Miss I.
Had she heard wrong? No. She had not heard wrong.
How could she not know what those words meant?
Ian understood instinctively. The person standing before her was no longer the Young Cult Leader, but a man standing before her as a man.
It was as if fireflies were all at once giving off light and sparkling around her. Ian’s heart pounded as though it would burst. Never in her life had she been this startled and this nervous.
But she could not simply be happy. Her subconscious dragged up a negative possibility. All the fireflies that had been lighting up her heart went out.
“Ian! Get a hold of yourself! It might be your misunderstanding.”
It could be one of the Young Cult Leader’s jokes, like always, couldn’t it?
But Geom Mugeuk’s gaze as he looked at her remained serious. If it had been a joke, he would already have made her laugh with some silly remark.
“Surely not?”
Ian’s surprise turned into unease. This unfamiliar side of him...
“Are you perhaps trying to send me away?”
After all, the Young Cult Leader had tried to send her away before. Had this final journey been for the sake of parting?
“That is so.”
Ian was shocked. Even if her father’s fist had struck her on the head, she would not have felt this dazed.
He had clearly been looking at her as a man, and yet he was trying to send her away?
Was he angry? She had spoken of her own strengths, yet refuted him at every turn; it would be understandable if he were angry.
But he was certainly not someone who would send her away for such a reason.
Though she was confused, there was one thing she had to make certain.
“I absolutely cannot leave the Young Cult Leader.”
Forcing herself to smile, she spoke as if joking.
“What are you saying? I told you, didn’t I? I’m going to stick right by Young Master’s side and live comfortably for the rest of my life.”
Ian did not think of pride or anything of the sort.
“I’ll cling to your trouser leg. You know, don’t you? When I say I’ll do something, I do it.”
But Geom Mugeuk was firm.
“You must leave.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s resolute attitude, she despaired.
“You said I was your heart, didn’t you? Can you live without a heart?”
Words that stabbed her heart like a sword flew toward her.
“I will replace it with a new heart.”
“!”
Even at this moment, he spoke to her respectfully, making Geom Mugeuk feel like a stranger. To make her leave so suddenly, and in such a beautiful place.
“Tell me the reason. If I can’t accept it, I won’t leave. You said I had patience that never gives up? No, I trained until that late at night so I could fight back at times like this.”
Geom Mugeuk revealed the reason.
“Because only then can we move on to what comes next.”
Ian could not understand what he meant, so she waited for his next words. But the answer that came was still incomprehensible.
“I did not mean I would send Miss I away.”
“What does that mean? Until just now, you were trying to send me away.”
“What I mean to send away is Ian, who calls me Young Master.”
Ian’s eyes widened.
“And Ian, who feels afraid of me.”
After a brief pause, Geom Mugeuk calmly added,
“I am sending away Ian, who thinks she and I can never be. Miss I, after those Ians have gone, will become my new heart.”
Only then could Ian know for certain. Just as she had first felt, Geom Mugeuk was standing before her as a man.
“It does not matter if you cannot make jokes, and it does not matter if you only forced yourself to sympathize with me because I was the Young Cult Leader. It does not matter if you lack willpower, or if your kindness was a survival strategy. I...”
Geom Mugeuk, who was usually as fluent as flowing water, was clearly nervous at this moment.
“Wait! Don’t! Don’t say anything!”
At her cry, Geom Mugeuk stopped speaking for a moment.
“You must hear it.”
“I don’t want to. No, I’ll hear it, so just a moment!”
Ian covered her ears and closed her eyes like a child.
She knew what he was about to say.
The moment those words were spoken, they would not be able to go back to how they were before.
She liked Geom Mugeuk.
From the day she had first stood before the Young Cult Leader as a little girl until now.
Geom Mugeuk had called her his heart and cherished her more than anyone. Nowhere, before no one, had he ever hesitated to call her his heart. Not once had he compared her to anyone else, nor had he been ashamed of her.
But both she and Geom Mugeuk had kept the line.
Now Geom Mugeuk was trying to cross that line.
Geom Mugeuk took Ian’s wrists and pulled away the hands covering her ears. Ian slowly opened her eyes. Geom Mugeuk gazed at her and said,
“I like Miss I, who stands before me now, as a woman.”
Ian’s body began to tremble. Joy, tension, fear, excitement, happiness... truly, all sorts of emotions mixed together and wrapped around her.
If she accepted his heart, she would become the wife of the Heavenly Demon.
She would become the Demon Empress.
Ian stood at the most important crossroads of her life. Her answer would change the life ahead of her. Hers, and Geom Mugeuk’s as well.
She was confident she could overcome any hardship that came from this choice. Because she sincerely liked Geom Mugeuk.
The only thing that made her hesitate was this.
“Will you not regret choosing me?”
Geom Mugeuk gazed at her and said,
“I am not as perfect a person as Miss I thinks. I am darker than I appear.
Though I seem to get along well with people, I like being alone, and I am the sort of person who buys worries I do not need to have. Because I have stained these hands with so much blood, misfortune may cling to me for the rest of my life.”
Geom Mugeuk returned the question she had asked him.
“Would you be all right with someone like me?”
The two of them looked at each other in silence. A single firefly passed between them.
At last, Ian conveyed her heart.
“I was entrusted to the Divine Cult when I was young, and I survived until now to face this moment. No misfortune will ever defeat my luck.”
Because those words meant she would accept him, Geom Mugeuk smiled brightly and said,
“Until now, you have protected me, so for the rest of our lives, I will protect you.”
Ian was the first to take one more step toward Geom Mugeuk. Gazing quietly at his face, she spoke in a low but forceful voice.
“No. My dark, worry-filled man is for me to protect.”
Her face drew closer to Geom Mugeuk’s. Her soft lips touched Geom Mugeuk’s lips.
Her heart pounded as though it would burst, and her face flushed bright red. She did not know where such courage had come from.
Yes, though she had always stood behind him until now, perhaps it was her will to step proudly forward from now on.
As she tried to retreat in embarrassment, Geom Mugeuk pulled her to him.
This time, Geom Mugeuk kissed her. It was a very sweet and deep kiss.
Around the two of them, the fireflies shone all at once.
The fireflies of that night did not go out for a long, long time.
***
The next morning.
The Cheonhwaru Master went to the kitchen early.
In the place where the Cheonhwaru cooks, who had been cooking until late at night, had left, she rolled up her sleeves.
She intended to show her skills after a long while for Ian, who had said she wanted to eat home-cooked food.
Just as she was setting a pot on the stove to boil water, Ian entered.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Why are you up so early? It seemed you came back late yesterday. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, I slept well.”
But Ian had not slept a wink last night. Yesterday, she had experienced clearly that just as one could not sleep from being too troubled or worried, one also could not sleep from being too happy.
“How was that place?”
“It was wonderful.”
To Ian, that place had become somewhere she would never forget. How could she forget that place, and what had happened there? Ian was truly grateful to the Cheonhwaru Master for telling her about that beautiful location.
The Cheonhwaru Master could tell. Ian of yesterday and Ian of today had changed. She knew not because she was the Cheonhwaru Master who received prophecies, but because she was a woman.
“I’ll help too.”
“Would you?”
Ian brought the ingredients the Cheonhwaru Master told her to fetch from the storage room, then washed them in clean water.
As the two of them prepared the food, Geom Mugeuk suddenly poked his head in.
“I smell something delicious.”
The Cheonhwaru Master opened the pot lid and said to Geom Mugeuk,
“We haven’t boiled anything yet.”
“Do you think you can only recognize a master when they draw a sword? You can tell just by how they stand.”
Geom Mugeuk looked at the ingredients sliced to one side and exclaimed in admiration.
“As expected! Our Ian truly works well!”
At that, the Cheonhwaru Master said,
“I did that.”
Geom Mugeuk sat down beside Ian, who was trimming vegetables, with an awkward smile.
“I’ll help too.”
“Yes, Young Cult Leader.”
He sat as he usually did, but it was not like usual.
Geom Mugeuk kept glancing at Ian. Ian sensed his gaze, but deliberately pretended not to notice.
“I have something to bring for a moment.”
When the Cheonhwaru Master briefly left her seat, Ian whispered to Geom Mugeuk,
“Why do you keep looking at me? No, why did you come here?”
“Why else? Because I wanted to help.”
“I don’t need it. Go outside and play with Lord Soma. And speak comfortably to me.”
“I refuse.”
Normally, in a secret romance, people spoke respectfully in front of others and casually when alone, but the two of them were the opposite.
“Ian, who was afraid of you, has already gone far away. Look, I’m calling you ‘you’ now, aren’t I? So treat me comfortably.”
“Then when we are alone, Miss I should treat me comfortably too.”
In truth, Ian had worried about this morning. When morning came, what if things became awkward? What if last night became as if it had never happened? She had worried about such things.
But it had been needless worry. That tension was continuing into the morning. No, rather, she liked this secret, hidden feeling.
“Do you really mean it?”
“I do.”
Ian almost spoke informally right away, but she could not bring herself to do it.
“This is the one thing I can’t do.”
“Then I cannot either.”
“Please do.”
Meaning that he should not be stubborn and should just do it, Ian lightly tugged at Geom Mugeuk’s sleeve. Then Geom Mugeuk was pulled toward her with a jerk like a doll.
“Did you want to embrace me that badly?”
“I only tugged lightly!”
Though Ian had not put any strength into it, Geom Mugeuk’s body jerked this way and that.
“Stop playing around. Even if the Heavenly Killing Star pulled you, you wouldn’t budge.”
The two of them laughed as they joked.
Just then, the Cheonhwaru Master returned carrying a small jar.
Before they knew it, Geom Mugeuk was washing vegetables in his original place as if nothing had happened. It was truly a lightning-fast movement.
‘He’s fast.’
Ian inwardly marveled that a person could move that quickly.
The Cheonhwaru Master looked at the two of them.
“Did you two perhaps fight?”
“If one dared to fight me, they would go straight to our cult’s underground prison. But why do you ask?”
“For some reason, there seems to be an awkward air about you.”
At that moment, the presence of their savior was heard outside.
“It seems Lord Soma has come out. I will go out and wait.”
Geom Mugeuk hurried outside.
The Cheonhwaru Master smiled and said casually,
“For some reason, you seem rather flustered today. Am I right?”
At the Cheonhwaru Master’s question, Ian did not answer. She was staring at the door through which Geom Mugeuk had disappeared, lost in thought. The Cheonhwaru Master looked at her and smiled.
“This side as well.”
Only then did Ian turn back to the Cheonhwaru Master and say,
“Yes? What did you say?”
“I said it’s a shame. If that Heavenly Killing Star had attacked today, we would have won.”
Sensing what she meant, Ian’s cheeks reddened slightly.
The Cheonhwaru Master did not embarrass her any further and began cooking.
“Now, bring the trimmed vegetables here.”
“Yes.”
She properly learned cooking from the Cheonhwaru Master.
Ian could originally make noodles and a few dishes fairly well, but she was no match for the Cheonhwaru Master.
She learned from the very basics. Though she had held a blade for so long, she even learned anew how to hold a kitchen knife. How to prepare ingredients,
when and in what order to add them, how to control the fire, and even how to adjust the final seasoning.
The Cheonhwaru Master’s cooking skills were excellent, and Ian learned earnestly.
A little while later, the food was laid out, and the four of them sat around it together.
Because Ian was present, the masked Extreme Evil Soma naturally only joined them at the table. Even if he did not eat, there was meaning in sitting together.
“Truly delicious!”
Geom Mugeuk exclaimed in admiration at the Master of Cheonhwaru’s cooking.
“You need to put out a revised edition of Culinary Tour of the Central Plains. You have to put the Master of Cheonhwaru on the very first page.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s words, the Master of Cheonhwaru laughed.
“When you include me, don’t forget this warrior as my assistant!”
“I only did as I was told. Would it taste like this if I made it on my own?”
“You have good hands, so you’ll learn quickly.”
“I’ll have to ask you sometime and properly learn from you, Pavilion Master.”
Just then, a breeze blowing in through the window stirred Ian’s hair. Geom Mugeuk, sitting beside her, absentmindedly raised his hand as if to smooth it back, then caught himself and let that hand move toward his chopsticks instead.
Geugak Soma looked at the Master of Cheonhwaru. The Master of Cheonhwaru gave a slight nod.
Behind his mask, Geugak Soma’s eyes smiled brightly.
“Allow me to pour you a drink.”
Geugak Soma first poured wine for Geom Mugeuk, then filled Ian’s cup next.
“You too, warrior. Please accept a cup.”
The look in Geugak Soma’s eyes and his manner toward Ian had changed. They had become more courteous, more gentle.
From that, Ian could tell. Geugak Soma had realized the nature of her relationship with Geom Mugeuk.
Ian spoke politely. She knew better than anyone the relationship between Geom Mugeuk and Soma.
“I look forward to your guidance from here on.”
“If you are the warrior I have seen until now, I believe you will become a splendid Demon Empress.”
“That is still more than I dare presume to bear.”
Ian bowed her head modestly. The weight carried by the words Demon Empress was the heaviest single phrase in her life.
For Geugak Soma to show her this much courtesy was also courtesy toward Geom Mugeuk.
After pouring wine for Geugak Soma and the Master of Cheonhwaru, Geom Mugeuk made the official announcement.
“Starting today, it is our first day together.”
This time, Ian lowered her head again out of embarrassment.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
They all celebrated and raised their cups in a toast.
The Master of Cheonhwaru said in good spirits,
“It’s an honor. To be able to share in this historic first day.”
One could feel that this moment was not merely changing the fate of the two of them. It was a moment that would have a great influence on the fate of the martial world as well.
Outside the building, standing guard, the Crescent-Moon Faceless Guest and Sipchilgyo looked at each other and exchanged moved glances.
To think they were present at this moment in history! At the very place where the Young Cult Leader, who had brought their own love together, was entering into love himself.
Geom Mugeuk asked the two of them,
“How in the world did you know? Was it obvious?”
When he asked in earnest, Geugak Soma and the Master of Cheonhwaru laughed together.
“It was beyond obvious. You had practically pasted it onto your face.”
The Master of Cheonhwaru added with a smile,
“It isn’t something you can hide just because you want to.”
Geom Mugeuk confessed honestly.
“To tell you the truth, I wanted to show it off.”
Ian said to Geom Mugeuk,
“Even though you possess such incredible martial arts, you never once showed them off.”
The four of them laughed together.
After breakfast, Geom Mugeuk and Ian left Cheonhwaru. Geugak Soma and the Master of Cheonhwaru did not hold them back and ask them to stay longer, nor did they ask where they were going.
“We’ll come visit again next time.”
“Come whenever you like. The doors of Cheonhwaru are always open to the two of you.”
He bid farewell to Geugak Soma by sound transmission.
—I’ll trust in you, Lord Soma, and become happy.
Geugak Soma was deeply grateful that Geom Mugeuk had accepted his advice.
—Trust only in me and be happy to your heart’s content.
The two looked at each other and smiled brightly.
Geom Mugeuk and Ian left Cheonhwaru.
Geugak Soma and the Master of Cheonhwaru stood side by side, watching them leave.
The Crescent-Moon Faceless Guest and Sipchilgyo watched while crouching side by side on the branch of a great tree that stretched over the wall of Cheonhwaru.
Once they had moved away from Cheonhwaru, Geom Mugeuk held out his hand to Ian.
A little shyly, Ian took that hand with a radiant smile.
Hand in hand, the two vanished as if melting into the dazzling sunlight.