Proof of the Beast

Friday morning, seven o'clock.

In the van bound for Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Jeong Min-ho stared out the window.

Today was the long-awaited shoot for Running Woman.

I'm nervous... He opened and closed his fists, taking stock of himself. His first appearance on a network variety show — and his official rematch with Lee Tae-min.

My stats... stamina 55, strength 53, agility 40. Tae-min's are stamina 58, strength 45, agility 44.

On the numbers he was behind in agility and stamina, but a strength of 53 was an overwhelming edge. This wasn't a simple footrace. If it came down to a name-tag game of grabbing and tearing, he had more than enough of a chance.

Eight in the morning. The set at Paju English Village.

Exotic Western-style buildings and alleys linked like a maze spread out into one enormous game board.

"Min-ho! This way, please!"

A staffer guided him into the waiting room, and a lush, sweet fragrance hit him at once. Members of the girl groups who represented Korea, and the actresses beside them, were gathered in a single room.

"Oh? It's Min-ho!"

One of the women lit up and waved.

"Hello. I'm Park Chae-rin. From Flower."

"Ah, I know. I'm a fan. Nice to meet you."

The other women greeted him too, eyes bright with curiosity. Min-ho swept them in a quick scan.

"Min-ho, you're seriously hot on S-Flix."

Ji-a, the glamorous idol, said it with a smile that lived in her eyes.

"Thank you."

"I watched it too. First Meeting. It was a total smash, wasn't it?"

The youngest, Seo-hyun, offered it shyly, and Yu-na jabbed her in the side.

"Hey. You barely ditched the underage sticker, and you're already watching that?"

"I saw you sneaking it at the dorm too, unnie!"

The women burst into bright laughter. Min-ho was embarrassed, and pleased all the same. Even top idols had seen his work. That felt good.

"Min-ho oppa — I can call you oppa, right? We're on the same team."

Chae-rin said it as she linked her arm through his.

"Me, Ji-a, and Hye-mi unnie. The four of us are the Red Team."

The door opened, and a familiar face walked in.

Lee Tae-min.

"Hello! Sorry I'm late!"

He came in behind ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that signature slick smile, and his eyes met Min-ho's.

"Oh? Junior. We meet again?"

Tae-min's eyebrow twitched.

"Hello, sunbae."

Min-ho greeted him at his ease. Tae-min forced a smile, but his eyes were cold. He hadn't forgotten the humiliation on the last set.

Stamina 58... A veteran, all right. He keeps himself in shape.

Ten in the morning. The opening shoot began. The main MC's voice boomed.

"Today's special — Beast and Beauty! Two beasts will rescue the beauties, then fight it out for the final victory!"

The rules were announced.

"Beasts — move out!"

A whistle blew, and the game began.

Map in hand, Min-ho took off through Paju English Village. It was far bigger than he'd expected. The maze was a tangle, and the buildings numbered in the dozens.

"Chae-rin! Ji-a! Hye-mi!"

He shouted as he tore through the alley-maze.

Ten minutes or so in, he spotted Chae-rin waving from the second-floor balcony of the city hall building.

"Oppa! I'm up here!"

"Wait there!"

He took the stairs in a single burst and got her out.

"Oppa, hurry! I heard Tae-min oppa's team already found one and moved on!"

Her words put a spike of urgency through him.

With an agility of 44, Tae-min was as fast ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as a flying squirrel. And Min-ho still had to keep running this whole sprawling grounds.

Thirty minutes passed. Min-ho's breathing had started to rasp.

The second member, Hye-mi, was hidden in the church on the hill at the innermost edge of the English Village.

"Hah... hah..."

Sprinting up the hill, his thighs swelled as if they might split.

Sex he could endure on Ejaculation Control and raw virility, but straight running was nothing but a contest of base stamina. Fifty-five was a monstrous number — and still, against Tae-min's fifty-eight, he was losing by a hair.

Has Tae-min already found all three?

He got Hye-mi out and started down, and off in the distance he saw Tae-min streaking past like the wind, blue-team members in tow.

"Damn it. He's fast."

To find the last member, Ji-a, he sprinted full-out for the shopping street on the opposite side. Sweat poured off him like rain. His lungs felt scorched.

"Oppa! Here! Inside the bakery!"

By the time he found her, nearly two hours had passed since the start.

"You're late! Radio says the Blue Team's already in the gym!"

She was right. Ahead in both agility and stamina, Tae-min had gotten there first.

The venue was an indoor gym sealed off from the outside. A closed space, with nowhere to run.

"Red Team has arrived! Late — but every member's still in!"

Min-ho stepped into the gym, hauling in ragged breaths. Tae-min was already there, casually drinking a sports drink.

"Hey, rookie. What took you so long? I nearly died of old age waiting."

Tae-min sneered and shook the small box in his hand.

"I got the item. If that burns, maybe you should've built up your stamina."

"Sorry. Got a little distracted by the scenery."

Min-ho wiped the sweat away and tossed it back.

The MC declared the final mission.

"From this moment, a four-on-four name-tag rip begins inside this gym! One rule — you may not rip the tag of the opposite sex! Men against men, women against women only! Grabbing, however, is allowed!"

The whistle blew. In the narrow gym, eight men and women snarled together.

"Block him! Don't let Min-ho oppa through!"

Yu-na of the Blue Team (173 cm) and Seo-hyun (171 cm), the two tall members, rushed him. He tried to go for Tae-min, but the women cut him off and hung their weight on his arms and legs.

"Move! You'll get hurt!"

"We're not moving! We'll hold until Tae-min oppa rips your tag!"

He was in a bind. Shove them with real force and the slender women might get hurt. But if he wanted to win, he had no choice.

"I'm sorry. I'll have to hold you for a bit!"

He caught Seo-hyun and Yu-na as they lunged, drove them both toward the wall, and pinned them at once.

With a strength of 53 he crushed the two women together like a sandwich until they couldn't move.

"Kyaa! Oppa, why are you so strong?!"

Seo-hyun thrashed, but his arms were iron shackles.

Seo-hyun in front, Yu-na behind. The three bodies locked tight, no gap between them — a violent grapple, rough breath, and the scent of beautiful women soaked in sweat.

Ngh...

Two hours of running had sent his blood roaring, and instinct answered. In his pants, he swelled rock-hard in a heartbeat.

"Oh my..."

Pinned between the wall and Min-ho, Seo-hyun's eyes went round. Something heavy and hot was jabbing into her lower belly.

"Oppa... this..."

"S-sorry... it's instinct..."

He was flustered, but he couldn't let go. The cameraman didn't miss the exquisitely awkward moment — he pushed in close on the bulge straining at Min-ho's fly.

That was when the Red Team members came running.

"Min-ho oppa! Nice!"

Chae-rin and Hye-mi rushed in and reached behind Yu-na and Seo-hyun, bound in his arms and unable to move.

Riiip! Riiip!

"Yuna, out! Seo-hyun, out!"

Na-yeon went out right after them, and the Blue Team's women were wiped out.

Only Lee Tae-min remained. The Red Team, by contrast, was intact — Min-ho, Chae-rin, Ji-a, and Hye-mi, all four still in.

"It's over, Tae-min."

Min-ho and the three women drove him into a corner. A rat in a jar. At the decisive instant, as Min-ho seized Tae-min by the collar and went for the tag—

Riiip—! Riiip—!

A bright tearing crack sounded twice behind him.

"Huh? Unnie?"

"Ji-a?"

Chae-rin and Hye-mi turned, stunned. Behind them stood their own teammate, Choi Ji-a, one of their name tags in each hand.

"Chae-rin, out! Hye-mi, out!"

A stir ran through the gym. Startled, Min-ho stopped short of ripping Tae-min's tag.

"Ji-a! What the hell are you doing?"

Tae-min smiled a mean smile, drew an item card from his pocket, and waved it.

"Want to know what item I got? An X-Man nomination right. I flipped the strongest one on your team."

Ji-a had already been turned. Using the rule that only women could rip women's tags, she had cleaned house from the inside in a flash.

The board flipped in an instant. Min-ho stood alone. Tae-min and the traitor Ji-a remained.

One against two.

"So who's the rat now? Ji-a, grab him!"

At Tae-min's order, Ji-a charged.

"I'm sorry, Min-ho oppa!"

She snatched him.

From behind, Ji-a locked both arms around his waist and bound him tight.

When he tried to break free by force, she swung all the way around in front of him, threw her arms around his neck, and clung.

"You're not going! You're not going anywhere! Tae-min oppa said he'd split the prize money if he wins!"

Her full D-cup breasts crushed hard against his chest.

Their bodies sealed together without a gap. Her firm thighs drove up into his crotch.

And then the furious thing that still hadn't gone down jabbed into Ji-a's pubic bone.

"Nnh—!"

Ji-a's eyes flew wide. Through the thin leggings, a heat and a hardness. Not mere flesh. A weapon.

"Min-ho oppa... why is it... nnh..."

Flustered, she flushed scarlet. Her breath roughened, and the strength ran out of her legs. He didn't waste the opening.

"Sorry. I'm just in very ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠good health!"

He caught her by the waist, hoisted her clean off her feet, set her aside, and slipped free.

"Damn it!"

Tae-min bolted in a panic. The last chase cut straight across the gym. His stamina was already gone. What Min-ho had left was grit, and the hunger to win.

"Stop right there!"

He wrung out the last of his strength and reached. Tae-min cut a corner, hit the sweat-slick floor, and his legs went out from under him.

Wham!

"Agh!"

Tae-min tumbled across the floor. Min-ho didn't miss it — he threw himself onto Tae-min's back.

"Got you."

Riiip—!

The bright tear rang through the gym.

"Lee Tae-min, out! Choi Ji-a, out! Red Team's Jeong Min-ho — the final winner!"

With the ending whistle, Min-ho collapsed spread-eagle on the floor and hauled in ragged breaths.

After the shoot. The corridor outside the dressing room.

"Min-ho oppa."

Ji-a was waiting, hovering ill at ease.

"About earlier... I'm sorry I betrayed you. For the sake of the show..."

"It's fine. Thanks to you, we pulled plenty of screen time."

When he answered with a smile, Ji-a flushed and stepped closer.

"And earlier... when I grabbed you..."

"Yes?"

"Yours... I was really shocked. I've never felt one that big... it had my heart shaking."

Shyly, she held out a slip of paper.

"This... is my number. Later... let me buy you a meal. To apologize for betraying you. Just the two of us."

It wasn't only Ji-a. Chae-rin, Yu-na, Seo-hyun, Hye-mi, even Na-yeon — all six of the women on the show that day took a liking to him and left their numbers.

That evening, at home.

Min-ho came back like a general home from a victory.

"Honey! You're home?"

Mi-young welcomed him brightly. He told her the saga of the win and showed her the six slips of numbers.

"Whoa... unreal. A total girl-group killer."

Mi-young laughed and went to lay out dinner. Min-ho sat on the sofa and, alone, quietly opened the system window.

Min-ho's brow tightened.

Twenty points...?

Until now it had always been forty.

Ah... so getting forty every time was just luck.

It left a bitter taste, but he checked the new skill.

From the kitchen, Mi-young tilted her head.

"Huh? Honey. Today, of all days... you smell really good."

As if bewitched, she came over and buried her nose against the nape of his neck.

"It's... a really lewd smell..."

Her eyes glazed over in an instant. The effect of Pheromone was immediate.

Min-ho smiled. The points had been few. But this skill — this was the real thing.