Chapter 961

It was a rainy day.

The rain poured ceaselessly as if a hole had been torn in the sky, and thunder rumbled endlessly, as though the heavens were enraged.

Beneath the downpour that seemed to wash away the sweltering summer heat, a man walked carefully through the forest.

He didn’t seem to mind the rain. He simply walked, slowly, endlessly, as if searching for something.

His soaked clothes clung uncomfortably to his body.

But the man didn’t care about his clothes. He only wished that the thing inside wouldn’t get wet.

Holding it carefully in his arms, he continued walking for a long time.

He walked and walked, until he passed through the grass and finally spotted a massive tree.

—“…Haah.”

He let out a quiet sigh of relief.

He had found what he was looking for.

After wandering for nearly half a day, he had finally found it.

—“…What are you doing here?”

Suppressing his relief, he let a hint of sharpness creep into his voice.

He couldn’t help it. He wasn’t calm enough to speak gently just yet.

At his question, the woman sitting under the tree, her head buried in her knees, slowly lifted her head.

—“…Why did you come looking for me?”

She asked bluntly.

Though her head was raised, her gaze did not meet his.

He knew she was deliberately avoiding looking at him.

Watching her in silence, the man reached out and tucked her wet hair away from her cheek.

She could have pushed his hand away, but she didn’t.

—“It’s cold.”

At his words, the woman scoffed.

—“Cold? Weren’t you the one who said it was too hot in summer?”

—“…I didn’t know it would rain.”

He wasn’t some god. How could he have known?

If he had known it would rain, he wouldn’t have let her run off like this.

—“No, that’s just another excuse.”

The man suddenly found it absurd and shook his head.

Then, he carefully took something out from his embrace.

He pulled out a piece of cloth and placed it over the woman’s head, gently patting it into place.

It was meant to dry her off.

And in the moment when their gazes couldn’t meet because of the cloth, the man spoke.

—“I’m sorry.”

—“….”

—“I admit that I spoke too harshly. I shouldn’t have said that to you.”

—“….”

The woman gave no response.

But he knew that her silence meant she was listening.

—“It’s really cold. You can hate me if you want, but can’t you do it back home?”

He carefully watched for her reaction.

Only after his words did she slowly respond.

—“…Don’t ever tell me to leave again.”

—“Alright. I was wrong.”

—“The whole world can do that to me, but not you.”

—“I understand. I won’t say it, even in anger.”

—“And… you have to come find me every time.”

—“I will. As many times as you need.”

—“…Promise me.”

She held out her pinky finger toward him.

The man stared at it for a moment before releasing the cloth and extending his own pinky.

Their fingers intertwined.

Only then did the woman seem reassured.

She removed the cloth from her head.

Her beautiful violet eyes curved into a smile.

—“Did you know?”

She looked so pretty, smiling with wet eyes.

That was the thought that crossed the man’s mind as he looked at her.

—“You said I could hate you.”

The woman’s hand reached out and touched his cheek.

—“But that’s something I can’t do.”

—“….”

—“It’s really frustrating, you know.”

Her fingers left his cheek, and suddenly, she opened her arms to him.

—“Hold me.”

Without a word, he pulled her into his embrace.

And as if it were all a lie, the rain stopped.

A rainbow stretched across the sky.

The woman smiled as she looked up at it.

And the man—

Even then, he kept replaying her words in his mind.

No matter what.

No matter what happened.

He had to find her.

He repeated those words over and over.

*********************

Swoooosh—!!

The sound of something pouring down filled her ears as she opened her eyes.

“…”

Had she dozed off for a moment?

Her head hurt.

It felt like she had remembered something—

But if it was just a fleeting dream, she couldn’t recall anything.

It was always like this.

Every time she felt on the verge of remembering something, it faded away.

She felt like she should hold on, like she couldn’t let go—

But she couldn’t do that either.

Instead, it just washed away with the rain.

“…Ugh.”

Suddenly, she clutched her chest with her hand.

Right where her heart was.

“Hnn….”

It hurt.

Was she injured? No, that wasn’t it.

This wasn’t just physical pain—something inside her felt like it was burning.

“Hh… Hh…”

Why was this so painful?

She didn’t know.

She didn’t even realize that this feeling was sorrow.

She didn’t recognize that this discomfort was anger.

She just knew she hated it.

But what exactly did she hate?

She didn’t know.

She just felt an overwhelming sense of hatred, for something—anything.

“…”

Looking at her hand, she recalled—

A little hand, curled into a fist, striking someone.

“…”

She stared at it for a moment—

Then, smack.

She suddenly slapped the back of her own hand.

She hadn’t held back. Soon, a red mark rose on her skin.

It hurt.

Getting injured hurt—

But the ache inside hurt even more.

“…”

It was wrong.

That was the word that came to her mind.

But what exactly was wrong?

Was it him who was wrong? Or…

‘Am I the one who’s wrong?’

Was it wrong for her to have hit him?

Why had she struck him?

Rubbing her throbbing hand, she buried her face into her knees again.

‘…He probably hates me now.’

If she went back, he would surely hate her.

Her sister had told her—if she did something wrong, she just had to apologize.

Would it be okay if she apologized now?

She agonized over it, but found no answer.

More than that, she was afraid.

Afraid that even if she apologized, he wouldn’t forgive her.

But why?

Why was she so afraid of that?

Who was he to her?

Who was she to herself?

She didn’t know.

From the moment she was born, she had asked herself that question—

But she had never found an answer.

‘From the moment I was born…’

The moment she first existed.

As she thought about it, another question surfaced.

‘When was I born?’

Why had she come into existence?

And for what purpose?

The instant she considered it—

Throb—!

“Urgh…!”

The woman clutched her head.

A sudden, excruciating pain had struck her.

“Uuuuh… Uuugh….”

The pain was unbearable, and she let out a weak groan as she held her head.

Srrk.

She felt a hand gently cover hers.

A warm hand.

As soon as it touched her, the pain began to fade, little by little.

And when the pain had finally subsided, she lifted her head, eyes slightly reddened.

Standing there was a young man, drenched from head to toe by the rain, his face fierce and rough.

“…Ah, fuck….”

His irritated glare and deeply furrowed brows made it clear just how furious he was.

Seeing that, the woman flinched involuntarily.

“Are you out of your goddamn mind? You punched me in the stomach and ran?”

“…Uh… Uh…?”

“What do you mean ‘uh’? What, do you have flowers blooming in your damn head? It’s pouring rain, and this is what you decide to do?”

He shook his head roughly, annoyed at how soaked he was.

Water sprayed in every direction with each shake.

“Goddamn it. Even this cursed place has rain. And it’s just as fucking relentless as everything else.”

Tsk, tsk.

Clicking his tongue in frustration, an energy surged from his body.

Whooosh!

A wave of heat erupted, instantly drying his drenched clothes.

Sizzle.

The moisture evaporated in an instant, his clothes drying completely, and even the falling rain failed to touch him, dissipating before it could land.

Fwoosh—!

Then, he directed that heat toward the woman, drying her off as well.

Once she was dry, he looked at her in silence.

“Hey.”

“…!”

At his voice, she instinctively turned away—

But clamp.

Gu Yangcheon grabbed her face with both hands and turned it back toward him.

“Don’t look away. Look at me properly.”

“…”

“Did you have fun punching me and running?”

“…”

“I asked if you enjoyed it. Do you have any idea how long I searched for you?”

She didn’t respond.

She should’ve pushed his hands away, but she couldn’t.

Her fingers twitched hesitantly.

“This is fucking ridiculous. You cause a mess and then just disappear? You ruined everything.”

“…”

“I should’ve gone after you, but I couldn’t. Do you get that?”

At his words, full of disbelief, the woman finally spoke.

“…Then… why didn’t you follow me?”

If it bothered him that much, why didn’t he just chase after her?

Her tone was genuinely confused.

“…”

This time, Gu Yangcheon didn’t answer right away.

Was he hesitating?

After a long silence, he averted his gaze slightly and muttered,

“…Good question.”

His tone made it clear—he didn’t understand it himself.

“…Fuck. I should have gone. Why the hell didn’t I? Am I seriously just an idiot?”

It sounded more like a lament than an answer.

Hearing it, the woman simply stared at Gu Yangcheon.

“Ah, never mind. I probably wouldn’t have caught up anyway. Ah, fuck. This is all your fault!”

“…What is?”

“You piss me off. And why the hell is it still raining?”

He ruffled his own hair violently before standing up.

“…Shit. It’s all screwed now.”

There had been something he needed to do—something important.

But everything had gotten tangled up.

That frustration made him let out heavy sighs.

Then, turning back to her, he spoke.

“Quit just staring at me and get up. Are you planning to sit here getting soaked all night?”

“…”

The woman, silent, slowly stood up.

For a moment, she considered reaching out to him.

But she didn’t.

She could tell instinctively—he wouldn’t take her hand.

“Move it. I’m not waiting for you, so don’t drag your feet.”

After confirming that she had stood, Gu Yangcheon started walking.

Despite his words, his pace was noticeably slower than usual.

“…”

Seeing that, the woman quickly caught up to walk beside him.

“Ugh, don’t stick so close.”

Gu Yangcheon grimaced in disgust—

But he didn’t push her away.

The woman watched him for a moment, then turned her eyes upward.

“…A rainbow.”

“What?”

“There’s a rainbow.”

Hearing that, Gu Yangcheon glanced up at the sky.

“…The fuck are you talking about? Are you blind? Do you not see the rain pouring down?”

The sky was still dark, the rain falling hard—there wasn’t a rainbow in sight.

And yet—

“No, there’s a rainbow.”

She saw it.

So clearly, as if it were right in front of her.

************

Mangye’s Celestial Nature.

A place so revered that countless people called it the very dwelling of the heavens.

No one knew its exact location.

And no one could set foot here without the master’s permission.

Thud.

Someone appeared there, landing softly.

Drip.

Droplets of water fell from the figure, likely from the rain they had just passed through.

Just as the droplets were about to hit the ground—

Whoom—!

A pulse of energy rippled, suspending them midair.

“…”

Observing the frozen droplets, a woman in a black mask—Yarang—knelt without hesitation.

“You’ve returned.”

A voice sounded from ahead.

Soft, elegant.

And with it, the faint scent of flowers drifted through the air.

“How was your little excursion?”

Violet-red eyes settled on Yarang.

Ssss—

A rustling sound accompanied the appearance of pure white fur around them.

Step.

Before long, the quiet sound of approaching footsteps reached her ears.

“My daughter.”

“…”

Yarang did not answer the call.

“The outside world is raining, isn’t it?”

At the question, Yarang gave a small nod.

“I see… No wonder my hearing felt clouded.”

The woman closed her eyes lazily, as if she had just realized something.

“So the rain finally falls, after so long.”

Her voice, carrying clear exhaustion, made it obvious—she did not welcome the rain.

“But.”

Her eyes opened again, and her gaze settled on Yarang.

“You must have seen what you needed to see, haven’t you?”

“…”

Yarang didn’t respond verbally.

Instead, she moved her hand.

Seeing that, the faintest trace of interest flickered in the woman’s otherwise weary eyes.