* * *
A cold chill ran through his entire body. It was cold enough to make his hair stand on end. As his body temperature dropped, Doha clung to the warm heater in his arms. He wrapped his legs around the heater.
‘Can you normally wrap your legs around a heater?’
A question arose in Doha’s mind as he wandered through his dream. A normal heater would either be too large to hold or small enough to fit in a pocket. But what he was hugging now was…
‘Human-sized?’
Doha suddenly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Hyunseo smiling.
“Your Majesty?”
Somehow, Hyunseo was embracing him. Looking down, he saw his own legs wrapped around Hyunseo’s waist. Doha’s face reddened at the suggestive position.
Seeing Doha’s crimson face, Hyunseo let out a small laugh.
“I don’t mind you clinging to me even in your sleep.”
For someone who supposedly didn’t mind, the corners of his mouth couldn’t stop turning up. Flustered by his position, Doha stammered.
“How, how did I…”
“Wrap your legs around my waist?”
Doha bit his lip at the explicit words. How could he be so shameless? All those days of telling him not to touch must have been a dream.
He’d been deceived. Deceived by that shamelessly handsome face. If he had known he would be this bold, he wouldn’t have cared whether his hand developed holes or not. His bitten lips turned red.
Watching Doha’s bewildered face, Hyunseo raised his hand. His fingers gently caressed Doha’s lips.
“You should stop biting your lips.”
“…”
His gaze fell on Doha’s lips. His stare was intense, like a starved man. Without taking his eyes away, he whispered in a low voice.
“You kept biting them all night long yesterday.”
The voice in his ear was enough to remind him of last night’s memories. The redness that had colored his face was now spreading down his neck and below.
Having not a single piece of clothing on, the changes in his body were completely visible. Like a red dye spreading, Doha’s body turned crimson. Hyunseo’s gaze gradually moved lower.
‘He’s truly gone mad.’
Doha inhaled sharply at the lustful gaze. At this rate, he might die from overexertion rather than from an assassin’s blade. They say the first time is difficult but it gets easier afterward—well, this was getting too easy.
As Hyunseo’s hand moved below Doha’s waist, Doha struggled with his legs.
‘That’s why, that’s why this drama was rated for all ages. This drama shouldn’t be rated 19+!’
Besides, Hyunseo’s… thing… wasn’t something that could be resolved with a 19+ rating. It deserved at least a 25+, no, a 35+ rating. His skilled movements and stamina, unbelievable for a first-timer, along with the screen-filling enormous size, made it unsuitable for broadcast. Recalling last night and this morning, Doha thrashed about.
“I can’t do any more! Just kill me instead!”
The hand moving downward stopped at Doha’s words. Did it work? Doha glanced up at Hyunseo. A playful smile hung on his face.
“If that’s what you want, I’ll try my best. Until my Flower Bin faints dead away…”
His hand slowly caressed Doha’s thigh. The smile disappeared from Hyunseo’s face.
“I can kill you over and over if you’d like.”
“…That’s not what I meant!”
“Then I should be gentle enough that you won’t die.”
“No!”
“Then just enough to make you faint properly.”
“Is ‘properly’ enough to make me faint?!”
Doha quickly slapped Hyunseo’s hand away. When he opened his eyes wide in alarm, Hyunseo withdrew his hand from the thigh as if surrendering.
Finally able to catch his breath, Doha looked around.
“Wow…”
It was a transparent lake where you could see everything inside. The reflections of their bodies wavered in the lake. With each of Hyunseo’s movements, the blue waters rippled.
Though he had visited many places for drama shoots, he had never seen such a beautiful lake. Captivated by its mysterious color, Doha reached his hand toward the lake.
“Do you want to touch it?”
“Will you put me down?”
“No.”
Hyunseo bent his waist so Doha could comfortably dip his hand in the lake. He held Doha like cradling a child, gently floating.
After touching the lake for a while, Doha raised his head. Seeing the sun still up, it seemed he hadn’t slept for too long. Given the absence of the fussy Court Lady Kim and Court Official Park, they probably weren’t in the palace.
“Are we still at the hunting grounds?”
“Yes, this is a lake at the hunting grounds. If there’s a river, it’s not difficult to find the way.”
The entrance to the hunting grounds was at the downstream of the river, and the lake was somewhere in the middle. It was a place that served as a midpoint in case the hunting trip was extended.
‘Ungeom probably knows this place too.’
If they stayed at the lake, Dojin would surely find them. It would be suicidal to try to leave the hunting grounds with Doha, who was not in good condition, let alone alone.
Floating quietly on the lake, Hyunseo pulled Doha’s legs. Doha’s body, which had been gliding at his touch, was drawn closer.
“Doha.”
At the low voice, Doha, who had been looking at the lake, turned his head.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Doha looked up at Hyunseo with round eyes. Hyunseo’s Adam’s apple bobbed at the innocent face.
Doha tilted his head at the uncharacteristically tense expression.
“Are you worried about going to the palace? If we wash ourselves now and go out…”
“That’s not it.”
He hastily cut off Doha’s words. Then, he silently looked down at Doha. As hesitation settled in his dark eyes, Doha rubbed the backs of Hyunseo’s arms with his hands and said,
“It’s alright, tell me what’s wrong.”
Hyunseo let out a hollow laugh and turned his head at Doha’s soothing touch. It was absurdly funny that he was being comforted by Doha instead.
If only he had a little more strength, if only he had planned more systematically and in detail, he wouldn’t have had to hurt you.
Turning his head, Hyunseo gently stroked Doha’s back. He had a duty to protect Doha. He couldn’t help it, even if it meant hurting him.
Because he couldn’t live without Doha.
Looking at Doha who gazed up at him with a lovely face, Hyunseo parted his heavy lips.
“We’re not going to the palace.”
Doha’s eyes immediately wavered at those words. As if he couldn’t understand, Doha asked again with trembling lips.
“What? Not going to the palace? What do you mean by that?”
“If we go to the palace now, you’ll die. Perhaps your family members are already imprisoned.”
“Imprisoned…? Are you talking about prison now?”
“Yes.”
Slowly, he stroked Doha’s back. Hoping that his small affection wouldn’t hurt, he brought his lips close to Doha’s ear. Then, in a detached voice, he quickly whispered.
“I can save you, but I can’t protect your family. Even if we go, there’s no way to save them.”
“Then… are you saying my family could die?”
Doha’s face filled with shock, perhaps thinking of Lord Kim and Jeonghyeon. As if trying to break free from the embrace, Doha pushed against Hyunseo’s chest and shouted.
“Then we should go even more! This is no time to be here!”
Despite pushing with all his might, it was beyond Doha’s strength to move Hyunseo. Not budging at all, Hyunseo looked down at Doha. The determination to never yield was evident in his cold face.
“You need to stay here with me until the palace is sorted out. That’s the only way to protect your family and you.”
“Why are you deciding this…?”
Doha asked, staring blankly at his face.
“Who are you to command me not to go or to go?”
“…”
“I’m saying I need to go to the palace now, so why are you stopping me!”
Until this morning, no, even when they woke up at the lake, Hyunseo had been gently embracing him. He had seemed as if he would always be by his side, as if he would always look out for him, firmly supporting his back, but now he was speaking of his family’s death.
Doha glared at him silently with resentful eyes. After staring at him for a long time, Doha unwrapped his legs from Hyunseo’s waist and stepped back.
Another step back—as he retreated, ripples spread across the previously calm lake. Cracks appeared in Hyunseo’s frozen expression as Doha grew more distant.
As Doha turned his body to leave the lake, Hyunseo took a step. Reaching Doha in a single stride, Hyunseo seized both his arms.
“Ah…!”
Doha’s body staggered at the forceful grip.
“You still don’t understand!”
An angry voice fell like lightning. With a furious face, Hyunseo shook Doha’s arms and shouted.
“This hunting competition is a trap set by the Chief State Councilor to kill you and your family. Your family’s arrows were found in the bodies of the dead guard unit and ministers!”
At those words, Doha’s struggling body froze.
‘Arrows?’
In the original script, it was arrows that had led to his and his family’s downfall. Arrows. How hard he had tried to prevent the extermination of his family due to arrows in this hunting competition.
“Ha…”
It felt as if everything was disappearing like foam. He had come all this way to avoid the script, but now arrows again. Doha’s face turned pale as if all the blood had drained from his body.
Doha let out a hollow laugh and rubbed his face with dry hands. With his face buried in his hands, he whispered.
“If Your Majesty won’t go, then I’ll go and do something. I can’t just sit and watch…”
“Then you.”
Doha raised his head at the voice interrupting his words. He saw Hyunseo with wild eyes. Since his possession, Hyunseo was looking down at him with an expression he had never seen before.
With a crooked smile, he glared at Doha.
“Are you telling me to just stand by and watch you die?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
