It's been a while."
He stopped. That voice—bright, teasing, annoyingly warm—was one he hadn't heard in years.
Jin's expression softened instantly.
A breath escaped him—not quite a smile, but something close. "Do Yeon."
"You still recognize me. Thought you'd have grown too grumpy for that."
They stood there, a quiet space between them. No tension, only memory.
⸻
Ashes and Echoes
They had met as orphans, tossed into the bottom rung of the Beggar Sect. Jin Seol had been stone-faced back then. Reserved. Closed off. But Do Yeon was light—even when the world around them was pitch black.
Do Yeon could make people talk, laugh, help him even when they didn't want to. He shared what little he had, often putting others before himself, even if it got him into trouble. He was sharp and shameless, bold enough to steal and charming enough to get away with it.
And somehow, Jin Seol—cold, angry, wounded Jin—had opened up to him.
They were never brothers by blood, but the streets stitched their bond with hunger and hardship.
Then one day, Do Yeon was gone.
No fight. No warning. Just gone.
Whispers had said he joined a merchant caravan—something about charm and luck and silver. Jin didn't blame him. If anyone could climb out of filth and into gold, it was Do Yeon.
He'd made it out. Laughed louder. Wore better clothes. Traded coin instead of scraps.
But in the end, he still died as a merchant—throat slit on some nameless road, his wagon stripped bare, his body left to rot. No one remembered him but the vultures and the dust.
But Jin had missed him, even if he'd never said it.
⸻
A Moment Between Paths
Do Yeon looked older—sharper around the edges—but it was him. No doubt.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
Jin stepped forward, slow and steady. His eyes were damp, though his expression stayed hard. He gave Do Yeon a short, firm hug—just a moment—and then let go, like it never happened.
To Do Yeon, it may have only been a few years. But to Jin, it had been another life. A life where he'd failed to protect him. Failed to stop what was coming.
But this time, things would be different.
"I didn't think I'd see you again," Jin said quietly.
He wasn't angry that Do Yeon had left the beggar sect. In truth, he was relieved. Leaving may have saved him. And now—now there was still time to do things right.
No blame. No bitterness. Only purpose.