Seo A-jeong

The novel's setting is Earth in a parallel universe.

February 17 — 12:11 a.m.

Looks like she heard about those guys killing themselves. But… doesn't that mean she'll cross paths with the foreigners?

Which meant Jini and the Constellation had roughly—no, exactly—known when those three would die. They had even arranged to change the flight times.

Monk Hwayun, no doubt.

Tsk… if I'd left him alone, Hyeong-cheol really would have been dead within a day or two…

It wasn't even a Japanese-style Aegwi. Someone of Monk Hwayun's caliber would exorcise it easily. Hell, any proper shaman could handle it—so there was no need for me to step in and deal with it myself.

"How long to Gimpo?"

Right now, only the two of us were in this car—Yuri, Yeongho's mother, behind the wheel, and me in the passenger seat. The bitches had stayed behind in Gimcheon, and Juae and the teachers were following in the other car.

"I'm not sure, Master."

"Mm. A-jeong lands at 5:10, so we should have enough time. Text Juae and have her pick you up at the next rest stop."

"Ah… um… may I come along? I'll take a taxi home from there. I just want to see that bastard's face one last time while it's still intact."

"You going to be all right?"

"Yes. Of course. He's about to become a gay boy, after all… I just want to lock his face in my memory one final time."

The murderous aura that had ebbed surged back up again. Looking at Yuri's face—that same mad, grinning expression returning—made my head throb.

"Just switch seats at the next rest area."

"Yes…? How could I possibly dare drive Master's car… and Lady Emily said you only got two hours of sleep last night…"

"No. We switch so you can suck my cock the whole way to Gimpo. You know my trait."

"Ah!!! Yes."

The killing intent vanished from Yuri's eyes, replaced by a thick, eager anticipation.

As expected—nothing works better on my women than putting my dick in their mouths.

I smirked, picked up my phone, and texted Juae to ignore us and keep heading up on her own. Her reply came back shortly.

Chupungnyeong Rest Area came into view, and the car turned in.

"Should I just leave Hyeong-cheol's Aegwi alone too?"

"No. Yeongho died the way he did—at least one of them should suffer the same and spend the rest of his life atoning. Honestly, it feels even more satisfying this way."

Her voice was grim and resolute. I had no idea what it felt like to bury a child before you, so I didn't open my mouth again.

Being raped by men and broken into a life of submission really was the most horrific revenge imaginable.

My stomach growled.

Come to think of it, I hadn't eaten a thing since morning. The car stopped, and I got out at once, looking at Yuri.

"I'll grab some food. Stay in the passenger seat."

"I should—"

"No. I want to pick whatever looks good. I'm going to walk around a bit and buy."

"Ah… all right."

"What about you? What do you want?"

"Um… anything. Just get me the same thing you're having, Master."

"Hmm… fine. Wait here."

I lifted my head and started walking toward the rest stop buildings. Behind me, I heard a car door open.

Yuri should be back to normal now. Poppy, Pomi, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Posuni's mental states are covered under Mental Protection. Am I missing anything?

I ran through the checklist as I crossed the parking lot. Nothing left undone. The only thing still nagging at me was the trivial worry of whether putting Yuri in a taxi alone was really the right call—and even that faded from my mind the moment the smell of potatoes and every other kind of food hit my nose.

I headed to the coffee stand first and ordered two of Yuri's sweet coffees and two iced Americanos, then stocked up on baby potatoes, gimbap, and walnut pastries. Turning away, I pulled out my phone.

It started ringing. I switched it to silent and checked—texts from my high school classmates.

Well, Gimcheon's far, and none of us were close enough to those guys to show up at Hyeong-seop's funeral…

Every single message was some version of I'm not going!! Thankfully, because people had actually died, there was none of the usual gloating or "serves them right" crap.

No need to tell them I already went…

They called my number from behind the counter. I collected the coffee and food one by one and walked back to the car.

5:05 p.m.

"You're not drinking anything?"

"No. I'm full. You gave me… that… five times on the way here."

I shook my head. For the entire three and a half hours of the drive up, she hadn't taken her mouth off my cock once, and she'd managed to swallow five loads. Ever since I'd hit Level 4, the volume had become absurd—four hundred milliliters a shot—so she'd basically drunk nearly two liters. Even now, just remembering it, she was smiling with a blissful, dazed little grin.

I lifted my iced Americano, drained a long pull, and bit into a donut. We had a clear view of the domestic arrivals board, and I kept glancing between it and the gates. Thankfully, it didn't look like there were any delays.

She clung to me suddenly.

"Master. I'm really going to be good from now on."

"What, you weren't being good before?"

"No—I mean, I feel free now. And ever since earlier, all I can think about is how grateful I am to you, and how I have to give you everything."

Black suit, yellow jumper—a slightly mismatched outfit. Yuri leaned against my forearm and looked up at me.

"Just keep doing what you've been doing. Don't overdo it. Got it?"

"Yes. And… I'll serve Lady A-jeong."

I looked into her eyes. She was smiling, and it felt genuine. Still, I was curious why A-jeong specifically.

"Why? There are plenty of other women."

"I want to atone. In a way, Master went through all this trouble because of me… and I basically ruined Lady A-jeong's little brother…"

Pointless worry. Tsk.

"Drop it. I needed my own revenge anyway. That was an order, so if you've got another reason, spit it out."

"Well…"

Yuri made an awkward face, then lowered her eyes.

"It's just… the sense of taboo would be intense. She's clearly the sister of my enemy, so being taken by her would feel even better. And that way, later, I could put Lady A-jeong's child and the child in my own belly into Juae's womb together…"

"Huh…? Hahaha. Unbelievable… perverts everywhere. Absolute nest of perverts."

Wow… I can't even imagine what that would feel like. And implanting eggs into Hyeong-cheol's mother's womb on top of it…

I couldn't stop laughing. I stroked her hair, and when she looked up at me I nodded. Relief washed over her face.

"Fine. You'll be A-jeong's Number One concubine. I'll attach Juae to her too. When A-jeong's fertilized egg is ready to transfer, I'll text you. You can hand yours over to Juae as well if you want."

Having too many kids is its own problem, though…

"Yes."

"But are you okay with that? Raising your child in Juae's belly?"

"Yes. Next month I'll just carry Lady A-jeong's second."

"Haa… fine. Do whatever you want."

"Thank you, Master."

She closed her eyes and nestled tighter against my arm. The clock on the board hit ten past, and when I looked up, the display read that the plane had arrived.

I checked the gate—luckily it was right below us—and waited a little longer. Around 5:15 I took Yuri's arm and stood.

"Let's go. She should be out in a few minutes."

"Yes."

She unlinked her arm, cleared the table, and followed me. Near the arrivals hall she gripped my arm tightly.

"I'll hang back a little and head straight home. Here's the key."

I took the Mercedes key she handed over, slipped it into my pocket, and pulled her into a hug.

"Text me your number before you get in the taxi. Not just me—Jeong-mi and Emily too."

"Yes, Master."

She nodded and walked off toward a spot with a clear view of the exit gates.

Ten minutes. The board switched to "Landed," and my heart hammered hard at the thought of seeing A-jeong. Domestic arrivals took about ten minutes—five at the earliest, ten at the latest—and then I'd see her face.

Finally. It's connecting again. With A-jeong.

Puppy love. Whether a few kisses counted as real love, I still wasn't sure—but back then, it had felt like love. It had taken a long time, but the thought that it was about to bear fruit filled me with a swelling pride.

Around the five-minute mark, people started coming out.

And about a minute after that, A-jeong finally stepped through the arrivals gate. She looked exhausted—her face gaunt, her energy drained. She just dragged her suitcase along, walking with no strength left in her steps.

That… that light…

It flared for three or four seconds and vanished, but above Seo A-jeong's head a blue radiance had blazed like someone had switched on a bank of high beams, then disappeared.

Holy shit… compared to those mermaid girls, this has to be at least dozens of times stronger.

The mermaid girls had already been dozens of times brighter than the ticket-counter girl. Dozens of times beyond that… the light had been enormous.

Jini's voice snapped me back. Ahead of A-jeong, I could see two Pakistanis with backpacks. Darkish skin, mustaches—both of them looked rough and mean.

Summon.

The Cupid's Scrolls materialized from my pocket into my left and right hands. I started walking toward A-jeong.

Guess I'll just have to collide with them… tsk.

Tearing the scrolls would have been easier, but the item description said they had to be affixed, so I clicked my tongue and picked up the pace.

Between those two men, A-jeong was still walking with her head down, drained of strength. I waved like I was overjoyed and broke into a run.

"A-jeong!!!"

"Ian-ssi!!!"

In that instant I forced my way straight through the narrow gap between Muhammad and Ahman, and my shoulders slammed into both of them.

Thud. Thud.

They bounced off and went down hard.

"Oh?!! I'm so sorry."

I hurried to each of them in turn, clapped a hand on their shoulders, and stuck the scrolls on. The paper vanished in a blink.

"Watch where you're—! …Just go. It's fine."

"How am I supposed to make this up to—just go. It's fine."

They'd been snapping at me in English, but then they looked behind them, eyes going glassy, and waved me off with limp hands.

"Yes…? Thank you."

"I said go. And get ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out of the way."

"Yes. Well then…"

I bowed and turned around at once—and sure enough, Seo Hyeong-cheol was just coming through arrivals, leaning on his father's arm for support.

A-jeong had frozen for a second, but the moment I turned she came running.

"Ian-ssi…"

She dropped her suitcase beside me and threw herself into my arms. Without a word she held on tight and buried her face in my chest.

"You okay? You look rough."

"Yeah. Seeing you fixed it. And we shouldn't stand here—if Hyeong-cheol sees us…"

"Right."

While she stepped back for a moment to grab her suitcase, I summoned Seo Hyeong-cheol's Body Modification Scroll and tore it open on the spot. The activation chime rang immediately—he must have been within ten meters.

Thank you.

I hurriedly put my arm around her shoulders, took the suitcase from her, and walked toward the parking garage. In the distance I could see Yuri; she nodded.

Go carefully.

Yes.

A-jeong clung tighter, and we picked up the pace.

Ah… so is that it, then?

Yes… thank you. For going that far to handle it.

Yeah…

I'd have Yuri pick it up for me. I had zero confidence I could watch that filthy footage myself. A video of a man violating another man—just the thought was revolting.

I gave a crooked little smile and tightened my arm around A-jeong's.