DEB 37

Drip, drip.

After having an honest conversation with Huigang for the first time in a long while and reminiscing about various trivial matters, Huiyun fell asleep feeling good. He felt something damp falling on his face and turned his head. He was deeply asleep, so lifting his eyelids felt slow and burdensome.

Drip, drip.

As if urging him, lukewarm liquid that was neither cold nor hot continued to drip onto his face. Huiyun frowned and slowly blinked his eyes. His blurry vision cleared, and he identified the source of the liquid dripping onto his face.

Kwon Jiwook.

He was on the bed, or more precisely, on top of Huiyun, dripping transparent liquid. For a moment, all thoughts stopped, and his mind went blank.

“Ha….”

A wet breath touched his ears. Huiyun, unable to believe the situation in front of him, closed and opened his eyes again. It seemed like he was still dreaming.

Kwon Jiwook was sitting on top of him, crying.

It was unreal. Just a bit of rational thought made it clear that this couldn’t happen, and he tried to dismiss it as a nightmare and close his eyes again.

“Yasha.”

A man with Jiwook’s face spoke in Jiwook’s exact voice. Chilled to the bone, Huiyun firmly closed his eyes again.

What kind of nightmare is this?

The feeling of being pressed down was clear, and it was hard to even move a finger, making it more like sleep paralysis. The conversation with Huigang had been peaceful and reassuring, so why was he having such a dream?

As he tried to deny the hallucination, Jiwook called out to Huiyun again. No matter how much he kept his eyes closed, the old name kept being mentioned. The call stuck like a ghost, and Huiyun eventually opened his eyes.

Jiwook’s figure in his sight was as clear as it had been at the beginning. There wasn’t a single blurry spot, which made it seem like he was confirming that he was a real person.

“…Kwon Jiwook?”

Huiyun, who had been treating Jiwook as a mere nightmare, hesitated and called his name in front of the undeniable reality. Jiwook’s blue eyes were reflected in Huiyun’s.

‘Why are you doing this?’ He asked with his eyes, and the man, whose expression blurred, closed his eyelids. Another drop of water from his eyes fell on Huiyun’s cheek.

Hot when it fell, but cold after a few seconds. 

All senses became vivid, and Huiyun realized it wasn’t a dream, causing his fingertips to twitch.

“Why, …why do you keep trying to leave?”

“…”

The confused and trembling voice, like that of a child, was quite familiar.

It was the same voice Jiwook had when he first met Huiyun at the gate and mistook him for Yasha. A voice that seemed to resent, hate, yet unsure how to deal with the affection lurking deep within.

Back then, Huiyun had been too bewildered to fully understand the emotions, but now they poured out of Jiwook, carrying an even deeper sorrow.

“I don’t know. Why did you leave? Are you still trying to leave because I still don’t know that?”

“…Kwon Jiwook.”

“You weren’t supposed to leave like that. You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Kwon Jiwook!”

“I thought you’d regret it.”

No matter how many times he called Jiwook, there was no response. He only said what he wanted to say, just like Juan had once done.

“…Vina.”

“…Ha. I thought you’d regret it, Yasha.”

When called by his old name, the man flinched, then bit his lip and spoke harshly. His gaze, filled with resentment so intense it was close to hatred, pierced through Huiyun. The moment he met those eyes, Huiyun was no longer Mok Huiyun, a 20-year-old, but Yasha. Jiwook’s gaze, trapped in the past, had the power to instantly drag Huiyun back to the past.

“I thought you’d regret leaving us like that. I thought you’d promise not to leave again when we met, even make excuses… but why are you trying to leave again?”

“…”

“I don’t understand you, Yasha.”

“…”

“Do you regret leaving us? Do you feel sorry for us?”

That was a deeply probing question. Caught off guard by the sudden question, Huiyun couldn’t find the words and looked away, causing Jiwook to laugh bitterly.

Drip.

A drop of clear liquid fell precisely into Huiyun’s eye, making it impossible to tell whose tears they were.

“I wanted you to regret it.” 

“…”

“I wanted you to feel more guilty when you saw me, but it doesn’t seem like it at all.”

“…Stop it, Kwon Jiwook. Acting like this won’t make me Yasha-.”

Hup!

A cold hand clamped over his mouth. Startled, Huiyun looked up at Jiwook with wide eyes. The eyes meeting his were clearly not sane.

“How much do I have to fall apart for you to be shaken?”

The chill seeped into his bones as if he had stepped into a gloomy ruin. Jiwook, who had been glaring at Huiyun with burning eyes, now muttered to himself with slightly unfocused eyes.

“How much do I have to fall, how much do I have to twist for you to be shaken? How anxious do I have to be for you to say you’ll stay by my side?”

The questions, continuing without waiting for answers, seemed like some kind of incantation. Huiyun shook his face and hand vigorously, trying to escape Jiwook’s grip. He put in as much strength as he could, but in front of an S-class, he couldn’t fight back properly. He barely managed to turn his head enough to breathe.

“Please…! Kwon Jiwook!”

“Yasha.”

“Vina!”

As Huiyun shouted urgently at the unfocused Jiwook, he called out his old name simultaneously.

Yippp, Yipp.

Siho, who had been curled up and sleeping on the table, noticed the commotion and woke up crying.

—

**The First Chapter of the Disciple education book for Reincarnator Unfolds!**

[Disciple education book for Reincarnator- Chapter 1]

– Discipline unruly disciples by first soothing them and then admonishing them.

Reconcile with the fallen disciple who feels betrayed due to your long absence and then make them apologize for their rude behavior.

**Reward:** Progress 5%, One Command Roulette Ticket

**Time Limit:** 3 hours

—

With Siho’s cry, the blue-lit Disciple education book for Reincarnator filled Huiyun’s view. Already distressed by the uninvited midnight guest, Huiyun was dumbfounded by the sudden new guide and its first quest.

Soothing an unruly disciple before reprimanding them? How was he supposed to soothe him?

“I resent you, Yasha.”

“…Ugh!”

Even looking at Jiwook’s grip on his wrist, it was clear that it would soon bruise. He wasn’t in any state to listen to reason, and Jiwook’s tears fell heavily. Despite his fierce and ruthless demeanor earlier, he seemed to cry the most.

Just a few hours ago, he was acting like a vicious, cold-blooded person, and now he’s behaving like this. What was he supposed to do?

“…Stop crying.”

Since the guide said to soothe him first, Huiyun thought he should try saying something. The emptiness in Jiwook’s eyes slowly started to regain focus. However, the result was not good.

“After running away like that, leaving me behind, and now planning to leave again, you’re telling me to stop crying?”

“Kwon Jiwook.”

“You once regarded me as the most precious, and yet you abandoned me instantly.”

“…”

“You make me feel like a wretched being.”

…Ah.

As he finished speaking, Huiyun’s heart pounded wildly as if something hanging by a thread had snapped. Huiyun held his breath, his face stiffening, and Jiwook’s expression twisted, as if he were wounded by his own words.

Huiyun, seeing Jiwook’s precarious state, decided to take a step back.

“Stop crying, Vina.”

“…”

“When your tears stop, then we’ll talk.”

The words, weakly uttered, sounded a lot like Yasha. They resembled the voice of Yasha in his memories.

It felt strange. Speaking informally to him felt awkward and unsettling yet somehow nostalgic.

By taking a step back and soothing Jiwook, who had intruded in the night, he began to calm down.

Tick tock.

The ticking of the wall clock’s second hand grew louder, indicating the room was getting quieter.

At first, Jiwook let out a few sobs, but soon he collected his breath and fully calmed down. He blinked his eyes and let out a low sigh.

“…I.”

Breaking off his sentence, Jiwook looked around, seemingly assessing the situation, and then frowned in confusion. As if he had been truly possessed or insane, he now seemed fully conscious and even apologized politely before getting off Huiyun. His demeanor was completely different from a few minutes ago.

What on earth…

Huiyun, raising his body, was bewildered by Jiwook’s sudden change in behavior, feeling like he was dealing with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Jiwook, frustrated with his own situation, rubbed his face with his hands.

Suddenly, Huiyun recalled the description from the disciple training manual. A fallen disciple….

Was that related to Jiwook’s situation?

He had thought the term “fallen” simply referred to losing respect for his master, but now he wondered if it was something else entirely, causing a chill to run down his spine.

Huiyun’s eyes, momentarily filled with unease, focused on the troubled face of Jiwook.

It had been ten thousand years since Yasha’s death.

What had happened to his disciple during all that time?

“Yipp.”

Siho cried.

Perhaps the Disciple Education Book for Reincarnator held secrets and truths greater than Huiyun had imagined.