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I. Wang Gakyeon
Seven year old Wang Gakyeon saw her father coming from afar and quickly put a wide grin on her face.
“Father!” She yelled, bounding excitedly towards him. Her father smelled of sweat and blood and dirt, probably from one of his… jobs.
Wang Gakyeon paid it no mind and hugged her father tightly.
It was nice to have a reminder that he was really alive. Her father was still here, really, really here.
“Did you have a good time, Gakyeon?” Her father asked.
Wang Gakyeon smiled brightly, just like she had practiced many times.
“Of course, Father!” She grinned, watching her father’s eyes crinkle in delight.
“Did you try to make some friends, as I told you to?” He asked.
Wang Gakyeon nodded almost immediately.
“Of course! I made some new friends today, and we played for a while! It was really fun!” Gakyeon gushed, making sure to keep her acting as natural as possible.
Wang Gakyeon talked about how she and her new friends had played hide and seek, along with various other games, and how she and her (imaginary) friends had such a good time today.
Wang Gakyeon watched as her father’s face loosened up and he smiled in relief.
“That’s good, Gakyeon,” her father said. “I’m really glad you have friends…”
Gakyeon smiled back, feeling a twinge of pain at her father’s words.
She was young, but she knew… she knew how much he cared about her and how much he wanted her to be happy….
Alas, everything she had just told him was a lie.
“You really made friends today, right, Gakyeon?” Her father asked.
“Of course, Dad,” Gakyeon nodded. “I really mean it!”
Her father sighed gratefully, and Wang Gakyeon smiled back, hiding her heavy thoughts.
How could she ever have friends? Wang Gakyeon wondered. She was too busy sharpening her archery skills, training, and moving around with her father as he worked from one place to another….
Friends?
She probably wouldn’t get it in this lifetime….
Several years later, though, as Wang Gakyeon sat on a bed and listened to Jin Cheonhee yap about his training with his Master and various medical treatments, she would find herself smiling — this time, a genuine smile.
Now, when her father asked her if she had friends, she could confidently tell him ‘yes’.
And this time, she wasn’t lying.
II. Yooho
Yooho had disliked the child Jin Cheonhee the first time he saw him. The moment Jaegal Lin decided to make this kid his disciple, Yooho had felt his heckles rise.
This was dangerous.
Far too dangerous.
His Master’s health wasn’t good to begin with, and having a disciple, of all things… it was too risky. This kid would most likely kill his Master or speed up his death, one way or another.
Yooho hated how cocky the Young Master was, too — acting all docile in front of Jaegal Lin and then smirking in front of him like the cat that got the cream. Yooho hated how this person was able to do all the things he wished he could’ve done, all the things he had strived to do, without so much as batting an eyelid.
Yooho saw everything — how the life and hope returned to Jaegal Lin’s eyes, how the man’s smiles turned warmer and warmer with each passing day, how the man’s aches and coldness were even mitigated by Jin Cheonhee’s ‘floor heating’….
Yooho knew, he knew, that Jaegal Lin was practically smitten by this kid. Jaegal Lin would kill for Jin Cheonhee… He wanted to live for him, too.
And this… this made him both happy and jealous.
Yooho was happy that his Master was getting the care and joy that he deserved, but he was also jealous that this kid, who seemingly popped out of nowhere, was able to get the man’s affection so easily.
Most of all, though, underneath the undercurrent of jealousy and mixed feelings, Yooho was scared.
He didn’t want to admit it, but he was, admittedly, quite scared.
His Master was finally happy… but at what cost? His health… What if this Jin Cheonhee simply sped up his death process?
What if he died?
It was horrible to think about, and sometimes, just sometimes, Yooho was tempted to rip of Jin Cheonhee’s head.
Other times, he found himself filled with an indescribable feeling of awe, respect, and even a hint of doting towards this Jin Cheonhee, this unique person….
One day, as Yooho couldn’t take it anymore — he cornered Jin Cheonhee and threatened him, telling him straight up that if he failed to cure his Master, Yooho would kill him.
Cheonhee had stood his ground, and Yooho had gritted his teeth at that sight.
“I really mean it,” Yooho had ground out, hands clenched so hard that his veins were practically bulging.
“I will kill you if you spout nonsense and fail to cure him,” Yooho spat out.
Jin Cheonhee agreed quite easily, and Yooho found himself feeling even more enraged, but he was unsure why.
How could this person be so sure of his abilities?
Was he not afraid of death?
As Yooho watched Jin Cheonhee’s development, watching as this kid excelled in everything and made Jaegal smile more than he had ever seen, he found himself asking a question — if the time really came, would he really be able to kill Jin Cheonhee?
III. Jin Cheonhee
“I won’t let you have an easy death, Master,” Jin Cheonhee had once said.
Jaegal Lin was sick, and even in the original novel, he was destined to die… This Cheonhee knew very clearly.
However, Cheonhee… couldn’t let the man die.
He simply couldn’t.
At first it was his doctor’s instincts that kicked in, the feeling that he absolutely had to save a patient, no matter the cost… But as he spent more and more time with his Master, Cheonhee really, truly, could not let the man die.
This was his Master, his heaven, the most important person in his life.
He had to save him, had to nurse him back to health.
Failure was not an option.
Honestly, Cheonhee chuckled at the memory of Yooho’s threat, Yooho really didn’t need to threaten him like so. Because Cheonhee knew… if Jaegal Lin died, Cheonhee would follow him.
How could he live with himself, knowing that his Master died under his hands?
Cheonhee used all his knowledge from the novel to cook up the best, most foolproof plan he could think of, one that would require a rare ingredient and a complex surgery, one that he would have to do himself.
Everything went well, for the most part — even if the Hwa Clan sent assassins to kill him and Jaegal was angry when he found out that Cheonhee had sneaked out….
It didn’t matter — Cheonhee’s priority was now saving his Master.
A day before the surgery, Cheonhee had sat by his Master’s bedside, the two of them talking for a while.
“I will save you, Master,” Jin Cheonhee had murmured. He was unsure if this was a promise to his Master or a sentence of reassurance towards himself.
“I really mean it,” Cheonhee added, and he saw his Master smile.
“I know, Hee. I know,” Jaegal Lin spoke gently.
“But even if it fails—”
“It won’t, Master,” Cheonhee interrupted. “I won’t let that happen.”
His Master smiled, and Cheonhee’s heart trembled.
Please… don’t let this be the last time he sees his Master smile….
IV. Jaegal Lin
When Jaegal Lin woke up, he felt… light.
He felt warm, too.
The usual stabbing ice-cold pain in his chest was gone, replaced with a warmth and coziness that he never expected before.
Memories of what happened filtered through his mind, and Jaegal Lin found himself smiling brightly.
The surgery was a success, then.
Jaegal Lin sat up and brushed his hair to the side, eyes widening when he saw a figure curled up by the side of his bed.
It was his disciple, Jin Cheonhee.
Jaegal Lin placed his hand on Cheonhee’s head and stroked gently, basking in the warmth and solace of this entire situation.
His disciple had did it.
He had done what many had considered impossible — even Jaegal himself had no hope of living before he met Cheonhee.
“Master, you’re awake,” a familiar voice sounded, and Jaegal nodded.
“Come in, Yooho.”
The orange-haired man stepped inside bringing a cup of warm tea, and Jaegal took the drink.
“…I can’t believe you’re actually healed, Sir,” Yooho spoke. “Congratulations.”
Jaegal hummed in reply.
“Did you not think that my disciple could save me?” Jaegal Lin asked, and Yooho hesitated to answer.
“No need to say anything,” Jaegal said. “I understand how you feel…”
Jaegal continued patting his disciple’s head — Cheonhee must be really tired, to stay asleep like this….
“I just hope Cheonhee understands how I feel — I hope he knows that I trust him completely, and that I truly mean what I say,” Jaegal Lin mused.
“…I’m sure the Young Master understands your feelings, Sir,” Yooho spoke up.
Jaegal Lin hummed.
“I truly hope so.”
“Hee needs to realize that I have faith in him. No matter what.”
Cheonhee shifted in his sleep, and Jaegal gently shushed him.
“Have a good rest, Hee.”
“You’ve worked hard…”