TSBIRBV Ch 174

Chapter 174 Pillow-Side Litigation (1)

In the space left behind after the unending waves of rapture finally swept past, Yegyeol lay sprawled like a crumpled blanket. Haryang, having changed the bedding once, spread out fresh sheets and then lay down beside him.

He knew his disciple could not endure any longer, and so he had withdrawn. Yet when their bare skin touched, the desire to press closer was irresistible. Thus, Haryang drew Yegyeol into his arms, caressing him subtly.

Yegyeol pulled the man’s head, which was nuzzling his shoulder with his lips, into the crook of one arm and whispered.

“It tickles.”

“Mm.”

But Haryang did not pull away. When the soft warmth of his lips licked his skin, Yegyeol started and let go.

“Still, I want to be touching you.”

Yegyeol wriggled backwards little by little. If lovemaking began again, he knew he could not endure. More than anything, he wanted to enjoy this quiet peace while the heat of passion still lingered, rather than fall asleep in exhaustion.

“I understand. I won’t touch you, so don’t run away.”

“Then only I will touch you.”

“Fine. Do as you wish.”

Just then, Haryang was as generous as a well-fed beast. But Yegyeol knew that in the depths of those eyes, black hunger still often surfaced.

Such hunger will never be sated, he thought. There is only ever a brief reprieve.

Propping himself halfway up, Yegyeol leaned on his arm and looked down at Haryang, then suddenly spoke.

“Tomorrow, let’s go together to Seonyeong City.”

With his free hand, he toyed with his senior brother’s face, sliding it little by little down toward his chest. He tried to cloak it as a subtle gesture, but the hand that caressed Haryang’s chest could hardly be called innocent.

Like a master indulging a puppy not yet weaned from chewing, Haryang looked down at him as if fondly humoring him, and asked in return.

“Mm. Guild business?”

Though he knew Samrang had given him no such report, he deliberately tested him.

“If senior brother has plenty of time, it’s just me whining for him to play with his disciple.”

In short, it was a date invitation.

Understanding that his disciple simply wanted to go out together for no reason at all, Haryang’s lips curved into a gentle smile.

“If you wish it, I will always make time.”

He grasped Yegyeol’s wrist and brought it to his lips. Even after all their coupling, the sweet, tender scent clinging to him never grew tiresome.

“It won’t matter if only I want it. Senior brother must want to go with me, too.”

“Ah…”

Haryang’s voice grew faintly dazed. Pulling Yegyeol into his embrace, he murmured.

“Yes. I, too—this elder brother also wishes to go with you.”

“Really?” Yegyeol’s face lit with delight.

“In Seonyeong, I’ve found a good restaurant. And that antique shop we visited before—I want to go there with you again. You seemed to really like your birthday gift. I’m sure there are more items there that would catch your discerning eye. And also…”

As he chattered on and on, his face sparkled brightly. Simply looking at him filled Haryang with joy.

“Yes. Yes. Let us go to them all.”

Yegyeol, his voice still rough from strain, prattled on for quite a while, then finally succumbed to sleep upon the chest of the man he loved. Haryang, however, remained awake for a long time afterward.

He played idly with his disciple’s soft cheeks, twined his fingers in Yegyeol’s hair, twisting and teasing the strands. These small, uneventful, ordinary moments made reality feel more tangible than anything else.

Only when dawn’s dim light crept in to push away the night did he finally close his eyes in deathlike stillness.

Thus the lovers, having shared their first true union, lay upon one bed, shared one pillow, and beneath one quilt, sank into deep sleep.

His body felt heavy. Yegyeol blinked. Above him, mobiles and lights hung from the ceiling. He looked down at his body.

I could have sworn I was with senior brother…

No. Yegyeol had been granted a new life, reborn. Quite some time had already passed since then.

What kind of outrageous dream was that?

At first he thought he had fallen into hell, then into some religion’s afterlife. To have the mind of an adult trapped in an infant’s body was an uncanny sensation.

So stifling.

Perhaps he had recalled his past life in a dream, which was why it felt that way.

Suspicious of the adults who carried him about, he could not easily let down his guard. In the final years of his childhood, the greatest danger had always come from adults.

But still…

It was true that these people were far gentler and kinder than snakes or vipers like those he once knew. Even Hwang Noya had not treated him so favorably.

After his mother was discharged from the maternity ward, only those two adults remained in Yegyeol’s world. He gradually came to accept that they were his parents.

This was the result of his desperate effort to study his surroundings and gather information. He could even understand some of the conversations held nearby.

By the time he could sit up, he clumsily crossed his legs and began trying to practice internal cultivation. He hated being weak and powerless.

What he had learned at Kunlun was a Daoist mental method: though slow in gathering qi, it accumulated energy that was pure and stable. Even in a child’s body, it seemed safe to attempt.

As I thought… no qi accumulates.

Despite secretly practicing during naptime when his parents were absent, he could not sense the natural energy at all. It was, of course, impossible to form a dantian. Yegyeol flopped back, frustrated with the feeble body he could hardly control.

When will this body finally grow?

He was displeased with the childish proportions of his head, which made him wobble easily when careless.

At that moment, the light flickering beneath the door shifted.

It’s mother and father.

He held his breath, listening.

“Oppa, what should we do? Yegyeol still doesn’t speak.”

Though he seldom even babbled, his mother hadn’t expected it to take this long. Her face was clouded with worry.

Yegyeol’s heart quivered.

“The doctor said his hearing is fine—he reacts to sounds, so it’s not that. He’s just not ready to talk yet.”

“Even so… a parent’s heart is like that.”

Despite her husband’s reassurance, the woman couldn’t easily shake her concern.

“It was like that from the start. The baby next door in the maternity ward opened her eyes in three days, but ours took a week. The doctor said it wasn’t too late, that it was normal, but I was so anxious. What if something was wrong…”

There was no problem. Yegyeol had simply been cautious of them. He had been attempting speech, but mostly when they weren’t around. Moreover, as someone mentally seventeen years old, the idea of mumbling like an infant was humiliating.

“Every time he’s even slightly ill, I feel like it’s all my fault…”

“Darling.”

“Oh, listen to me. Getting sentimental again. I don’t ask for much. I just want Yegyeol to grow up healthy and ordinary.”

Ordinary.

To grow up healthy and ordinary?

Yegyeol watched the shadows retreat beyond the crib’s guardrails. Rounded wooden bars, padded with soft cushions, kept him from falling and hurting himself.

His gaze spread slowly outward.

Though small, the room was filled with odds and ends. In that wheeled chair in the corner, he had practiced toddling. Beside it were the fairy tales read to him over and over. Above hung strings of dangling ornaments like a little curtain.

Everything was prepared for him.

Next time…

Perhaps I should try speaking more.

For the first time, he thought of living this new life properly.

This is… not a nightmare, but what even was it?

Awakening from sleep, Yegyeol rubbed the back of his neck. At last he had joined with Haryang—so why dream such a disordered dream afterward?

He glanced sideways.

Thanks to the guiding, his body was unscathed despite the intensity of their lovemaking. The night before, he hadn’t even dared to think of standing on his own two feet, yet now he felt he could walk or run without much issue.

And also…

While he slept, senior brother must have wiped him with a wet cloth, for he was neither sticky nor odorous.

At that moment, the door opened and Haryang entered, handing him a steaming teacup. Yegyeol, suddenly aware of his thirst, blew on it and wet his lips.

“You tossed and turned all night. Could you not sleep well?”

“No, just… I dreamed a little.”

Answering while brushing off the remnants of the dream, Yegyeol met Haryang’s eyes.

“Nothing hurts?”

“No.”

He stood. His legs felt awkward rather than painful. Like a mermaid with newly grown legs, it was strange to walk.

Is it because I kept clinging to senior brother?

Realizing he was blushing just because it felt odd to walk without clutching Haryang’s waist, Yegyeol turned his face aside.

“We’re still going to Seonyeong City today, right?” he asked, seeking confirmation. Haryang nodded.

“You were the one who suggested it.”

“Good. Then, first I’ll get ready—”

But Yegyeol froze.

A sensation of fluid leaking downward startled him. His lips parted.

“Ah.”

Though Haryang had done some cleaning, the seed deposited deep within him had remained. Now it was flowing out.

Realizing what the liquid was, Yegyeol bit his lip. What should he say at a time like this?

“Um, I’ll just go to the bathhouse. I need to prepare anyway.”

“My…”

Perceiving his disciple’s awkwardness, Haryang quickly understood and asked.

“Shall I take you?”

“I’d rather go alone.”

At his refusal, Haryang’s face plainly showed regret.

“Still, if it isn’t all drained properly, you may have stomachache later…”

“I can handle it.”

Watching him with flushed cheeks, Haryang reluctantly nodded.

“Wash thoroughly.”

Spoken like a warning for a child, but how laden with meaning it sounded—surely it was the aftertaste of the night that made it so.

“I’ll be back!”