Min Yongjoon laid down beside Lee Shinwoo, his body almost frozen as he tried not to move in the bed. Obviously, he wasn't supposed to be so freaked out by just this, but Min Yongjoon couldn't help himself. He had wrapped his whole body in the blanket, afraid of accidentally touching Lee Shinwoo while he was sleeping and had even moved his body so close to the edge of the bed, half his body was hanging off of it.

Min Yongjoon was trying hard to sleep but his mind kept distracting him. So instead, Min Yongjoon gave up on even trying to sleep and just stared at Lee Shinwoo whom was already asleep.

Honestly, Min Yongjoon didn't even understand why Lee Shinwoo had helped them by so much. They were all just strangers who had met just once but Lee Shinwoo was willing to go so far for people whom he just met. It might just be a special case, but this was now the apocalypse, people were now against each other even more then before.

The room was quiet and it was already deep into the night, this only made Min Yongjoon's mind wander even more. But honestly, Lee Shinwoo was an awesome man. He didn't care about what people thought of him and did as he wished without fear. He was, in his own way, powerful by this sense. And although Min Yongjoon wasn't a fan of Lee Shinwoo, meeting the man face to face did make his impression better than what the media posted.

Even though Lee Shinwoo was a great actor and one of the most famous of all, the media had always portrayed him as a man who was rude and ignorant. But then again, it was normal for reporters and journalists to do that. Even if lying would harm others, they profited off of that.

Min Yongjoon couldn't help but smile as he stared at Lee Shinwoo's face. He was really outrageously handsome.

And then, Min Yongjoon finally closed his eyes as his breath evened out after a minute and he fell asleep.

(Male lead's love percentage is at 32%.)

Lee Shinwoo woke up first as the morning sun hit his face. Still a little sleepy, he rubbed his eyes as got up. Turning to take a look at Min Yongjoon, he smiled as he saw Min Yongjoon's sleeping face. Even though he was sleepy, he was still as handsome as when he was awake.

Getting up from bed, Lee Shinwoo did his normal wake-up routine, brushing his teeth and all that before he got out of the bathroom. By then, Min Yongjoon was already awake.

"Hey, good morning," Lee Shinwoo said as he brushed his wet hair to the side. He stood by the bathroom, his body bare except for the towel that was tied around his hip.

Min Yongjoon stared at him shocked and slowly replied, "Good morning. How was your night?"

Lee Shinwoo raised his brow at that, smirking as he replied, "Great. Was it comfortable to sleep with me?" Lee Shinwoo knew how ambiguous that sounded, that was his main purpose.

Min Yongjoon almost chocked when he heard Lee Shinwoo's question, his face slowly getting pink as he quickly said, "Uhm, it was comfortable?"

Lee Shinwoo couldn't help but laugh at that, "Really?" Lee Shinwoo narrowed his eyes at Min Yongjoon.

But, Min Yongjoon was getting distracted. Lee Shinwoo only had a towel around his hips and blocking the stuff below, his upper body was bare of anything. He had just taken a shower so there were doors of water still on his body. Min Yongjoon had a clear view of his body and he didn't know how to feel about that so he quickly averted his eyes towards Lee Shinwoo's face only to meet the smirk on his face.

Lee Shinwoo wiggled his brows at Min Yongjoon, a smirk on his face as he asked, "Like what you see?"

Min Yongjoon covered his face with one hand, trying not to look at anything.

Lee Shinwoo shook his head at Min Yongjoon's reaction. Based on the worlds description, he had thought that Min Yongjoon wouldn't be able to get so shy, not that he complained. He quite liked playing with Min Yongjoon like this, it wasn't often that he would get to see his man have a blush on his face while silently panicking.

Lee Shinwoo walked over to the closet and grabbed out some clothes. Min Yongjoon stood in the same place, unsure of what to do.

"You can go take a shower and freshen up. I'll leave out some clothes for you because I'm sure that you wear the same size as me. There's towels in the bathroom and if there's anything else you need, just tell me." Lee Shinwoo said as he began pulling down the towel from his hip while looking at Min Yongjoon.

Min Yongjoon realized what Lee Shinwoo was going to do and immediately fled into the bathroom.

As Min Yongjoon closed the door tightly, he sunken down onto his knees, covering his face as he heard Lee Shinwoo's hearty laugh from his actions.

Dang it! Min Yongjoon didn't even know why he had fled, he wouldn't have done this normally if it was another man but somehow, Lee Shinwoo was different. He made Min Yongjoon panic so much, and Min Yongjoon could even feel his heart beat against his chest roughly.

He didn't know this man, they had barely met for a couple of days and Min Yongjoon was already letting Lee Shinwoo slip past his barriers. But, that man was so different, he wasn't shy and he was definitely confident about himself, he had so many good points to him. Min Yongjoon wanted to close his eyes, but he felt that would only make it worse.

Min Yongjoon didn't understand how he had opened up to Lee Shinwoo so fast, it didn't make sense. But he wanted it. He wanted to understand everything clearly.

Shaking his head roughly, Min Yongjoon stood up as he stripped his clothes off and climbed into the shower. He'll find out later.

(Male lead's love percentage has reached 40%.)

Lee Shinwoo, on the other hand, had already gotten out of the room after putting on his clothes. He walked into the kitchen where Shin Hana was already repping breakfast.

"Good morning, sweetie." Shin Hana said as she put down the bowl in her hand and walked towards Lee Shinwoo, giving him a kiss on his cheek.

"Good morning, mother." Lee Shinwoo said as Shin Hana returned to washing some vegetables.

"Our food supply will start running low in a few weeks. Since we have some fresh vegetables, I'm thinking about making pickled dishes with them so that it will last longer. How do you feel about that?" Shin Hana asked as she smiled while looking at Lee Shinwoo from the corners of her eyes.

"Anything you make is good, mother." Lee Shinwoo smiled as he replied.

Shin Hana turned to Lee Shinwoo and with a fake glare, she said, "Of course you would say that, you're my son. Now, what matter do you want to ask me about? You usually don't get up this early."

Lee Shinwoo couldn't escape Shun Hana's radar detector so he confessed. "Mother, I'm thinking about going to help another friend of mine."

Shin Hana wrinkled her brows, her face scrunching up as she asked, "So soon? You've just gotten back, though."

"I know, mother, it seems abrupt but if I don't go soon, I have a feeling that something will happen. That friend of mine, he has been living a rather hard life." Lee Shinwoo stared down at his palms as he spoke, not looking up to meet Shin Hana's careful gaze.

Shin Hana kept quiet for a bit but she sighed as she finally said, "Alright, but please don't go for too long. Since your father and I have already gotten our abilities, the base will need us here and we will make sure that Soyu is safe. You are much stronger than any of us so I know that I shouldn't be too worried about your wellbeing but, you're my son, I can't bear to lose you."

Lee Shinwoo could tell that Shin Hana was controlling her feelings as she turned away from him. He got up at once, embracing her from behind as he leaned his chin on her shoulder and whispered, "Mother, I know that you only wish the best for me and I apologize for all the worry you and father have gone through because of me. I know that you two are always worried about my safety and I am grateful for every single thing you do for me. I won't be gone for long, I promise. I'll come back safe and sound, mother, I always will."

Finally, a sniffle was heard from Shin Hana as Lee Shinwoo held her tight within his arms.

Lee Shinwoo really liked Shin Hana and even almost felt that she was his real mother. Shin Hana was everything Lee Shinwoo hoped a mother would be. Since his real parents weren't the best examples of such parents, Lee Shinwoo had never really felt the love of a mother's.

With a trembling voice, Shin Hana whispered back, "Just take care of yourself, alright? I want my baby to come back the same way as he had left, you got that?"

Lee Shinwoo smiled, his heart feeling stuffy and sad for some reason as he replied, "Always, my beautiful mother."

Standing by the corner, hidden by a wall, Min Yongjoon leaned against the wall, his face cloudy. Lee Shinwoo was going to be leaving and Min Yongjoon couldn't help the feeling in his heart. Then, turning back, he turned and walked into his brother's room. He needed to talk with him for a bit.

My name is Xue Lu, meaning a snowy road. I am a cultivator, nearly at the stage of immortality, though I am one stage below.

I am the companion of a man. His name is Baicheng, meaning a hundred ruling. It was a name that held weight to it, a name that spoke of pain and sorrow. In a way, that was the way his life turned out to be.

I first met him 500 years ago as a child and he, a man whom had turned cold and cruel from countless betrayals. I didn't have a tragic background but I met him because of an injury. He was injured though.

I did the same thing anyone would've, I patched up his wound and brought herbs for him. But, throughout the whole process, I could tell that he was seeing someone else in me. His eyes were foggy, but he was awake still. And he murmured a faint name that didn't linger long enough for me to hear.

For some reason, seeing this man, it made me feel sorrow. There were countless scars on his body but the one that popped out to me most was the scar right on top of where his heart was.

When he had woken up, he asked me one question.

"Why did you save me?"

I was confused. Why wouldn't I save him?

So I replied, "Because you were hurt."

To that, he chuckled, a laugh that seemed too painful to listen to. With his red eyes peering up, he smirked as he said, "I like you, would you like to become my companion?"

I thought about it. My parents had too many children to take care of, one less wouldn't do them harm. They had so many children, they couldn't even recall all the names of their kids.

"Alright, I'll do so."

He taught me everything. And as I grew, I realized that the reason why he was so cruel, so cold, and as other people depicted, evil, was just because he had been hurt too many times that he had finally retaliated.

It was hard, but I fully gained his trust. He told me about his life, how he had lost everything. In return, I promised to be his undying companion, someone who would never betray him.

And as I became more powerful, I was now also a target like him. He, whom was hunted down by those he had once called family. He, whom had been betrayed by the one person he thought he could trust with his life.

I stood by his side as someone with many different roles. I was an assassin, a healer, a cultivator, a soldier, a companion, and a friend.

And then, he went on a mission. I knew he was after revenge and so, I helped him. He gave me a task.

He said to me, "Pretend to me, impersonate me fully, and help me seek out a man, his name is Fei Qianchi."

So I did that. I found the man and I pretended to be someone I wasn't while getting close to that man. I fed that man words of lies, and I broke his heart. I didn't regret it though, because while I knew I was wrong in my actions, many others had been able to get away with doing such things in their life.

And then, when the time was correct, he came back to me and said, "The plan has been settled, we can start now."

For 500 years, he had been busy gaining his own people, people he had trained to become powerful enough to rival many.

On that night, blood ran wild. I was use to it though, blood didn't bother me anymore. Many people screamed about how heartless I was as I killed man after man, but, it bothered me that they had the face to curse out the man they had wanted to kill. How hypocritical this world was...

But he finally achieved his goal and as he sat on the throne, the seat for the sect leader, he smiled with satisfaction. Even with blood on face, he was still as dignified as always.

"Xue Lu, I am as heartless as they say, yet you have been by me for over 500 years now. What do you think about this?"

"They only have themselves to blame, Baicheng. You are merely avenging yourself, your parents. You are killing those whom had also taken so many lives."

"Xue Lu, you are the only one who would stand by someone like me..."

I think about it often. If I had met him first, would he have become this way? If he hadn't been betrayed, how different would he be?

If I could've had the chance to be with him, would I have betrayed him?

Although I would never know why Zhu Luishui had done what he had, so I couldn't blame anyone.

I would've loved to meet the Baicheng before but the current one now was the one I was most familiar with.

Even though he was cruel, he also had his kind moments. Although he was evil, he could also smile and laugh with sincerity.

But, that was okay. I will be by his side from now on, I will never let him be hurt ever again. Even if it means entering countless bloodbaths, I will never let him taste betrayal ever again.

I will always be by him, I will be his sword and his shield. I will be his companion, his friend, a loyal subordinate that will never let him down.

There is one thing I'll never be, though.

And, I do regret that to some point.

If I could be that one thing, I'll never let him be in pain ever again...