A Midnight Proposition
Su-a and Cindy were sipping tea with Seo Bong-hwa and Bang Se-hwa, listening to their stories of raising children. Though they knew these were merely the tales of NPCs inside a virtual reality game, the two women found the experience invaluable and endlessly fascinating, especially since they both imagined one day bearing children of their own.
"So, is it best to eat plenty of seaweed after giving birth?" Su-a asked.
"That's what they say," Seo Bong-hwa replied with a gentle smile. "In particular, eating seaweed after childbirth is said to restore a mother's strength. I still remember the physician telling me that after I had my three children."
"My physician told me the same thing," Bang Se-hwa added, her voice warm. "Not just seaweed—any kind of seaweed helps a mother recover her vitality. Hohoho~"
The peaceful conversation showed no sign of ending. Just as the saying went that when three women gathered, the plates would break, the endless chatter of the ladies eventually drifted toward a single inevitable topic: the compatibility between husband and wife, a subject that always arose among married women. The three of them bonded over their shared complaints, each voicing her dissatisfaction with her own husband.
Seo Bong-hwa's eyes sparkled as she turned to Bang Se-hwa with a pointed question. Bang Se-hwa looked flustered, her cheeks flushing as she answered.
"Lady Bang, how is your compatibility with the Lord of All Under Heaven, Cult Leader Mu Gucheon?"
"W-well... lately, I haven't shared a bed with my husband at all. Especially after giving birth to Ryeong-ah, I can hardly even remember the last time..."
Despite being called the Lord of All Under Heaven, Mu Gucheon's performance as a husband fell far short of his fearsome reputation. At first Bang Se-hwa had defended him, but as time passed and she listened to Seo Bong-hwa's grievances about Dang Seo-gun, as well as Su-a and Cindy's quiet complaints about Yoo Kang-hyun, she found herself pouring out her own long-buried feelings of loneliness and resentment without realizing it.
"No matter how many years we've been married or how many children we've had, I never expected him to neglect our bed like this. I always knew he was a man obsessed with martial arts, but... when we were young, he used to make my heart race so wildly... Haah... I suppose once the fish is caught, the fisherman loses interest."
The sight of Bang Se-hwa, matriarch of the Baehwa Sect, confessing her disappointment in a husband who had not touched her for years while leading his sect and clan, made her seem less like a noble lady and more like any ordinary wife starved for affection. The presence of Seo Bong-hwa, who shared the same plight, made Bang Se-hwa unconsciously lower her guard. Watching Su-a and Cindy express their own quiet resentment toward Yoo Kang-hyun, who had grown distant due to his successor training at National One, Bang Se-hwa felt a deep sense of kinship. No matter how beautiful these women were, they suffered the same troubles as she did. That realization drew her closer to them.
Su-a and Cindy listened with genuine empathy, and the women continued to unburden their hearts.
"Lady Bang, don't you wish to restore your relationship with your husband... with Cult Leader Mu Gucheon?" Seo Bong-hwa asked softly.
"Pardon...? What do you mean...?"
At Seo Bong-hwa's secretive suggestion, Bang Se-hwa stared at her with eyes full of curiosity and interest. It had been over ten years since she last shared a bed with Mu Gucheon. Having already borne Mu Ryeong and Mu Seong-woo, Bang Se-hwa was a married woman who knew the taste of desire all too well; every night her body, ripe and aching, had to be soothed by her own hands.
Seo Bong-hwa sent a private message through a secure channel on Bang Se-hwa's Bio Device, one that no one else could see. With a suggestive smile, she tapped the device. Understanding the gesture, Bang Se-hwa checked her Bio Device and found an unexpected message waiting.
[Would you come to my assigned quarters for a moment at Zi hour (11 PM to 1 AM)?]
Bang Se-hwa looked at Seo Bong-hwa with a puzzled expression, even though the woman sat right in front of her. Still, she did not question it aloud and simply replied to the message.
[Understood. I'll visit at that time.]
After confirming the reply, Seo Bong-hwa's gaze toward Bang Se-hwa was filled with an unreadable heat. Bang Se-hwa felt an inexplicable ticklish sensation rising in her chest as their conversation finally came to an end. What she did not know was that a strange energy emanating from Cindy had been seeping into her body without her notice. That energy was already causing something hot and subtle to gnaw away at her reason.
After parting ways with Su-a, Cindy, and Seo Bong-hwa, night fell. At the hour of Zi, Bang Se-hwa arrived at Seo Bong-hwa's quarters feeling strangely feverish. Her body was hot, and she was sweating more than usual. An odd itch had settled in her lower abdomen, and heat rose steadily to her face. Though the sensation was not unbearable enough to disrupt daily life, it left her feeling that something was wrong with her body.
Following Seo Bong-hwa's earlier invitation, Bang Se-hwa reached the quarters late at night and knocked carefully on the door.
Knock, knock.
"Lady Seo, it's Bang Se-hwa. May I come in?"
Ziing.
"Hohoho~ Please, come in, Lady Bang~"
"As you asked... Oh, my goodness...!"
What Bang Se-hwa saw upon entering was Seo Bong-hwa dressed in an outfit far too provocative and beautiful. Wearing a sheer, translucent nasam, Seo Bong-hwa looked both stunning and utterly lewd. The Central Plains was a deeply conservative culture. Noble ladies like Seo Bong-hwa and Bang Se-hwa were expected to maintain dignity in both behavior and attire. Their everyday clothing was usually the formal, modest gungjang attire with almost no exposure, and even sleepwear was typically long robes that covered the body completely.
Yet Seo Bong-hwa's clothing openly defied that tradition. Dressed in the thin nasam meant for bed, her figure was clearly visible through the fabric. Though it was technically sleepwear, it was so sheer it seemed deliberately designed to seduce. The deep green nasam, the signature color of the Dang Clan, suited her perfectly. Her body, which had borne three children, remained breathtakingly voluptuous and alluring, and thanks to the youth-preserving arts she had cultivated, she looked no older than a woman in her early thirties, enhancing her beauty even further.
Especially striking were her breasts—larger even than Su-a's, rivaling Cindy's in size. Though covered, the darker nipples and areolas were faintly visible through the thin fabric, and the undergarments beneath did little to hide her most intimate area. A patch of dark hair peeked from the edges of her triangular undergarment, exuding a seductive charm that could drive a man mad. Bang Se-hwa stared in shock, her face burning crimson.
"L-Lady Seo... what is the meaning of this... I..."
She could not bring herself to call the outfit indecent, but her embarrassed expression said everything. Seo Bong-hwa smiled suggestively.
Even as another woman, Bang Se-hwa felt her own face flush and her body grow warm at the sight of Seo Bong-hwa's beautiful yet vulgar appearance. For a moment she stood frozen in confusion, but Seo Bong-hwa gently took her hand, guided her to the table, and poured her tea.
Glug, glug~
"You look quite flustered."
"Well... I never expected you to be dressed like this... I mean..."
"Hohoho, it is rather revealing, isn't it?"
"...."
To Bang Se-hwa it was far more than "rather," but Seo Bong-hwa laughed lightly and sipped her tea. Bang Se-hwa, her throat suddenly dry from embarrassment, drank as well, and an awkward silence settled between them.
After finishing her cup, Seo Bong-hwa spoke in earnest.
"You came because my earlier words bothered you, didn't you?"
".....Yes. You said you could help me restore my relationship with the Cult Leader... with my husband. That's why I'm here. How exactly do you propose we do that?"
"Hohoho~ Even as the wife of the Lord of All Under Heaven, your desire to be loved is no different from any other woman's."
"P-please don't tease me. Lady Seo, that is... only natural for a woman... for a wife."
"I'm not teasing. I'm simply speaking my thoughts and the truth. Now... Lady Bang, listen carefully. From this moment on, I will give you two choices. Would you like to hear them?"
"....Well, I'll listen first and decide."
"Very well. The first choice is to ignore everything I say and simply leave. The method I'm about to share is not an ordinary one, and it may cause you discomfort."
"And the second choice...?"
"If you choose the second, all you need to do is step inside my wardrobe and remain there quietly for one shichen—two hours."
"What? W-what do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I said. If you choose the second option... after one shichen, I will tell you how to restore your relationship with Cult Leader Mu Gucheon."
The proposal was far too suspicious. Bang Se-hwa hesitated for a moment. Yet the very fact that she had come to this room already meant her answer was decided.