Bioegun
"How is your body?"
"..."
At those words, Namgung Bia did not offer any answer.
She merely watched the young man in silence.
"I say this in case you might be concerned."
The young man pointed at Namgung Bia's waist.
"The treatment was not done by me. I had another woman see to it, so you need not worry...."
"I am not concerned."
"...I see."
At Namgung Bia's firm answer, the young man laughed awkwardly.
"Let me ask again. How is your body?"
"..."
To the young man's question, Namgung Bia once again did not answer.
She merely showed him the shackles bound to her hands.
Clank.
A sound rang from the chains on her hands.
When the young man looked at them, Namgung Bia spoke.
"Undo them."
"Haha."
He could only laugh in disbelief.
To think she would demand it so boldly.
"If I could, I would have done so long ago."
"Then undo them now."
"Geom Muhui, I say this because it cannot be done."
"...Why?"
"..."
Why, she asks.
For a moment, he was at a loss for words.
How was he supposed to answer that?
Looking at the woman who asked with a face that truly seemed not to know, the young man had to smile bitterly.
"Because if I am not to kill you, this is the only way."
The words offered as an answer instead circled back and tore the young man's heart to shreds.
It was truly an unspeakably wretched thing to say.
"Do not even think of escaping. Those are not shackles that can be easily broken."
"..."
Hearing this, Namgung Bia's expression changed subtly.
She had already been discreetly testing her strength against the shackles.
And so she realized.
"It's these."
Her qi did not flow properly, perhaps because of the shackles. Noticing Namgung Bia's actions,
"As your internal injuries have likely not fully healed either, rest for now."
The young man spoke in a flat tone.
"..."
Upon hearing his words, Namgung Bia had to secretly release the strength she had been applying.
Afterward, Namgung Bia turned her gaze and surveyed her surroundings.
Vrrm—!
The continuously vibrating noea bothered her, but for now, observing her surroundings took priority.
It was dark, so she could not see properly, but it did not feel like a simple prison cell.
Feeling something brush against the tip of her nose, Namgung Bia spoke to the young man.
"A formation?"
"Indeed."
A formation had been cast in the space.
She could tell that much, but she could not properly grasp the situation.
Had it distorted space?
Because her qi was blocked by the shackles, it was even harder to tell.
In other words, there was nothing she could do at the moment.
"Hmm...."
Having grasped that much, Namgung Bia abruptly lowered her body and shifted her posture.
"Huh?"
Seeing that, the young man let out a startled breath.
Because it was absurd.
Namgung Bia had lain down.
As if she intended to simply rest in this situation, she had assumed the most comfortable posture in the world.
"...What are you doing?"
When the young man asked upon seeing that, Namgung Bia turned only her head to speak to him.
"...I'm going to sleep."
"In this situation...?"
"...You...won't undo them."
"That is true, but...."
What gave her such nerve?
It was completely unexpected. To think she would lie down without a moment's hesitation.
Seeing that, he felt even more torn inside.
So he had no choice but to ask.
"Why... aren't you asking?"
Why aren't you asking? That was what he had to ask.
Hearing that question, Namgung Bia quietly stared at the young man.
A somewhat uncomfortable silence fell.
She knew what the young man was asking.
Why it had to be like this.
How he had created this situation.
It would be a question of why she was not asking these things.
"I asked... didn't I?"
She had already asked at their meeting before she lost consciousness.
She remembered the answer from that time as well.
"You said there was something you had to protect."
"..."
There's something to protect.
Just as you do.
I too do what I must because it is so.
They had shared such a conversation.
"Beyond that... what more is there...?"
"...Nothing more."
Words drawn out to the very limit of what could be spoken.
One might say that was the young man's best.
But to the one who heard them, they were only frustrating words.
Even though she clearly knew this, Namgung Bia did not ask anything further.
The young man simply could not understand that.
"Do you not resent me?"
It was the young man who had targeted Namgung Bia as she fled.
He had built up troops and blocked her escape route.
He had sent a Great General of at least Hwagyeong rank and dozens of troops to inflict external and internal injuries on Namgung Bia.
Had that too been something that had to be done?
The young man could not be certain of this.
To say it had to be done would be an excuse.
To say he did it knowing he shouldn't would be a pretext.
In the end, he was also the one who rescued Namgung Bia, but this too was merely self-satisfaction unable to overcome guilt.
Hearing this question, Namgung Bia answered.
"...Not particularly...?"
Meaning she did not think much of it.
How could she not resent him?
The moment a question was about to arise upon hearing the answer,
"You made that choice."
Namgung Bia spoke in a flat voice.
"I believe... there must have been some reason...."
"..."
Words filled with firm conviction.
At those words, the young man had to wipe away his bitter smile.
Now he could not even smile.
"Because you are that person's friend."
The words became a sword and pierced Uhyeok's heart.
No, he had decided not to call himself Uhyeok anymore.
The memories of that time had to be left in a distant place.
Only then could he live in the present.
"Haha... Is that all the reason you have for trusting me?"
"Is more needed?"
"Normally, far more would be needed."
Yes, far more. There should be many reasons.
But.
For you, that alone is enough. That must be what she means.
The young man erased the face of his friend that rose with those words.
"Geom Muhui."
"Yes."
"Still. Do you think that friend sees me as a friend?"
"I don't know."
As if asking how she could know such a thing.
Such emotion was contained in it.
Of course, the young man thought no inwardly.
When that friend learned of this matter.
What expression would that friend have when looking at him?
It was not a thought he wanted to entertain.
Whoosh.
In the chill wind blowing between them.
"...Then... what about you?"
Now, even thinking of that.
And looking back on the path he had come.
It was far too late.
Screech.
The young man rose from the chair he had been sitting in.
He did not answer the question.
"I shall take my leave."
"..."
Namgung Bia too did not seem to expect an answer.
The young man turned and headed for the door.
Namgung Bia, who had been quietly watching his back, suddenly spoke.
"...Still."
At that voice,
"If you meet... that person, apologize."
He froze.
At Namgung Bia's words, the young man's body stiffened rigidly.
A tone filled with resolute, cold emotion.
Though she had faced her own situation and pain indifferently, this alone was different.
"He will hurt greatly."
"...Hurt? That friend?"
"Because he is a tender person."
Tender.
It was the word least suited to that friend.
In the young man's eyes, that friend was someone who seemed like he would not collapse even if the whole world crumbled around him.
"If you make him cry, I will not forgive you."
"..."
Was that not an unusual thing to say in this situation?
He had such a thought, but the young man did not argue.
He did not even have the right to do so.
"...Yes, if I ever meet him, I shall certainly apologize."
He would be in the Central Plains about now.
If he heard news later, or if by chance that friend came to the North Sea by then,
'I... will already be gone.'
He would no longer be in this land.
It would be that moment.
And it was an inevitability.
'I hope... he will accept that as my apology.'
If he apologized with his life, perhaps it would still be of some help.
Such a pointless thought crossed his mind.
Creak.
The young man grasped the doorknob, opened the door, and stepped outside.
Stepping out of the room, he erased the thoughts in his head.
There was only one thing to fill the young man's head now.
"Cheong-a! Cheong-a!"
The very distant past.
The time when the young man was called by a name other than Uhyeok.
A memory of the happiest time.
A white-haired girl who ran up brightly asking to play rose in the young man's mind.
"Let's play!"
As if she did not care a whit about the boy's circumstances.
The girl sought the boy with a smile.
It was merely such a memory.
Days that were nothing special—ordinary daily life to someone.
That he had to embrace alone.
Such a memory.
The day he left the North Sea and headed for the Central Plains.
The boy remembered the words he had said to the girl.
"If, if by any chance. If I survive and can see you again."
Even with arrows lodged in his back and blood pouring out, the boy spoke to the crying girl.
"Then—."
The rising memory stopped in its place and scattered like fog.
Because the young man shook his head, deliberately erasing it.
There was no need to recall it any longer.
Even this was an excuse.
An excuse that no one would understand.
The young man walked again.
Step.
The sound of footsteps filled the passageway.
Not a single lantern was lit in the dark corridor.
*************
A full moon floated in the dark sky.
As if to prove it was night, the surroundings were dark.
Snow was falling sickeningly.
"Are they fucking crazy?"
He cursed while pushing through the blizzard.
Why did this crazy weather show no signs of calming down?
The more he looked at it, the more his affection dropped.
What kind of shitty land was this?
It was truly absurd.
Didn't they say the North Sea has snow all year round?
It was said that when the Blood Demon caused the Blood Tribulation, some incident occurred in the North Sea itself that changed the environment like this.
When he had only heard of it, it was merely an "I see."
Seeing it in person, it was even more fucked up.
"How on earth can people live here?"
The cold was endless and the snow fell incessantly, so of course farming was impossible.
Then what food could be obtained in this environment... Ultimately, wouldn't it only be hunting?
It seemed there was no choice but to catch and eat something.
How many beasts could there even be in this cold was the question.
Seeing that people survived even in this situation, there must be some way.
Whatever it was, it didn't change that this was a shitty land.
Swhaaa—!
Not an inch ahead could be seen because of the blizzard.
He wondered how to find the way in this environment, but in truth, it didn't matter where he looked.
Vrrm—!
He only needed to feel the vibrations in his heart and go.
Moving, he adjusted his steps.
'North from here.'
He shifted his path.
Toward the direction where he could feel the qi.
Of course, no matter how much he moved, all he could still see was the blizzard.
He looked at it and spoke.
"This is really a shitty land."
Were people claiming this was land? It was enough to make his blood boil.
As he gritted his teeth and spat out curses,
"Ahem...."
An uncomfortable coughing sound came from behind him.
"Well, no matter what... cursing like that in front of someone who lives here is...."
"What, you got a complaint?"
"...No."
About to shoot out another retort, the woman shut her mouth with a sullen voice.
Right, she had nothing to say.
If she said the wrong thing here, he would leave her behind.
Hearing the woman's answer, he looked ahead again.
"Really, such shitty luck."
As if the situation wasn't bad enough already.
"The weather is this shitty, and I have to carry such heavy baggage too."
"H-heavy?!"
Perhaps slightly offended, the woman's voice grew louder.
"Then you're the heavy baggage."
"...It's not heavy."
However, she didn't seem to deny being called baggage.
"Not heavy? Have you no conscience? Well, if you had one, you wouldn't have followed me like this."
"No...!"
"Ah, shut up. One more word and I'll leave you behind."
"..."
Warned, she finally quieted down.
Haah.
Letting out a sigh, he moved again.
On a road that still seemed quite long.
I.
Was moving together with Yuri, a maiden of the Ice Palace of the North Sea.
And at that, while carrying her on my back.