TSBIRBV Ch 175

Chapter 175 Pillow-Side Litigation (2)

The bathhouse attached to his senior brother’s quarters was larger than the one in Yegyeol’s own annex. The water had already been drawn, steam rising in thick curls, as if Haryang had expected Yegyeol would wash as soon as he woke.

Yegyeol slipped out of his clothes and eased himself into the water, scrubbing his body thoroughly. Though he had come mainly to deal with the semen leaking sluggishly from below, it wasn’t easy to bring himself to act.

Still, I must.

Better to take care of it himself than to leave it to Haryang. Yegyeol reminded himself he was a grown man—he had gone to the dentist alone, hadn’t he? This was no different.

Resolving himself, he reached down between his thighs.

“Ahh…”

His voice echoed strangely against the bathhouse walls, so lewd that he quickly clamped his lips shut before moving his fingers again. Forcing his own lower passage open and scraping out what remained inside was far from simple. But if he climbed into a carriage like this, his clothes and seat would be soaked, so there was no choice.

By now, the passage that had been swollen the night before had returned to its usual state, though traces of their long, intense joining still lingered. What had once been tightly closed easily swallowed two fingers.

His fingers could never reach as deeply as Haryang had driven into him, so as he strained, pushing in and tugging, the sloshing of the water mingled with low, accidental moans.

Bathhouses always echo like this.

He remembered going with his father when he was young. Back then too, voices and footsteps had reverberated through the steamy air. That suffocating heat and mist came vividly back to him now.

Hm…

It wasn’t like him to get sentimental. Perhaps it was because of the dream he had had in the night.

Thinking on it, his relationship with his parents hadn’t been that bad in the very earliest years—at least, not until before the “hospital.” Before then, they had been, more or less, a decent family. Not perfect, but not entirely broken.

Snapping himself from such thoughts, Yegyeol forced his hand to keep moving. He had to finish quickly, so they could leave for Seonyeong before dark.

It’s inconvenient to travel after nightfall.

The roads weren’t well maintained, there were no streetlamps—moving about after sundown was no easy matter.

Steeling himself, he dug deeper. The cloudy water swirled as the semen leaking from inside him spread.

“How much did he…”

Before the words could form fully, Yegyeol jerked his head up, sensing someone’s approach.

Senior brother.

No wonder he had so easily let him go. Even wearing rose-colored glasses, Yegyeol could not deny Haryang’s relentlessness. Perhaps it was exactly because of such qualities that he loved him.

“I came since you were taking a while. Are you all right?”

The shadow wavering beyond the door made Yegyeol’s lips part.

“Is it that late already?”

He realized then how long he had wasted hesitating. The water was no longer hot but only lukewarm.

“If it’s difficult to handle alone, I’ll help you.”

“And what if you can’t hold back?”

“Perhaps you don’t trust me, but I will not break my promise.”

At those words, Yegyeol’s heart softened a little.

“…It isn’t senior brother I doubt. I’m not sure I can restrain myself.”

He grumbled at being forced to admit such things, but outside, there was only silence.

“…I see. Then I’ll wait in the chamber. Don’t stay too long—you’ll catch cold.”

“Yes.”

Mumbling his answer, Yegyeol hurried as soon as Haryang’s shadow retreated, quickly scrubbing the rest of his body.

Once done, he stepped out of the bath. Though Haryang had said he would wait inside, he was pacing in front of the quarters.

Yegyeol had barely taken a few steps when the man turned at his presence. Their eyes met slowly, and heat rose in Yegyeol’s face. Droplets streamed down his hair, his hastily dried clothes clung damply to his skin—and the memory of what he had been doing moments ago weighed on him.

Do I… greet him, in a time like this?

That felt odd too. Everything felt awkward. Everything felt conscious.

Fidgeting, Yegyeol tugged his clothes straighter.

“Let’s go quickly.”

“Wait…”

Haryang tugged him close behind a pillar and kissed him.

“Mmm… hhh…”

Yegyeol placed his hand atop the one Haryang slid beneath his clothes. Obediently, the hand withdrew, resting at his thigh before pulling away altogether with the kiss.

“There’s no one watching—why hide?”

“…Who knows.”

The suggestive reply startled Yegyeol into widening his senses. But there was no one else nearby.

Senior brother, are you actually insane?

That his senior brother would tease him like this, pretending their guards lurked unseen, delighted Yegyeol beyond measure.

“Then… last night too…?”

Even though he knew only the little snake had been there, Yegyeol asked nervously.

“Don’t worry about that.”

Haryang denied it at once.

“Still, the thought that anyone might have heard your cries is… dizzying.”

If anyone else had entertained such indecent thoughts about Yegyeol, Haryang would have dragged him here and poured boiling wax into his ears.

“…Thank goodness. I was worried someone might have.”

Clueless of such inner savagery, Yegyeol sighed in relief.

Led back to Haryang’s chambers, Yegyeol dried his hair. As he was finishing dressing, Haryang returned with something in his hand—a hat with long veils attached. The white gauze was sheer enough to hint at what lay beyond, yet opaque enough to conceal.

“A face-veil.”

“This will cover my whole face, won’t it?”

Yegyeol, who disliked feeling stifled, lowered it uneasily. But Haryang didn’t withdraw his hand. As Yegyeol turned it this way and that, he explained.

“Remember when we ran into assassins on the way back from Seonyeong?”

The excuse was easy to accept.

“For safety, then.”

Yegyeol nodded without suspicion.

“And you don’t fear returning so soon, even after assassins appeared last time?”

At that, Yegyeol faltered. Since his awakening, everywhere he went he was treated as a living weapon. With Haryang there to dispatch assassins, he hadn’t even thought of them as a threat.

“Is my disciple simply bold—or does he trust this elder brother too much?”

Haryang murmured. Yegyeol laughed sheepishly and tugged his sleeve.

“With senior brother beside me, what would I have to fear?”

“You little…”

Haryang flicked his nose lightly, not unkindly, and muttered.

“Far too defenseless.”

Yegyeol only smiled back, wordless.

“That’s enough. Let’s go.”

Together they boarded the carriage. All the way to Seonyeong, Yegyeol deliberately held Haryang’s hand. Noticing his fidgeting, Haryang clasped it firmly in return, the curve of his lips softening as he gazed out the window.

It was a day of astonishing peace.

When they arrived, Yegyeol alighted from the carriage. Since it was a date, he had insisted on coming without attendants or drivers.

“Shall we?”

He tugged on Haryang’s hand, and Haryang answered by walking forward.

Though he had visited Seonyeong many times, coming with Haryang—especially right after their hearts had united—made everything seem new and marvelous.

“Senior brother, look at that.”

Yegyeol lifted his veil to admire a strange horse with long, feathery hair about its ankles. Haryang lowered the gauze again.

“If you want, I’ll bring one back for you.”

“Riding is too hard. I only want to ride the horses you put me on.”

“That’s pleasing to hear.”

“I wasn’t just being polite.”

Their words hovered somewhere between playfulness and tenderness. Together they visited a restaurant, then crossed to a teahouse where they listened to a storyteller’s tales.

“Where shall we go next?”

Yegyeol discreetly lifted the veil to ask.

“I gave it to cover your face—why keep lifting it?” Haryang clicked his tongue. Clearly, he disliked how Yegyeol kept sneaking it aside.

“But with this on, I can hardly see.”

He had promised to behave after the assassin incident, but the veil had one fatal flaw: it blurred the entire world—including Haryang.

If only I could see senior brother clearly…

“Do you think this elder brother would let you stumble and fall?”

Haryang showed no sign of yielding. Yegyeol rolled his eyes, then brightened.

“Besides, whenever I speak, the veil—”

He inhaled deliberately, and the thin fabric clung to his lips.

“—sticks like this.”

“You’ve pushed it back too far. Let me fix it.”

Haryang adjusted the veil once more.

Failing to escape the stifling hat, Yegyeol sulked inwardly.

I’m not defenseless—senior brother’s just overprotective…

Still, he chose to see it kindly. Other espers had to fake illness just to receive coddling, while Haryang handled him as if one careless breath would extinguish him, or one squeeze would shatter him.

“If you keep removing it… then this elder brother will have to make other arrangements.”

The way Haryang tied the strings again carried a faint note of mischief, almost like a threat. Yegyeol blinked rapidly, then nodded.

“Yes.”

Whatever his true feelings, he always answered well. Always.