122. A Time to Reaping Karma (2)

When I was younger, I happened to stumble upon some of those…types of videos. There was one in particular where the male actor was kneeling before the female actor, enduring something.

Back then, I hadn’t yet learned that the world held so many different tastes, so I was culturally shocked. I remember thinking, ‘What is this? Is this what adults like…?’ and I turned the video off before long.

And ever since, I never again sought out those types of videos, tailored to those specific proclivities.

And yet.

I never imagined I’d be reenacting the opening scene of that video in real life.

Of course, I’m not *actually* naked like that actor; I’m still wearing underwear. But honestly, it doesn’t really matter. Right now, I’m a sinner who would have to obediently remove my underwear if Aki told me to.

“……”

“……”

Silence.

Aki, wearing a short skirt, is looking down at me with a haughty expression, her legs crossed elegantly.

I avoided her gaze, focusing only on the bedsheets.

Due to the angle and posture, I could see Aki’s underwear with just a slight shift of my eyes.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to sneak a peek. But in this situation, I’m afraid of what she would say if I was caught peeking.

“……”

Yeah.

I’m afraid…

But even still, a thought crossed my mind— Wouldn’t I be able to just take a quick look and then turn away before getting caught?

I know it’s the kind of thing you absolutely shouldn’t do in this situation, but…

‘…I won’t get caught, right?’

As always, human greed has no end, and we are bound to repeat the same mistakes.

I narrowed my eyes, quickly lowered my gaze, and peeked between Aki’s thighs and skirt.

“……!”

Pink.

The color of the underwear Aki is wearing today is, a pink color that emphasizes a refreshing feel…

“Hey.”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Why are you peeking…?”

“……What?”

“……”

A jolt.

Aki’s gaze, looking down at me, sharpened.

Those eyes… they threatened no mercy for lies.

Instinctively, I’d played dumb, but against that glare, there was no resisting.

“Sorry…”

I scratched the back of my neck sheepishly, apologizing.

“……Hmph.”

But Aki didn’t accept it.

Ignoring my apology entirely, she let out a snort, then stared down at me, as if continuing her interrogation.

Reaction, tone, atmosphere, gesture. Everything screamed that she was thoroughly miffed.

Well, she had every right to be. I was the cause of all this. If only I hadn’t lied to Aki, things wouldn’t have ended up like this…

‘Ah, I should have just told the truth and gone out…’

If I’d been honest, we wouldn’t have crossed paths like this, and I wouldn’t be groveling like this. I’d spun a lie that wasn’t needed, and now everything was thoroughly twisted.

I had nothing to say, not even with ten mouths, so I kept silent… Then, suddenly, I heard a deep sigh coming from above me.

“……Why did you do that?”

“Huh? Yeah?”

“Why *did* you do that?”

Aki asked, her arms still crossed.

For a moment, I thought she was grilling me about peeking at her underwear, but I quickly realized, looking at her eyes, that wasn’t it.

Aki’s question wasn’t ‘Why did you peek at my underwear?’, but ‘Why did you lie to me?’

I quickly opened my mouth.

“Uh, sorry. It was my fault…”

“No, I don’t need the apology. Why did you do it…?”

“Huh? Uh, um…”

Suddenly, I was speechless.

There was, of course, a reason for the lie. The question was whether I could actually tell Aki.

Truth be told. The reason I lied to Aki was, ‘to emphasize just how much I’d been waiting for her.’

If I could get across just how much I was looking forward to her return, Aki would surely be pleased, and a pleased Aki, upon returning to Korea, might just offer more… services than usual.

“Surely, you didn’t lie for no reason at all, right?”

“Right. Well, there is….”

“So. What is the reason, then?”

Aki uncrossed her legs, then recrossed them haughtily in the other direction.

I struggled to keep my eyes from drifting downwards as I racked my brain.

‘To tell, or not to tell….’

If I told her, she’d surely look at me with pity, asking if that was really the reason I lied.

But if I didn’t tell her. I had a feeling that would bring its own problems. Because the look in Aki’s eyes was far from ordinary. It was as if she were saying, ‘If you can’t give me a reason that satisfies me, you’ll pay the price….’

“Aren’t you going to say it?”

“……”

Aki’s interrogation continued.

It wasn’t just her words that pushed me. It was her actions. The way she kept moving her arms that were propping up her chest, the way she let out dissatisfied sighs for me to hear, constantly applying pressure.

“Really not going to…?”

“…….”

“……Okay. I see.”

Aki closed her eyes.

Then, opened them suddenly.

“Since you didn’t answer, I’m throwing all of this away.”

Aki picked up the delivery box.

Inside that box were Aki’s cosplay outfits, delivered fresh today.

‘……?!’

My eyes snapped open as I realized the truth.

“And, I absolutely won’t cosplay for you anymore….”

“I-I’ll tell you!”

Without even realizing it, I jumped to my feet.

I grabbed Aki’s wrist that was holding the delivery box.

“I’ll tell you, so don’t throw it away…!”

“……”

Zzzzzzzz.

Aki squinted, her gaze sharp upon me.

An unspoken demand hung in the air, a challenge to explain myself.

Honestly, it’s mortifying to admit… but a moment of shame now is better than ruining Aki’s cosplay outfit.

I closed my eyes tight, bracing myself.

“It’s, it’s because of you…”

“…?”

“No, not because of you… um, how to put it…”

I dragged out my words, carefully selecting each syllable.

In my mind, I was buying time, trying to soften the blow.

But the truth was, there’s no way to sugarcoat, ‘I wanted to show you how much I was waiting for you, hoping it would make you happy, and if you were happy, maybe you’d give me extra special treatment when you came back to Korea, so I lied…’

“Th-that, if I said I was waiting for you at home… it might make you happy…”

“……”

“And if you were happy… it would be better for both of us when you came to Korea later, so that’s why….”

“……”

“……”

“……”

“Master.”

“Uh, eh…?”

The way she addressed me had reverted to normal, but I didn’t have the capacity to worry about that.

Aki looked at me with something akin to pity.

“I’m not some elementary school kid, you know…”

“Huh? O-oh, no…”

“Seriously, sometimes you think like a child, don’t you?”

“……”

A pointed jab.

A sharp word that seemed to pierce my very core.

My mind reeling, I unconsciously released Aki’s wrist, and she watched my slight stagger before letting out a soft chuckle.

“Honestly, I’m just speechless… You could have just said you wanted to hang out with your friends…”

“……”

“If that was it, I would’ve just told you not to lie next time, gotten a little angrier, and been done with it… If that’s the reason, it’s hard for *atashi* to get too mad, you know…?”

“……Ah.”

A double hit.

I plopped down on the bed.

The excuse I gave was being treated like a ‘childish reason that’s hard to get mad at,’ so I feel a little, no, *very* dizzy.

“……”

Elementary schooler.

Childish.

An infantile way of thinking.

The words I just heard from Aki drift through my mind, muddling my thoughts. I bowed my head deeply, resting my elbows on my knees and covering my face with my palms.

And, in that position, I let out a deep sigh.

‘Ah…’

I should have just kept my mouth shut.

A hundred insults from a stranger are nothing compared to being treated like this by your girlfriend…

“My Darling, you’re not, perhaps, in shock…?”

“……”

“……*Hehe*. Adorable.”

Aki giggles quietly beside me.

“Our Darling, was it really *that* shocking…?”

I have nothing to say, so I press my lips together tightly.

Seeing that I’m silent, Aki must want to see my face, because she gently takes my wrist and starts pulling it down. But I don’t want to show her my face, so I resist with all my strength.

“Can’t you just show me your face?”

“No…”.

“Just once. Just show me once. Please? Please?”

“……No way.”

Normally, I would have pretended to fall for this much *aegyo*, but not right now. Even if I know that feeling this way is, in itself, a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

When I keep resisting with all my strength, Aki must realize I genuinely don’t want to show her, because she slowly lets go of my hand.

“Oh my, it really was that shocking, huh…?”

“……”

“Mmm. What to do, what to do….”

*Thump*.

The sound of Aki sitting down beside me.

I still covered my face with my palm, peeking at Aki through only the tiniest sliver of a gap.

“Hmm…”

Aki hooked a finger into the neck of her t-shirt, adjusting a bra strap as she seemed to be deep in thought.

A fleeting glimpse of pink.

Judging by the colour of the bottoms peeking out, she’d coordinated a matching set. It’s true, underwear is nicer when the colours match.

“Ah, right, I had that, didn’t I…?”

*Rustle*.

Aki jumped up from where she was sitting.

And headed straight out of the bedroom.

“…….”

What is it?

Surely she’s not leaving me just like this…

“You’ve been good, haven’t you?”

No sooner had the thought formed than Aki was back in the bedroom. I’d been about to lower my hand, but quickly snapped it back up to cover my face.

*Tear, tear-*!

The sound of paper ripping and tape being torn. Aki must be opening a package.

“The size… hmm, this should be enough…”

“……?”

“Husband.”

“……Huh, what?”

“Stay just like that. Absolutely no peeking!”

“……?”

What is she talking about?

“Okay…”

Before I could even ask, Aki began to move about busily.

First there was the sound of something slipping down with a *swish*, then the clicks of hooks being undone and then fastened again, and the zip of a zipper going up and then down.

“Not yet, so don’t open your eyes. Absolutely, positively! Got it…?!”

“……”

Aish. What is it?

Until just a moment ago, I absolutely didn’t want to open my eyes. But now that I’m told not to, I feel like opening them even more. Is this that…rebellious spirit thing?

Honestly, I really wanted to open my eyes and see. But I held myself back, afraid that opening them for no good reason would ruin the mood that had finally loosened up.

“Okay. You can open your eyes now!”

It wasn’t long before Aki’s voice reached me.

I slowly, sluggishly opened my eyes.

And then…

“……”

“……”

A sailor uniform.

Aki, in a sailor uniform, stood before me.

And not just any sailor uniform, but a crop-top style one, with her navel completely visible, and a skirt so short that it made you wonder if she could even go to school wearing it…that kind of sailor uniform.

“How is it, does it suit me…?”

Aki, seeming self-conscious about the short skirt, glanced behind her at her rear and lightly tugged it down with her hand as she shyly asked.

I was so mesmerized, scanning Aki up and down, that I could barely manage to nod my head.

I don’t know why, but Aki seems to be getting prettier with each passing day.

“Okay. Then that’s good…”

Aki smiled prettily.

She seemed pleased by my compliment, puffed out her chest, cleared her throat with a *ahem, ahem,* and approached me.

“Are you feeling a little better now…?”

“…Not quite.”

“Heung. Still not enough…?”

“It’s not enough…”

The truth was, it was more than enough, but I just said it.

Aki, who had drawn close enough to be within arm’s reach, stood before me and then gently tapped my thighs. It seemed like she wanted me to spread them apart.

Hesitantly, I spread my thighs, creating a space, and Aki promptly sat down, positioning her rear between my legs.

“Well, my lord…?”

Aki pressed her rear further inward.

It goes without saying, I suppose. But like this, even if you don’t want to touch, you naturally end up touching.

“My darling husband, do you want healing? Do you want to *receive*…?”

“What’s the difference between the two?”

“That’s a secret. It wouldn’t be fun if I told you beforehand…!”

“Hmm, is that so? Then….”

Since I don’t know, maybe I should go with the latter.

“I’ll… receive healing.”

“……Hehe. Understood.”

Aki turns her body at an angle.

Our gazes met.

“Take off your underwear, husband….”

“…….”

Ah.

So it was *that* kind of healing…….