Deep-Rooted Evils
Travel.
For an investor, getting away every now and then is a good idea.
You need a change of scenery.
Especially in a bear market.
Most problems don't get solved by sitting in front of a monitor fretting all day long.
"That's true enough."
"The mental game is a huge part of stocks."
"But we didn't have to come just the two of us, did we?"
"……."
Sora and I had come to Sokcho in Gangwon Province.
Going overseas felt like a bit much, and when you wanted to get far away, this was a solid option.
This region's future looks pretty promising, too.
From an investment standpoint, it was good.
People might assume Korea has beaches everywhere since it's surrounded by sea on three sides—but that wasn't quite right.
"For a beach to be ideal for swimming, the water has to be deep, the sand fine, and the seawater clear."
"Is that so?"
"The only place that hits all three is the East Sea."
"Oh~ now that you mention it."
All the famous beaches were on the East Sea. Everywhere else, people usually went for the seafood, not to swim. The West Sea was murky from the water flowing out of that country next door. The South Sea had pebble beaches, not sand.
And even on the East Sea, only a handful of spots actually work as beaches.
The East Sea wasn't exactly ideal for human recreation either. The drop-off was so steep that a few steps in and you couldn't touch the bottom.
That was why articles like this used to blow up every summer back in the day. These days every beach had lifeguards with their eyes peeled wide open.
"Sokcho here is one of those rare spots. From here all the way to Yangyang."
"Sounds decent from a real estate investment angle."
"I only know this stuff because I came with oppa."
She looked unconvinced. But if she really hadn't wanted to come, she wouldn't have come in the first place.
Will it happen, won't it, will it, won't it, will it, won't it—then bang bang bang bang. Something like that, right?
It wasn't that I didn't want to do her. I just wanted to be picky about the place, the mood, and the partner.
Round one: passed. Round two would depend on what kind of memories we made here in Sokcho.
"Senior, look at this!"
"That's a spoon worm."
"It looks exactly like a dick."
"……."
I wasn't sure if I could just go ahead and fuck her at this point. The second we arrived at the fish market, the sex jokes started flying naturally.
It does look like a dick, yeah.
The uncircumcised kind. But compared to mine, there was a difference in both size and whether it was cut.
"First time seeing a spoon worm, miss?"
"Not the first, but it's still weird."
"Give it a touch. Even weirder when you feel it."
Not the kind of shape women usually went for. Looking like a dick put it pretty far from "cute."
Splash!
The vendor uncle scooped a spoon worm out of the tank and plopped it onto Sora's hand. Most women would go eek! eek! Maybe even Sora would have, up until a year ago.
"When I think of it as a dick, it's not that gross."
"That's some serious reverse thinking."
"Look at this. Water cannon—sploosh!"
"Hey now, you can't say that."
She seemed completely comfortable with it. She watched with genuine fascination as it shot water when she squeezed.
Won't be long before she's putting one in her mouth.
I'd been planning to grab lunch here anyway. Come to the East Sea, you've got to eat seafood.
"Senior, this isn't a dick—it's a cock!"
"Yeah."
"There are ones bigger and thicker than yours, even!"
"You two that kind of close?"
I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to eat the complimentary sides. Too much fellow feeling.
In Korea, sea squirts and spoon worms are the classic free side dishes alongside sea cucumber.
Actually, overseas they were premium ingredients. The Chinese couldn't get enough of them—literally couldn't find them. Treated on par with abalone. And here we could eat sea cucumber to our hearts' content.
"Gonna eat all the dick I want."
"I used to be too grossed out to eat them, but I want to try this time."
"Want to eat oppa's dick too?"
We also bought abalone to have as a main alongside the sea cucumber and spoon worms—an East Sea specialty with excellent flavor. The vendor threw in extra spoon worms, telling Sora to eat plenty, and tossed in seasonal squid as a freebie too.
Chop!
We took it to a restaurant and they prepped it right away. Sora watched the cleaning process with interest.
"Whoa, when you cut it, so much blood and guts come out."
"You throw all that away and only eat the outer part."
"Would senior's dick be like that too?"
"Hmm."
With spoon worms, you discarded all the innards inside. With sea cucumbers, the guts were actually considered a delicacy.
Why does that make me hurt?
Next they cleaned the abalone. Unfortunately, it was a male, not a female.
"Is that white stuff the guts?"
"Well, it's guts, but specifically the testes."
"Testes?"
"In human terms, baby batter."
The chef uncle explained kindly. If he'd just said semen, she'd have been over the moon.
She might even suck it down.
It was the instinct to leave offspring behind. Even on the brink of death, leave some seed if you can.
"If I choked senior, would more come out than usual? Just curious."
"Don't wonder about shit like that."
She seemed to be in a good mood. After getting wrecked by stocks and moping around, a trip must have brought her back to life.
Before long, all the prep was done. We'd paid the table charge—now we just had to enjoy the food.
"This is delicious!"
"Don't just eat the dick—have some abalone and squid too."
"Okay!"
Glad it suited her palate. If she'd asked to suck a live sea cucumber, that would've been a problem.
Sea cucumber is pretty good, though.
That crunchy chew to it. For the guts, you put them over hot rice—
Plop!
—add an egg yolk, drizzle sesame oil, sprinkle seaweed, and mix it up. Rice thief didn't even cover it.
"Stop staring at my dick."
"Hehe, you hate it?"
"You think I like it?"
"That's why senior shouldn't sexually harass people either."
Sora wore a triumphant look. She didn't seem to realize she was practically campaigning to get fucked.
You've got to mess around a little to actually feel refreshed.
The mindset of an investor underwater on stocks. Especially in a bear market—you learn what dying feels like. In a bull market, you wait and it goes up. In a bear market, you can't predict where the bottom is.
"This is nice. Coming to the ocean like this."
After lunch we walked along the beach. Sora's long hair whipped in the strong sea wind—a scene like a painting. With her mouth shut, she looked like an actress from a movie.
"Whoa, what? Is that a celebrity?"
"Not a celebrity. Look at those massive tits."
"Oh yeah."
No wonder passersby were staring. Especially the men—they couldn't take their eyes off her.
It's the winter ocean, so no swimsuit, but still.
Winter had its own kind of mood. Walking the shoreline, your spirits lifted.
"Shame it's just a day trip."
"Did you want to spend the night with oppa?"
"Who knows."
"Ah!"
We headed back to the car. Sora slipped her chilled hand inside my pants and fondled and squeezed. The cold kept it from standing up right away.
"There's a spoon worm in here too."
"It's a sea cucumber."
"It's spoon worm size, though? Nice and warm."
She looked up at me with a playful smile. It led naturally into a kiss.
Smack! Smack!
Smooch!
Rougher than usual—a wild kiss that didn't care about the spit on our lips. I pulled Sora tight against me. In the cramped car, we felt each other's body heat.
Look how hot she is.
Only my dick was warm, but Sora was warm all over. Just holding her felt good.
"Ah, sea cucumber's ready."
"Keep going."
"Pervert. Someone might see."
"Ah♡"
Even inside a car, it wasn't like there were no pedestrians around. Maybe she'd discovered the thrill of that. She pressed sticky-close against me, and the right hand gripping me moved faster. The switch was fully flipped.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
In the quiet car, only the sound of her jerking me off echoed. The air was growing humid.
Ah, that feels good.
The car filled with Sora's pheromones. The heavy flesh of her chest pressing against me felt good too.
"Senior."
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry."
Premium service. The look in Sora's eyes as she worked me was strange—seductive, like a fox spirit enchanting a man.
Smooch!
She sucked on my lips like she meant to drain my life force. At the same time, her left hand crept up toward my Adam's apple.
I wasn't even asking for this.
She definitely had the makings of a room-salon ace. Just as I was thinking I'd raised Sora to be nicely lewd—she suddenly choked me. She stared straight into my eyes, proving it was no accident.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Her hand never stopped moving. Even as I felt like I was about to black out, my body responded honestly.
"Whoa, whoa! So much is coming out. Senior, look at this!"
"Ghhhk……."
"Ah, sorry."
Only then did she let go of my throat. As I gasped for air, I felt it—like my life force was draining out. Something warm and thick spurted from below.
Sploosh!
Sora wiped me down with sincere care, looking apologetic. She even squeezed out the leftover residue inside.
"It's a spoon worm again."
"Hey."
"I'm sorry. You know I was joking, right?"
A service kiss. She kneaded the lingering afterglow of the thing in her hand.
I wonder if that fish earlier felt like this.
After a thorough extraction, we continued the trip. Something familiar came into view by the sea.
"You know what that is?"
"What is it?"
"A sea cucumber farm."
"Ah, cocks!"
Long rectangular things floating on the water—farms for raising sea cucumbers. The mountain valleys of Gangwon Province. That primary industry was well developed here was only natural.
Everything we eat has to be produced somewhere, after all.
Driving a bit further, there were more in the mountains. Rice paddies and fields spread across the hills and plains.
"Senior."
"What now."
"Thank you for today. You brought me because I was depressed, right?"
Sora's head was full of flower gardens. It was understandable she'd get that impression.
When is she going to grow up?
Of course, that wasn't why we'd come. This was an extension of yesterday's shareholders' meeting.
"When you look at people in the countryside like this, what do you think?"
"That they're admirable, of course."
"Why?"
"Because of them, we get to eat rice and fish and everything……."
Farmers and fishermen produced. Merchants sold it and turned a profit. The people who propped up our ordinary daily lives. And corporations were exploiting those people.
Even rigging the shareholders' meeting to do it.
You couldn't help thinking corporations were the bad guys. At a glance, they even felt like a social evil.
"Wrong."
"Then what are they?"
"They're the parasites of the Republic of Korea."
"???!!!"
It takes two hands to clap.