Chapter 61

The Emperor’s visits to Giryung Palace were no longer surprising. Nevertheless, the palace servants, without exception, bustled about whenever the Imperial Eunuch came by. This was probably because every action of the Emperor was significant in the Imperial Palace.

“Yawn.”

Yeon-oh sat before the Geum (Zither), which he had tuned, and yawned widely. It was already deep night.

Yeon-oh was neither blaming nor regretting the Emperor’s absence. Cheong-ryu and the young palace servants stared at him in confusion as he rubbed his eyes and attempted to rise.

“Consort Gwi-bi Mama, do you need anything?”

“Would you like to change into your nightclothes first?”

Yeon-oh waved his hand at the chattering children.

“You should all retire now.”

“Pardon?”

“His Majesty will be arriving soon.”

The Emperor was already one sijin (two hours) late for the promised time.

“He seems to be busy today.”

“His Majesty loves the Consort Gwi-bi Mama’s Geum performance. He will definitely come.”

“Or he might have gone to Donhu Palace.”

Yeon-oh smiled subtly, seeing the young palace servants flinch in disappointment at his words.

“Mama…”

“He will be here soon.”

The young palace servants felt even more pained seeing Yeon-oh smile.

“I am fine. There is no need for you to be punished. Everyone, retire now.”

Waiting for one more sijin was a sufficient display of sincerity.

“We retire.”

“Please call us if you need anything.”

“Go now.”

Yeon-oh bid the servants farewell and sat down again before the Geum. It seemed fine to play a piece before changing into his nightclothes.

It was a perfect day for “Yeonhwaman” (Ten Thousand Lotus), a song that celebrates the spring scenery: the flowers blooming, the night sky lit by lines of colorful lanterns, and beautiful petals scattering in the spring air. Yeon-oh’s “Yeonhwaman” lacked the fragile and ethereal beauty that many desired. His “Yeonhwaman” had the power of flowers blooming vividly and pouring down like rain.

Listening to the intense “Yeonhwaman,” which felt like being slapped by flower petals, rising from his hands, Yeon-oh moved his fingers without rest. Only after the song ended did he notice a long shadow falling over the Geum. The Emperor was standing in front of the Geum.

“Your Majesty?”

Yeon-oh was startled that the man was suddenly standing before him, having heard no sound or sign of his approach. He even felt embarrassed to face him just after playing the very song he had wanted to hear when he wasn’t there.

“You are late.”

Seonjae said briefly. The Emperor could come anytime, be late as much as he liked, or never come at all. Instead of saying he was fine or had been waiting, Yeon-oh intended to ask since when he had been here.

The man lowered his face deeply and lightly touched Yeon-oh’s lips with his own.

“…”

The moment their lips met, a soft, wet sound resonated. Seonjae lowered his body, meeting Yeon-oh’s gaze as he sat before the Geum.

“Can you not play it from the beginning? I missed much of the opening. Do not refuse me.”

The man, who desperately requested what he wanted like a child who could not hide his feelings, added an arrogant remark at the end.

Yeon-oh nodded with a bitter feeling, reminded of the Emperor on a late autumn night. He felt foolish for not having forgotten even that small memory.

What was the kiss the man had just given him? He dismissed the meaningless thought. Thinking he would slap the Emperor’s cheek with the falling petals, a disrespectful thought, he put force into his fingertips and drew out “Yeonhwaman.”

When “Yeonhwaman” began anew and then ended, a shadow fell over the completely silent Geum. Following that, a soft sound of lips resonated. The man’s hot lips met Yeon-oh’s defenseless lips repeatedly. Before Yeon-oh could open his lips to say anything, the warm lips lightly touched Yeon-oh and withdrew several times.

When Yeon-oh finally opened his lips and managed to speak.

“Y-Your Majesty, eung…”

Seonjae helped Yeon-oh up from his seat in front of the Geum and led him forward. The man’s lips, which had only lightly touched him a few times, now deeply enveloped Yeon-oh’s. A soft, fleshy mass penetrated Yeon-oh, completely stirring the hesitant inside of his mouth.

He had the illusion that heat was rising everywhere the hot tongue was sweeping. As their mucous membranes rubbed, his mouth felt gently moist, like tasting something sweet. A wet, slurping sound of tongues being sucked and entangled resonated between their tightly locked lips.

“Eum.”

The muffled sound echoing in Yeon-oh’s throat was unfamiliar, like it belonged to someone else. It was a detached resonance, like hearing sounds from outside the water with his ears submerged.

Yeon-oh, whose lips had been blocked by the man, breathed a ragged sigh as his lips opened, and he recoiled, hunching his shoulders at the other person’s ticklish breath pouring onto his neck.

“Ha, ha-ah…”

The man, whose lips were buried in Yeon-oh’s neck, gently kissed him and slid his fingertips down, groping his chest.

“Ngh.”

The firm fingertips slid down his light informal robe (pyeonbok), then plunged between the clothes to find his nipple. The man’s fingers, having instantly slipped through the thin, soft fabric, moved as if tracing the shape of the thick, bare skin caught at his fingertip. As the prominent, soft flesh was rubbed by the man’s firm fingertip, a sharp, strange sensuality surged.

Yeon-oh’s previously hunched shoulder instantly stiffened and twitched at the soft lips descending onto his neck. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] The firm fingertip skillfully followed the sensitive, exposed nipple. The man gripped the nipple with his index finger and thumb, stimulating the sensitive flesh with an even more explicit movement, and pulled Yeon-oh’s shoulder, which was flinching and trying to pull away, closer.

Yeon-oh’s shoulder twitched uncontrollably at the unfamiliar stimulation. Seonjae moved along Yeon-oh’s waist, which was trying to back away, and deeply layered his lips on Yeon-oh’s hesitant mouth again.

“Eum, eung…!”

Yeon-oh staggered backward as if running away from the man’s actions—sucking his tongue and moving his hand even more explicitly inside his robe. When Yeon-oh, who had been moved as if cornered and pushed by Seonjae, came to his senses, his back was against the bed, leaving nowhere else to retreat.

The man was standing in front of the panting Yeon-oh, looking down at him. His movements were like a predator cornering its prey.

“Is kissing alright, but touching with hands is not?”

Seonjae whispered softly, then deeply layered his lips onto Yeon-oh’s gasping mouth. With the repeated kisses, Yeon-oh’s lips were hot and red and slick with moisture.

With nowhere left to retreat, Yeon-oh had no way to avoid the torrent of sensations the man poured onto him. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] The hot, soft, and sensual feeling surging through his entire body swallowed Yeon-oh whole.

Every time the man touched Yeon-oh, the luxurious brocade robe (geumpo) rustled, making strange, sensual noises. The Emperor’s large hand skillfully burrowed through the gaps of the long, trailing robe, whose structure even the wearer did not fully know. The man’s hand, which had been supporting his waist, slid downward gracefully and arbitrarily fondled his buttock. The hand, having parted several layers of the robe, reached deep inside, covering the thin garment worn first over his bare skin.

The outline of the long fingers, the feel of the firm fingertip, and the strength of his hand touching his body were distinctly felt through the thin fabric. Yeon-oh, who had been kissing Seonjae back as he penetrated him, flinched and stiffened at the hand that was shamelessly kneading his buttock.

The man kissed the outline of the lips that had stopped in surprise. Seonjae, who was burying his face in his stiffened neck, felt the rhythmic thumping against his cheek and raised his gaze. He lowered his gaze again, burying his face deeply into the hot, throbbing neck. At the same time, he slipped his fingertip between Yeon-oh’s buttocks, explicitly rubbing his groin.

Yeon-oh struggled against the rough hands that moved to find his opening. Seonjae calmly looked down at the body that was flailing in surprise at the hands penetrating a place he himself never touched.

“…”

A gasp escaped through Yeon-oh’s parted lips. The face, breathing roughly, met the gaze of the man watching him. His heart beat uncontrollably at the unfamiliar act. His head was swirling with confusion. Seonjae lightly kissed the cheek, which was red with heat. At the wet sound of soft lips lingering on his face and then pulling away, Yeon-oh lowered his gaze and then raised it.

“I cannot come and only listen to your Geum performance every time.”

At the man’s words, Yeon-oh nodded. He knew it was a disrespectful action toward the Emperor, but he could not open his lips. He felt that if he opened his lips, an unfamiliar sound that was not his own would be spewed out. Also, it was difficult to answer because he had to meet and receive the Emperor’s lips as he descended to kiss him again.