The Painter and the Prince Who Cannot Be Painted novel · Chapter 9 of 24
Chapter 9: The Bathhouse
The bathhouse stood in the northeast corner of the yard.
It was a tiny roofed hut with a plank door and a wooden tub big enough for two.
Gyeol had been carrying water to it since sundown.
By the time Do-yun came out of the main room, steam was rolling from every gap in the planks.
It curled up white into the frost.
"It's the one place in this house I'm allowed to be warm," Gyeol said.
He stood in the doorway in his open robe, with his sleeves pushed up.
"Come in and see."
Do-yun went in.
The air inside was thick and wet, smelling of pine and hot stone.
A single oil lamp hung from a hook, and the tub steamed under it, black and gold.
He stood there blinking, with his collar already damp.
"The guards can't see in," Gyeol said behind him. "The steam hides the lamp, and the walls hold the sound if you're careful."
"Are you going to be careful?"
"No." Gyeol grinned. "You are."
He slid the door shut, dropped the bar, and turned.
His robe was already hanging off one shoulder, and the steam had plastered his black hair to his chest.
"Hands," he said.
Do-yun held them out.
Gyeol dipped a cloth in the water and washed them slowly, finger by finger.
He scrubbed the ink off the knuckles and out from under the nails.
He did it with such care that Do-yun's throat tightened.
"You're doing this to be kind," he said.
"I'm doing it because I want your hands clean." Gyeol raised them and kissed each palm. "Where I'm about to put them."
Do-yun's breath left him.
He took a step, and another, and Gyeol caught him around the waist.
They kissed with the steam rolling around them and the water lapping at the sides of the tub.
Gyeol's mouth was hot, and wet, and tasted of the cold tea he'd been drinking.
Do-yun pulled the robe off his shoulders and let it drop.
He pushed his palms flat over the muscle of Gyeol's chest, slick with sweat and steam, and felt him shiver.
"Get in," Do-yun said.
"Is that an order?"
"It is."
Gyeol stepped into the tub and sank down on the wooden bench with a sigh.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–6 of The Painter and the Prince Who Cannot Be Painted are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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