By Zephyria 
126
At the Advancing Bullet
“Ugh……”
Ho-eun’s Gun barrel trembled violently. It trembled so fiercely that it was visibly flailing in all directions. Ho-eun gritted his teeth and tried to steady his hand, but eventually, even his clenched teeth chattered, and his whole body shook. Ho-eun was definitely standing still, upright, but it was as if someone invisible was grabbing and shaking him.
It was because he was so, so cold.
The unusually long autumn had ended, and winter had truly begun. Chilbok had told him that the winter at the garrison was cold, so he had prepared himself mentally, but he never expected it to be this cold.
Ho-eun was now experiencing what it meant to feel like his flesh was falling off from the cold.
If he stood here for exactly half a day, no more, no less, all the flesh on his body would fall off, leaving only his bare bones. Or perhaps, even his bones might shatter.
He had already lost sensation in his hands. He couldn’t tell if he was holding a Gun or a tree branch. His eyeballs felt dry and gritty, as if they were covered in frost.
Still, Ho-eun steeled his mind, held his breath, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A rough roar echoed across the plain where only makeshift military tents stood. The bullet flew through the wind, but it didn’t reach the target even after a long time. It had already passed over the target.
“……”
Ho-eun stared blankly at the target, a thick wooden board painted red. The target, deliberately nailed loosely, swayed irregularly in the wind. And there wasn’t a single bullet hole on it. None of the dozen or so bullets Ho-eun had fired today had hit the target.
He had practiced enough to be able to hit the target easily, but with his body shaking, it was all for naught. At this rate, it wasn’t training, but wasting bullets. And these bullets were so precious…
Ho-eun, who had been fiddling with the Gun handle, glanced sideways, gauging the situation. Tae-muk, leaning against a post with his arms crossed, was silently watching Ho-eun. His dark gaze was utterly still and indifferent, but Ho-eun, already intimidated, drooped his head and apologized.
“I’m sorry……”
Even in the midst of that, Ho-eun’s body was trembling. In the biting wind, the Hair Tie binding his hair fluttered like a small flag. Tae-muk, watching this, quietly ordered.
“Run.”
“Yes?”
“I said, run.”
“Uh… A-Are you punishing me?”
Ho-eun lowered the Gun and asked. At that, Tae-muk let out a short, derisive laugh. As if. Tae-muk rarely gave punishments, and even if he did, merely running wouldn’t be a punishment. Digging or cutting something out would be more like it. Well, maybe running would be a punishment for the weak Ho-eun.
“You need to raise your body temperature to stop shaking.”
“Ah……”
Ho-eun nodded as if he understood, put the Gun in his coat pocket, and started running towards the target.
But his movements were so clumsy and awkward. Running clumsily? It hardly seemed possible, but that was the only way to describe Ho-eun’s current state.
Ho-eun was aware of it too. It was because he was wearing so many layers of clothes that his body felt heavy. It felt like he was waddling and floundering with every movement of his arms and legs.
At that sight, Tae-muk sighed deeply.
“Haa……”
The sigh pierced Ho-eun’s ears. He stopped abruptly in his awkward run. Then, without any fear, he glared at Tae-muk.
Why was Tae-muk sighing? Who was the one who should be sighing right now?
That was because Ho-eun’s current clumsiness was all Tae-muk’s fault.
A few hours ago, Ho-eun was about to head out for training when Tae-muk saw him and said, “Are you going out wearing just that?” So he put on a coat, and Tae-muk said, “Is that all?” So he put on another layer of clothes, and then Tae-muk started nitpicking, “What about your head?” “What about your feet?” In the end, he rummaged through Ho-eun’s belongings himself and made him wear everything he could.
And that was how he ended up looking like this. If he slipped and fell, he felt like he could roll all the way to Hanyang. Probably even a Devouring Ghoul wouldn’t be able to bite through all the layers to reach his body.
As Ho-eun glared at Tae-muk with resentful eyes, Tae-muk clicked his tongue. Then he beckoned with his hand.
“Come here.”
At those words, Ho-eun’s shoulders twitched. Thinking he was about to be scolded, he became dejected again and hesitantly approached Tae-muk. And just as he got close to Tae-muk, a large hand reached out and grabbed his waist. Ho-eun’s body was half lifted, and he was pulled into Tae-muk’s arms.
“Uh……”
Tae-muk turned around halfway with Ho-eun in his arms. The sound of the wind seemed to disappear as he faced away from it. Also, he couldn’t see the people coming and going from the garrison. It felt like he had entered a room called Tae-muk’s embrace.
“General?”
Ho-eun looked up at Tae-muk with a bewildered expression. Tae-muk cupped Ho-eun’s face with both hands. His large, warm palms covered his ears and cheeks, and his head was lifted.
A peck.
Their lips touched and parted. Startled, Ho-eun immediately tried to pull back.
“What are you doing all of a sudd-.”
But before he could finish speaking, their lips met again. Tae-muk immediately thrust his tongue into Ho-eun’s mouth. The slippery tongue that entered was viscous and hot.
Ho-eun reflexively recoiled, but Tae-muk didn’t care and roamed around his mouth. He especially targeted his tongue, rubbing, tangling, sucking, and acting voraciously.
The moment Ho-eun’s heels twitched from the tingling sensation at the root of his tongue, Tae-muk pulled back, sucking on Ho-eun’s entire lips.
“Haa, haa……”
Ho-eun gasped for breath. The breath coming out of his teeth was much thicker and denser than before. Seeing that, Tae-muk smiled with satisfaction.
“Feeling a little warmer now?”
“Huh……”
Ho-eun let out a hollow laugh. Tae-muk hugged Ho-eun and turned his body halfway again. Then he pushed his back towards the target.
“Try shooting again.”
“……”
Ho-eun bit his lip as if he was annoyed, but without another word, he returned to his spot. Then, he took a deep breath, aimed the Gun at the target… and the Gun barrel no longer trembled.
……So this actually works.
Ho-eun was once again amazed by Tae-muk’s skill. He had thought he was just teasing and mocking him, but it all had a purpose.
As expected, a master is a master.
Ho-eun glanced at Tae-muk as if he was amazed, then turned his gaze to the swaying target. Then he held his breath, leaned his upper body forward, steadied his arms, and focused his strength on his solar plexus. And the moment the swaying target came into view between the front and rear sights, he pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The Gun fired, and immediately, there was a cracking sound! It was the sound of the wooden target breaking. A crack ran along one corner of the red circle. It was definitely a hit. Ho-eun’s face slowly brightened.
“I hit it! I hit it!”
He shouted and looked at Tae-muk. He even pointed at the target with his fingertips. He looked like he was about to jump up and down if left alone. Tae-muk nodded briefly as if he had seen it.
“General!”
Ho-eun ran towards him with a delighted face. He didn’t know why he did it. He might have wanted to brag, or he might have wanted to share this joy. Anyway, he ran over with a bright smile, and Tae-muk, for once, didn’t ignore or sneer at him, but smiled and stroked the back of his head. He even ran his hand down the neatly tied Braided Hair.
Ho-eun closed his eyes quietly, enjoying the touch. Tae-muk’s hand had something different from his mother’s or father’s. A gentle breeze blew through his heart. It was winter outside, but spring inside.
That’s when he felt something cold and moist on the tip of his nose. Ho-eun opened his eyes wide. Something smaller than a pinky nail was falling from the sky, one by one.
White and round, it was snow.
“Oh…… It’s snowing.”
Ho-eun said, looking at the sky.
“So it is. It’s snowing.”
Tae-muk replied in a monotone voice. He was looking at Ho-eun, not the sky.
“……”
Ho-eun stared at the sky without blinking. Snowflakes fell softly onto his face. The snow that fell melted as soon as it touched his white cheeks. Tae-muk wiped the water that had gathered around Ho-eun’s eyes with his thumb and asked.
“Do you like snow?”
He naturally expected the answer to be ‘Yes!’ Because something quiet, white, and fluffy suited him so well. But Ho-eun shook his head.
“I don’t really like it.”
“That’s unusual.”
“……Yes. It is unusual.”
Ho-eun only agreed and didn’t give a reason. He could have said he didn’t like it because it was cold or because it made his feet dirty, but he just smiled faintly. So Tae-muk didn’t bother asking why. Instead.
“I don’t really like it either.”
He offered a quiet agreement.
After that, the two of them looked up at the fluttering snow without saying much. The expressions on their faces were strangely damp.