During the journey to the village and his stay, Seo Reun had noticed the way Tien looked at him, lingering glances, hesitant gestures, quiet acts of attention. His behavior, in many ways, mirrored Hae Rin's gentle, careful, a little too kind. But Seo Reun had chosen to ignore those subtle signs, brushing them off as simple hospitality. He accepted what they gave him.. food, a place to rest without questioning the intent behind it. It was easier that way. Simpler. Safer.
Now, hearing the word marry from Tien's lips, Seo Reun blinked. The word registered, but it made no sense in the way Tien meant it. He knew what marriage was, two people agreeing to stay together, to copulate for mutual benefit, produce and raise children or at least share happiness.
But none of that applied to them.
They never talked about staying together. They couldn't produce offspring. They had no shared vision of the future. It was even absurd that Tien had come up to him and spoken of marriage. Seo Reun could only assume it was the alcohol speaking. And when Tien's head cleared by morning, he would most likely be embarrassed.
He studied Tien's trembling form, the way his shoulders tensed, his mouth drawn in a desperate line. And in that moment, Seo Reun realized with unsettling clarity that Tien wasn't drunk at all. His eyes were steady, unwavering, filled with a quiet determination that left no room for doubt. He knew exactly what he was saying and he meant every word.
Tien breathing was rapid now, and his voice came in rushed bursts.
"If you marry me, I'll make sure you never go hungry again. I'll clothe you in the best the village can offer. No. The best I can offer. I'll build more rooms if you want space. I'll give you everything, Cheon Sa. Everything... just stay with me, be with me. Let me make you happy..."
"No," Seo Reun interrupted, soft but firm. "need." he added.
The silence that followed was suffocating. Tien froze, mouth half-open, as if he'd forgotten how to breathe.
To give him a moment, to give himself a moment. Seo Reun stood up slowly, brushing the back of his baji as he turned away. But Tien, clearly flustered, chased right after him.
Seo Reun didn't wait.
He started walking, each step deliberate but unhurried, like one who wanted to leave gently yet firmly.
"Wait!" Tien called out, and his hand darted forward to clasp Seo Reun's shoulder.
But the contact lasted only a second. As soon as Seo Reun stopped walking, Tien's hand dropped away as if he had touched fire.
"Please… just think about it," he said, voice quivering.
Seo Reun didn't turn to look at him. "I do not think of such things," he said quietly. "Neither will I. My answer is final." During the feast he was able to understand that alcohol give some certain people boldness and he witnessed the effect on some of the adults.
"Please... wait." Tien rushed to move in front of him, blocking his path. His hands clenched tightly at his sides. "Tell me… is it because I'm lacking? Or is it… because I'm a man?"
Seo Reun stared at him for a moment, expression unreadable. The question hung heavily between them.
"That is not it," he said simply.
"Then why?" Tien's voice cracked like a porcelain cup. "Please... tell me why you're rejecting me. Just tell me what's wrong so I can fix it... so I can work on that part of myself."
Seo Reun's gaze dropped slightly. He didn't even know where to begin. How could he explain to the man before him that he had no reason, no desire to be bound to anyone in such a way. That Tien, despite his sincerity, knew nothing about him? Not even his true name.
The teen before him did not know the weight of his silences, the places he'd slept, the faces he could never forget. And yet he wanted a life with him as if life were that simple. As if closeness came from gestures and shelter and well meant promises.
"If it's because we're still young," Tien pressed on, his voice trembling, "then we can wait. I'll wait. We can marry in the near future, it doesn't have to be now. You just have to look at me, even just once, and have me in your mind."
Tien's eyes searched his face, desperate, hurting.
"I know you're… you're very pretty," he added, voice dropping into a whisper. "I am sure the traders who stumbled upon us and now visit, the ones we exchange with, they would linger when they see you. I know some of them might promise you a better life, bright clothes, big cities, wealth. They might even offer love. But… but the fact that you left the capital to be here… it means something, doesn't it?"
Seo Reun said nothing.
Tien's voice gained speed, like a man afraid to stop talking. "This village, our tribe.. it's peaceful, it's honest. It's safe. Not like those nobles. Noble women, noble men.. they'll never accept you. You might be pretty to look at, but they'll never let you forget your past. You'll suffer there. If it's children you want then we will find a way, it will work out. That's why your best chance… your best life is here, with me."
He paused, then pleaded again, voice raw. "Please, Cheon Sa. Choose me."
Seo Reun's lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
But instead, he looked at Tien with a gaze that was neither cruel nor kind, just quiet, distant, and resolute.
Seo Reun wanted to yell at him, to ask how dare he even think, let alone say out loud, that Seo Reun's best chance at life was being with him. How dare he think so little of him, to believe he could be bound down so easily, as if he had no path of his own.
A few villagers lingered nearby, watching with curious eyes, and Seo Reun forced the anger down. He wouldn't cause a scene.
"Why?" Seo Reun asked instead, his voice low and even. He wasn't truly interested in whatever foolish reason Tien might give, he already suspected it would be something sentimental and absurd. All he wanted now was to steer the moment toward an exit, to slip out of the conversation quietly, without drawing the attention of the watching villagers.
Tien stood frozen for a moment, as if the words had taken effort to drag out of himself. "Because you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen," he said quietly, "and because I fell in love with you… I want to take care of you and want you to take care of me."
Seo Reun closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again, his green eyes sharp, piercing as they met Tien's. He briefly wondered why he even gave Tien a little of his time when he should have walked away the moment he said something absurd.
"You will not push your selfish desires onto me," he said, voice calm but unyielding. "I am also a man. And in marriage, both people must walk in the same direction. You and I… we are not aligned so I'm telling you now, Tien.. don't bring this up again." he warned.
Tien's voice cut through the quiet like a blade. "Is it because of Hae Rin?"
Seo Reun's eyes darkened instantly. The name was unexpected, unwelcome. Hae Rin? He had no idea why Tien would bring her into this. "What?" His tone was flat, but dangerous.
"I talked to the Chief… about you and me," Tien continued, looking earnest in a way that irritated Seo Reun. "He told me he would respect any decision you make. That's why I'm asking... are you hesitating because of Hae Rin?"
Seo Reun narrowed his eyes, the earlier conversation with the Chief clicking into place. So that's what the old man's vague parting remark had been about. This. "There is no you and me," he said coldly.
"Is it Hae Rin?" Tien pressed, his voice a shade louder. Two villagers passing by slowed to glance at them.
Seo Reun's gaze sharpened. Tien was on the edge of throwing a tantrum, and the last thing Seo Reun needed was an audience. In one fluid step, he moved dangerously close until their faces were almost level. Then, in a gesture that looked affectionate to outsiders, he lowered his head to Tien's shoulder and wrapped his arms around him.
The two villagers exchanged a startled look before hurrying away, clearly deciding they had seen too much.
Seo Reun could feel Tien's heart beating fast against him, each thud heavy and uneven. His breathing had quickened, warm and shaky between them, and his body trembled once, whether from fear, anticipation, or both, Seo Reun could not tell.
"Cheon Sa..." Tien began.
"Shhhh...." Seo Reun's voice was silk over steel. "Listen carefully, Tien. I'm only saying this once, and you will agree to every word."
Tien hesitated, then murmured, "Okay…" His hands moved with deliberate slowness, fingers tracing the curve of Tien's back, feeling the subtle shiver ripple through him. When his palm came to rest at the back of Tien's head, the warmth there was matched only by the tremor beneath his touch.
This time the villagers lingering around also dissappeared from sight.
Seo Reun's grip tightened not in affection now, but in a subtle, dangerous way, as though he could snap Tien's neck before he finished blinking. "You have two choices," he whispered, his voice low and deadly. "One.. you keep pushing this to me, and I twist your head right off your neck. Two... you never mention this again. Ever."
He waited for a struggle, or at least a flinch, but instead Tien relaxed against him, which caught him off guard. Seo Reun almost stepped back, but Tien's hands kept him in place like they were sharing a lover's embrace.
"I choose the latter," Tien murmured, and then let go.
Seo Reun stepped back, scanning his face for fear but instead found… excitement. It was unsettling, the way alcohol could twist a man's mind. For once, Seo Reun had no retort. He simply turned on his heel and left, hoping Tien wouldn't revisit the subject.
Tien didn't follow.
Seo Reun walked swiftly toward his small hanok, the conversation still gnawing at him. Reaching the door, he pushed it open and stopped.
Inside, the space was dimly lit by a small, ancient oil lamp, its weak flame quivering in the still air. The shadows it cast were long and strange, crawling across the walls like silent intruders. He should have sensed a presence before stepping inside, but his earlier irritation had dulled his instincts.
Now, with his pulse sharpening, he froze. Someone was there, hunched in the far corner.
The figure flinched when their eyes met, as though caught doing something they shouldn't. Slowly, stiffly, the person straightened.
It was Dong Ha.
Beside him sat Seo Reun's box, moved slightly from its usual place and the pot of meat Hae Rin gave him was right next to it. At the angle was his sword still tightly wrapped and it seemed untouched.
Seo Reun's gaze lingered on the box, his mind turning over possibilities. Invading his privacy? Stealing his food? Trying to open the box?
Dong Ha's voice came quickly, almost too quickly. "I was just… setting traps for rodents."
Seo Reun stepped inside, his eyes now fully adjusted to the dim light. He could see it clearly, the subtle shift in the box's position, the faint smudge where hands had touched it. Dong Ha hadn't just brushed against it. He had tried to open it.
Seo Reun could read it all in a single glance, the guilt clinging to Dong Ha's eyes, the restless shift of his weight, the way his fingers twitched as if they wanted to fidget but didn't dare.
He said nothing at first. His steps were slow, almost soundless, as he crossed to the corner where his sword lay wrapped in cloth. The air felt heavier with each step. A cursory look told him it hadn't been unbound… yet the stillness in the room only deepened his suspicion.
He turned to Dong Ha, tilting his head just slightly. In the dim, flickering candlelight, the movement seemed unnatural, almost predatory like a wild animal deciding whether to pounce.
"The box... it moved." The words weren't spoken so much as dropped, heavy and certain.
Dong Ha's throat bobbed as he took an involuntary step back. "I just shifted it from where it was so I could set the trap."
Seo Reun stepped forward, closing the space between them by a fraction. His eyes didn't blink. "Are you sure?"
"Yes.. see the trap." Dong Ha's voice was quick as he gestured to the corner. A crude snare sat there, flimsy, meant for something no bigger than a rat.
Seo Reun's gaze flicked toward it, then back to him. "I am not blind. I can see the trap." His tone softened, but the softness was sharper than steel. "And as long as you don't touch what's mine… there will be no problem."
"Yes…" The word scraped out of Dong Ha's throat.
The silence stretched until it was almost unbearable.
"I appreciate the..." Seo Reun felt a bit awkward as he gestured to the trap.
Dong Ha nodded and then, without another word, he turned and left, his steps too quick to be casual, too uneven to be calm.