“I’ll forget it, so don’t be embarrassed.”
Joo Seonghan nodded while lowering his eyes. He grabbed the wrist of Yeon Dogyeong who was gripping his chin. He put strength into it to remove his hand. Yeon Dogyeong, who had rubbed Joo Seonghan’s lips deeply with his fingers, removed his hand. The center of his lips stung, so he pressed it firmly with the back of his hand while looking up at him. Yeon Dogyeong smiled. That’s a fake smile. Joo Seonghan looked at the end of Yeon Dogyeong’s prettily folded eyes.
“Want some candy?”
“…Yes.”
Yeon Dogyeong took out a mint candy from his tactical vest pocket. Joo Seonghan peeled off the wrapper under the flashlight Yeon Dogyeong shone and ate the candy.
They walked silently for about thirty minutes. The attention on his anus that bothered him every time he moved his legs gradually subsided, and the pain in his waist also dulled. Then the events of last night that had been replaying endlessly in his head became hazily blurred.
Yeon Dogyeong was right. This place was no different from Joo Seonghan’s dream. Although his life was at stake, it was just a memory that would be forgotten anyway. So let’s think lightly. Let’s not think deeply. Joo Seonghan forcibly cut away the heavy guilt weighing on one side of his chest. As he was steeling himself inwardly like that, the sound of dripping water came from beyond the passage. Yeon Dogyeong, who gestured to Joo Seonghan, widened his stride. Following behind him, they turned right from the passage. Then a small waterfall appeared. And.
“…Is it dead?”
“Yes.”
A semi-human was lying on a wide rock near the waterfall. Its legs were covered with soft brown fur, whatever beast it was. Joo Seonghan and Yeon Dogyeong approached it. Curly long hair, prettily lowered eyes, freckles densely covering under the eyes and bridge of the nose, lips bearing a subtle smile, full breasts. The bright light from the flashlight scanned down the semi-human from above. When the light reached the semi-human’s belly, Joo Seonghan instinctively averted his gaze. Unlike such a Joo Seonghan, Yeon Dogyeong knelt near the semi-human and illuminated its wide-open belly, looking inside.
“It’s a pregnant semi-human.”
Hesitating, Joo Seonghan rubbed his face and squatted next to Yeon Dogyeong. The semi-human’s belly was completely empty. As if someone had taken the egg.
“Did they kill it to take the egg?”
“It probably wasn’t with bad intentions. The mother is smiling too.”
He pointed at the semi-human’s face with his thumb and stood up. Joo Seonghan also put strength into his legs to follow and stand up. Due to his strained body, he lost balance and pressed his hand on the ground. Something caught on his finger, so he picked it up. Unable to see it well, he brought it in front of his nose. There was a faint smell. It was that good yet anxious smell he had smelled at the fork in the road.
“Looking for the weapon… What’s that?”
Yeon Dogyeong, who had been about to bend his waist, approached Joo Seonghan and asked. Joo Seonghan brought the grass under the flashlight he shone. Because it was charred here and there as if burned, he couldn’t know the exact shape.
“This is the strange smell I mentioned. This seems a bit charred by fire…. Anyway, this grass smell is what came from the right path.”
Yeon Dogyeong took the grass and smelled it. As he was looking up at him silently, light suddenly rushed at his face. Like before, this time too he couldn’t know the clear reason why he did such things. Joo Seonghan let out a sigh with his eyes tightly shut.
“Team Leader Yeon, why do you keep…”
“What smell?”
“…What?”
“What kind of smell does it have?”
“Like I said, a strange smell.”
A cool curiosity seeped from his tone. Rustle. The sound of a small pebble being crushed came from under his feet. The light was still illuminating Joo Seonghan’s face, and his hand touched his cheek. He cupped his face and stroked under his eyes with his fingers. Joo Seonghan exhaled the breath he’d inhaled little by little in portions. Kisses, fellatio, even sex. They’d done even more, but he didn’t know why he got nervous every time he touched him.
“Do you like the smell?”
“…It’s not bad, but it’s a bit uncomfortable.”
Click. The light disappeared. Yeon Dogyeong, who turned off the flashlight rather than putting it away, silently fiddled with Joo Seonghan’s face then let go. He turned on the flashlight again. He picked up something from a few steps away. Joo Seonghan quietly exhaled and stood up from his spot and approached him.
“…What’s that?”
“It’s the knife that cut the semi-human’s belly.”
It was severely rusted. But that was all, the shape was intact down to the jeweled decoration on the handle. You couldn’t say the semi-humans used it. This was a knife made by humans. The one who cut the semi-human’s belly and took the egg, the owner of this knife was human. However, Yeon Dogyeong mentioned a slightly more peculiar existence.
“A very long time ago, it’s a knife used by a wizard.”
“…What?”
“Joo Seonghan-ssi. Have you ever seen a semi-human or human corpse here?”
He hadn’t. He hadn’t seen any in the cave or in the forest. He’d only seen a few pieces of furniture, shoes, and clothes that people might use, but he hadn’t seen corpses. Yeon Dogyeong, who read the answer from Joo Seonghan’s face, continued speaking.
“This forest eats corpses. Rather than a staple, it’s a delicacy. It seems the forest couldn’t eat this corpse because of the wizard’s knife.”
“I don’t quite understand what you mean.”
“You don’t have to understand. It’s a secret. Don’t pretend you heard it to the others.”
Yeon Dogyeong said with a smile. At a glance, he looked happy. It was like showing off a treasure hidden for a long time, and also like a relieved last words uttered before death.
“Are you ready to forget?”
He put the knife back in place, checked his wristwatch, and asked. He couldn’t know from where to where he was telling him to forget. What he just said? Or those secret things where they shared saliva and sprayed semen? Was telling him to do as he wanted because it was a dream limited to this place, the cave? Then after leaving here, should he not stick out his tongue at him? Even after deliberating several times, he couldn’t know. Joo Seonghan let go of the lips he’d been chewing and raised his head. Looking at him smiling crookedly, he opened his mouth.
“The sex too… Do I forget?”
If he didn’t know, he had to ask. That was always the best. Joo Seonghan added to his question.
“When we get out of here and meet the others, can I not kiss Team Leader Yeon anymore?”
“Is that what’s important to you?”
Then what was supposed to be important? About the semi-humans he suddenly learned about? About the forest that eats corpses, or whatever, things that would have nothing to do with Joo Seonghan in the future? He got erect for a strong and beautiful man of the same sex. Unable to shake off the desire toward him that arose without his knowledge, he mixed tongues with him and received his penis in his anus. It was a deviation that went beyond the norm. For Joo Seonghan, what could be more important than this?
“Yes.”
“…I can’t delay the time to go home either.”
Yeon Dogyeong, who came one step closer, clicked and turned off the flashlight. As he lost his vision, the waterfall sound felt even louder.
“Tongue.”
“……”
“You’re asking me to kiss you. Demand it in the future too. It’s fun when Joo Seonghan-ssi asks me to do something.”
“In front of other people, I don’t want to do it.”
After actually saying it, and since Yeon Dogyeong was being compliant, he became anxious. Homosexual love was absolutely not an easy topic. No, using the word love was a bit excessive, but anyway, Joo Seonghan was a bit anxious that Yeon Dogyeong might make him suck his python in front of others.
“You’re making people’s tastes strange.”
As if such a misunderstanding from Joo Seonghan displeased him, Yeon Dogyeong furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms. In the midst of that, the fact that he was raising the corners of his mouth was so like him. Joo Seonghan slightly averted his gaze and mumbled as he parted his lips.
“That’s just…”
“Since you say you don’t want it, I want to do it more. I want to do what you ask for, and I want to force you to do what you tell me not to.”
“…Want to kiss?”
“Open your mouth.”
He, who smiled fiercely, grabbed and pulled Joo Seonghan’s hair at the back of his head. He opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue. Before entering someone’s mouth, their tongues touched first. Bang! At that moment, far away, a gunshot rang out. Yeon Dogyeong, who raised his head, stroked the back of Joo Seonghan’s head a couple of times. Smack. He briefly kissed him as if soothing his regret and moved his steps. Joo Seonghan, who lowered his eyes, rubbed his lips with his fingers and followed behind him.
“The guys have no sense of timing.”
“……”
“Let’s stand night watch together. I’ll kiss you then.”
Splash splash. Yeon Dogyeong said as he boldly entered the pond where the waterfall fell. He, with a submachine gun in one hand, stretched out his hand to Joo Seonghan. For some reason, he looked in a good mood. Joo Seonghan held his hand and entered the water.
They went around the stream making a strong sound. Behind the waterfall was a cave too narrow for two people to stand side by side. They stood in a line and entered the cave. They walked a bit, then turned left once. Then a short tree appeared out of nowhere, and behind it, blue light was visible. It was a tree full of yellow fruits that semi-humans disliked.
Joo Seonghan gathered a few fruits just in case and walked toward the cave’s exit. The explosion sounds that had been continuously heard following the first gunshot grew louder. Bang! Bang bang! The sound was clear and the air was different. Not bright but sufficiently bright light touched his pupils. Finally, it was outside.
Joo Seonghan, who followed Yeon Dogyeong out of the cave, immediately looked up. The familiar crescent moon and stars were densely embedded in the dark blue sky. Had he wanted to come out? Although life in the cave hadn’t been unpleasant, coming outside gave him a feeling of his chest opening wide.
