Jo Byeongsu
I spoke up as everyone settled around the table and began filling their cups.
"Shouldn't we offer some to those Heavenly Knights as well?"
Jeongmi looked at me.
"'Those'? They're the Jisin's personal guards. You shouldn't address them that way."
I waved a hand with a look that said I understood. Minhwa cut in.
"They're not allowed to drink, so I had a late-night snack prepared and sent over to them separately."
I turned to Minhwa and smiled gently.
We all raised our glasses and drank. The liquor was extraordinarily fragrant, sliding down our throats without resistance. After a few rounds the warm buzz had settled in. Traditional spirits always packed more of a punch than you expected. It wasn't just me—everyone's faces had loosened.
I looked between Jeongmi and Yunchae.
"I never imagined Yunchae would be the one to put that ring on him, though."
Yunchae lowered her head. Jeongmi smirked.
"We decided to take turns, one at a time. Once more Heavenly Knights join us later, Minhwa and Miryeong will handle it."
"More? They're coming?"
Jeongmi only smiled and said nothing further. I looked at Yunchae, still with her head bowed.
"It was awkward, wasn't it?"
She nodded.
"The only man's I've ever touched is the Jisin's, so…"
Jeongmi burst out laughing.
"Then Gwangsu is your second man?"
After laughing a little too hard, she turned to Minhwa.
"Minhwa's a married woman, so the Jisin can't have been her first…"
Minhwa spoke up at once.
"I slept with my husband, but that was all. I never even touched him like that. And I've never so much as held another man's hand besides his."
The room went cold. An awkward silence fell. No one knew Minhwa's history, and every face said the same thing: Is that even possible? To break the tension, Jeongmi turned to Miryeong.
"We've had a few drinks. What about you, Miryeong? Plenty of experience with men?"
Miryeong kept her eyes down, fiddling with her glass, then drained it in one shot. Under everyone's gaze, she opened her mouth.
"I've had loveless sex a few times. One-night stands. Just to work off physical desire."
It wasn't much of a confession, yet somehow the whole room went colder still. Miryeong continued.
"From now on, I don't even intend to think about that. I'm prepared to bury my bones in this place. So my body and my heart belong to the Jisin. If the Jisin tells me to be with another man, I will. If he tells me not to, I won't."
Something solemn settled over the atmosphere. Then Minhwa smiled.
"Same for me."
Yunchae spoke in a low voice.
"Me as well. It was the first time I'd touched another man's, but it didn't feel particularly different."
The mood recovered, and we drank ourselves thoroughly drunk. Once the liquor had a real hold, Jeongmi threw herself at me without any pretense, and Minhwa, not about to be outdone, piled on as well. Miryeong, who had only been watching from the side, edged closer with quiet insistence, and Yunchae wasn't about to stay still either. We tangled together, biting and sucking at one another. In the middle of it, Jeongmi spoke.
"If we take turns being held by the Jisin, that's one thing. But if it isn't like that—isn't it hard for you to handle all of us alone?"
I looked at her. Her eyes were unfocused as she went on.
"Sometimes, for our sake—what about inviting a man?"
I was mildly startled.
"Another man?"
Jeongmi clung to me with that same glassy look and a devilish smile, while Yunchae and Minhwa watched her, waiting for an answer. Even then Miryeong had my cock in her mouth between my legs. Her boldness was a little unexpected as well.
"Well… it still feels a bit early, but I have a feeling that kind of time will come soon enough."
Minhwa waved a hand.
"I'll pass. I don't want anyone else."
Yunchae said nothing, but she was nodding. Looking at them with an expression that said of course that would be their reaction, Jeongmi spoke.
"All right, all right. From where I'm sitting, you're still a long way off. This is the first time we've all been held by the Jisin together like this. I feel like I just told people taking their first steps that we should try flying…"
Sensing the mood might turn strange, I laughed a little too loudly and pulled the women into my arms. Jeongmi dropped the subject, and so did the others.
That night we all got thoroughly, soaking drunk, and I had sex with Miryeong, Yunchae, and Minhwa. I tried with Jeongmi as well, but I could no longer get hard, and exhaustion dragged me under. When I opened my eyes in the morning I was holding Jeongmi, and the other women were sprawled asleep here and there. It had been a messy night if you wanted to call it that, but it didn't feel dirty—if anything, it felt clean and good.
One by one we woke with hungover grimaces, took turns in the shower, and ate. When we returned to my quarters, Myeongsuk was waiting for me. She led me into the inner room and began, her face serious.
"I'm sorry to bother you first thing in the morning. It's about Gu Yeonsu."
At Myeongsuk's words my hangover vanished. I straightened my posture and focused.
"I looked into her employees. Just as she said, every one of them had submitted resignations and stopped coming in. The circumstances differ, but from what I found, each of them was pressured to quit—threatened, more or less. And every time, the pressure used their families."
I frowned.
"So they're squeezing Gu Yeonsu into selling the land back. And with the dirtiest methods possible."
Myeongsuk nodded.
"Exactly. The dirtiest methods. Going after someone's family is about as low as it gets."
"Did you find out who did it?"
She nodded again.
"The only bastard who'd use shit like this is that bastard."
I smiled faintly. Hearing Myeongsuk swear was oddly charming.
"And who is that bastard?"
She was still grave. If anything, she grew graver.
"But on this particular job, that bastard didn't step forward himself. He put someone out in front, and I found who that person is. I couldn't pin a direct link to the bastard I mentioned—I've got a gut feeling, but no hard proof."
The story seemed to be getting complicated again.
"Who is that person?"
Myeongsuk scowled as she answered.
"A man named Jo Byeongsu. On the surface he does real estate. In practice he does loan-sharking as well."
I sat up straighter.
"Sounds roughly like a competitor."
Myeongsuk straightened too.
"You could put it that way. But unlike Gu Yeonsu, he's a much darker sort. He's got a long list of deals, and almost all of them tie into government national projects. He's first in line for a huge number of properties the Korea Asset Management Corporation is liquidating, and most of those deals look fishy."
"You already knew him?"
Myeongsuk bit her lip, seemed to think for the briefest moment, then spoke.
"I know him. He's a very bad man."
I tilted my head and waited for the rest.
"On the outside, Jo Byeongsu is a legitimate operator. His business is taking assets off the Asset Management Corporation's hands and turning a profit. But there are plenty of firms around the Corporation doing the same work. For him to beat all of them out for that much volume, the only explanation is that someone powerful higher up is greasing the wheels."
I cut her off midstream.
"You've been saying 'on the surface' and 'on the outside' a lot. Sounds like their real nature is something else."
Myeongsuk nodded.
"That's right. Jo Byeongsu is a gangster."
"What?"
I was genuinely startled. The nuance had been there, but hearing the answer laid out so flat still shocked me.
"He's an old hand who primarily cleans up after very powerful people. Almost no politician or businessman hasn't heard of him. He's the kind of figure people avoid if they can help it. He has his fingers in that many pies, and that is exactly his strength."
I rubbed my jaw and nodded.
"I'm getting a sense of the man. So he's a syndicate boss now?"
Myeongsuk sighed.
"Yes. There's even talk that someone helped him grow the organization—under the protection of the prosecutors, no less. A lot of the Asset Management Corporation's properties are headaches. You can handle them legally, of course, but it takes forever. He clears them in an instant."
I nodded.
"The way he's doing with Gu Yeonsu right now."
"Exactly."