"Isn't it just a matter of doing something even greater with me from now on?"
Tang So-wol said that, licking her lips.
A gaze resembling a snake eyeing its prey. Anyone who received that look would inevitably flinch.
Yet Tang So-wol herself wore an utterly composed expression, merely sipping the liquor she had brought.
The fragrant scent of the wine wafting up. It wasn't the aroma rising from my cup, still full and untouched.
It was the fragrance mixed into the appreciative sigh Tang So-wol let out after taking a sip.
"I brought it because Father treasures this wine… now I see why he does."
"Is that so."
Tang So-wol took another sip with a satisfied expression.
If it was a wine that the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan himself treasured above all else, it was surely no ordinary drink.
But right now, what I saw before me was not the wine—only Tang So-wol.
From what I had experienced so far, drinking wine was like swallowing flowing fire. A moderate amount of fire filling the stomach brought a pleasant warmth and could even make a person smile.
On the other hand, if one was swallowed by that flame, they would make a spectacle of themselves and ruin their own dignity.
If that was the case, then letting out the unnecessary heat with every sip was only natural.
…And it was equally natural that I, having breathed in the heat Tang So-wol released, would grow drunk as well.
Tang So-wol's cheeks flushed slightly as the unfamiliar liquor went down.
Her eyes curved like crescent moons as she continued in a soft voice.
"So? What will you do?"
"…What do you mean?"
"You know full well, yet you ask anyway. I'm saying we should do something far more extraordinary than what you did with Sister Hwa-rin."
Having said that, Tang So-wol emptied the rest of her drink into her mouth.
"Hoo. Whatever we do, it's not something I can accomplish alone. So if the young hero Cheon is willing… please empty the cup you're holding now."
"Heh."
So she's leaving the choice to me. No—look at that self-assured expression, as if she already knows exactly what I'm going to say.
Tang So-wol just wants to hear the answer from my own lips one more time. And in truth, my answer had always been decided.
"Tang So-wol. I've always thought this, but you have a cunning side to you sometimes."
"Oh my? So does the young lady find this cunning one unappealing?"
"Surely not. It's precisely why I like you."
Tang So-wol is the one who generally expresses her favor toward me first. There is only one occasion when she would speak in such a roundabout manner.
It's only when she wants to hear me say I like her with my own mouth.
Having gotten the correct answer, Tang So-wol subtly averted her gaze. Before her, I made a show of emptying my brimming cup in one gulp.
It was a fairly potent brew, the heat of it flowing down my throat. Having tasted it directly, I understood—this was truly fine liquor.
As the blaze of its deep aroma coiled within me, my lips parted on their own.
"Hoo…"
Just as Tang So-wol had done moments before, a sigh tinged with warmth escaped me.
And so, having exchanged our warmth, Tang So-wol and I gazed at each other in silence for a time.
Then, pushing the bottle and cup aside with a subtle nudge, Tang So-wol leaned toward me.
It was a posture that began with her head, as if she were offering her upper body. Without rising, she remained seated, her movement naturally bringing both hands to the ground.
The distance that had separated us while setting up the drinks table—Tang So-wol closed it by crawling over on all fours.
Her green hair cascaded down. Tang So-wol, approaching with a strange sense of forbidden thrill, grabbed my thigh and pulled herself up, then draped her arms over my shoulders and clasped her hands behind my neck.
A posture that clung to me as if she were hanging on. Our breaths tickled each other's faces, close enough that my reflection showed in her deep green eyes.
At the scent of Tang So-wol's skin mixed with wine, my heart—which had never lost its composure even against formidable opponents—began to pound on its own.
"Young hero Cheon. If you wish to do something greater than what you did with Sister Hwa-rin, it would be wise to first learn what you did with her, wouldn't it?"
"Is that so?"
"It is. First, would you kindly tell me in detail what you did with Sister Hwa-rin?"
"…I thought you already knew, having heard it from Senior Seomun Hwa-rin."
"Of course I know roughly what you did. You said you kissed her all over, didn't you? And deeply enough to leave marks at that."
"…"
At my silence, Tang So-wol giggled and put on a look of feigned benevolence.
"As I said at the start, you haven't greatly broken your promise to me, so it's fine. The reason I'm asking again is simply that… I'd like to know exactly which places you kissed."
"And if I tell you…?"
"Then of course I'll just cover it up. Ah, and don't forget that you owe me one more kiss afterward."
With that, Tang So-wol shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, as if to say that way she'd have gotten a little more than Seomun Hwa-rin.
I stared for a moment at Tang So-wol's lips, glistening wet as if dampened by wine, then opened my mouth.
"First… I kissed her ordinarily."
"Is that how it is?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Tang So-wol lowered her head. The soft sensation of her lips and her somewhat feverish body heat.
But this wasn't the end. As I, after a moment's deliberation, carefully wrapped my arm around her waist.
Tang So-wol's tongue slipped between my lips. It coiled around my tongue with a rather rough motion, tickled the roof of my mouth, and teased me for a long while before finally pulling away.
"Phew!"
A long silver thread stretched between me and Tang So-wol.
"What the—?"
I was taken aback by Tang So-wol's more aggressive tongue play than I'd expected, but only for a moment.
Lick.
Now openly licking her lips, Tang So-wol's eyes sparkled.
"Where was it next?"
"…The nape of my neck."
I tilted my head slightly, offering my left nape, and Tang So-wol buried her face in it without hesitation. A slight dampness, along with a softness that followed.
But Tang So-wol herself, as if something displeased her, frowned slightly and tilted her head.
"The marks don't stay well."
"Well, what can I say. My body is just that sturdy."
"Hmph. The Harmony Realm is such a coward. But I have my own ways of thinking."
Tang So-wol curled up the corners of her mouth into a sly grin and pressed her lips back to the spot she had kissed moments ago. And then.
Suck.
A clear sensation from the nape of my neck. A subtle feeling somewhere between pain and ticklishness.
But the sensation was so vivid that I knew immediately what was going on.
"Isn't biting against the rules?"
"What can I do? It's hard to leave a mark with just my own strength."
"That's true, but…"
With a feeling of wondering whether this was really right, I pointed out one by one the places where Seomun Hwa-rin had kissed me, and Tang So-wol left her teeth marks right on top of them.
She spent a long time biting and sucking at my body like that, but as with all things, there had to be an end.
Finally, having left as many of her own teeth marks as Seomun Hwa-rin had left on me, Tang So-wol kept her word and bit my lip once more.
The taste of a single drop of blood flowing from my slightly torn lip. Given the location, it wouldn't leave an easily noticeable mark, but…
I would never forget today's memory. Never forget the taste of blood lingering in my mouth.
In that sense, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Tang So-wol had carved her mark not on my body, but on my heart.
What had clearly started as an evening beginning to darken had somehow stretched on until the deep dawn when even the crickets had fallen silent before the work came to an end.
Tang So-wol spoke with a proud yet slightly weary voice.
"This turned out to be a lot more tiring than I expected."
"I wouldn't know—I just stood still."
"Ah. Perhaps the young hero Cheon wished to leave a mark on me as well? If so, I wouldn't mind at all."
Tang So-wol spread both arms wide and beckoned with her fingers as if inviting me over.
"Whether you press your lips, bite with your teeth, or even lightly scratch with your nails—that wouldn't be bad either. Where would you like to start? Anywhere is fine…"
She said this while looking back and forth between me and her own chest with a meaningful gaze.
I casually adjusted my collar to hide the clear teeth marks etched across the muscle and shook my head.
"It's not that. But there is one thing I'm curious about."
"Curious?"
"You said you'd do something more impressive, so I had expectations. But it seems it just ends with you biting a bit harder and in one more spot."
"Oh my? I didn't know the young hero Cheon had such high expectations for our time together. You may talk big, but your actions have always been rather timid."
"…That's because if I made one wrong move, I'd get beaten half to death by my father-in-law."
"And now that you've reached the same Harmony Realm?"
After quickly weighing the options in my head, I spoke.
"At the very least, I don't think I'd lose easily."
"Then the answer is clear."
Tang So-wol smiled brightly and reached out one hand to pat the back of my head. The look in her eyes, as if she were gazing at something to be proud of, was a bonus.
"Why are you hesitating? Let's just do it first and think later."
"Do what, exactly?"
"Anything. Whatever the young hero Cheon desires, wouldn't that be it?"
Tang So-wol still entrusted her body to me without any guard. The sight of her, as if ready to accept whatever I did, stirred a surging impulse within me.
Giving in to it, I carefully reached out one hand and cupped half of her face.
The right side of her face, which had been scarred by burns before the regression. But now, all I could feel was smooth skin.
"…Ah."
The heat that had been rising in my body cooled as if I had been doused with cold water.
I love Tang So-wol. That is an indisputable truth, an absolute standard that transcends time itself.
But while I love both the Tang So-wol from before the regression and the Tang So-wol of now, I have never once thought of them as the same person. I simply couldn't.
As Tang So-wol quietly rested her head against my touch, memories of the past overlapped with the present.
Before the regression. The night before she died at the hands of the Heavenly Demon. Tang So-wol shook her head when I told her we should run away together.
Instead, she invited me to her room, promising that we would watch the moon together at the rebuilt Tang Clan.
And back then, too, I was cupping half of Tang So-wol's face just like this.
…Either way, Tang So-wol is Tang So-wol, so I suppose it's only natural.
A memory precious as it was, it was one I could never return to. Just as I was forcing myself to erase it and finish what I had been doing—
"That expression again…"
Tang So-wol frowned as if something displeased her.
She opened her mouth wide and swallowed my thumb whole.
She tickled it with her tongue a few times, then bit down.
"Ugh!"
It wasn't a light bite meant to leave a mark like before. She bit down with the clear intent to hurt.
Startled, I pulled my hand away, and Tang So-wol rose from her seat.
"I'm sorry, young hero Cheon."
"Wait, just wait a moment!"
"I don't know the exact circumstances, but I thought you would understand… I suppose not."
"That's not it!"
I shook my head vigorously and sprang to my feet, grabbing Tang So-wol, but she merely took a step back, her expression still sorrowful.
"It will pass soon enough, so please don't worry."
"I… well…"
"There will be plenty of other days. After all, we are betrothed, aren't we?"
With those words, Tang So-wol gave me a faint smile, pressed a brief kiss to my lips, and left the room.
I couldn't bring myself to stop her or chase after her. I stood rooted to the spot for a long while, then let my shoulders droop.
I had to do something about the seal.
Otherwise, I might have to see that look on Tang So-wol's face for the rest of my life.
Fortunately, the Heavenly Demon had said he knew a way.
***
A few days later.
Whether I lay sprawled on the floor as if I were the most miserable person in the world or not, the world kept turning just fine.
In short, the Green Forest subjugation had served as a good example, and the Murim Alliance and the Black Alliance had decided to hold a meeting of reconciliation.
As someone caught between the two, I naturally had to attend.
"…I don't want to do anything."
I wasn't doing anything anyway, but now I wanted to do even less.