By Zephyria 
122
After that, silence descended.
“……”
“……”
Ho-eun was swept away by the aftermath of his crying for a while, only breathing faintly. When he finally came to his senses, embarrassment belatedly washed over him. To cry so shamelessly in front of someone, especially a superior, as a man. Tae-muk was the one who was actually hurt. Instead of being a steadfast source of strength as his Bondmate…
Ho-eun cleared his throat and rubbed his face roughly, trying to erase the traces of tears. His delicate skin turned red again from the force of his hand. Seeing this, Tae-muk frowned and snatched his hand away.
“Stop it.”
But suddenly, Ho-eun’s eyes widened. It wasn’t because he was surprised that Tae-muk had grabbed his wrist. It was his hand…
“It’s hot. General, your hand is hot.”
It was too hot. When did it get this hot? He hadn’t noticed it when he washed his face earlier. Was it because he washed with cold water? Ho-eun stared intently at Tae-muk’s hand.
“It’s always like that.”
Tae-muk replied nonchalantly. But Ho-eun was serious.
“Is it because of the wound?”
“Well, sometimes it is, and sometimes it’s because I used too much power.”
“……”
Ho-eun let out a worried breath. Even the God of War’s life isn’t easy. He has to feel the pain of being wounded, and the pain of healing. Of course, he had a wretched body that caught fevers for no reason… Still, he didn’t want Tae-muk to be in pain.
“The wound, let me see the wound.”
At Ho-eun’s words, Tae-muk obediently turned his back. The Gunshot Wound was still there. The gaping, dark red hole was utterly cruel. The bleeding had stopped, but it would still take a long time to heal completely.
“……”
Ho-eun glanced at Tae-muk’s profile. There was no pain on his expressionless face. But Ho-eun felt sorry for him. He was pretending to be okay, but he must be in pain. How could he not be in pain with a hole in his body? And with a fever on top of that, it must be incredibly painful.
“Does it hurt?”
Ho-eun asked. He wasn’t asking for an answer. He was just asking out of pity, and to show that he sympathized with his pain. But.
“Yeah. It hurts.”
Tae-muk affirmed. Ho-eun was shocked by the affirmation. Tae-muk was in pain! He was saying he was in pain! Not just anyone, but ‘the’ Tae-muk!
Now that things had come this far, he couldn’t just stand by. He had to do something. Ho-eun pondered what he could do to help him, and belatedly remembered that he was his Bondmate. He had completely forgotten about it, distracted by the Gunshot Wound. Foolishly.
Ho-eun knelt properly on the bed, fixed his gaze on his knees, and stammered.
“If, if I… ki, kiss it, will it… heal… faster?”
At those words, the corners of Tae-muk’s lips silently lifted. He was satisfied that the reaction he had hoped for had come. He propped his arms behind him and leaned his upper body against them, answering.
“I suppose it would.”
“……”
Ho-eun took a sharp, hissing breath. Then, there was a moment of silence. Ho-eun fidgeted with his fingers as if preparing himself, stroked the Hair Tie tied in his hair, cleared his throat, and then carefully got up from the bed.
“Then, uh, I’ll, I’ll be going ahead.”
He even asked for permission unnecessarily, then wriggled onto Tae-muk’s thigh. His face was firmly set with shame and nervousness, but his actions were quite familiar. He was quite used to touching Tae-muk, climbing on his body, and kissing him.
Tae-muk was secretly pleased with this sight. He still couldn’t ride a horse on his own, but the way he climbed onto his thigh so familiarly was undeniably like his Bondmate.
Finally, Ho-eun, having completed his climb up Tae-muk’s thigh, stared at him blankly. Then, he slowly closed his eyes. As if there was nothing more for him to do. As if it was now Tae-muk’s turn.
At that sight, Tae-muk chuckled.
“Even when I’m on the verge of dying, you’ll just close your eyes and wait?”
Half teasing, half sarcastic, but Ho-eun’s eyes flashed open and he scolded him.
“Don’t say things like that! They say words have power-.”
But before Ho-eun could finish his sentence, a large hand cupped the back of his head. His body was pulled forward, and soon warm, soft lips touched his.
“……”
Ho-eun, stiff as a board, stared blankly at Tae-muk, who was right in front of him. Then, he squeezed his eyes shut. Tae-muk, chuckling, sucked on Ho-eun’s lips whole and released them. He could feel Ho-eun’s slender body twitching.
After that, Tae-muk freely roamed around inside Ho-eun’s mouth. He sucked on his lips, traced his teeth, tangled his tongue, scratched the roof of his mouth, poked the inside of his cheeks, and lapped up the saliva pooling in his throat as if a dog were drinking water.
“Ungh, um……”
Each time, Ho-eun let out a nasal moan. Sometimes, he gripped Tae-muk’s forearm tightly. The thick forearm couldn’t be grasped with one hand, but he still squeezed it with all his might, sometimes even scratching it.
Tae-muk also touched Ho-eun’s body here and there. He hugged his slender waist and stroked his fleshless back, smoothed down his braided hair, and later inserted his fingers into Ho-eun’s hair. It was difficult to penetrate because his hair was neatly and tightly tied, but he still forced his fingers in.
Ho-eun’s disheveled hair flowed forward and to the side, quickly becoming a mess. Then, in the end, the jade Hair Tie fell with a thud onto Tae-muk’s thigh, then slipped and fluttered to the floor.
“……”
Tae-muk, his eyes lowered as much as possible, stared down at the Hair Tie sprawled on the floor as if despising it. Then, suddenly, he lifted Ho-eun up, laid him on the bed, and climbed on top of him.
“General……”
Before the startled Ho-eun could call out to him, their lips met again. Tae-muk clung to Ho-eun’s lips more fiercely than before. He forced his tongue in as much as he could, causing Ho-eun to cough, but he swallowed even that all up.
“Haa, um……”
“Heu, euung, euut……”
The low moans and wet sounds of the two people filled the narrow inn room. Occasionally, there was the sound of blankets or clothes being crumpled, and Tae-muk’s rough, beast-like breathing.
“Ung……”
Ho-eun, who was struggling to endure the wet kiss that continued, suddenly pulled his chin inward. His mouth was too hot. The heat that Tae-muk was emitting, the tongue that was heating up as it rubbed, and his own body temperature all blurred his vision.
So he inadvertently pushed against Tae-muk’s chest. The moment his palm touched Tae-muk’s bare skin, Tae-muk abruptly stopped breathing. The tongue that had been swirling in Ho-eun’s mouth also stopped.
“……”
Ho-eun also stopped breathing at the sudden standstill. But Tae-muk let out a hot breath that felt like it would burn, then grabbed Ho-eun’s wrist. Then, he pulled it close and had one hand wrap around his neck and the other around his back.
But even so, only his small palms were touching. Unsatisfied with the insufficient contact, Tae-muk tore at Ho-eun’s Jeogori sleeves, exposing his elbows. Then, he made him hug him again. Tae-muk gritted his teeth at the bare skin of Ho-eun that touched him like that.
He breathed out again, then began to continue the kiss that had been paused. It was a more passionate, hotter, and gluttonous kiss than before.
Ho-eun could only escape from Tae-muk’s arms after shaking his head, scratching his broad chest, and whimpering like a cornered wild animal.
“Ahheuh……”
He fumbled at his burning lips. He felt a tingling pain every time he touched them lightly. It hurt so much that tears welled up in his eyes. He couldn’t understand why their kisses were always like brawls. Were the kisses of the God of War and his Bondmate always like this?
It was when Ho-eun, with a tearful face, was checking if his lower lip was still fully attached, if any flesh had fallen off. Suddenly, Tae-muk collapsed on top of Ho-eun with a thud.
“Eugh……”
Ho-eun let out a muffled groan. It felt like his body was being crushed by a huge boulder. The tremendous weight felt like it would shatter his ribs.
“Heu……, it’s heavy.”
Ho-eun said in a suppressed voice. But Tae-muk replied nonchalantly.
“Endure it.”
“……Pardon?”
“I said endure it.”
“……”
Ho-eun stared blankly at the ceiling. He wondered what kind of torment this was. Still, he had to follow the orders of his superior, so he endured it for now. As he was doing so, Tae-muk buried his face in his neck. He twisted his head from side to side, pressing his cheek tightly against his white skin. Then, he let out a languid breath.
“……”
“……”
It was a seemingly peaceful moment. In reality, only Tae-muk was comfortable, but the atmosphere was like that anyway.
Ho-eun, crushed under Tae-muk’s huge body, breathed irregularly, then slyly raised his hand and groped at Tae-muk’s shoulder. He felt smooth skin. There was no skin made bumpy by the heat of the bullet, and no gaping wound. He wondered if it wasn’t here, so he rubbed it an inch to the left, and another inch to the right, but that place was also just smooth and firm.
And Tae-muk’s fever had subsided. It was still warm, but it was a moderately warm, normal person’s body temperature.
“……”
Ho-eun blinked rapidly.
The wound… had healed.
The corners of his lips twitched upwards. He had helped Tae-muk again. He had done his job as a Bondmate. He was useful. He couldn’t hide his joy at the thought.