Harem Mental Reform

Notification windows began cascading across my vision, one after another. Leaving Jiyun dozing on the bed as if she'd slipped into a light sleep, I ducked into the bathroom first and started washing up, reviewing each message as I went.

The gist was straightforward enough. I'd cleared the quests, and the system was paying out the matching rewards. What really caught my eye, though, was how generously the hidden missions paid.

Every other line item put together came to five points — and a single hidden mission had just dropped another five on top of that. Now that was a reward worthy of the name.

"I'll grant you all that. But what the hell is Harem Mental Reform supposed to be?"

Just hearing the name was enough. It had that unmistakable flavor — the kind of skill that only ever showed up in adult novels.

I pulled up the skill window to check. The other two were still sitting at level one — but Harem Mental Reform had come out of the box already maxed.

"Oh."

So it was an incredibly convenient skill. No matter how many women I was seeing, as long as they had feelings for me, they'd treat the whole arrangement as the most obvious thing in the world.

All those nagging little worries — won't someone think this is weird? Won't they say this is a bit much, no matter how you slice it? — I could fold them up neatly and toss them into the sky.

...Does this system want me to build a harem kingdom or something?

No. The system had been responding to my desires this whole time. So did that mean I'd actually wanted to build a harem kingdom? That the desire had been sitting there all along?

Honestly, it was a lot to take in. But whatever. A skill this convenient landing in my lap was a good thing.

Hot water sluiced down over me, and a deep, clean sense of refreshment settled in. Maybe it was because I'd gotten a proper workout in before washing up.

"You washed up first?"

I'd thought I was being pretty quick about it, but she must have woken in the meantime. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠When I stepped out toweling off, Jiyun was stretching her arms over her head, mid-yawn, looking thoroughly wrung out.

"Yeah. You should wash up too, noona."

"Mm, I should. Haa... my legs feel like they can barely hold me up."

She'd burned through just as much stamina on her end, so that tracked.

"That was my very first time, you know. I never imagined it'd get that intense."

...And if it had been her first time, well. Yeah. That would do it.

Coming inside her three times on her first go. The thought snagged, and I remembered the contraceptive — I pulled out a Surefire Contraceptive.

"Noona. Take this, just in case."

"Hm? What is it?"

"A contraceptive. I came inside, so... better safe than sorry."

"Wow. You're so thoughtful. You even carry that around."

Is 'thoughtful' even the word people use for this? In a situation like this, wouldn't most people treat you like a pervert? Something along the lines of, Is sex the only thing on your mind?

"I'll take it, then."

But Jiyun looked genuinely moved, like she really did think I was being considerate. Well. All's well that ends well.

That said, I was curious how the mental reform skill actually applied in practice. The three women I was already seeing had never shown a shred of resistance toward each other — if anything, they'd always given off the feeling that they were looking out for one another. Confirming the effect right now was going to be difficult.

A bit of a shame.

"I'll go wash up. Could you give the girls a call? Or actually — they're probably getting tired too. Should we have them come over, rest here for a bit, then head out?"

"Mm. I'll ask."

"Thanks~"

Once she'd disappeared into the bathroom, I tried Dayeon first.

The line rang and rang. She didn't pick up.

Eunchae would probably be the same, but I tried her anyway.

I was just about to hang up when a voice burst through the speaker.

"Hey, Eunchae. Figured we should meet up soon."

They must have split up for a bit. Eunchae shouted the update over to Dayeon, and I waited for a reply.

"If you two want to rest, bring noona over here. Otherwise we'll come to you."

"Homebridge. The lodging connected to Everland."

I figured just saying Homebridge ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠might not ring a bell, so I tacked on a quick explanation.

"Ah — it just kind of happened. I'll explain when you get here. Coming over?"

I told them to call once they reached the first-floor lobby and I'd come down to get them, then settled in to wait.

"Haa~ that feels good."

Jiyun had finished washing up in the meantime and was slowly picking her clothes up, putting them on one piece at a time.

"What'd the girls say? They're coming here?"

"Yeah. They're on their way. They were pretty shocked when I suddenly told them to come to a lodging."

"Mmm. Well, we did book it without saying a word. I can see why."

She'd hung her jacket on the hanger and put on nothing but the tank top and the skirt. The result was sexiness itself.

"Damn, noona. You're ridiculously sexy. Can I take a picture?"

Sitting there with her legs crossed, she looked like she'd walked straight off a magazine cover. Not taking a photo felt like I'd be the only one losing out.

"Hm? My hair isn't even dry yet."

"That's the sexy part."

Water still beading along her hair and sliding down her face, the clothes clinging to every line of her. If that wasn't sexiness distilled, I didn't know what was.

"Well. If you want to, go ahead."

She looked a little self-conscious, but she struck a pose for me anyway, and I went to work with my phone.

"Noona, if you turned on your camera and streamed, you'd blow up overnight."

"I've never actually thought about turning the cam on. Would it be okay?"

"Okay doesn't begin to cover it. Your subscribers would lose their minds."

A pretty face wasn't an automatic ticket to the top, of course — but it was an undeniable fact that being beautiful or handsome made the whole game a lot easier to win.

"Is that so? If you say I should try it, I will."

"No. Turning on the cam ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠has to be your choice. Doing it because someone told you to isn't right."

Putting your face on camera meant putting your face out there, period — circulating across the internet for anyone to find. Doing that just because someone else said you should didn't make any sense.

"I see. Hmm. Then I'll think about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it."

"Yeah. It's not a you-have-to thing. More of a if-you-did, people-would-go-crazy thing."

We were still talking when my phone buzzed. Dayeon and Eunchae must have arrived.

"Ah. They're here. I'll go get them."

"Want me to come too?"

"No. You're exhausted. Stay and rest."

"Mm~ thank you~"

Jiyun was walking with a hand braced against her lower back, and I had a feeling the other two would clock what we'd been doing the second they saw her. ...Not that they needed the visual. The moment I'd said I'd booked a room, the game was already up.

I headed down to the first-floor front desk, and there they were.

"Noona! Eunchae! Over here!"

Dayeon's pink hair was the kind of color that jumped out at you no matter where you stood.

"What's with the sudden room booking?"

Eunchae asked it with a thoroughly mischievous look on her face. This brat. She already knew perfectly well, and she was still asking.

"Let's go up. Jiyun noona's waiting."

"Hehe. So how was it with Jiyun unnie?"

She just kept going. I reached over and lightly clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Hey now — Dayeon noona's right here. You can't just say stuff like that out in public."

Famous or not, Dayeon was a YouTuber closing in on two hundred thousand subscribers. People recognized her when she was out and about. You couldn't stand next to someone like that and start running your mouth about sex in the middle of a lobby.

"Ah. Right. Unnie, sorry."

"Mmm, it's fine. Nobody recognized me here anyway. Let's just go up."

Fortunately, it seemed like no one inside Everland had spotted her.

"We should all take a trip overseas sometime. We'd be able to move around so much more freely, right?"

"Yeah. Overseas, it really is like that."

Even actual celebrities went unrecognized once they left the country. There was no chance anyone would pick Dayeon out of a crowd, which meant we could behave however we wanted.

"And nobody would understand what we're saying, so I could say whatever I want!"

Eunchae said it with genuine excitement. Dayeon and I, on the other hand, went straight to work bursting her bubble.

"I heard people understand Korean really well these days, though?"

"Yeah. The Korean Wave is no joke."

"Eehh...! No way...!"

"What were you even planning to say that's got you this wrecked?"

The reaction was funny, I'd give her that — but was it really worth that much shock?

"Well, se— mmph..!"

Dayeon clapped a hand over her mouth before the word could finish leaving it. And just like that, Eunchae was frog-marched into the room, her mouth still covered, looking for all the world like she was being taken into custody.

That girl, I swear. She really was something else.