CLS-Chapter 516

Chapter 516:

Jang-il looked at the two men with nervous eyes.

Wei Jeong-han’s composed face and Yeom Mong’s cold expression formed a strange standoff.

In the chilled atmosphere, Jang-il instinctively shrank back.

‘This is no joke.’

Jang-il’s mind held almost no information about Yeom Mong. He had heard the name, but didn’t know what kind of person he was.

He wasn’t particularly someone who had made a big name for himself in past wars.

But at this moment, Jang-il could feel it. Even if Gwon Geuk were to get angry, he wouldn’t be able to create this kind of atmosphere.

The overwhelming pressure created by someone who had dedicated his life and soul to a single purpose without ever looking back was at a level Jang-il had never experienced before.

‘To think such a person is rotting away in a place like this.’

No matter how he thought about it, this wasn’t manpower that should be wasted in such a place. Even if his martial prowess was significantly low, that person would surely be useful even outside of martial arts.

“Are you going to drive away a guest without offering him even a cup of water?”

But Wei Jeong-han was no pushover either.

He smoothly deflected Yeom Mong’s blade-like momentum.

Even seeing Wei Jeong-han’s smile, Yeom Mong didn’t soften his expression one bit.

“I told you to get lost.”

“Senior.”

Wei Jeong-han spoke leisurely.

“Why are you so angry?”

“You ask why?”

Yeom Mong glared at Wei Jeong-han as if dumbfounded.

“I thought peace had made your belly greasy, but it seems the grease went to your head instead. Have you forgotten what kind of place the Demonic Cult is?”

“How could I forget?”

“And someone who claims not to have forgotten that wants to walk into the Demonic Cult with his own feet? Why? Why don’t you just bite down on a blade and drop dead instead? By now there should be a hole dug for burying the alcohol we brought out, so if you just get in there instead of the wine jar, I’ll shovel the first load of dirt for you.”

It was scathing sarcasm.

But Wei Jeong-han didn’t get excited.

“I’m well aware of the Demonic Cult’s terror. As you know, senior, there are few who fear the Demonic Cult as much as I do.”

“Hmm.”

Though Yeom Mong had been lacing every word with sarcasm, he couldn’t deny this part.

Paradoxically, those who had fought most fiercely against the Demonic Cult were the ones who feared them most. The more they experienced them, the more they could feel their strength and cruelty to the bone.

And Wei Jeong-han was someone who had fought against the Demonic Cult ahead of anyone else.

“And someone who knows that is saying such things?”

“Senior.”

“Knowing and understanding are different. You know that, don’t you?”

“…Yes.”

Yeom Mong’s eyes grew cold.

“Sometimes thinking you know something well can bring disaster. Do you truly understand the terror of the Demonic Cult? Not just know it, but understand it?”

It was as if he had a blade on his tongue.

At the sharpness carved into the end of each word, Wei Jeong-han couldn’t help but flinch.

“I understand.”

“Do you truly understand?”

“Senior.”

Wei Jeong-han sighed and spoke.

“In the past, I thought so. That if there was something to fear, the way was to overcome it and fight. I naturally tried to do the same. There were many seniors in the world who fought against their fears.”

Yeom Mong looked at Wei Jeong-han with somewhat strange eyes.

What was he trying to say?

“But as I aged, had children, and lived carrying the weight on my back, I came to realize something. That not all those who risked their lives fighting the Demonic Cult alongside me in the past were fighting to overcome and defeat them.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“They weren’t trying to overcome them. They weren’t fighting out of a sense of mission. They simply did it because they had to.”

Yeom Mong fell silent.

Wei Jeong-han smiled bitterly.

In the past, they had always fought with their utmost at the front lines. When he turned his head, Yeom Mong was always there. They understood each other well enough to guess each other’s intentions without having to speak.

But now the gap between them had grown too wide.

‘Time can be cruel sometimes.’

Though they once understood each other so well, as much time had passed, they had become unable to understand each other. Not that it was all time’s fault.

“There are times when you must endure things you don’t want to do, things you want to run away from immediately. That’s different from enduring through your own will. That’s what being a family head is, that’s what being a father is. You endure because you have no choice.”

The taste in his mouth was bitter.

Though he was speaking, it didn’t seem like Yeom Mong would understand these words. He had been denied the opportunity to have the ordinary experiences that everyone else goes through.

The experience of forming a family normally, having children, and shouldering the weight of being a family head—however insignificant. The small happiness that is nothing special but can also be more powerful than anything else in the world. He couldn’t feel that.

“So…”

Yeom Mong asked with a somewhat disgruntled face.

“What are you trying to say?”

“That this isn’t something I want to do. If I think about it rationally and understand it, I know it’s something that shouldn’t be done. But this isn’t something I’m doing because I’ve reasoned it out in my head. I’m doing it because I have to.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m a father.”

“…”

Yeom Mong bit his lips hard.

Regardless of Yeom Mong’s reaction, Wei Jeong-han continued bitterly.

“The relationship between father and son is sometimes something that cannot be explained by reason. Though it’s utterly foolish, I must go. There’s no father who wouldn’t rush in despite the heat when his child is trapped in a fire.”

“You…”

Yeom Mong sighed.

“I thought you were quite a rational person. I thought you were someone who wouldn’t bleed a drop even if pricked with a needle, but you were hiding something this unreasonable. It’s frightening how people change.”

Everyone was concentrating on Wei Jeong-han and Yeom Mong’s conversation, barely able to breathe properly.

Though it wasn’t such a remarkable conversation, it strangely contained a force that overwhelmed the audience.

“I haven’t changed.”

A calm voice.

That’s why it sounded heavier.

“People all have various sides to them. It was in me from the beginning. And… yes, if I’ve changed, then I’ve changed. Actually, I don’t know myself. Whether I’ve changed or was always like this. What’s certain is that I can’t just sit here and wait.”

“Because you’re a father?”

“Because I am Wei Jeong-han.”

Yeom Mong quietly stared at Wei Jeong-han. Wei Jeong-han’s calm gaze and Yeom Mong’s sharp gaze engaged in a power struggle, neither giving an inch.

“I don’t understand.”

In the end, Yeom Mong shook his head.

“I don’t know whether you’ve changed or haven’t changed. Seeing you spout such nonsense, it seems you’ve changed, but seeing you push through with that nonsense, it seems you haven’t changed at all.”

Wei Jeong-han smiled bitterly.

He too wondered whether this was an insult or not.

“Anyway, it’s a story from a realm I cannot understand.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What’s there to be sorry about? It’s a life I chose. Do you think you have the right to pity a life I take pride in?”

“Of course not.”

“Then we just need to respect each other’s choices. I still don’t understand why you want to walk into the Demonic Cult…”

Yeom Mong shrugged his shoulders.

“There’s a duty to save someone in danger, but no obligation to stop someone trying to commit suicide. Do as you please.”

“I won’t die.”

“Sure you won’t.”

Looking at Wei Jeong-han’s good-natured face, Yeom Mong clicked his tongue.

‘Is this what time does?’

There was once a time when he thought that face was like a blade. Not because his features were sharp, but because the atmosphere Wei Jeong-han gave off made people see him that way.

But now he couldn’t find any trace of that old appearance in Wei Jeong-han’s face.

Is this what aging means, becoming rounded? He had thought that Wei Jeong-han, of all people, would never become rounded…

‘More curious than regrettable.’

He became curious about what this thing called ‘family’ was that could even round out such a man. This was Wei Jeong-han, who would spit venom even with a blade at his throat if it went against his convictions. For such a person to present himself as a father.

Yeom Mong shook his head.

‘I suppose everyone’s like that.’

He too couldn’t say he was the same as before.

At that moment, the barracks door opened and a wine jar flew inside.

“Branch Leader, I’ve brought it.”

“Tsk.”

Yeom Mong looked at Wei Jeong-han once with displeasure, then nodded.

“Though an unwelcome guest is still a guest. I have no choice but to offer a drink. This is a place with nothing but alcohol and dried meat, so don’t blame the snacks.”

“Even cold water would be greatly appreciated.”

“Stupid talk. Cold water is harder to get here.”

As the atmosphere lightened with their banter, a drinking table was quickly prepared. Wei Yan-ho was already wiping his face with a wet towel he’d gotten from somewhere.

“But how do you live in a place where sandstorms rage like this?”

“You just live and manage to live.”

“In such a harsh place?”

“Harsh…”

Yeom Mong chuckled quietly.

“If I say this, you might think some old fart is rambling about the old days.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t say it.”

“…Listen.”

“Yes.”

Yeom Mong said with a slight grimace.

“Where is there satisfaction in human life? When standing, people want to sit, when sitting, they want to lie down.”

“When I’m standing, I want to lie down though?”

At Wei Yan-ho’s natural response, Yeom Mong’s gaze turned to Wei Jeong-han.

Wei Jeong-han coughed loudly and avoided Yeom Mong’s gaze.

Wei Jeong-han always had nothing to say to the question of ‘where did you bring such a thing from?’

“I heard rumors, but they’re worse than the rumors. To think there’d be someone more excessive than your father.”

“Hehe, I’m not used to compliments.”

“…Right, let’s call it a compliment.”

Yeom Mong cleared his throat and continued.

“Compared to that hell where the number of people who share the same barracks decreases one by one each day after sleeping, this place is like heaven.”

“For heaven, it’s kind of dirty.”

“It’s somewhat like that.”

Yeom Mong lifted the wine jar and began filling the cups.

Though trying to remain calm, seeing a guest who had come after several years somehow lifted his spirits.

“Wet your throat.”

“Thank you.”

Seeing the wine being poured into the cup in front of him, Wei Yan-ho bowed his head.

‘He seems to have manners and yet not…’

By nature, he seemed to be someone completely removed from etiquette, but at least he’d received proper education so he knew how to maintain the formalities.

“Drink.”

The wine made a round.

Then, as soon as the wine cups hit the ground, Wei Yan-ho opened his mouth.

“But why are you staying here?”

“Why else? Because of those damn bastards.”

“The Demonic Cult?”

“That’s right.”

“What kind of place is the Demonic Cult?”

At that sudden question, Yeom Mong raised his head and looked at Wei Yan-ho.