“I want to play more.”

At Geom Mugeuk’s words, Mabul nodded.

“Play more then.”

Mabul pinned all his hopes on changing Geom Mugeuk’s mind.

“But let’s leave this place. I don’t want to wander where the poison bugs swarm without Duke Dok.”

“Very well.”

Geom Mugeuk and Mabul retraced their steps.

After Duke Dok left, Mabul’s face looked noticeably more relaxed. Apparently, Duke Dok had also been a source of discomfort for him.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For coming all the way here to find me.”

“I thought you’ve been having a hard time lately.”

“I swam and took a walk after a long time. I feel much better now. How about you, Mabul-nim?”

“I enjoyed it too.”

But Mabul wasn’t really feeling that good. The fact that even Duke Dok openly supported Geom Mugeuk made him more anxious. Now only one method remained: changing Geom Mugeuk’s own heart.

“Those who have played know how to play. I wanted to have fun with you today, Mabul-nim, but that doesn’t seem easy.”

In response to Geom Mugeuk’s honest words, Mabul answered,

“When you’re young, doing things makes you feel like you’re playing, but as you get older, resting is playing.”

Mabul stopped briefly and looked up at the sky.

“It’s been a long time since I rested like this.”

Even this brief moment of gazing at the sky showed that Mabul was always tense. It looked like he had surfaced from a deep ocean to catch his breath. When he was beside his brother spitting curses, he had seemed nothing more than a cruel Majon…

“Doma-nim always tells me to rest if I’m having a hard time.”

Mabul looked at Geom Mugeuk and asked,

“Do I look tired?”

Then came an unexpected answer.

“When I look at you, I think you must have lived harder than anyone else.”

It wasn’t flattery—it was sincere.

“You’ve endured a lot.”

Mabul probably took it as flattery.

This was exactly what Geom Mugeuk had been trying to protect lately.

If there was something to say to someone, say it without delay.

Mabul also wanted someone to genuinely acknowledge his hardships, so Geom Mugeuk expressed it like this.

You’ve had it rough, Mabul.

Mabul felt it. The sincerity in Geom Mugeuk’s eyes.

Though Mabul tried hard not to show his feelings, passion flickered in his gaze.

‘Damn!’

How can someone so young look at a person with such deep eyes?

Mabul moved first, and Geom Mugeuk quietly followed behind.

They walked for a long while in silence, then stopped at a scenic spot.

“Let’s rest here for a bit.”

“Alright.”

Geom Mugeuk dipped his feet into the flowing clear stream.

“It’s so cool and nice. Mabul-nim, try putting your feet in too.”

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Of what?”

“Isn’t the Cheondok Forest full of all kinds of poisons? What if there’s poison in that stream?”

“I heard from Duke Dok that there’s no poison in flowing water. Please come in.”

“I’ll pass.”

“When was the last time you put your feet in a stream?”

Mabul couldn’t remember. Except when very young, had he ever done it? Maybe never?

“It’s my wish! Just once, please try it with me.”

“Don’t you have any better wishes?”

“I want to brag later. That when I was young, I soaked my feet in the stream with Mabul-nim, took walks, and even bet on finding poison herbs. I did it all.”

Mabul laughed with a look of disbelief.

“Those feet always dripping with blood and splashing around, sometimes you need a bit of luxury.”

Geom Mugeuk forcibly pulled him, and pretending to give in, Mabul took off his shoes and dipped his feet. They were small and shining.

“I’ve done all kinds of things in my life.”

That was the same for Duke Dok. Duke Dok had called it the most extraordinary of all things.

“Feels refreshing, doesn’t it?”

Mabul stared intently at Geom Mugeuk.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

“When I see you like this, you don’t seem like a youngster.”

“I grew up always watching my father’s mood. You know what kind of man our father is.”

“He’s not an easy man.”

Father was a cure-all. When it’s hard to explain, blaming father helped others understand to some extent.

“Mabul-nim, when was the happiest moment in your life?”

Mabul pondered briefly at Geom Mugeuk’s question.

When was it?

The past years flowed through Mabul’s mind like the stream where he dipped his feet. But he couldn’t recall many happy memories. Surely there must have been some.

Instead of answering, Mabul asked back.

“And you?”

“I’ve had several recently. As you know, I’ve been running around a lot. If I had to pick one, it was when I went hunting with my father.”

Surely that wasn’t the only happy time? But Geom Mugeuk didn’t tell Mabul about his dealings with the Majons.

“What did the leader say when you went hunting?”

“Whenever I talk, he just laughs at me. You know that, right?”

Geom Mugeuk mimicked his father laughing, and Mabul nodded.

“Pretty close.”

“I’ve been laughed at so much that I’m good at imitating now.”

Still, Mabul couldn’t recall a joyful moment, so Geom Mugeuk listed other pleasures.

“I enjoyed pretending to be someone else after leaving the sect. Oh, I have an investigator named Seo, my right hand. It’s fun teasing him. You know those people? They accept all the teasing. Not because they’re fools, but because they’re kind-hearted. Oh, there’s also Ian, the smartest and prettiest subordinate in the Central Plains. She’s beautiful, smart, and kind. Just thinking of her makes me happy. Also… I enjoy being quietly alone.”

Meanwhile, Mabul still could not recall.

“And you, Mabul-nim?”

“I’m good.”

“No matter how happy you were, if you don’t remember it, it just slips away. That’s a shame, isn’t it? So try thinking of even just one small thing.”

Geom Mugeuk was persistent.

“If it were me, I’d answer with anything just to get it over with.”

At that moment, Mabul suddenly said,

“The cave.”

Mabul recalled his childhood long ago.

“There was a back mountain I often climbed when I was young. There was a small cave there. I felt good when I was inside that cave.”

Mabul’s eyes deepened.

He had been small from childhood and different from other kids. He could endure being teased and ostracized by friends. But even his parents and siblings treating him no differently left deep wounds in his heart.

The day he discovered that cave was the same day he got hit by his younger brother for the first time. He was so small he couldn’t even match his younger brother in strength, who was several years younger. More upsetting than the beating was that the older brothers who watched didn’t stop it.

He wandered the mountain alone, crying.

Then he found that cave. Being small, he could crawl in. The entrance was so narrow that even children had difficulty entering, but Mabul could fit. Beyond the narrow opening was a small space where young Mabul could sit. There was a gap through which he could see outside.

Being there made him feel at ease and safe.

From that day, that place became Mabul’s hideout.

“I remember feeling good when I was in that cave.”

Geom Mugeuk felt a pang of sympathy. Asked for a happy moment, and it went all the way back to childhood?

“Could you describe the cave and surrounding scenery in detail?”

“Why?”

“Just because.”

After a rough description from Mabul, Geom Mugeuk asked more questions until he had enough details to draw a picture, then stopped.

“Why exactly did you ask?”

“Don’t be surprised.”

Snap!

At the snap of Geom Mugeuk’s fingers, they stood in front of the cave.

Mabul was startled. It was the same cave from his childhood. His own refuge, where he crawled inside to hide from the world.

“An illusion?”

Mabul’s voice trembled. He knew Geom Mugeuk’s martial skill was outstanding, but he hadn’t expected illusions.

“This is a martial art called Space-Time Illusion Technique.”

Geom Mugeuk answered honestly, and Mabul asked in a shaky voice,

“Is this the technique of Master Pungcheon?”

“Yes.”

“Ah!”

Having once been closest to Master Pungcheon, he knew about the technique.

“You passed this on to me?”

“Yes. Besides Master Pungcheon, only one other Majon knows that I learned this technique. It’s a secret even my father doesn’t know.”

“!”

Mabul was shocked.

“Why would you tell me such a secret?”

“Because I had to tell you to bring you to this cave.”

Then Mabul pulled his feet out of the stream and suddenly stood up.

“You brat!”

He was truly angry.

“This is what worries me: your emotional side! Sharing such secrets with your enemy because of impulsive feelings like this!”

Geom Mugeuk still gazed at the stream and said,

“Why am I your enemy?”

“!”

“You will become my Majon. Like the others.”

Geom Mugeuk’s gaze slowly turned to Mabul.

Their eyes met in the air. Sitting Geom Mugeuk and standing Mabul’s eye levels were close.

So Mabul could clearly see it: Geom Mugeuk’s eyes were firmer and more intense than ever before. The playful Geom Mugeuk was gone, replaced by the next Cheonma.

“Please become my Majon.”

At those words, Mabul’s chest tightened. Mixed feelings of overwhelming emotion and denial swirled inside.

Geom Mugeuk continued calmly.

“That’s right, I have Majons I like better. Those I follow like parents or masters, or regard like brothers and friends. Even Duke Dok was someone I could be like a dog and bark with.”

“Yes, but why? Even if you say I’m not your enemy, among the Majons you cherish, I’d probably be last in line. So why did you share this secret with me?”

Geom Mugeuk’s gaze returned to his feet submerged in the stream.

Splash, splash.

Playing with the water quietly, Geom Mugeuk said,

“To be honest, I don’t know either. Whether I should say this is my trump card, or it’s just impulsive emotion as you said, or respect for your loyalty to your brother.”

Geom Mugeuk stopped splashing.

“Or maybe it’s the cheap emotion my father called perfect for dying. I don’t know either.”

Mabul said softly,

“One day this kind of feeling will cause you a big mistake.”

“Then when that happens, please stop me.”

“!”

“I’m trying to get close to that kind of relationship with you. When I cleaned Duke Dok’s place, did he tell me to be selective about work? No. Even if I become the Cheonma, I’ll clean the Majons’ rooms if necessary. I’ll be that kind of Cheonma. Please stop me then. Say, ‘No, you emotional Cheonma bastard!’”

After a moment, Mabul refused.

“No.”

He still devoted himself unwaveringly to the Crown Prince.

The two fell silent for a moment.

Then Mabul suddenly said,

“Enlarge the cave entrance. Let me go in once. Oh, ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ and there’s a small gap in front of the cave where you can see the village below.”

Geom Mugeuk changed the cave as Mabul said.

Mabul crawled inside.

“Is it comfortable?”

“No, it’s narrow and suffocating.”

Why would he come to such a stifling cave every day?

He looked at the village from there. Geom Mugeuk had made it so detailed that smoke from cooking rose far in the distance.

From here, he would look down the path leading up to the cave where Geom Mugeuk now stood. With a faint hope that maybe his mother or brother would come find him to eat. Of course, that hope was never fulfilled even once.

Then one day, instead of going down the mountain, he descended the other way and left his hometown. He never returned.

Mabul looked at Geom Mugeuk through the narrow gap. Geom Mugeuk faced away, looking down at the village.

“Think about it — you must have had many happy moments. Maybe those old memories are the best, right? Like the first time you learned martial arts, or the day you became a Majon. There must have been days when someone truly recognized you. There are many happier days you don’t remember now. How about today? Weren’t you happy?”

Golden light radiated from the narrow gap in the cave.

“Who the hell are you?”

Still turned away, Geom Mugeuk said,

“I’m the one who will become your Cheonma. So come out of that narrow, suffocating place.”

‘Damn it, brat!’ might have been expected, but Mabul quietly came out and sat beside Geom Mugeuk.

They looked down at the village far below for a moment. Then they looked up and saw a bird flying.

“That’s the bird from back then. You brat, I’m not jealous of it anymore!”

At Geom Mugeuk’s shout, Mabul thought: I really need to find something else to express besides just calling him crazy.

Geom Mugeuk flopped backward.

“I’m going to lie down a bit.”

Huge fluffy clouds floated in the blue sky.

“Look at those clouds. I made them, but aren’t they amazing? Ah, this is nice.”

Lately, Mabul and Geom Mugeuk had looked up at the sky several times, but this moment felt the most relaxed. Mabul’s usual tense feeling seemed to loosen.

Yeah, this is enough. This looseness is enough.

Geom Mugeuk wasn’t doing this to become heir. He cherished Mabul because Mabul would become his Majon.

He just hoped that his feelings would reach him.

Just then, Mabul slowly lay back.

He rested his head on his hands and stared at the sky.

Then he closed his eyes.

He recalled lying here as a child, looking up at the sky. The tickling sensation of grass on his back, bird songs he heard then, the sound of the stream, ants crawling on his feet. Those memories blended vividly with the present sensations.

Seeing the faint smile forming at Mabul’s lips, Geom Mugeuk also closed his eyes with a peaceful heart.

A cool breeze blew, and sleep began to come.