Ren and Zuran were seated on the bed decorated with red sheets. The room was adorned in gold and red. Candles stood in different corners, lighting the room in a lazy glow.
The maids were gone and had locked the door. Ren and Zuran sat there with their veils on, like shy newlyweds who didn't know how to start touching each other.
Ren was the first to take off his veil. Zuran followed suit.
"Gosh, that was nerve-wracking. I almost thought they'd catch us," Ren said as he fanned himself with his purple fan.
Zuran sat there quietly, staring at the floor. He looked like someone with a thousand thoughts weighing on his mind.
Ren stared at him. It was certainly going to be awkward between the two of them, since Ren knew about his terrible relationship with the Demon God.
What do you say to someone you treated like trash and sold off into a slave marriage? Ren certainly didn't know.
"Hey, are you okay? Don't tell me you're thinking about spending the night together and getting shy already?" Ren teased. He guessed he needed to say something to cut the awkwardness.
Besides, if he was going to work with this young lad, he'd have to get close to him sooner or later to avoid dying by his hand.
Zuran said nothing. He still had his head down, lost in thought.
Ren blinked. "Are you mad at me? Giving me the silent treatment? Come on, I saved you, so you should at least—" He stretched out his hand to pat Zuran's hair.
But Zuran immediately reacted by turning and grabbing his wrist, like someone acting to prevent an attack.
Their eyes met as Zuran held onto him.
"I'm not harming you…" Ren said.
"Why?" Zuran asked, his eyes fixed on Ren. "Why did you do it? Why did you save me from there?"
Ren blinked. "Well, I figured what I did was wrong and decided to come make it up to you by saving you. Yes."
But he could tell Zuran wasn't buying that. Thousands of years of torture can't be forgiven by just a few words or one action.
Zuran scoffed. "Tell me, what's your plan? What are you planning to do to me now?"
"Huh?" Ren raised an eyebrow, confused.
"I know you. I've known you for years. You never do something that doesn't benefit you. You found something new to use me for. You found a new way to use me. So where is it? What is it this time? What are you planning to do to me this time? Take my blood? Lock me up under the ocean? What?"
Ren had seen that coming. He knew Zuran would be alert and assume the worst. But hearing him say it out loud still hurt, because Ren could imagine the pain he had gone through.
Ren smiled as he brushed his hand free. "What are you talking about? I'm not doing any of that. I just saved you because I felt bad." Ren felt terrible knowing he'd really saved him because he wanted his help with the beast babies.
He certainly felt as trashy as the Demon God.
And he was sure Zuran didn't believe his words at all.
Ren stood up and stretched. "Let's forget about that. It's already late, so we should get to sleep. Early in the morning, we can start going. They've probably lost track of us by then."
Just then, they heard a sound outside. And then a voice.
It belonged to the bride's parents and a maid.
"…What are they doing in there?" said the mother.
"I don't know, they've been quiet for a while," said the maid.
"Are you sure they've started?" The mother sounded worried.
"I don't know, but maybe…" the maid said.
"Should we go in and check, honey?" asked the woman. "Or we could just peep."
Ren panicked. peep? He didn't know these people were that obsessed with their daughter doing the deed immediately!
"Oh no… they can't come in…" Ren panicked as he paced around the room. "We have to hide, we have to do something…"
Zuran sat there watching him pace. Ren tried picking up the veil to put it back on but figured that wouldn't help.
He heard hands on the doorknob—the obsessive parents were about to open it and come in!
So immediately, Ren allowed himself to do the first crazy thing that came to his mind.
He turned to Zuran and immediately pushed him down onto the bed.
Zuran was still shocked and confused. It all happened so fast. Before long, Ren had pinned him down on the bed, laying on top of him as he spread the bedsheet over them, covering them both up.
The parents peeked into the room after opening the door and caught sight of the two of them covered under the same sheet.
The mother placed a hand over her mouth. "Oh! They're at it!"
"They're busy, let's not bother them," the father smiled.
"Yes, yes. Let's go," the mother agreed as the two of them stepped outside again and closed the door.
Ren was above Zuran, the sheet over them. He couldn't help but stare into his face, studying how perfect he looked, how handsome he was from this angle… how alluring his lips were…
And for a moment, Ren caught a glimpse of a scar around his neck. He didn't know if he was seeing things or not, but the scar had just appeared and then disappeared. He didn't see it anymore.
Zuran flushed, his heart fluttering as he stared at Ren above him. He hadn't expected this. And when it happened, he certainly didn't know how to react.
Their brains had gone numb in that moment as they stared at each other.
While they were there, they heard the parents speaking to the maids outside.
"…Are you sure you put the incense there?" asked the mother.
"Yes. The one the priest gave us, assuring us it would make them go crazy for one another tonight," the maid assured her.
"That's good then," the mother sounded happy.
SexIncense? Ren panicked at the thought. He had read about this stuff in historical novels—people using special incense to make two people get intimate.
And he had noticed a weird smell in the room earlier. He guessed it was that incense!
Panicking, Ren tried to get off Zuran but slipped.
He lost his balance and fell completely onto Zuran, his lips brushing hard against his.