TBML 83

“Ngh!?”

Startled, Yiyeon let out a strange sound. Hyunhak’s tongu felt rough, damp, and hot, the sensation was odd. He’d never felt another person’s tongue before, so he couldn’t compare it to anything, but it certainly wasn’t a normal feeling. And more importantly, licking a man’s arm was anything but ordinary.

Seeing Yiyeon’s eyes widen and his strange sound, Hyunhak was also startled and stared back at him with wide eyes. Yiyeon opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally shouting.

“What have you done just now?!”

Flustered, Yiyeon’s voice broke. Not only did his voice falter, but he also tossed aside the fence and hammer he was holding and jumped into the air, so high that if there were a mystical rabbit on the moon, he could have gone to greet it and returned.

Hyunhak was so startled by Yiyeon’s dramatic reaction that his eyes widened. If Zao had seen it, he would have asked if he was an owl instead of a tiger. Fortunately, Zao happened to be away at that moment, whether he’d gone to fill his belly or for some other reason.

Thinking that Hyunhak must have been startled by his sudden outburst, Yiyeon tried to steady his voice, but his heart was pounding, and he simply couldn’t get it under control, so his voice still sounded strange. He stammered like a fool.

“Why, why… did you do that?!”

“…Because I wanted to.”

“Huh?”

In response to Yiyeon’s question, Hyunhak answered calmly as he licked his lips. When the tip of the tongue that had licked his arm visit our sitea moment ago peeked out from between his parted lips, Yiyeon shivered. Just recalling the rough sensation that he had felt when he licked his arm was enough to make him shudder.

“I was just curious.”

He’d always known he was eccentric, and while he usually tried to just accept it and move on, this time it wasn’t so easy. How could anyone lick an arm out of curiosity? And a man’s arm, no less. What could he possibly be curious about? Was he curious to see how he’d react if he licked his arm, or was he curious about what his arm would taste like?

Either way, it was bizarre. This was strange behavior no matter who he did it to, man or woman, adult or child.

“You licked my arm out of curiosity?”

“Uh… It doesn’t taste like anything…”

“Huh?”

At Hyunhak’s remark, which sounded almost like he was talking to himself, Yiyeon’s eyes widened as much as they possibly could.

“It tastes bland.”

Yiyeon shook his head to clear his ears to make sure he’d heard correctly. A bland taste? The weather had warmed up considerably, and he’d been moving around nonstop, so even if it was still slightly cold, there was no way he could have stopped himself from sweating.

“What… what are you… saying….”

Unable to finish his sentence, Yiyeon quickly covered his face with both hands as his cheeks turned red. Seeing his face so bright red it couldn’t be fully hidden even by his hands, Hyunhak finally realized that [stolen content]the impulsive action he’d taken on a whim was a huge mistake.

Hyunhak had no intention of doing it a second time. Well, to be precise, he did want to try it again, but the thought of doing it again scared him. The one silver lining was that, after tasting him once, he didn’t feel the urge to bite into him and devour him.

“I should have tried it sooner.”

At least it wasn’t because he was hungry, or because he saw Yiyeon as prey or food that made his mouth water. A slightly salty, bland taste lingered on the tip of his tongue. It was strange. It wasn’t exactly a flavor that made him ravenous, so why was his saliva gurgling down his throat? Even Hyunhak found it odd that he actually wanted to try it again. But if he did it one more time, Yiyeon might really fly off into the sky.

When Hyunhak looked at Yiyeon and licked his lips, he craned his neck and scuttled away at his gaze and gesture. As he put some distance between himself and Hyunhak, he suddenly remembered a previous time when he’d been too forward and he’d backed away, so he quickly waved his hands in denial.

“I won’t do it. I’m sorry, Yeon-ah.”

With his face flushed bright red, Yiyeon didn’t even respond to Hyunhak’s apology; he hurriedly pulled down the sleeve he’d rolled up. Just like the last time he’d touched his arm, this eccentric young master seemed completely oblivious, yet he was the only one whose face was burning. He felt so embarrassed he couldn’t bear to sit there. It wasn’t as if his eccentricity was anything new, but this was really going too far.

Yiyeon glanced at Hyunhak with a sulky expression, then quickly turned his head away, worried he might have noticed his displeasure.

He couldn’t help but feel that Hyunhak was doing this just to tease him. He seemed a little flustered, and if he hadn’t been careful, he would have given himself away. Contrary to his apology, his face quickly smoothed out as if nothing had happened, and now even Yiyeon could see that he was thinking about something else.

‘What is he thinking…’

He had decided to accept it even if Hyunhak spat in his face, but since Yiyeon wasn’t an emotionless scarecrow. He couldn’t help but feel hurt. Perhaps because of his inferiority complex, as if he were a criminal. Hyunhak’s prank was meant to be harmless, but the fact that he alone was overreacting and worrying made him feel deflated.

He quickly wiped the expression off his face so as not to show it in front of Hyunhak. Unlike his face, which had calmed down once more as he composed himself, the tips of Yiyeon’s ears were still bright red.

“You don’t need to apologize to me, My Lord.”

It wasn’t something he said out of sulkiness after being teased. Hyunhak could do whatever he wanted to him. Depending on his actions, he might get hurt or laugh, but since Yiyeon had resolved to stay by Hyunhak’s side even if he had to endure it all, it didn’t matter.

A gloomy shadow was once again looming over Yiyeon, who had looked so cheerful and carefree ever since they began building the fence. Even though spring had arrived, there would still be countless days of late cold snaps, spring showers, and chilly, overcast weather. And the shadow cast over Yiyeon was certainly not something that would lift overnight.

Yiyeon began picking up the tools and fence pieces that had been scattered in all directions by the sudden accident and resumed his work. Hyunhak was startled by the shock, but Yiyeon’s startled expression was both amusing and cute.

Yiyeon was easily startled. Part of it was because he often spaced out, but it was even more pronounced because he was always cowering like a frightened field mouse cornered in a corner. He seemed like someone who was constantly on edge.im

If anyone threatened him further, he’d probably bite. Though, it would be a pathetic resistance, not even enough to pluck a tiger’s whisker.

Hyunhak stood with one leg crossed over the other, a smirk on his face. He looked at Yiyeon’s bright red ears, which were glimpsed through his fluttering hair. With his arms crossed and a haughty look on his face, he finally looked like a nobleman commanding a servant.

‘What is this?’

Hyunhak stared for a long while at his bright-red earlobes and his pale neck that was revealed every time he bent over to secure the fence. His neck was fully exposed through the slightly loose robe that didn’t fit his body, and if he stood any closer, it seemed he might see not only his neck but also the small of his back.

Before he knew it, Hyunhak found himself unconsciously following with his eyes every patch of skin that was exposed. It wasn’t just the space between the collar and the neck; he found himself fixated on the bony wrists that peeked out from beneath the sleeves whenever he stretched his arms, and even the parts now tightly wrapped and hidden from view. For instance, his ankles, which would never be revealed because the leg ties were tied so tightly.

Gulp.

There it was again! He wasn’t a starving tiger, so why was he constantly salivating?

In truth, while he looked soft, he wasn’t particularly fleshy, and he was small enough that eating him wouldn’t even satiate his hunger.

To think that even with a human right in front of him, he’d think things like “he wouldn’t even satiate my hunger” or “he isn’t that plump.”

It didn’t matter if he was a tiger, it wasn’t right to have such thoughts. Especially since the object of his thoughts wasn’t just some random human passing by with a musky scent, but Yiyeon.

He definitely wasn’t like this just a short while ago. So when exactly did he start salivating every time he saw Yiyeon? He’d only become aware of it today, but it seemed he’d been like this often even before that. Hyunhak ran his fingers through his hair.

“Ah, this is difficult.”

Why was it so hard to be with a human? It was several times harder than living with his mother, who had been an ordinary tiger.

Watching that ordinary tiger was more tedious than it was educational. The more time he spent with his mother, the more clearly it became imprinted on him that he was not an ordinary tiger, and there wasn’t much about her that piqued Hyunhak’s curiosity.

But the human before him, the more he looked at him, the more questions he had, and the more difficult he was to understand. It was enough to give him a headache.

Zao had asked dozens of times why he doing this, but he’d never been able to come up with a proper answer. Even if he asked now, he honestly didn’t have the confidence to give a proper answer.

“I want to see him smile,” or “I hope he doesn’t cry and isn’t in pain.” What was that supposed to mean? Hyunhak felt like tearing his hair out, or better yet, turning into a tiger and [unauthorized copy]plunging headfirst into the stream. Would he ever find the answer?

Even in the midst of that, when Yiyeon curled up into a ball, he gulped again at the sight of his round buttocks bulging out from his pants. Once again, just like in the valley, his whole body began to tingle as if dandelion seeds had clung to him. Even though there was no stream to jump into, he felt as if his ears and tail were about to appear. So, without a second thought, Hyunhak opened his collar and fanned himself with his hands to cool down.

‘Should I lick him again? This time, not somewhere like his forearm, but his neck…’

Behind Yiyeon’s back, Hyunhak’s eyes glowed a sinister amber. If Yiyeon had turned around, he would have been startled to catch sight of that devilish figure, but he was so absorbed in pushing the fence into the ground that he didn’t even notice the change in Hyunhak standing behind him. Hyunhak kept fanning himself with his hand and gulped down his saliva.

“Ah!”

Only then did Hyunhak realize what had happened. Yiyeon turned around at his exclamation, but by then, Hyunhak’s eyes had already turned pitch black, just like his hair.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing.”

In response to Yiyeon’s question, Hyunhak shook his head.

He understood. It wasn’t that he was hungry, or that he wanted to devour Yiyeon, or even that Yiyeon’s appearance made his mouth water. It was that whenever he looked at Yiyeon, his throat went dry. A strange heat and thirst dried his lips and parched his throat, causing him to swallow constantly.

Should he consider it a relief that he didn’t want to harm Yiyeon? It seemed as though the problem that had been gnawing at Hyunhak was being resolved, but that wasn’t the case. On the contrary, now that he was aware of the burning sensation in his throat, he was even more baffled.

“Why?”

That was a question he would have to figure out all over again.