By Zephyria 
It felt as if his member had filled him all the way up to his throat. Even so, Tae-muk knew no satisfaction, stubbornly forcing himself deeper inside. The inner walls, already stretched wide, expanded further, producing a squelching sound. Ho-eun felt a surge of fear that his stomach might burst.
“General, hng, General…”
It was just as Ho-eun was frantically scratching at Tae-muk’s shoulders with his blunt nails. Tae-muk began to grind his pelvis from side to side, digging relentlessly into Ho-eun’s depths.
“Kh…”
He, too, reached his climax. Something sticky and hot filled Ho-eun’s already stuffed belly to the brim.
“Hup…”
Unable to even blink, Ho-eun had to twist his breath in ragged gasps. Tears streamed down his face like rain. His mouth hung open, but no words came out.
“Haa…”
Tae-muk looked down at Ho-eun with a hazy gaze. Then, he began to suck the tears clinging to the corners of Ho-eun’s eyes, sipping them away. After that, he licked away the sweat, and when stray hairs tangled on his tongue, he chewed and swallowed them with smacking sounds. As if that weren’t enough, he sucked on Ho-eun’s nose and licked his chin. Had his mouth opened like that of a Devouring Ghoul, he likely would have put Ho-eun’s entire face in his mouth and sucked it dry.
“Ho-eun. Ho-eun…”
Tae-muk called his name repeatedly. Then, despite having spent himself so lavishly, he began to move his still large and hard member once again.
“Ah…”
Ho-eun’s slender moan fluttered helplessly.
Ho-eun heard Tae-muk’s presence in his sleep. He wasn’t close. It was a presence faint enough to make him think the man was in the room across the hall. But at some point, the presence drew nearer and stopped right by Ho-eun’s head.
“…”
An intense gaze carefully scanned the sleeping Ho-eun’s face. Then, the presence grew closer, and a shadow fell over his face.
Chu.
Something soft and warm touched his forehead and then pulled away. At that, Ho-eun slowly woke up. For some reason, however, it was difficult to open his eyes. His eyelids felt too heavy—as if stones had been placed upon them.
Still, he struggled to open them, knitting his brows in the effort.
“Sleep more.”
Tae-muk’s voice dropped low. Despite the command, Ho-eun managed to open his eyes and look up at him. Dressed in a pitch-black military uniform, Tae-muk was propped up on one arm, half-lying over Ho-eun.
“Are you leaving?”
Ho-eun asked, blinking his swollen eyes slowly. His voice, still thick with sleep, was dry and low, unlike usual. Tae-muk gently stroked Ho-eun’s cheek. He then lightly lifted Ho-eun’s lower lip to check on his canker sore.
“Yes.”
“Ah… should I go with you?”
“No. Sleep more. I’ve put in firewood, so it’ll be warm until lunch. I’ll tell Chilbok to stop by.”
“But still…”
Ho-eun let out a groan and clumsily pushed his upper body up. He had no strength left in his body. A chill ran down his spine and his eyes felt dry; it was clearly the precursor to a fever.
He must have overexerted himself yesterday. Between the canker sore that kept him from eating properly, crying all day, the feast and singing outside, and then taking Tae-muk inside him…
As Ho-eun rubbed his eyelids with the side of his hand, Tae-muk caught his wrist and pulled it down.
“I said it’s fine. I’m just going to scout the perimeter and I’ll be back soon.”
“…”
Ho-eun gazed silently at Tae-muk. His eyes pleaded to go along. At this, Tae-muk said, “I told you to sleep more,” and pressed firmly on his shoulder. Tae-muk’s eyes were full of worry. He likely knew that Ho-eun’s condition was precarious.
Ho-eun knew Tae-muk was worried about him. Because of that, he couldn’t be stubborn any longer.
He gave a faint smile and took Tae-muk’s hand.
“Please don’t get hurt.”
“I won’t.”
“And come back soon.”
“I will.”
“…”
“…”
The brief farewell ended there. However, neither of them could readily let go of the other’s hand. Ho-eun looked down at their joined hands. Strangely, he couldn’t bring himself to pull away. Even if it took the longest, he would see him by tonight, yet he felt an overwhelming sense of longing and regret.
Still, he had to let go. That way, the reunion would come faster.
Ho-eun slowly relaxed his grip. Tae-muk held Ho-eun’s hand for a moment longer before letting go with a short sigh.
“I’m going.”
“Yes.”
Tae-muk laid Ho-eun back down and pulled the blanket up to his chin before finally standing up. Ho-eun watched him walk away blankly. While it was proper to jump up and see him off, he didn’t want to disturb the blanket Tae-muk had tucked around him.
Tae-muk looked back at Ho-eun several times before finally leaving the room. The paper door opened and closed, and the shadow of him sitting on the porch to put on his military boots was cast inside.