Season 2 Prologue: Dimming Dusk and the Delivered Prize
Evening at 7 PM, the sky slowly darkening. Five guys trudged down the street, bickering among themselves.
"Fuck, how the hell did you screw up like that?"
"What the fuck are you on about? If you'd just backed me up properly, we'd have won, shithead."
"Ah, shut the fuck up, all of you... I lost my promotion match, so I'm fucking pissed. Keep your goddamn mouths shut."
Jun-ha spat on the pavement irritably, shoving both hands deep into his pockets. People around them sidestepped warily, afraid of catching any stray sparks from his thuggish swagger.
"Hoo... My mood's totally fucked."
On any other day, he'd have picked a fight with some easy mark, but there wasn't anyone conveniently weak-looking in sight.
"Wanna just all go grab drinks? I'll cover it."
"Ooh~"
"That's our Jun-ha!"
His friends cheered like they'd been waiting for it, hyping him up. Hanging with the ever-loaded rich kid meant scraps like this fell their way now and then. And it wasn't cheap booze—he shelled out for top-shelf liquor that regular college kids could never afford in their lives...
Where else could you find a better friend?
"Let's go!"
"Wooo~"
With overly dramatic cheers, they followed Jun-ha into the bar.
A regular debate show on primetime TV. The glamorous female host faced the camera, explaining smoothly.
Everyone nodded in agreement. The reason for the Shared Property Facility: to combat the worsening low birth rate crisis. For that, the Childbirth Duty law mandated women to bear children. Initial resistance was fierce, with plenty of backlash, but it proved a resounding success. Birth rates had skyrocketed since its implementation.
The researcher's eyes sharpened. Even the host tensed up.
Pfft— Right at the juicy part, Jun-ha clicked the remote, killing the TV.
"Fuck's sake, why ruin the booze with that crap in a bar?"
He grimaced, downing his whiskey in one go.
"Right? What a shitshow~"
"If you're gonna bitch, don't be born with a pussy. Pfft!"
"Exactly. They compare it to guys doing military service fine, but Childbirth Duty rolls around and suddenly it's apocalypse."
Jun-ha nursed his rage with his buddies, tilting his glass.
"Hey, speaking of—your dad's the Shared Property Facility director, right? Any news?"
"News? What news?"
"Our uni goddess~ Heo Seong-ah. That slut's naked drag to the facility is still up on SexTube."
Jun-ha flinched. The mention snapped him back to Heo Seong-ah, whom he'd blanked on. Thinking of the discharge ceremony from hours ago, a pleased smile crept in.
"Whoa~ Look at that grin? You know something."
"Fuck off. Probably rolling around as some female livestock somewhere."
No need to spill she was his toy now. He wanted her all to himself for a while.
"Check the live livestock cams if you're curious. What's the big deal?"
"I peek sometimes, but it never looks like her."
Imagining her haughty image against the cam footage felt like some actress impersonating her. Even prying classmates' intel was futile—Jun-ha drank silently, lips sealed forever.
"Whatever, fuck it~ She's livestock anyway; might spot her if we're lucky."
"Yeah. Must've sinned to end up that way... Check the public toilets maybe?"
They bantered on about Heo Seong-ah; Jun-ha, knowing all, just smirked over his drink.
"Whoa, gotta bounce."
"Already?"
"Yeah, man. Busy guy here."
Stretching, Jun-ha pulled his wallet, extracting twenty 100,000-won notes—plenty for five guys' drinks. Good mood today; he went big.
"Heading out first. Split the rest."
"For real? Second round at yours? Call?"
"Sorry, no more house parties. Bought a pet. Needs taming time."
"Pet? Like what? Lion or tiger?"
"None of your business, asshole."
Flipping them off with a grin, Jun-ha coolly exited.
"Finally gone, that prick."
"Ugh, what an ungrateful shithead..."
"If not for the cash, I'd have smashed him."
"Whatever, more drinks~"
The crew partied harder sans Jun-ha.
A mansion deep in the woods, far from the city. Remodeled from a vacation home, now Jun-ha's pad.
"Haa~ Exhausted."
Stumbling drunk inside, Jun-ha spotted the massive wooden crate at the entryway. His long-awaited toy delivered—he beamed, unable to hide his glee.
"Time to unwrap~"
No more waiting. Humming smugly, he cracked open the box.