Even Two Isn't Enough

Park Suchil nodded, a sly grin creeping across his face.

"Heh heh. I had a feeling ever since you two started insisting on that whole Master-and-slave act, but you really are a pair of sickeningly cringey freaks. Ha. Never in my life did I think I'd end up playing a part like this. You really never know how things are gonna turn out, huh?"

"Which part of 'apologize' sounded like an invitation for that?"

"Ah, whatever. No need to get all embarrassed and make excuses. This is that NTR thing, right? That pervy fetish where you steal someone else's woman? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Shit, I'm actually starting to get it a little. And here I thought I didn't have a taste for that kind of thing my whole life."

"..."

Listening to this piece of shit talk was not an easy thing.

"Still, just thinking about Song Yura calling me Master instead of you pretty soon... yeah, that actually gets me pretty worked up."

"You'd do well to shut that mouth."

Park Suchil flinched. He'd tasted my Killing Aura once before, and a single sentence was enough to make him shrink back and actually shut up.

Not really. I just didn't feel like listening to it.

I tilted my head at Karina's loaded remark, and before I knew it we'd arrived at Subok University's first basketball court. It was the kind of space a basketball club would normally rent out entirely, and the facilities were impressive enough that they had to be a reasonably successful club.

Though I get the feeling "successful" around here is measured by who joined, not by how well they play.

The roster looked like they'd scooped up every last popular kid on campus. The guys were mostly either good-looking or built like they could actually hoop. The girls perched around them, sipping from one-liter coffees and cheering with genuine excitement, looked just as high-caliber.

It was the kind of scene that, in the past, might have made me shrink a little — even if I never would have shown it.

Now it didn't bother me at all.

I was more...

"Even if a thousand — ten thousand — of those people gathered in one place, Master would still be far more amazing."

"..."

Song Yura's grip on my arm tightened with surprising force, and the words that tumbled out of her mouth stopped me dead. I had nothing.

"You really..."

I'd been about to ask if she was doing this just to mess with me.

I decided to change what I was going to say. No matter how I looked at it, those words would have crushed the effort and the courage it had taken her to say that out loud.

It's not like that.

I just had my own way of doing things, even when it came to revenge. Paying the people who'd tormented me back in the exact same coin would only make me no different from them.

So.

"I know."

"Sir?"

"...I know I'm more amazing."

Song Yura blinked, then her cheeks flushed adorably as she nodded.

"Yes! I think so too!"

"Tsk. Don't smile like that."

"D-do you not even want to see me smile?"

"...No. That was just me being irritable for no reason. Forget I said it."

"Sir? Okay..."

I tilted my head too.

Why had I even said that just now?

Meanwhile, Karina was flooding my vision with message windows I never asked for.

This woman was using the system however she damn well pleased.

Then again, it was this exact personality that had awakened me a full year early over some ridiculous "mistake." Maybe I should actually be grateful it was only this bad.

"Huh? Senior, you done talking with your girlfriend?"

Girlfriend?

I immediately glared at the guy who'd casually addressed Park Suchil. Was this really the caliber of Subok University? Or were all these people just that full of themselves?

"She's not my girlfriend yet. We got interrupted."

"Huh? Interrupted by what?"

They were playing off each other perfectly. A crowd of people — men and women alike — had already gathered around Park Suchil, sneaking glances my way, very much aware of my presence.

Every whispered voice reached my ears.

"That guy's kinda punchable, isn't he?"

"Look at him, all cocky with his hands in his pockets and a girl on his arm. And check out the way she's looking at him — like honey's dripping from her eyes. It's so fucking annoying."

"It's just the face. That's all he's got."

The body that Demonic Energy had transformed was clearly exceptional — most of the guys were either envious or wary of me.

The women, on the other hand...

"...Hey. Look at his collarbones."

"Oh my god, those long legs are what I noticed first. The fit is insane. I always thought the Mechanical Engineering department jackets were ugly, but I guess the face really does complete the look?"

"And that sharp jawline and nose? Those eyes are like knives. That's so my type..."

At this point, even I had to acknowledge it. I'd known my body had improved, but I'd never really thought of myself as good-looking. My jawline and nose had gotten a bit sharper, and I'd lost some of the baby fat in my cheeks. That was it. I never imagined that would be enough to turn an ordinary face into a handsome one. But thinking back to how the part-timers at Strawberry Pocha had been whispering...

"Song Yura."

"Yes, Master."

"That's... never mind."

I shook my head. That was not a question I could possibly ask her.

Do you think I'm good-looking too?

...Yeah, no.

She's my slave. She'd tell me I looked cool even if I stepped in shit on the street. That's not an objective opinion.

While I was talking myself into that conclusion, Park Suchil had apparently twisted the story however he pleased. I found myself face-to-face with a few burly guys who were looking at me like I was the scum of the earth.

"This guy's a total piece of shit."

"You're lucky our senior's a nice guy. Otherwise we'd beat the dust out of you right here. Got it?"

"When someone talks to you, you answer. That's how it works."

They were picking a fight so blatantly it was obvious they wanted me to take the bait. Honestly, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wouldn't have minded either way — but I didn't think these guys had done anything that deserved what I was capable of.

That said, I was in a bad mood.

"Shut up."

The more negative emotion I felt, the more violently Demonic Energy ran wild. The moment I opened my mouth with Killing Aura and Demonic Energy layered on top of it, the guys who'd been so confidently picking a fight clamped their mouths shut in shock.

"Whoa, whoa. We didn't come here to fight, right? We're here for a sacred duel over the woman we both love. As you can see, there's only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one Yura, and two men who want her — you and me."

"..."

Looking at Park Suchil, I was reminded that there was truly no end to human two-facedness. When we were alone, he couldn't even make a peep. Now that he had a crowd of people ready to back him up, he could flip his attitude like turning over a hand.

But...

"Well, if you're okay with it, I wouldn't mind making it a threesome."

...That crossed the line.

The moment he whispered that in my ear to keep his own image clean, while looking at Song Yura with those filthy eyes, I nearly lost my reason all over again.

"Come to think of it, you still had one good shoulder left."

"Huh?"

Park Suchil's eyes went wide, but before he could even pull his shoulder back, I already had it in my grip.

And then.

"GRAAAAH— GAH! AAAAAAAAH! My shoulder— my shoulder! Ah, fuck! My shoulder...!"

A sickening sound rang out, and before I could even properly appreciate it, Park Suchil was screaming and writhing on the polyurethane court floor.

The guys watching recoiled in shock, and in the same instant they all started to rush me.

I unleashed every last bit of my Killing Aura and warned them.

Screeeech—

In that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠instant, more than twenty burly guys all skidded to a halt, sneakers dragging across the floor.

"Tsk. Song Yura. You explain."

"Yes, Master."

Whether it was the humiliation of what Park Suchil had just said, or the embarrassment of calling me Master in front of everyone again — Song Yura's face burned red as she opened her mouth.

"I can't go into the details, but that man just made a disgusting pass at me. So Master gave him a light punishment. That's all."

A murmur rippled through the crowd. Song Yura's words caused a bit of confusion, but everyone here still trusted Park Suchil's version more. They all knew she'd been flirting with him, after all.

"Enough. We're wasting time, so let's get this match started. Oh, and since I took out that shoulder, I'm fine with taking on two of you."

"...F-fine. Gunong. Jangju. You two go. Get some payback for me."

At Park Suchil's call, two guys who looked well over six-three nodded and stepped in front of me. They were definitely much bigger than I was. I'd thought that after growing taller, there wouldn't be anyone left I had to look up at — but standing in front of them, their shadows actually fell over me.

"Hold my jacket."

I shrugged off the annoying jacket and handed it to Song Yura, then rolled the sleeves of my T-shirt up just a little.

"Can I... cheer for you?"

Song Yura asked carefully, and I answered.

"No need. Don't bother."

"...Okay."

Damn it.

What was she getting all dejected over? I frowned, scooped up a basketball that was rolling around on the floor, and said,

"It'll be over soon. That's why I said you don't need to."

"Ah, yes! Understood!"

Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.

I actually liked basketball more than you'd expect. I'd been a gloomy kid growing up, but that didn't mean my physical abilities were terrible. I just barely had any friends. So among the ball sports you could play alone, basketball had been my favorite. I could shoot by myself. I could practice dribbling by myself.

Been a while since I touched one of these, but it feels fine.

No — "fine" didn't cover it. The clean, waste-free evasive movements I'd learned through the Esteber family's training, and the precise control I'd developed to thoroughly destroy wooden training dummies — both of those were clearly translating to basketball.

A light tap of the ball. After a quick check of my condition, I heard them mention half-court rules and faced off against the two basketball club members.

"Man, this seems a little much, doesn't it?"

"He probably feels bad about wrecking the guy's shoulder in a fit of anger, so he's just gonna throw the game. Admitting defeat outright would be too embarrassing, right?"

I passed them the ball to start the half-court game. In a one-on-two half-court match, play begins the moment the solo player receives the inbound pass back from the other team.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Ha. So you're saying you're gonna beat two guys who compete in actual tournaments for a university basketball club? This isn't elementary school, pal. You won't even get inside the three-point line. And if you try some lucky shot from outside, it's getting blocked instantly. Got it?"

"Park Suchil, and now this guy too. Does everyone in the basketball club play with their mouths?"

"This son of a bitch!"

The second one of them angrily threw me the ball, he charged. Massive frame, arms spread wide, center of gravity low in his knees, eyes on me instead of the ball — he clearly had the fundamentals down.

With a physique like that and consistent training, he might have even gone pro. But I was never something that should be measured by the same standards as a "human."

Fssshh—

Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.

Like black smoke weaving through every gap, I moved on an entirely different timeline from theirs — and I was already soaring toward the hoop.

SLAM. The rim rattled.

A one-handed dunk so effortless it barely felt like anything, and the net shuddered in its wake.

I landed lightly and looked at the two guys standing there, completely stunned.