Beautiful World

The novel's setting is a parallel-dimension Earth.

Still wearing her hotel bathrobe, she sat at the table, writing without pause.

Feeling awkward myself, I pretended to dig through my bag and pulled a laptop from my Subspace, then set about giving the scripts for The Classical and Bizarre Girl their final polish. I checked for typos and anything that didn't match reality, and before I knew it the clock was already pointing to eight.

Hmm… looks like I won't make it home tonight.

I'd heard Song Dahyun would be arriving at this hotel room at nine, and when Ahn Jeongeun told me she'd already persuaded Dahyun to sleep with me as well, I'd stared at her blankly for a long moment.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. You just look sexy when you're working."

"Tch. Then why do you keep checking the time?"

She'd clearly found it strange that I'd been glancing at my watch. Fair enough — if someone kept looking at the clock while you were together, it could easily put you off. So I told her the truth.

"Today was supposed to be the first day I moved into the new place. But with you here, and Dahyun coming too, I'm pushing the housewarming back a day."

"Ah… then should I tell Dahyun to go there instead?"

"Huh? You're not coming?"

If we were going, we should all go together — but the way she spoke made it sound like she had no intention of joining us.

"The script. The inspiration just hit me perfectly. I think I can finish it by tonight. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'm planning to stay here for the day."

"Hmm… then should I stay here too?"

"No. I was already thinking of getting another hotel room, since you and Dahyun are going to have sex anyway."

In other words, she didn't want to be disturbed while she worked.

She seemed content simply to make the introduction and step aside — there wasn't the slightest hint of regret or disappointment on her face.

"Hmm… that so? Then tell her to come to Hangang Jium, Building B, Unit 2403."

"Hangang Jium… Building B, 2403? Ah… Hyeon-jin unnie's place?"

"You've been there?"

"Yeah. For the housewarming…"

She pulled a key from her bag — a card key — and waved it at me.

"Unnie gave me a spare. You'll need to reprogram it, so take it. And make sure you give me one later."

I took the card she held out and slipped it into my bag.

"And don't forget to film when you're with Dahyun. She already agreed to that."

"Hmm… but is that really okay? Even if it's for a movie, you're basically forcing her into sex."

"It's fine. Dahyun will thank me for it later, you'll see…"

Watching Jeongeun grin so brightly, I couldn't help but snort. She was completely addicted to the pleasure-transfer that had climbed stage by stage while she'd taken my semen three times in a row. Even with the limit set at forty percent, the image of her howling still wouldn't leave my mind.

"Don't use that weird ability on her. Got it?"

"Honestly… this is a terrible thing to do. Inflicting pain on a perfectly normal woman…"

Having to have sex with a woman who had done nothing wrong, whom I didn't even know, while putting her through pain — the guilt hit hard.

The suffering that pure-looking girl would feel… and the wretchedness of throwing her own body away for a role — I could almost feel it.

What? Then Ji-yeon's face will be exposed.

No matter what she'd done to me as a teacher, the idea of showing the video to a third party made me hesitate.

"Hmm. I'll handle Dahyun myself. Instead, I've got footage of a woman I tamed for revenge — want me to give you that?"

"Huh? You had something like that?"

She suddenly rose from her seat and came toward me.

Then her face turned sulky, she started glaring, and a dark little smile crept across her lips.

"You. You deliberately kept quiet so you could screw me and Dahyun both."

"What?… No. I just thought of it now."

"Can you bring it? If I check that, I think I can revise the scenario right away."

"Hmm. It's in the car trunk. I'll go get it."

"Here. This is it. The labels have the shooting times, so you can watch them in order."

I'd hurried downstairs and come back up, setting the box on the table.

She smiled brightly, opened the box, and checked the tapes one by one.

"No leaking them. Once you've watched them all, burn them."

"Don't worry. I'll be the only one who sees them. And I already told Dahyun to head that way, so you can go straight there. Also… you. These two scenarios on this laptop — did you write them?"

She set the tapes down and handed the laptop back to me as she spoke. Come to think of it, I hadn't closed the windows I'd been working in, so she must have spotted the scripts.

Well, I did put my name on them.

At the bottom of each cover page I'd written Author: Kim Ian, so of course she'd asked whether I'd written them.

"Yeah. I wrote The Classical thinking of Hye-yun, and for Bizarre Girl I still haven't locked in the lead. I did have a certain woman in mind while writing it, but she's a civilian…"

Personality-wise, Ji-yu had the higher sync rate, but Kwon Su-jeong's looks fit better. If Ji-yu took the role she'd overact so hard the movie would go off the rails; if Kwon Su-jeong could just act, she'd suit the eccentric female lead perfectly.

"Can I… have both of these? I want to shoot them right after Beautiful World."

Well, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there are no bed scenes, so handing them over shouldn't matter, right?

She was a perverted director who insisted on real penetration, but she was also a director praised for her visual beauty. If she shot it, The Classical would become a truly beautiful film.

"You have to cast Hye-yun as the lead. For Bizarre Girl, I'll try meeting that woman again and persuading her — if she can ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠act, use her. Otherwise, put Hye-yun in the lead again."

"Of course. If the writer wrote it with a specific person in mind, she has to be the lead. Hye-yun… I think she'd fit."

The way she stared blankly into space, she seemed to be painting the scenario in her head.

The Classical.

A love story told on two tracks — the mother's romance in the past, and the daughter's romance in the present.

The lead felt almost too pure, and though it was a dual role, Hye-yun's steadily rising acting ability should be more than enough to handle it. With Ahn Jeongeun directing, I felt even more at ease.

"Then you shoot them. Put in a formal request to Hye-rim first. On paper, she's my boss."

"Hoh hoh hoh. Fine. Once I'm done with this, I'm heading back to the Stella Hotel. I need to start looking for the leads and supporting cast for The Classical."

This is exactly why people complain she only looks after Dongra University people…

"By the way, both of these movies have a school in them. Which one were you thinking of when you wrote them?"

"Yeonseo University."

The original scripts mentioned Cheongsong University and Baekyang Road, so Yeonseo University was a sure thing. Even across dimensions, Yeonseo University apparently still existed. And The Classical even specified the Yeonseo University main building right in the script.

"Hmm, I haven't been there yet. You'll show me around later, right? The original author already has an image in mind."

"Hmm… sure."

She sat down at the laptop and started typing something. Looking over her shoulder, I saw she was logged into Maver and about to send an email.

"Just take the laptop."

"Huh? Are you sure? Then I'll buy you a new one later."

"Fine."

It was an old laptop anyway.

Couldn't even run games — barely good for document work, practically a piece of junk.

If she was going to replace it with a new one, I had no reason to refuse. I nodded.

"Then I'll head out. You sure you'll be okay alone?"

"Yeah. Go on. I'm going to start with these tapes."

"Yeah. But we've got a guest coming over. What should we do?"

Hangang Jium came into view. Building B was mostly dark, but on the twenty-fourth floor two units glowed brightly with light.

"Hmm… for now, put some clothes on. You're not sitting around naked with a tail plugged in, are you?"

I didn't even need to look — I could picture it clearly.

Wives, concubines, bitches — all of them naked, waiting to welcome me home.

She seemed to be limiting it to the wives.

Even two was a lot, but I felt bad for Emily and Ji-yu, so I agreed.

"Hmm… fine. Sorry, but it can't be helped. I don't want to come off as a lecher at a first meeting."

"Yeah, please. Don't go overboard — just some simple refreshments."

The call ended, and the car passed through the apartment gate.

My heart was pounding.

On paper it was Hyeon-jin's place, but it was as good as mine now.

I had a home of my own, a place where I would live with my women — the thought made my chest race beyond control.

One by one, the vague hopes I'd been sketching out were becoming real. Many wives, a comfortable house, and a house full of my children.

I'd always wanted a big family, so even as I parked and stepped into the elevator, my heart wouldn't settle.

I took a fresh look at the luxurious elevator interior.

According to Jini, we'd have to move to a proper house soon… but still, this was my first home.

— You have arrived at the 24th floor.

The elevator's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lower floors each had two forty-five-pyeong units, but the twenty-fourth floor had only a single front door. Maybe that was why the hallway looked so spacious.

If I wall this off, would it violate fire code?

The wasted space bothered me, but I figured Jeong-mi had left it open for a reason. I stood at the front door and entered the passcode.

Beep beep beep beep.

My home. The thought that I was finally stepping into my own house set my heart hammering all over again.

The door opened, and the entryway was so large I wondered if it was even allowed — if it wasn't just a waste of space. How many pairs of shoes would it take to fill that shoe cabinet?

The thought made me snort. I took off my shoes, grabbed the inner door handle, and pulled it shut behind me.

Click.

The new handle still made a loud sound, and the glass door swung open.

"Honey, you're home."

"Ian, you're here? Congratulations on graduating."

A radiant blonde beauty beamed at me, and beside her a black-haired beauty — smiling for some reason and offering congratulations — stood in a neat one-piece dress, hands folded in front of her, bowing at a perfect ninety degrees.

"Yeah. Emily. And Ji-yu — congratulations on graduating to you too."

"Honey, this is your first time here, right? Let me show you around."

"Unnie, I'll finish cooking."

Ji-yu turned and walked toward what looked like the kitchen, while Emily took my hand and led me through every corner of the house.

Whether it was Hyeon-jin's taste or not, the interior was cleanly done in white and black, and when she said there were six rooms and three bathrooms, I was briefly speechless.

Only then did the size of ninety pyeong truly sink in.

"I thought it was a hundred pyeong…"

"That's just the rumor. People say it's a hundred-pyeong unit."

Chatting about nothing in particular, I toured the rooms one by one around the vast living room, then dropped onto the sofa.

Comfort.

Ease.

It still didn't quite feel like my home — everything was still unfamiliar — but I'd be living here for at least two years.

Only the bare walls bothered me a little.

"Aren't the walls a bit empty?"

"Jeong-mi said once we take our wedding photos, she'll hang the best ones."

"Ah… wedding photos."

Only then did I feel a twinge of guilt for filing the marriage registrations so recklessly. A wedding… I couldn't just skip having one entirely. I glanced at Emily's face, then stared hard at the blank wall.

"When Jeong-mi, Hyeon-ju, and Eun-hee are all here, gather every wife and pick a wedding date. No inviting outsiders — just process the ceremonies in one day, from the wives down to the bitches. We'll set a date for the photos too."

"What?… Thank you, Honey."

At my suggestion of a wedding, Emily melted into my arms, and I wrapped my arm around her waist.