Swish.
Jolt.
When I promised I would treasure it, the king’s hand suddenly brushed against my lower lip. Sensing the subtle shift in atmosphere, I awkwardly set the paper down, and he leaned toward me, pressing his soft lips against mine.
“I am clumsy when it comes to dealing with women.”
“...”
“I will try to learn little by little, so if there’s anything you wish for, do let me know.”
I nodded awkwardly at the king’s serious words. In a few days, I would attempt to leave this place with General Hunmu, but seeing him grow more affectionate with each passing day made my heart increasingly uneasy.
Unaware of my conflicted feelings, he gently caressed my cheek, studied my face, and then leaned in once more to press his lips to my neck.
The day was bright, and Bin might soon come bringing something to eat, but my uneasy feelings were too much to bear alone, so I lightly gripped his shoulder as he kissed my neck.
Then, before I realised it, the king’s hand slid over my body and came to rest on my chest.
The rustling of the hanbok being removed filled the air, but I made no move to resist.
“If it’s uncomfortable for you, I will endure it.”
“…It’s not uncomfortable.”
Seeing my exposed breast through the loosened hanbok, the king soon teased my nipple with his lips.
His hand traced my waist and navel, his eyes finding even the fine trembling of my body beneath his touch endearing. Before I knew it, his fingers slipped naturally between my thighs.
Swish.
“Ha…”
I stifled the moans escaping me with my hand as his touch caressed my still-dry skin. Perhaps noticing my concern about Bin, who could arrive at any moment, the king soon instructed outside that no one was to enter until he gave the command. Only after hearing the eunuch respond and withdraw did I release my hand from my mouth.
And once again, I felt the delicate sensitivity of his heart, capable of sensing my emotions just by looking at my face.
Shlick, shilick.
“…Haa…”
As his hand moved slowly, the king’s lips sucked my nipple a little more firmly than before.
His penis, pressing against my thigh, was already hard, yet he continued to focus solely on pleasuring my body. Come to think of it, I had always been the one to receive during our intimacies — I had never returned the favour by touching him.
Slurp.
“...”
I looked down at the king, who was caressing me with the devoted care of someone handling a precious treasure.
He probably assumed that if he came here every day, he could see me whenever he wanted. But seeing him carefully tending to my nipples, waist, and navel, trying to make me feel good, my chest suddenly swelled with emotion.
“Do you… trust me?”
Overwhelmed by emotion, I blurted out before I could stop myself.
He froze.
The king, who had been caressing me for quite some time, lifted his head at my words. Realising what I’d just said, I quickly turned my face away to avoid his gaze.
He gently turned my face toward him with his hand, his expression seeking to understand why I had suddenly said such words.
"Why are you suddenly asking that?"
“…It’s nothing.”
“...”
“Do you think I don’t trust you?”
“It’s not that…”
Rustle.
“I didn’t mean to trouble you so early in the day. I just enjoy looking at you and find you so lovely. This isn’t about holding you just to have a child."
The king rose without hesitation and covered my exposed body with clothing. His expression darkened endlessly, as if recalling how he had lain with me before to make me conceive.
Grasp.
“That’s not what I meant…”
“...”
“I just…”
“...”
"I just… wanted to ask. Whether Your Majesty… trusts me."
“I do.”
When I held the king’s hand as he tried to rise, he didn’t pull away. Instead, he looked into my eyes and, with a sincere expression, told me he trusted me.
So even the words I had blurted out in a surge of emotion didn’t make things better; if anything, they tore my heart into even more pieces.
“…Please… don’t trust me too much, Your Majesty.”
“...”
"You don’t know… what kind of woman I am, coming from a strange world."
Turning my gaze away again, I averted my head and spoke, pressing down a surge of emotion that felt like it would burst into tears at any moment.
Seeing me speak like this, he would surely think I was strange — and I, too, just wanted to let everything go, if only for this moment.
I couldn’t bear the guilt as I thought of him struggling outside, unable to show me the portrait he had painted of me when he couldn’t sleep.
Rustle.
“Yewon.”
“!”
"When you first came here, I placed a sword in your hand."
“...”
"You couldn’t bring yourself to pierce the heart of a beast like me, who longed to take you even though you already had a beloved. You dropped the sword, weeping. I still often remember the look in your eyes then. If you still wish to kill me, I will place the sword in your hand again."
“!”
"I admire you so much that it doesn’t matter."
He said I could kill him if I wished, and that he admired me so much that it didn't matter. The king, the highest ruler in this land, was ready to give everything to a woman as insignificant as me. He came toward me blindly, with everything laid bare.
I had nothing to give him, and now all I seemed to do was hurt him instead.
“…Please hold me.”
“What…?”
“Don’t let me think about anything… please just hold me.”
I hugged the king so tightly that the clothes covering me almost slipped off. Trembling, I clung desperately to him, suppressing the emotions that threatened to burst into tears, just as he tried to look at me.
Then, after staying still for a moment, he slid his hand along my back, pulling me tightly against him, pressing his pelvis close between my thighs. And then he kissed my neck again.
But already feeling like a sinner for the days ahead when I would have to hurt him, I pushed away his caresses with my hand and crossed my legs around his hips to hold him tight. I even wished my flesh were parched and dry, so that I could bear the pain myself.
At my uninhibited movements, the king quickly undid his pants and pressed his hard penis against me. Meeting my gaze — my eyes slightly moist — he thrust in all at once.
Thwack!
“Heub!”
Thwack!
And just as I wished, he thrusted his hips roughly, leaving me unable to think of anything at all.
Thwack!
“Hanngh!”
But even so, there was no pain. I wished he would hurt me, even wound me — but now, there was nothing.
I cupped the king’s face with both hands and pulled him close. Then I kissed him first, sliding my tongue in to wrap around his.
Desperately, I tried every way to soothe his wounds — to comfort him. But now, and in the future, this was all I could do.
“Nngh! …Ha! Ugh!”
Thwack!
Thwack!
With even my smallest movements, the king’s penis grew harder and larger, and he thrust in so deeply that it reached my womb.
“Hnngh… Heub… Hng.”
Deeper and deeper — so that the emotions that made me want to cry could burst out as moans instead.
What if I didn’t go back and lived here with the king?
Could I make such a choice?
I hated the thought of hurting the king, but I could not answer that question easily.
Now, only two days remained.
・・・・・
Even with just one day left until the banquet, General Hunmu had yet to appear. He was so quiet that I couldn’t help but feel uneasy, wondering if we would really be able to go to the waterfall tomorrow.
After collapsing once more during the day for no apparent reason, the king told me to rest and left, so I could do nothing but lie there, my heart restless and unsettled.
Seeing me collapse again, the king’s face was filled with worry, yet for me, it was a sign that I would be going back. It was truly an ironic situation.
Creak.
Breaking the silence, General Hunmu finally appeared.
After five days, his face seemed even thinner.
He quietly came to sit in front of me.
When I got up without surprise, I could tell from the way he glanced outside that entering the palace wasn’t easy for him. He was helping me, even at the risk of his own safety.
He had always been like that.
“You’ve come…”
“It’s tomorrow.”
“I know.”
“I hear there will be a banquet.”
“Yes...”
“It’s the perfect chance to evade His Majesty’s gaze.”
“If we fail… General Hunmu… I can’t help but keep worrying about it."
“I told you I would take full responsibility.”
“But…”
“The physician said so — that I have fallen ill with a terrible, incurable disease.”
“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”
“...”
“Where does it hurt? Incurable, you say? That can’t be. We must consult the physician again…”
"I know my illness well. So even if this goes wrong, you have nothing to worry about. If it’s ever discovered, it will be seen as something I did on my own."
“That’s not possible. General Hunmu can’t take responsibility for everything.”
“I will come for you tomorrow night. When the banquet begins and the sword dance [1] starts, just make a suitable excuse and slip out.”
He spoke matter-of-factly about suffering from a terrible, incurable illness, yet even after saying something so shocking, his only concern was taking me with him.
Having known him as the one who had helped me adjust to this unfamiliar palace, and having saved my life more than once, my lips began to tremble.
I even felt as if his terrible illness had been caused by me.
But the moment he saw my dark expression, General Hunmu spoke in a rather cold tone.
“There’s no time to be caught up in emotions. If we fail tomorrow, you won’t know when you’ll ever be able to return.”
"...But... General Hunmu’s... body...?"
“My illness has been passed down since my father’s time. Don’t trouble yourself with such trivial matters; just focus on returning tomorrow.”
Why would even the king, who painstakingly worked on his painting, call it trivial and offer me a sword? And why would General Hunmu call his own illness trivial?
“It is not trivial… What could be more precious than a human life?”
“Even if I don’t help you escape, I am already a dead man.”
“!”
“So don’t show any more weakness in front of me.”
Though his calm voice pierced my heart, General Hunmu said only that and then suddenly sprang to his feet as if enraged.
“Remember. It’s when the sword dance starts.”
“…General Hunmu…”
“...”
“What if… I don’t make it back…”
“On the day I resolved to betray His Majesty, I vowed that, by any means, I would send you back to the world you once lived in. I will send you back. Without fail.”
Translator's Corner:
[1] The traditional term is: Gunmu (군무), which refers to the military style dance with swords.
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