Rewards and Punishments
Dohyung went down to the basement to feed them at dinnertime. "Ugh! Argh!" However, he was puzzled to hear someone's screams echoing all the way up to the hallway. But considering the voice, he knew exactly whose it was.
Is that bastard Taehyun getting beaten by Jiseon? Dohyung smiled, amused by the thought that they were taking the initiative to do things he hadn't even ordered. Treating the growing screams like a pleasant piece of classical music, Dohyung flung the basement door wide open.
"Ah, Master! Welcome back!" As he stepped inside, Jia and Jiseon, who had been stomping on Taehyun, spotted Dohyung and immediately dropped into Position Number One to greet him.
"What are you two doing? And what's wrong with him?" Dohyung pointed at Taehyun, who was curled up on the floor, clutching his head and trembling violently.
"Ah, we were training the new bitch who arrived today! We didn't think he would listen to you, Master."
"We'll train him thoroughly so he never disobeys you, Master! So please... just don't punish us."
Dohyung sneered at the two girls pleading desperately from the floor. The sight of Jia and Jiseon, who now seemed to suffer from PTSD at the mere mention of the word "punishment," was rapidly approaching the ideal state he had envisioned.
"Is that so? Then let's see how well you've trained him. Get up and make him stand."
"Yes, Master!" At Dohyung's command, the two scrambled to their feet and barked at the curled-up Taehyun.
"Hey! You heard Master, didn't you? Get up right now!"
"Stop lying around and get up!" When Taehyun remained curled up, shivering, Jiseon kicked him hard in the back.
"Ugh! Don't hit me! Please don't hit me!" Taehyun cried out, refusing to budge, his mind seemingly already broken.
"What's this? I thought you said you were training him. But he won't even listen to you. If he doesn't listen to you... I doubt he'll listen to me." Dohyung lowered his voice, feigning anger. He wasn't actually angry, of course. He was merely playing a game, curious to see how the two girls would react.
Terrified by Dohyung's cold tone, Jiseon lunged at Taehyun even before Jia could move. She grabbed him by the hair, yanking his head up, and screamed.
"You son of a bitch, get the fuck up right now!"
"Argh! Okay, okay, I'm getting up..." Only after having his hair violently yanked did Taehyun manage to stagger to his feet, trembling as he turned toward Dohyung. He couldn't even bring himself to look Dohyung in the eye, keeping his head low as his body shook.
Though only a few hours had passed since Dohyung left, Taehyun looked incredibly haggard. It was easy to guess just how severely Jia and Jiseon had tormented him in that brief window.
Well, they always did have a natural talent for tormenting others. And since I deliberately dragged someone who used to be at the top of their little hierarchy down to the very bottom, his fall was bound to be catastrophic.
"You said you were training him... Shall we test if it worked? Did you memorize the declaration?"
"N-No... not yet..." Taehyun answered in a trembling voice.
"Really? Well, it hasn't been long, and I didn't explicitly order Nabi or Kkami to teach you yet, so I suppose it's fine. Memorize it by tomorrow. I'll ask you first thing in the morning."
Jia and Jiseon let out a collective sigh of relief. They had been terrified that Dohyung would punish them out of anger because Taehyun hadn't even memorized the declaration yet. They were simply overjoyed that they had escaped unscathed.
"But if I ask tomorrow morning and he doesn't know it, or if he gets even a single word wrong... Nabi and Kkami know exactly what will happen. Right?"
""Yes, Master!"" the two chimed in unison. Knowing all too well the consequences of failure, they swore to themselves that they would make sure it didn't happen.
"Now, before we have dinner, shall we discuss rewards and punishments?" Dohyung lined the three of them up in front of him. From his right to left, they stood in order: Jia, Jiseon, and Taehyun. Once they were in position, Dohyung turned his head toward Jia.
"Nabi, you're due for a reward this time. What would you like?"
"I-I'm sorry, Master! I haven't decided what I want yet..." Jia quickly threw herself onto the floor, begging for forgiveness. She didn't even stop to think if this was something she actually needed to apologize for. Her only desire was to avoid displeasing Dohyung and bringing harm upon herself. For Jia, Dohyung's mood had become the single most important factor in her survival down here.
"Is that so? There's no need to apologize for something like that. It's not like I told you to have it decided by dinner. Come on, stand up." Dohyung gently stroked the head of the prostrate Jia. Relieved that she hadn't upset him, Jia quickly scrambled back to her feet.
"Since you couldn't decide, how about I make a suggestion?"
"T-That sounds wonderful, Master!"
"Then my suggestion is... this." Dohyung walked slowly over to Jia. Then, he unclipped the heavy chain attached to her collar.
"M-Master...?"
"From now on, you won't have to live chained up. Now that we have more slaves down here, I need someone to manage them. I'm giving that duty to you. You can do that, right?"
Dohyung's words sparked a mixture of joy and intense anxiety within Jia. But before she could even process her own emotions, she had to answer him.
"Yes, Master! I-I will manage them with all my heart!"
"Good girl. That's my cute little Nabi." Dohyung patted her head again as she chirped her response. Yet, Jia's heart felt heavy, as if a crushing burden had been placed upon her. To her, being put in charge of the other slaves meant that if any of them messed up, she would be the one held responsible and punished. For someone who feared punishment more than anyone else in this basement, this was a terrifying position to be in. She simply had no choice but to accept because it was Master's command.
Still, Jia tried to look on the bright side. Being freed from her chain meant she was now allowed to move around the basement freely.
"Of course... you aren't thinking of trying to escape, are you, Nabi?"
"Never, Master! I-I'm not stupid. I would never do something so foolish as trying to escape!"
Just as Dohyung said, now that she was no longer physically anchored to one spot, the possibility of escape existed. But Jia didn't have even a single shred of desire to try. She had already attempted it once before, and the sheer terror of what had happened to her after that failure had permanently erased the word "escape" from her mind.
Dohyung could read her mind and knew exactly how terrified she was of escaping, but he brought it up anyway. Seeing her desperately beg for his trust always put him in a good mood. Besides, even if she did have a change of heart and tried to run, it wouldn't matter. He had already sealed the house with magic, making it impossible for an ordinary human to break out. Jia might think she had memorized the way out, but a cognitive interference spell was cast on everyone except Dohyung, preventing them from forming a proper mental map of the house. Unless they were walking alongside him, they would simply wander endlessly as if trapped in a maze. Though Taehyun and Eunji had no way of knowing, the place they were being held was actually inside Dohyung's house all along. They simply couldn't perceive the layout due to the magic.
"Of course. Our Nabi would never think of escaping. Not after what happened the last time you tried, back when you still hadn't learned your lesson..." Dohyung chuckled, gently stroking her hair. "If you ever tried it again... I'd have to think of a truly special punishment. But surely, Nabi wouldn't do that, right?"
Hearing his words, Jia resolved even more firmly never to attempt escape. Having granted Jia a small taste of freedom as her reward, Dohyung turned his gaze toward Taehyun.
"Now that the reward is settled... I suppose I should tell you what your punishment is."
Taehyun flinched at the sound of Dohyung's voice addressing him.
"P-Punishment...?"
"Yeah. You lost the match. Don't tell me you already forgot? A grown man getting fucked in the ass by a girl and coming like a bitch?"
Taehyun desperately wanted to block out Dohyung's words as they dragged up the memories he wanted to bury. In his twenty-seven years of life, he had never experienced anything so agonizing. It was a memory that tore both his body and mind to shreds—something he desperately wanted to forget, but never could.
"But... that was...!"
"What? What are you trying to say? That it wasn't your choice? That you didn't want to cum but couldn't help it? Are you really going to spout that kind of bullshit?"
Taehyun's mouth clamped shut. He wanted to argue, but the sheer, suffocating pressure of Dohyung's presence choked the words right back down his throat.
"Well, if you didn't want to be punished... you should have won the match. Isn't that right, Nabi? Kkami?"
"Exactly! If you just win, you don't get punished!"
"Master is absolutely right!"
In truth, one could argue that there was no real need for these matches in the first place. The thought had crossed both Jia and Jiseon's minds before. The matches Dohyung forced upon them were nothing more than a contrived excuse to ensure someone always got punished. However, neither of them possessed the courage to voice such thoughts. The fear of the brutal backlash that would follow kept their mouths shut.
"You heard them, didn't you, Bitch? Ah... 'Bitch' was just a temporary label, but it actually rolls off the tongue quite nicely. Maybe I should just make it your official name."
Dohyung smirked, pointing a finger at Taehyun. "From today on, your official name is Bitch. How about that? Do you like it?"
"T-That's..." Taehyun was at a complete loss. To him, Dohyung—who was casually declaring he would call him by such a degrading name—looked like an absolute madman. But as he saw the expectant look on Dohyung's face and noticed the suddenly tense, pale expressions on Jia and Jiseon, Taehyun realized he had made a grave mistake. The problem was, he had no idea what he had done wrong.
After about five seconds of silence, Dohyung spoke. "Hmm... Okay. I get it. Heheh! I see exactly where our Bitch's training stands. We'll talk about that in a bit... but first, let's discuss your punishment."
Taehyun could instinctively tell that he had failed some unspoken test. The way Jia and Jiseon slumped their shoulders and let out heavy sighs of despair made it obvious, but the sheer frustration of not knowing what he had done wrong ate at him. Moreover, the terrifying anticipation of what this smiling monster would do to him under the guise of "punishment" for losing that godforsaken match made his blood run cold.
"Your punishment... I think I'll have to give you another injection. It's about time the effects started kicking in."
"An... injection? The one you said I'd get if I lost the bet...?" At the word "injection," Taehyun immediately recalled the shot Dohyung had threatened him with if he lost their wager.
"Oh, that? You already got that one. I slipped it in while you were asleep. This time, as your punishment, I'm going to administer a massive dose."
"What... what kind of injection is it?" Taehyun swallowed hard, his voice trembling with dread.
"Rather than explaining the exact science behind it, I'll just tell you the main effect... If a man takes too much of it, a certain phenomenon occurs." Dohyung pointed his finger directly at Taehyun's crotch. "Erectile dysfunction."