Make me eat my words || Taegyu

Chapter 4

Two things of significance: Choi Beomgyu was now a married man, and Choi Beomgyu was absolutely freezing cold.

To provide context for the first thing: both families had agreed on officiating the marriage a week after the Kangs had arrived, and to have them leave a week later. Unfortunately, word of a particularly bad attack on the northernmost border of the Dragon Kingdom's territory had expedited the process, and the ceremony had been rushed so the Kangs could get back home faster. The ceremony hadn't been much, just an exchanging of vows, but it was still painfully awkward, and Beomgyu still found it difficult to look at Taehyun even two days afterwards. His husband . Gross.

As for the second thing, they'd started travelling on the day the ceremony was supposed to be on, and it'd also, coincidentally, started to sleet. Since he'd packed in such a rush, all of Beomgyu's warmer clothes were in the back of the storage cart, and the thin walls of the carriage did little to protect him from the temperature of the great outdoors. He'd started blowing on his hands to keep them warm, and Kang Taehyun was doing absolutely nothing to help.

It was in times like these that Beomgyu missed Soobin. He'd been made to ride in another cart with the rest of the Choi employees that were accompanying Beomgyu, and with every awkward, freezing moment that passed, he wished Soobin was there with him, cracking dumb jokes about how cold his feet always were. But here he was, in a stupid carriage, alone with his stupid husband who couldn't give less of a shit. He sighed, tugging his arms out of his sleeves and hugging them to his body in an attempt to preserve body warmth.

After fifteen painful minutes of Beomgyu shifting around in an attempt to get warm, Taehyun leaned forward. "If you start getting cold, you should just say something," he grumbled, starting to shrug the heavy jacket off of his shoulders.

Beomgyu gave him a blank look, eyeing his jacket. "What?"

"You keep sighing, and it's getting annoying," Taehyun said firmly, balling up the jacket and holding it out to Beomgyu. "Wear this and go to sleep so I can get some peace and quiet."

He wanted to complain, but Beomgyu was so cold that he didn't care about being stubborn. "How do you know I don't snore?" he shot back, carefully tugging the jacket on. Taehyun just shrugged. The coat was warm from Taehyun's body heat, the fur-lined interior luxurious and soft. It also smelled like chai tea for some reason, and Beomgyu couldn't help snuggling into it, relaxing as the warmth enveloped him. He gave Taehyun a worried look; the pink-haired boy had already closed his eyes, his thinly clothed arms crossed over his chest. "Won't you... get cold?"

"I'll be fine," Taehyun muttered. "Stop talking and sleep."

"Fine," Beomgyu whispered, too tired to argue. He laid his head back on the red-cushioned seats and closed his eyes, drifting off into a restless sleep.

When he woke again, he was sweating against the jacket, and the sun was beating through the open windows of the carriage. Taehyun had an arm hanging out of one of the windows, his hair blowing slightly in the breeze and his golden skin shining under the sun's rays. Beomgyu allowed himself ten seconds to admire the sharp slope of his nose before starting to complain. "Jesus fuck, it's hot."

"That's what happens when you go south," Taehyun replied, rolling his eyes without looking over. "And fall asleep with a winter jacket on."

Beomgyu mocked him under his breath, peeling the jacket off and folding it next to him. He inspected his reflection in the window, fluffing at the curly mess of once-perfectly styled hair. Ryujin would have his head chopped off for ruining that. "How much longer?" he asked, his voice a bit scratchy from disuse.

Taehyun finally looked over, giving Beomgyu a quick glance. He looked frustratingly unaffected by the trip, the only sign of his fatigue being the dark circles under his eyes. "About one more hour. We stopped for breakfast earlier, but Soobin told me not to wake you and to just leave your food here." He kicked at the basket at his feet, turning his gaze back out the window.