Chapter 204 Dongxue Village Part 6

The pale crescent moon shines like a silver claw in the night sky. The tranquility of the night is occasionally broken by the sound of snapping branches from animals hunting at night. The night sky was filled with bright stars, and when Hajime looked up, the blanket of stars stretched as far as the eye could see. 

Hajime turned to look at Yul who was already lying down to sleep. The light of the moon shone on Yul's face, leaving soft shadows on the tree root walls. Hajime stared at Yul, thinking about what kind of dreams Yul had every night when he lay next to Hajime. During the years when Hajime was lying next to Yul, Hajime had more sweet dreams than nightmares. Maybe he knew that every night when he closed his eyes, Yul was lying next to him, protecting him, even in his dreams. 

Hajime lay on his left next to Yul, facing Yul. Being so close to Yul, even though the moonlight was half blocked by the branches, Hajime could see the tip of Yul's beard sprouting above the skin of Yul's face. He reached out and gently touched the side of Yul's chin with the back of his right hand. 

When Hajime gently stroked Yul's chin, and thought about the upcoming baby due date, Hajime whispered in his heart: "Yul, who knows how many days we have left for us to love each other? Who knows how many nights I have left to be so close to you? Maybe time is running out for us, there might not be that many days left before we are separated forever." 

"Mm... have you touched enough?" Yul said in a sleepy voice. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," Hajime said, removing his hand from Yul's chin. 

Yul put his right arm under Hajime's head, grabbed Hajime's right hand with his left hand, then placed Hajime's right hand on the left side of his face and pulled Hajime into his arms. 

Yul kissed Hajime's forehead and asked, "Can't sleep? What are you thinking about?" 

Hajime said, "I know I shouldn't chase you and the others, but when I see you leaving me behind, I can't help but think that without you staying in the temple, I would have no one to talk to. I hate looking at people's backs when they leave me behind." 

Yul asked, "So, you would rather walk beside me and face unimaginable dangers than stay in the safety of the temple." 

Hajime softly said, "Mm..." 

Yul hugged Hajime tightly and said, "Promise me that you will always be by my side throughout my life." 

Hajime said, "I promise the moon that I am willing to go through thick and thin with you, for as long as I can." 

Yul chuckled and asked, "What kind of promise is this?" 

Hajime giggled and said, "One of a kind." Hajime buried his head on Yul's chest. "Yul..." 

"Hmm..." 

Hajime said softly, "I don't mind if you marry a second, third or even a fourth wife. I believe your children will be cute when they are young and as skilled as you are as a man. I believe that if the Bayarmaa have more people like you, Tanzang Kingdom will become stronger. Moreover, knowing that there are more people who love you makes me feel at ease." 

Yul said, "It's too troublesome. I am a person with two arms, and these two arms have already been reserved. My right arm is reserved to hold you, and my left arm is reserved to hold our child. Beside." He kissed Hajime's forehead. "Babies born from other women and me will not be as perfect and cute as the child you have in your belly now. I am very happy that heaven has given me a soulmate and a miracle child." Yul held Hajime tightly in his arms. Because Hajime's belly was pressed against him, Yul felt the baby move. "Does it hurt?" 

"What?" Hajime was caught off guard by Yul's unusual question. 

Yul asked, "Does it hurt every time the baby moves?" 

Hajime sighed and said, "Sometimes it hurts, but most of the time it doesn't. It hurts when the baby accidentally kicks my ribcage, but when the baby kicks my bladder, I feel uncomfortable and unable to hold my bladder." He laughed softly. "But no matter how the baby moves, it's all good signs. " 

Yul asked, "What do you mean?" 

Hajime said, "It means the baby is healthy and active. Well... I can feel it when the baby is having hiccups." 

Yul asked, "How does it feel like?" 

Hajime replied, "I can definitely see my belly moving. Like right now." Hajime chuckled. "I think the baby is hungry and wants a midnight snack." 

Yul smiled, took his hand away from Hajime's head, and placed the left side of his face against Hajime's abdomen. Although he couldn't hear any sound, he could feel Hajime's stomach rising and falling rhythmically. The feeling is similar to what a person feels when he or she hiccups. 

Yul said happily, "Although I didn't hear anything, I felt movement." 

Hajime left arm held Yul, and his right hand brushed away a strand of hair from Yul's face. He looked at the moon and said, "If I could stop time, now would be the perfect time." 

Yul raised his head from Hajime's belly and said, "But unfortunately no one can stop time, so we must cherish every moment we have together. These moments will become our stories to tell our children and grandchildren." Yul leaned closer to Hajime's face. "When I'm old, I'll tell our great-grandchildren, 'One time, your great-grandfather and I happened to spend a night under a million stars. Your great grandfather, had a silly idea of wanting to stop time." 

Hajime said, "Then the dangers we encountered must also be included." 

Yul smiled and lowered his head and started to kiss Hajime. After the kiss ended, Yul put his right arm under Hajime's neck and pulled Hajime back into his arms. "Hajime... I know there are some things you can't tell me, but I respect your decision. I believe you will eventually tell me when the time comes. I'd rather you tell me when you're ready. I just want you to know that no matter where you come from, no matter what has happened to you in the past, none of that matters to me. Although I may not have been in your plans and future in the past, I hope that from now on, I will be included in every plan you make." He sighed. "I know that what you really need is a loving family. I always want you to know that from the first day we got married to this moment, you have always been my family, so I want you to let go of all the bad memories and keep only the happy memories we have been building from the first day you entered the palace and forward. Michio once said that only by letting go can you get rid of the shackles that imprison you, so from now on, let me be your hero, the hero who provides you with every refuge in your darkest hours, okay?" 

Hajime is shocked to hear Yul mention part of his secret since he has never told anyone before. "How do you know?" Hajime asked. 

Yul said, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation with Kaizen. I was worried about you, so I followed you and happened to overhear your conversation with him." 

Hajime's heart was filled with various emotions, and his heart ached. He buried his face in Yul's chest. "Okay... from now on, whenever I need a hero, I'll remember to call you." 

 "As long as you need me, I will always be by your side," Yul said with a smile and kissed Hajime gently on his forehead. Yul felt the baby moves violently. "He's going to be naughty. Does it hurt?" 

Hajime shook his head and said, "It doesn't hurt. I just feel a little uncomfortable, but it's bearable." He exhaled softly. "Hmm... have you thought of a name?" 

Yul sighed and said, "Not yet. Have you thought of a name?" 

Hajime said, "Meiji..." 

"Um...Meiji," Yul said. "What does Meiji mean?" 

Hajime said, "Meiji... Mei as in 'fate' and ji as in 'path'." 

Yul smiled and exhaled happily, "Okay, then Meiji it is." 

Early in the morning, the sun warms the cold air that swirled around the night before. The birds were chirping, and the cool morning breeze blew gently through the woods. The dewdrops on the leaves fell on the ground, and one of the dewdrops fell on Hajime's forehead. The coolness of the dew woke Hajime up. Hajime opened his eyes first and saw the warm sun rising on the horizon. Hajime couldn't help but shivered as he watched the colors of red, yellow, orange, white, and gray mix together as the morning breeze blew through the wilderness. 

When Hajime saw U-ri sitting with the three monks by the campfire, he stretched out his arms and yawned. He found all their belongings were packed away. Hajime rolled the blanket and walked towards U-ri and the three monks. 

"Good morning, Hajime," U-ri said. 

"Good morning," Hajime said, looking around wishing to see Abrafo still sleeping, but to his surprise, except for the three monks, no one else was with them. "Where are the others?" 

"Before we set off, they took the horses to drink water and eat," U-ri said. 

"When did you wake up? Why didn't anyone wake me up?" Hajime asked. 

U-ri said, "I originally wanted to wake you up, but Yul said you didn't sleep well last night, so he let you sleep longer." U-ri handed Hajime a bowl of porridge. "Eat this first. You barely ate yesterday." 

"Thanks," Hajime said and took the wooden bowl filled with porridge from U-ri and sat next to U-ri. 

U-ri said, "If you need more, just get more. I made extra." 

Hajime raised the bowl to his mouth and began to drink the porridge. After finishing the drink, he put down the bowl and was about to stand up to get more but froze when he saw the Taka started to come out from behind the trees. 

"U-ri..." Hajime said as more Taka continued to reveal themselves. "U-ri... we are surrounded."