He saw that on Hikari's eyes and eyebrows there really was a lipstick mark. She had indeed kissed the wrong place.
Her pretty face turned even redder, but Sayoko couldn't bring herself to speak.
Right now she could only shut her eyes in embarrassment and lean her delicate head forward again.
Pop!
Another crisp sound.
But Hikari's speechless voice came again.
"Aunt Sayoko, this is my nose!"
Smack!
Another crisp sound.
"Still not right! This is the ear, the ear!"
"Aunt Sayoko, at least look clearly before you go in for a kiss!"
Feeling that almost every part of his face was now covered in saliva except his mouth which was bone dry, Hikari was honestly a bit speechless.
Looking at Aunt Sayoko who still had her eyes tightly shut in shyness, he could only move his own head, help adjust her position as she leaned in, and try his best to line things up.
With Hikari's help, and because she always closed her eyes each time she leaned close, fumbling blindly for ages, Sayoko finally managed to find the right spot.
Only the corners of their lips finally met.
But barely had they touched when Hikari felt something very strange.
He lowered his head to look.
Aunt Sayoko was tightly pressing her lips together with all her strength.
Those two fresh red, soft, moist lips were stuck firmly together, as if glued.
'Aunt Sayoko, do you even know how to kiss?'
How does this resemble an experienced yet unspent, mature and beautiful young widow? She looked exactly like a blushing girl who had just started dating and knew nothing about anything.
Hikari's head drew back.
Sensing something off, Sayoko finally opened her eyes.
Cheeks flushed pink, she glanced at him, then quickly looked away, not daring to meet his gaze.
Thinking of her awkward, inexperienced movements and then seeing her current look, Hikari finally had a nearly certain guess.
He couldn't help asking, "Aunt Sayoko, were you really married? How come I get the feeling you've never even dated before?"
Sayoko's face was red as she gave a bitter, helpless smile, "You... you still noticed, huh. I originally didn't want to tell you, since I'm the one who said I wanted to guide you."
"Well, even though I was married, this really is my first kiss."
"Because my marriage with my husband was arranged by our parents long ago, and before I even met him a few times, he had an accident and died. So I... I never had any of this experience."
"Sorry, Hikari-kun, I even said I would teach you, but I actually have no real experience in this at all."
Her words didn't surprise Hikari much.
Given how clumsy she had been, someone as worldly and experienced as he was had already guessed.
But then he suddenly thought of something, looked at her with slight surprise, "Aunt Sayoko, if you've never even kissed, then wouldn't that mean you're still..."
He stopped halfway through.
And Sayoko's pretty face was now as red as an apple.
She pouted slightly at his surprised look, and with shy annoyance said, "Y... yes! I really have no experience at all!"
"Even though I'm a widow, now I'm still a v... v... virgin!"
"What? You looking down on me, brat?"
As she spoke, Sayoko shyly reached out and pinched his waist, looking exactly like a young girl tasting her first love.
Seeing her mix of bashfulness and pretend annoyance, seeming tough but actually scared he might look down on her, Hikari was momentarily stunned.
'Good grief. A virgin widow?'
Hikari suddenly felt his heartbeat skip.
Noticing how much hotter his gaze had become, Sayoko shyly looked away again, unable to meet his eyes.
Seeing this, Hikari smiled, "No, why would I look down on you? If anything, it feels even more surprising."
"Huh? Surprising?", Sayoko was confused.
Hikari didn't explain. He simply took her hand that was still around his waist and said with a smile, "Since you have no experience, how about I teach you instead? Would that be alright?"
Sayoko didn't speak, but she nodded with a flushed face.
"Then..."
Hikari was about to tell her to close her eyes when she suddenly interrupted him.
"Wait! Give me a moment!"
She pulled her hand back and reached for the ring on her ring finger as if to take it off.
But Hikari pressed her hand down and gave a deep smile, "It's fine. You don't need to take the ring off."
"Eh? Why?", Sayoko asked in confusion.
But before she could finish, he wrapped his arms around her and firmly covered her mouth with his.
———
"I wonder if Hikari-kun is asleep at this hour. Maybe he's still thinking about the lesson I gave him earlier..."
Getting up from the bed, her legs weak and unsteady, Miyuri picked up her soiled clothes, tidied herself, and went out to toss them into the washing machine.
In the empty house, she couldn't help recalling Hikari's handsome yet faintly youthful face.
After all, what she had just spent several hours doing had been entirely using Hikari as the model and blueprint in her mind.
Thinking of that young man, who might right now be alone at home thinking of her exquisite face and shapely figure while rewarding himself, Miyuri couldn't help showing a smile.
"Decision made. Tomorrow morning I'll go straight to his place and wake him up."
"And if I happen to catch him doing those things while thinking of me, I'll give him a little reward... no, punishment!"
She pulled out one of the keys she had asked for from him before he left, her face showing a charming smile.
At the beginning, her lessons and rewards had been mainly because she wanted to thank him for keeping her secret and for handling Yoshizawa Takeo.
But after giving him real lessons, she herself had grown a little addicted to that feeling.
So now even she wasn't sure if she wanted to get close to him out of gratitude, or because she liked that intoxicating pleasure and was a little hooked.
Hmm... teach him a few more times and then figure out the answer.
With her lips lifting unconsciously, Miyuri made her decision.
———
Right now, Miyuri wasn't the only one thinking about Hikari.
Stumbling along under the support of his son Ryusei Jun, Ryusei Haruyoshi finally managed to make it home.
"That damn Hikari! Making me lose such face in front of Sayoko, absolutely unforgivable!", Thinking of what had happened tonight, Haruyoshi clenched his fists in fury.
"We'll get him for sure! Dad, we'll get him!", Ryusei Jun, whose face was full of burns from shochu, said angrily.
"Who knows... what that guy is doing with Sayoko at the izakaya right now..."
———
The endless chirping of cicadas echoed through the fields.
The noise made many families shut their windows early and turn off their lights.
But at the small izakaya in the corner of the rural village, the lights were still bright.
Because the owner, Asatsuyu Sayoko, was still being taught by the much younger Hikari.
After Sayoko confessed she actually had no experience at all, Hikari began more than an hour of in-depth lessons for the widow.
With the help of his smooth tongue, the results were excellent for someone like Sayoko who wasn't skilled with words.
Through his verbal, hands-on teaching, Sayoko not only slowly overcame her fear of learning, but also grasped quite a bit of knowledge a woman her age should know, sinking deeper into this kind of study.
She became like a soft sponge, greedily soaking up knowledge from him.
"Haa... Hikari-kun... Auntie, Auntie is tired..."
After hours of verbal instruction, Sayoko, who was short of breath, finally couldn't hold on.
"Alright, then that's enough for today."
Seeing how exhausted she looked, Hikari lifted her soft body in his arms and carried her out of the bathroom back to her room.
Half leaning against the headboard, her lips slightly swollen, Sayoko watched him about to leave and couldn't help asking, "Th... that! Hikari-kun, about the kissing... lesson, is it already over?"
Hearing this, he turned back and asked with a smile, "Auntie still wants to learn?"
Her face instantly flushed bright red. Shy, flustered, she still nodded, "Mm... feels like I haven't finished learning. I want... I want to learn more from you..."
"That's fine. If you want, I can teach you again right now," He stepped forward with a smile.
"N... not now!", Sayoko's face went red. She yanked the blanket over herself and shook her head with a flushed face.
She was afraid that if they continued, Hikari's teaching wouldn't stay limited to mere verbal guidance.
Not that she was worried the young man would lose control. It was mostly that she herself might not be able to hold back.
After all, he was so much younger. A lonely woman like her could barely manage verbal lessons.
But anything further would affect Hikari, so she didn't dare continue.
"Alright then, I'll head out."
Seeing her curled up under the blanket, he smiled and left the room.
He could see she both wanted more and was scared.
After being alone so many years, suddenly letting a man into her world was something she couldn't accept right away.
And he didn't want to f*rce things. Better give Aunt Sayoko some time.
Since he'd already taught her, he wasn't going to let go.
A few more lessons and she would slowly open up.
She had once taken care of him. Now it was his turn to take care of her.
After exchanging goodnights, he stepped out and closed the door.
"Hoo! That was close. I almost went too far. I can't be that shameless, can't hold Hikari-kun back."
Once he left, Sayoko let out a long breath, then quickly rolled out of bed and changed clothes again.
This was already her third outfit change today.
Looking at the basket full of damp clothes, she helplessly shook her head.
Meanwhile...
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