The Doppelganger's Offer
“Won’t you take me in, honey? I need you.”
“What the hell are you talking about all of a sudden?”
I pushed her away as she approached me naked. “Aren’t you being too cold? We’ve already mixed our bodies together. We even synced our breathing during the day, didn’t we? Melon Punch!”
Ryeo threw a punch at my chest. “Don’t change the subject.”
“It’s harder than last time.”
She withdrew her fist and sat on the edge of the bed. “Why don’t you sit down too?”
“……”
I brought the chair from the desk and sat in front of her.
“I betrayed the organization. If they find out I’m alive, they won’t stay quiet.”
“Then you should’ve kept your loyalty.”
“You want me to stay loyal while I’m locked underground having my skin peeled off without anesthesia? If I’d kept my loyalty, I wouldn’t have kept my life. I don’t know what you think of me, but I’m not that devoted to the organization. It’s a mafia, after all. People gathered through profit or threats, not some grand cause. Even if there was one, I wouldn’t have followed it.”
“So you betrayed them and joined here?”
“That’s right. As proof that I’m firmly on this side, I spilled everything I know. The internal situation of the organization, who the executives currently landed in Korea are, all of it. And today, I even matched breathing with you in place of Double Melon. You felt it too, right? I did my best to help.”
“To prove your loyalty to the boss? Good for you. The job ended successfully. But what does that have to do with this?”
Ryeo gave a bitter smile. “The boss accepted my surrender. And hired me at the company called Black Star. But that’s not enough. I’m still a traitor. My position is ambiguous to be seen as the boss’s person. The boss can discard me anytime, and everyone else will think the same.”
“So?”
“I need something more certain.”
“Something certain?”
“You. Won’t you take me in?”
“……”
“I’m not asking to be your lover. Just being a sex outlet you use when you need it is enough. I’ll do whatever you tell me to.”
Ryeo got off the bed and knelt in front of me. “I don’t even want a child. Just let me be your woman, even if it’s just a woman you use when you need one. That’s enough.”
As she said that, she tried to pull down my pants. I grabbed her hand.
“Why me?”
I understood what she was saying. Whether as a lover or a sex partner, she wanted the position of being my woman. I could guess her intention, but not the reason. Why me, of all people?
If you lined up the races appearing in Under the Blue Moon by average combat power, werewolves would clearly rank at the very top. But I’m just an individual. I’m not like the boss, moving a large group bound by blood called a clan. I’ve only entrusted myself to the boss and the company he runs for my own sake. In a way, I’m in the same position as Ryeo. So I couldn’t understand her actions.
“You know, I don’t think you’ll stay here forever.”
“What?”
“I don’t think you’ll stay under the boss—no, under Angel—forever.”
“…… Are you saying I’ll betray him? If you’re trying to sow discord, get out right now. Before I smash that face I hate so much.”
“No, no, no! That’s not what I mean, honey.”
When I clenched my fist, Ryeo quickly waved her hands in denial. “I’m not talking about betrayal. It’s closer to independence.”
“Independence?”
“I think you have what it takes to lead a pack.”
“…… What makes you think that?”
“Well. A hunch? Sorry, sorry. Just kidding. You came running after me the moment you heard Double Melon had been kidnapped. You endured and endured and endured again to save her. You kept observing the situation and tried to find a way to not hurt her.”
“Don’t say such embarrassing things. And what does that have to do with having what it takes to lead a pack?”
It wasn’t that I couldn’t guess at all why Ryeo was saying this. One of the skills I obtained, [Alpha Male’s Qualification]. The name alone makes it sound like a talent for fooling around with every woman, but it’s actually a bit different. If I had to say, it’s more like a leader’s qualification. Until now, I’d thought it was just a skill in name only. Because I hadn’t felt any particular change myself. Because none of the qualities that could be called a leader’s had bloomed. Things like charisma that overwhelms the room. Or eloquence that captivates the masses. There had been no change. I’d assumed it was probably the kind of skill given for main story progression. But was that not the case?
“Are you joking right now?”
Ryeo looked at me like I was spouting nonsense. My chest felt a pang at that expression. Had I made a mistake? The truth was, I didn’t know much about werewolves. I knew game performance and sub-race classifications, but not their ecology or background settings. Partly because I wasn’t the type to dig through documented settings, but also because possession happened right at the start of the game, so I skipped the intro that briefly explained basic race descriptions, play guides, and the character’s personal story.
Can’t be helped. I asked in a calm voice, “Did you know about werewolves?”
“You were testing me? Heh. Of course I know that much. I’m the one who tried to seduce you, a werewolf. Just like you studied doppelgangers, I’ve studied werewolves too.”
Thank goodness. It worked. I stared at her in silence. Then Ryeo started rattling off what she knew.
“A tribe, the pack of werewolves, is quite different in nature from groups of other races. It’s closer to a family than a magician’s guild united for sharing technology and information, or a vampire clan close to a large family centered on blood.”
I only knew that werewolf groups were called tribes, but not the details. I listened to Ryeo’s words.
“A strange group between tribe and clan. Their leader is closer to a family head than a clan head, and compared to leaders of other groups, their role as pack guardian is much greater. You showed that you’d risk danger to protect your woman, Double Melon. So I’m asking you. Please take me as your woman.”
“She’s not my woman.”
I wanted to hear more details, but I shouldn’t pry, so I’d stop here.
“More than that, what’s in it for me? And isn’t going this far too pathetic?”
“Pathetic? Is there anything more important than life in this world? I just want to live for certain, honey.”
Ryeo grabbed my pants again. “And if it’s with you, that would be even better. Back then the situation was what it was, so I teased you with bedroom techniques, but that wasn’t my real intention. You’re big. And you fit me perfectly. Both length and thickness.”
Ryeo buried her nose against the still-unopened zipper. “The smell too.”
She looked up at me with her cheek pressed against my crotch. “I’m not asking you to decide right now, honey. Think about it slowly. I’ll be much more useful than you think. Even though I lost the skin I’d collected, I can still transform into Double Melon next time and take her place.”
As she said that, Ryeo’s appearance changed into Go Yu-jin’s. Along with the transformation came Go Yu-jin’s scent. A scent no different from Go Yu-jin herself.
“Even if the transplanted skin area is small and it’s just mimicking the appearance, I can still serve you in this form, right?”
As she said, doppelgangers were very useful. If I could secure a lot of skin, they could play various roles, and she knew more about werewolves than I did. Just as she said, there was resistance to making her my woman, but if I handled her well, maybe I could hear more stories?
Looking down at her who had transformed into Go Yu-jin’s appearance, various questions came to mind. Among them, how much could I find out through her? I slowly sorted through them. While I was lost in thought without speaking, she seemed to have taken my silence as permission for her actions. She pulled down the zipper. Ziiip—! And as she tried to remove my pants and underwear, I placed my hand on her head.
“Don’t do that in that form.”
It wasn’t something I’d ordered, but seeing her say and do these things in Go Yu-jin’s form somehow made me feel sorry toward her. It felt like having dirty fantasies about someone around me. To put it more bluntly, like masturbating to a woman I know?
“Oh my. Hehehe.”
Ryeo laughed and stood up. Maybe it was just my imagination, but with that movement, Go Yu-jin’s scent seemed to have doubled in intensity.
“You’re saying you like my original form more than Double Melon? This is an honor!”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Hahaha. It’s fine, honey. It’s just the two of us here. You can be honest about your desires. It’s embarrassing to say it myself, but I’m actually pretty popular, you know?”
Ryeo spun around on the spot. Her appearance returned to normal, and the Go Yu-jin scent that had been wafting around changed to Ryeo’s. It had been like that earlier too. In an instant, Go Yu-jin’s scent disappeared and what remained was only Ryeo’s scent…… only?
I shot up from the chair. Go Yu-jin’s scent hadn’t disappeared. It was still there. And the direction wasn’t from Ryeo, but……
From beyond the door came the sound of rough footsteps. I roughly pushed the naked Ryeo away and ran to the door. I unlocked it and stepped out into the hallway. I saw Go Yu-jin’s back walking down the corridor with irritated steps. Her scent lingered quite strongly in front of the door. She must have stood here for a moment.
I opened my mouth, which wouldn’t move easily, and called out to her. “Hey……!”
But Go Yu-jin didn’t even look back and continued walking down the hallway.
“Hey! Go Yu-jin! Hey!”
The voice I spat out scattered and Go Yu-jin’s figure gradually grew distant. Damn it.
*
Though her heart was complicated with pride and various other reasons, in the end Go Yu-jin reached the conclusion that she should apologize to Rin. Because she realized she had misunderstood many things and gotten unnecessarily irritated. No one else would know how much internal conflict and worry had tormented her before making this decision.
‘I’ll just close my eyes and say it.’
Then she’d feel better. She headed to Rin’s room, suppressing her footsteps. She stood in front of his door. Since he was a werewolf, he would definitely notice her presence by her scent. So she waited until then. While waiting, she organized what she would say in her head. Then she heard voices. Rin and Ryeo’s voices.
Her mood soured at first upon hearing Ryeo’s coquettish voice. But she held it in for now. However, her patience didn’t last long.
“Even if the transplanted skin area is small and it’s just mimicking the appearance, I can still serve you in this form, right?”
Ryeo’s voice changed. That awkward yet familiar voice. It wasn’t difficult to guess whose it was. Ryeo had clearly transformed into her own appearance.
“Don’t do that in that form.”
Rin said. In that form?
“You’re saying you like my original form more than Double Melon? This is an honor!”
Hearing those words, everything she had been thinking and worrying about was erased from her mind.
‘That damn bastard!’
Go Yu-jin turned her body as she was. Without hiding her anger, she walked away with heavy, determined steps. Whether he heard the sound or not, Rin quickly came out and called her. But she didn’t answer. She didn’t look back. She didn’t want to see that guy right now.