Proof of the Beast
The next morning, Min-ho was on his way to Venus Entertainment headquarters.
A magazine pictorial had been on the schedule for today. Early that morning, though, word had come from Seo-yoon.
The shoot, canceled?
Min-ho tilted his head. Seo-yoon was not a woman who reshuffled a schedule without a plan behind it. There had to be a reason, and it had to be an important one.
He arrived at Venus Entertainment, pushed open the door of the CEO's office on the seventh floor, and found her staring down at a tablet with a grave face. She was in a deep navy suit dress today, and she looked every inch the businesswoman.
"You're here? Sit."
"What's going on? You even canceled the shoot."
"I think we need to revise the strategy."
Seo-yoon turned the screen toward him. It was S-Flix Korea, live.
"See that? Three of your titles are sitting in first, second, and third, side by side. The moment the pieces with So-mi and Ha-rin went up, they cleared ten million views without even trying."
"Isn't that a good result?"
"It's excellent. A record with no precedent in the history of the industry. But..."
Seo-yoon enlarged the graph for First Meeting.
The line that had climbed nearly vertical at the start had begun to ease around forty-five million views, and through the stretch at forty-eight million it ran almost perfectly flat.
"You see it? The rise has broken."
"So it has."
"This isn't your popularity falling off. You've hit the limit of the pie."
She went on.
"In this era, yes, an AV actor is a top star and treated like one. But the content itself is still devotees' territory. You can't watch it without adult verification."
Seo-yoon looked him straight in the eye.
"Every adult man and woman who actually watches AV, every paying member on S-Flix, already knows you. Everyone who was going to watch has already watched. We have to look past that."
"Past that..."
"The general public that doesn't watch AV. Even the teenagers who aren't of age yet and can't see your work. We have to brand the name Jeong Min-ho into every generation. That's the only way we break a hundred million views."
"That's true... even kids know the top-tier actors, from the ads."
"Exactly. So for the time being I want to go all in on outside publicity instead of shooting anything new. Return of the Legend, the one you filmed yesterday with Senior Mi-ran, we're saving. That's the nuke we set off when your name is at its peak."
"So what do we actually do?"
"A perfect offer just came in. This one appearance, and the whole country will know your name."
She swiped the screen over to a new document.
"Running Woman...?"
Min-ho was startled. This was SBC's flagship variety show, the national program that pulled a fifteen-percent rating and gathered whole families around the set on Sunday evenings—and lately, streaming on S-Flix as well, a K-variety with a thick worldwide following.
"Yes. The concept for this special is Beast and Beauty. They bring in male guests with the physique and the charm, pair them with the women on the cast, and have the teams compete."
"On network television... me?"
"The producers sent a love call after seeing your looks and the buzz around you. And there's no need to hide the title of AV actor. If anything, that's your strongest weapon, and your character."
She added, "Go out there and make a showing, and even the housewives who never cared about AV—ordinary women, too—will become your fans. 'An AV actor, and he's that big? And the face isn't half bad. Maybe I should look him up.' The traffic will explode."
"It really is... an enormous opportunity."
"And the fun part is the guest on the other team."
A strange smile touched Seo-yoon's mouth.
"Who?"
"Lee Tae-min."
"...!"
Min-ho's brow twitched.
"I think the producers are quietly trying to use the rivalry between the two of you. The old top star against the new. It's provocative, isn't it?"
"So... I'm going up against Senior Tae-min."
"That's right. The final mission is ripping name tags off. If you tear Tae-min's off with your own hands, the shock of it will be beyond anything you can imagine. That's you declaring, for good, that the generation has changed."
Min-ho sank into thought. A rematch with Tae-min. He had already won the contest on the bed. But network variety—and a contest that used the body—was a different matter entirely.
I'm a little behind in agility and stamina. But my strength is well ahead of his, even set against the arm-wrestling last time. Get a hold of him, and I can win.
More than that, this was no simple variety appearance. It was a battlefield, a place where he could push his territory outward and grind Tae-min under his heel for good.
"I'll do it. Running Woman."
He said it flatly.
"All the better. I'll settle the order of things for good, with the whole country watching."
In that instant, a system chime rang in his head.
Ding!
Ordinarily the alert surfaced only after a condition was met. This time, as if in answer to his resolve, it handed the quest down in advance.
Level 7 Promotion Quest: Proof of the Beast (Broadcast)
Objective: Appear in the mass media, prove an overwhelming physique and a relentless will to win, suppress your rival, and secure recognition with the public.
Conditions:
— Take the final victory on Running Woman
— Personally remove Lee Tae-min's name tag
Lucky. A quest on top of it... and a skill to gain from it, too.
The objective had only grown sharper. The win, and putting Lee Tae-min down.
"Good. I like that look in your eyes."
Seo-yoon rose, plainly satisfied.
"The shoot is next Friday. The set at Paju English Village. Keep yourself in shape until then."
"Understood."
"If it were up to me, I'd take the canceled shoot as an excuse and unwind with you right here..."
She toyed with his tie and clicked her tongue, sorry to let it go.
"But you'll need your strength for Running Woman, so I'll hold back today. That body's expensive. I ought to be careful with it."
"I appreciate the consideration, CEO."
"Win, instead, and come back. Lose, and you get nothing from me. Not even the broth."
Min-ho gave her a light kiss and left the office.
Four in the afternoon, he was home. The day had ended earlier than he'd expected.
"Mi-young, I'm back."
He opened the lock and stepped inside to a rich, delicious smell rolling through the place. A second familiar pair of women's shoes sat in the entryway—Su-a's, the woman from next door.
"Honey! You're early?"
Mi-young came out of the kitchen in an apron, and what she had on under it was anything but ordinary. A single white shirt, and nothing below. The buttons were undone with generous intent, the deep cleft of her full breasts bare to the air.
"Mi-young, that outfit..."
"Oh? Min-ho!"
Su-a shot up from the living-room sofa. She wasn't dressed for an ordinary visit either. A black slip of lingerie, thin as a breath, sheer enough that her skin showed straight through.
"Su-a, you were here too?"
"Yes... Unni said you might be home early today..."
Color climbed her face, and she twisted shyly where she stood.
"You said Su-a's husband left on a business trip yesterday. So I called her over. We're eating together tonight."
Mi-young slipped her arm through his and pressed her breasts against him. As if the thought had only just struck him, Min-ho asked,
"Su-a, what about your son? Pickup at daycare was a while ago."
"Oh, Jun-woo? Luckily my mother-in-law said she wanted to see her grandson, so she took him for a few days. And with my husband away on the trip..."
She looked up at him with a smile edged in relief.
"So... tonight I'm completely free. I can stay until morning."
"Perfect. Nobody around to get in the way."
Mi-young laughed, languid and wicked, and went on.
"But honey, did something good happen today? That look on your face is dead serious."
Min-ho smiled at the two of them—the quest he had taken today, and the plan that lay ahead of it.
"Yeah. I'm going on TV next week. A network variety show."
"Really? Which show?"
"SBC's Running Woman."
"Oh my! That famous one?"
Mi-young and Su-a were startled at the same time.
"It's a male-guest special. Lee Tae-min's on it too."
"Tae-min... that rival?"
"Yeah. This time I'm going to step on him for good. And take the win."
At that, Mi-young's eyes lit.
"My god... my honey really became a star! A network variety show!"
"Congratulations, Min-ho! You have to win!"
Su-a clapped too.
"Which is why... I think I'm going to need a little stamina training."
He grinned, wicked, and ran his eyes over the way both of them were dressed.
"And the two of you happen to be wearing... something that looks just right for training, don't you think?"
Mi-young caught his meaning and smiled, sultry.
"Oh my, you noticed? Su-a and I were just saying. We ought to fortify our Min-ho a little."
"Fortify?"
"Mm. The finest stamina meal there is."
She leaned in and whispered at his ear.
"They say stamina is everything on Running Woman, right? We'll put you through live drills. Official name: Infinite Ejaculation Endurance Training."
"I'll... help too. So you can win..."
Su-a came closer, shy, and took his other arm.
He grew heavy between his legs. Since Level 6 his virility had brimmed and overflowed, but the devoted care of two women set on throwing themselves at him was always welcome.
"All right. Train me hard."
He led the two of them to the bed in the master bedroom.
"Clothes off first, instructors."
He spread his arms, and Mi-young and Su-a fell on him, stripping him bare. When the hard, muscled body came clear, the look in both women's eyes changed.
"Wow... look at that muscle. I think you've gotten even better than last time."
Su-a ran her hands down the ridges of his stomach.
"Honey. No going easy today. You don't get to stop until both of us black out."
"Obviously. If I'm going to win Running Woman, this much stamina is the bare minimum."
He lay back on the bed, and the two women pressed in against him, one on either side.
"Su-a, you take the top. I'll take what's below."
"Yes, unni."
Su-a settled herself over his face. A sweet, womanly scent struck his nose. Between his legs, Mi-young crouched and took the huge pillar into her mouth.
Slurp... mmph...
"Haa... this training is far too luxurious..."
From above he drank the honey welling from Su-a, and from below he took the play of Mi-young's tongue, and he gave his body over to the pleasure. Then the real coupling began.
"Su-a, turn around."
He laid her face-down and drove into her from behind.
"Ah—! Min-ho... you're filling me...!"
Like that, Mi-young came at him from the front, raining kisses over his mouth while her hands roamed his chest.
"Honey, harder! Pound Su-a's ass until it breaks!"
"Hnng—! Unni! It's too deep! Aaah!"
Ejaculation Control
He drove his hips like an engine that would never wind down.
This was not simply sex. It was training—building his endurance, governing his breath, holding a calm mind even at the limit.
"All right. Switch!"
The storm blew through, and this time it was Mi-young who climbed on top of him.
"I'll show you a mother's strength. Hup!"
She took him in and rode, violent, up and down—a suppleness and a grip that made nothing of her fifty-four years.
"Mi-young... you're the best..."
"Make it so trash like Tae-min can't even reach our honey's toes... nnh—!"
At his side, Su-a held his hand and sucked his fingers, sharing in the pleasure.
That night, against the two of them, Min-ho showed what a Stamina of 55 really was.
Su-a hit her peak three times and Mi-young twice, and he did not tire until both of them had collapsed.
"Haa... haa... training... over..."
Only near dawn did it end. The bed was soaked through with sweat and slick.
Min-ho held the two women, blacked out in his arms, and stared up at the ceiling. His body was loose and heavy, but his mind had never been clearer.
The preparations are finished.
Stamina, strength, and force of will. All of it was perfect.
Wait for me, Lee Tae-min. On Running Woman, I'll crush you so thoroughly you won't even be able to think of coming at me again.
Looking forward to the battle ahead, Min-ho closed his eyes.