Confessions on Bonfire Night

After his miraculous healing (or perhaps because of his confrontation with Woohyun), Sunggyu had become a new man. The sulky expression that had been etched on his face for the better part of his life since his father died was now often replaced with a goofy smile. He even organized large festivities for the Midsummer Eve. Handsome bonfires twinkled along the coast, foreign delicacies flooded the streets and hundreds of people gathered to watch the performances of the nightless night.

“Not cute at all. I’m prettier than them” Sungjong criticized in a not at all hushed tone from the audience of one of the said performances; a group of women dressed in exotic clothes, dancing for the sun. Myungsoo patted the boy’s shoulder, while the others just ignored him and continued to ogle the dancers. “What? I can do that too. Actually, I can do it better” Sungjong declared and started dancing rather fiercely and, everyone remarked reluctantly, surprisingly accurately to the music. The boy somehow managed to make it seem like he had more curves than the actual girls. He was quickly gaining attention, and most of the interest wasn’t at all negative.

This didn’t go unnoticed by Sungjong’s company.

“You look like a crazy person” Dongwoo laughed, causing Sungjong to stop dancing and look very much offended. Many pairs of eyes were still on the boy instead of the performance, so Myungsoo wrapped his arm around Sungjong’s shoulder and smiled possessively. Out of the corner of his eye Myungsoo noticed the way Hoya’s fist tightened around the handle of his sword, his knuckles turning white as blood fled from them. Myungsoo made a mental note to watch out for the young general, no matter how much cousin Sunggyu trusted him.

* * *

It was already 3 am, but Dongwoo and Hoya were sitting on a stony breakwater in the port. The sun was about to rise again after a quick dip under the waves. Myungsoo and Sungjong had managed to slip away at some point, leaving the two of them alone to talk about things that only the night (and a good amount of alcohol in the bloodstream) could unravel.

“What do you think of Sungjong?” Dongwoo asked suddenly, making all of Hoya’s alarms blink bright red. “He’s like my little brother” he answered stiffly. “I saw you before. The eyes you look at him with aren’t exactly those of a big brother’s” Dongwoo said.

He was way too observant sometimes.

“All I’ve ever wanted to do is protect him” Hoya’s voice had a dangerous edge to it. “Alright, alright, no need to get angry” Dongwoo said and continued slyly; “I’m only asking ‘cause that’s what I want as well”.

Dongwoo’s statement left them in a dense silence, until Hoya finally opened his mouth, spilling out words he’d kept only to himself for years already. “You know what, I met him for the first time when I was just nine years old”, he began, and started absentmindedly skimming rocks on the water’s surface. “His father was a treasured friend of my father’s, so old man Lee took him in and told me to take care of him when his father passed away. And I did, I stood by his side even when his mother died under suspicious circumstances, as a friend, a father, anything he could possibly need… I even turned against my own father for him, fled my home to be by his side.”

Hoya didn’t throw the next stone but run his fingers on its surface, smoothed by water. Much like himself. “But I wasn’t enough for him, and every time he made a new friend I was so scared he’d leave me behind-” Hoya paused, his voice painfully tight. He didn’t return Dongwoo’s intent gaze. “I could have threatened them to stay away, I wanted to. Instead I forced myself to back off, to act as his guardian from afar…”

“How long have you been in love with him?” Dongwoo interrupted, making Hoya gasp audibly. He rubbed his face violently before answering, still grasping his own face; “Since I turned 16.”

* * *

Completely unaware of the conversation revolving around him, Lee Sungjong was standing on the waterfront as well, near the smoldering embers of a giant bonfire, where the scent of smoke formed a wonderful mixture with the salty breath of the sea.

“Won’t you come with me?” Myungsoo asked from next to him. Sungjong turned to look at him slowly, as if he wasn’t sure he’d heard right. “Where to?” he asked lightheartedly. “Won’t you come with me when I return home” Myungsoo answered, suddenly so serious that even Dongwoo wouldn’t have been able to laugh it off.

“You’re drunk” Sungjong retaliated.

“I’m as sober as a priest on a Sunday morning” Myungsoo said.

“But we haven’t even known each other for two weeks!” Sungjong huffed.

“It feels like I’ve known you for longer, though” Myungsoo said.

Sungjong couldn’t argue with that; in the last week or so they had met almost every day, talking, riding horses and talking a bit more, getting to know each other in a way that would regularly take years to develop. Myungsoo had opened up about his situation at home; the pressure of being a crown prince and the chains around his neck. In turn, he had helped Sungjong sort out his feelings about his ‘golden hands’.

Sungjong bit his lower lip; his heart felt like it was floating on nothingness. He wanted desperately to give an answer, just a simple yes or no, but it wasn’t that easy. “When are you leaving?” he asked instead, turning his eyes back at the peach colored sunrise. Myungsoo’s demanding stare was just too much to handle. “I’m supposed to leave in a week” Myungsoo answered and reached a hand to caress the back of Sungjong’s neck, gently urging the boy to turn back towards him.

“I won’t leave you behind” Myungsoo said with a strange tone of finality in his voice. Then his expression melted into a small smile. “Sungjong…” Myungsoo said softly, keeping the said boy’s eyes captive. His fingertips moved slowly down Sungjong’s neck as his face inched closer. Sungjong was suddenly incredibly nervous. As soft lips brushed against his, he was stunned beyond the ability to move. A huff of air escaped through his nose when Myungsoo pressed closer. Myungsoo’s hands held his chin, while his were stuck awkwardly between them.

Not receiving any response, Myungsoo backed away slowly, pressing one last peck on Sungjong’s lover lip. His questioning eyes reflected the light of the sun. Somewhere along the lines it had finally risen; a dazzling ball of gold dangling on the horizon. Though incredibly bright, Sungjong found that it was still easier to look at than the deep wells of Myungsoo’s eyes.

Myungsoo didn’t say a thing; he just wrapped his arm around Sungjong’s waist, holding him close, and turned to watch the sunlit sea as well. Reflecting from the tranquil surface of the water there were two suns, two skies with blazing colors.

After a moment Sungjong sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s just… too much to handle right now. I need time to think.” he said and pressed his head lightly against Myungsoo’s shoulder.

* * *

It was annoying, really. Even with all the beautiful women of the fishier side of the town around, Sungyeol’s mind kept bouncing back to his “apprentice”. That is, until he found himself being dragged to a backstreet by his collar by a man that was even taller than him and certainly sturdier.

“Give me back my money” the man with a striking resemblance to an angry badger growled as he showed him against a wall. “What money? Excuse me, but you seem to have mistaken me for someone else” Sungyeol said, trying to make his voice sound higher than normal. This, under the circumstances, wasn’t a stretch. “Give me back my bloody money, Lee Sungyeol” the man repeated, this time with a sword on Sungyeol’s throat to emphasize.

“Whoa, easy there tiger. It’s all coming back to me.” Sungyeol squealed rather indignantly. “I would happily give the money back to you, but-“, at this point Sungyeol jabbed a small poison dart to the man’s neck with the swift hands of a magician. The man’s eyes went unfocused in two seconds, and he was sound asleep on the ground in ten. “-I believe I used them to buy myself a new pipe. Thanks for that, by the way” Sungyeol said as he stepped over the impressive trunk, snitching the man’s sword and dagger as he went.

Yeah, it’s definitely time to split, Sungyeol thought as he threw the blades into a gutter.