It should have been more embarrassing that the day after his (very public) tussle with Seojin-a in the palace's hall, his betrothed had requested they take some space from each other. This, coming from the girl who had been glued to his side the very moment their families had arranged their marriage. He couldn't blame her. Going from occasional brushes to holding hands, cheek kisses, and public touches all within 24 hours after his falling out with Seojin-a had been pretty fast. He'd believed she found it acceptable, since she hadn't said otherwise. So when he kissed her on the mouth (no need to review the circumstances for that particular choice) and then had her robes set on fire, she'd apparently decided it was 'too much, too soon,' and they could just wait to get to know each other after the wedding.

Ahn-Bo had cheerfully relayed the news to Seojin-a (who had also been rather cheery about it.) They'd spent the last few months the way they wanted—just the two of them. And if he'd spent those months purposely flirting with Seojin-a just to see his signature blushes... well, that was his prerogative.

Herbs and plants weren't something he was particularly interested in. But when this assignment was given and he'd heard they'd be sent in pairs up the mountain for the day to scavenge for Yomogi—it had suddenly become his favorite thing. He had their shared tsuno-bukuro tossed over one shoulder, happy to play the part of the 'I'll hold the stuff while you find it' part—with mixed results. Seojin-a didn't find it fair that he had to do all of the work. (Ahn-Bo didn't tell him that he preferred to follow his friend around just so he could admire the view without his notice.) So here he was, bent over and peering at plants in an attempt to locate this mysterious herb.

He lifted his head at Seojin-a's warning, brow furrowed, "What's devil's snare?" (He didn't find flora particularly interesting, remember?) Based on the description he'd been given, he glanced toward his right foot. It looked vaguely familiar, like they'd learned about it recently. There'd been a sketch of sorts that Sensei had shown them, hadn't there? "Oh! You're right, it's here," He grinned, rather pleased with himself, and used his right foot to gesture to the plant in question.

Seojin-A’s unimpressed and affectionately annoyed reaction reminded him of the nanny he’d had as a child. She would have to toddle after small Ahn-Bo and deal with all his antics. There had been similar eye-rolls and gentle tugs to get him away from the danger he’d unknowingly put himself in. This time, he had the capacity to be sheepish for it. Right. Devil’s Snare was deadly. He knew that. (No he hadn’t.) “Aigoo,” he frowned, “We can’t have that. That’s your job.” His face split with an amused grin.

As for whether he’s found anything… considering his friend had just seen the very empty contents of their bag, there was no point in fibbing. “No,” he sighed dejectedly, “I can’t even remember what any of them look like.” He side-eyed Seojin-a with a sly smirk, “If only there were someone who could show me what it is I’m looking for.” He at least knew that whatever had just been dropped in the bag wasn’t what they were out here for. That was a good sign, wasn’t it?

He laughed at Seojin-a’s snarky murmur. This was why he enjoyed his friend’s company so much. He could joke and tease and say ridiculous things, and Seojin-a would humor him. He understood Ahn-Bo so well. It was nice being able to just be himself around him, not the yanban that was expected of him.

Once he’d been handed the notebook, he took a minute to study the sketch. They did look familiar… maybe they had passed by some a while back? And then, he flipped through the pages that his friend had scribbled on. He’d seen little doodles and writing, but hadn’t been able to decipher what they were. Of course he as going to give in to his curiosity and take a peek. Seojin-a hadn't behaved like he had wanted to keep them private.

Up ahead, the vampire picked his way through the brush toward some clearing. How he knew where they were Ahn-Bo had no idea. Even if he had, he’d have been to distracted by the scribbles to realize. “These are really good! I didn’t know you write things like this.” he called out loud enough so Seojin-a could hear how impressed he was. “Are they poems?” The Joseon court loved a good poem. Men would even memorize them to woo whatever court lady they were after. It was romantic, apparently.

At first, Ahn-Bo was too busy flipping through the pages to notice that Seojin-a had turned back his way. Some were more complete than others—a brief scribble of a line here, another there—while others were more developed. These were songs. Given his upbringing, he'd only ever heard jeongak at court. Though he knew there was minsokak as well. Which one did Seojin-a favor? He brought his head up to ask (and maybe even request he sing one), but his words caught in his throat. His friend was embarrassed about them. Maybe he hadn't wanted Ahn-Bo pawing through them after all?

Quickly, he flipped the notebook closed and crossed the remaining distance to return it safely to Seojin-a’s hand. “Malsomssiga jonneyo,” he murmured in awe, gazing at his friend’s face as if seeing him anew. Just another thing that the vampire excelled at but kept to himself. After seeing the inevitable blush that appeared on Seojin-a’s cheeks, he brushed past him (more closely than necessary, but he couldn’t resist) and headed in the direction of the supposed clearing. “You’re certain there’s a clearing here? How do you even know where we are?” Aside from knowing if they were headed up the mountain or down it, the rest looked the same as everything else.

The way Seojin-a had startled and cleared his throat had Ahn-Bo grinning gleefully. It was a good thing his back was to his friend at that moment. The last thing they needed was the vampire reading into it incorrectly and getting offended in whatever inventive way he could. The con of being clever. The pros far outweighed it—including his attention to details that Ahn-Bo had been oblivious to (like the tree.)

Sure enough, the clearing and jeongja had come into view. He let out an impressed sound as he raised his brows; grass beneath his boots softly crunching as he approached the structure. "A perfect time for gansik." he chirped as they ascended the few wooden stairs to the pavilion. (Because of course he wanted food. When was he ever not thinking about it?)

It was small compared to the jeongja's he'd seen back home, but it felt cozy enough. Ahn-Bo settled himself in the middle with crisscrossed legs. After a moment of digging around within his sleeves, he withdrew a small pouch packed full of dried persimmon and jujubes. He selected a handful of jujubes and expectantly offered them to Seojin-a, "Here." Ahn-Bo could take them or leave them, but he knew the vampire enjoyed them—which is why they'd been stuffed into the pouch.

"Ani," he answered around a mouthful of persimmon, waving the thank you away with his free hand. Now that the most important task was complete, he took a moment to admire the little spot they'd found... or more accurately, Seojin-a had found and shared with him. The sounds of their surroundings were peaceful; leaves were rustling, and the brook nearby softly burbled. It could have been a lullaby with how peaceful it was. The cool breeze was a touch too nippy, but Ahn-Bo didn't mind. Until he saw his friend shiver and curl into himself, and then he minded very much.

It would be rude to ignore Seojin-a's question, so he addressed that first. "Ne. It's against Kenji's team," his brown eyes were eager and bright, "They have just as many wins as us this term—it'll be a challenge." Not that he wanted to brag (at the moment), but between Ahn-Bo and his teammates, they had a comfortable seat at the top of the school's quidditch bracket. He couldn't help but smirk, "I can't wait to hit him with a bludger." It was only then that he allowed himself to frown in concern, gesturing to Seojin-a to come closer. "You're cold, here, come sit by me. We can share body heat." More than usual, most likely, considering how warm he felt whenever Seojin-a touched him, however briefly. Besides, what better excuse to get closer to his simkung?

Ahn-Bo beamed at the compliment. He was rather proud of how well his team had been doing this year. Their seeker had really come into their own over the last term. And personally, he'd been playing better since he and Seojin-a had made up. Funny what having a proper appetite and sleep schedule and not obsessing over how angry you were at your former friend could do for you.

His eyes were bright as Seojin-a scooted closer to him, his heart giving a soft stutter at the feel of his lithe frame pressed against him. Not that it seemed to have done much good—the wind had picked up. With the way they were positioned, Ahn-Bo really wasn't doing much to block the wind for him. His first thought was to offer his friend one of his own layers, although he hadn't worn any extra either. It wouldn't be very appropriate to traipse around the mountain in his underlayers. There really was only one solution that he came up with that seemed the most effective... but he wasn't certain how Seojin-a would feel about it.

Carefully, so as not to startle or pressure him, he suggested, "You could sit here-" he did his best to gesture as casually as possible toward his lap, "If I put my arms around-" 'you' he almost said, which sounded more romantic than he intended. "Like this," curving his shoulders and bringing his arms forward, he tried to demonstrate what he meant. Gods this was sounding awkward wasn't it? "It would block the wind on three sides for you. And I'm basically a personal heater." Ahn-Bo grinned as if what he said was funny and not at all forward or strange to be asking of his 'platonic' friend.

Aish, it had been an awkward thing to suggest. Seojin-a's blush (likely from head to toe) and his embarrassed refusal had Ahn-Bo feeling just the same. What had he been thinking? He'd been trying to be so careful and slow in his approach all this time, and now... what? The moment Seojin-a complains that he's cold, he invites him to sit on his lap? If he'd been alone, he would have smacked his palm against his forehead for being so foolish. Ahn-Bo forced a hearty laugh, "Ani, ani, I was just teasing!" Yes, that was why he also had a full-body blush and couldn't look Seojin-a in the eye.

He busied himself with shoving a handful of persimmons into his mouth so he had an excuse to recover for a moment. It was poor etiquette, but he was desperate. What he needed was a change of topic. He would have preferred grilling Seojin-a about his songwriting, but he didn't want to pile on one embarrassment after another, or this would become excruciatingly uncomfortable. "How far are the yomogi from here?" is what he ended up settling on. It was uninteresting and rather lame, but it was a safe question, at least.