Even My Life Is Yours Chapter 8

“What are they doing here?!”

Gamyoung and Hongyo, startled, looked at each other.

“Uh, what should we do?”

“Hongyo, you go in through the back door and find Brother Kyungrak. I’ll try to distract them.”

As Gamyoung said so, Hongyo scrambled through the back door. After confirming that Hongyo had gone inside, Gamyoung drew the guards’ attention and ran down a dead-end corridor.

‘This is bad.’

With the guards chasing him from behind and the path blocked in front, Gamyoung, sweating profusely, felt desperate and entered a nearby room. Fortunately, it seemed the room’s owner was absent, as it was filled with clothes and silks piled up to the ceiling.

Gamyoung frantically looked around and quickly hid inside a wardrobe. He heard voices calling his name from the doorway. Peeking through a crack in the wardrobe, Gamyoung gripped the wooden sword he carried, ready to use it if necessary, trying to calm his pounding heart. He only planned to knock them unconscious, not cause a commotion. Gamyoung swallowed hard as he heard the door creak open.

However, at that moment, a group of men rushed out from the opposite hallway. Thanks to them, the guards, who were about to enter the room, shifted their attention. If they had discovered that he not only sneaked into the courtesan house but also hid in a wardrobe, his excuse of entering out of curiosity wouldn’t suffice. Gamyoung held his breath, fearing his identity as a prince might be revealed.

I don’t know who you are, but thank you very much. Gamyoung offered silent gratitude towards the men. Then, he flinched as he saw their faces as they asked the guards what was going on. Among the five or six men, there were some familiar faces.

‘Why is the Right Wing Commander not with my brother?’

He wondered why the guard, who always stayed by Crown Prince Kyungrak’s side and protected him, was out and about. Puzzled, Gamyoung looked in the direction the men had come from. He noticed light leaking from a room at the end of the hallway. That meant…

“It’s that room.”

Gamyoung waited until they disappeared, and as soon as they headed elsewhere, he left the room. He then went straight to the room where the light was coming from. Turning down the hallway, he found two rooms side by side. Unlike the next room, which was filled with boisterous laughter and chatter, the exceptionally quiet room cast only two shadows beyond the paper windows. A strangely unpleasant feeling weighed on his heart. Gamyoung flung open the door without a sound.

“…Brother?”

“Shh.”

Kyungrak gestured for him to be quiet. Then, he turned back to the figure he’d been looking at, a playful smile on his face. Gamyoung followed Kyungrak’s gaze. Asleep, face down on the table, was Hongyo.

“Why is Hongyo lying there like that?”

A bewildered voice escaped Gamyoung’s lips. Kyungrak, who had been watching Hongyo with his chin resting on his hand, replied,

“Isn’t he lovely?”

˖°⛩️⋆˙️

“Hongyo, you go in through the back door and find Brother Kyungrak. I’ll try to distract them somehow.”

Hongyo nodded absentmindedly. Since it was a passageway used by porters, there was nowhere to hide, unlike the other ornately decorated hallways.

“Stop right there!”

With the distance between him and the guard closing rapidly, Hongyo had no choice. He quickly ran into a nearby hallway that turned a corner. As luck would have it, he heard a boisterous noise coming from the end of the hallway. Running there in a single bound, Hongyo flung open the door, and the fifteen men inside all turned their heads at once.

“What? Isn’t that Hongyo? What are you doing here?”

A familiar face among the trainees called out to Hongyo. However, Kyungrak was not among them.

“Where is Senior Brother Kyungrak?”

“Try the room next door. But he’s with his friends right now.”

A man with a flushed, drunken face pointed to the room next door. Hongyo bowed his head, closed the door, and headed to the next room. Unlike the boisterous room next door, he could hear Kyungrak’s laughter from inside the quiet room. But for some reason, now that he was here, he hesitated. He reached for the doorknob and then pulled his hand back repeatedly. At that moment, he heard an unfamiliar voice from inside the room.

“Who’s out there?”

Eek! Startled by the unexpected call, a strange sound escaped Hongyo. Well, I can’t run away after coming this far. Hongyo clenched his fists.

“I-It’s Hongyo. I came to see Senior Brother Kyungrak…”

His voice trailed off. However, it seemed they understood him well enough, as the door flew open.

“Hongyo? What brings you here?”

Kyungrak was seated at the head of a well-set table. Besides the senior disciples from the training hall who were close to Kyungrak, there were a couple of unfamiliar men sitting around him. Intimidated by the sudden attention, Hongyo instinctively stepped back. Kyungrak spoke.

“Oh dear, have you come to say goodbye?”

Kyungrak chuckled and looked at Hongyo. At his words, Hongyo managed a hesitant nod. Kyungrak then patted the seat next to him.

“Such a kind heart. Come and sit here.”

However, Hongyo couldn’t bring himself to approach easily. He clutched the gift in his pants pocket, and Kyungrak, who was looking at him quizzically, seemed to realize something and spoke to the people sitting around him.

“Excuse me, but could you give us a moment? It seems our cute junior brother has something to say to me privately.”

“However…”

“Now, now. Don’t worry. He’s someone I cherish.”

At Kyungrak’s words to leave, the man with the cold impression sitting right next to him urgently called out to Kyungrak. Their relationship seemed more hierarchical than friendly. However, Hongyo was too preoccupied to think about such things now.

“Then call us when you are finished talking.”

As the man stood up, the other men in the room also got up and left. One of the senior disciples, who was acquainted with Hongyo from the training hall, patted Hongyo’s head as he left. Once the men had disappeared into the next room, Hongyo, finally regaining his composure, hesitantly stepped inside.

“So. Did you come to say goodbye?”

Kyungrak’s smiling face as he poured a drink looked quite affectionate. Whether due to the alcohol or just being in a good mood, Kyungrak seemed to be smiling more than usual today. Hongyo silently watched him. He couldn’t understand why his heart pounded and his face flushed whenever he stood before Kyungrak.

It hadn’t been like this at first, but whenever he saw that gentle smile, a part of his chest ached, and now, his heart raced so much that it was hard to speak properly. It was the same now. His throat felt tight, as if his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth. Instead of answering, Hongyo quickly took the gift out of his pocket.

“What’s this?”

As he untied the silk pouch, a rather expensive-looking hair ornament appeared. Hongyo stammered,

“I…I thought your wife could wear it after you get married.”

“Huh…”

Kyungrak let out an amused chuckle.

“Are you suggesting my wife wear an accessory given to her by another man?”

Hongyo’s face turned pale, as if he hadn’t thought that far. He was right. Although it was a gift, from the wife’s perspective, it would be like wearing a hair ornament given by a stranger, not her husband. As Hongyo fidgeted nervously, Kyungrak narrowed his eyes.

“It’s fascinating. A normal man would think of something to give to another man.”

Hongyo’s heart pounded in his chest. Then, Kyungrak’s face suddenly drew closer, almost touching his nose.

“You’re a boy, yet your face is pretty, and your actions are cute.”

Slightly hazy with alcohol, Kyungrak’s eyes scrutinized Hongyo. Under his gaze, Hongyo couldn’t move, as if someone was holding his limbs captive. He clamped his mouth shut, feeling as if his heart might leap out, and Kyungrak, as if displeased, pouted and suddenly pinched his cheeks with both hands.

“Ow! Senior Brother!”

“You rascal, making me worry about leaving you behind. Huh?”

After pinching his cheeks to his heart’s content, Kyungrak looked at Hongyo rubbing his reddened cheeks and then took Hongyo’s hand. Even that slight touch made Hongyo flinch, and he looked up at Kyungrak. Kyungrak placed the hair ornament Hongyo had given him back into Hongyo’s hand. The apricot blossom hair ornament, now without an owner, rested in Hongyo’s palm.

“I appreciate the thought, but I can’t give my wife something another man gave me. Give this to the woman you marry, Hongyo. A husband who gives such gifts will surely be loved by his wife.”

Hongyo looked down at the gift in his hand and then back at Kyungrak.

“I should have bought a fan instead.”

Hongyo looked up and smiled bravely. However, even though he pretended to be fine, he couldn’t hide his dejection. As his racing heart calmed down, he felt parched. Glancing at the table, he noticed a cup of water in front of him. Before Kyungrak could stop him, Hongyo picked up the cup and emptied it in one gulp.

“Uh oh! That’s…!”

“Ugh! Ptooey. What is this? It’s so bitter!”

“…That was alcohol.”

No wonder it had a strange smell. Hongyo hastily put down the cup, but it was already empty. His throat burned, and a sudden wave of heat washed over him. Soon, his head began to spin, and his vision blurred.

“Anyway, Senior Brother Kyungrak, I wish you happiness… I’ll just lie down for a bit.”

Then he rested his head on the table. Of all things, he had to drink the strong alcohol that even Kyungrak, a seasoned drinker, considered almost poison. And it was his first time drinking, too.

Kyungrak looked at the sleeping Hongyo. With his short hair and the way he was sleeping face down, he looked every bit a boy, but his delicate features and slender frame were uncommon for boys his age. However, when wielding a wooden sword or holding a bow, he was comparable to a seasoned warrior.

Kyungrak rested his chin on his hand and observed Hongyo. Where else could you find a boy who would gift a hair ornament to the wife of a man he was leaving behind as a final present? Even though it was a gift for his wife and not for him, his way of thinking was certainly unique.

Perhaps it’s because he’s still young? Kyungrak had many blood-related younger brothers and those he had befriended outside, but he felt particularly drawn to Hongyo. He seemed capable of handling himself, excelling in martial arts and navigating his way through hunting, yet there was something about him that felt precarious. He now understood why Gamyoung was so protective of him.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. The door opened.

“Why is Hongyo lying there like that?”

Gamyoung asked. He looked so bewildered that it was quite amusing to see Gamyoung, who had grown up and wasn’t as fun to tease as before, with such a dumbfounded expression. This makes me want to tease him again. Kyungrak looked at Hongyo and said,

“Isn’t he lovely?”

His eyes twinkled with playful amusement, as if filled with affection.