006. Temptation (Complete)
Should I call us lovers? Or partners? When a man and a woman share the same bed, all sorts of thoughts start swirling.
Does this woman like me? Was the sex we had satisfying for her? Will we keep sharing a bed in the future? What if I married her—would that be fun? We'd have to meet each other's parents... Random thoughts like that.
Yu-ra. I stroked her hair. I could feel Han Yu-ra's sadness. It was understandable. One man, two women. They called it a harem, but in reality, it was a fish tank. From the women's perspective, it was no different from getting NTR'd. A reverse harem ran on the same principle. I'd just told Han Yu-ra to endure it.
...Was that too much?
If the me from a year ago saw this, he'd call me a lunatic and slap me. I'd deserve it. The Han Yu-ra from a year ago would think the same.
Yu-ra, I'm selfish as hell, but I don't want to spend this moment like this.
A man and woman in bed had plenty of options. Sex, Netflix, just holding each other. If it got boring, crack open some cold beers and say goodbye to the day. Too bad it wasn't Friday night. But I didn't want to wallow in gloom either. No need to drag out the melancholy forever.
Life's full of sad shit.
This wasn't her first sorrow, nor her last. She'd deal with Kim A-ram deleting server files or her parents showing up at the office for some humiliation play. That's life. Getting depressed every time something tough happens was a shortcut to misery. Even if my words were just happy-go-lucky bullshit.
I told her.
"Yu-ra."
"Yeah?"
Han Yu-ra seemed a bit steadier. She nuzzled into my chest like she loved it there, inching closer. Her ticklish breath brushed my skin like a feather. Was she clingy? The way she stuck to me made her seem like a little puppy. A puppy with big tits.
"Remember what you said?"
"What?"
Yu-ra looked up at me. Her eyes had that slightly reproachful cuteness.
Racking my brain... Her black history came flooding out.
"Everyone, overtime can be tough..."
"..."
"But this is an important time. It's the biggest event at the Game Expo in Samseong Station—tons of reporters will be there. Aren't you excited? Our game is finally getting some real media coverage."
"..."
"Tired? Then..."
She'd said stuff like that.
"Smile."
"..."
"The top-tier people smile when it's tough."
Han Yu-ra's face turned beet red. Unearthing black history. Back then, she'd gone to some weird business seminar and thought grinding employees was CEO skill. Fighting her and playing office politics was my job. It all fell apart when Kim A-ram sided with her anyway.
Ah... the horror stories never end.
Kim A-ram. Why did endless ghost stories spill out about her?
Anyway, there'd been a deep emotional rift back then. But time healed things. My heart had softened a lot now. I still got a surge of anger seeing her face, but at least for the moment, it was fine.
Can I forgive her someday?
After a year, when spring came, could I let go of the grudges? Even if we weren't lovers, it'd be nice to brush off the old stuff as jokes and laugh warmly.
"Seong-u... Sorry..."
Han Yu-ra wore a fully defeated expression. The way she clutched my abs and burrowed into my chest was adorable.
"I've... got so much to apologize for."
Penitent Han Yu-ra. But I wasn't after serious remorse right now. Even a submissive—BDSM slave role—should climb a bit or play pranks outside of sex. It was more fun that way.
It was a good night. Springtime, with neatly lined green trees swaying outside the motel window. Lovers exchanged cringey flirtations. Sometimes I wanted Han Yu-ra to apologize to me, hurt for me, suffer more. But right now, I wanted brightness.
So I teased her.
"So smile, Yu-ra."
Her shoulders started trembling. The look screaming Is that what you say now? was too delicious to stop.
"Smile even if I fuck Na-young. Top-tier people smile when it's tough... Ow!"
Han Yu-ra couldn't hold back and bit my nipple hard. It tickled so much I burst out laughing. Tears clung to the corners of her eyes. She said,
"You really gonna do that? Master...?"
"Sorry. Crossed the line?"
I grinned like an idiot, and Han Yu-ra started giggling too. Laughter filled the room. Humor was a hell of a power. It made you see the bright side, even in pathetic situations.
I tickled her for no reason.
"Eek! M-Masterrrr! Heheek!"
She let out a sharp squeal and collapsed on the bed. Then, refusing to take it alone, she attacked my sides. That was unbearable.
"Guh!"
"Kyaa!"
I grabbed her and flipped her like wrestling, slamming her under me as the bed bounced. "Mmph!" Her mouth smooshed against my chest. I pinned her arms and tickled her sides mercilessly. Adults done with grown-up play, regressing to kids—we were kinda dumb. Minutes passed like that.
"Haa..."
"Tired."
Han Yu-ra wriggled under me. Our positions had shifted. She was face-down, her full breasts squished into the bed and spilling sideways. I was draped over her from behind. We were sweaty already, fresh from the shower.
"No overtime pay either."
"...Eut."
"You're an evil boss."
I pinched her ass lightly.
"Ahng..."
She bit her lip like it hurt and buried her face in the white sheets. The sheets bunched up in her fists. She shot me a slightly resentful glance but said,
"Haa... Sorry, Master."
"Damn right."
Even Han Yu-ra had no defense for skipping overtime pay. What were the politicians doing? No law for spanking small-business owners who stiffed it.
"You deserve punishment. For no overtime pay."
"Uuu..."
Yu-ra flushed red and dropped her gaze, speechless. Yeah, who skips overtime pay?
"Master..."
"Yeah?"
"But overtime's so frequent, paying it all would make labor costs over five million per employee... Ahuk!"
I got it, actually. I'd run a business before. Two and a half million per employee base, plus four insurances, came to about three point one from my wallet. But right now, I wasn't the boss—I was the employee. Even as director, same deal.
Will she play along with this joke?
It crossed a line, but I hoped she'd bite.
"Gotta go meet Na-young."
"Ah, seriously...? You will?"
Han Yu-ra whipped around, furious. Shame and rage mixed, turning her tomato-red.
"Hey now."
Smack!
I spanked her ass hard; she reflexively kicked her calves up, then bowed her head again. Looked super aggrieved.
"Ahuk, sorry... M-Master..."
"If you'd paid overtime, we wouldn't be here. We could've been lovers, y'know?"
Sounded kinda like prostitution. Programmer fucks the lady boss for overtime pay...
"...Eut."
Han Yu-ra went silent.
"No overtime? Spankings it is."
Crack!
I smacked her ass.
"Kyaaahk!"
Sudden sting? She lifted her heels and shrieked.
"For real..."
"Punishment for stiffing your programmer."
"Where's that a thing..."
Her ass was pale and plump. Stroking it like a pet made her tremble, scared of more hits.
"Pay overtime or not?"
Crack!
"Ha-ut..."
A few smacks, and her cheeks pinked up. Toes curled in pain; sheets gripped tight.
"Huu... Y-Yes, we should."
Sweaty Yu-ra muttered resentfully.
"Right. Basic employee welfare, Yu-ra. Got it?"
"Yesss..."
We hugged like that for a while, chatting idly. Topics jumped around.
"Rogue Legacy? That's actually fun, Seong-u."
"Nah, it's a dot game."
"There's a version with art."
Rogue Legacy was a roguelike. There was a GUI version with graphics files, but... no way to call the graphics good.
I wasn't into those games.
"No tastes? Favorite games or whatever. You never talk about it."
"Me? Honestly, I like any AAA title. Mobile's fine too."
I preferred big-scale, full-price games. Seventy thousand won a pop—not cheap.
"Hmm. So the one you're developing now isn't your taste?"
"Not yours either."
"Yeah... true."
Han Yu-ra was more core gamer.
"Mass-produced gacha collection games suck compared to indie roguelikes. Can't change my mind, Seong-u."
Of course, adult circumstances had her making mobile games. Thanks to Kim A-ram insisting mobile was the only way to make money and pay salaries.
"Wasn't Sepiros Online planned by Kim A-ram?"
"Yeah. Now that you mention it."
Han Yu-ra handled planning support. Kim A-ram gave ideas, Yu-ra the story, but mechanics and gacha model? Kim A-ram.
"What’s Kim A-ram up to these days?"
"Hm. Been too busy to check."
"She seems weirdly upbeat lately, right?"
"..."
Han Yu-ra and I stared at each other. Up close, her face was seriously cute.
"You're the CEO—how don't you know?"
"Ugh... Too much on my plate."
Fair. With open beta three weeks out, managing Kim A-ram wasn't easy.
Sudden rage bubbled up. Thinking about it, wasn't all this Kim A-ram's fault? From making Han Yu-ra hate me to the server wipe.
Kim A-ram...!
"Wasn't tormenting Kim A-ram your idea? You were quiet, so I figured it was going fine."
"Open beta's three weeks away—I'm swamped."
Come to think of it, Kim A-ram looked comfy as hell. Something twisted in my gut; bile rose. Without her, no sins, stress, or pain. And she's sleeping easy?
"Can't leave it like this, Yu-ra."
"..."
"Let's think up ways to mess with Kim A-ram."
We put our brains into overdrive.