The doors of the Sect Leader's hall closed quietly behind Sa Hamin. For several breaths, he simply stood there. The familiar scent of incense lingered in the air.
The wooden corridor was exactly as he remembered it.
Mount Hua had changed.
Of course it had.
A century could change mountains.
It could change sects.
It could change the people walking beneath the plum blossoms.
So what was a few weeks?
And yet, things changed even more.
But there were some things...
Some things that time could never take away.
Sa Hamin lowered his eyes.
His expression remained calm.
To anyone passing by, he looked exactly as he always did.
A second-class disciple returning from a long mission.
Nothing unusual.
Nothing worth noticing.
But inside...
His thoughts had stopped entirely.
So it really was you.
He had known the moment he saw him.
There had been no uncertainty.
No hesitation.
No need to wonder whether the name he'd heard before returning was merely coincidence.
Those eyes.
Sa Hamin would have recognized them anywhere.
A hundred years.
A thousand.
It wouldn't have mattered.
Those were the same eyes.
The same sharpness.
The same restless light hidden beneath all that irritation.
Even in a completely different face...
Even in a body that belonged to a boy far younger than the man Sa Hamin remembered...
He knew.
Chung Myung.
His fingers curled slightly inside his sleeve. He had imagined this moment countless times.
Perhaps too many.
During lonely nights on distant roads.
While sitting beneath unfamiliar skies.
While listening to stories about his own fallen sect while trying to save what was left of it's reputation.
While wondering whether the impossible miracle he'd been waiting for would ever come. There had always been one question.
If he truly returns, will I recognize him?
The answer had been immediate.
Almost painfully so.
Sa Hamin exhaled slowly.
A faint smile touched his lips.
Not sadness.
Not disbelief.
Something quieter.
Something almost relieved.
All that waiting paid off.
The thought disappeared beneath his usual calm expression.
Footsteps sounded behind him.
Sa Hamin glanced back.
For only a moment...
His eyes met the familiar ones again.
Chung Myung stood at the far end of the corridor.
Neither spoke.
Neither needed to.
Sa Hamin turned away first, trying to hide his smile.
There would be time.
For questions.
For explanations.
For everything that a hundred years had left unsaid.
But not here.
Not yet.
For now...
He had finally found him.
And that was enough.
And yet he couldn't help himself. He couldn't wait anymore.
Those words sliped out of Sa Hamin before he could stop himself.
"Nokmae..."
_
A/N
Nokmae - "Green Plum Blossom"