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“When this is all over, perhaps I shall take you there.” “Where?” “To the sea—”
“As Wonsik-samchon once told me: Life has been and will always be painful and lonely, and the only way to make this life endurable is that we all work together, for each other.
“I don’t know what I was thinking. Tell me to leave,” he urged me desperately. I knew I ought to bid him farewell, yet my hands would not release his sleeve. “And if I do not?” After a long, tense moment, he leaned in, pressing his forehead gently against the curve of my shoulder. “Then I will be yours,” he confessed, his voice a soft caress, “and I shall be your ruin.”
“Are you quite certain about this?” He hesitated again, his voice a rough whisper. “You would brave a life with me?” “I would brave this life,” I murmured against him, “and a thousand more.”
“All I desire,” he whispered, tenderly caressing her hair, “is to live a peaceful and honorable life, and above all, to be remembered well by you once I’m gone.
When Iseul had stepped into his life, it had felt as though she had set a spark, which had grown into a fire that one huddled around on dark days.
Her arms tightened around him, and she buried her smile against his neck. “You know what I’ve wanted to know for days now? When did you know you loved me?” “The day you held the kitchen knife to my throat.”
“Iseul in rage was—and still is—a thrilling sight to behold.” “Must you always be teasing me?” “I’m always of a mind to tease you, Iseul-ah. Teasing you will be my lifelong joy.”
He grinned, then turned his head. Her cheek brushed his. “The truth is,” he whispered, his smile dimming, “it was when you told me to what extent you would go for your sister. I admired that. I admired you.”
They were mortals, with all their days numbered. Life would always be difficult for most, the world always harsh and cruel. There was never the right time to seize joy. One had to learn to laugh and love even in the darkest of times.
He then gently brushed his lips against hers. “Loving you,” he whispered, “feels like coming home.”
