BW C173

Chapter 173

“You shouldn’t be worrying about whether a mouth sore will spread—you should be worrying about whether your lower lip will hurt. If we kiss, it might hurt.”

As Taemuk spoke, he gently tucked Hoeun’s long, loose hair behind his ear. Only then did it dawn on him that Hoeun might be in pain. He couldn’t even chew properly—would it really be okay to kiss like this?

But—

“It’s fine. I’m good at enduring pain.”

Hoeun’s calm reply flipped Taemuk’s insides upside down. Taemuk’s eyes narrowed sharply at once.

“There’s no need to endure it.”

“But I want to.”

“……”

Taemuk let out something that was neither quite a sigh nor quite a groan. What’s gotten into him today? Is he really that drunk? He stared at Hoeun, checking his condition.

“Then… do it gently. So it doesn’t hurt. So I don’t have to endure it.”

Hoeun added something utterly impossible to refuse. At that point, pushing him away felt wrong. Perhaps sensing that Taemuk had made up his mind, Hoeun slowly closed his eyes.

“……”

Taemuk traced Hoeun with his gaze, slowly, deliberately. Then he pressed his thumb lightly against Hoeun’s chin, tilting it just enough to avoid the inflamed lower lip. Hoeun parted his lips without resistance.

Taemuk carefully placed his lips over Hoeun’s.

The kiss was slow and tender. Taemuk was cautious—overly so—afraid of hurting Hoeun.

“Mm……”

Their lips met and parted lightly; their tongues intertwined at an unhurried pace. Still, the sensations and emotions were not so different from their earlier, rougher kisses—if anything, they were just as intense. It might not have been enough for Taemuk, but Hoeun was more than satisfied.

“Haa……”

Hoeun cradled Taemuk’s tongue, tangled with it, felt Taemuk’s saliva seep into his mouth, and let out a heated breath. Then he quietly opened his eyes and looked at Taemuk.

“……”

For once, Taemuk’s eyes were closed. Normally, when they kissed, he watched Hoeun as if scrutinizing him, almost voyeuristically—but now, he was too focused on being careful. He only licked Hoeun’s palate and the inside of his cheeks, never touching the sore lower lip.

For some reason, Hoeun liked that. He let a small smile curve his lips as he studied Taemuk.

Hair still damp and drooping, eyebrows sharply masculine, gently raised eyelids, lashes not long but thickly set, a nose so tall it brushed him every time they kissed—and the way the corners of Taemuk’s eyes and brow subtly tightened and loosened whenever their tongues met or saliva passed between them.

Just watching him made Hoeun’s body heat up.

Without realizing it, he shifted his hips and pressed closer to Taemuk—

Touch.

Their lips separated. Taemuk pulled back.

“What—does it hurt?”

He asked with concern, misunderstanding Hoeun’s movement.

Instead of answering, Hoeun lightly licked the saliva clinging to the corner of his mouth—just like Taemuk often did. He found himself regretting the kiss ending so soon.

“It doesn’t hurt……”

Hoeun murmured, then suddenly wriggled and rose onto his knees on Taemuk’s lap, lifting himself higher than Taemuk. He cupped Taemuk’s cheeks with both hands and sucked his lips briefly before releasing them.

At a distance where their noses almost touched, he whispered,

“General.”

“What.”

“You’re truly handsome.”

“Hand—what? Handsome?”

Taemuk’s face twisted strangely. It was a word he’d never heard applied to himself—nor could he even remember knowing the word in the first place.

But seeing Taemuk’s contorted expression only made Hoeun admire him more. A frown suited him impossibly well. People said smiles were the most attractive—but they only said that because they didn’t know Taemuk.

Blank-faced, frowning, angry, irritated—he’d been handsome in all of it.

“Beautiful.”

Hoeun added another baffling word.

“Beau—ti—ful……”

Taemuk couldn’t finish the sentence. The word clogged his throat.

Beautiful. Handsome.

Those words didn’t belong to someone like him. They were meant for people like Hoeun—soft as flowers, white as untouched snow, raised with care and dignity.

And yet… he didn’t feel bad hearing it. Whatever the word, it meant Hoeun liked looking at him.

Taemuk turned his head and pressed light kisses into Hoeun’s palm, still cupping his cheek.

“So you like my face, huh?”

“Yes.”

Hoeun nodded without the slightest embarrassment. The straightforward answer made Taemuk snort softly. When he smiled—eyes curving, mouth opening wide—Hoeun stared again, transfixed. He’d thought Taemuk looked best when scowling, but his smile was just as striking.

“That’s good. I like your face too.”

Taemuk wrapped a hand around Hoeun’s slender neck and traced the delicate line of his jaw with his thumb. His face looked like a painting—though Taemuk had never seen one and couldn’t appreciate art, he still knew Hoeun was beautiful. Something this radiant couldn’t be anything else.

Someone this precious… is my other half.

The one heaven bound to me.

The thought moved Taemuk anew. He sucked Hoeun’s lips fully into his mouth, then clicked his tongue in frustration as he remembered the mouth sore. Worried it might worsen, he tried to gently flip Hoeun’s lower lip to check inside—

“Then… do more.”

“What?”

“Kissing. It feels like it ended too soon, compared to usual……”

Hoeun trailed off, pushing his lips out slightly before pulling them back in.

“……”

Taemuk sucked in a sharp breath. Hoeun’s words were neat and proper, yet somehow filthier than any crude obscenity. Taemuk felt himself growing hard, forced himself to ignore it, and grinned.

“Alright. Let’s do more.”

He wrapped an arm around Hoeun’s back and pulled him close—

“Mm… what about other things?”

Hoeun asked, fingers tracing the bare collarbone of Taemuk, who wore only a robe over bare skin. There was a clear heat in that touch.

“……Are you serious?”

Taemuk stared at him, suspicion plain in his eyes—as if wondering whether this was truly Hoeun, or some spirit wearing his skin.

“Yes. I want to share intimacy with you, General.”

Hoeun nodded solemnly, his expression as composed as ever. Saying that so elegantly was a talent in itself.

“……”

Taemuk hesitated, conflicted. Then he remembered the mouth sore, the hours of crying, the fact that Hoeun had eaten nothing all day but a bowl of scorched rice water. One wrong move and Hoeun might be bedridden for days again.

“No. You need to sleep for the sore to heal.”

Shaking his head, Taemuk shook off his desire as well and lifted Hoeun in his arms, about to lay him down on the bedding—

—but Hoeun grabbed the collar of his robe and resisted.

“If we do it first, I’ll sleep better.”

“…What?”

Taemuk stared at him as if he’d misheard. Hoeun’s knees were drawn subtly inward, his cheeks flushed deeper red. Taemuk’s gaze slid downward—he could see the white silk at Hoeun’s waist tented noticeably.

Realizing where Taemuk was looking, Hoeun gasped and curled inward. He himself was startled by his arousal. He didn’t know why this had happened—only that the heat below was uncomfortable, unsettling, and desperately needed release.

And from experience, Taemuk could do that easily.

The thought of Taemuk touching and handling his body made Hoeun oddly excited. Did I drink alcohol—or poison? he wondered vaguely. Either way, his body burned with need.

Watching Hoeun swallow again and again like a thirsty man, Taemuk let out a dry laugh. Then, with a straight face, he said,

“You should… drink every day.”

“Yes?”

Hoeun’s eyes widened, then he giggled like a child.

“Do you like it when I act like this?”

“Yeah. It’s not bad.”

At Taemuk’s honest answer, Hoeun giggled again.

But Taemuk wasn’t laughing. Hoeun was far too obscene like this—so obscene his erection felt like it might tear through his clothes. This time, he couldn’t ignore it. He needed to taste Hoeun, bury himself inside him, or he wouldn’t calm down.

Taemuk seated Hoeun on his lap, spreading his legs to either side. Slowly, he tugged at Hoeun’s robe ties. Though he’d undone them countless times before, his heart still pounded wildly.

Hoeun pushed Taemuk’s robe back as well. Since Taemuk wore only that, bare skin was revealed at once.

“……”

Hoeun stared at Taemuk’s massive body as if seeing it for the first time.