With Maki leading the way, Jihan soon arrived at the main hall of the annex. Through the paper window, the lantern light was still burning.
Maki carefully slid open the paper door and entered. Jihan quickly scanned the courtyard, confirming no one was around before following him inside.
The room reeked of the nauseating scent of the aphrodisiac. In the quiet space, only steady breathing could be heard.
The master of the room was sprawled face-down on the desk, completely motionless. Jihan silently smirked at the sight.
‘What a pathetic fool. To fall for such a trivial trick? What happened to that “King’s Fate” nonsense?’
The thrill of victory already surged through his body.
“Lift him up,” Jihan whispered.
Maki stumbled forward on trembling legs and knelt beside Seon. Carefully slipping his arm under Seon’s armpit, he tried to raise his upper body, but Seon’s head lolled lifelessly onto his shoulder.
His sharply drawn eyebrows, his refined face, the stillness of his closed eyelashes—Jihan bared his teeth in a grin as he approached, kicking Seon’s shoulder with his socked foot.
Seon slid backward lightly, his arm flopping onto the floor with a dull thud, looking almost like a corpse.
“Stupid bastard,” Jihan muttered, nudging the limp hand with his toe. No response. His dark eyes glinted with a cold light.
“Dull-witted, senseless fool.”
He roughly struck Seon’s temple. The head jerked to the side, but the closed eyes didn’t even flicker.
The scent of the drug was strong. It felt almost like being drunk. Jihan pressed his fingers to his slightly dizzy head.
“Strip him.”
At Jihan’s command, Maki, who had been kneeling motionless, lifted his head. He was crying again, as if he hadn’t had enough. Jihan nearly kicked Maki’s face in frustration.
“Are you testing my patience?”
“Young Master…”
“I have no more tolerance left for you. Strip him. While I’m still asking nicely.”
Jihan was giving orders with the detached air of an observer. He would never dirty his own hands with such filthy work. He only commanded.
As Maki crawled on his knees toward Seon and grasped the knot of his inner robe, a memory flashed before his eyes.
‘Thank you, Maki.’
Seon’s gentle smile appeared before him, and his pleasant voice echoed in his ears.
Maki’s hand, which had been holding the knot, trembled violently. He let go and clenched his fist tightly.
“I’m sorry, Young Master. I truly cannot do this.”
“…What?”
“I’m sorry!”
Thud!
It happened in an instant. Maki suddenly sprang up, shoved Jihan aside, and bolted.
Caught off guard by the sudden force, Jihan stumbled backward and looked up.
Through the wide-open door, he saw Maki leaping over the five-section veranda and disappearing through the side gate.
“Damn it.”
Forgetting all decorum in his panic, Jihan spat out a curse. He hastily stepped out of the room, his socked feet pressing against the stone threshold.
Maki, who had already escaped from the annex, was now sprinting toward the jar stand behind the main house. With an agile movement, he vaulted over the wall and vanished from sight in an instant.
“You bastard.”
Jihan ground his teeth and shouted furiously.
“Get back here this instant!”
His irritated yell echoed through the quiet rear courtyard of the main house.
***
The wind rushed through the open paper window, making the candle flicker. Jihan had spent a long time deliberating on his way back to Seon’s room.
Should he return to the small pavilion? Or should he catch Maki and beat him senseless? It was hard to gather the spilled water that fool had knocked over and run away from.
“Damn it.”
No matter how he thought about it, there was only one answer. He couldn’t afford to waste an opportunity like this.
His father rarely left the house, and the chance to send all the servants away on Servants’ Day only came twice a year. The wedding between Seon and the Left Minister’s daughter was imminent. Getting the drug again would be as difficult as plucking a star from the sky, and time was running out.
There was no other way. This was the only path.
Jihan took a deep breath and closed the paper door. The air in the room was as cold as it was outside.
‘First, undress him. Just undress him, and at dawn, either catch that Maki bastard or bring in some vagabond. There’s always a backup plan—just pay some ruffian a few coins to finish the job.’
It might be tight on time, but it wasn’t impossible. There were plenty of scoundrels in the capital who would kill for money.
Jihan soothed his chaotic emotions. He pushed aside the curtain and stepped toward the bedding laid out on the mat. He removed his outer robe and rolled up his bothersome sleeves.
“Quite the sleeper, aren’t you?”
He tried to taunt Seon to relieve his tension. Seeing Seon still motionless in the same position, his anger flared up again.
“Hah. Why the hell am I…”
He had no interest in a man’s naked body. In fact, it was rather repulsive. The memory of the official’s son attacking him made him shudder.
Carefully kneeling on one knee, he grasped the knot of the inner robe that Maki had started to undo. The silk knot came undone with a single pull. As the front opened, a firmly toned chest was revealed. It was a well-maintained, muscular body.
Examining the condition of the lower body, he reached down. Quickly untying the string around the waist, the pants loosened immediately. He pulled them down to the thighs, revealing the undergarments.
“…What the…”
Jihan unconsciously swallowed hard.
Insane.
The moment he lowered the undergarments, the size of the exposed penis far exceeded his expectations.
Of course, he’d never had the opportunity before, but this was the first time he’d seen a grown man’s genitals so vividly up close. According to the experienced courtesans who had handled his virginity, he was by no means small, but this thing was at least twice the size of his.
Jihan unconsciously spread his hand to measure its length, then shuddered. The thickness of the penis, emerging through the thick pubic hair, was like that of a python, and unlike his own relatively smooth one, it was dark in color with veins prominently bulging. Moreover, the rigidity of the erection, perhaps due to the aphrodisiac, was extraordinary, making him feel sick just looking at it.
‘Maybe I should just make him a eunuch.’
The thought suddenly crossed his mind.
If he did that, there would be no need to put on a disgusting show in front of his father. He could just reach out his hand. Like this. Grab it tightly. And with a snap, break it…
Jihan reached out his hand as if entranced.
Just as he was about to grasp the enormous penis that seemed too large for one hand, a large hand suddenly grabbed his wrist.
Then, he met the half-lidded, bloodshot eyes staring at him.
“What…”
What are you?
He was about to shout, but suddenly, his vision spun, and his body fell backward.
Only then did he see the face of the person pinning him down. Jihan was stunned, his mouth hanging open in shock.
‘This can’t be. How is he awake? With three doses, he shouldn’t wake up until tomorrow afternoon even if the world ended. Did that idiot Maki make a mistake?’
Various thoughts raced through his mind. The next moment, he felt hot breath on the nape of his neck, followed by sharp teeth sinking into the muscle there.
“Aaaah!”
His mind snapped back to reality. Jihan thrashed like a fish out of water, screaming. The more he struggled, the harder the person bit into his nape, pressing down on him with their entire body.
You… you bastard, how dare you…!
Twisting his captured wrist free, he wildly punched Seon’s side. Taking advantage of Seon’s momentary hesitation, he grabbed the desk leg and barely managed to crawl out from underneath him.
Sikgyeong (식경) – ~2 hours
Sijin (시진) – ~4 hours
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
