A Delicious Mealworm Punishment

"Alright, Nabi. Shall we review it one more time? I saw on YouTube that dogs form habits through repeated training. So, position one."

"Yes, Master!"

Jia quickly dropped to the floor and prostrated herself in a deep dogeza at Dohyung's command. She knew exactly what she was doing—being treated no differently from a dog.

"You don't need to answer when I tell you to assume a position. Position three."

Jia instantly rolled from her prone stance onto her back, exposing her belly. She didn't forget to spread her legs in a perfect M-shape. Thanks to her idol training, memorizing these body movements came easily to her. No matter how many positions Dohyung called out, she executed every one flawlessly.

"Oh... I expected you to slip up somewhere, but you're actually good at this. I really like this pose. For that, Nabi deserves a meal. You may stand."

"Thank you, Master."

Jia, who had returned to position one, offered her gratitude before rising to her feet.

"Now, back to your original spot!"

When Dohyung pointed at the wall where the chain was anchored and shouted, Jia scurried over immediately. She picked up the chain herself to make it easier for him to attach it to her collar, holding it out like an obedient dog following ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠its owner.

Huff... Huff... I really feel like I'm becoming an actual slave now...

"You're improving so quickly. It really does seem like Nabi was born to live as a slave."

Dohyung took the chain from her hand and reattached it to her collar.

"Now, recite the declaration."

"...Yes?"

Jia blinked, momentarily confused by the sudden command. A declaration? Then it clicked—the slave declaration she had written on paper according to his instructions on her first day here. But she still hadn't memorized the long five-sentence passage, so she reached for the stack of papers on the table.

In that instant, Dohyung snatched her wrist.

"Hey. What do you think you're doing?"

"I-I... I couldn't remember the declaration you mentioned, so I was just going to look at it..."

"What? You don't remember it?"

After spending several days here, Jia had learned a few key things about Dohyung's behavior. He usually spoke with that irritating, bright smile on his face, but every so often his expression would harden and he'd raise his voice at her in clear anger. Those were the most dangerous moments. The times he got angry were when he inflicted the most painful, grueling punishments. And right now, his face was twisted with rage.

"You became my slave to atone for your sins, and yet you forgot the declaration? That's pathetic, Nabi. How could you possibly forget something like that?"

"I-I'm sorry, Master!"

"If you were truly sorry to me, you would have memorized that declaration ages ago. But it looks like you don't have even a shred of remorse, do you?"

Dohyung flung her arm away and stood up. Sensing the situation spiraling, Jia desperately clung to his leg.

"I was wrong, Master! I won't forget it anymore. I'll memorize it perfectly. I really am sorry to you, Master! I swear it's true!"

"Really? How am I supposed to believe that? It's not like I can read what's in your heart."

In reality, magic let Dohyung peer into Jia's heart with perfect clarity, but the lie flowed from his lips so naturally that it sounded completely convincing. Jia spiraled back into panic. He wanted her to prove her remorse. How was she supposed to do that? It didn't seem like simple words would satisfy him. After racking her brain for a way to demonstrate her feelings, she had no choice but to offer the only thing she could think of.

"Ugh... To prove how sorry I am, please punish me, Master... I'm truly sorry!"

Jia shouted the command for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠position one while still on the floor. At this point, it was the only option she could come up with.

"Nabi, what did I say I hate the most?"

"Uh... Making you repeat the same thing... is what you hate, Master."

Dohyung nodded at Jia as she held her dogeza position.

"That's right. Making me repeat myself. At this point you deserve to be thoroughly punished. How dare a slave force her master to do something he hates? This alone would justify an aggravated penalty!"

"Hic... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"Begging is useless. The decision to punish you is already final."

At the word "punish," Jia's body began to shake violently. It was pure terror, etched into her very bones. The single word was enough to summon memories of the agony she'd endured over the past five days, and now her body reacted on instinct.

Fuck... What the hell is he going to do this time...?

Would he beat her again? Or was he going to give her a second piercing for this? Jia could do nothing but remain prostrate on the floor, waiting for whatever punishment Dohyung decided to deliver. Moving even an inch might upset him further—who could say?

In truth, Dohyung had intended to find any excuse to punish her today. His original plan had been to use the reflection essay against her, but he knew that seizing on something too forced might spark real rebellion in her heart. That wasn't what he wanted. So he had praised her just enough to lower her guard, then suddenly turned on her, framing it as if she had committed a grave offense.

Since he hadn't held Jia for very long, this kind of psychological work was essential. He needed to torment her relentlessly so that clear thinking became impossible. It was exactly what had been done to him in the past.

Dohyung left her in the dogeza position and stepped out of the room for a moment. Even after he left, Jia didn't dare break her posture. She had no idea when he would return or what punishment awaited her; the last thing she wanted was to provoke him further.

Soon she heard his footsteps returning. As she waited for his next words, a bowl clattered onto the floor directly in front of her head.

"You may raise your head. This is the meal you'll be eating today."

Jia cautiously lifted her head at his command.

"Eek! What the hell is this?!"

She was so shocked by what she saw that she broke position one entirely and scrambled backward. The bowl in front of her was the same dog dish she'd been forced to eat from yesterday. One side held plain water. The problem was the other side.

"Y-you can't possibly... expect me to eat this...?"

Jia stared at Dohyung in disbelief, pointing a trembling finger at the bowl.

"Of course I do. Did you think I'd give you something I couldn't eat myself?"

What Jia had pointed at were long, wriggling mealworms crawling over one another inside the dish. The bowl was packed with the yellowish larvae, tangled together and squirming violently. The sight made Jia's stomach churn.

"M-Master! Please... This isn't fair... I can't eat something like this..."

"Can't eat it? These are perfectly edible. I chose them especially for you. I'm even giving them to you as a punishment, you know."

Dohyung's voice rose steadily as he spoke to her. The anger he had been suppressing threatened to explode.

"B-but..."

"You still refuse? If even one of those things is left in the bowl, you'd better steel yourself for what comes next. You'll look back on all your previous punishments as a mercy."

Even after his terrifying threat, Jia couldn't bring herself to approach the bowl of mealworms. If they had been dead, perhaps she could have forced them down. But live, wriggling ones? That was something she simply could not do.

"This is truly ridiculous. I'm clearly giving you something humans can eat—unlike what you all did to me. Does any of this ring a bell?"

Jia understood his meaning and searched her memory for what they had done to him during their bullying. Something connected to eating these mealworms. Then another buried memory surfaced.

"You remember it well. Back then I ate an earthworm without even knowing if it was safe. I could have filled this bowl with things you couldn't possibly eat. But because I'm your master, I didn't. Do you understand?"

"Hic... Yes, Master."

Jia realized that protesting further would be pointless.

"I'm stepping out now. You don't have to eat if you don't want to. But you'd better look forward to what happens next."

With those final words, Dohyung left the basement. Jia stared at the bowl of mealworms in front of her, trapped in an impossible dilemma. If she didn't eat, there was no telling what he would do. Yet the thought of actually eating them made her want to vomit. She had to choose one or the other.

Fuck... At least he gave me something edible... Wait, why am I thinking of it as something he 'gave' me...?

Even though Dohyung wasn't present and the CCTV couldn't possibly catch her, Jia had cursed him in her mind—only to unconsciously use an honorific midway through. After constantly addressing him with polite speech and calling him Master, she had begun thinking of him that way without even realizing it. Jia herself still hadn't noticed this change.

After leaving Jia in the basement, Dohyung returned to his room and considered who his next target should be. Turning Jia into a proper slave was proceeding smoothly, and he felt deeply satisfied.

"Moon Taehyun, Han Eunji, Kwon Jiseon..."

He muttered the names while staring at photos of the three people he hated most. Bringing all three here right now would be child's play for him. He could do it without leaving the slightest trace of evidence for the police to find.

"But that wouldn't be any fun. I'll bring all three here eventually—just not at the same time."

While looking at the three photographs, Dohyung set Taehyun's picture down on the table.

"The male bastard comes last. What possible use would there be in turning a man into a slave?"

While investigating the four people he planned to take revenge on, Dohyung had made one firm decision: Moon Taehyun would be torn apart both body and soul. To make that moment as devastating as possible, he had deliberately saved ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him for last so he could witness the worst possible reality.

"If I kidnap Han Eunji first, train her thoroughly, and then make her fawn all over me right in front of him, I wonder how he'll react?"

Dohyung knew that Taehyun genuinely loved Eunji. He had confirmed that their marriage had only happened after Taehyun's relentless pursuit finally succeeded.

"I wonder what kind of face that bastard will make when he realizes that bitch Eunji never loved him..."

Because he could read hearts with magic, Dohyung had looked into both of their minds during his investigation. The result was clear: even after marrying Taehyun, Eunji felt nothing for him. In fact, she still occasionally slipped out at night to meet other men—something she had been doing even before their marriage.

"Then I'll need to prepare carefully for those two. Kidnap Eunji first, then move on to Taehyun."

With the order for Eunji and Taehyun decided, only Jiseon remained. Kwon Jiseon was also an unforgivable target of his hatred. The memory of her daily violence—treating him like a sandbag while claiming she was practicing new techniques—made forgiveness impossible.

"Yes... That bitch Kwon Jiseon has more than enough reasons to be unforgivable..."

Dohyung stared at the three photos, lost in thought.

"Good. The order is set. This is how it will go."

He shouted in satisfaction, arranged the three photographs on the table in the exact sequence he had decided—Jiseon, Eunji, then Taehyun—and walked out of the room. On the table he left behind, the photos remained in that precise order: Kwon Jiseon, Han Eunji, and Moon Taehyun.