The Last Esper [BL]-Chapter 43: Under the rain

"Rhys..." Eun-woo whispered.

Rhys didn’t respond, just leaned in again. Their lips met slowly, with a fire that twisted his insides and scorched Eun-woo to the core. Rhys ran his tongue across his lips, seeking gentle entry, and Eun-woo, trembling, opened his mouth to let him in.

His hands moved up almost instinctively, gripping Rhys’s shoulders, pulling him closer, pressing their bodies together in a desperate attempt to feel warmth.

Rhys kissed him as if Eun-woo were the air he needed to keep breathing. Desperate, rough, hungry. He held onto him with an almost painful strength, as if letting go for a second would mean losing him forever.

And Eun-woo, paralyzed by the mix of emotions coursing through him, let him. He let Rhys kiss him until he was breathless, until his body trembled not from desire, but from sheer exhaustion, only opening his mouth to breathe when it became impossible to keep holding it back.

Eun-woo wanted to speak, to stop him, but his voice was muffled between each kiss. Rhys’s weight on top of him kept him pinned to the ground, trapped, his mind clouded and his heart racing.

He felt Rhys’s fingers slide around his waist, clumsy and desperate, until they clutched at his clothes. Rhys tugged at them roughly, ripping off buttons and fabric as if he couldn’t bear the distance between their skin.

Eun-woo gasped, not out of desire, but out of fear.

They were soaked. The rainwater continued to fall persistently, soaking them to the bone. Their clothes weighed against their bodies, clinging like a second skin. The ground beneath them was uneven, covered in slippery stones and mud, with small puddles forming between the roots and cracks in the riverbank.

Every time he moved, Eun-woo felt the rocks sink under his weight and heard the river water roaring near his ear.

"Wait..." he tried to say, but his voice was drowned out as Rhys kissed him again, again and again, leaving him no space to speak, no time to think.

Rhys’s hands moved urgently over his body, pushing through the soaked layers of clothing. Eun-woo tensed, his breathing becoming erratic. He didn’t know what to do. Everything was happening too fast, too intense, and it wasn’t how he’d imagined.

Rhys gripped his hips, pressing their bodies together, as if trying to become one with him. The kisses became more aggressive, hungrier, and Eun-woo felt like each one was pulling something out of him he wasn’t ready to give.

Eun-woo felt a tingle on his skin as Rhys’s hands moved up from his waist to caress his back, tangling his fingers in his hair.

They broke apart when Rhys moved down to kiss Eun-woo’s throat, leaving marks with his lips and teeth that he knew would be visible the next day. He moved down to Eun-woo’s chest, brushing a finger over a hardened nipple.

Rhys’s hands shot down to Eun-woo’s butt, squeezing it hard through his pants, earning a moan from Eun-woo.

A tear slipped down Eun-woo’s cheek without him realizing it.

"Rhys..." he moaned. "Stop, please... Just stop..."

Rhys raised his face, just for a second. He looked at him. He saw Eun-woo’s eyes shining with tears, his expression trembling and vulnerable.

If he doesn’t stop..." Eun-woo thought, I’m going to have to do something to stop him myself."

But the mere thought of hurting Rhys paralyzed him. He didn’t want to push him hard, didn’t want to hurt him.

And then, he saw it.

The creature was still there.

Barely visible through the river mist, covered by the still persistent rain, the creature watched them silently from the shore. Its dark mist swirled gently, and its eyes met Eun-woo’s.

And in that instant, Eun-woo understood. He knew the creature saw the same thing he did: that Rhys wasn’t being himself, that something inside him had pushed him over the edge, that this wasn’t the way he was meant to be touched.

Without making a sound, the creature began to slowly glide toward them. Its body hovered just inches above the ground. It stopped just behind Rhys, who was still on top of Eun-woo, trembling and kissing him desperately.

Then the creature extended a tentacle of mist that sparked slightly and discharged a small electric current, directly into Rhys’s back.

Rhys’s body suddenly stiffened, a gasp escaping his lips, and he fainted. He fell heavily onto Eun-woo’s body.

Eun-woo hugged him tightly, his arms closing around Rhys’s wet back. He felt his weight, his warmth mixed with the cold of the water and rain, and he leaned his forehead against Rhys’s, closing his eyes.

"Forgive me..." he whispered. freewebnøvel_com

He stayed like that for a moment, motionless, letting himself be carried away by the steady sound of the rain hitting the river and the stones, by Rhys’s now steady breathing. The trembling in his own body was uncontrollable.

Minutes passed before Eun-woo decided to move.

He knew he couldn’t stay there.

Carefully, he tried to get up. He leaned on his elbows, then his knees, and finally tried to stand with Rhys still in his arms. But his body wouldn’t respond. His muscles ached, his soaked clothes clinging to his skin, and Rhys’s weight prevented him from even standing up completely.

He sighed in frustration, trying to pick him up again, but his legs gave way.

It was then that the creature approached again. Its dark mist coiled around Rhys’s body, lifting him with care. Rhys hung in the air, supported by those vaporous tentacles, still unconscious.

Eun-woo froze for a second, then nodded in thanks.

He struggled to his feet and straightened his clothes as best he could. His shirt was in tatters, ripped in several places by the struggle. Some seams hung loose, and part of his abdomen was exposed to the freezing air. His coat still clung to his shoulders, though it too was soaked and caked in mud. He buttoned it awkwardly, crossing his arms over his chest to conserve some warmth.

His hands ached, his fingers numb, his knuckles scraped and dirty. The mud weighed on his boots. The cold pierced his bones, but he kept breathing deeply, forcing himself to stay upright.

"What do you want from us?" he asked the creature.

He got no response.

The creature only stared, its red eyes glowing faintly through the haze.

Eun-woo sighed, frustrated.

"Can you help me return to the others?"

The creature remained silent for a second longer. Then it nodded slowly, or so it seemed. And it began to move. It hovered above the rocky terrain, carrying Rhys in its tentacles, moving in a straight line as if it knew exactly where to go.

Eun-woo felt that the energy emanating from the creature was dangerous.

And yet...

At that moment, it seemed to want to help him.

So, with no other choice, he followed it.

***

"Rong Ye! Rong Ye, wake up!"

He opened his eyes with a start, still disoriented. The first thing he saw was the boy’s soaked face, pale and shaking.

"What... what’s going on?"

"I can’t wake Caelan up! I’ve tried everything!"

Rong Ye sat up immediately. The rain was still falling, albeit less heavily than before, but the ground was still just as cold. He walked over to Caelan, who was lying under the tree where Jae had left him to rest.

"Caelan!" Rong Ye called, shaking him twice on the shoulder. Nothing.

Jae watched with wide eyes of terror, as if he feared he was gone too.

"Caelan, damn it, wake up!" Rong Ye growled, and without hesitation, slapped him.

Caelan groaned.

"Ugh! Was that really necessary?" he snapped, rubbing his face as he blinked.

"Thank God..." Jae murmured, tears welling in his eyes.

Caelan slowly turned to Rong Ye, a clumsy smile on his lips.

"Is that how you wake me? With a slap? Couldn’t have gone with a kiss first?"

"This isn’t the time for jokes!" Jae snapped. "Rhys and Eun-woo ran off! They were being chased by a creature! They haven’t come back!"

Caelan sat up abruptly.

"What?"

"We were hiding, and then that thing appeared. Rhys ran off to distract it, and Eun-woo... Eun-woo followed him. I haven’t seen them since."

Rong Ye frowned, standing up.

"Where did they go?"

"Over there," Jae said, pointing through the trees.

Without wasting time, the three began moving in the indicated direction. They found no trace of a fight until they reached a clearing.

The sound of the water stopped them.

The river.

Caelan was the first to approach. His eyes scanned the current as it moved relentlessly between the rocks.

"They jumped," he said grimly. "To escape the creature."

Jae opened his mouth in disbelief.

"How can you tell?"

Caelan pointed out the footprints, the marks on the shore, the remains of disturbed mud.

"There’s no other option. The creature must have cornered them."

Rong Ye gritted his teeth, staring at the water with a grim expression.

"In that case... they must be dead by now. That current is too strong."

Jae took a step back. His breath hitched.

"No..." he whispered. "It can’t be..."

Jae broke down, sobs wracking his body. He buried his face in his hands, unable to hold back the tears.

"It was my fault... I should have helped them..."

"Jae," Caelan said firmly, taking him by the shoulders. "Look at me."

The boy looked up, his eyes red and his face soaked.

"Rhys doesn’t give up that easily. You know him. If he jumped, it was for a reason. Not to die. He’s not going to let himself be swept away by a river without a fight."

Jae nodded, though the tremble in his lips didn’t go away.

Caelan took a deep breath and pointed toward the stream.

"Let’s follow the river. If we’re lucky, they might have washed up farther down. If they’re alive, we’ll find them."

And without another word, the three of them began walking, following the roar of the river as their only guide, while the rain fell upon them.

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