The Mark of Submission
The moment I saw Yuria, one thought rose clearly in my mind: She's changed.
The hesitation that had been seesawing between two conflicting ideas vanished completely. My course was now set in stone. Justice had been overturned—exactly as I desired. The thrill that came from watching the fruits of my labor finally ripen was nothing short of electrifying.
I had already sensed that a stigma had formed on Yuria. It was a little disappointing that it hadn't appeared right in front of me, but the result was exactly as planned.
I watched Yuria for a moment as she fidgeted, clearly desperate to speak. Her body trembled as she finally opened her mouth.
“Jihyeok… I… I finished the homework…”
“I know. I saw your message.”
“Then…”
Yuria trailed off, then gracefully knelt on the carpet and gazed up at me with loving eyes as I lay sideways on the sofa. The corner of my mouth lifted into a smirk.
“There are a lot of problems in this world, aren’t there?”
“Yes! So many!”
“The powerful are corrupt, and the leaders of every nation don’t hesitate to point their guns at one another. They preach peace in public while scheming in the shadows.”
“Yes.”
“Criminals are the same. Their numbers grow every day, and even when they’re caught, most receive nothing but a slap on the wrist. We step forward to protect them, and all we get in return is mockery and criticism. There are no people who truly feel grateful. If they were really thankful, they’d stand in front and shield us from the backlash instead of hiding behind us, right?”
“That’s right. Protecting those worthless humans without any reward is wrong. I’ve been thinking incorrectly all this time.”
Watching Yuria genuinely believe that the twisted definition of justice I had instilled in her was the truth made my cock stiffen instantly. As I nodded silently, she continued.
“I will follow your definition of justice, Jihyeok.”
Yuria had likely concluded that true peace could only come after humans were crushed under absolute power, ruled by force, and united as one to face the monsters. Her belief that monsters were evil remained unchanged. She had simply come to define humans as evil as well—and to see me as the absolute ruler.
Now I could comfortably degrade and torment her, erase her resentment toward Tyrat, shatter her moral compass, and lead her fully into corruption.
“Well done. That’s the correct answer.”
When I smiled gently at her, Yuria’s expression melted with delight.
“Yes…”
“Should I give you a reward?”
“Mmmhh…♡”
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation. She seemed eager to receive it quickly. But handing it over so easily wouldn’t be any fun. I decided to give her one more mission.
“Before that… something rather annoying happened. I think you can take care of it for me.”
“What is it? I’ll do anything.”
“The business deal with Mr. Kim Taegon fell through.”
“.....”
Yuria flinched. Her eyes darted anxiously as she asked, “Why…?”
“I’m more capable than Mr. Kim Taegon. Even he acknowledges that fact.”
Yuria nodded. She must have recalled the praises Kim Taegon had once given Song Jihyeok. I stroked my chin with a regretful expression.
“We had already agreed to each manage our own companies, and the contracts were signed. But then Mr. Kim Taegon subtly hinted that he wanted to take over management of our company.”
Irritation flashed across Yuria’s face. She was clearly thinking, Why is he causing trouble and making me lose my reward?
“I just can’t stand it when some old fart with less ability than me tries to crawl up over me, you know?”
“.... O-old… fart…?”
“Yeah. Old fart. Why? Did I misspeak?”
Of course I had. Calling her father an old fart and saying he was crawling up in front of his own daughter. The old Yuria would have flown into a rage and punched me in the face. But the current Yuria had fundamentally changed. In her mind, the absolute ruler must dominate. So the idea of an ‘inferior’ like Kim Taegon trying to climb over an ‘absolute’ like Song Jihyeok would seem utterly ridiculous.
“No…”
She still felt uncomfortable hearing me insult her father. But what could she do? Did she dare rebel against me? She couldn’t. If anything, she would only act cute and beg.
“I… I’ll take care of it. Please forgive my father…”
“You think I’ll forgive him?”
“Jihyeok… I’ll persuade him so he never changes his words again. So please… show mercy…”
“Hmm…”
I pretended to fall into thought. Seeing this, Yuria suddenly pulled off her clothes in one swift motion.
“If my father displeases you… punish me in his place…”
How admirable. How very admirable.
“Such a dutiful daughter. You even finished your homework. I can’t punish you for that. If you handle this properly, I’ll forgive him specially—for your sake.”
“Yes…! Yes!”
Yuria nodded frantically.
“Thank you… Jihyeok… Thank you so much…”
“Resolve it by tomorrow and come back.”
“Understood…”
That night, I returned home disguised as Kim Taegon and was met with Yuria’s intense welcome.
“Dad! What on earth are you doing?! How can you have such poor judgment?”
She came at me without warning. Hmm… What kind of tone is that to use on a father who has reincarnated across galaxies?
“Out of nowhere—what are you talking about?”
“The company merger! You signed a contract with Jihyeok, yet you said you wanted management rights over his company?”
“How do you even know about that?”
“Because Jihyeok told me! That’s not the point… Hand over the management rights to Jihyeok right now! I don’t understand why you’re doing this after everything was already agreed upon! It might disrupt the laboratory funding!”
I looked at Yuria with a stern expression. But she didn’t even flinch, meeting my gaze head-on. In the past, she would have shrunk back and lowered her eyes… How sad. How truly sad.
Still, using laboratory support as an excuse… She had come up with quite a good pretext. Fine. I’d fall into her trap.
“Disrupt the laboratory support? That won’t happen.”
“How can you be so sure? Jihyeok and Dr. Cash already have the entire funding circulation plan ready for after the merger!”
“I can provide support as well.”
“Didn’t you say it yourself last time, Dad?! That Jihyeok is humble yet confident in his actions, has great drive, excellent insight into people, and outstanding leadership that makes everyone around him want to follow him!”
“Hah…”
“You agreed to work together for twenty years, so why are you being greedy now? Your greed might delay our search for Tyrat even further!”
“.....”
I pretended to be at a loss for words and clamped my mouth shut. Yuria, who had been fuming, continued in a calmer voice.
“Jihyeok and I share the same goal. Yet you’re ruining it. Why are you suddenly acting so frustrating? You could just give advice and manage the company together in harmony.”
“Yuria. I was only trying to help with management…”
“Jihyeok is more capable than you, Dad.”
“Hah… Yuria, that’s quite disappointing. I built a large corporation as well, you know.”
“No, it was Mr. Kim Taegon who built the business. You just rode on his coattails…”
“Yuria Elenar!”
At my angry tone, Yuria let out a small gasp. It was only natural after being insulted right in front of her. I, pretending to be deeply humiliated, spoke.
“I’ll believe you spoke out of excitement and didn’t mean it.”
“.....”
She wore a sullen expression. It was genuine. She truly believed I had only ridden on someone else’s success. You little bitch! You should respect your father!
“Just what is Song Jihyeok to you that you’re reacting so violently?”
At my question, Yuria clenched her teeth before answering.
“I… I love Jihyeok.”
“What?”
“I have a very good relationship with him. We’re in love with each other.”
I clutched the back of my neck and let out a long groan. To think she had given her heart so completely to the devil known as Song Jihyeok!
After standing there in shock for a while, I walked to the refrigerator, pulled out a bottle of soju, and drank it straight from the bottle in large gulps. Then I asked,
“Since when…?”
“It’s been a long time.”
“B-but you had Aaron, didn’t you? The reincarnated Aaron…”
Yuria furrowed her elegant brows, clearly expressing her irritation.
“I don’t see him anymore.”
“Why?”
“I met him a few times, but he doesn’t remember me at all. Forcing someone’s memories back is a sin… so I gave up.”
“Hah… Yuria. You of all people should know better…”
“Stop calling me that!”
She suddenly shouted. I stared at her in stunned silence. She huffed angrily for a while before storming into her room.
Why is she so worked up? Did she really hate being called Yuria that much? It seemed she only wanted Song Jihyeok to call her by that name.
I quickly showered and knocked on her door.
Knock. Knock.
“Come in…”
A weak reply came from inside. When I opened the door, I saw Yuria buried under a thin blanket all the way to the top of her head and couldn’t help but chuckle. I sat on the edge of the bed and tried to stroke her hair, but she shook her head wildly, refusing me. I let out a deep sigh.
“My daughter. I’m sorry.”
“.....”
“I didn’t want to put chains on you… but as you know, I’m rather conservative. You can be with anyone. Whether it’s Song Jihyeok or anyone else.”
“Really…?”
“Yes. And everything you said is correct. My greed kept me from seeing the bigger picture. I’ll go handle the management rights issue first thing tomorrow.”
At those words, Yuria sat up and asked,
“Will you apologize too…?”
“Apologize…? Is that really necessary?”
“You were wrong, Dad. You will, right? I want you to get along well with Jihyeok. Later, the three of us might even live together.”
Sehwa, you, and me. Yes, the three of us are going to live together. Kim Taegon was never part of the plan. He doesn’t even really exist, after all.
“Hah… You’re already imagining such a future? It hasn’t even been that long since you met…”
“I’m certain. I hope you’ll respect my opinion.”
“Hmm… Has Song Jihyeok broken up with Lee Sehwa?”
“Yes.”
She’s lying? She must be desperate to overcome this crisis. After thinking for a moment, I finally gave in.
“Alright. I’ll apologize.”
Satisfied with my answer, Yuria threw her arms around me tightly.
“Thank you… Thank you, Dad.”
“Hehe…”
I let out a hearty laugh and patted her back.
“Since it’s come to this, I hope you continue seeing Song Jihyeok for a long time.”
“That’s obvious. From now on, don’t do anything that might upset Jihyeok.”
To speak so boldly… Song Jihyeok’s position had truly reached the heavens. A normal person would never speak to their father like this. Not only was a daughter who knew nothing about business interfering in her father’s affairs, she was even bowing her head to a boy half her age. Any ordinary father would have exploded in fury.
But I was both Song Jihyeok and Kim Taegon. With Yuria’s morality crumbling and her unable to make proper judgments, I could easily go along with whatever she wanted.
“Yes… I understand.”
“You’ll just do whatever Jihyeok tells you to, right? For my sake.”
“Of course. I will.”
“Dad, you’re the best.”
Yuria tightened her arms around me. Should I lightly touch her erogenous zones? No. The idea that strength equals law had been deeply imprinted in her. Moreover, with my current behavior and answers, she now placed Kim Taegon far below herself. There was no need to do anything that might earn me a beating in this body.
I simply patted her back in response and began sketching out the blueprint for what was to come.