Under the Blindfold
Moving to the bed, Yeongso stole a glance at Banya, who was stripping off his clothes without a moment's hesitation. Outside, it was still broad daylight. The warm autumn sunlight spilled deep into the Renju-buin's bedchamber.
As her eyes caught the line stretching from his thick neck down to his broad, solid shoulders, she had no choice but to avert her gaze.
"My lady, surely you aren't... feeling shy right now?" Banya asked, sounding utterly incredulous.
"I've held you at all hours and in all places. Compared to those times, this is practically pristine. We are in our bedchamber, and the door is locked."
Banya stared at his wife, who had barely managed to pull her outer robe down past her shoulders. He, on the other hand, had already stripped down to nothing but his trousers. No matter how much Yeongso tilted her head away, his muscular upper body remained stubbornly in her peripheral vision.
"At this point, you are a complete mystery, my lady. When exactly are you going to stop being so bashful?"
"...If you blindfold yourself first, I will undress."
"So I am forbidden from gazing upon your naked form, yet you intend to feast your eyes on my goods?" His retort dripped with amusement at the sheer unfairness of it.
Yeongso hurriedly thrust a long strip of white cloth toward him. "That is not what I meant! I-I won't look either. I will blindfold myself at the exact same time."
"No, what I mean is... if we blindfold ourselves already, how are we supposed to read the first step of the manual's lower volume?"
"Ah, that won't be an issue. I've memorized it."
Suddenly, the look in Banya's eyes shifted. Yeongso flinched under her husband's strangely intense, almost murderous gaze. "Did I... make a mistake?"
"You memorized it?" Banya's lips twitched. "In that brief window of time?"
"Well, the first time I opened the manual was three days ago."
"So you're saying that wasn't brief at all?"
"Yes..."
Why was her husband's expression growing even darker? Had she made a mistake by answering so honestly?
"I saw with my own eyes how busy you, Baekri Yeong-hyeok, and Seo Jang-gyeong were, huddled together every single day to discuss the transport of the slaves. What spare time could you possibly have had? Tell me the truth. How many times did you read it?"
"I..."
"Don't try to calculate. Don't inflate the number."
She had been caught red-handed. Sensing that telling the truth might backfire, she had been planning to double the actual number, but his sharp warning cut her off. Shrinking back slightly, Yeongso murmured, "Twice."
Banya closed his eyes. Yeongso let out a quiet breath of relief and tried to slip the white cloth into his hand. Right then, a vase near the door suddenly shattered into pieces.
"To read it a mere two times... and memorize the entire thing..."
"You mustn't begin training while you are this agitated...! It's dangerous!"
As a startled Yeongso warned him, Banya's lips twisted into a wry, self-deprecating smirk.
"Ah, yes. Of course I must listen to my brilliant wife."
As if he couldn't bear to hear another word, Banya snatched the white cloth from her hand. The moment he tied it over his eyes, he shed his trousers. Having pulled down his undergarments along with them, his thick, heavily veined member sprang free, fully exposed.
Why is he already so erect?
Startled, Yeongso quickly grabbed her own white cloth. She tied it securely at the back of her head and looked around to test it. Thanks to the double layering, she was plunged into absolute darkness.
Yeongso neatly folded her discarded clothes and pushed them to a corner of the bed. Now, both of them were completely naked.
"We will take three deep breaths like this."
Since Yeongso was the only one who had memorized the training sequence, she had to guide Banya verbally.
"We begin by reaching out with our right hands to touch each other's foreheads. We must slowly feel the texture and warmth of the nose, the philtrum, the lips, and the cheeks."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Banya's hand found her forehead. His palm was burning hot. Feeling him slowly trace the contours of her face, Yeongso reached out and began to touch his face in return.
How should she describe this? It was a profoundly strange and unfamiliar experience. Though they had shared a bed countless times, they had never once taken the time to trace each other's features so deliberately. In particular, she had never, not even once, initiated physical contact by touching his face.
From the very day of their wedding, Yeongso had tried to keep as much distance from her husband as possible. Her best defense had been to stay out of his sight. The moment she caught his eye, he would claim her body like a ravenous beast. Just as he had said, their trysts had occurred without regard for time or place.
Having spent four long months dodging and hiding from her husband, there was no way she would have willingly initiated physical contact. This dynamic hadn't changed even after Banya returned from the dead. Had it not been for this dual cultivation manual, she likely would have gone her entire life without ever touching his face like this. She would never have known that his skin was as soft as a flower petal.
It really is so smooth...
Yeongso gently caressed Banya's cheek. Had she not known who he was, she might have mistaken it for the soft cheek of a noble lady sheltered in her boudoir. As her fingers traced the line from his earlobe down to his jaw, she felt the muscles of his lower jaw tighten.
"How much longer are we going to touch each other's faces?" Banya asked, his voice low and raspy.
"I think... that is enough for now."
"And what is next?"
"The next step is..."
Suddenly, her mouth went dry. Banya seemed to sense his wife's hesitation.
"My lady."
At his quiet prompting, Yeongso forced her reluctant lips to part.
"Next, we must press our lips together and exchange three breaths. After that, we are to kiss... without using our tongues." Yeongso quickly added in a voice as faint as a flickering candle, "And the woman must take the lead."
"I see." Banya quietly withdrew his hand. "Go ahead, my lady."
For some reason, her heart began to race. Yeongso slowly leaned closer to Banya. Cupping his cheek with one hand, she brought her face near his, immediately catching the warmth of his breath. His steady, even exhalations carried the faint aroma of the tea they had shared earlier.
First, I just need to press my lips lightly against his and breathe...
Yeongso inhaled the breath Banya exhaled. Then, she gently breathed her own air back into him. A sensation ticklish and delicate, softer than the flutter of a newborn butterfly's wings, spread across the inner flesh of her lips.
We have shared three breaths, so now...
It was her turn to kiss him. The problem was that Baekri Yeongso had no idea what a normal, gentle kiss was supposed to be like. Banya had always forced her lips open and thrust his tongue inside. Consequently, the only kind of kiss Yeongso knew was a predatory clash of tongues, tangling like serpents as they exchanged saliva.
But the manual said not to use our tongues.
How was she supposed to do this? For starters, Yeongso slowly rubbed her lips side-to-side against Banya's. A different kind of ticklish warmth bloomed across her lips, distinct from when they had shared their breath. It was so incredibly soft that she felt as though she might burst into giggles if she kept going.
Pulling back slightly, Yeongso then gently took Banya's sharp upper lip between her own. She applied a tiny bit of pressure, giving it a soft, sweet suck. As she moved down to his lower lip, she found it both astonishing and strange that Banya remained absolutely motionless throughout her clumsy attempts.
Normally, he would have pounced on me by now...
Strangely, because Banya remained so still, she found herself growing a little bolder. Yeongso nipped his lower lip and tugged on it gently.
His lower lip is quite full. And incredibly soft...
She had truly never realized that lips possessed so many sensitive nerves. Before she even registered what was happening, her breathing began to grow shallow and heated. A pleasant, hazy sensation washed over her.
"Baekri Yeongso."
"...Mmh?"
"Next," Banya rasped, his words clipped for some reason. "Move on to... the next step."
"Ah..."
Yeongso parted her lips from his and struggled to recall the next step. Even though she had memorized it perfectly, it took her a moment to fish the memory out of her hazy mind.
"I am to straddle you and kiss you. This time, we use our tongues. And you must still remain completely still."
"Damn it," Banya cursed under his breath. "Is the goal of this manual to build patience? This first stage is enough to drive a man mad," he growled through gritted teeth. Even with his eyes covered, she could feel the deep scowl on his face.
"Fine. And after you kiss me with your tongue, my lady?"
"After that, you... stroke me from the back of my neck down to my hips. You must slowly caress my back to warm my body up."
"Good. And then?"
"I will move my hips to... insert your member. I will move thirty times first, and then you may move thirty times."
As she spoke, Yeongso's face flushed a deep, burning crimson.
"Ah... So that's how it is." Suddenly, Banya's tone softened, turning thick with anticipation. "Straddle me, my lady. I am ready."