After that conversation, silence continued for a bit longer. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. After what felt like a sufficient break, I got up from my seat.

Wolyeong was watching my movements. I extended my hand toward him.

“Get up now. We have to climb again.”

“You won’t speak informally again?”

“Huh? I’ll start that when we reach the mountain gate.”

Wolyeong let out a deflated laugh and then took my hand to stand up.

For a brief moment, our distance closed and I caught a clear glimpse of his expression. Although he was obviously struggling as a beginner, his face looked brighter than any I’d seen before.

‘It seems he’s feeling a bit more at ease.’

It was fortunate that at least his mind was at ease, given that more hardships were still to come.

Winter days are short, so as the evening approaches, you can see the sun moving toward the west.

Nevertheless, thanks to good time management earlier, Wolyeong and I managed to reach the “dubiously constructed” stairs right in front of the mountain gate when the evening was just beginning. We had arrived at the summit faster than expected.

“There it is! Once we climb this, we’re done. Since it’s the beginning of evening, we’ve passed the test. That’s good.”

“……I see.”

Wolyeong responded, breathing heavily. His voice lacked energy, but that was understandable. Even I could feel that my stamina was significantly depleted by now.

The winter conditions made for hazardous moments due to accumulated snow and ice, and there had been some trouble rescuing an almost-fallen novice priest from a cliff along the way…

‘If he had climbed up alone, he would’ve reached the top but would’ve been in shambles.’
He would have still come, even after nearly dying. It was good to see this tenacious side of him. An ordinary person would have likely given up climbing further after experiencing a near-death slip.

‘He’s the kind of person who would climb the stairs even if he had to crawl.’

However, after experiencing the harshness of winter in the mountains firsthand, Wolyeong seemed to have had quite an impressionable day. Seeing him take a deep sigh in front of the stairs right before the mountain gate, I asked with a smile,

“Is it hard to think about climbing another staircase?”

“No, I’m fine. Considering you helped me so much and still appear perfectly fine, I can’t afford to show any weakness.”

“I’m glad I appear to be fine.”

It’s only been a year, but I felt a sense of achievement for the skills and background I’ve gained.

‘No, considering the history of Okmaedan, it’s far more than just a year.’

Although I’m not exactly sure how long it would be.
I hadn’t asked how many years of history were contained in the Yeongdan, and neither the abbot nor the master had mentioned it.

‘Well, that’s not what’s important right now.’

Putting aside my scattered thoughts, I opened my mouth again.

“Shall we go up then?”

“Yes.”

As I took a few steps ahead and started climbing the stairs, I spoke again.

“Be careful on these stairs. If you’re not careful, you could slide back and roll down, or fall headfirst and get hurt.”

“I understand……!”

No sooner had I said it than he slipped.

I quickly reached out and caught his arm.

“You said you understood……”

“……Thank you.”

I suddenly felt a sense of irony. After all, the one who had tumbled down here was me.

I had almost followed my master as he rolled down here just last year. Although I’d been saved by the skin of my teeth when my master grabbed me by the collar, now the day had come when I was the one doing the saving.

“Dojang?”

“Ah, my apologies.”
Releasing his arm, we resumed our climb up the stairs.

Concerned that Wol-yeong might fall backward again like before, I decided to follow a few steps behind him this time, to at least protect his head if he fell.

‘In this era, a head injury isn’t easily treated.’

What if he dies because of it?

As we silently ascended the stairs, the hue of the setting sun transitioned gradually from a rosy glow to a violet tint.

But even if the sky overhead completely filled with a purple haze, I wasn’t in a rush. Knowing that as long as the sky at the start of the stairs had been rosy, we wouldn’t pass twilight no matter how slowly we ascended.

A few steps ahead, Wol-yeong reached the final step and let out a sigh, though whether it was one of joy or relief, I couldn’t tell.
However, in the next moment, unexpectedly, he didn’t head straight into the temple grounds but turned around to wait for me. His face, lit by the backdrop of the setting sun, didn’t seem as sharp as before, probably because I’d gotten used to it.

I lifted my head and asked, “You were waiting, why not go ahead?”

“Didn’t you also wait for me when we set off?”

“You still call me Dojang, even though we’ve almost arrived.”

“We haven’t entered the temple grounds yet.”

Hmm, what goes around comes around. I chuckled and stepped onto the last stair.

It was when Wol-yeong and I had taken a few steps side by side toward the temple grounds.