“There is someone important inside.”
Standing in front of the door the guard had pointed out, Soeun Yu hesitated for a moment.
Originally, she had come to Taewon to help Namgung Cheolbin. More precisely, to testify at his trial, insisting that the Sword Sage Namgung Cheolbin had never committed any crime.
Therefore, the idea of a visit hadn’t even crossed her mind. She didn’t know much about the legal procedures and formalities related to the trial anyway.
Behind this door was Namgung Cheolbin, her ex-husband. Though technically still husband on paper due to some official paperwork, they were practically strangers after their clan registrations were severed long ago.
“I need to apologize.”
The first thought that came to her mind was apology. Not the hollow apology back during the Seven Flowers incident, but a true one—a sincere acknowledgment of her mistakes.
For several months, she had prayed desperately, to the point of fainting from exhaustion at times. She prayed that she might be granted a chance to see her husband again and to kneel before him and apologize.
Only one thing troubled her now—how Namgung Cheolbin would react.
Back at the Seven Flowers incident, Soeun truly believed that Namgung Cheolbin had completely severed all ties with her. He had pushed her away with firm resolve when she pleaded with him.
But after that, particularly during the Qing Guang battle, Namgung Cheolbin had seemed different. Gripping his chest in despair, smashing his forehead against a tree… He was deeply anguished, and it seemed that cutting her off wasn’t simply out of hatred.
Moreover, there was this:
“In Master’s hands… there is the elixir of eternal life that you went through so much trouble to secure…”
If she apologized now, she might have to reveal how she knew the truth about Namgung Cheolbin’s situation. According to the rules of the Heavenly Way, Namgung Cheolbin would then know about his impending fate—that he was on borrowed time. Given his past actions when he saved Jade Flower, Namgung Cheolbin would not have been able to sit by and watch someone he cared for die, even after severing ties.
Soeun knew exactly how Namgung Cheolbin had obtained this rare elixir. She had seen it all through the Qing Guang mirror. The suffering he endured as a child, the self-loathing—it all came flooding back.
She had even felt the depth of his anguish herself, making her feel even more burdened.
“That… such a precious thing being wasted on someone like me…”
Standing outside the door, Soeun hesitated for a long time.
With her self-esteem already at rock bottom, she was afraid of the possibility—however slim—that Namgung Cheolbin might offer her the elixir.
“…Will you not come in?”
Just then, a male voice came from the other side of the closed door.
“Eh, excuse me?”
“Are you just going to stand there?”
“Uh, um… Master…”
It was a rough voice, like the grating of metal against metal. Though not familiar, it was immensely comforting to Soeun. She nearly collapsed from the sheer emotional weight of hearing it.
What prevented her from falling was not her strength, but the doorknob in her hand. As she stumbled, it swung open and nearly threw her inside.
Thud!
“Kyaaah!”
The private room was revealed as Soeun tumbled inside without any resistance. Just as she was about to collide with the cold floor…
Boom.
“…Be careful.”
The man inside extended his hand, emitting an invisible energy that cushioned her fall.
She had avoided a painful impact, but the awkwardness was already palpable. Soeun’s face turned red as she quickly regained her balance and stood up.
“T-thank you! M-m-my… M-ma… Master…”
“It’s been a long time.”
“Yes… ah… it has.”
“How have you been these past years?”
In the center of the private room sat Byul Rak on a chair. In front of him was a desk, and another chair placed as if preparing for an interrogation.
Soeun sat down demurely on the chair across from him before speaking.
“…Master.”
“Why do you look troubled?”
Figuring out where to begin talking was a daunting task.
There was a fear that telling the truth might lead to receiving the elixir, yet at the same time, Soeun lacked any alternate words to say.
“M…Master…”
“Speak your mind.”
However, she didn’t allow her hesitation to linger too long.
This could be their final meeting.
Whether she or he dies, or perhaps both—though the best outcome would be both surviving, that seemed highly improbable.
This conversation could be the last they ever share. This unexpected visit for a meeting, this heaven-sent rope, was less about saving her life and more about untangling their lingering regrets.
What’s the point of regretting after death? In Soeun’s mind, a vivid scene emerged. A scene where her foolish self, after arriving in the afterlife too late, slammed her fists on the ground in regret over this very moment.
During these past few months, had she not suffered enough? Her abdomen was constantly tingling with unease, her head dizzied by diminishing vitality, yet her regret and apology for him remained strong.
She didn’t want to return to that place of despair.
Even if the unworthy her didn’t deserve to look at him, she yearned to offer at least a reflection. That was all.
This was their third meeting. They had encountered twice during the Seven Flowers incident, but she had never properly apologized, having not understood the full scope of events then. Also, she was simply slow-witted.
She didn’t want to miss this chance—whether given by the court or heaven. This opportunity, like the sky urging her to accept, was already the third one, after the two she had previously kicked away like a sulking child. She’d endured too much regret already to let go of this final chance.
“I’m sorry.”
With such a mindset, that was the first thing she said.
Byul Rak’s eyes narrowed. His blue irises seemed to sink inwardly.
“I’m sorry. Truly.”
“Are you repeating yourself?”
“…It’s different from last time.”
During the Seven Flowers incident, what Soeun had said was closer to a proposal.
‘I’ll forget all your wrongdoings. Come back. Our daughter is struggling too much.’ It was a desperate plea, but it still placed her in a position of power.
Now, however, things were different. Very different.
There was no such power dynamics here.
She was merely apologizing as one human being wronging another.
“I’ve really, truly… wanted to say this.”
“Listen, Lady…”
“I’m sorry… truly sorry.”
“What, exactly, are you apologizing for?”
“Everything… I’m sorry for everything…”
The emotions she had bottled up for so long welled up inside her. They had been suppressed and suppressed, and now they burst forth like a babbling brook.
“I didn’t know anything, uh… how could I have pushed you away!”
Brook turned into a stream, and the stream surged into a waterfall. Her eyes, always bloodshot, finally released a torrent of tears.
“You always said you were wronged, but I never understood, I was narrow-minded, and stubborn…”
Once opened, the floodgate couldn’t be closed. The same was true for tear ducts. Torrents of regret poured as rain.
“I’m really… sorry… I apologize… it’s all… I’m really sorry…”
And it was so easy.
Just a few words.
Why hadn’t she done it before now?
Even though her vision was blurred by tears, paradoxically, her mind felt light and clear.
Thud.
Realizing that wiping the endless flood of tears was futile, Soeun reached out and grabbed one of Byul Rak’s large hands lying on the table.
And, slowly, she pulled it towards her, bowing her upper body.
“Don’t say sorry…”
Reaching up like a young child seeking care, Soeun rubbed her teary face against his hand.
And thus, the damp sensation of soaking tears covered his hand, but Byul Rak made no attempt to pull away. Not because he was reluctant, but because he was utterly stunned by the scene, unsure how her fragile condition would fit with her sudden apology.
“Just… please…”
She felt his hand as if it was a divine blessing, continuing her words.
This wasn’t a rational action. The tenderness of her nature and the collapse of her mental barriers intertwined instinctively.
“All I want… is for you to understand how sorry I am…”
“Lady…”
“Yes, yes? Why?”
Byul Rak, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
Staring at her, he asked with genuine bewilderment:
“What exactly is troubling you?”
“Yes?”
“What could possibly make you apologize to me? From your point of view, I don’t understand.”
“Master… that you were… discarded and ignored…”
“You thought me a villain, did you not? So why apologize for distancing yourself from me? Wasn’t it because I committed heinous crimes so vile I couldn’t even utter them?”
“No, no! Who could ever call you a villain! How could you ever be a villain!”
“…Could it be, you’ve decided to forgive me after saying you would forget? If that’s the case, that’s truly surprising… Could it be that your illness…”
“That’s not it! I know everything!”
Soeun, pressing her tearful face against the hand she was still holding, cried out painfully.
“Master… you were wrongfully accused…”
“…”
“Everything you endured—how they slandered you, who paid them to do it…”
“…”
“Even that you are someone who can travel through time… I know everything…”
From the moment she stepped into the private room, her thoughts and hesitations had all become irrelevant. Once emotions are unleashed, there’s no stopping them.
