The Dropped Water Cup
Life had become so hectic I barely had time to breathe.
Since U-INVESTMENT held the rights to the K-Sler IP, I couldn't just dump everything on President Hong Mincheol either.
That meant I had to hire staff as fast as humanly possible.
But U-I was an investment firm—was it even normal for departments and employees like that to exist?
Hell, what did I care?
If I wanted to survive, I had no choice.
"Representative, Director Kim Juseok from Samhyang Foods has arrived."
"Got it. Send him in."
This was already the fifth meeting of the morning alone.
I was starting to lose track of who I'd met and who I still needed to see.
In just a few days I'd already sat down with more than fifty people.
"Good morning. I'm Kim Juseok, Director at Samhyang Foods. Thank you for making time for me."
"Yoo Eunho. Have a seat."
I gestured him into a chair and sat down myself.
No small talk—I cut straight to the point.
The rest of my schedule was packed solid.
"Samhyang Foods would like to commercialize the cup ramen that appeared in the work. Of course, we're also considering additional products beyond that."
"Are you looking to launch a new product, or do a collab with an existing one?"
"Both. For the soup ramen, we're planning to use a new product we've already been developing, tailored to each Slerix member's character—Serin mild, Minju medium, May spicy. And for our long-time bestseller, the Buldakbal Stir-Fried Noodles, we're thinking of using Jeoseung Boys with a 'ramen from hell' concept."
"Hmm… not bad. But I've already received so many similar offers that I'll have to hear the contract terms before I can decide on a partnership with Samhyang. What kind of royalty percentage are you considering?"
"We're prepared to offer twelve percent of net sales."
Whoa.
That was insane.
At that rate, I barely needed to look at anyone else's proposal.
The average royalty I was being offered sat somewhere between five and eight percent.
One of the biggest names in ramen had come in at ten, but twelve blew even that out of the water.
On top of that, Samhyang Foods' stock had been skyrocketing thanks to the overseas explosion of their Buldakbal Stir-Fried Noodles.
It was already more than six times higher than when I'd bought two hundred fifty billion won worth of shares last year.
A company riding that kind of wave was throwing out terms this aggressive?
That told me exactly how explosive the overseas reaction to K-Sler had been.
"You're already a major shareholder with three percent of our stock, Representative Yoo. Partnering with us would only help you further."
"Hmm… true enough, but there's one thing that still worries me."
"If it's a legal concern, you can put it out of your mind. When you purchased our shares, K-Sler didn't even exist yet. And right now, as you said yourself, every company out there wants a collab. Besides, Samhyang's stock has been climbing like crazy even without any K-Sler partnership. We already ran this by our lawyers, so there's nothing to worry about."
They'd come this prepared. I didn't have much room left to push back.
Of course, I'd still need to double-check with Attorney Park Daehan.
"All right. I'll give it serious consideration."
"Thank you. We'll be waiting for good news."
Once the meeting with Director Kim Juseok wrapped up, I asked Attorney Park Daehan to confirm there were no legal issues.
If this checked out clean, I planned to move forward with collabs for the two cosmetics companies I'd also invested two hundred fifty billion in each—FRP and Zeronik.
FRP focused on skincare, Zeronik on beauty.
Different flagship products, different companies.
Thud—thud—thud—
I dragged myself home completely drained.
Thud!!
I collapsed face-first onto the sofa and patted my shoulder with a mumble.
"Rub it a bit."
"I'm watching this!"
"Move."
"It's cramped…"
"If you're gonna keep whining, go back to the dorm."
I lifted my head and glared at them fiercely. Their attitudes flipped in an instant.
"Here?"
"Sir, is the pressure okay?"
"……"
Minju, May, and even Serin.
All three of them latched on and started kneading my shoulders, arms, and legs.
They were freeloading at my place right now, after all.
Call it a form of rent.
"How long do we have to keep rubbing?!"
"This should be enough already!"
"My arms hurt…"
"It's been less than a minute. Three more minutes. Until forty-two. And they said an hour of ventilation is plenty—why are you still here?"
Two days ago a cockroach had shown up in the dorm the kids lived in, so I'd called an exterminator right away.
The bugs were gone and the disinfectant only needed about an hour of airing out, yet they'd barged into my place claiming the chemicals were too strong and had been squatting here for three days straight.
Zero sense of shame.
"Girls, dinner's—huh? Oppa! When did you get home?"
"Just now."
"Whoa… did you see his face change?"
"Creepy…"
"That's so mean…"
"If it's mean, go back to the dorm. I won't stop you. No—tomorrow you're going back. That's an order from the representative."
"Slave-driving boss..!!"
"Evil CEO!!"
"You're awful…."
"Ha!"
I blew a clean raspberry at their grumbling, then sprang up and headed off to eat with Iseul.
"Maybe change clothes first?"
"I'm fine. I'll eat and then shower."
"All right, then."
"Unnie, I'll dish up Oppa's rice~"
"I can do it… but okay, thanks, Iseul."
"Yes~~"
Speaking of which, I really needed to sort out the titles soon.
We'd been living under the same roof for almost a year, and I was still calling her Han Jihyun-ssi. Even I thought that was a bit much.
I'd gotten used to the formal speech, but it still felt unnecessarily heavy.
"Um…"
"Yes, Eunho-ssi? Do you need something?"
"Ah… no, it's not that…."
"Wow~ Bulgogi~!"
"There's galbi too!"
"Looks so good…"
"Haha… next time."
"…Okay."
Han Jihyun tilted her head slightly, then answered with a smile. I just glared at the shameless kids who were only stuffing their faces without lifting a finger and started eating.
"Once you're done, you three are cleaning up and doing the dishes."
"Whaaat?!"
"No way!"
"…Yes."
"'Whaaat? No way?' Answer properly like Serin!"
"Yeees…"
"Yeeeah…"
"Ha…"
Right. Even if they were nineteen now, they were still kids.
The age where they hated housework.
Not that getting older would make them like it any better.
"Hey, Oppa…"
"Yeah?"
"Has it been decided where the drama's going to air…?"
Iseul, who'd finished filming back in March, asked with a worried look.
Hidden had moved just as fast as K-Sler. The original July completion target had kept getting pulled forward until it was now mid-June.
Less than a month left.
If Netflix didn't give us an answer soon, we'd have to start renegotiating with someone else.
"It'll be locked in by the end of this month at the latest. We need that so we can start proper promotion about where it's airing."
"Okay…"
"Don't worry about nothing. Just wait comfortably. Everything's going to be fine."
"Yes! Hehe~"
"What about us, then??"
This time Minju jumped in.
She even shoved her phone in my face.
"Look at this! Everyone's super curious about us!!"
"I know. So put it away. Let me eat."
"Look properly!!"
I didn't need to look.
I already knew every bit of it.
Netflix was getting flooded with the same questions.
Who the hell sang Slerix's song?
We'd already revealed it, though.
We'd slipped the actual recording scene in as a cookie video right before the final end credits rolled.
They just had their faces completely covered with sunglasses and hats, and since they were still ordinary people who hadn't debuted yet, no one knew their identities.
Origin had been covered the same way, but people figured them out because they were already debuted idols.
"The company will debut you at the moment you'll get the most attention. So just wait quietly. Don't post anything on SNS. Don't tell your friends either."
They would debut at the absolute peak of attention.
The reaction had been so much more feverish than we'd projected that we were completely reworking both the debut timing and the method.
After dinner I showered, watched a bit of TV, then headed back to my room.
Iseul had said she was going to check on the dorm and left, so she wasn't around.
"Ugh… all because of those brats…"
Han Jihyun knew Iseul and I were living together, but the kids still had no idea.
Especially Minju—if she found out, she'd run straight to Ichan and spill everything.
Then Ichan would tell his mother and grandmother that his noona was living with me, and I'd suddenly become the shameless bastard cohabiting with a girl I wasn't even officially dating.
That was why Iseul had slipped off to one of the dorms Art Company had under contract at just the right moment.
She'd already stayed there during filming because the manager handled the commute from the dorm, so everything she needed was already set up.
"At least starting tomorrow I'll be able to be with Iseul again."
Of course there was no guarantee the brats would leave on their own tomorrow, but if they didn't, I'd kick them out myself.
Sleeping alone without Iseul felt empty.
Click…
What? Who was that?
"Who is it??"
I sat up in bed and stared at the door handle as it turned downward.
Then my eyes went wide and my mouth fell half open.
The person who opened the door and walked in was Iseul.
Shoes in her left hand, right index finger pressed to her lips.
(How did you get here??)
(Unnie said she went into the kids' room, so I snuck in.)
(What if you get caught..!)
(That's why I brought my shoes too, hehe~)
(Ha….)
It was ridiculous, but I was so happy to see her.
I hurried over, took the shoes from her, and pulled her into a tight hug.
(So until the kids leave tomorrow, you're stuck with me?)
(Aren't you leaving for work first, Oppa??)
(…Ah… I don't wanna go to work…)
(Come on, lie down. You're exhausted.)
Iseul wriggled free of my arms, eyes going round.
Because I'd scooped her right up.
"Eep!! I-I'm heavy…"
"How many times do I have to say you're not heavy at all? And this is exactly why I work out. So I can hold you like this."
"What… that's not true… mmph!!"
"There we go."
"Yes…"
The sudden kiss left Iseul looking shy as she wrapped her arms tightly around my neck. I simply dropped the shoes hooked on my fingers and carried her to the bed.
I set her down carefully, hopped up beside her, and slid my arm under her neck. She naturally lifted her head.
I always gave her my arm as a pillow when we slept together.
But the frustration was building fast.
"We can't do it right now, can we?"
"We can't..! Unnie's here… and the kids are too…"
"You knew that and still snuck in? Bold little thing."
"That's… because I can't sleep without you next to me… O-Oppa…!!"
"Shhh… the kids will hear."
"Then stop with your hand… mmph!!"
By then my hand had already slipped inside her panties and was gently stroking her most private place.
She rubbed her thighs together in resistance, but in the end she surrendered to my touch and whispered softly.
"Then… be gentle… please…."
"Got it."
Iseul clamped both hands over her mouth again. I stripped off my own clothes in one go, then peeled hers off too.
And I pushed my fully enraged, rock-hard cock deep inside her.
"Mmph..!!! Nngh..!!"
"Ah…."
I moved as slowly as I possibly could.
But that pace was making it harder and harder for both of us.
Going this slow was driving us both insane.
In the end.
Thrust!!
"Hah!! Hnn!! Nngh…! Haaah..!!"
"Just this much. Can you handle it?"
"Yeees..! I'll try my haaardest…! To hold—haah!!!"
"Aaaah…!!"
"Nngh!! Nngh!! Mmph!! Hnnn..!!"
I'd said "just this much," but I kept crossing the line further and further.
And the more I did, the louder the moans slipped past Iseul's lips.
But it was fine.
The house had solid soundproofing. At this volume it might reach the living room, but Han Jihyun and the kids in their rooms wouldn't hear a thing.
Except.
Crack!!! Clatter!! Clack-clack….
The sound right outside the door made both my eyes and Iseul's go huge.
I froze with myself buried all the way in, and Iseul shoved at my chest with one hand while the other stayed clamped over her mouth.
A moment later.
Wearing only a bathroom robe, I carefully opened the bedroom door. Right in front of it lay a puddle of water and a single fallen cup.
Who… heard us…?