Chrysanthemum Terrace
Title: Chrysanthemum Terrace
Pairing: Hankyung/Heechul
Genre: Multi Chap, historical!au
Word Count: 3,065
Chapter: {2/4?} 1
Rating: NC-17
Synopsis: Two nations sick of war try to end things once and for all -- but what else will get caught in the cross-hairs?
They were greeted in the courtyard by two beautiful women sitting by the pond, one braiding the other’s hair in precise, quick motions. The loose dresses they wore were adorned in beautiful colored silks, a belt of cloth wrapped around their waists. The woman doing the braiding had a high, delicate voice with a whistling laugh to match, and the one getting their hair done patiently had a hearty voice of a lower pitch.
They were discussing something quite seriously, it seemed. Han Geng kept sighing and the one braiding kept smiling sadly. Yet, whatever she said, it seemed to make Han Geng feel just a little better. Heechul was curious, he couldn’t really determine the relationship between the two. They looked at each other differently than how the one getting her hair braided looked at him.
Maybe they loved each other? For some reason, Heechul’s heart stung. But that woman also looked at the other woman in that way, in that doting and caring way. He’d have to ask Zhou Mi what her story was.
“Victoria and Han Geng?” Zhou Mi gawked, nearly spitting out his tea. “Oh please! We don’t do incest, please do give our people more credit.”
“Victoria,” Heechul muttered, finally having a name. “So they’re siblings?”
“Well, not biologically,” he said. “But they might as well be of same blood. They grew up together. Victoria was abandoned by her parents, so Han Geng and his family took her in and raised her.”
“Oh, well that’s a relief,” Heechul said, reaching across the table for the kettle.
Zhou Mi chuckled. “Why?”
Heechul paused. “I… I don’t know, actually.”
“You know, i’m usually good at analyzing people,” Zhou Mi said. “At the best of times I can tell exactly what someone is thinking. You, however?” He looked him straight in the eye. “I can’t really tell.”
“Maybe it’s because i’m a foreigner?” Heechul tried, and Zhou Mi chuckled.
“Maybe so. But you don’t have to worry about Victoria,” he said. “She is already in love, some would consider married.”
“Oh? To whom?”
“An Amber Liu,” he said. “I assume if you met Victoria, you’ve met her as well.”
“There was another woman,” said Heechul. “She had a strong face, a low voice…”
“That would be she. They’ve been in love for many years, and they’re very wise. Lovers of the village come to them for advice on a regular basis.”
“Huh,” Heechul said. “Interesting, because they’re still very young. They look young, at least.”
“Young doesn’t mean less life experience,” he said.
“I suppose you’re right, they do seem quite--”
“周觅,” a voice of a stout man said, standing in the doorway. “我能和你谈谈吗？” It sounded urgent.
Zhou Mi raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly, turning to Heechul. “I should go. Han Geng should be in his room, i’m sorry to leave in the middle of our conversation. Good night to you,” he said, standing up.
After Heechul left, he made his way to Han Geng’s room wondering what that could’ve possibly been about. Though, everything didn’t make sense lately, so he could look past it.
The room’s door was closed when he approached it, so he knocked, yet there was no answer. He opened it as quietly as he could, and chuckled lightly.
Han Geng was dead asleep, still in all his clothes, sitting half upright. He looked highly uncomfortable, but he must’ve been really tired. Heechul figured he should wake him up before he slept there too long, or he’d wake up sore all over. He leaned on the side of the bed and poked his shoulder lightly.
“Han Geng,” he whispered. “Hey, Han Geng.”
“Heechul?” he blinked, mumbling sleepily. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, like a child and Heechul fought the urge to coo. “抱歉。我累了。”
Heechul was used to not knowing what the hell came out of Han Geng’s mouth, but he liked to imagine what he said. Sorry, I fell asleep, but I was dreaming of you… The thought of that being true made him chuckle, and Han Geng tilted his head.
Suddenly he realized how close they actually were. He’d never really looked at Han Geng’s eyes and so he stared. Stared for as long as he would be allowed, and even when Han Geng looked unsure and lightly put a hand on Heechul’s neck, he still stared.
It wasn’t unexpected when they kissed, but the expectancy didn’t kill the rush of fire that spread from Han Geng’s fingers to his neck, his lips to his own. The flames were short lived, though, when Heechul pulled away, all thought completely drained, and he imagined he looked like a complete buffoon just sitting there, not knowing what to do.
But then Han Geng laughed, and that made him laugh too. And soon they were both laughing like fools, and the awkwardness was gone. Thank god Han Geng didn’t take things too seriously. Maybe they could both just pretend that never happened.
--
“Han Geng,” Jun Li said. “Han Geng, i’d like a word.”
“Oh? What about?” he answered, sharpening the blade of his spear so it would cut with razor precision.
“Follow me,” he said, a grimace on his face. “Then, hide your precious Goguryeo.”
This hadn’t happened in years. No one expected this to happen again for a long time. Though the surprise didn’t mean they were unprepared, because they most certainly weren’t; they knew they had superior resources and prided themselves on that. But no amount of weapons could stop the tragedy that was sure to come.
What sparked the Goguryeos to start an attack? Was it the abduction of Heechul? Oh god, was he the leader’s son, or brother? Perhaps they were coming back for him, or if they believed Heechul was dead, avenge him. That kind of motivation, along with what they already knew about those people, would lead to no good.
“Han Geng!” Victoria cried, running towards him. “Did you hear, they--”
“Yes, I know,” he said, trying to sound calm. “Look, you and Amber find a place to hide, alright?”
“Give us something to do, please?” she begged. “We hid last time too, Amber at least is strong enough to go out there!”
“Now why would I allow that?” Han Geng grabbed Victoria by the arm, despite her attempts at jerking away. “I’m doing this for your own good, now go hide! I don’t know when they’ll be here!” He pushed her in the opposite direction, back towards the homes.
“You know, you can’t protect me forever,” she grumbled, stomping away and reluctantly complying.
Now that he had one person he cared about safe, he had to find the other.
“Heechul?” he called, and stopped when he caught a glimpse of him with Zhou Mi in his quarters. “Zhou Mi, tell Heechul he needs to hide.”
“What, you won’t let him fight?” Zhou Mi asked. “He’s a warrior too, you know.”
“And have him fight against his own people? I don’t see that going well,” Han Geng said flatly.
“You’ve got a point,” he said, turning to Heechul. “당신은 숨겨야합니다.”
“뭐?” Heechul asked, confused.
Zhou Mi explained in a way Heechul would be able to understand, but that only made him look even more concerned and confused.
“Come on,” Han Geng said, motioning for Heechul to follow him which thankfully he did. “Zhou Mi, how much time do you think we have left?”
“I believe they’ll arrive when the sun meets the horizon…”
“Will you be alright?” Han Geng asked worriedly, putting an arm around Heechul getting ready to dash.
“I’ll just stay here, I’ve always been safe here. Good luck, Han Geng. Fight well, and keep Heechul safe.”
“Thank you, brother.” Zhou Mi nodded at the term of endearment, and the two then ran.
Once he found a suitable spot, Han Geng made Heechul sit down. “Stay here, alright?”
“하지만 왜?”
“Just… please,” he begged, exasperated. Heechul stared and looked as though he wasn’t going to listen, but he nodded. Thankful, Han Geng took one last look at Heechul, then ran off.
“Are the women and children safe?” Han Geng asked, back with his soldiers. “Are all the civilians in a safe area? Were they warned?”
“It’s all been done,” affirmed one.
“Alright, get in your places,” Wu Chun said, taking a deep breath. “Now, we wait.”
--
He sat where he was told to, in complete, utter, eerie silence.
The sounds of the village he was so used to, the children laughing, the sloshing of water buckets, heavy footsteps in the dirt -- all gone. It looked like a ghost town, completely deserted as the villagers all fled to hide for their lives.
He ducked back down under the little window of the storage shed, or at least he thought it was shed, he was placed in. And, as if the complete silence of a once bustling village wasn’t enough, he had the heaviness in his heart of knowing the reason for all of this.
His own people.
The Goguryeos hadn’t made a formal attack on the Hans for almost ten years, so why did they want to rekindle the flames of war now? He didn’t remember Siwon dropping hints of raids when he was back home. It couldn’t really be because of him, because they all thought he wouldn’t make it home alive anyway. So what started all of this? Heechul put his head in his hands.
His thoughts immediately pointed to Han Geng; what if he got hurt? The chances of that happening were extremely high. He couldn’t let Han Geng get hurt. He wanted to go out there and protect him, but he didn’t want to disobey, either. Deep down, despite Han Geng’s liking for him and his in return, he knew he was still a captive. He knew he still had to obey.
The sound of footsteps, horse hooves on dirt, and soon the village was alive with noise. Heechul jumped with a start and peeked out the small window, being careful not to show his face.
His heart dropped down to his stomach as he saw his friends, his family, his comrades all there, lined up in position, shields and spears at the ready. It was utterly sobering and strange to be a bystander of war, and not participating like he always had. Even though no blood had been shed, just watching the men and knowing what would follow was almost terrifying.
Then, he saw the Hans create a lineup of their own on the opposite side. After a moment of searching he saw Han Geng there as well. He choked back the feelings of anxiousness and tried to get a grip on himself. He didn’t know much about Han Geng as a warrior, so he didn’t know how skilled he was, but he’d have to just have faith he’d be okay.
Once the soldiers started charging at each other, Heechul couldn’t watch. He sat back down and just listened, and heard familiar voices in both Korean and Chinese. He heard some of the other soldiers he had trained, and he heard voices from the Han village that he recalled.
Hours went by of yells and battle cries and keening horses, and soon, it all slowed down and faded out as he heard the Goguryeos retreat, finally, after what felt like ages.
Heechul waited and wondered when Han Geng would come back for him. If he had to he could find his way back on his own, but he didn’t want to do something he wasn’t supposed to do. His questions were then answered when Han Geng entered his hiding spot.
“Heechul?” he said, looking unbearably tired. “它已经结束。”
He followed him back to their room, where he sat on the bed and ran his fingers through his hair stressfully. Heechul couldn’t tell if he was hurt or not, so he had to find out himself.
He took Han Geng’s hand, and held it gently. “Hold still, okay?” he asked quietly. Han Geng looked at him questioningly, but it didn’t seem like he’d object.
Heechul, being sure to glance at him ever so often in a silent plea for permission, first rolled up his sleeve and looked at his arm, and then the other. There didn’t seem to be any wounds there. He moved the collar of his top to the side and looked at his neck, and that was unscathed as well.
Then, he motioned for him to take off his shirt and he did, slowly and looking almost a bit embarrassed. Heechul tried to make it look like he wasn’t staring lustfully, but inquisitively -- even though he could almost feel what Han Geng’s chest would feel like against his -- and oh my, he was not doing well with this.
However, desires aside, Han Geng was alright, except for a decent sized bruise on his side that was beginning to swell a bit, which made Heechul frown. Yet it could’ve been worse, so a huge sense of relief washed over him. Heechul pointed at it, and Han Geng shrugged.
“它有点疼,” he said, looking at it briefly. But he smiled, as if a gesture to say he was okay. He brought his hand to Heechul’s forehead, brushing the hair out of his eyes and kissed him lightly there, so gentle as if it were a butterfly to a flower. “谢谢 Heechul,” he said in almost a whisper.
--
The next morning he woke up extra early and carefully removed Heechul’s arm from his waist as to not wake him. As much as he wanted to stay in bed with Heechul where things were good and safe, he had matters to attend to.
The first person he knew he had to see was Zhou Mi. He wasn’t sure if he knew the extent of his brother’s injuries on the battlefield, but when Han Geng saw Jun Li get thrown to the ground like that, it didn’t look survivable. Wu Chun said they had him on bed rest, but he didn’t yet emerge from his comatose state.
“Zhou Mi?” he asked, knocking slightly on his door frame. “May I come in?”
“Oh yes, hello!” he said with a suspiciously large smile, jumping up his meditative position on the table as usual. “How are you doing this morning, you’re up quite early.”
“Ah, yes,” Han Geng said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I just wanted to… are you okay? You know, with Jun Li and all…?”
“Oh yes,” Zhou Mi said, still far too cheery as he took it upon himself to pour his guest a cup of tea. “I heard from Wu Chun, they said he hadn’t woken up yet. But he will, I believe it to be so.” He handed the cup to Han Geng.
“Well i’m glad you’re so sure,” he said skeptically, taking a small sip from the tea cup. “Well, I just came to check up on you. I’m relieved to know you’re okay.”
“Heechul was hiding, right?” Han Geng nodded. “So he’s okay as well?”
“Yes, I watched over him all night. Well, more like he watched over me,” he chuckled. “I think he was worried that I may have gotten hurt. He saw the bruise on my torso from when I fell and didn’t look happy about it.”
“Han Geng, I do believe that man feels something for you.”
“Oh no, no he couldn’t possibly,” he said, waving it off. “We just have to be close, we need to protect each other in a situation like this.”
“Whether it is love or lust, he feels something for you,” Zhou Mi insisted. “And I know you feel the same.”
Han Geng sighed. “Perhaps… I don’t know, I know I feel something but I don’t know what it is.”
“Well, whatever the case, I say follow your heart and go through. Because in a world like this…” Zhou Mi laughed. “You never know when you’ll be seeing someone for the last time.”
“It’s just… you, Victoria, and Amber, you’re all the closest thing to a family I have. I feel like you all are my first priority.”
“You’ve taken care of us practically your whole life, brother,” Zhou Mi said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I think it’s about time you did something for yourself.”
“No no, like this,” he laughed happily, putting his hand on Heechul’s own and moving the brush to create the correct strokes. Han Geng had finally gotten around to teaching him a few important phrases in his language, but Heechul didn’t really seem to grasp it.
He pointed at the ones they had already written, and repeated them slowly. “Hello,” he said, waving. “Goodbye.” He made a walking away motion with his fingers. “I’m hungry.” He pretended to eat, which made Heechul giggle. “Help me!” He faked a scream and grabbed Heechul’s hand.
Heechul had to catch his breath from laughing so hard. He repeated maybe two of the phrases correctly, but the rest were so heavily accented that not even Han Geng could decipher it. Yet his attempts were so preciously cute, he just wanted to listen to him babble forever.
“Hello Han Geng!” he said, and smiled when he said it correctly.
After the antics were over, Hankyung said, “Teach me yours now?”
Heechul cocked his head to the side.
“Korean.” He mimicked talking, then pointed at Heechul, and he seemed to understand. He picked up the brush and began to write the foreign characters. From the way Heechul acted them out, they seemed to be the same sentences only in Korean. Han Geng tried to pronounce ‘hello’, but failed miserably.
“안녕하세요,” Heechul said slowly. “다시.”
“안녕하세요,” Han Geng said, stumbling over the syllables. Heechul clapped in delight.
“맞아!”
Han Geng sighed happily. Why couldn’t everything be this simple?
Pairing: Hankyung/Heechul
Genre: Multi Chap, historical!au
Word Count: 3,065
Chapter: {2/4?} 1
Rating: NC-17
Synopsis: Two nations sick of war try to end things once and for all -- but what else will get caught in the cross-hairs?
They were greeted in the courtyard by two beautiful women sitting by the pond, one braiding the other’s hair in precise, quick motions. The loose dresses they wore were adorned in beautiful colored silks, a belt of cloth wrapped around their waists. The woman doing the braiding had a high, delicate voice with a whistling laugh to match, and the one getting their hair done patiently had a hearty voice of a lower pitch.
They were discussing something quite seriously, it seemed. Han Geng kept sighing and the one braiding kept smiling sadly. Yet, whatever she said, it seemed to make Han Geng feel just a little better. Heechul was curious, he couldn’t really determine the relationship between the two. They looked at each other differently than how the one getting her hair braided looked at him.
Maybe they loved each other? For some reason, Heechul’s heart stung. But that woman also looked at the other woman in that way, in that doting and caring way. He’d have to ask Zhou Mi what her story was.
“Victoria and Han Geng?” Zhou Mi gawked, nearly spitting out his tea. “Oh please! We don’t do incest, please do give our people more credit.”
“Victoria,” Heechul muttered, finally having a name. “So they’re siblings?”
“Well, not biologically,” he said. “But they might as well be of same blood. They grew up together. Victoria was abandoned by her parents, so Han Geng and his family took her in and raised her.”
“Oh, well that’s a relief,” Heechul said, reaching across the table for the kettle.
Zhou Mi chuckled. “Why?”
Heechul paused. “I… I don’t know, actually.”
“You know, i’m usually good at analyzing people,” Zhou Mi said. “At the best of times I can tell exactly what someone is thinking. You, however?” He looked him straight in the eye. “I can’t really tell.”
“Maybe it’s because i’m a foreigner?” Heechul tried, and Zhou Mi chuckled.
“Maybe so. But you don’t have to worry about Victoria,” he said. “She is already in love, some would consider married.”
“Oh? To whom?”
“An Amber Liu,” he said. “I assume if you met Victoria, you’ve met her as well.”
“There was another woman,” said Heechul. “She had a strong face, a low voice…”
“That would be she. They’ve been in love for many years, and they’re very wise. Lovers of the village come to them for advice on a regular basis.”
“Huh,” Heechul said. “Interesting, because they’re still very young. They look young, at least.”
“Young doesn’t mean less life experience,” he said.
“I suppose you’re right, they do seem quite--”
“周觅,” a voice of a stout man said, standing in the doorway. “我能和你谈谈吗？” It sounded urgent.
Zhou Mi raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly, turning to Heechul. “I should go. Han Geng should be in his room, i’m sorry to leave in the middle of our conversation. Good night to you,” he said, standing up.
After Heechul left, he made his way to Han Geng’s room wondering what that could’ve possibly been about. Though, everything didn’t make sense lately, so he could look past it.
The room’s door was closed when he approached it, so he knocked, yet there was no answer. He opened it as quietly as he could, and chuckled lightly.
Han Geng was dead asleep, still in all his clothes, sitting half upright. He looked highly uncomfortable, but he must’ve been really tired. Heechul figured he should wake him up before he slept there too long, or he’d wake up sore all over. He leaned on the side of the bed and poked his shoulder lightly.
“Han Geng,” he whispered. “Hey, Han Geng.”
“Heechul?” he blinked, mumbling sleepily. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, like a child and Heechul fought the urge to coo. “抱歉。我累了。”
Heechul was used to not knowing what the hell came out of Han Geng’s mouth, but he liked to imagine what he said. Sorry, I fell asleep, but I was dreaming of you… The thought of that being true made him chuckle, and Han Geng tilted his head.
Suddenly he realized how close they actually were. He’d never really looked at Han Geng’s eyes and so he stared. Stared for as long as he would be allowed, and even when Han Geng looked unsure and lightly put a hand on Heechul’s neck, he still stared.
It wasn’t unexpected when they kissed, but the expectancy didn’t kill the rush of fire that spread from Han Geng’s fingers to his neck, his lips to his own. The flames were short lived, though, when Heechul pulled away, all thought completely drained, and he imagined he looked like a complete buffoon just sitting there, not knowing what to do.
But then Han Geng laughed, and that made him laugh too. And soon they were both laughing like fools, and the awkwardness was gone. Thank god Han Geng didn’t take things too seriously. Maybe they could both just pretend that never happened.
--
“Han Geng,” Jun Li said. “Han Geng, i’d like a word.”
“Oh? What about?” he answered, sharpening the blade of his spear so it would cut with razor precision.
“Follow me,” he said, a grimace on his face. “Then, hide your precious Goguryeo.”
This hadn’t happened in years. No one expected this to happen again for a long time. Though the surprise didn’t mean they were unprepared, because they most certainly weren’t; they knew they had superior resources and prided themselves on that. But no amount of weapons could stop the tragedy that was sure to come.
What sparked the Goguryeos to start an attack? Was it the abduction of Heechul? Oh god, was he the leader’s son, or brother? Perhaps they were coming back for him, or if they believed Heechul was dead, avenge him. That kind of motivation, along with what they already knew about those people, would lead to no good.
“Han Geng!” Victoria cried, running towards him. “Did you hear, they--”
“Yes, I know,” he said, trying to sound calm. “Look, you and Amber find a place to hide, alright?”
“Give us something to do, please?” she begged. “We hid last time too, Amber at least is strong enough to go out there!”
“Now why would I allow that?” Han Geng grabbed Victoria by the arm, despite her attempts at jerking away. “I’m doing this for your own good, now go hide! I don’t know when they’ll be here!” He pushed her in the opposite direction, back towards the homes.
“You know, you can’t protect me forever,” she grumbled, stomping away and reluctantly complying.
Now that he had one person he cared about safe, he had to find the other.
“Heechul?” he called, and stopped when he caught a glimpse of him with Zhou Mi in his quarters. “Zhou Mi, tell Heechul he needs to hide.”
“What, you won’t let him fight?” Zhou Mi asked. “He’s a warrior too, you know.”
“And have him fight against his own people? I don’t see that going well,” Han Geng said flatly.
“You’ve got a point,” he said, turning to Heechul. “당신은 숨겨야합니다.”
“뭐?” Heechul asked, confused.
Zhou Mi explained in a way Heechul would be able to understand, but that only made him look even more concerned and confused.
“Come on,” Han Geng said, motioning for Heechul to follow him which thankfully he did. “Zhou Mi, how much time do you think we have left?”
“I believe they’ll arrive when the sun meets the horizon…”
“Will you be alright?” Han Geng asked worriedly, putting an arm around Heechul getting ready to dash.
“I’ll just stay here, I’ve always been safe here. Good luck, Han Geng. Fight well, and keep Heechul safe.”
“Thank you, brother.” Zhou Mi nodded at the term of endearment, and the two then ran.
Once he found a suitable spot, Han Geng made Heechul sit down. “Stay here, alright?”
“하지만 왜?”
“Just… please,” he begged, exasperated. Heechul stared and looked as though he wasn’t going to listen, but he nodded. Thankful, Han Geng took one last look at Heechul, then ran off.
“Are the women and children safe?” Han Geng asked, back with his soldiers. “Are all the civilians in a safe area? Were they warned?”
“It’s all been done,” affirmed one.
“Alright, get in your places,” Wu Chun said, taking a deep breath. “Now, we wait.”
--
He sat where he was told to, in complete, utter, eerie silence.
The sounds of the village he was so used to, the children laughing, the sloshing of water buckets, heavy footsteps in the dirt -- all gone. It looked like a ghost town, completely deserted as the villagers all fled to hide for their lives.
He ducked back down under the little window of the storage shed, or at least he thought it was shed, he was placed in. And, as if the complete silence of a once bustling village wasn’t enough, he had the heaviness in his heart of knowing the reason for all of this.
His own people.
The Goguryeos hadn’t made a formal attack on the Hans for almost ten years, so why did they want to rekindle the flames of war now? He didn’t remember Siwon dropping hints of raids when he was back home. It couldn’t really be because of him, because they all thought he wouldn’t make it home alive anyway. So what started all of this? Heechul put his head in his hands.
His thoughts immediately pointed to Han Geng; what if he got hurt? The chances of that happening were extremely high. He couldn’t let Han Geng get hurt. He wanted to go out there and protect him, but he didn’t want to disobey, either. Deep down, despite Han Geng’s liking for him and his in return, he knew he was still a captive. He knew he still had to obey.
The sound of footsteps, horse hooves on dirt, and soon the village was alive with noise. Heechul jumped with a start and peeked out the small window, being careful not to show his face.
His heart dropped down to his stomach as he saw his friends, his family, his comrades all there, lined up in position, shields and spears at the ready. It was utterly sobering and strange to be a bystander of war, and not participating like he always had. Even though no blood had been shed, just watching the men and knowing what would follow was almost terrifying.
Then, he saw the Hans create a lineup of their own on the opposite side. After a moment of searching he saw Han Geng there as well. He choked back the feelings of anxiousness and tried to get a grip on himself. He didn’t know much about Han Geng as a warrior, so he didn’t know how skilled he was, but he’d have to just have faith he’d be okay.
Once the soldiers started charging at each other, Heechul couldn’t watch. He sat back down and just listened, and heard familiar voices in both Korean and Chinese. He heard some of the other soldiers he had trained, and he heard voices from the Han village that he recalled.
Hours went by of yells and battle cries and keening horses, and soon, it all slowed down and faded out as he heard the Goguryeos retreat, finally, after what felt like ages.
Heechul waited and wondered when Han Geng would come back for him. If he had to he could find his way back on his own, but he didn’t want to do something he wasn’t supposed to do. His questions were then answered when Han Geng entered his hiding spot.
“Heechul?” he said, looking unbearably tired. “它已经结束。”
He followed him back to their room, where he sat on the bed and ran his fingers through his hair stressfully. Heechul couldn’t tell if he was hurt or not, so he had to find out himself.
He took Han Geng’s hand, and held it gently. “Hold still, okay?” he asked quietly. Han Geng looked at him questioningly, but it didn’t seem like he’d object.
Heechul, being sure to glance at him ever so often in a silent plea for permission, first rolled up his sleeve and looked at his arm, and then the other. There didn’t seem to be any wounds there. He moved the collar of his top to the side and looked at his neck, and that was unscathed as well.
Then, he motioned for him to take off his shirt and he did, slowly and looking almost a bit embarrassed. Heechul tried to make it look like he wasn’t staring lustfully, but inquisitively -- even though he could almost feel what Han Geng’s chest would feel like against his -- and oh my, he was not doing well with this.
However, desires aside, Han Geng was alright, except for a decent sized bruise on his side that was beginning to swell a bit, which made Heechul frown. Yet it could’ve been worse, so a huge sense of relief washed over him. Heechul pointed at it, and Han Geng shrugged.
“它有点疼,” he said, looking at it briefly. But he smiled, as if a gesture to say he was okay. He brought his hand to Heechul’s forehead, brushing the hair out of his eyes and kissed him lightly there, so gentle as if it were a butterfly to a flower. “谢谢 Heechul,” he said in almost a whisper.
--
The next morning he woke up extra early and carefully removed Heechul’s arm from his waist as to not wake him. As much as he wanted to stay in bed with Heechul where things were good and safe, he had matters to attend to.
The first person he knew he had to see was Zhou Mi. He wasn’t sure if he knew the extent of his brother’s injuries on the battlefield, but when Han Geng saw Jun Li get thrown to the ground like that, it didn’t look survivable. Wu Chun said they had him on bed rest, but he didn’t yet emerge from his comatose state.
“Zhou Mi?” he asked, knocking slightly on his door frame. “May I come in?”
“Oh yes, hello!” he said with a suspiciously large smile, jumping up his meditative position on the table as usual. “How are you doing this morning, you’re up quite early.”
“Ah, yes,” Han Geng said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I just wanted to… are you okay? You know, with Jun Li and all…?”
“Oh yes,” Zhou Mi said, still far too cheery as he took it upon himself to pour his guest a cup of tea. “I heard from Wu Chun, they said he hadn’t woken up yet. But he will, I believe it to be so.” He handed the cup to Han Geng.
“Well i’m glad you’re so sure,” he said skeptically, taking a small sip from the tea cup. “Well, I just came to check up on you. I’m relieved to know you’re okay.”
“Heechul was hiding, right?” Han Geng nodded. “So he’s okay as well?”
“Yes, I watched over him all night. Well, more like he watched over me,” he chuckled. “I think he was worried that I may have gotten hurt. He saw the bruise on my torso from when I fell and didn’t look happy about it.”
“Han Geng, I do believe that man feels something for you.”
“Oh no, no he couldn’t possibly,” he said, waving it off. “We just have to be close, we need to protect each other in a situation like this.”
“Whether it is love or lust, he feels something for you,” Zhou Mi insisted. “And I know you feel the same.”
Han Geng sighed. “Perhaps… I don’t know, I know I feel something but I don’t know what it is.”
“Well, whatever the case, I say follow your heart and go through. Because in a world like this…” Zhou Mi laughed. “You never know when you’ll be seeing someone for the last time.”
“It’s just… you, Victoria, and Amber, you’re all the closest thing to a family I have. I feel like you all are my first priority.”
“You’ve taken care of us practically your whole life, brother,” Zhou Mi said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I think it’s about time you did something for yourself.”
“No no, like this,” he laughed happily, putting his hand on Heechul’s own and moving the brush to create the correct strokes. Han Geng had finally gotten around to teaching him a few important phrases in his language, but Heechul didn’t really seem to grasp it.
He pointed at the ones they had already written, and repeated them slowly. “Hello,” he said, waving. “Goodbye.” He made a walking away motion with his fingers. “I’m hungry.” He pretended to eat, which made Heechul giggle. “Help me!” He faked a scream and grabbed Heechul’s hand.
Heechul had to catch his breath from laughing so hard. He repeated maybe two of the phrases correctly, but the rest were so heavily accented that not even Han Geng could decipher it. Yet his attempts were so preciously cute, he just wanted to listen to him babble forever.
“Hello Han Geng!” he said, and smiled when he said it correctly.
After the antics were over, Hankyung said, “Teach me yours now?”
Heechul cocked his head to the side.
“Korean.” He mimicked talking, then pointed at Heechul, and he seemed to understand. He picked up the brush and began to write the foreign characters. From the way Heechul acted them out, they seemed to be the same sentences only in Korean. Han Geng tried to pronounce ‘hello’, but failed miserably.
“안녕하세요,” Heechul said slowly. “다시.”
“안녕하세요,” Han Geng said, stumbling over the syllables. Heechul clapped in delight.
“맞아!”
Han Geng sighed happily. Why couldn’t everything be this simple?