The Idol's Pillow Service

Jung Sujin's first climax.

It brought me a great deal of progress.

First, submission. It had climbed to nearly half. Given how little time we had left, the gauge had filled an impressive amount.

Just ten percent more and we'd hit the halfway mark. I just needed to push a little harder.

The favorability going up is a bit of a problem…

Favorability goes haywire once it hits fifty percent, so I'd rather it didn't climb at all — but this wasn't something I could control. Of course, keeping it above a certain threshold was useful in its own way. At least it meant she wouldn't try to hurt me.

"Alright. Time to move on to the next phase."

A park, somewhere. Dressed in a suit, I met with my women separately. Jung Sujin would be sleeping like the dead right about now. According to Kim Yerin, once she was out, you could flip her over and she wouldn't even twitch.

"The next operation is simple."

Kim Yerin beamed, her face loaded with malice. Who should I wreck today? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠That was the look. Did a person have to practice to pull off an expression that demonic? It was a little unsettling.

"We create a situation where she has no choice but to do it."

She slapped a notebook scrawled with the operation down onto the table.

"…That's some shitty handwriting."

"Hey!"

Kim Yerin's penmanship was so atrocious that even Victoria — who had grown up in Russia — felt compelled to say so.

"Whew. I know you're brilliant. But damn, your handwriting is terrible."

"Shiiiit!"

"Come to think ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of it, even back in college you never took handwritten notes during lectures. Fine. Let's hear what this operation actually is."

Kim Yerin glared for a moment, irritation flickering across her face, then settled. Had she learned to manage her temper in front of Baek Hanyoung? I probably would have too.

"Jung Sujin is a woman bound by rules. She's been an S-classSuperhuman since she was a kid, so she can't control it."

"Uh… isn't that backwards?"

If she'd been handling that kind of power for so long, shouldn't controlling her ability be easy by now?

"No, you've got it wrong. The reason most superhumans start at F-class is because their bodies need time to adapt to their abilities. But Jung Sujin started as S-class, so she's still not used to it."

Is that so…

"So what exactly is Jung Sujin's ability? It's pretty vague…"

Han Yuri could do everything a dragon could do. Victoria created ice. But Jung Sujin could make someone's head explode just by looking at them — or tear them to pieces entirely. What kind of ability was that?

"That's exactly why the government keeps Jung Sujin under special management. That bitch can create any disease she wants."

"What…?"

"To be precise, I don't even know if you'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠call it a disease. A normal virus doesn't rip its host's body to shreds. But that's the conclusion the government reached after burning through dozens of heroes."

A disease. I'd thought her ability was something that let her freely rewrite the laws of physics.

"You understand why she's dangerous, right? If that bitch put her mind to it, she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could create a disease that works even on S-class. Just use the principle of cancer cells. Super cancer cells, I guess you'd call them."

"Good God!"

"We've gone off on a tangent. Back to the point. Jung Sujin is an idiot who can't properly control her own ability. This whole incident made that crystal clear."

She rummaged through her pocket, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and stuck one between her lips.

"Ah, my lighter…"

"The cigarette."

"Huh?"

"Put it out."

Baek Hanyoung saw it and threw a punch — instantaneous speed so fast the tip of her fist blurred. The cigarette in Kim Yerin's mouth was clipped by that fist and snapped clean. If it had come even a fraction closer, it would have been her cheekbone that broke.

"I'm pregnant."

"W-what?"

"You probably are too. So put the cigarette away. It's dangerous for the baby."

Kim Yerin blinked. Had she not even known she was pregnant?

"How would you even…"

"Someone of my caliber can tell what's happening inside her own body. You'll be able to tell soon enough yourself."

The two of them were silent for a while. But Kim Yerin quietly set down the cigarette she'd been holding. Then she tossed the pack into the trash can beside her.

"Let's think for a second before we start."

And so a brief silence followed.

The next day, Jung Sujin woke from a rare night of deep sleep feeling genuinely refreshed. She stretched her long, slender limbs until they pulled taut. A satisfying crack sounded from her waist, and a shiver of pleasure ran all the way up her spine. Her heart was pounding. What on earth would today bring?

"Hm?"

But when she looked around, the members' expressions were strange. What was this? Everyone looked like they were dying.

"Why is everyone making that face? We're idols, you know!"

"…Sujin."

"Yes?"

Kim Yerin, who always wore an easygoing expression, had a face full of gloom today for some reason. Why? Jung Sujin — who was generally kind to her members as long as they weren't performing — approached her with genuine concern.

"You haven't heard the news today?"

"News? What news! The concert isn't even here yet!"

"That's not it. Haaa…"

Kim Yerin tore at her black hair. Why? Don't tell me Dugun Dugun Heart Attack was getting disbanded. That couldn't happen.

"Never mind. You don't need to get involved in something like this. Just forget it."

"…What's going on?"

"You don't need to know. If you found out, you'd get hurt too."

Surprisingly, Jung Sujin felt a strange sense of friendship toward Kim Yerin. It was probably thanks to the favor of being taught something good. Having never experienced anything resembling friendship before, she didn't realize it had already begun to change her — and she worried for Kim Yerin with complete sincerity.

"Please tell me, Yerin unnie."

"I'm sorry. I can't say…"

"Unnie!"

"I'm sorry, but I have no choice if I want to protect you. I'd like you to forget I said anything."

She grabbed Kim Yerin's hand. That strong woman grabbing her almost made Kim Yerin throw a punch on reflex, but with nearly transcendent patience she managed to keep her grip on sanity.

"We're family now. Shared misfortune is halved, you know? I'd like you to tell me what happened."

"Huuu…"

She took the bait. Kim Yerin held back a laugh. This easy…? She's fallen for him completely.

"You're an adult too, so I suppose I can tell you. But…"

"Unnie!"

"Alright, alright."

She put on a look of grim resolve. At that, Jung Sujin grew somewhat serious.

"Word came down from the higher-ups."

"Th-the higher-ups?"

"Dirty, despicable bastards. They said they need our 'help' if we want to release the next song."

Of course no such thing had happened. Who would dare make such a grotesque proposal to a group that had an S-class superhuman in it? They wouldn't have a thousand lives left to lose.

"Help…"

"You've figured it out by now, right? Those bastards want our bodies."

"Th-that's ridiculous…!"

"Now you understand what I'm saying? Stay out of this one."

No. She absolutely must not stay out of it. Once you've taken the bait, you get reeled in quietly.

"…I can't do that!"

"What?"

"We're family! Sleeping, eating… happiness and hardship — we share it all!"

This from a woman who killed people over a single missed dance step. Completely inconsistent. But that very quality seemed to be letting the plan unfold without a hitch.

"But…"

"I'll help! What do I need to do?"

"Drop it. This isn't something you can do. We'll make the sacrifice ourselves!"

"No! There's no such word as impossible in my dictionary."

That's because you're an S-class superhuman, you damn silver-spoon bitch.

Kim Yerin wanted to spit those words out. She held them back.

"Huuuuu… You really are an idiot."

"A courageous idiot, please."

"Doing something you don't even have to do. Truly foolish. But… if that's what you say."

"Yes!"

The fish was hooked. Far too easily. She'd barely lifted the rod, and already a prize catch was flopping out of the water.

"Tonight… you'll be meeting with the higher-up. Wear the sluttiest clothes you can. You need to please him."

"…Okay."

From now on, she would be meeting her Master. And she would offer up that lewd body of hers — a body far better suited to making children than being an idol.

The thought of presenting such a rare female to her master put Kim Yerin in an excellent mood.