Jihan, who’d been shut in his room all day, lifted the back window with a blank expression. What had started as faint, insignificant flurries had thickened into fat, soapy flakes, tumbling down in earnest.
Barefoot, he perched on the clothes chest, absently burning incense as he watched the snowfall. The brazier Maki had brought, warning of the cold, glowed red at his feet.
“I should study…”
He tilted his head, staring at the embers.
He had to prepare for the exams.
He had to pass the next civil service test.
He needed to earn his father’s approval again, marry well, become the head of the household one day… become—
‘What’s the point?’
Every dream he’d chased felt suddenly gray, crumbling like the snow outside. Jihan pulled his knees to his chest, burying his face against them.
***
Night fell. He lay down to sleep.
Staring at the papered lattice window, the shadows of falling snow flickered against the eaves. The wind howled, and skeletal branches clawed at the gate like grotesque fingers.
Sleep wouldn’t come. It never did lately.
He lay awake, gazing blankly at the window, when a dark figure passed outside. Jihan jerked his head up.
“Who’s there?”
…………
The intruder moved soundlessly, like a snake through grass—circling the pavilion, stepping onto the veranda, the outer door creaking open, slow footsteps crossing the hallway.
The shadow stopped before his room. A tall man in a bamboo hat and overcoat, the cold and snowflakes clinging to him as he slid the door open.
“…You.”
Jihan’s eyes narrowed viciousy at the figure in the doorway. A gust of winter air and snowflakes spilled inside.
“I’ll admit it.”
Seon stepped into the room, untying his hat with one hand as he closed the door behind him. Jihan propped himself up on one elbow, half-sitting in his bedding, and listened.
“Ever since that night…”
Seon trailed off, rubbing his eyes.
His fingertips brushed away something—his eyelids were slightly red where he’d touched them.
“I haven’t been able to sleep. That night… it was like someone pressed an ear to my dreams.”
He muttered, then looked at Jihan.
“It was too vivid.”
So he did remember.
Jihan’s fingers, pressed into the bedding, curled into a fist. More than anything, he hated the fact that Seon remembered every humiliating detail of that night.
In the darkness, Seon lifted his chin and slowly removed his hat. The motion of untying his sash and slipping off his indigo overcoat was languid, almost lazy. The new, ironed clothes clung damply to his skin—he must have been outside for a while.
Seon knelt beside Jihan. The scent of winter wind and the heavy musk of a man filled the air. Without hesitation, he tilted Jihan’s chin up. The candle flame flickered violently.
“Hyung… do you hate me?”
………
Jihan’s face twisted at the absurdity of the question, so casually asked.
“I despised you too. More than you could imagine. I never respected you. I planned to ruin you—either by scheming behind your back or with my own hands. I thought I’d trample you underfoot and eventually erase you from my sight. But ever since that night…”
The hand gripping Jihan’s chin tightened.
“I’ve been jerking off thinking about you.”
Jihan’s eyes widened in shock at the whisper, low as the depths of hell.
“Have you lost your mind?”
“I’m perfectly sane.”
Seon smirked faintly.
“Though I have calmed down a bit.”
Jihan swallowed hard. It was as if he’d just stumbled upon the grotesque reality of all the vile jokes Seon must have been making in his head. Now he understood why that smile had always unsettled him.
“I don’t care about right or wrong anymore. I just wanted to see you. That’s all.”
Jihan exhaled the breath he’d been holding. He was speechless. What the hell was he supposed to say to that? “I missed you”? Who missed whom?
The words were too slick, too thick—this wasn’t the kind of conversation they should be having. They shouldn’t be having any conversation at all. His mind reeled.
“…So?”
Jihan finally asked, voice low.
“You came because you missed me… and?”
“What do you mean, ‘and’?”
“What answer do you expect from me? You say you don’t care about right or wrong? Well, I have plenty to hold against you.”
Before he knew it, Jihan was dredging up the resentment he’d buried for over a decade.
“You know I can’t stand you.”
Venom dripped from between his clenched teeth.
“From the moment I first saw you, you’ve annoyed me. Just looking at your face pisses me off, and that smirk you flash at me makes me want to vomit. So tell me—what isn’t yours that you’ve taken from me? My engagement? My father’s trust? My body? And now you have the nerve to say you miss me? That you jerk off thinking about me?”
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Seon knew Jihan couldn’t raise his voice here. One loud noise, and his father—light sleeper that he was—would wake. The low flower fence separating the main pavilion from the small one ensured that. That was why Seon had chosen this late hour, why he’d put on the act of going to a brothel before slipping in.
That was what infuriated him. This was exactly Seon’s style—all smiles to your face, all schemes behind your back. Underhanded. Vile.
“Pathetic. One drunken night and you’re here like a rutting stallion, sneaking in like this. If you’re so hard up, go to the red-light district. Plenty of whores will spread their legs for you without you having to threaten them.”
Seon, who had been silent until then, finally answered, slow and deliberate.
“I don’t want whores.”
“Oh, so now you’re an expert after trying them?”
Jihan scoffed. Seon’s smile turned lewd.
“Should I taste shit to know it’s not honey?”
“…………”
“I don’t like things that have been used. Not all holes are the same.”
“Then go back to the annex and jerk yourself off.”
Seon studied Jihan’s face for a long moment. Then, with an expression of genuine curiosity, he asked:
“Why should I?”
The candle flickered. The smooth cheek of a man barely twenty was bathed in crimson light.
Only then did Jihan realize something was different about Seon’s gaze. It wasn’t the fiery rage of an angry man. It was colder than heat—closer to frost.
“Why should I go to a brothel or lock myself in the annex to jerk off…”
He tilted his head, his lips curving into a perfect, infuriating arc.
“…when you’re right here?”
Jihan blinked, struggling to process the words. His frown deepened.
“What?”
“That Goblin’s Water you bought recently.”
The sudden shift in topic made Jihan’s mouth snap shut. Seon, his face maddeningly calm, delivered his next words with chilling precision.
“Its effects are so potent—and so perverse—that it’s been used more than once to assassinate powerful figures in court.”
…………
Seon’s finger pressed against the center of Jihan’s chest, then trailed downward, tracing the fabric over his skin.
“So, by royal decree, not only those who distribute Goblin’s Water but also those who purchase it will be hunted down and severely punished.”
Jihan’s heart pounded wildly. Seon’s finger slid past his collarbone, grazing his navel before hooking into the loose knot of his inner robe.
“Which means, hyung, that buying Goblin’s Water is a crime on par with sodomy.”
Jihan forced himself to swallow his trembling and managed a hoarse question.
“W-why… why are you suddenly bringing this up?”
Seon lifted his gaze, still toying with the end of Jihan’s sash.
“I’m giving you fair warning. If this comes to light, we’ll both be dragged to hell together.”
With that, he gave the sash a gentle tug.
The front of Jihan’s robe fell open. Panicked, he twisted away, shoving at Seon—but in an instant, strong hands seized his shoulders and pinned him back onto the bedding. Seon’s solid frame loomed over him, caging him in.
“What—what are you—? Let go of me. Now.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
Hehehehe 😌 someone getting rape again lol 😆