyeon would be pleased.

As Hyunhak set out on his journey, he asked the crow perched on the roof to watch over Yiyeon.

–I’d do that even if you didn’t say so.

Zao replied with a drawn-out caw, and only then did Hyunhak hasten his pace.

It wasn’t just a matter of stealing things; there were many items he had to obtain while pretending to be human. If he had been with Yiyeon, he would have taken his time admiring the scenery, but traveling alone, every moment was precious.

Once Hyunhak had gone far enough that Yiyeon could no longer see him, he jumped over the ridge, transformed into a tiger, and ran up the mountain.