Wandering Through Vol. 2 Chapter 37 - Karma

The sunlight streamed brightly through the wide-open window.  

 

Yiseo sat facing Leegwang, perched on his thigh, her chin resting on his shoulder. 

 

Beyond his shoulder, she could see a butterfly fluttering outside the window. The warm spring weather made her body feel languid—though, truthfully, it wasn’t just the season but also because of someone who kept her occupied day and night.  

 

At any rate, she felt a small sense of satisfaction at finally being able to wear both her jeogori (upper garment) and skirt properly again. She chose to ignore the hand creeping up her thigh beneath the skirt. 

 

If she acknowledged it, she knew that hand would soon be replaced by something else.  

 

Leegwang, seated at the desk with Yiseo still on his lap, flicked the round bun at the back of her head, tied neatly with a black ribbon. 

 

He knew she couldn’t wear a wig due to her delicate health, but he was curious why she didn’t at least use a hairpin.  

 

“Since when have you stopped wearing hairpins? You used to wear them before.”  

 

It was unusual for a married woman not to wear one. Even if she were poor, she could have carved one from wood—so that couldn’t be the reason.  

 

“Ahh.”  

 

Yiseo reached back and lightly touched the nape of her neck. He watched intently as her slender fingers brushed through her dark hair.  

 

“My mother said this looked better.”  

 

He caught her hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a kiss to her palm. 

 

As he did, she added quietly, “She also said she hated seeing me wear a hairpin when I had no husband. So I stopped wearing them after that. I didn’t realize it at first, but now this feels more comfortable. There was no one to see me anyway, and it’s lighter…”  

 

“Well, now that you have a husband again, you should start wearing one. If you didn’t realize how inconvenient it was for the past ten years, you’ll adjust quickly.”  

 

“…I wonder.”

 

At Yiseo’s evasive, trailing words, Leegwang unconsciously tightened his grip on her thigh. Her eyes slightly narrowed, and before he could say anything more, she hastily spoke up.

 

“You promised to write a letter for my nanny, my lord.”

 

That damned ‘my lord.’ Leegwang hated the way she addressed him with such a generic term—something any stranger might use upon first meeting him. He would have preferred even ‘you.’

 

But no matter how much he tormented her all night, begging her to call him differently, she would only sniffle and stubbornly say ‘my lord.’ 

 

There was nothing else he could do. Eventually, he gave up and let her go—only for her to curl up, clutching the blanket as she quietly sobbed, which made him relent and do it again. 

 

Though, to be honest, it hadn’t been just once.

 

When she cried pitifully, saying it was too much, he soothed her, only for her to timidly hint that she just wanted to send one letter to her nanny. 

 

Just a single line asking after her well—she wouldn’t even write it herself.

 

He pitied her. And that pity annoyed him. Whenever he was with her, his thoughts and emotions tangled chaotically, filling his mind with noise. 

 

But when their bodies were joined, that clamor was drowned out by pleasure, leaving his mind clear. He was somewhat addicted to that sensation.

 

Even if he wasn’t inside her, he needed to touch her skin to keep the unease at bay.

 

Leegwang watched sidelong as Yiseo cautiously shifted under his gaze. 

 

Fidgeting, she turned her back to him and settled against his chest before grinding the inkstick on the desk. 

 

But even after she finished preparing the ink, his hand remained unmoving. 

 

Hesitantly, she took his hand and placed it on the desk.

 

When he picked up the brush half-heartedly, Yiseo pulled a sheet of paper toward him and spoke haltingly.

 

“Please write that… I’m well, and there’s nothing wrong…”

 

Leegwang wrote down the words as she dictated.

 

“And?”

 

“Tell her to take care…”

 

“And?”

 

“That’s all.”

 

“Stay well, stay safe, take care.” 

 

At the overly brief greeting, Leegwang furrowed his brow. Yiseo hesitated before adding,

 

“If you can’t trust anything but my handwriting, may I just write my name at the bottom?”

 

When he handed her the brush, Yiseo quickly scribbled her three-character name below, as if afraid he might change his mind.

 

Staring at the bold, vigorous strokes—unexpected from her small, frail frame—he asked, “Are you sure there’s nothing else you want to write?”

 

Yiseo nodded. As her ears twitched slightly with the motion, he gently bit one, making her shoulders tense.

 

“I expected you to write things like why you’re here, how long you’ll stay, or even asking me to visit you at least once…”

 

“…Am I allowed to ask those things?”

 

The day they found traces of the dragon god at the shrine, Leegwang carried her down the mountain. 

 

Since then, he had settled into the inner quarters of the Grand Manor—where Yiseo had lived alone for the past decade—and barely stepped outside, too busy entwining himself with her.

 

She never had the chance to ask why he brought her back here, how long he planned to keep her, or what exactly he wanted from her.

 

At least, at Yiseo’s request, he had released Suyeong from the lantern before leaving the shrine. 

 

That was some small comfort. Her already weak body seemed to have drained what little energy it had from collapsing in the rain. She spent days doing little but sleeping. 

 

And when she woke, it was just eating, sleeping, and coupling…

 

Living almost like an animal in heat, he only recently regained some clarity.

 

It was common for those possessed by spirits to fixate on simple pleasures. 

 

Some, driven by obsession, ate until their stomachs burst, while others lost themselves in lust until they died atop their partner.

 

Not that Leegwang was possessed—but with three lives and souls overlapping in one body, wasn’t it close enough?

 

No sane person could be this consumed by desire.

 

Maybe it was better to think of him as a ghost now.

 

Once his past-life memories faded and his mind cleared, he wouldn’t be this fixated on lust.

 

Yiseo bit her lip as his hand slipped through the slit in her undergarments. 

 

Lately, she had spent more time undressed than clothed. Somehow, being fully dressed like this while he touched her felt even more shameful.

 

Leegwang pressed his lips to the flushed nape of her neck and whispered,

 

“You can ask anything. That’s up to you. Making me want to answer—that’s your job too.”

 

💫

 

Yiseo liked late spring.

 

Perhaps she didn’t even realize she liked it, but for the past ten years, just before the sweltering heat arrived, she would fling open the windows and doors of the inner quarters. She would sit at her desk, and alternate between writing a line and glancing outside.

 

Sometimes she dozed off, nodding sleepily, and other times she giggled at her writing.

 

Very occasionally, she would nap face down on the desk without even laying out bedding. Those were the best moments, because he could get close to her unnoticed.

 

Unable to escape the shifting sunlight in her sleep, one side of her cheek would turn bright red. 

 

When he secretly poked it with a finger, it was warm.

 

Before he knew it, he found himself absentmindedly caressing that warm cheek.

 

At his touch, she let out a soft “Mmm…” and fluttered her eyelids, blinking drowsy, unfocused eyes. He quickly retreated, unsure whether those hazy eyes had seen him or not.

 

Leegwang used the same hand that had touched her cheek that day to pleasure himself frantically. He imagined devouring that soft, pliant skin in one bite—skin so tender it would bruise at the slightest pressure.

 

Her jet-black hair, coiled into a round bun, her pale forehead and flushed cheeks, the light-colored jeogori she always wore with a sleeveless vest because she claimed to be cold. 

 

And the skirt she kept putting off lengthening, saying no one would see, sometimes revealing her calves above her socks.

 

For ten years, he had swallowed his hunger and licked her with his eyes until he was sick of it.

 

“Ah…”

 

Burying his face in the desk, Leegwang swallowed the image of Yiseo’s moaning cheeks. 

 

It felt like going back in time and violating the Yiseo of that day—the one who had napped so innocently on the desk, completely unaware.

 

Now, dressed similarly to back then, Yiseo had her face buried in the desk just like before.

 

The only difference was that this time, he didn’t run away. Instead, he clung to her from behind, wrapping his arms tightly around her body and sucking on her cheeks.

 

The clingy fabric of her clothes was irritating, but seeing Yiseo dressed as she used to be made him reluctant to undress her. 

 

After all, he could see her bare body to his heart’s content at night.

 

Even as he held her close, the rustling fabric brushing against him instead of bare skin was disappointing. But the thought that he was invading not just Yiseo’s body but her everyday life made it bearable.

 

In the sunlit room, Yiseo sat at the desk, gripping a brush tightly in her small hand as she diligently wrote each character stroke by stroke.

 

And now, Yiseo, moaning as she cradled his member beneath her.

 

Leegwang slowly pulled his hips back before pushing into her again, carving a path inside her as if making space. 

 

It wasn’t an empty plea when Yiseo had begged that she felt hot down there—her swollen flesh was noticeable.

 

“Hng… uhh… uhnn…”

 

He remained still, buried deep inside her. Yiseo’s shoulders trembled faintly. He stroked her belly over her clothes and rested his head against her shoulder.

 

Over Yiseo’s shoulder, he could see the paper on the desk.

 

Beneath his own carelessly scribbled greetings, he saw three neatly written characters—her name.

 

He thought to himself that he wouldn’t send this letter. He would keep it for himself.