Chapter 549 – #114_Love And War (2)
#549
1.
“Whoa….”
The moment the door opened, I was met with hot, dry air.
A high temperature that you wouldn’t encounter in everyday life.
With each breath, the hot air filled my lungs, and sweat instantly beaded on my scalp.
It was no wonder.
The indoor thermometer hanging inside was already nearing 90 degrees Celsius.
It was a similar temperature to the kiln sauna rooms attached to larger bathhouses.
As I had seen from the outside, the interior was a bit dim.
It was only natural, as the only light came from the small windows that were opened to prevent heat from escaping.
Also, perhaps because it had been used for quite some time, the wood around the humidity-regulating stone stove was scorched in a gradient.
But one part of the chair was conspicuously white, not scorched.
As I tilted my head in confusion, the question was quickly resolved, and Siwoo had to hold back a laugh.
“Don’t be surprised and sit down.”
“…Yes.”
It seemed that the spot where Luelie had just been sitting was her designated seat.
The mark that remained largely unscorched perfectly matched the part of the chair where her buttocks and thighs had been in contact.
Siwoo sat across from Luelie without saying anything.
She skillfully scooped water from a wooden bucket and splashed it onto the pile of stones.
With a hiss, white steam rose, filling the room with hot vapor.
“Do you like saunas?”
“I have always enjoyed saunas every day. It has been a while since you came, so it is twice as good. Haaah….”
Luelie let out an old man-like sigh and made a strange groan as if she was feeling good.
It seems that when the body melts and becomes languid, people make similar sounds regardless of their race or country.
Luelie grabbed the sides of the chair with her thighs and stretched out her chest.
Even if it was an old-fashioned bikini, a swimsuit is a swimsuit.
Her slender waist arched flexibly, and the naturally prominent cleavage made Siwoo flinch with tension.
What kind of soft, delicate skin was under that barely-there fabric? He would probably never forget it.
Well, Luelie herself didn’t seem to have any such intentions, so it was just a hypothetical thought, but he had no intention of asking for a relationship again.
Even if he were asked, he would politely refuse.
First of all, even though Luelie also had some responsibility, he regretted taking her by force.
Also, it wasn’t right for him to be enjoying himself while other lovers were obviously suffering.
Therefore, from the moment he entered the sauna, he was quite conscious of his breathing.
A sauna is naturally a place where you sweat profusely.
If he rashly smelled anything in such a cramped space, who knows what might happen.
Based on his experience so far, it seemed that the reaction to scents was limited to the ‘sense of smell,’ so he would be fine if he controlled himself a little.
“By the way, you’re holding up better than I thought. I thought you’d run out in less than three minutes.”
Luelie said, dabbing the sweat that was slowly flowing with a towel.
It was true that, perhaps because her functions had improved dramatically since becoming a spirit, her stamina remained intact even while feeling the heat.
“Yes, there are many saunas in my hometown too. We heat up clay caves or charcoal kilns and go inside.”
“Oh, that also sounds interesting. Tell me more about it.”
“Well…. Generally, saunas are attached to public bathhouses, and there are convenience facilities and simple sleeping facilities inside. There are generally more wet saunas than dry saunas. The rooms are divided by temperature like an ant nest, and usually, the hottest room is dry.”
“Even sleeping facilities?”
“It’s more like ‘you can sleep inside’ than anything else, and the conditions aren’t that great. It’s not like there are separate rooms, it just feels like they provide a place to close your eyes.”
“Like an old inn?”
“Similar.”
It was a bit long-winded, but this was a typical conversation between Luelie and Siwoo.
Information that was perfectly obvious to modern people living in the present was, in fact, a fantasy story to Luelie, who had never freely wandered outside the sea since she was born.
Of course, Luelie, armed with a strong curiosity about the present world, was never satisfied with just one explanation.
“Do men and women enjoy it together? If so, what about clothing? Didn’t you say that men and women are different? How many are built per capita? Is it also a place for socializing like the Roman baths?”
When a conversation started on one topic, it usually led to a dozen side topics, but Siwoo never found it annoying and answered with all his heart.
At first, there was a materialistic calculation to win her favor, but Luelie’s reactions were truly perfect.
He also felt a strange pity for her, who was curious about the outside world after living in such a confined space.
“Then does that mean they sell food inside?”
“Yes, usually, we drink a lot of beverages, but we also drink misutgaru, which is a powder of ground grains mixed with sugar and water, and sikhye, a traditional fermented drink, chilled.”
“Oh, I also drink cold milk after a sauna. Isn’t my voluptuous figure the result of diligently drinking milk since my apprentice witch days?”
“Indeed, you are wise.”
When she explained, she would invariably make small boasts, and if he praised her appropriately, she would be twice as happy.
“What do you eat?”
“Generally, we eat things like eggs and kimbap. Ah! They also sell ramen.”
“Here too?! There’s no place in Korea that doesn’t sell ramen. If it’s such a delicacy, I’d like to try it sometime.”
Luelie chatted with Siwoo for a long time like that.
Both of their bodies were already soaked with sweat.
Because of the temperature, it evaporated quickly, but Luelie’s white skin was glistening as if it had been coated with oil.
As a man, it was truly a sight that made him swallow hard.
“Oh! It’s just right now.”
While Siwoo was desperately managing his gaze.
Luelie got up from her seat for a moment and took out a birch branch whisk from a basket.
“Come here. I will personally show you how to use it.”
“I am honored.”
Luelie, holding the branch, came to Siwoo’s side.
-Whack, whack
The birch tree hit his skin coolly.
While the unique scent pleasantly tickled the tip of his nose.
“…….”
She had been patting Siwoo’s bare skin with the leaves, but she became strangely quiet.
She just repeated the same motion as if she was half out of it.
There was a reason for that.
Luelie had made a resolution to seduce Siwoo.
As was typical of her, whose interests always changed, she had forgotten her original purpose as soon as they entered the sauna together and was just happily chatting with him.
But the moment she got next to him to massage him, she felt a heat that made her gasp.
It wasn’t the heat of the sauna.
It was a heat even hotter than that, that suddenly rose from Luelie’s chest.
If she were to pinpoint the cause, it was because of one thought.
That was, ‘Was Shin Siwoo’s body always this good?’
A body that was both handsome and showed signs of training, as befitting a spirit.
Not a bulky body like you see in movies, but a muscular body with dense, lean muscles that felt practical.
It was a man’s body that was completely different from the soft body of a woman.
Also, the sweat that flowed like beads on top of it and the scent that came from it were making Luelie recall one memory.
His body had much thicker skin, was as hard as a rock no matter where you poked it, and possessed an irresistible strength.
Luelie’s gaze, which had been patting his back and shoulders, slowly turned towards his lower body.
In fact, if she just took off that panty-like swimsuit, he would be practically naked.
That realization was making Luelie’s head spin.
His well-defined abs, his pillar-like thighs that had held Luelie in place when she struggled, and his huge thing that was showing its presence even through his swimsuit.
Luelie had originally intended to seduce Siwoo, but she ended up staring at his body, which boasted an unexpected force, in a daze.
“Shall I do it for Your Majesty too?”
Fortunately, just before she was about to reach out to his body as if possessed.
Siwoo spoke first, and Luelie regained her senses.
“Y-yes, you may.”
Luelie hurriedly nodded, her face flushed with shame at her disgraceful behavior.
What was she doing?
She should be focusing on making him dazed, but she was having strange thoughts.
At this rate, wouldn’t she look like a pathetic woman who wanted to be held in his arms and act cute?
Luelie barely hid her agitation and handed the whisk to Siwoo.
She turned her back to him for now.
She was worried about what kind of pathetic expression she might be making right now.
-Whack, whack
“Ugh…!”
And the birch tree that was scratching and stinging her skin.
Luelie was reminded of another thing that had happened with him.
Just like when he had tickled her all over with a feather, she felt like her nerve endings were being gently scratched.
The tapping, which should have felt cool and refreshing, was now somehow making her lower abdomen tingle.
The leaves, which had initially been tapping her back, moved down to her waist, and Luelie’s shoulders stiffened.
Was he planning to tap her buttocks next?
After that, he might do even more to Luelie, who was feeling languid all over.
If that happened, would she really be able to refuse?
Luelie felt a dizziness that made her head spin.
She had released her self-defense to fully enjoy the sauna.
The excessive excitement, the abnormally high heart rate, and the longer-than-expected sauna time due to their conversation had created a synergy.
It was a series of events that were too stimulating for Luelie, who was just beginning to open her eyes to reason.
“Ugh, ugh, ugh….”
Luelie felt dizzy and collapsed.
