BSW 148

148

Byeonguk received his greeting with an awkward expression.

“…Yes, well. Did Young Master… sleep well?”

“Yes, I slept well.”

“Is your body… alright?”

“Yes. Much better. The fever is gone, too. And the coughing has lessened.”

Ho-eun answered each question diligently with a smiling face. His voice, both calm and clear, couldn’t have been more cheerful.

“……”

Byeonguk leaned his upper body back slightly and carefully examined Ho-eun. At least he was standing straight, so it didn’t seem like anything was broken. His face was pale, but he wasn’t bloodless. That meant there hadn’t been any unfortunate events like excessive bleeding. He wasn’t sweating, and there were no traces of the fever that had filled his cheeks.

Thankfully, Ho-eun was alive. And quite well, too.

However, there was one thing that caught his eye: the wound on his lip. The red scratch was definitely not there yesterday.

“But what happened to your lip…”

Byeonguk took a step closer to Ho-eun to get a better look at the wound. But something like a black wall stood in front of Ho-eun, blocking his path.

“Why are you looking at his lips?”

It was Tae-muk.

“Don’t look.”

He said, looking down at Byeonguk with cold, dead eyes.

“……”

Byeonguk was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t even manage a scoff. His eyes, which were always filled with respect and reverence for Tae-muk, now held a hint of rebellious defiance.

“I was just checking because there was a wound that wasn’t there yesterday. Yesterday, there wasn’t, a wound, I said. If it wasn’t there yesterday, doesn’t that mean it appeared last night?”

“……”

At those words, Tae-muk stiffened. The gaze that had been fixed on Byeonguk slowly shifted elsewhere. Seeing that, Byeonguk, who had been about to add a few more words, clicked his tongue and swallowed his nagging.

“Still… it’s fortunate that it’s just a small wound.”

“……”

“…You endured it well.”

“……”

“Then I’ll go prepare for departure.”

Byeonguk bowed deeply and turned to leave. Tae-muk stared silently at his retreating figure. Then, the presence behind him came forward and offered something with a wriggle.

“You left this behind. It’s cold. You should wear it.”

It was Tae-muk’s military coat. Tae-muk looked at Ho-eun’s face. More precisely, he was looking at his busted lip. The corner of his lip, where a scab hadn’t even formed yet, was tinged with a subtle pink color, not just the wound itself.

“……That’s right. It’s cold.”

Tae-muk obediently took the coat. Then, he spread it wide and draped it over Ho-eun’s shoulders. The large coat, as big as a decent Durumagi, completely enveloped Ho-eun’s body. Ho-eun’s eyes widened at the heavy weight.

“Why are you doing this…”

“It’s cold, you said. Wear it.”

“But-”

“I’m not cold.”

Tae-muk preemptively rejected Ho-eun’s refusal. Ho-eun blinked rapidly. Then, he smiled, his eyes crinkling.

“Yes.”

He pulled the coat close. He had wrapped himself in the Crimson Rain Brigade cloak many times, but wearing a military uniform was a first. Well, it was a vague state to say he was wearing it, but he still felt special. He was rolling the gold buttons with the plum blossom pattern as if caressing them.

“……”

He felt a gaze falling on his forehead. It was because Tae-muk was looking down at him.

“……”

So Ho-eun also looked up at Tae-muk. The eyes of the two men shone brighter than usual. It was impossible to know whether it was because of the white snow spread all over the place, or the morning sunlight pouring down, or some sparkling and fresh emotion.

Just then.

“Young Master, please get on your horse. We’re about to depart.”

Gil-sang called out to Ho-eun from afar.

“Ah, yes!”

Ho-eun quickly replied and turned around. Then, he headed toward the horse, stepping heavily through the snow that had piled up to his knees overnight. But he staggered after only a few steps. Because the ground was invisible, even if he stepped carefully, his feet would sink in and he would lose his balance.

“Oh oh…”

As Ho-eun was flailing his arms, a hand as big as a pot lid grabbed his elbow. Another hand wrapped around his waist. And, just like that, his body floated into the air.

“General?”

Ho-eun tilted his head back to look at Tae-muk. Tae-muk, without saying anything, walked through the snow, carrying Ho-eun in his arms. Ho-eun, now accustomed to being held, carried, and moved by Tae-muk, quietly let his limbs dangle.

Soon, Tae-muk arrived in front of Ho-eun’s horse and put him on it. Ho-eun blinked dazedly and bowed to Tae-muk while sitting.

“Thank you.”

“……”

Tae-muk didn’t acknowledge the greeting. Instead, he put Ho-eun’s feet in the stirrups and brushed the snow off his shoes. In case the snow seeped in and his feet got cold. Because Ho-eun was fragile enough to groan even from snow seeping into his shoes.

Then Gil-sang approached.

“Commander, please ride my horse. I’ll ride with Seong-im.”

“It’s alright.”

Tae-muk waved his hand dismissively. Gil-sang tilted his head.

“Then what are you going to do? There are no horses left. We didn’t bring any extra horses in our hurry.”

At those words, Tae-muk smirked and smiled. Then he looked at Ho-eun and said,

“Give me a ride.”

“……Yes?”

Ho-eun asked back as if he had misheard. Then Tae-muk said again.

“I said give me a ride.”

“Give you what…”

“Me.”

“……”

“Oh Gil-sang, didn’t you hear? He said there are no horses. You give me a ride.”

“……”

Ho-eun’s long, lush eyelashes fluttered rapidly. As he did, he recalled a conversation he had once had with Tae-muk. It must have been the day he first carried out the ‘sticking together operation’ at Chilbok’s words.

‘Please give me a ride.’

‘On what?’

‘On me.’

‘Where to?’

‘On the General’s horse.’

He clearly remembered what Tae-muk’s expression had been like at that time. He had looked at him like he was crazy. But in the end, he had succeeded in getting a ride on his horse, and had flowed and flowed and arrived here.

It wasn’t that long ago, but Ho-eun, recalling the day that felt so distant, smiled softly.

“Yes. Get on. I will give you a ride.”

The morning forest was clear and bright. Although the snow was piled up thick, it wasn’t too cold thanks to the sunlight, and the animals had all gone to hibernate, so it was completely quiet. The only sounds were the chirping of birds and the sound of the horse crunching through the snow.

It was an incomparably peaceful scene, but somehow Ho-eun’s face continued to crumple. It was because the fellow passenger who had gotten a ride on his horse kept doing unpleasant things.

A large hand slowly stroked Ho-eun’s hand holding the reins. Then, it pushed its way into his sleeve and fiddled with his wrist bone, or pinched the flesh of the pulsing part below his wrist.

With his other hand, he dug into the military coat that he had so kindly put on him and fondled his waist, or moved his hand from the bottom up to touch his neck or chin. He even messed with his Braided Hair.

Ho-eun tried his best to ignore the hand, but unfortunately, it was a hand as big and thick and heavy as a pot lid, so he couldn’t.

And if he happened to rub a bruised spot, he had to grit his teeth to avoid groaning. It was fortunate that the person touching him seemed to be doing it because he was embarrassed and ashamed, but he didn’t know what would happen if this touching continued.

Tae-muk must not know that his body was bruised. Otherwise, he would never come near him again. He might even put a leash around his neck.

Ho-eun, after hesitating, finally opened his mouth.

“If, if you keep touching me, I’ll, I’ll drop you.”

He had meant it as a threat, but Tae-muk immediately chuckled.

“Drop me? Who? You? Who? Me?”

Then, as if it was funny even after thinking about it again, he laughed, his Adam’s apple moving. The laughter was transmitted directly to Ho-eun’s ear. Ho-eun shrank and stretched his neck, feeling as if an animal’s tail was tickling his ear. He rubbed his ear with one shoulder.

“Ah, or I’ll fall off.”

“Hmm… that wouldn’t work either.”

Tae-muk wrapped his arms around Ho-eun’s waist as if to show him. He even buried his nose in his fair neck. Ho-eun shuddered, but there was no way he could escape from Tae-muk’s grasp.

After that, Tae-muk fondled Ho-eun to his heart’s content. Then, he frowned abruptly as he touched the area around his ribs. He had known from the beginning that Ho-eun was thin, but now it was too much. He had seen quite a few people who had starved to death, and there was not much difference between them and Ho-eun’s appearance.

“You’ve lost too much weight.”

Tae-muk said, stroking Ho-eun’s ribs repeatedly.

“You usually lose weight when you have a fever.”

Ho-eun frowned almost imperceptibly and replied, struggling to remove Tae-muk’s hand.

“If you’ve lost it, you have to put it back on. Let’s eat as soon as we arrive.”

“……”

“Why aren’t you answering?”

“I don’t really… feel like it.”

The Herbal medicine he had eaten for lunch yesterday was still in his stomach. This was because Byeonguk had given Ho-eun a whole bucket of Herbal medicine because he was barely eating his meals. He couldn’t refuse the sincerity, and he had forced it all down, so he wasn’t hungry.

But Tae-muk snorted.

“Who eats while thinking about food? You just eat. Eat.”

At those words, Ho-eun’s eyes slowly widened. Then, he soon forgot the situation and burst out laughing.