Cheering for a New Start -13
"Bullshit." Soi shook her head.
"Why the hell would you do something nice for me? We're not that close, are we?"
"What... let's just say I've got some spare time on my hands. Think about it. Whether you're stuck in there, get released, or drop dead... you think I'd bat an eye? Huh?"
Soi had no choice but to be overwhelmed by Seohee's confident tone. Just as she said, Seohee seemed to have already found her place. She wasn't harsh with others, but no one dared look down on her either.
"If I had to put it into words... well, yeah. Kinda pitiful, I guess. No, that's not quite it. More like..."
Seohee flashed a faint smile.
"Don't you think it's unfair? What makes you and me so different?"
"...You didn't burn down that guy's base."
"Worse than that. I straight-up tried to kill him."
"...What?"
Soi couldn't easily wrap her head around the fact that Seohee had done something like that and still lived.
"Got fucked like a dog right there on the spot... and then a bunch of shit happened after, but in the end, I ended up as that guy's sex slave. Now? It's not half bad."
"Sex slave...? Isn't that dangerous?"
"The guy who didn't kill you lot—is he gonna kill his own woman just 'cause she's a sex slave?"
Seohee gave another faint smile.
"So what? What am I supposed to do about it? That guy's not just gonna let me go."
"He might not let you go free, but it could be better than rotting away in here."
"Rotting? Fuck no, this is comfy as hell."
Seohee shook her head again.
"A day or two? Sure, comfy. But a few weeks, a month, a few months? You think you can just lie there in that cell, satisfied with barely surviving?"
"..."
Soi shut her mouth.
"Levels don't go up, and beyond scraping by on food, what the fuck else can you do?"
When she was first captured, Soi thought she was lucky. Resisting a guy overwhelmingly stronger than her and still keeping her life? That was sheer fortune.
But after hearing Seohee's words, a sudden wave of terror washed over her.
Is that... how it'll be?
She wouldn't die right away. No matter what she did, she didn't have to risk her life.
But that was no different from a pet's existence, not a human's. Just eating whatever the owner fed her, wagging her tail, performing tricks. Living like that forever.
"Eh, that's too dramatic anyway. Truth is... I can't stick around by your side forever, right? Gonna suck not being able to smoke."
"...That hits home."
Hiding her fear, Soi nodded calmly.
"Still, lay it out for me. What do I gotta do?"
"First off, why won't the Master let you out?"
"Hell if I know why he's even keeping me alive."
Seohee burst out laughing.
"Puhahaha! Yeah, no clue on that one. What can ya do? That's just who he is."
She took a step closer to Soi.
"I got curious, so I just asked him straight up."
"And?"
"Punishment, reformation, safety."
Soi felt like she'd heard those words before.
What an idiot...
She'd seen plenty of hypocrites pretending to be good. Clients who hired her mercenary crew to kill, then bitched about why they did it. People who despised her for being a merc who killed for money, while acting superior themselves because they 'didn't kill just for cash.' Trash through and through.
Still, Soi couldn't quite lump that man in with those scumbags.
"Punishment's unavoidable, fine. Next up: reformation. Don't you wanna try living a new life?"
"Of course I fucking do! From the start! From the goddamn beginning!!!"
Kim Soi couldn't contain her surging emotions and yelled.
"If I'd known a place like this existed! If I'd known a guy like him was out there! From the very—"
She wouldn't have had to be a merc killing for cash.
"I could've lived a decent life..."
Contrary to what she'd expected, everyone in this settlement was decent. Sure, sometimes they looked at her like she was a monkey in a zoo, but that was it. No brutal beatings, no spitting or insults. No bullshit hazing just because she joined late. No looking down on her for being a merc. Killing zombies and invaders for them? That probably would've been fine work. No need to raid the place. Even if her plans succeeded and she showed up at another group loaded with cash, there was no guarantee it'd be better than just joining here empty-handed.
"If I didn't have to kill others just to survive from the start...!"
Han Seohee looked at Kim Soi with slightly softened eyes. Sure, she'd eventually fled with a few women who followed her, but Seohee had at least fought within a safe organization. Compared to Soi wandering aimlessly as a merc, it was a relatively comfy life.
"Me too..."
Kim Soi suddenly realized how pathetic she was and wiped away tears.
It might just be an excuse. When she'd planned to steal his stuff and start fresh, she hadn't agonized that much over 'moral dilemmas.' Maybe she was just pissed hearing 'reformation' from him. Anyone could claim they weren't that bad, that a good environment would've made them a good citizen.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down. I believe you."
"You do?"
"Fuck, look at me—I'm not causing shit and living pretty, ain't I? Believe it?"
Soi didn't know Seohee that well, but she'd heard of her notoriety.
"...Yeah, even a retard like me knows you're better off."
"Anyway, I ain't doubting you. Proving it to our Master? That's a different story."
"..."
"And personally? This is the big one. Safety."
"Safety?"
"Our Master's super protective of his people."
Seohee's eyes turned serious.
"If there's any chance you lot could harm us, he won't let you step one foot out of that cage."
"...So what? Can't be helped, right?"
Kim Soi had half-given up on that front.
"No way he'd believe a word from me anyway."
"Not you, but the Status Window? He'll trust that. If you become a state where you can't defy our Master—"
At Seohee's words, Kim Soi's face twisted.
"Are you insane?"
Soi gritted her teeth in anger. Seohee was telling her to become a sex slave right to her face.
"I'm dead serious."
Soi wanted to throw down with her right then, but she held back.
"Think about it. No matter what you offer, how do you convince our Master you've 'repented enough'? Short of slaving away flawlessly for years."
"...True."
That was too long. And Kim Soi didn't trust herself. A day or two? Maybe. But months in? She'd slack off. Or snap and cause trouble in the cell.
"But if you offer your body? Become a sex slave? Can't defy the Master's orders, so safety's solved, and boom—'She's repented that much!'"
"Premise is fucked. If he gave a shit about my body, he'd have yanked me out and fucked me the second I was locked up."
Soi was in no position to resist. Even if he was sadistic and violent in bed, she couldn't say no. The moment she entered this cell, her fate was in his hands.
"Asked about that too. Surprisingly, he didn't seem opposed."
"Then why hasn't he fucked you?"
"Don't try to understand. Just accept it."
Seohee shrugged like it was no big deal.
"Hoo..."
Soi let out a deep sigh.
She hated it. Handing her fate to someone else. Serving him forever.
"It won't be... dangerous? Or hurt?"
"Told you he cherishes his own. Sex? Fucking amazing. Do I look unhappy?"
Han Seohee standing before her was already that man's slave. And like she said, she didn't look unhappy.
Soi couldn't help resenting her.
If only there'd been no choice at all...
If she'd thought escape was impossible, believed she was stuck doing nothing, she could've lain there with peace of mind.
But knowing there might be a way out? Soi couldn't stop agonizing. Couldn't stop wavering.
"...Thanks. I'll think about it."
"Yeah. Plenty of time. Take it slow. While lying there."
The cigarettes had long since burned to ash and scattered.
Soi trudged back with Seohee, her steps heavy and listless.
"Boss, what was that?"
"What'd you do out there? Grab some grub?"
"Seohee didn't say she'd bust us out?"
Her curious subordinates bombarded her with questions.
"Just smoked a cig. No real talk... all bullshit anyway."
Soi sat in the cage, staring blankly out the window.
The cage felt narrower than ever today.