By Zephyria 
162
“……”
Ho-eun, unable to answer, opened and closed his mouth, frozen. The reddish heat rising to his pale, almost transparent ears was instantaneous.
“Sudden… suddenly, you say? O-oh, did you use your strength today? Perhaps you were injured somewhere…”
“No.”
“But why…”
“Why? Can’t I kiss your lips if I’m not hurt?”
“That’s… not the case…”
Ho-eun fidgeted with the hem of his silk robe with his fingertips. A kiss without reason. It wasn’t strange, but thinking it strange made it seem strange. To be precise, it was embarrassing. A kiss without reason was something lovers, spouses, or married couples did.
Come to think of it, how should Tae-muk and his relationship be described? It was different from his relationship with Dong-ja or Man-soo, and different from his relationship with Gil-sang and Seong-im, so how should it be defined…
Ho-eun was lost in thought.
“Don’t want me to?”
Tae-muk asked, moving even closer. With the lamplight behind him, Ho-eun’s vision turned completely black. Yet, Tae-muk’s piercing gaze was still clearly visible. Ho-eun looked back and forth between his wild animal-like eyes and nodded slightly.
“Y-you may…”
Before he could finish speaking, his tongue darted out and licked his lips. Surprised, Ho-eun reflexively pulled his head back, but a large hand grabbed his chin. Then, like an animal grooming its fur, Tae-muk began to lick Ho-eun’s lips.
His red tongue licked, slurp, slurp, slurp, at his lips. Sometimes he licked from his chin to his philtrum, and the force was so strong that his lips and skin were pushed along with his tongue. He also put strength into the hand holding his chin, making his lips protrude, and then licked only his lips obsessively.
“Hng…”
It was a different act than a kiss. Ho-eun didn’t understand why Tae-muk was suddenly doing this, but he decided to leave it at that. He had no desire to understand such a lewd and vulgar act.
Tae-muk, who had been licking Ho-eun’s lower face as he pleased, soon inserted his tongue into his narrow mouth. Ho-eun’s hands curled tightly as his mouth was filled with Tae-muk’s tongue.
“Eung…”
Unlike the beginning, Tae-muk continued the kiss slowly and sweetly. It was a kiss that perfectly suited Ho-eun’s taste. Ho-eun’s shoulders, which had been stiff with tension, slowly relaxed. Later, he subtly moved his tongue in response to Tae-muk’s tongue, or even tentatively sucked on his tongue.
But at the same time, Tae-muk breathed out a hot breath, and the back of his head was grabbed. And his tongue came in even deeper than before.
“Heut…”
Tongues tangled, intertwined, and slipped, and a wet sound echoed. Ho-eun’s cheeks bulged here and there as if he were holding a small snake in his mouth.
Ho-eun’s eyelashes fluttered at the sticky tongue movements. His eyebrows subtly rose and then slid down again. Tae-muk narrowed his eyes and watched it.
After that, every time his lips or tongue were sucked, Ho-eun gripped the edge of the desk tightly, twisted his ankles under the desk, or hunched his neck. At those times, Tae-muk’s Adam’s apple twitched, but it was impossible to tell whether he was smiling or swallowing saliva.
Tae-muk explored Ho-eun’s lips for a long time, and finally sucked on his plump lower lip before letting him go. His soft lips stretched out like freshly steamed rice cakes and then returned to normal.
“Ah…”
Ho-eun pressed his lips with his fingertips, breathing heavily. His thin shoulders rose and fell busily, as if he had been running. As he did so, Tae-muk asked in a low voice.
“Ask me again.”
“Yes?”
“What you asked earlier. About if anything special happened today.”
“……”
Ho-eun blinked slowly. His long eyelashes fluttered along with it. At that, Tae-muk pulled his chin in as if he was about to show it. He also brushed his chin with the back of his hand.
After a moment of thought, Ho-eun took his hand off his lips and repeated the words he had said earlier.
“D-did anything special happen today? I heard you were exploring the area, did you encounter any Devouring Ghouls?”
Then Tae-muk wore a satisfied smile and soon nodded.
“Nothing special happened. There was nothing but eyes around, and I didn’t see any Devouring Ghouls either.”
“Is that so?”
Ho-eun smiled slightly at the answer. Somehow Tae-muk seemed to be in a good mood, but he couldn’t figure out why.
“What did you do?”
Tae-muk asked back, touching Ho-eun’s slightly curved eyes with his thumb as if pressing them.
“I met with everyone who said they saw the Antenna Devouring Ghoul.”
“And?”
“I’ve put together a summary, would… would you like to see it? It’s not perfect yet, but it’s based on the stories of many people, so I think it’s somewhat reliable.”
Ho-eun slid off the desk and neatly arranged the papers, pushing them in front of Tae-muk. He also brought over the lamplight in the corner. At that, Tae-muk plopped down on the chair. Then, with a serious face, he turned the papers over one by one. Ho-eun waited for his review with a nervous face.
Finally, Tae-muk’s gaze reached the last page.
“Well done.”
He turned the papers over with a rustle and gave a short review. At those words, a bright smile bloomed on Ho-eun’s face. His heels, filled with pride, peeked out from above. His body swayed gently, and his silk robes danced along with it. Tae-muk, who had been quietly watching Ho-eun, tapped his thigh.
“Come here.”
Ho-eun went up onto his lap without question or resistance. In fact, there was nothing to go up or not. The moment Ho-eun stood next to him, Tae-muk lifted him up with one arm and placed him on his lap.
Ho-eun, sitting sideways on Tae-muk’s lap, wriggled his body and pulled out the hem of his robe that was underneath him. Then, leaning against Tae-muk’s broad chest, he let out a comfortable breath. Suddenly, Tae-muk clicked his tongue.
“What’s wrong with your hands?”
“Yes?”
Ho-eun’s eyebrows rose at the incomprehensible words. What’s wrong with my hands? With a face that seemed to say, ‘All five fingers are still attached,’ he looked at his hands, and Tae-muk gently stroked his middle finger. He felt a faint pain. It was because his fingers had been pressed down all day by the hard fountain pen.
“It’s all red. Do it in moderation. If you overdo it and get sick again, I’ll burn all of those.”
Tae-muk gestured at the pile of papers and said in a stern voice. He must be scared now that he’s said this much, but Ho-eun replied with a calm face.
“Um… It’s okay if you burn them. I remember everything.”
“Huh…”
Tae-muk let out a ridiculous laugh. At that, Ho-eun chuckled softly.
“I’ll do it in moderation. Don’t worry too much. I took my Herbal medicine today too.”
“Just Herbal medicine?”
“No. I ate rice too. Chilbok said I had to eat rice… I couldn’t empty the bowl, but I still ate a lot.”
Only then did Tae-muk’s eyebrows, which had been full of strength, flatten out. He lifted his knees to lift Ho-eun up and pulled the small body close to his chest. Then, with one hand he wrapped around his thigh, and with the other hand he stroked his long Braided Hair from top to bottom.
At first, he hated the fluttering Hair Tie and the neatly Braided Hair, but now he kept reaching for it. He liked the feeling of the soft yet plump hair fitting snugly in his hand.
Meanwhile, Ho-eun was looking at the paper he had been working on again. Then, without much thought, he said in passing.
“I wish we could send this to other units. It might be helpful in combat or defense.”
But Tae-muk replied in a tone that seemed to say, ‘What’s so difficult about that?’
“We can.”
“Is that possible?”
Ho-eun raised his head sharply and looked at him. It was a world with horses, cars, and even things called telephones, but it wasn’t easy to communicate. This was because the territory of the Korean Empire had become so large, and communication between towns had been almost completely blocked by the Devouring Ghouls.
In the midst of all this, it was almost impossible to communicate with units whose exact location was unknown. But Tae-muk seemed to have some kind of trick up his sleeve.
“I have to go to Hanyang soon to fill out the record book.”
Tae-muk said in a monotone voice, constantly fiddling with Ho-eun’s hair.
“The record book? Are you talking about the one you showed me before? The one where all the battles were recorded…”
“That’s right. Every year-end, all units go to Hanyang to report on their battles. We fill our record book with the battle history of other units, and other units fill their record books with our battle history.”
“Ah…”
Tae-muk had shown him the record book just before moving the garrison. He thought it was strange that the handwriting and ink density were different in one book, but it seemed that it was because it was rewritten every year.
“While I’m there, I’ll also receive the necessary supplies and money, and if necessary, bring soldiers.”
“Then can I show what I wrote to other units at that time?”
“Yes.”
“If so, can we also find out information about other units?”
“If necessary. But you’ll have to wait until next year again. Other units will need time to collect information as well.”
“That’s okay.”
Ho-eun replied with a bright face. If the eyewitness accounts of other units were added, he would know much more than he does now. Perhaps he could get a grasp of where the Devouring Ghouls originated.
“Then I should write down other things to send along with it. Whether there is a way to distinguish the age of the Devouring Ghouls, and whether they have ever seen a place where Devouring Ghouls live together, things like that.”
“Write it down.”
“Yes!”
Ho-eun was about to get up right away. But Tae-muk grabbed his waist and pressed him down.
“Not now.”
“Ah, yes.”
Ho-eun, who answered briefly, snuggled back into Tae-muk’s arms obediently.