I wish it would last. (9)
“Ahhh! This liquor really hits the spot.”
“…Geol-ah, since when did you like drinking so much?”
“But there’s no one watching right now.”
“Huh? What does that have to do with anything?”
“How does it not? From our fellow disciples to people from other sects, there are so many eyes on us. I’ve hardly ever had the chance to drink my fill properly, all because I have to keep up appearances.”
“…That was you keeping up appearances?”
“Heavens.”
“Please do not lie, Siju.”
“…These guys, honestly?”
When Jo Geol flared up and jabbed a finger at them, laughter burst out from all sides. Chung Myung laughed as well.
They were all laughing like this, but on the inside, each of them thought the same thing: that now they were in a position where they could no longer ignore the eyes of others.
That was why this gathering with just them was all the more precious. Here, at least, they did not need to worry about anyone’s gaze or wrap themselves up in pretense.
“Sasuk, be honest with us. What went through your head when you almost got your head cut off?”
Hearing the question, Baek Cheon put on his characteristic arrogant expression.
“Hmm. I believe I was thinking I had lived this life with no regrets.”
“Ugh, so obnoxious.”
“What are you, Jin Geumryong or something.”
“Blood really doesn’t lie.”
While everyone shuddered in disgust, Jo Geol snickered and glanced at Baek Cheon.
“Baek Sang Sasuk said so.”
“Huh?”
“He said that back then, no matter how he looked at it, the way you were clutching down below made it really look like you’d wet yourself a little.”
Baek Cheon, his face flushed bright red, sprang to his feet. The hand he pointed at Jo Geol with was trembling.
“What the hell are you babbling about, you punk!”
“Oh now, why are you getting so worked up? If it’s not true, it’s not true. But the more you blow up like that, the more suspicious it looks, doesn’t it?”
“You, you little…”
“Honestly, it’d be understandable if you did wet yourself. Your head was about to get chopped off. If it were me, I probably would have. Don’t you think so, Sahyeong?”
“Hmm. It would certainly be hard to hold it in.”
“Sasuk. Don’t worry. Who here is so childish that they’d tease you over something like that? We all understand.”
“I said I didn’t wet myself!”
“No, I mean, why are you getting so mad…”
“That bastard Baek Sang… This time I’m definitely going to kill him. I really will!”
While Baek Cheon was practically breathing fire, everyone burst into laughter.
They drank, using their trivial stories as side dishes for the alcohol. All the various topics they’d had no choice but to discuss were now pushed far into the distance.
Chung Myung laughed faintly.
‘It was like this back then too.’
Chung Mun, Chung Jin, himself, and even Tang Bo.
Each of them had a great deal to bear. And they all knew it. They understood the weight of the burden the others carried. But at least when they were together like this, they could set that burden down for just a moment.
And so what filled those gatherings were silly jokes and utterly ridiculous, meaningless stories. The conversation was so frivolous that it was hard to believe the most important people under heaven were the ones making all that noise.
Yes, just like right now.
Many things had changed. Even now, things were still changing. But perhaps, in the midst of it all, there were still some things in the world that would never change.
“Hey, but since earlier… what’s with this guy?”
“…Huh?”
At some point Jo Geol had started growling and glaring at Chung Myung. As he did, everyone’s gaze focused on Chung Myung too.
Yoon Jong tilted his head, puzzled.
“Why are you suddenly going after someone who was just sitting there…”
“Exactly. That’s the problem, isn’t it?! We’re drinking, so why is he just sitting there doing nothing?”
“Hmm? Now that you mention it…”
Yoon Jong nodded as if that made perfect sense.
“Chung Myung-ah. Is something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.”
Jo Geol snorted.
“That bastard’s been acting all moody lately! Sometimes he even looks at people with this deep gaze – giving me goosebumps all over.”
“He’s not looking at you like that, Geol. It’s a look of pity.”
Yoon Jong corrected the factual misunderstanding, but Jo Geol remained steadfast.
“Whatever! I just really don’t like it, you know? It doesn’t suit him, but he keeps acting all heavy and serious. Nodding to himself and all that.”
Suddenly getting attacked of nowhere, Chung Myung was left dumbfounded. Then he slowly tilted his head to the side.
“But this brat…?”
His teeth ground together on their own.
“Come to think of it, you haven’t been beaten as much lately, have you? Has your head gotten so big you can’t see what’s in front of you? Are you picking a fight with me?”
“Why? You gonna hit me?”
Jo Geol sharply bent his neck to the side, then tapped it with the edge of his plam.
“Go on, hit me. Hit me, once.”
Chung Myung was so utterly baffled that he could only stare, mouth agape, at the absurd display. Jo Geol grinned triumphantly.
“You won’t be able to beat me as easily as before anymore, you know? I’ve gotten stronger too. I am Jo Geol, the One Sword Splitting Light! Right, Sahyeong?”
Yoon Jong smiled in satisfaction.
“No. I think you’ll get beaten even easier now.”
“Was he asleep when he was fighting Jang Ilso?”
“Oh, ancestors. One of us is going up today.”
“If you want to die, wouldn’t it be easier to just bite down on a sword and fall over?”
“Huh?”
It was right then, as Jo Geol realized his mistake and his lips drooped slightly.
“I agree.”
Out of nowhere, Yu Iseol stepped up to take Jo Geol’s side. With her usual expressionless face, she cast a brief glance at Chung Myung, then nodded again towards Jo Geol.
“He is kind of annoying. Lately.”
“Right? I’m right, aren’t I?”
As soon as it came to this, Tang Soso quickly chimed in as well.
“Sometimes when you look at him, he’s no different from some dignified old grandpa. He looks like someone who’s already lived through the whole lifetime by himself.”
“Yeah. That’s exactly it!”
“…He definitely doesn’t have the same bite as before.”
“Amitabha. Doesn’t it mean he’s becoming a proper person? Of course, well…”
Even Hye Yeon shrugged.
“Personally… well. I happen to think a pine caterpillar ought to eat pine needles.”
“Meaning a mad dog ought to live like a mad dog?”
“Meaning a person can’t go against their inherent nature?”
“Or that all the teachings of Buddhism amount to saying humans can’t really be reformed?”
“You little demons…”
Chung Myung, staring at them all as if he couldn’t believe this, opened his mouth to say something. But before he could, a white liquor bottle suddenly thrust itself in front of him.
“Here.”
“Hmm?”
“Drink.”
Baek Cheon gave the bottle he was holding out a little tilt.
“Hey, what is…”
Thump!
Before Chung Myung could say anything more, Baek Cheon jammed the bottle into his mouth. The strong fiery liquor poured down Chung Myung’s throat.
“Stop killing the mood and just drink.”
Letting go of the bottle he’d stuffed in, Baek Cheon grinned.
“Once tomorrow comes, we’ll have new things to worry about again. That’s just how it is. But… a person can’t spend their whole life clinging only to their worries, can they?”
“That’s true.”
“Well said!”
“Gah!”
Chung Myung, face flushed bright red, yanked the bottle out of his mouth. Baek Cheon burst into hearty laughter.
“So just drink up! That’s what liquor is there for.”
Chung Myung, who had been glaring at them all, soon ended up laughing along with them.
“You damned bastards.”
“Liquor! We’re going to need more liquor.”
“Amitabha. I do have a little grain tea I set aside.”
“Well, would you look at this guy. What a real monk.”
“Ahem. Please think of it as careful preparation for occasions like this.”
Boisterous laughter spread out in all directions.
Chung Myung toyed with the bottle in his hand, then slowly raised it to his lips.
Beyond the white bottle, the figures in front of him blurred and overlapped with the faces of those he had once sat with long ago.
‘It’s different.’
It couldn’t help but be different.
‘But so what?’
Of course, Chung Myung still did not know. Whether he remained trapped in the past, or whether he was finally moving toward tomorrow.
Whether he was here to reconnect with the past, or to walk forward with these people.
Hwasan would change. As it always had until now, and as it would continue to do.
Within that, Chung Myung might perhaps lose his way, or perhaps he alone might remain standing still while the others moved on.
The future is uncertain. But….
Chung Myung looked at each of the people before him, one by one, then slowly closed his eyes.
At least one thing he could know for certain: the one small wish he truly desired.
‘I wish it would last.’
These moments, these days.
They might mean nothing. They might be pointless. These careless times – filled with lighthearted laughter and foolish remarks – might be nothing more than a fleeting echo of what once was.
‘I wish……’
Familiar laughter tickled Chung Myung’s cheek.
When he silently lifted his head, he saw a great moon. Upon it, familiar faces had risen, looking down at him with warm smiles.
‘Here.’
Only now, at last, did Chung Myung feel as though he had found the place where he belonged.
❀ ❀ ❀
A thick darkness descended upon the vast, barren hall, so empty it was eerily unbefitting its size. Only a few braziers struggled to push that darkness back.
On either side of the old, worn throne at the highest seat, those who guarded it stood lined up, and before them, Heavenly Executioner stood proudly.
He slowly swept his gaze over those surrounding him, as though he were about to pass judgment. Exhaustion was written clearly on every face. At a glance, they even seemed worn-out with age.
Once, many more had filled this place. Left Guardian [좌사(左士)], Right Guardian [우사(右士)] – ranks whose names he could barely recall now – and countless adepts [사자(士子)] besides.
But now, all that remained in this place were the old ones who had not withstood the passage of time, and faded souls grown weary of waiting.
“Second Bishop.”
Heavenly Executioner turned his eyes. A man standing before the throne came into view.
The Archbishop.
At present, the one and only being under heaven whom he respected – and at the same time, the only one who could silence him.
The Archbishop, his expression rigid, looked down at Heavenly Executioner and asked.
“Why did you violate the law of the cult?”
“…”
“Answer.”
Heavenly Executioner remained silent. The Archbishop asked again.
“We must not lay a hand on the Central Plains. Have you forgotten that this is the teaching of the cult? How could a Bishop, who ought to serve as an example to the believers, break the doctrine of the cult?”
The corner of Heavenly Executioner’s mouth twitched. Then he let out a low, undisguised sneer.
“Doctrine? And how is that the teaching of the cult?”
Even at that mocking tone, the Archbishop’s expression did not change in the slightest.
“That law did not exist before the Heavenly Demon departed from the Pure Land. In that case, who was it that made that law? It is not a decree handed down by the Heavenly Demon, so why should we accept it as law?”
“Have you forgotten?”
The Archbishop replied calmly.
“It was we ourselves who established that law. We, who feared that with our own hands we might commit the worst of sins by hindering his reincarnation, were the ones who created it.”
The Second Bishop let out a faint snort.
“So we did. But…… it struck me as truly strange.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s full of contradictions.”
The Archbishop abruptly closed his mouth. Instinctively, he realized that what the Second Bishop was about to say was no ordinary thing.
Heavenly Executioner spoke slowly.
“If he were someone who could die by my hand so easily, how could he be the Heavenly Demon?”
“Second Bishop.”
The Archbishop’s voice, gentle until now, suddenly sank deeper, as if to say he would tolerate no more.
Even as he read that unspoken intent, Heavenly Executioner did not stop.
“The path of reincarnation and rebirth [환생도], the fables foretold – those are all just excuses. If he were someone that the likes of me could affect, he could not be the Heavenly Demon. In other words, even the belief that the likes of us could dare to harm him in the first place was born from our lack of faith.”
“…”
“If we truly believed in his perfection, a law like this could never have existed to begin with. And yet because of that worthless law, we have confined ourselves to this desolate land all this time. We shackled ourselves of our own accord and accepted a punishment that was never imposed upon us.”
A monstrous killing intent began to seep from Heavenly Executioner’s body.
“For what? Answer me, Archbishop. What was it all for?”
“Heavenly Executioner.”
“Here, in this hellish land where not even insects would tread, what was it we hoped for?”
Heavenly Executioner’s voice began to grow louder. At the same time, suffocating black demonic energy that seemed as if it could swallow the world surged forth, like a mass of storm clouds creeping in from a distant horizon.
“For what did the believers who shut themselves away here die? What meaning was there in their deaths?”
At that dreadful pressure, even the other bishops grew fearful, involuntarily stepping back. Only the Archbishop remained standing where he was, his eyes heavy and still.
“Answer me, Archbishop.”
The energies of the two men slowly began to boil over.
________
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