By Zephyria 
33
“Is it because of the herbal medicine? Or the egg omelet? Why are you doing this for something like that….”
But Chilbok seemed to have no idea why Ho-eun was acting this way. Ho-eun chuckled at the absurd words. Well, the herbal medicine and the egg omelet were indeed things to be grateful for.
Ho-eun covered the back of Chilbok’s hand, which was holding the pouch. Then, he whispered, just like when Chilbok had given him braised beef and whispered to him.
“I’m only giving it to you. It’s a secret from everyone else.”
It was just a playful remark. But Chilbok nodded with a solemn expression.
“Yes. Secret. I won’t tell anyone until I die.”
At those words, Ho-eun chuckled again. He even patted Chilbok’s shoulder, finding him adorable. Chilbok’s cheeks flushed red as he looked at Ho-eun. Ho-eun even helped Chilbok hide the chocolate pouch in his arms before turning around. But.
“……”
“……”
In the distance, he met Tae-muk’s eyes, who was riding a horse. He couldn’t tell if it was a chance encounter or if Tae-muk had been watching him all along. Ho-eun, startled as if he’d been caught stealing, soon gave Tae-muk an awkward smile. In response, Tae-muk quickly averted his gaze as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t have.
Regardless, Ho-eun, feeling as light as if he could fly, headed towards Tae-muk with light steps. With each step, the silk Hair Tie fluttered like the wings of a butterfly.
Soon, Ho-eun arrived in front of Tae-muk’s horse and stretched out his arms towards him.
“God of War.”
He even called Tae-muk in a voice that was almost ticklish to hear. His face was simply white and clear.
“Ha……”
Tae-muk let out a burst of laughter, as if he was dumbfounded. After twisting his lips for a moment, he grabbed Ho-eun’s arm without another word and pulled him up. Ho-eun’s small, thin body settled in front of Tae-muk.
Ho-eun immediately wrapped his arms around Tae-muk’s waist. Even though the horse hadn’t started moving yet.
“Hoo……”
Inside Tae-muk’s tent. He, who had been sitting upright at the edge of the Straw mat, let out a nervous sigh. He had executed the ‘sticking close operation’ well all day, but he couldn’t figure out what to do inside the tent. It seemed like sticking close here wouldn’t lead to anything good.
His heart pounded at the thought of what kind of humiliation he would suffer today, how much pain was lurking. All he had eaten all day was a bowl of Herbal medicine that Chilbok had packed for him for dinner, and he felt like he was going to throw up.
Ho-eun glanced at the entrance of the tent. Tae-muk had disappeared around the time everyone went to bed, and he hadn’t been heard from since, even though it was late at night.
Come to think of it, Tae-muk never seemed to be in his tent first. Where on earth did he go every night……?
Ho-eun stared blankly at the entrance of the tent, lost in thought. The quiet tent was suddenly flung open, and Tae-muk appeared.
“Hick……”
Ho-eun was startled as if he had seen a thug break into his house. Come to think of it, this was Tae-muk’s tent, and he was the guest. Realizing this belatedly, he jumped up and greeted him.
“O-oh, you’re here.”
“……”
Tae-muk glanced at Ho-eun once and then began to take off his clothes on one side of the tent. Ho-eun quickly averted his gaze. Not only that, but he turned his body completely to the side. Now that he couldn’t see Tae-muk, the sound of him taking off his clothes continued to penetrate his ears.
Ho-eun scratched behind his ear with his shoulder for no reason and cautiously opened his mouth.
“Y-you must be tired, right? You haven’t been able to sleep well yesterday and today…… Please get a good night’s sleep tonight. I will protect you, General.”
Ho-eun had said those words with great determination. But Tae-muk immediately chuckled. It was definitely a sneer.
“You’ll protect me, so you’re telling me to sleep?”
“Yes. I even have a g-gun.”
Ho-eun placed the Pistol he was carrying on his side on the desk. His body was still half-turned away from Tae-muk.
“……”
Tae-muk didn’t respond. However, he heard the sound of him taking off his pants. Ho-eun tried to ignore the sound and stammered.
“I may not be able to kill as many Devouring Ghouls as you, General, but I can probably handle one, o-one of them……”
“Is that the best you could come up with using that brilliant head of yours?”
“……Excuse me?”
Ho-eun turned around towards Tae-muk without realizing it. Tae-muk, who had already changed into a Durumagi, was looking at Ho-eun.
“When did you start hating doing the very thing you need to do, after sticking to me like a leech all day?”
“……”
Ho-eun almost grabbed his chest. It was a Trenchant remark. His heart ached from the sharp sting. How could he see through people so quickly?
“That’s…… that’s not what I meant……”
As Ho-eun was stammering, Tae-muk passed him and sat down on the Mattress with a thud. Then, he beckoned to Ho-eun.
“Don’t use your head, just come here.”
“……”
Tae-muk’s commanding voice was deeply lowered. He seemed angry. And rightfully so. The Bondmate he had finally found wasn’t doing anything properly…… If he were Tae-muk, he would be really resentful of himself.
But, but how could he dare to accept him between his buttocks? He was prepared to be eaten by a Devouring Ghoul, but he wasn’t prepared to die while doing such an act.
“Aren’t you coming? Then I’ll drag you over here.”
Tae-muk spoke again, unable to wait any longer. The color drained from Ho-eun’s cheeks at the deep voice that seemed to vibrate the floor. Unable to hide his nervous expression, he headed towards Tae-muk. And he sat down in a formal posture about two hand spans away from him.
“……”
Ho-eun closed his eyes tightly as soon as he sat down. He thought he would be grabbed by the hair and dragged between his legs right away. But even after counting to ten in his head, even after counting to ten twice, Tae-muk didn’t move.
Ho-eun cautiously opened his eyes. At the same time, he met Tae-muk’s eyes.
“……”
“……”
Ho-eun gasped and lowered his gaze. He lowered it so forcefully that it looked like he had closed his eyes at first glance.
On the other hand, Tae-muk stared at Ho-eun without blinking. He could feel his gaze touching his eyes, his nose, and his split lips. It was amazing that he could feel his gaze as a tactile sensation.
Silence flowed, and then flowed again.
The whole world was quiet. It was late at night, and most of the soldiers had fallen asleep, so all he could hear was the sound of the tent swaying in the wind, the sound of the trees shaking, and Tae-muk’s breathing.
How much time had passed? Just when Ho-eun’s legs, which were kneeling, had become numb, Tae-muk finally opened his mouth.
“I guess. I am tired.”
“……Yes?”
“I should sleep.”
Then, he collapsed onto the Mattress. Ho-eun blinked a few times, then braced his hands on the floor and tried to get up.
“Ah, yes. Please sleep.”
But Tae-muk looked up at him with narrowed eyes.
“Where are you going?”
“I, you said you were going to s-sleep……”
“We should sleep together.”
“T-together?”
“Yes.”
Tae-muk patted the spot next to him.
“……”
Ho-eun stared blankly at the Mattress, which didn’t look very comfortable. He was saying to sleep, so he meant to sleep, right? So he just meant to sleep, right? That was probably it. Tae-muk wasn’t the kind of person to beat around the bush. And he didn’t need to be.
The tension in Ho-eun’s eyes relaxed. If it was just lying down and sleeping, he could do it as much as he wanted. It was even better. That was the kind of night with the God of War that he had been hoping for.
“Then, e-excuse me.”
Ho-eun said in a small voice and climbed onto the Mattress. Then, just as he was about to lie down awkwardly, Tae-muk pulled on Ho-eun’s tightly wrapped sleeve.
“Do noblemen sleep in such attire?”
“……”
At those words, Ho-eun examined his attire. The sleeve ties that were wrapped around his sleeves, the Military tunic, the Jeogori, it was indeed uncomfortable clothing to sleep in.
After hesitating, Ho-eun knelt down again. Then, he began to untie the sleeve ties that were tied to his arms. In fact, he didn’t want to take them off, but he couldn’t help it. He had learned well enough from the nights he had spent that Tae-muk’s demands couldn’t be resisted.
Ho-eun, who had taken off his Military tunic and Jeogori, was soon left in his Sokjeogori. He could feel the coldness directly through the thin clothes. He glanced at Tae-muk, wondering if he was going to tell him to strip naked, but fortunately, he didn’t say anything.
Ho-eun neatly folded his clothes and placed them on one side. He also rolled up the sleeve ties neatly and placed them on top. Then, he timidly lay down next to Tae-muk. Of course, he didn’t lie down right next to him. He lay down at a moderate distance, about half a hand span away. But even so, he could strangely feel Tae-muk’s body temperature. It was warm, as if he had a brazier next to him.
“……”
“……”
Silence returned. Tae-muk didn’t do anything. He just put one arm behind his head and stared at the ceiling.
Ho-eun, stiff and tense, couldn’t even breathe deeply. His nerves were all focused on Tae-muk. But in the endless quiet time, his limbs gradually relaxed. It wasn’t long before his eyes began to droop. He had been leaning on Tae-muk all day, but he was already sleepy again. If he fell asleep now, he felt like he could sleep soundly until tomorrow morning without tossing and turning.
“……”
Around that time, Tae-muk turned towards Ho-eun. Ho-eun felt him moving, but he was already half asleep.
Then, at some point, the candle that had reached the bottom went out with a whoosh. At that moment, Ho-eun thought. So, I’m just going to sleep like this today. I’m allowed to sleep. Maybe the ‘sticking close operation’ was working better than he had expected.
But then.
Thud.
Tae-muk’s hand came up onto his stomach.