・・・・・
Gok Jeongrang was not a government official. Nor was he born of noble blood; no matter how far back one traced his lineage, not a single drop of noble blood could be found. Yet, he came to be called 'Jeongrang' because, around 20 years ago, during a devastating famine, he generously donated an astronomical amount of money and grain to the struggling court of the Mo Kingdom.
The late king, delighted, bestowed an honorary position upon Gok. Although this honorary role did not allow him to attend official ceremonies or perform duties like a true government official, for Gok — who, despite generations of accumulated wealth, had always been regarded as merely a merchant — it was a satisfying arrangement. After all, his social status had been elevated, even if only in name.
So, how did Gok Jeongrang accumulate his immense wealth?
Smuggling. Human trafficking. Hoarding and monopolising goods. Brothels, gambling dens, fighting arenas, and loan sharking...
All the activities prohibited by the kingdom were firmly under his control. Earning the nation's gratitude with the wealth amassed from such illicit ventures was the height of irony.
As time went by and Gok Jeongrang grew older, he transferred half of his enterprises — including the trading company, brothels, and gambling dens — to his son, Gio. Naturally, this excluded activities like smuggling and human trafficking, which were strictly forbidden by the kingdom.
‘If Gio lets something slip and the Eok family finds out, this marriage will be over.’
Before selling a woman of striking beauty to an island nation across the sea, captivated by her looks, he took her for himself. Unexpectedly, this woman turned out to have a connection with the lady of the Eok family. Though it was irritating that she clung to him under the delusion that he had saved her, he discovered she was of great use because of this relationship. Moreover, their son inherited his mother’s beauty, which led to him enchanting both the eldest son and the daughter of the Eok family — an outcome that was nothing short of the deal.
The Eok family was a distinguished lineage, tracing their ancestry back to the founding contributors of the Mo Kingdom. Gok Jeongrang had his sights set not only on their esteemed reputation but also on their lands, which included a port connecting to a major nation and a fertile granary region.
‘They say that men from the Mo Kingdom are highly favoured in the Great Nation. If we send the women to the island and the men to the Great Nation, it would be ideal.’
So, even though his son was not to his liking, lacking any ruthlessness, he still eagerly awaited his son’s marriage to the daughter of the Eok family. Though the Eok family had a son themselves, quietly killing a person was no big deal, so it didn’t matter...
"...You refused the matchmaker sent by the Eok family?"
"I've known her since she was a toddler. How could I see her as a woman?"
"Y-you worthless bastard! Are you truly out of your mind?"
The thought of ruining a plan that had been in the works for over 15 years made his blood boil. His head throbbed, and his hands trembled. As he swung his arm wildly, his hand caught something long. It was a sword. He swung it, scabbard and all.
"Your purpose! Is to! Marry the daughter of the Eok family! Didn't I raise you for that?!"
Although the sword was still in its scabbard, it was made of steel. Even when struck with it, Gio neither dodged nor made a sound, as usual.
Gok Jeongrang, as he grew older, would usually tire after swinging the sword for a while and stop. But today was different. His verbal abuse escalated, gradually reaching a point where he crossed the line.
"What? You don't see her as a woman? I raised a eunuch, you little bastard!"
“...”
“If you don't want her, then I'll take her as my second wife!”
At that moment, Gio struck the scabbard, changing the direction sharply. Gok Jeongrang, barely maintaining his balance, glared at him. Gio then warned him.
"There are things you can say, and things you shouldn’t even think."
With just those words, Gok Jeongrang understood his son's true intentions.
"Oh ho! You dared to deceive me? You were planning to swallow both my wealth and the Eok family's wealth in one gulp!"
He bared his teeth ferociously, his demeanour defying the fact that he was an old man over sixty.
"Do you think I’ve ever let anyone who coveted what’s mine live?!"
Unable to contain his anger any longer, Gok Jeongrang drew his sword. With a swift strike, blood spurted from Gio's neck.
"You're lucky it didn't slice right through, you bastard."
"I've always known you had no conscience or decency, but now I see you're truly a bastard."
"Wh-what?”
To think that a curse uttered without thought would come back to him. And from his own son, no less — someone who had never done such a thing before? Taking advantage of the brief moment when Gok Jeongrang was slightly flustered, Gio was about to make his move.
Thwack!
A sound like stone cracking echoed, and Gok Jeongrang collapsed, his eyes rolling back. Once the large figure, unlike that of an old man, vanished, a tall and slender figure holding a large blue vase finally came into view.
"How dare you harm Gio oraboni…!"
Breathing heavily, Susu raised the vase again, as if to deliver a finishing blow to the fallen Gok Jeongrang. But when she remembered that the man was Gio's father, Susu hesitated, glancing at him warily before quietly lowering the vase beside him.
The celadon vase was something Gok Jeongrang always cherished, carefully cleaning and polishing it whenever he had the chance. To have fallen after being struck by it... Gio felt a mixture of wanting to laugh and deep embarrassment.
"Susu, how did you end up here?"
"Is that really important right now? You're bleeding from your neck, oraboni!"
"I let myself be hit on purpose."
“Of course, you would. If you show filial piety just twice, I will become a widow even before we marry."
It was true. Wielding a sword was not merely an act of assault; it carried the intent to kill. Thus, even if a child were to strike down their father, it would be hard to condemn them. He aimed to make this point clear.
However, with more pressing concerns at hand, Susu found comfort in the fact that pressing her palm against the wound helped, and she decided not to push the matter further.
With a nervous heart, Gio asked.
"When... did you arrive?"
"It was around the time you said you didn’t see me as a woman."
It was a disaster. Why did it have to happen at that moment? Gio fidgeted, trying to explain himself.
"It was a lie! I was trying to provoke my father to make him lose his composure..."
"Yes, I suppose you did."
Susu responded without a trace of resentment, her calm demeanour making Gio feel even more uneasy. Without thinking, he instinctively grabbed her hand tightly and spoke in a pleading tone.
"Don't you know how I feel?"
"...It’s been several days since that day, yet you still haven’t come to find me. So how could I know? How desperate must I have been to come all the way here?"
"Before I could ask the lord for your hand in marriage, I needed to take care of some matters first. I informed Suwon that it would take some time — didn’t he receive the message?"
"My brother went down to the provincial academy and won't be back until today..."
Realising her mistake, Susu closed her mouth. If Gio had wanted to convey to Gok Jeongrang that he had no feelings for her, he wouldn’t have been able to contact her directly. However, it was unfortunate that Suwon had been away at that moment, which led to this misunderstanding.
"...I’m sorry."
"Susu, I have always thought of you."
Susu felt quietly relieved. Even though she had knocked down Gio’s own father in such a manner, he did not seem angry. She hesitantly embraced him.
“Me too.”
"You mean you know what I was thinking, and you feel the same?"
The intention behind gently biting her small earlobe while speaking was obvious. Recalling the night they spent together, Susu's face flushed red. Gio, gazing at her with intense eyes, lowered his head further. It was the moment when her small, delicate nose brushed against his straight nose tip.
"Ugh..."
The sound of Gok Jeongrang’s groan snapped the two back to reality. They quickly pulled away from each other.
"Right... handling this comes first."
Gio looked down at Gok Jeongrang with a scornful gaze. His mother, Lady Song, had mistakenly believed Gok Jeongrang was her benefactor and harboured feelings of affection for him. She felt a flutter of excitement whenever her much younger husband dressed her up and showed her off to others. And when he kicked her out of anger, she believed it was her fault and couldn’t bring herself to resist.
That was why Gio couldn’t bring himself to love his mother. At least, thanks to her, he met the Eok family, especially Susu, so he had intended to grant his mother’s dying wish. However, Gok Jeongrang squandered his last chance because of his greed.
Having bound his father tightly with his own hands, Gio called a servant and handed him a note, instructing him to deliver it to Jakya.
"Oraboni, if you mean Jakya, is this the same elegant and handsome person I saw at Hwaonru…?"
"Ahem! Jakya is my assistant. He also receives the favour of a high-ranking person."
‘‘A high-ranking person?’ Susu wondered who it could be, but her curiosity was soon satisfied. The constables burst in so quickly it was as if they had been waiting, and indeed, the imperial guards were with them.
"Ah, I see..."
Gio nodded at Susu, who was muttering softly while covering her mouth.
“Unlike the late king, His Majesty is well-versed in the affairs of the underworld.”
The king and Gio shared the same goal: to severely punish Lord Gok. With the king's subtle support, Gio had been methodically dismantling Lord Gok's business from within. Lord Gok felt secure, thinking he had retained control by giving Gio only half. However, as was often the case with a business controlled by a single individual, the cracks inevitably began to show, making it impossible to maintain influence once the damage spread.
Originally, he had planned for this to take longer. However, once he decided to stand with Susu, he couldn’t bear to let even a single grain of rice from Eok fall into Lord Gok’s hands. Fortunately, the king understood him... and so they arrived at today.
After handing over all the evidence he had painstakingly gathered, Gio felt a sense of relief.
Despite the bleeding showing no signs of stopping, he seemed oddly at ease, which only made Susu more anxious.
"Oraboni, you must receive treatment right away. I’ve already summoned the physician..."
"It’s fine. I have a hemostatic agent and golden ointment." [1]
"Are you saying you will treat it yourself?"
"...Hmm... Susu, do you not intend to take care of your oraboni?"
Gio asked, lowering his long eyelashes. The sudden sight of her cherished person — no, seeing him depend on her — made Susu’s heart drop. Without hesitation, she answered, “I will do it.”
Even so, she felt anxious, unable to trust her own hands. Thankfully, the top-quality hemostatic agent worked wonders. After just a few sprays, the bleeding visibly slowed. However, Susu, forgetting even to feel relieved, found herself transfixed by Gio’s bare upper body, now fully exposed before her.
It wasn't because she was lustful. It was because of the bruises and scars on Gio’s body. The bruises were fresh, likely caused by Lord Gok’s beating, but what about the other scars? Some were still vivid, suggesting recent injuries, while others were old and faded.
"You're not the type of person who goes around fighting, are you?"
“...”
"No way… no way, is this also…?”
"...These are the marks left by my father."
With a bitter smile, Susu suddenly recalled something from her childhood. There were times when Gio, who had been playing normally the day before, would suddenly disappear for a few days and later return saying he was sick or injured. Her mother, with a sympathetic heart, would prepare medicine for him. On such days, she remembered that only nourishing foods would be placed on the table during their meals with Gio.
But Susu, who knew nothing, would cry, saying she was scared because her oraboni wasn't there at night. Then Gio would apologise and hug her, and Susu, exhausted from crying, would fall asleep in his arms, which smelled faintly of medicine.
"I'm sorry. I truly am. I didn't even know that..."
The truly scared one must have been Gio, not her. Yet, unaware of this, she had only enjoyed the good things and still dared to say that she loved him. Tears welled up, but Susu held them back and continued to tend to Gio's neck.
Gio smiled as he watched her struggle to hold back her tears, to the point where her small chin trembled. Unlike his mother’s eyes, which were filled with guilt, helplessness, and regret, Susu’s always shone with affection and concern for him. That was why, despite initially finding the girl annoying, he ended up seeking her out — because he wanted to see that light a little more.
"Don’t apologise. I’ve lived this long thanks to you."
"Thanks to me?"
"Don’t you know? It means I love you. More than my insignificant life."
Gio wrapped his hand around Susu’s right hand which was smeared with medicine, and kissed her deeply. Their lips met, and through the slight opening, his tongue gently traced the soft inside of her mouth. The warm, humid breath felt reassuring. Susu, intoxicated by the sensation of their tongues intertwining, unconsciously gripped his shoulder, only to pull her hand away in surprise.
"Susu."
“I’m sorry. It must have hurt...!”
There were already bruises forming in several places on his shoulder where he had been hit with the sword scabbard. However, Gio took her hand and placed it back on his shoulder.
"Squeeze harder. I want to feel your touch covering it."
"What do you mean? Who would like pain?”
"It's not that I like pain, but that I want your mark to remain."
There was a subtle heat in Gio's voice. Blushing, Susu carefully lowered her lips to his shoulder. She licked and sucked gently, just as he had done to her before. He sighed languidly and stroked her neatly braided hair.
Reassured by his reaction, Susu moved more boldly. As she ran her hand over his firm yet soft chest and gently massaged it, something hot brushed against her knee.
Unknowingly reaching out to touch it, she felt it twitch. ‘Ah, this is...’ she realised, and at that moment, Gio's gaze deepened dangerously, and his hand slipped under her skirt, brushing her calf.
"Oraboni, I..."
Swallowing hard and struggling to speak, she found Gio gazing at her silently, as if urging her to continue her sentence. At the same time, she could distinctly feel his hand moving up the inside of her thigh beneath the hem of her skirt.
Susu also gently grasped his manhood.
"I think it feels good down there. The fluid keeps flowing..."
Just as Susu thought she heard a faint 'Haa' sound from Gio, her vision suddenly spun around. Gio laid her down and swiftly pulled down her undergarments beneath her skirt. Her exposed private area was indeed wet, as Susu had said, giving off a sweet scent. Drawn to that enticing smell, Gio pressed his mouth to it and sucked deeply.
“Haa, ngh!”
Susu's body did not easily forget the pleasure it had experienced once. As Gio stimulated her with his tongue and fingers, she moaned, and her fluids flowed continuously like a wellspring bursting forth.
Gio was no different. The large head of his erect dick pressed against his belly, leaked transparent fluid. Unable to bear it any longer, he grabbed his dick and rubbed it against her vulva.
“Aang...”
"Ha..."
Moans escaped from both of their mouths simultaneously. They felt each other's heat, and their fluids mixed, making everything wet and sticky.
Gio began to move his hips. When his movements were slow, it felt as though he might open the quivering entrance and enter, and when his movements were fast, the glans would strike the protruding clitoris, like a direct impact. Either way, Susu could only twist her hips, gasping with pleasure.
"Haa, ah. Ngh."
She wanted him to do a little more. No, she wanted him to keep going like this. No, she wished he could make her feel even better than this.
As if aware of the growing desire in her body, the glans, which had been rubbing and stimulating everything from her perineum to her clitoris, slowly began to push into the softening entrance.
"Heueug...!"
Susu bit her lip hard. She felt something was wrong. Although she knew in her mind that this was what she wanted, the feeling was completely different from just a moment ago. It was overwhelming, and her breath kept getting caught in her throat.
Gio also let out an anguished sigh.
"Huu."
Even though only the tip was inserted, the pressure from inside, as if pushing out, made him sweat spontaneously.
"Susu, please relax. If you don't accept me, I can't enter."
"Uh, but how... How do I relax...?"
Gio kissed the flustered Susu. He licked and entwined her tense tongue to softly relax it, and caressed her waist with his hot hands. He untied her tightly bound skirt string and caressed her goosebump-covered breasts as if licking it. With each touch, her insides gradually accepted him more and more.
Before she knew it, half of him was inside her.
Every time he slowly moved his hips, the sensation of being squeezed tight and clinging, as if it would pull him out, made his nape tingle. Gio asked, panting.
"Are you... okay?"
Susu nodded, tears in her eyes.
It was a feeling incomparable to when his finger first entered. Her body felt like it was splitting in half, and her belly ached, but as they slowly repeated the movements, a familiar sensation emerged. So, she wished he wouldn't stop.
Gio kissed her again as if to comfort her and removed all her clothes. Only the bracelet on her wrist jingled, and her wide-open pussy was engulfing his thick dick. Every time he pulled out until just the glans was inside and then pushed in a little deeper, her slim waist trembled, and fluid splashed out.
"Haah, this feels... strange... Ungh."
Gio finally smiled faintly at her dazedly muttered words.
"Didn't I tell you? That's not strange, it feels good."
As the shaft grew wetter, his movements became more intense. Gio tore off his clothes and held Susu tightly to keep her from being pushed away by his strength. His sweat-drenched skin clung to her breasts, stimulating him even more, and with a soft, greedy movement, her inner flesh swallowed his dick even deeper.
“Susu, Susu...”
“Ah, uh, oraboni. Aaah!"
At some point, while he held her tightly and moved his hips, Susu tightly embraced his back. Finally, his entire length was swallowed, and their bodies fit perfectly together without any gaps. They both felt a sense of complete possession of each other, along with the feeling that the peak of pleasure was just ahead.
They started rushing to catch it.
"Ungh, huuu."
“Ah, heu! Heuuug!"
Every time Gio thrust deeply, the pleasure points deep inside were rubbed and pressed, making it hard for her to breathe. Her inner walls, now fully adapted to his size, continued to release fluids, and every time his glistening wet dick slipped out, the accumulated fluids gushed out.
“...Feels good...! It feels good. Ah!”
Even as she was vigorously shaken, the words she had learned burst out honestly, and Gio's thrusts became even faster, their flesh slapping loudly. When the tip struck deep inside her, her vision went dark, and when his taut testicles hit her buttocks, her lips parted, and her head tilted back.
“Ah-aheug, haa, eug!”
Tears streamed down her face, driven by her body's natural response. Even though the pain was almost gone and only pleasure remained, tears still flowed. Perhaps it was because of the force that seemed to choke her, or perhaps it was because of the sensation of her narrowed inner walls being pierced anew during the brief moment he pulled his hips back.
It was overwhelming to stretch wide and take his dick, but when the glans scraped her inner walls and pulled out, it was unbearable. Yet, Gio began to torment her most sensitive and delicate pleasure point.
"N-no! Not there, not at the same time, no, aaang!"
Overwhelmed by the intense pleasure, Susu struggled in fear, but she was already impaled. There was nowhere to escape. He thrust his dick deeply while quickly rolling her clitoris. Her scream-like moan was muffled by his lips, escaping only as a faint sound.
"Mmm! Ugh! Mmph!"
The excessive pleasure took away the control of her body along with her consciousness. It felt as though electricity was flowing through her entire body, her hips spasming, and the arms holding Gio tightening. For a moment, with her strength fading, transparent fluid shot out from between their connection.
For just a brief moment, Susu stopped breathing, and as she gasped for air, she also gave in completely. Her pale face was a mess, streaked with tears. Pressing his lips firmly against hers, he poured every last drop into her.
“Haa. Susu. Susu...”
"Come here, oraboni."
With barely enough strength to speak, Susu stroked Gio's cheek.
“I'm... happy. I will make you happy for the rest of your life, oraboni."
"I don't know if I could be any happier than this."
"That depends on our hearts. Let's have many babies who look like you and me, oraboni, and live happily ever after."
Gio quietly rested his face in her hand.
"Let's do just that."
Her words were like a milestone in his life. From the moment he was captivated by her large, almond-shaped eyes, to the moment when he yearned for her affection.
There was much to be done, such as handing over the courtesan house to Jakya and running the company properly, but if he did his best to fulfil her words, happiness would follow. For Susu and for Gio as well.
— The End
Translator's Corner:
[1] "Golden ointment" (geumchang - 금창약) refers to a type of medicinal ointment or powder used for healing wounds typically caused by knives, spears, arrows, etc. It is made by mixing lime with the stems and leaves of trees or grasses. Note that the word "gold" doesn't imply literal gold but rather refers to the effectiveness or value of the medicine in traditional contexts.
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