Chapter 35: Sunlight Through the Wood
The first rays of sunlight from the plateau, clear and sharp, shone obliquely through the gaps in the wooden wall, creating long streaks of light on the messy pile of blankets and pillows. The air was fresh, smelling of wood and morning dew. The crowing of roosters and the sounds of people walking in the distance, all created a strangely peaceful picture.
Ngan was the first to wake up. She opened her eyes, but didn’t move. She was sandwiched between two men, an ironic arrangement. Her back was pressed against Tung’s hot chest, his strong arms wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly, possessively, even in her sleep. In front, Minh’s legs were draped over her thighs. She was trapped in a cage of flesh, strangely warm and safe.
Her body was sore. Her private parts were a little sore and still felt sticky with the semen inside. But instead of the disgust she felt in Quy Nhon, she only felt a tired satisfaction. She could smell them on her skin, a mixed scent of sweat and men. It was no longer unfamiliar. It was the scent of “the pack”, a primitive scent.
Ngan’s goal was to enjoy this strange moment of peace, before facing the awkwardness of the morning. The conflict was the stillness of the moment versus the chaos of last night’s memories.
She lay still, listening to the steady breathing of the two people. Tung breathed deeply and heavily, while Minh occasionally stirred slightly. An internal struggle took place in her mind: “What have I done? I slept between the two of them. I let them… fill me. But why… don’t I feel disgusted? Why do I feel… at peace?”
She closed her eyes, not running away, simply accepting. Accepting the fact that she was lying here, naked, between two men, and she had no desire to leave.
A moment later, Minh started to stir awake, sunlight shining through the cracks in the wood shining directly into his eyes. The sound of roosters crowing in the distance, the sound of people walking in the distance.
He opened his eyes, squinting against the bright sunlight. The first thing he saw was Ngan’s face, lying on her side, looking at him, her eyes sparkling, full of mischief. He wasn’t startled or embarrassed. A lazy, sleepy smile appeared on his lips, full of mischief. Before he even said good morning, his hand, which had been resting loosely on Ngan’s thigh, slid down naturally, his rough fingers lightly gliding over the soft skin, and patted her plump buttocks, a soft “pop”. An intimate, natural, and possessive pat, as if it was something he had done hundreds of times, a wordless assertion of power.
His voice was hoarse from sleep. “Good morning, Nurse.”
Ngan chuckled, not showing any sign of annoyance. “You’re awake, you devil. You’re so heavy.” She gently pushed his leg away, a gesture full of affection.
Their voices woke Tung up. He opened his eyes and saw Minh laughing and talking with Ngan. He didn’t seem jealous. He just looked at them, then smiled gently, a smile of acceptance.
The morning’s wall of awkwardness was completely shattered with just a pat on the butt. A new intimacy, a naked and undisguised intimacy, was established.
All three were awake. They were in no hurry to get up or get dressed. They lay lazily in the pile of blankets and pillows, enjoying each other’s warmth. The atmosphere was cheerful, a little teasing, a release after the wild night.
Minh was the one to start. He rested his head on his arm and looked at Ngan with sparkling, mischievous eyes. “Hey, did you sleep well last night?”
Ngan glanced at him, her voice full of hidden meaning. “Do you still need to ask?”
Minh burst out laughing, looking at Tung. “Of course it’s good. There are two such powerful ‘heaters’. I’m just afraid her ‘oven’ will overheat and short-circuit.”
Tung, for the first time since Quy Nhon, also joined in the joke. He looked at Minh, then at Ngan, his face slightly red but his voice very sincere, full of masculinity. “What do you know? The furnace has to be hot for the steel to be hard.”
Tung’s manly metaphor made both Minh and Ngan stunned, then burst out laughing. The three of them laughed heartily, echoing throughout the stilt house, dispelling any remaining awkwardness.
They could talk about it. They could laugh about it. The dark secret was no longer a burden, it had become a private joke, a common language only the three of them understood, a sign of a new intimacy.
The laughter still echoed in the stilt house, the teasing became more direct and bold, no longer concealed.
Ngan tried to sit up, but as soon as she did, she winced slightly and let out a small groan of pain, a vivid testimony of her wild night. Minh immediately took the opportunity, his tone teasingly direct. “Hey, what’s wrong, Sister Nuoi? Tired? You did a bit too much ‘exercise’ last night. I heard someone screaming loudly, screaming like he was about to die, I wonder who it was.”
Tung also joined in, he reached out and gently rubbed Ngan’s bare back, a gesture full of affection. “What are you yelling about? It sounds like a stray cat stuck in a door. It’s creepy.”
Ngan was not embarrassed at all. She turned around, glaring at both of them, but her eyes were sparkling with laughter. She grabbed a pillow and hit each of them, a response full of affection. “It’s you two! You two crazy buffalos! You’ve been torturing me all night and not letting me sleep. Be quiet!”
Her loving scolding was an admission. She was no longer a victim, she was a player, an accomplice. Teasing was not an insult, it was a form of intimacy, a language of the “tribe”. They were able to laugh at their own “perversion”, a complete liberation.
They finally got up, dressed, and went downstairs for breakfast. There were already several other groups of guests sitting in the courtyard of the homestay, talking and laughing.
Their actions were no longer competitive or awkward. It became instinctive, like a familiar family. When Ngan walked down the slightly steep wooden stairs, Tung automatically followed behind, his hand loosely held behind her back, ready to support her. When they sat down at the table, Minh automatically pulled out her chair, then ran to get a bowl of hot pho, a natural act of gallantry.
Ngan was eating, a strand of onion stuck to the corner of her lips. Tung, sitting opposite, was about to speak up to remind her. But Minh, sitting right next to her, was faster. He didn’t say anything, just raised his thumb, gently wiping the strand of onion away naturally, a gesture full of intimacy. Tung saw it, but he wasn’t jealous. He just smiled. Minh didn’t seem triumphant either. It was simply an act of care, a wordless understanding.
The three of them sat down to breakfast, chatting and laughing happily about their plans for the day. To those around them, they looked like a beautiful older sister traveling with her two close younger brothers. No one could have guessed that just a few hours ago, in the wooden room above, these three people had created the wildest and most naked storm together.