Ahop
(nine)
The first thing they heard were the rushing waters. From the sound of it, they were close. Excitement traveled through his veins and he grinned as it spread through the group, Yoo-shik and Sang-Ook joining hands together in victory. Smiling fully, he turned to find Tiye and for a moment, his breath caught in his throat. She had a smile on her face but her eyes were closed and her head was leaned back. She held the reins to her mare tightly and soon, slowly stuck out her tongue as if to taste the wind itself.
"Wangja-nim! Let us ride to it!" Yoo-shik's excited voice brought his gaze away from her and he grinned boyishly, giving Dong-Il a light rap on the neck.
"Let's!" The group of them headed off in the direction of the water, their sense of sound proving true. Crystal clear, the water spanned as far as the eye could see. A narrow path and ample land for their camp was to the right. Sang-Ook howled in joy and jumped from his horse into the stream, laughing as his woman came to join him, playfully throwing herself at him. Looking up, he was captured by the natural beauty of the mountains, far up as the eye could see, sunlight glinting off of them in all of their various forms.
"You did it Wangja-nim." Hearing her come next to him, he chuckled some.
"We did it Tiye. All of us are to thanks."
"Agreed."
"Come, let's enjoy this day hm?"
"Let's." Her eyes twinkled and he grinned deeper as she set off ahead of him, only to join the new set of friends she'd made, playfully splashing Hae with water. Smiling at the scene, he glanced towards the men who had led them here. Out of them all, only one or two showed any sort of emotion. Gladness. For that, he felt relief. Dismounting Dong-Il, he pat his neck in thanks and watched as he began to drink the water, the grasses nearby sure to be his next move. From this point, Song was only a couple days away. So they said. Inhaling deeply, he pat Dong-Il's neck again. After all the hard work they'd put in, perhaps he too could enjoy himself... even a little.
***
The smell of fresh meat cooking over the fire inspired hunger but then the sight that beheld her inspired hunger too. Of another kind. A kind she couldn't ignore any longer. She'd left the others at the camp, all merry and laughing, even busting out the keg of soju they'd brought on the journey. She'd gone to find Wangja-nim to tell him that dinner was on the horizon but was stopped right in her tracks. There, amidst the sky set on fire by the setting sun, he stood alone in one of the many streams. His hanbok had been discarded, neatly folded and placed to the side. Lifting thick arms, he tilted a bucket full of water and it took her breath away as it slid down his body. Only his dari-sokgot remained on him and it became translucent, outlining the shape of firm yet soft looking cheeks. He sighed loudly, in contentment and pushed the drenched hair back from his face.
A gush of warm wetness between her legs startled her and she bit her lip in a gasp, eyes transfixed by his beauty. His body seemed to shimmer against the setting sun and with the glimmers of light that danced upon the waters, it appeared that in that moment, he was one of the mystical creatures from the tales he'd read; ethereal, graceful, not of this world. Her fingers gripped the bark of the tree as he untied the strings to the dari-sokgot and pulled it away from him.
