As Long as It's Not Me
Unable to stay at her own home any longer, Yoon Ha-young ended up relying on Seo Hyun-ju's help. Somehow, Hyun-ju had gotten wind of the situation and reached out first, offering to put her up for a while.
"Come on in."
"Ex, excuse me..."
Yoon Ha-young, thoroughly shrunken in on herself, carefully slipped off her shoes and stepped inside. As the team leader at a fairly reputable media outlet, Hyun-ju's place was decently upscale. It was a full lease, but looked about 1,300 square feet, with spotless interiors—and above all, the city nightscape visible through the living room glass was stunning.
"You can stay in that room over there. The bathroom's inside."
"Um, wait...!"
Ha-young stopped Hyun-ju, who had given the bare minimum explanation and was heading to her own room.
"Thank you for letting me stay... And I'm sorry... for everything... That time too, because of me...!"
"..."
Hyun-ju let out a sigh as she gazed at the utterly deflated woman.
"Go shower and get some sleep."
"..."
With a response that could feel a bit cold, she disappeared into her room. Ha-young bowed toward the closed door. She stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, then shuffled into the guest room.
"...This one room is bigger than my whole place."
Her own apartment, ruined by semen, cost a whopping 1.2 million won a month for barely 130 square feet. Ganghwa had high land prices, so that much was somewhat understandable—but the real problem was elsewhere. Shouldn't a person at least be able to live humanely?
The bathroom inside was so cramped you could barely manage to use the toilet and wash your face. For a proper shower, you had to use the shared one at the end of the hallway—a bathroom shared by the entire floor. For AC or heat, you had to go beg the first-unit resident on each floor to turn it on. And that was just the tip of the iceberg of absurdities. Yet it still gouged her for 1.2 million won every month.
"Fucking psycho."
How could she not curse them out?
The argument with the landlord came back to her. That pig of a woman, now forced to replace the wallpaper and flooring, demanded Ha-young cover every penny—or she'd deduct it from the deposit. A sigh and disillusionment washed over her. A person had been through hell, trembling in fear, and all she could say in that moment was that?
Thank god the cops were there; otherwise, she might've gotten physical.
'Is that my fault or something...'
Why take it out on me? I'm just the victim here.
She stripped and stepped into the bathroom. The en-suite was the size of her entire studio.
"..."
A transparent partition sectioned off the bathtub, with a shower booth in front. She turned on the showerhead.
Shwaaaaa.
Perfectly warm water poured out, quickly filling the room with steam. Her reflection in the mirror gradually fogged over.
"Filthy trash like that... I wish they'd just drop dead..."
+ +
The next morning. Even after breakfast, plenty of time remained. Hyun-ju checked her phone over coffee.
"..."
Yoon Ha-young watched her boss's eyes darting busily behind her glasses, sucking on her straw with a slurp. It was awkward. They weren't close enough to chat casually with the team leader, so discomfort was inevitable. This was as "improved" as relations had gotten lately.
"Um... Team Leader."
"Yes."
"Don't you use... a home robot?"
"I do."
"Then where is it...?"
"Bought a new one recently. Was supposed to arrive on delivery day, but they delayed it last minute. Managing without for now."
"Ah... I see..."
Silence fell again. Then Hyun-ju set her phone down.
"Ha-young."
"Y-yes?"
"About what I mentioned before—can you do it today? No pressure if it's too much. Especially after yesterday."
"What...?"
"Leaking the no-indictment list. That's how I can screenshot it and run the story."
"Ah...!"
The no-indictment list! Memories from yesterday flooded back: the shock of spotting Rainbow Miracle on it, the nauseating stench of blood at the Dream First execution site, Prosecutor In Eun-a's words stabbing into her brain one by one.
'Haha... yesterday was really...'
Truly a fantastical day.
"Can you keep up the special prosecution push?"
"..."
Honestly, she wasn't sure. Fear aside, could she endure with her heart wavering like this every day?
'...'
Prosecutor In Eun-a's words lingered sharply in her chest, stirring her up again.
"I... don't know..."
"..."
"I don't know what to do... if I'm really... on the right path..."
"Where'd that old fire go? You'd argue tooth and nail that your articles were perfect when I asked for revisions."
"..."
She hung her head. Nothing to say.
Hyun-ju stood silently and placed a card on the table. It was luxurious—black with gold edging.
"Take a break for now. I'll leave the card; order food with it."
"Wha?? No, you don't have to go that far...!"
Hyun-ju left for the door and headed to work.
"..."
"..."
Was this even sane? Yoon Ha-young felt bewildered, but soon a smile crept in. A bit of warm light pierced her increasingly frayed heart.
"Thank you... Team Leader..."
+ +
Lunchtime. As a minimal show of conscience and gratitude, Yoon Ha-young thoroughly cleaned every corner before ordering a burger with the card Hyun-ju gave her. Turning down such absurd consideration via text felt rude.
But then,
"Why's the payment... like this?? "
Something was off. She'd ordered a Quattro Maximum Meat Onion Focused Amazing Ultimate Grilled Patty of the Biggest For Super Meat Freak Premium Legend Cheese Steak Burger set—10,900 won plus 5,000 delivery, totaling 15,900. But checkout showed 1,590 won. Error? Checking the details: a whopping 90% discount.
'Was there an event like this?'
No events, no coupons. She tried another store to check.
"This one's 90% off too."
Cancel, try another.
"This too...!"
Five stores, all 90% off. Something was up with the card.
Now she examined it closely.
"Goryeo... Prestige...?"
Issuer wasn't Goryeo Card, but Goryeo Prestige.
"Royal Exclusive...?"
And ominous fine print!
"Goryeo Prestige Royal Exclusive VIP Card? Why would Team Leader have something like—"
Her eyes widened as suspicion dawned.
"...No way."
That ominous feeling again. Her blood ran cold, nerves on edge.
+++
"Did you do it right?"
"Yes. She's sharp and quick on the uptake, so she'll notice for sure."
"Good."
I mulled over Hyun-ju's report in the nude. Yoon Ha-young, suddenly homeless, crashes at Hyun-ju's; I have her take a few days off and shove my special card at her for expenses.
That card's a custom job I got for my pussy houses—insane perks no normal person could dream of. 90% off everything up to 10 million won limit. Within Goryeo Group's reach, anyway—which is basically synonymous with South Korea. So yeah, up to 10 mil a month at 90% off, easy.
It's so ridiculous, anyone sharp will go 'What the hell?' and inspect it, spotting "Goryeo Prestige" and all that jazz.
'Then she'll suspect. What reasonable reason would Seo Hyun-ju have for a monster like that?'
One reason: getting hauled to some mansion for a gang-rape because she couldn't control her underlings. Nothing else links Hyun-ju to Goryeo Prestige. At least not in Yoon Ha-young's eyes.
"Good work. Come suck me off."
I spread my legs, and nude Hyun-ju swiftly knelt between them. Her red lips parted, swallowing my cock.
Slurp, slurp.
She deepthroated till her nose mashed my crotch and her glasses smeared, then pulled back till her lips caught the head. Rinse and repeat, fast.
"Act as suspicious as possible when you get back tomorrow. Make sure Yoon Ha-young follows you."