Chapter 18: A Dance Meant for the Spring God

“We’re still the same as ever. Things were so badly out of balance to begin with. Ah, though I suppose Spring and Autumn must have weakened.”

Summer’s energy had once spread across the entire land. Even without the Summer mermaid, its power still lingered, but because of this incident, Spring and Autumn must have lost a great deal of their strength.

“I hope their numbers decrease a little this time.”

Humans were endlessly greedy despite not knowing their place, always wanting one thing or another. I-gyeol gazed at the sleet that had begun falling again.

‘Or perhaps I’ll go mad this time and freeze the entire world.’

Myeong watched I-gyeol and Asha, who were absorbed in their conversation, before secretly opening his robe and taking out the ice flower. All its leaves and roots had been damaged, leaving only a bare stem, yet to Myeong, it looked more precious than anything in the world.

‘Will the ice flower really bloom within it?’

He wanted to return to Spring as quickly as possible and offer it to the Spring God.

I-gyeol looked down at Myeong quietly examining the aquatic plant. The little thing was clutching a lie that even a newly born spirit would never believe and praying over it. It irritated him and rubbed him the wrong way.

He thought it might be better to simply get the creature out of his sight, yet when he couldn’t see it, that somehow bothered him too.

“What is that? It looks precious.”

“An aquatic plant.”

Asha pointed at Myeong and asked about the withering plant in his hands. He was really hugging a dying weed that tightly? Asha simply gave up trying to understand Myeong.

“I suppose he isn’t quite right in the head.”

“That’s right.”

I-gyeol calmly nodded in agreement with Asha.

Myeong was a nameless spirit whom Spring, despite cherishing his spirits so dearly, had never even given a name.

And yet, for some inexplicable reason, I-gyeol found himself wanting the little thing.

There was nothing particularly special about him.

I-gyeol swept his long hair back over his shoulder.

‘It doesn’t matter. He’ll be going to the Winter Castle tomorrow morning anyway.’

“There will be snowfall for some time.”

“I’ll dig a cave.”

At I-gyeol’s words, Asha drew the sword from his waist. The blade, forged from his sharpened claws, could control snow and cut through the earth when infused with I-gyeol’s power.

Winter’s power was overflowing to such an extent that even I-gyeol could not stop the snowfall, so digging a shelter was the better option.

Of course, he was doing this not for himself or I-gyeol, but for that tiny spring spirit.

****

Thanks to Asha, the cave was completed quickly.

It was situated beneath a mountainside, making it a good place to avoid the cold and wind. Of course, with I-gyeol present, such things hardly mattered, but it was still a suitable place for Myeong.

“Come here.”

I-gyeol called to Myeong, who was hovering nearby.

“Go in first. I’ll keep looking for the camellia.”

There was no time to waste. Myeong answered firmly, but I-gyeol pretended not to hear him.

He strode over, grabbed Myeong by the arm, dragged him inside, and pushed him into the cave.

“Search after you wake up.”

“But there isn’t much time left.”

“That’s your problem. I need to sleep.”

“Then can I go out after Wolf-nim falls asleep?”

Myeong looked up at I-gyeol’s beautiful face as he asked, but when he met those cold, frozen eyes, he immediately lowered his head.

“Stop talking nonsense and close your eyes.”

“Yes…”

Myeong answered sluggishly, sneaking a glance at I-gyeol from the corner of his eye.

I-gyeol ignored Myeong’s blatantly obvious thoughts and yawned deeply.

‘He probably wants me to turn into a wolf and hold him again.’

Despite having taken such good care of him, Myeong was ungrateful enough to immediately announce that he wanted to return to the Spring Palace.

“I’ll stand guard outside.”

“Fine.”

Someone had to keep watch, just in case.

Besides, Asha had no desire to remain in such a cramped space alone with the Winter King, so he used guarding the entrance as an excuse to leave.

“Should I guard outside too?”

“…”

Myeong brightened and opened his mouth, but Asha merely answered him with an expressionless stare.

Soon afterward, Asha bid I-gyeol farewell, went outside the cave, and firmly blocked the entrance.

Having gotten nothing out of the situation, Myeong wandered around the cave before finally sitting down close to I-gyeol.

He was exhausted after being busy since morning.

I-gyeol reached out and lightly poked Myeong’s grimy face with his finger.

For some reason, he wasn’t quite ready to let the little thing sleep yet.

“Did you not go to the festival because you didn’t have a name?”

“Yes. My name wasn’t on the list of flower children.”

‘Of course it wasn’t. There was no name to put on it.’

Myeong smiled faintly and rubbed his eyes.

I-gyeol slapped away the hand roughly rubbing at them.

“You were better off not going. What would you have done there anyway?”

“You’re right. Even if I had gone, I couldn’t have practiced, so I would only have been a burden. Thank you.”

“What practice?”

“The flower children dance in front of the Spring God. They hold paper flowers in both hands… like this.”

Having learned it by watching from afar, Myeong stood up and spread both arms wide.

I-gyeol sat quietly, watching Myeong’s movements before asking,

“Did you do this with that Suha fellow or whatever his name was?”

“Suha? No. I never even learned the dance.”

“Never mind, then. You’re working yourself to death just to please that pervert.”

The ill-tempered wolf had always disliked the perverted Spring God.

Normally, a bond of affection formed between a season and its spirits, but Spring’s attachment to his spirits was unusually intense.

He personally gave them names, assigned them their duties, and whenever he felt like it, held festivals and ordered them to perform.

‘If that isn’t perverted, what is?’

I-gyeol’s displeasure was written plainly across his face.

“But you said you never learned it. How do you know the dance?”

“I was jealous of them practicing, so I secretly went to watch.”

Myeong answered hesitantly, his earlobes turning red with embarrassment.

He had been so envious whenever they gathered together and waved their paper flowers.

He couldn’t dance alongside them, but at least he wanted to give the Spring God a good gift.

I-gyeol looked at Myeong’s desperate unrequited devotion with an exhausted expression.

“Dance.”

“What?”

“I said dance.”

‘Let’s see how good you are.’

In a foul mood, I-gyeol gave Myeong the floor.

‘That dance even Spring himself has never seen. I might as well see it once.’

Myeong hesitated shyly for a moment, but when I-gyeol urged him to hurry up, he prepared himself to dance.

Feet shoulder-width apart.

Arms spread as though embracing the wind.

Steps soft, as though treading upon lotus leaves…

Myeong began enthusiastically showing off the dance he had practiced all this time by himself.

“…”

‘What is this?’

Myeong had his eyes squeezed shut as he danced with all his heart, but from I-gyeol’s perspective, it was barely even a crude little routine.

He suddenly spun around, shrugged his shoulders, wiggled his backside, and then began hopping in place.

‘They hold a festival just to watch something like this?’

While I-gyeol’s lips tightened in utter disbelief, Myeong finally finished his dance, panting for breath.

He had only ever practiced secretly in his room or in front of the divine beasts.

He had never imagined that he would actually dance in front of someone like this.

His heart was pounding.

He didn’t know whether he had made mistakes because he had never learned the proper form, nor whether he had danced well.

But simply having an audience watching him was enough to make him happy.

Myeong opened his eyes and stood before I-gyeol, who was still sitting.

‘I hope he praises me.’

A small spark of anticipation rose within him.

“It’s disgraceful. Don’t ever think about dancing somewhere else.”

“…Yes.”

But all he received was harsh criticism.

Myeong answered in a dejected voice before moving far away from I-gyeol and sitting down.

His heart felt cold.

‘Was I really that bad?’

Perhaps he simply had no talent for dancing.

‘It’s a good thing I never showed the Spring God.’

Myeong tried to think of the situation as positively as he could.

I-gyeol gave a hollow laugh as he watched Myeong sit sulking in the distance, clearly hurt by a single remark.

No matter how small and scruffy the dancer had been, it was the most awkward and crude dance I-gyeol had ever seen.

‘And he calls that dancing…’

If Myeong ever saw one of the banquets held at the Winter Castle, he might be so shocked that he would bite his tongue.

Already imagining Myeong at the Winter Castle, I-gyeol reached out and tugged at the hem of his worn-out clothes.

“There are all sorts of rare and precious things at the Winter Castle.”

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Our Pending Divorce

arrangedMarriageBLDevotedLove

Read Now →
Not interested