Guimun
(4)
What if he had met Yeon Dogyeong somewhere other than this place? Even if he had unknowingly put him in his heart, nothing would have happened. Joo Seonghan would have distanced himself from him by any means necessary.
It was because they were in this place that he touched the lips of the sleeping man. He willingly gave in to the whispers that encouraged his heart with the excuse that he would lose his memories. He kissed him and discovered that he had no aversion to it. Far from aversion, he even enjoyed the sex. However, all these acts were only possible here. Joo Seonghan knew that well. That’s why the next few hours were precious to Joo Seonghan in their own way.
“Why?”
Yeon Dogyeong lowered his eyes and asked Joo Seonghan. Joo Seonghan, who had been looking at him, shook his head and moved his steps diligently while keeping his gaze forward.
Thanks to resting for a few hours, the five who had recovered their stamina were moving forward while crunching on energy bars. If they followed the river all the way up, they would reach a lake, and the Guimun was near that lake. It was the moment they had been longing for. They should have been happy. However, the regret that kept seeping through the anticipation was, as expected, because of Yeon Dogyeong.
“Why do you keep looking?”
Flick. Crossing his fingers, he flicked Joo Seonghan’s cheek and spoke in a low voice. Joo Seonghan shook his head again and lowered his eyes. As he brought the last bite of the energy bar to his mouth, Yeon Dogyeong suddenly reached out and snatched it away. He looked up. Putting the last bite in his mouth and throwing the empty wrapper anywhere, Yeon Dogyeong did jaw exercises while handing Joo Seonghan a new energy bar.
“You like cranberry, right? I’m not a fan.”
Yeon Dogyeong said after taking a sip of water to rinse his mouth. He didn’t look like the type to complain about food. Joo Seonghan looked at the picture of dried cranberries printed on the wrapper in his hand, then put the energy bar in his pocket.
“I like it. I’ve been good at eating raisins stuck in bread since I was young.”
Yeon Dogyeong, who had been offering water to Joo Seonghan, stopped. Joo Seonghan, who had inadvertently stopped as well, took the water with a puzzled face and drank it.
“I’m saying this because I think I may have misunderstood.”
Yeon Dogyeong began. Joo Seonghan, who was tilting the water bottle and holding it to his mouth, nodded slightly as if to tell him to continue.
“Cranberries and raisins are different things.”
Glug glug. The water that overflowed from his mouth spilled out past his lips. He hurriedly moved the water bottle away and lowered his head. After wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he neatly closed the water bottle cap. He obediently handed it to Yeon Dogyeong and quickened his steps. He was embarrassed.
“Joo Seonghan-ssi, let’s go together.”
At Yeon Dogyeong’s voice full of playfulness, the people walking ahead turned around. Joo Seonghan lowered his head deeply to hide his reddened face.
“Team Leader Yeon, don’t tease Joo Seonghan-ssi. When we get back, we should give him a brave citizen award.”
Han Jaejun patted Joo Seonghan’s shoulder as he approached and said. Joo Seonghan muttered “No, I’m fine” and grabbed Han Jaejun’s arm, urging him to go quickly.
“What, you’re really okay, right?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
Eyes gathered on him. His face seemed to grow hotter. He deliberately walked at the very front with Han Jaejun and Park Gyujin with an indifferent expression. The sound of Yeon Dogyeong’s chuckling laughter reached the back of his head. Pretending not to hear Kang Hyeonjoo’s voice interrogating Yeon Dogyeong about what happened, he looked around needlessly.
“Ugh, I’m hungry.”
Park Gyujin, who had emptied a bottle of water while the situation was quickly sorted out, rubbed his eyes and muttered. Although Yeon Dogyeong had brought plenty of food, since there were five mouths to feed, and they had stayed in this place for quite a long time, there wasn’t much food left currently. Right now, they only had a little emergency rations and snacks left in case they couldn’t open the Guimun.
“Now there’s nothing left to eat either….”
Not everyone was in the same situation. Park Gyujin, who hadn’t considered emergency rations and was rummaging through his bag that was lighter than the others’, sighed and looked down at the single candy that came out in his hand.
“This is all there is. Ah. My stomach’s making noise.”
Park Gyujin, who had lowered the ends of his eyebrows completely, clutched his lower abdomen. Han Jaejun, who was beside him, clicked his tongue with a grimace. And Joo Seonghan, who had been watching Park Gyujin try to unwrap the candy with a pitiful face, took out the cranberry energy bar from his pocket.
“Please eat this.”
He handed it to Park Gyujin. Park Gyujin’s eyes widened as he stared at Joo Seonghan with his mouth hanging open. Something this precious…. His eyes were saying it intensely.
“Really, thank you so much, Joo Seonghan-ssi. I didn’t have any food because I messed up my portion control. How did you know….”
“Crazy, you said it loud enough for everyone to hear!”
As if this wasn’t the first or second time, Han Jaejun yelled. Park Gyujin, who flinched and shrank his shoulders in surprise, quickly took the energy bar from Joo Seonghan’s hand. As if he had learned how to ignore, he let Han Jaejun’s words go in one ear and out the other and said “Thank you” to Joo Seonghan with a bright smile. Then he tore open the wrapper and demolished half of it in one go. Han Jaejun, who had been watching him, turned his head sharply.
“Ugh, annoying. Joo Seonghan-ssi should receive a kind citizen award, not a brave citizen award.”
“No. It’s fine since I also received that….”
He cut off his words and hardened his face. He had forgotten what happens when you give something you received from someone to another person. During his university days, a girlfriend he had dated for about two months had given Joo Seonghan a fountain pen as a gift. He liked the feel of using a fountain pen for the first time, so he carried it around and used it every day, but one day a classmate asked to borrow the pen for a moment. He handed him the fountain pen he was holding, and he asked if he could use this pen just for today, saying he was sorry. Joo Seonghan had other pens. So he told him to go ahead without thinking. And a few hours later, the girlfriend who discovered the fountain pen in the classmate’s hand came to Joo Seonghan and got angry.
‘There’s a limit to being inconsiderate! Why did you give it to another kid?’
He said he didn’t give it to him, he lent it. The girlfriend didn’t soften her expression and shouted. This isn’t the first or second time!
He hadn’t noticed until then. He couldn’t refute the statement that he hadn’t cherished the things his girlfriend gave him. Joo Seonghan lowered his head like a criminal and said he was sorry, and she burst out with the resentment she had been accumulating. He apologized for a long time. While wiping the face of the crying woman, he repeatedly said he wouldn’t do it again. She said “Really?” and stopped crying, and that day she and Joo Seonghan went to a motel. And they broke up a few days later.
Although he wasn’t in a relationship with Yeon Dogyeong, giving something received from someone else to another person was rude behavior. Joo Seonghan, who belatedly recalled that fact he had only learned after becoming an adult, hesitated and looked back. Yeon Dogyeong, who had been nodding while listening to Kang Hyeonjoo’s words, raised his gaze. Their eyes met. He smiled looking at Joo Seonghan.
With a somewhat tingling feeling, Joo Seonghan slowed his steps. Han Jaejun’s profanity-laced words directed at Park Gyujin grew distant, and Kang Hyeonjoo’s whispering voice grew closer. Joo Seonghan stood beside Yeon Dogyeong. He walked matching his stride. He hoped the present wouldn’t become the past.
Kang Hyeonjoo kept saying something, but the content didn’t enter Joo Seonghan’s ears well. Joo Seonghan was just busy stealing glances at Yeon Dogyeong. He was curious what he was thinking. He wanted to ask if there were other foods he didn’t like besides cranberry. Conversely, he also wanted to know what foods he liked. Whether he was in a bad mood because he gave the energy bar he had given him to Park Gyujin, when he came to dislike people, when he came to like people, and whether he would forget Joo Seonghan who had lost his memories…. He wanted to ask.
“Go ahead.”
“What?”
“I’m going to the bathroom. Do you want to go too, Joo Seonghan-ssi?”
The distant sounds struck Joo Seonghan. Joo Seonghan blinked and looked at Kang Hyeonjoo and Yeon Dogyeong.
“You two go ahead. I’ll go slowly.”
Because they didn’t know when a semi-human might pop out, they usually went to the bathroom in twos or threes. Kang Hyeonjoo, who had sorted out the situation on his own, widened his stride and approached Han Jaejun, and Yeon Dogyeong grabbed Joo Seonghan’s arm and entered the forest thick with leaves. He went behind a thick tree and pushed Joo Seonghan against the pillar. Blocking his front, he grabbed Joo Seonghan’s lower jaw and lifted it up.
“Why do you keep looking like that, hm?”
“……”
“Why do you look at me like a bitch in heat? It’s distracting.”
The smile was fierce. Joo Seonghan looked up at Yeon Dogyeong as if entranced, then slowly raised his hand. He stopped his hand in front of his soft, supple, reddish lips. Yeon Dogyeong, who slowly calmed his fierce smile, lowered his head. He covered Joo Seonghan’s lips as if devouring them. A hot tongue entered his mouth. Joo Seonghan opened his mouth to take Yeon Dogyeong’s tongue deeper inside. He sucked on his thick tongue. He turned his head to the other side. Their lower lips rubbed together, and their chin tips grazed. It felt good.
“Hah….”
Yeon Dogyeong’s hand moved from Joo Seonghan’s jaw to the back of his head. Making him tilt his head back completely, he deliberately made loud sounds as he moistened the inside of Joo Seonghan’s mouth. Their lower abdomens pressed together. Yeon Dogyeong, who had come closer, forcibly shoved his hand into the back of Joo Seonghan’s pants. His large hand, which entered while touching bare skin, gripped his buttocks tightly. Hup. Joo Seonghan inhaled. Due to their breaths entangling in an instant, breathing felt awkward. Joo Seonghan grabbed Yeon Dogyeong’s shoulder and tried to separate their lips. Yeon Dogyeong, who was firmly holding the back of his head, blocked Joo Seonghan’s movement.
“Mmnh, ngh….”
Joo Seonghan tightened his throat, swallowed the saliva of two people that had filled his mouth, and grabbed and shook Yeon Dogyeong’s arm. His breathing was rough.
