When the Black Moon Rises - Side Story 30
Side Story 30
"How on earth did this happen?"
At Baek Manyong's sharp question, the guard, finding it absurd even to himself that he had lost two four-year-old children, replied with a flushed face.
"I-I apologize. But truly, truly, there aren't many places for the two Young Lords to hide in the room... and there were no other ways for them to get out. They've done this a few times before and came out quickly, so I thought they were playing hide-and-seek..."
"I'll deal with your responsibility later. Hurry and search again. They couldn't have gone far. You may take the entire Shadow Corps with you."
"Yes!"
Baek Manyong, having urgently commanded the guard, asked Youngmu and Youngchae.
"Is there anything the Young Lords have been interested in lately? Anything in their conversations that might give us a clue to their whereabouts?"
"Nothing like that at all... They did keep asking when the Lady and the Baek Clan Head would return, though."
"Ah, then perhaps they went towards the main gate to see when their parents would return."
"Let's go check. You two, go to the main gate. I'll take some warriors and check the back and side gates, just in case."
Watching Youngchae and Youngmu run towards the main gate, Baek Manyong quickly summoned warriors to follow them.
The rest, along with Baek Manyong, thoroughly searched the side and back gates of Baek Residence.
He had thought that with all the Baek Clan guards mobilized, they would surely be able to find them. But until the sky grew dark, the two children were nowhere to be seen.
'This is a disaster...'
Failing to find the two Young Lords in the end, he felt as if all the blood had drained from his body.
His whole body trembled. How could so many people still not find two four-year-olds?
Our Young Lords are still so, so young.
'What if something dangerous has happened to them?'
"You, summon all the warriors of the Baek Clan. Those who can use spiritual power. Don't limit the search to the residence; divide into teams and search the outskirts of Baek Residence thoroughly! Hurry!"
Baek Manyong's face was deathly pale as he shouted.
Unaware that the residence was in an uproar because of them, the two young deer were diligently searching for the path to the Human Realm.
'They definitely said to go straight. How much further do we have to go for it to be 'straight'?'
Sanjin looked around anxiously as he walked through the forest path.
Of course, Sehwa and Baek Giha had flown in their Divine Beast forms, so their path was completely different from that of ordinary people, but the children had no way of knowing that.
Thinking they would find the path to the Human Realm if they just went a little further, the children kept walking and walking.
However, because snow clouds covered the sky, the forest, dominated by the shadows of tall trees, was so dark that without spiritual power, they wouldn't have been able to see an inch ahead.
In that situation, Sanyul, seeing only the footprints they had made, asked Sanjin with an anxious gaze.
-Sanjin. Are these ours? Were we here before?
...I, I don't know either.
-Why does the same path keep appearing no matter how far we go?
...What should we do? I'm scared.
-Yeah. And I'm so hungry.
-What should we do? Keep going?
-I, I don't know.
As time passed, they began to think they shouldn't have come out, but it was a regret that came too late. Even if they wanted to go back, they couldn't even guess the direction of home.
Still, they couldn't just stay there, so the two deer relied on each other and walked on steadfastly.
Just then, snow began to fall again from the darkened sky.
The wind also began to grow a little stronger.
Rustle, rustle.
Was that the sound of leaves? Or someone's presence? An unknown sound continued to come from a distance.
The surroundings were gradually sinking into a darkness where it was difficult to see even an inch ahead.
The scene, so different from the cozy view from inside the house, made the children shrink back in fear.
Being all alone in the dark, snowy field, various thoughts flooded their minds.
What if we can't meet Father and Mother like this? We promised them we'd be good.
And, and.
'...I shouldn't have gotten angry at Manyong hyung before I left.'
Unable to go any further, the children sat down by the base of a tree, burying their faces in each other's necks.
'Scary, scary.'
Thick tears began to fall again from their large eyes.
It was too dark, and there were too many sounds of unknown origin.
The snow began to pile up quickly, erasing even the footprints they had left behind.
They were cold and hungry.
To make matters worse, the rustling, unknown sound was getting closer.
Not even daring to run away, the children stared in the direction of the sound, trembling.
They knew that when they transformed into animals, they were not easily seen by others, but at this moment, they couldn't even think of that.
The frightened young deer huddled closer, their small heads pressed together.
Meanwhile, the rustling sound grew faster and a little louder.
Finally, a black figure popped out from the dark bushes.
"Gasp, hack."
It was Baek Manyong, covered in dry leaves, dirt, and snow.
He hadn't even had the presence of mind to grab a lantern, searching the pitch-black darkness with vision enhanced by his spiritual power. His eyes, soaked through, were already bright red.
-Oh! Manyong hyung?
"Young Lord Sanjin!!! Young Lord Sanyul!!!!"
-It's Manyong hyung! It's Manyong hyung!
The baby deer, who had been squeezing their eyes shut, shot their heads up.
At the same time, the Divine Beast's power that had been helping to hide them weakened slightly.
Twinkle, twinkle.
Was that all? As if asking to be found, the white and red baby deer began to glow, scattering their spiritual power.
Baek Manyong, who had been checking the ground one by one with his hands, hoping to find a trace of the children, felt something strange and raised his head.
And he discovered two red and white baby deer in a halo of light.
What is this? Were there such mysterious deer in the Baek Clan's forest?
Then he realized something and his eyes widened.
"Y-Young, Young, no, Young Lords? ...Could you be our Young Lords?"
-Manyong hyuuung. Sob.
At that moment, as if their legs had never given out, the baby deer rushed towards Baek Manyong.
Their forms shimmered like a heat haze before changing into small children.
"Young Lords. Oh my goodness. Ah, no. Oh my goodness."
"Sob, Manyong hyung."
"Waaah. Waaah. I was scared. I was scared."
Quickly taking off his outer robe and wrapping it around the children, Baek Manyong first checked to see if they were hurt anywhere.
Then he hugged the children tightly.
"Are you hurt? Are you in pain anywhere?"
"No. Sniff, yes."
"Why did you come all the way out here in this cold?"
"Sniff, to see Mother and Father, to the Human Realm, to the Human Reaaalm. Waaah."
"The Human Realm?!!"
At the words spoken while wiping away tears with their small, fern-like hands, Baek Manyong's lips trembled.
"...The path to the Human Realm! How, how treacherous it is! You have to cross the forest to Junggang! And around this time of year, the ground is always covered in snow!"
"But, but..."
"If you two had gotten hurt... I."
"Manyong hyuuung."
"...Huh? Hyung, hyung."
"...Hyung, are you crying?"
Wiping his face haphazardly with his hand, Baek Manyong stood up abruptly, still holding the children.
Hyuuung. Hyuuung.
The children pulled at Baek Manyong's clothes, but his face, which he kept wiping to no avail, was frighteningly expressionless.
This side of Baek Manyong was completely unfamiliar to the children. Even when he told them they had to be dignified to fit their position as Young Lords, he didn't have this face.
Hyung must be very angry.
'What should I do?'
It was when tears began to well up in the children's eyes again.
Youngchae, spotting them coming out of the forest, raised her voice and shouted.
"F-found them! Over here!! They're over here!"
"What?! You found them?"
Centering on Youngchae's voice, warriors, and then elders, began to gather, murmuring.
The faces of the two young Young Lords in Baek Manyong's arms were streaked with tears, and they looked extremely tired.
"Chancellor, where on earth did you find..."
Youngchae, who had been asking, stopped in her tracks.
Only then did she realize why the people around them were so quiet.
Baek Manyong's disheveled appearance was one thing, but his face, turned away, was completely... Just as Youngchae, surprised, was about to say something, Youngmu hurriedly approached.
"Chancellor, please come this way. The Young Lords will catch a cold. We've heated the room, so this way...?"
Youngmu, who had been speaking, also stopped.
Regardless.
Passing through the frozen people, Baek Manyong strode into Baek Residence, still holding the children.
"Youngchae noona. Um, where's Manyong hyung?"
The children fidgeted with their sleeves and glanced behind Youngchae.
But no matter how they scanned the corridor, no matter how long they waited. The familiar figure was nowhere to be seen.
"The Chancellor suddenly has things to do."
"Is he very busy?"
"Yes, very busy."
At Youngchae's words, the children lowered their gazes and stared out the window again.
Before, they had only looked at the distant path to the Human Realm, but now they only glanced at the residence where Chancellor Baek Manyong stayed.
Youngchae, who was tidying the disheveled bedding, also briefly looked out the window.
She thought of someone who would be looking this way with the same expression as the children from over there.
The fact that the Young Lords found in the forest had already transformed into Spiritual Beasts became a public secret in the Baek Clan.
Everyone was overjoyed, calling it a miracle.
But thanks to Baek Manyong, who would have been at the forefront of praising the Young Lords, being quiet.
No, because the Young Lords themselves were also listless and rarely came out of their room, no one openly offered congratulations.
In addition, the atmosphere of Baek Residence was also rather subdued.
She thought about going to the Chancellor's place to check on the situation.
But remembering him walking away with his face completely soaked, she hesitated.
The Clan Head needs to return quickly.
Because the wait was so earnest, time seemed to pass much more slowly than usual.
The next day, happy news arrived.
Baek Giha, having read the letter Baek Manyong sent to Choi Jangmyung, returned early, worried about the children, even before the promised fortnight was over.
Youngchae and Youngmu joyfully ran to wake the two Young Lords.
"Father is here? What about Mother?"
"Is he in Father's room?"
Sanyul, who had urgently asked upon hearing the Clan Head had returned, ran out without even hearing Youngchae's answer.
"Haa, haa."
"Wait. Let's go together!"
"Young Lords! Wait a moment!"
Not hearing the flustered Youngchae trying to stop them, two pairs of small footsteps ran frantically down the corridor. And then.
"Father!!"
Shouting a pronunciation closer to "Abuji," they clung to Baek Giha's legs.
But this was strange too.
They thought they would be just happy to see their father.
Sniff, sob, sob.
Tears suddenly started pouring out.
The two brothers, each hugging one of Baek Giha's legs, began to cry in the same way.
After shedding tears and snot for a long time, they spoke to their father in a hiccuping voice.
"F-father. I, I'll wash your feet."
The surprised Baek Giha's eyes widened.
Suddenly, feet? Why?
"B-because, I have to be punished."
"Punished?"
"I yelled at hyung, and hyung, got angry."
"Hyung? Manyong hyung?"
"Sniff, yes."
"But why is washing feet a punishment?"
"Isn't it a punishment?"
The children, sniffling, spoke in unison about what they had seen last time. Only then did Baek Giha, understanding the children's actions, laugh out loud.
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