Lean

XIII

BEOMGYU

The Kang camp is on the move once again, inching closer to King's Coast. Another battle ensued just a few days ago that the Kangs won easily. It had been three weeks since Taehyun decided to split up his army. His father's plan had backfired on him, leaving him with few troops in the Lee's kingdom to face the Kangs. It wasn't like his father to give up so easily, but from what Taehyun told him about the battles late at night when the camp was asleep, it seemed like that was exactly the case. Maybe he had more prepared once the Kangs crossed the boundary between the Lee's kingdom and the royal territory that bordered King's Coast.

Three weeks had passed since he and Taehyun acted on their deep connection, locking lips for the first time. The days and nights when they shared small moments of intimacy passed by quickly. They tried to make it a nightly occurrence, seeing one another when the moon was high in the sky and the fires were beginning to lose their flame. The kissing and exploring of one another's bodies didn't stop, and Beomgyu certainly didn't want it to. Still, guilt that won't subside lives at the back of his mind and doesn't go away with Taehyun's feathery kisses.

At night, after a long day of traveling, Beomgyu decides to express his concern in the darkness of Taehyun's large tent.

"What's troubling you?" Taehyun asks curiously, his dark hair matted across his sweaty forehead, a result of their intense moment of intimacy just a few minutes ago.

Beomgyu ponders the question for a moment, crossing his feet under the furs and feeling the familiar soreness settle in near his thighs. There was a lot that he was concerned about, particularly as they moved closer to King's Coast. He was a Choi, someone who was supposed to be proud of his lineage. He felt like he was betraying his family members by falling in love with Kang Taehyun. Taehyun was killing some of his distant family members and the men who served his family for years. He had to remind himself that this was war and that Taehyun did have a reason to go to war with his family. His father's actions were something he couldn't tolerate.

Beomgyu decides instead to start with an easier topic of discussion. "I'm afraid we're drawing too much attention with your bannermen. Jongho saw that I wasn't in the tent when he woke up in the middle of the night. I don't think he bought my excuse."

Taehyun gazes at him curiously before saying, "Jongho is the least of my concerns. He's a squire, I'm sure he's sworn some secrecy vows."

"And your bannermen?" Beomgyu questions him.

"I have full faith in my bannermen and their loyalty to me," Taehyun explains. "If they're suspicious, we may need to be more careful. It wouldn't be the worst thing for them to find out."

Beomgyu can hardly believe what he's hearing. The bannermen finding out about their relationship could kill the loyalty they had to Taehyun. In their eyes, Beomgyu was the enemy. No matter how long they had been serving the Kangs, Beomgyu couldn't see them staying loyal to Taehyun if he told them about their relationship. The thought of the bannermen finding out about them troubled him quite often.

"Taehyun, we can't tell them," Beomgyu told him in a hushed tone.

"Why can't we?" Taehyun poses. "Right now may not be the best time, but when I win this war, there will be nothing to hide. Our relationship can prove that we can put aside the bitter feud our families have suffered from for generations."

"I want that too," Beomgyu assures him, "But right now we can't consider that. My family doesn't like you and your family doesn't like me. If things were different, if we weren't at war, if we weren't supposed to be enemies, it would be fine."