NTH 93

At that moment, Sonyeong wanted to grab Meoru’s hand, kick open the door, and run away with him, far, far away, even farther than a foreign land ten thousand miles away.

“Hey, Meoru, wake up and eat.”

“…”

“Meoru! Hey, you! Get up this instant.”

At the familiar voice, Meoru opened his eyes. Thanks to his experience last time, he was fortunately not surprised this time and was able to ask calmly.

“You’re here to give me food again?”

“Yes. You did something dangerous again this time, didn’t you? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No. Is my face all right?”

“It’s all right. Your mouth isn’t twisted, so you’ll eat well.”

Meoru did not even glance at the dining table piled high with delicious side dishes and asked Jeombaek.

“Mister, did you happen to see Sonyeong this morning?”

“Mr. Gukbok? He’s lying down in his quarters right now.”

“Why? Because he couldn’t sleep?”

“Not that, but I heard he was practically carried out at dawn.”

Before Jeombaek could even finish his words, Meoru kicked open the door and ran out. It was only after crossing more than half of the wide courtyard without even putting on his shoes that Meoru remembered he did not know where Sonyeong’s quarters were.

“Mister! Where is the place Sonyeong is at?”

Meoru shouted at Jeombaek, who was staring at him sullenly from between the open doors.

“Come here and eat everything on this table without leaving a single thing, and I’ll tell you.”

At his indifferent words, Meoru, who had run back like an arrow, threw a fit in front of the paper-screen door.

“Are you kidding me? You’re telling me Sonyeong was carried out because he’s sick, and you think I can stomach food right now, huh?”

“You half-wit, if you go without eating, is Mr. Gukbok going to jump up to his feet, and if you go after eating, is he going to be gravely ill? To not even glance at a feast you can only eat once every full moon, you’re a lowlife, but your belly is too full!”

“Of course I want to eat too, and I’m hungry! Why wouldn’t I be! But Sonyeong…!”

“Look. Isn’t it quiet, without any commotion? That means nothing major happened, so you can just hurry up and eat and then go see. Don’t you know there’s no fighting hunger?”

There was a point to what Jeombaek said. If something had happened to Sonyeong’s well-being, the entire temple would have been in an uproar.

Meoru trudged back to the room, sat in front of the dining table, and picked up his spoon. Jeombaek deboned a plump piece of dried croaker and placed it on his rice bowl.

“Rest your heart. Isn’t Mr. Gukbok the one with the highest spiritual power in this country? Nothing will have happened. But, why on earth are you keep being called to this precious place? You’re not becoming a sacrifice for some kind of ritual, are you?”

“Nah, it’s not that. By the way, Mister, have you eaten? Let’s eat this together.”

“It’s fine. I always sneak bites of this and that while I’m cooking.”

Meoru, who had been eating quietly, suddenly ground his teeth.

“If, by any chance, anything happens to Sonyeong, I won’t let that old geezer get away with it first.”

“You mean Lord Grand Tutor? This punk is saying things that could get him in big trouble.”

In fact, the culprit of all this was the Crown Prince, whose face he had not even seen. But if Sonyeong were to come to harm, the Crown Prince would be devoured by the ghosts right away anyway, so there was no need for separate revenge. Therefore, Meoru planned to tie up that damn old man, whether he was the Crown Prince’s teacher or guardian, and offer him to the ghosts.

When Meoru gave no reply, Jeombaek asked cautiously with a serious expression.

“Meoru, you, do you really like Mr. Gukbok that much?”

“Yeah.”

“Even though you’re both men?”

“I don’t care. When Sonyeong is done with what he has to do now, I’ll have to make him quit that Gukbok thing right away. I’ll make him marry me, and I’ll feed and support him for the rest of his life.”

“Goodness, this fellow, he’s a lowlife who’s been rolling around outside, so he doesn’t know anything.”

“What is it that I don’t know? That men can’t marry? We’re not going to register it with the country anyway, so what.”

Jeombaek, a veteran servant who had worked for the palace since his time in the capital, shook his head from side to side.

“That’s not it, you punk, being a Gukbok is not something you can quit as you please.”

“What? Then how long does he have to do it?”

“He literally works for the royal family until he dies. When he gets old or sick, he has to raise a successor, too. The current Mr. Gukbok was also quickly selected, taught, and raised for several years because the previous Mr. Gukbok’s health deteriorated.”

“Why does he have to do that?”

“Because he’s a body born for the country. Can the king’s eldest son not become the Crown Prince just because he doesn’t want to? It’s the same as that.”

“What if he says he doesn’t want to?”

“He’d just kick the bucket without anyone knowing. How many secrets and shameful affairs of the royal family would he have learned while doing that job. A person like that can’t originally leave the palace walls until he becomes a corpse.”

“…”

“So don’t get your hopes up unnecessarily and give up early.”

Meoru, who had resolutely stuffed the last spoonful of rice into his mouth, slammed his spoon down.

“No.”

“Huh?”

“I said no. How can there be such a thing. If you want to quit, you quit.”

“Hey, you punk, that’s why I explained it to you slowly so you’d understand!”

“I’m grateful for that, but I don’t know all that difficult stuff, and I just don’t think Sonyeong would be happy there.”

“What? Happy?”

“Yes. To spend his whole life telling the fortunes of people like the Crown Prince and the Queen Dowager, chasing away ghosts, and chanting Buddhist prayers, only to die lonely without a lover or children. Why should a person be used like an object until he dies, unable to live the way he wants to?”

“Well…”

Jeombaek, who was about to say, ‘Because the person who becomes a Gukbok is originally born with such a fate,’ somehow found himself at a loss for words and hesitated.

“I won’t let Sonyeong live like that. Because I love him to death, I will make him smile with my own hands. So, Mister, just tell me where Sonyeong’s room is. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Having finished his words, Meoru gave a confident smile. To Jeombaek, that smile looked as clear and refreshing as the bright winter sky.

After finishing his meal, Meoru changed his clothes, and this time, he even put on his shoes properly.

He headed straight for Sonyeong’s quarters, which Jeombaek had told him about. As he went deeper behind the Crown Prince’s detached building, he saw a small, humble annex with only one room and one wooden-floored hall. There were no servants guarding it, nor were there any servants attending to him.

“Sonyeong! It’s me, Meoru. Are you in there?”

Even when he asked from in front of the door, there was no reply. Growing anxious, Meoru grabbed the doorknob and said.

“I’m coming in.”

Meoru carefully opened the door. Sonyeong was lying on a spread-out blanket in the middle of a bare room, completely devoid of furniture or folding screens. Meoru, who quickly closed the paper-screen door lest a cold wind should blow in, went to Sonyeong’s side and sat down.

Sonyeong was asleep, his eyes closed, breathing shallowly. He had a beautiful face, as always. But his white skin was pale to the point of being wan, and the areas under his eyes were sunken, giving him a very poor complexion.

While he himself had been sleeping soundly without feeling a thing, what a difficult time Sonyeong must have had. Seeing him so exhausted was not a pleasant feeling. Meoru was angry not only at the Crown Prince and the Grand Tutor, but also at himself for being asleep due to an irresistible force.

Why did this person alone have to suffer so much. Whether the Crown Prince safely became king or not, Sonyeong’s frustrating life would not change.

“Sonyeong. Are you all right? Your husband has come, what are you going to do if you just keep sleeping like this.”

Meoru, who had muttered to himself while stroking Sonyeong’s forehead, was startled when he took Sonyeong’s hand.

“What, why are his hands so cold? His body is too lukewarm, too.”

Meoru, frowning, got under the blanket and lay down next to Sonyeong. Meoru, who pulled Sonyeong’s thin body into his broad embrace, kissed his forehead, cheeks, and lips without rest.

At first, he just pressed his lips firmly and then pulled away. But then he gradually began to take them into his mouth and suck on them like candy, and even forcefully pried open the teeth to diligently rub the stiff tongue. Compared to his pure intention of warming the cold body and, if possible, infusing some energy, Meoru’s body was too honest, and it reacted excessively quickly with just a little contact with Sonyeong.

How much time had passed since Meoru started holding, caressing, and kissing Sonyeong? Sonyeong, who had been tossing and turning a little, opened his eyes with a flash.

At first, he was so startled that he almost burned the man holding him with fire. But when he realized that the one stamping his entire face with his lips with his eyes closed was Meoru, he lost all will to fight.

“Hey, what are you doing right now.”

“Eung…?”

Meoru, who had been exploring Sonyeong’s long, slender nape as if his face was not enough, flinched for a moment. He slowly raised his head, met Sonyeong’s eyes, and smiled sheepishly.

“You’re awake?”

“What are you doing to a sleeping person.”

“I was just trying to give you some energy. We’re going to be a married couple anyway, so what’s the big deal about holding you for a bit.”

“Ha, what are you going to do if someone sees us…”

“What if they see. I’ll just tell them to get lost. By the way, what on earth happened at dawn? Why did you suddenly become unwell.”

Sonyeong, who was looking elsewhere to avoid Meoru’s worried gaze, suddenly felt that his body was much lighter than before he fell asleep. His yang energy had been depleted and he had been covered in too much yin energy from fighting the things of the underworld, but his body was recovering several times faster than usual for just having taken a nap.

It must be because of none other than this person, Meoru, who was no different from an incarnation of yang energy.

“I’m fine now. Someone might come to check on my condition, so let’s separate.”

“Are you really all right?”

“Yes.”

Thanks to you, of all people.

“Then let’s go.”

“Yes? Where?”

“To the cave. The shrine we promised.”

“That is…”

“You said you’re fine.”

“I’m not yet at the point where I can just climb such a high mountain, and it’s a bit cold there, too…”

“I’ll carry you. I’ll gather the wood, and you can light the fire. Then it will be warm.”

“Why, why do we have to go…”

As Sonyeong’s words trailed off, Meoru pulled his hand and placed it on his own groin.

“It’s hard because I get like this just by touching you a little.”

“That’s because you’re so young and full of vigor, and your constitution is overflowing with yang energy, so you can’t help but be lecherous. It has nothing to do with me.”

“No. You might not believe me, but before I came here, before I met you, I had almost no interest in this kind of thing. Only you constantly turn me into a beast like this.”

While Sonyeong hesitated, unable to find a retort, Meoru sat down with his back to him.

“Get on.”

“…Just stay here.”

“If you keep resisting like that, I’ll sling you over my shoulder and carry you off by force.”

“I’ll put a barrier on that door so people can’t open it…”