By Zephyria 
26
Ho-eun’s hand holding the rice ball loosened and fell downwards. The moment he opened his mouth to say something.
“General—.”
“Eat.”
Tae-muk cut him off.
“…….”
Tears welled up in Ho-eun’s eyes like a thin film. He opened his trembling jaw and took another bite of the rice ball. It was a much smaller bite than before. But even that, he couldn’t swallow. So he just held it in his mouth.
“…….”
Tae-muk raised one eyebrow as if asking what he was doing. His face was quite frightening, but Ho-eun couldn’t swallow anything anymore.
“I… can’t eat anymore.”
Ho-eun’s face, speaking in a suppressed voice, was noticeably pale. Even his breathing was strange. Hiss, hiss, hiss, hissss, it was irregular.
Eventually, the rice ball fell from Ho-eun’s hand with a thud. The tightly packed rice ball didn’t break. Instead, it rolled along the straw mat, getting dirtied with rice grains.
Looking at it made his vision spin. Then, at some point.
“Ugh…….”
Ho-eun’s upper body heaved roughly. He covered his mouth and looked around, then plunged his face into the brazier. The moment his face met the blackened charcoal, everything that had been rising up to his throat surged back up. He had only eaten rice balls without water, so the vomit was thick. His hand gripping the brazier turned stark white.
Ugh, ugh, ugh…….
Ho-eun vomited for a long time. Eventually, he threw up everything he had eaten for lunch.
“Cough, cough…….”
Ho-eun, barely raising his head, coughed heavily. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. After throwing everything up, he felt a little better. But it seemed he had thrown up all his energy as well, as he had no strength in his limbs. The fever, which he hadn’t been able to recognize due to the bloating, engulfed Ho-eun like a flame.
“Haa, haa…….”
As Ho-eun’s head gradually lowered, lowered, a large hand snatched his chin. And half a rice ball was thrust in front of his eyes.
“Eat it, again.”
“…….”
Ho-eun blinked slowly. His eyelashes, laden with tears, fluttered heavily.
“Why do you… torment me… so much…….”
Ho-eun asked in a hoarse voice. At those words, a sneer crept onto Tae-muk’s lips. He rubbed Ho-eun’s bony chin with his thumb as if pressing down on it, and said.
“Torment? I’m just worried. It would be a disaster if my Bondmate, whom I found with such difficulty, were to starve to death.”
“…….”
It was a lie that couldn’t be believed. Not a trace of concern could be found in Tae-muk’s actions. It was just full of malice, malice, malice.
As the situation escalated to this point, Ho-eun also became angry. He slapped Tae-muk’s hand without fear. The rice ball flew away. Tae-muk’s face froze coldly at that. Ho-eun stared at such Tae-muk with hazy eyes and said.
“The fact that you have humiliated me so far… I could consider it as the God of War taking a Bondmate.”
“…….”
“But this, this is not. It is a misguided action that yields no benefit. How can a General torment his subordinates so cruelly, how…….”
“…….”
Tae-muk was quietly looking at the rice ball that had fallen to the floor. Then he turned his eyes to Ho-eun. There was no emotion on his face. It was terribly expressionless.
“I can’t torment you?”
“…….”
At those words, Ho-eun’s face slackened helplessly. The unexpected answer was so bewildering that it was absurd. He couldn’t find the words to answer, and his lower lip only twitched. Tae-muk kindly closed his jaw for him. Then, with a very gentle touch, he stroked Ho-eun’s cheek.
“Why not? You guys torment me so much.”
“…….”
Ho-eun couldn’t understand who the ‘you’ in his sentence was, how much ‘so much’ was, or what ‘torment’ meant. He just felt wronged. He just felt wronged and sad.
“What sin have I committed against you, General…….”
Ho-eun said in a tearful voice, as if whispering. Tears streamed down his white cheeks in succession. Tae-muk stared at it indifferently and murmured.
“I wonder. Perhaps it’s a sin that you were born like this.”
“……Pardon?”
“Or perhaps it’s a sin that you, born like this, are my Bondmate.”
Tae-muk, releasing Ho-eun’s face, fiddled with his Hair Tie. The beautiful silk Hair Tie was folded and crumpled in his hand. His black eyes were strangely cloudy. As if he were looking at a place other than here.
Then, in an instant, they became sharp like an arrowhead. At the same time, Ho-eun’s Braided Hair was pulled back sharply.
“Ugh…….”
Ho-eun’s neck went back. His slender neck, stretched out straight, seemed about to break soon. Tae-muk, who had risen from his seat, grabbed the back of Ho-eun’s head and pulled him down to his lower body.
“Open your mouth. If you don’t want to eat rice, you have to eat something else.”
At those words, Ho-eun squeezed his eyes shut.