Chapter 7: The Whole of My Life

Despite only having his gaze fixed on him, Hwaun found it difficult to stop the laughter from bubbling up. Feeling embarrassed, he intentionally kept his head slightly bowed and looked at the floor as he walked forward, finally offering a polite and formal greeting by bending his knees.

“I greet Your Imperial Majesty.”

“Rise quickly and come here.”

A voice flowed out, so urgent that not a trace of imperial dignity could be found within it. Unable to hold back a small burst of laughter anymore, Hwaun raised his body and finally lifted his gaze to meet the man before him.

The Son of Heaven for ten thousand years, the Emperor of the Great Anguk, and Yeon Hwaun’s one and only lover. Seong Ihan.

He was looking at Hwaun without hiding his deep affection.

“I told you to come here quickly.”

Whether even a short wait was enough to make him anxious, Ihan eventually went as far as reaching his hand out toward Hwaun, urging him. Hwaun’s heart surely longed for him just as much, yet the moments when he realized that the Emperor’s precious heart still belonged to him were something he could never quite get used to, no matter how often he experienced them.

Pretending not to notice the stinging sensation at the tip of his nose, Hwaun slowly approached Ihan.

“I hope I have not arrived too ear—Majesty!”

Even though he had come because of Eunuch Oh’s message, there was still quite a lot of time left before the scheduled lunch. Hwaun asked out of concern that he might be a distraction, but he couldn’t finish his sentence. Ihan pulled Hwaun by the waist and sat him directly on his lap. Warm lips descended onto Hwaun’s forehead, who had frozen in surprise.

“Did you come early because you missed me?”

The Emperor whispered without pulling his lips away. That sensation made Hwaun’s toes tingle for some reason; he couldn’t even bring himself to hug the Emperor back, instead simply clenching his own robes tightly with both hands and holding his breath. Moving his lips down the bridge of Hwaun’s nose, the Emperor lightly bit the tip of his nose and spoke again.

“Answer me. Were you so restless that you couldn’t even wait until lunch?”

“Th-that is, Majesty….”

“Or did you want to do something like this with me so badly that you couldn’t bear it?”

Wondering what he meant by that, Hwaun finally looked up at the Emperor’s face, a playful smile reflecting in his eyes. However, what made Hwaun’s body turn rigid was the deep desire lurking behind that smile. Before Hwaun could give any answer, the Emperor leaned down and roughly swallowed Hwaun’s lips.

Under the surging force, Hwaun’s neck naturally tilted back, causing his mouth to open. As if he had been waiting for that moment, the Emperor—who had been blatantly licking and sucking the outer lips—thrust his tongue through the gap and began to claim the tender interior.

With his body completely shackled by the Emperor, Hwaun could neither push Ihan away nor retreat. He had no choice but to helplessly accept the heat of the man violating every corner of his mouth within the arms that held him as if they might break him.

“Mm, hng… hah…!”

Between the sounds of wet flesh rubbing and pulling apart, Hwaun’s moans escaped. Ihan, loath to let even a single grain of breath slip away even while knowing Hwaun was struggling, pushed his tongue deep into the back of his throat until it was breathless, entangling and rubbing against Hwaun’s hesitant tongue as if caressing it.

As one of the large hands cradling Hwaun’s body groped down his spine and lightly squeezed his small buttock, Hwaun’s waist arched instantly as if it had been struck.

“Hngh…!”

It was only natural for a higher-pitched moan to burst out. Ihan did not swallow that particular moan, instead choosing to let go of his lips. Hwaun, whose eyes were already flushed with heat, looked up at Ihan for a moment with feverish eyes before realizing what kind of sound he had just made and turning bright red. Quietly wiping away the lips wet with the Emperor’s saliva, Ihan spoke.

“The sun has not even reached its zenith, yet our Jin-bi is already so restless and craving the act of love.”

“Majesty, how could you say such a…!”

Startled by the formal honorifics the August Emperor should never use for a mere “Consort,” Hwaun snapped back to his senses and tried to pull away from Ihan’s embrace. However, the Emperor pulled him even tighter and continued with a playful smile.

“As your husband, how could I possibly fail to respond to such desire?”

Hwaun’s face went blank for a moment. The word husband felt as though it had floated into the air on a breeze, only to transform into flower petals fluttering in every direction.

Under the heavens, the only person allowed to call the Emperor “husband” was the Empress. No matter how favored a concubine might be, they could never dare to refer to the Emperor as their husband. Yet, the Emperor himself was calling himself Hwaun’s husband without a moment’s hesitation.

In his head, he knew he had to reject those words immediately. Hwaun knew he should step back from words he could not possibly handle.

And yet, no words came out. He couldn’t move. Within the storm of an affection so massive it stifled his breath and silenced his mouth, Hwaun could do nothing but blink his eyes as they slowly began to wet.

Looking down at Hwaun’s face with a loving gaze, Ihan lightly touched Hwaun’s cheek and spoke.

“What is the matter? Are you moved?”

Asking that meant Ihan also knew the weight of the words he had just spoken. It wasn’t a slip of the tongue; he had said it intentionally.

He wanted Hwaun to know that he was his partner. He wanted to tell him that they were in a relationship that could never be defined simply as Emperor and Concubine. He wanted to cement the fact that Hwaun was the only special person for him, so he spoke with such a desperate heart.

Regaining his senses at Ihan’s question, Hwaun hurriedly opened his mouth.

“Majesty… I, I am not worthy of hearing such words….”

“Only you are worthy of hearing these words from me.”

“…Majesty.”

“Under this sky, you alone are my lover and my partner. If not you, then who else could possibly hear these words from me?”

Some people said: the Emperor’s heart favoring Yeon Hwaun surely wouldn’t last long. They said he was temporarily intrigued by the Yeon Hwaun who had changed overnight and was looking upon him kindly for a moment, but since he was a man who originally had no interest in concubines, wouldn’t he return to his old self once some time had passed?

But the Emperor still held Hwaun’s hand as they walked the paths of the Imperial Palace. He didn’t care for talk of laws or protocols. He didn’t care whether servants were present or not.

When the seasons changed, in the places where flowers bloomed most beautifully, where the greenery was most lush, where the sky looked the highest, and in the vast fields where the snow could be savored. The Emperor held Hwaun’s hand and kissed the back of it as if showing off his affection for the heavens, the earth, and all creation to see.

It was so brilliant and dazzling that it looked like a sun that would never set. It was a flower that didn’t wither through four seasons, like a lake that wouldn’t dry up for a thousand years.

And so, in the midst of those days of immense love, Yeon Hwaun suddenly found it harder to endure. Even Hwaun, who always tried to maintain his manners and step back because he couldn’t be as free as the Emperor in his position as a concubine, could not pretend otherwise when savoring a romantic heart that filled so many days.

Hwaun raised both hands and carefully cupped Ihan’s face. After the flood, Ihan’s face was becoming sharper by the day. Even if a natural disaster was something one could do nothing about, the Emperor—who regarded the pain of his people as his own—would not be able to simply dismiss this as an unavoidable event.

Hwaun felt relieved and overwhelmed that such a person was their Emperor, but at times, his heart ached. It would have been easier for him if he weren’t such a kind person. It was pitiful and touching to see the Emperor’s every step as he ignored the easy path and moved forward on the most difficult road solely for the sake of his people.

Carefully rubbing the tired eyes with the tips of his thumbs, Hwaun spoke.

“Under the heavens, Your Majesty alone is my master.”

Ihan bit his lip. It was a very strange thing. Those words were a confession not much different from what he had just said, so why did Yeon Hwaun’s words feel as precious and special as if there were nothing else like them in the world?

His heart pounded. It felt as though he might cry. Only Yeon Hwaun could make Seong Ihan such a fragile, insignificant, and weak person.

“From every strand of my hair to every drop of blood flowing in my body, everything, everything exists for Your Majesty.”

“…….”

“The reason I was born as someone who can know and feel love must have been solely to meet Your Majesty….”

Hwaun’s hand slowly moved past the bridge of Ihan’s nose and carefully traced the line of his lips. The person he had longed for so desperately, whose presence still felt like an unbelievable reality, was right here before his eyes. Hwaun’s lips slowly formed a smile as beautiful as a painting. The light coming through the window reflected in his moist, gently curved eyes.

“Your Majesty is truly my only lover and my… my….”

“…….”

“The partner of my whole life.”