[TOMORROW X TOGETHER Beomgyu] To the point of aching

Side Story Episode 3. Spring Walking Side by Side (Complete)

The Hanseong years had already gone on for more than half a year.

Even as spring sunlight seeped through the crack in the door, Beomgyu still couldn’t open his eyes from under the blanket.

 

"It's noon already, and you're still at it?"

 

Yeoju glanced at him sidelong as she quietly pulled back the blanket.

 

"...Just a little longer."

 

With his eyes still closed, Beomgyu instead grabbed her wrist and pulled her back under the blanket.

 

"No, if you do this, I'll end up..."

 

Before she could even finish, Beomgyu's arm wrapped around Yeoju's waist.

 

"...Just one more shigyeong."

"You already said that earlier."

"That wasn't sincere then. I mean it now."

 

In the end, Yeoju burst out laughing and half-reluctantly leaned into his embrace.

 

"At this rate, the sun really will set before long."

 

"Then let's just stay like this all day today."

"Dani's going to get tired knocking on the door and go back."

"Then I'll just apologize to him tomorrow morning."

 

Even with such an absurd answer, Yeoju didn't bother to scold him.

The sunlight that had drifted through the paper door gently settled over the two of them's shoulders.

After a long while of only listening to each other's breathing like that, Yeoju suddenly buried her face against his chest and asked softly,

 

"...Are you happy?"

"The fact that you're asking that already makes it sound like you know the answer, doesn't it?"

"Still, I wanted to hear it."

"...Yes. So much that it almost feels wrong to be this happy, yes."

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

Even with the late breakfast tray in front of her, Dani's glare was sharp.

 

"You both already finished your naps, and now you're eating breakfast?"

"Dana, you've really gotten more and more naggy, haven't you."

"Thanks to who, I wonder."

 

As Yeoju shot him a helpless look, Dani snorted and set down the soup bowl.

Beomgyu took the chance to quietly move some of his side dishes onto Yeoju's rice bowl.

 

"...If you keep this up, I'll get fat."

"Even if you do, you'll still be pretty."

"Now that's supposed to be a compliment?"

 

Watching the two of them bicker, Dani shook her head, but couldn't help laughing.

 

"Seeing you two still feels incredible. That memory-lost guest and our young lady ending up like this, who would've thought."

"Dana, let's not talk about that anymore."

 

Yeoju waved her hands awkwardly, but Beomgyu instead asked back with interest,

 

"What was I like back then? Did I seem that suspicious?"

"It was more than suspicious. Sneaking out every night, and hiding that jade pendant for no reason. I noticed ages ago."

"...I didn't know that."

 

As Beomgyu cleared his throat and looked away, Yeoju and Dani met each other's eyes and burst into laughter.

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

After breakfast, the two of them stopped by the shrine first.

It was what they always did on the first day of each month.

After burning incense and bowing side by side, Yeoju straightened her knees and said quietly,

 

"Your father and mother must be pleased to see their son doing so well."

"...I hope so."

 

Beomgyu stared at the ancestral tablet for a moment, then gave a faint smile.

 

"These days, every time I come here, I don't feel as heavy as I used to. Somehow that makes me feel guilty, and relieved at the same time."

"There's nothing to feel guilty about. I'm sure they wouldn't have wanted their son to live only in sorrow either."

 

Yeoju gently took his hand in hers.

Beomgyu held her hand back and stayed before the memorial tablet for a long time.

 

"...Still, I want to say this. Father, Mother. I am living very well now."

 

Yeoju quietly smiled at those words and leaned lightly against his shoulder.

On the way out of the shrine, the sunlight was especially warm.

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

And so the two of them walked all the way to the market, using the good weather as an excuse.

When Yeoju's eyes fell on the fine silk hanging in front of the cloth shop, Beomgyu bought it without a word.

 

"You didn't have to do that."

"Seeing something that suits you and just walking past it is harder for me."

 

The girls at the neighboring shop heard that and each of them peeked at Beomgyu and whispered among themselves.

Yeoju pretended not to notice and looked away, but her pace subtly quickened.

 

"...Why are you in such a hurry?"

"No reason. It's hot, isn't it."

 

"The sun isn't even that hot right now."

 

When Beomgyu asked with an air of innocence, a red blush spread to the tips of Yeoju's ears.

 

"...Stop smiling like that. It's annoying."

"What did I do?"

 

At his flippant answer, Yeoju finally tugged lightly at his sleeve.

 

"Why are you holding the hand of someone you say is annoying?"

"...If I don't want to let go, then I'll just keep holding on."

 

At that, Beomgyu had no answer; he only squeezed that hand a little tighter in return.

As they walked hand in hand like that, Yeoju's steps stopped again in front of a street stall selling chrysanthemum ornaments.

 

"You don't really need to buy this."

 

Even as she said that, her eyes would not leave the ornament.

Beomgyu paid for it with a resigned smile.

 

"You keep saying it's fine with your mouth, but your eyes keep looking over here."

"...What I look at is my business."

"And buying it for you is my business, so we're each doing as we please."

 

In the end, Yeoju accepted it as if reluctantly, unable to quite hide her smile.

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

That evening, a letter sent by Kim Yu-hyeong arrived.

 

The village was safe and sound, Taehyeon had recently had the legitimacy of his old clan recognized by the court and was now living under his own name, and Yeonjun had remained a friend who stayed by his side.

 

"Everyone's finding their own place, aren't they."

 

Yeoju folded the letter and said softly.

 

"...Yeah. I feel like I've finally found mine too."

 

Beomgyu quietly pulled Yeoju into an embrace around the shoulders.

After the dinner tray was cleared away, the two of them sat facing a wine table.

 

"Do you know what those girls behind us were whispering about in the market today?"

"...No idea."

"They all seemed jealous, saying you have such a handsome husband."

 

Yeoju tipped her wine cup and continued in a deliberately prim voice.

 

"I didn't dislike hearing it."

"Didn't dislike it means you liked it?"

"That, you'll have to guess for yourself, miss... no, wife."

 

As Beomgyu casually corrected himself and smiled, Yeoju's face flushed bright red.

 

"That way of addressing me still feels unfamiliar."

"I'll keep calling you that until you get used to it."

 

His low, subdued voice sounded even more mellow than usual, perhaps because of the alcohol.

Yeoju tried hard to look away, but Beomgyu seized the opening and gently covered her fingertips with his hand.

 

"...Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"If you tell me not to, then I won't. But I don't really have anything else to look at."

"I feel like I've heard that somewhere before."

"Even when I had lost my memory, I never forgot the fun of looking at your face, miss."

 

In the end, Yeoju burst out laughing and gave his shoulder a light shove.

The shoulder that had been pushed soon leaned back toward her again.

As the night deepened, only the faint lamplight remained in the room.

 

"...Wife."

 

At that one low call, Yeoju said nothing in reply and instead quietly grabbed his collar.

Beomgyu carefully cupped her cheek and pressed his forehead to hers.

Their breaths were close enough to touch.

 

"Today too, and tomorrow too... will you stay by my side."

"...Why do you keep asking when you don't need to?"

 

Yeoju tugged him toward her first by the neck.

 

Between the ties of their robes, the charm made from two joined jade pendants knocked softly.

Their shadows overlapped into one beneath the lamplight.

The lamplight trembled thinly, then soon went out quietly.

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

The next morning, Yeoju still couldn't open her eyes until late.

 

When her fingers fumbled beside her, they instead touched the ornament hanging around her neck.

Yeoju quietly ran her fingers over the charm made from the two joined jade pendants.

 

Outside the window, the Big Dipper that had kept watch all night was still fading into the pale dawn sky.

The night they had gazed at those stars together, the season they had longed for so painfully, were all now left as warmth within this room.

 

Their spring continued on, day by day, as they walked side by side.