The Next Plan (4)
The Next Plan (4)
I had no intention of practicing massage that day. If Im Seo-ryeon hadn't come, I would have spent the time pondering what other martial arts to learn to shore up the gaps in my skills.
That would have been more constructive—and a wiser use of the time I had left.
"...First, come in."
"...Excuse me."
But when a first-rate master showed up at your sect, turning her away at the door was out of the question. If I let her in, fetched the oil bottle, and then insulted her by refusing, she might come back with a sword next time. I had no choice but to open the door, and Im Seo-ryeon shuffled into the sect compound with her head hung low like a criminal, moving as if her bones had gone soft.
Coming out from the inner room and spotting Im Seo-ryeon, Seon-go stopped mid-yawn, tilted her head, and spoke.
"Docheol. What's going on? Another inspection?"
"...Ah, well, you see...."
"It's an, an inspection!"
Before I could even begin to explain the situation, Im Seo-ryeon shouted first. Her face turned as red as someone in the throes of qi deviation, and she raised her voice. The servants stared at her with bewildered faces, and Seon-go simply looked at her with wide eyes.
"An inspection? What kind of inspection?"
"Uh, um.... That...!"
Im Seo-ryeon was not currently an inspector for the Murim Alliance, we had already passed our inspection, and we were passing through the most peaceful period of all. Even the sharp-witted Im Seo-ryeon seemed to have trouble making up an excuse on the fly, her eyes rolling around and around as she kept repeating, "Uh, um."
Seon-go was sitting in the inner room, leaning her body against the doorway, and I watched for a moment, curious to see what answer she would give.
"That, so, well...."
After an agonizingly long time, she opened her mouth.
"M-Massage skill, ins, inspection...!"
"....."
Seon-go looked at me wordlessly. It seemed that Im Seo-ryeon's excuse didn't quite compute with her mind. I discreetly showed her the massage oil bottle Im Seo-ryeon had brought and gestured toward her with a nod. Only then, as if she somewhat understood Im Seo-ryeon's behavior, Seon-go let out a light exclamation.
"Ahh."
Of course, that exclamation of understanding didn't mean she'd bought Im Seo-ryeon's lie. Im Seo-ryeon's lips puckered like a wave as she avoided Seon-go's eyes, and Seon-go, smiling brighter than anyone, said:
"Well then, have a pleasant time."
I looked at Im Seo-ryeon and said,
"My wife is very understanding."
"....."
Im Seo-ryeon didn't answer.
'If I push her further, she'll get angry, right?'
*******
We returned to the room to have a pleasant time. For someone who had come to receive a massage, Im Seo-ryeon stared at me, hesitating. Paying no mind to her gaze, I sat down in the room and placed the oil bottle into a basin filled with hot water. The oil was cold, and applying it directly might break the flow, so it had to be warmed.
"So, a, about the attire...."
"Under normal circumstances, you would simply wear undergarments and cover the body with a cloth."
I looked at the oil bottle. This was a woman who had brought such a thing and volunteered to come. I figured she might indulge a slightly unreasonable request today. I poked at the oil bottle floating in the basin with my finger and said,
"If you wear undergarments while using oil, the clothes will stick to the skin, interfering with the true sensation of the massage and making cleanup difficult. The same goes for a cloth."
Im Seo-ryeon bit her lip at those words. Her inner conflict was clearly visible in her eyes. I hadn't even finished my sentence, but she already understood my requirements. At moments like this, I couldn't afford to hesitate first.
If I hesitated, emotion would seep into my words, and if I betrayed my lecherous intent, the other's arousal would cool. I had to continue speaking as naturally as if this massage meant nothing at all to me.
"Therefore, you will have to receive the massage naked. Is that acceptable to you?"
Im Seo-ryeon closed her eyes. How many thoughts must have been crashing like waves inside that dark field of vision? After composing her breathing with her hands resting on her thighs, she opened her mouth.
"...It doesn't matter."
I pushed the oil bottle down, submerging it in the basin. A warm sensation rose as my fingertips touched the steaming water.
"Also, since you brought expensive oil this time, I cannot let my wife, who is still a beginner, use such fine oil, so I will be the one touching your bare body."
It was a natural statement. Since I hadn't brought my wife here, I would naturally be the one to do it, and having just brought up the matter of nudity, it followed that I would be groping her bare body. But even these obvious points had to be tied down with words. Because the moment I touched her body, she might think, 'This isn't right,' and refuse and run away.
Being touched while wearing undergarments is different from being touched naked. If I secured her verbal consent beforehand, in a situation where she hadn't yet grasped that difference, those words she uttered while blinded by anticipation of pleasure would become shackles, binding her so she couldn't flee.
"...It doesn't matter."
And so she.
Nodded and put the shackles on herself.
*******
"Hoo...."
Because we were using oil this time, she couldn't receive the massage on the bare floor. As a substitute, we brought in a bed from the Crimson Ring Inn to use as a massage bed. There was a clean single-person bed, and placing it in the middle of the room, along with the oil floating in the basin, gave off the brazenly lewd vibe of a brothel.
Having stripped off all her clothes with the help of a servant, she stood facing me, covering her front with a towel. I didn't look away and met her eyes. Because she was standing with her back to the door, the curves of her body were clearly illuminated through the cloth even while covered by the towel.
Her slender figure and the outline of her breasts. And the space between her parted thighs, and her buttocks.
Even while covering her body with the towel, Im Seo-ryeon tried to hide herself by raising her hands, closing her legs, and turning her body. Thanks to her turning, her buttocks caught the light and were fully exposed for a moment before vanishing.
A naked woman and a man giving her a massage.
And the oil in the heated basin.
It was unmistakably a brothel.
Im Seo-ryeon's expression showed she was thinking the same thing as I was. After looking back and forth between me and the oil bottle, she took a deep breath, deliberating whether her choice was the right one or not.
"If you feel repulsed, you don't have to go through with it."
"...N-No. I-I'll do it."
But that conflict was as thin as a reed, swaying with whatever wind I blew. The slight shame had long since vanished from the moment I kneaded her buttocks and put my hands between her thighs the last time.
Her craving for pleasure was strong enough that she'd come to me herself, oil bottle in hand, so she accepted the bait I casually tossed out. Gripping the towel tightly, she stepped forward like someone entering a hot spring.
The hem of the towel swayed above her thighs as if she were wearing a dress, and Im Seo-ryeon looked for my reaction. I held my head high, unashamedly, and took in the sight of her body. The trained body of a first-rate master flaunted its muscles and supple curves with every movement.
Her side-breast and thighs visible between the folds of the towel. And the delicate line of her pubic bone stirred my excitement. Stooped at the waist in front of me, she stopped before the bed and hesitated, her buttocks pointed toward the door.
'If someone opened the door right now, they'd likely get a clear view of her ass.'
"Hoo...."
But even that hesitation was brief.
With a determined expression, Im Seo-ryeon climbed onto the bed. The act of covering her body with the towel was now meaningless. Her unclothed back was fully exposed to me. Her back muscles writhed in different shapes every time she tensed her shoulders, and her shoulder blades stood out clearly before vanishing again. Between her armpits, the side of her breast pressed against the bed flaunted its starkly round shape.
Lowering my gaze, I saw her pretty buttocks. Habitual training and correct posture had naturally sculpted them into the kind of round shape men would lust after. Bathed in the sunlight streaming in from outside the door, they were so smooth and glossy that I felt a spontaneous urge to touch them.
And below that, her thighs and calves extended in sleek lines. Her pale feet wiggled and squirmed as if expressing their owner's complicated emotions, asserting themselves strongly.
"....Wh-What are you doing?"
Only then did I collect my wits. She was lying face down, her cheeks flushing with shame. I hid my embarrassment and cleared my throat, saying,
"I found myself staring blankly without realizing it. My apologies."
"...D-Don't think I'll leave you alone if you try anything funny."
There was nothing more ridiculous than a woman who comes to a married man's residence, hands him a bottle of slick oil, and asks to be rubbed down, talking about 'trying anything funny.'
'What exactly is the line for "anything funny" to her?'
'If I start teasing her cunt right now, will she push me away, calling it funny business?'
'Or will she open her legs wide to welcome the pleasure she's been waiting for?'
I fished the oil bottle out. Thanks to its half-body bath in the warm water, it was lukewarm and at a perfect temperature for applying.
I spread a reasonable amount of oil on my palm and said to her,
"I'll begin."
Chalsak!
"Eung-eut...!"
The very moment I placed my palm on her back to spread the oil, she was already shivering down her spine, letting out a lewd moan.