A Dangerous Addition
"Ugh... Is it morning already?" Dohyung muttered as he sat up in bed, shaking off sleep. His phone call with Minah last night had dragged on much longer than expected, and sleeping late seemed to have left him even more exhausted than usual.
Recalling how Minah had quietly listened to his story yesterday, Dohyung couldn't help but marvel at her. He knew the revenge he was enacting would sound repulsive to anyone else. To a woman, especially, his actions would be utterly abhorrent. He had openly admitted to treating women as sex slaves, sleeping with them at his whim, and resorting to violence without a shred of hesitation. Minah had every reason to despise him and cut him out of her life.
Yet, she had simply listened in silence. She hadn't judged his vengeance. She could have begged him to stop, pleaded with him to let them go, or even vented her own lingering resentment toward Eunji and the others who had tormented her. Instead, she just listened. It was as if she wanted him to pour out all the poison festering in his heart so he could finally heal.
Perhaps because of that, though his body felt heavy, his mind felt a fraction lighter. However, the resentful voices that always whispered to him before sleep still lingered in his head. If anything, they seemed to be growing louder. He could hear voices he had never noticed before, clearer than ever, but he shook his head and ignored them. The only real change was that he no longer screamed at them to shut up.
"Sigh... Well, time to start the day." Dohyung got out of bed and prepared to head down to the Basement.
When Dohyung stepped down into the Basement, five girls were waiting to greet him.
"Good morning, Master!" Jia, Jiseon, and Eunji chimed in unison, and to his surprise, Sujin and Hyemin quickly followed suit. Dohyung stared at them, finding the sight rather absurd.
"Why are you two calling me Master?"
"Huh? Well..."
"I don't recall ever taking slaves like you."
At Dohyung's words, Sujin and Hyemin froze in panic. Last night, they had been beaten and brainwashed by the other three girls into accepting Dohyung as their master, operating under the assumption that they, too, were now his slaves. Hearing that they weren't even considered slaves made them resent the other three. Did we get beaten and forced into those humiliating acts for nothing?
"These three are my only slaves. That's why I gave them their own names. Did I ever give you two names? No, right?"
"That's... true..."
"So you aren't my slaves."
Sujin and Hyemin felt a small wave of relief wash over them. If they weren't slaves, maybe they wouldn't have to endure the same horrific torments as the other three.
"You're not slaves. You're just... toys for me to play with."
But Dohyung's next words made them wish they were slaves instead.
Toys?!
Sujin and Hyemin stared at him in sheer horror. Calling them toys meant he didn't even view them as human beings.
Ignoring their terrified gazes, Dohyung proceeded with the daily routine.
"Now, shall we get on with today's game? I wonder what we'll get. It's Navi's turn today, right?"
"Yes, Master. I'll draw now."
At his command, Jia picked up the game box and reached inside. Looking at the noticeably thinned stack of lots, her heart fluttered with the hope that her chances of drawing the Return Home Lot had increased. She pulled one out and unfolded it.
Unfortunately, the paper did not bear the word "Return Home" as she had so desperately prayed. Instead, it was marked with the number 3.
"Master, it's number 3."
"Number 3... Let's see what today's game is."
Dohyung peeled back the white tape next to the number 3 on his master board. Revealed underneath was a single word and two stars.
PLUS ★★
"Plus...?"
Usually, the names of the games gave them some clue as to what they would entail. While a few had been completely cryptic, the word "Plus" offered absolutely no hint. This unknown variable terrified the three girls. If they could at least guess what was coming, they could mentally prepare themselves. Not knowing meant they would be blindsided by whatever torment awaited them.
"You all look completely clueless," Dohyung remarked, scanning the faces of Jia, Jiseon, and Eunji. The sheer confusion written all over their features was painfully obvious.
"To be honest... this isn't actually a game."
"Huh? What do you mean...?"
"It's not a game itself, but more like... a gamble?"
Even with his explanation, they couldn't grasp what "Plus" was supposed to mean.
"It means exactly what it says: plus. It adds to the next game."
"The next game...?"
"Yeah. I'm going to have you draw another lot from the box. The stars on this lot will be added to the next one. For example, if you draw a 2-star game next, these 2 stars will be added to it, turning it into a 4-star game."
The girls finally understood. It was an additive difficulty modifier. It wasn't hard to comprehend, but they quickly realized the terrifying implications of this penalty.
Wait... if 2 stars are guaranteed to be added...
Oh my god... That means the next game will be at least 3 stars!
A 3-star game would be a mercy... but what if we draw a 3-star game to begin with?!
As the realization sank in, they began to panic. Adding 2 stars to any punishment was no laughing matter. From their experience, there was a massive, terrifying chasm between 1 or 2-star punishments and anything 3-star or higher.
A 1-star punishment was usually manageable, sometimes even passing without any real harm. A 2-star punishment was painful and agonizing, but not entirely unbearable. But 3 stars and above was a completely different story. Not only was the physical pain excruciating, but the psychological toll was devastating. Even the video recording they had been forced to do yesterday was only a 3-star game. And 3 stars was merely the minimum they were facing now. If they drew a standard 2-star game, it would instantly skyrocket to a 4-star nightmare.
A 4-star punishment involved horrific physical mutilation. It ranged from having their fingernails ripped out—which Dohyung had demonstrated on their first day—to having a highly taboo womb tattoo branded onto their lower abdomens with a red-hot iron.
Wait... what happens if we draw a 4-star game?
If they drew a 3-star game, it would become a 5-star game, the absolute highest difficulty Dohyung had ever mentioned. That was terrifying enough. But what if they drew a 4-star game? The math pointed to something beyond their worst nightmares. They couldn't even begin to imagine what lay beyond 5 stars.
"I can see exactly what's going through your heads," Dohyung said with a sigh, watching Jia, Jiseon, and Eunji.
"You're wondering what happens if you draw a 4-star game and end up with 6 stars, right?"
"Y-yes... that's exactly what we were thinking..."
"Why overcomplicate it? The answer is very simple."
Dohyung raised his thumb and slowly drew it across his throat.
"It means this. Got it?"
The three girls gasped in sheer terror. They had endured countless horrors, but their lives had never been directly threatened like this. To hear that a bad draw could result in a 6-star punishment—and that it meant death—sent a shiver of absolute dread down their spines. They knew he wasn't bluffing. Taehyun was already dead because of him, and according to what Sujin and Hyemin had whispered last night, Dongeun, who had been captured with them, was also on the brink of death. They knew Dohyung could kill them at any moment without a second thought. If he decided they were to die, they would die.
Of course, Dohyung had every intention of using magic to manipulate the outcome and prevent such a scenario. He was merely orchestrating this to maximize their anxiety; actually killing them off didn't align with his plans.
"So, make sure you draw well. Your best bet is to pull a 1-star game. But look on the bright side—the number of lots in the box has decreased significantly. And if you happen to draw the Return Home Lot right now, you get to leave me forever."
"Y-yes... That's true... I'll draw one more, then..."
With a trembling hand, Jia reached back into the game box. She prayed with every fiber of her being that she would pull a 1-star game.
Unfolding the paper with shaking fingers, Jia's heart sank the moment she saw a number. A number meant it wasn't the Return Home Lot.
"Judging by your face, it's a number. What is it?"
"It's... number 8..."
"Number 8, huh..."
Dohyung peeled the white tape off the slot for number 8.
"Oh... I suppose you should consider yourselves lucky."
Revealed next to the number 8 was the phrase "Egg Transfer" with two stars next to it.
EGG TRANSFER ★★
This meant the final difficulty of today's punishment was locked in at 4 stars. They didn't know whether to be relieved that they had avoided a potentially fatal game, or to despair over the fact that they were facing another brutal 4-star punishment.
"Let me explain the rules first. It's a simple game. It's an individual match where you have to transfer eggs from one basket to another within a time limit."
Dohyung paused, pointing his finger directly at Jia's pussy.
"However, you can't use your hands. You must transfer them using only your hole. How about the person who transfers the fewest eggs gets the punishment?"
Dohyung turned and left the Basement to fetch the eggs for the game. Staring at his retreating back, the girls silently vowed that they would not lose today. Every 4-star punishment they had witnessed so far was utterly horrific. Losing was not an option.