Contract (2)

A strange tension hung over the room.

"…A settlement?"

I stared at Kwon Jeonghee, eyes wide.

"What kind of settlement?"

She crossed her legs the other way, making a show of it, and answered with perfect calm.

"We've been raising you all this time. It's about time you earned your keep."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. She had run up a debt I'd never ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠asked for, and now she expected me to pay it. I had nothing to apologize for, so I met her head-on.

"Then you ought to bill my mother, not me."

Strictly speaking, the one who owed anything wasn't me. It was my mother. If Kwon Jeonghee wanted the debt collected, she should be speaking to her—hunt her down, or go to her herself.

She looked at me and let out a small laugh, as if I were adorable.

"Who said anything about money? You really ought to hear a person out…. I'm not that much of a shameless bitch. Listen first, then decide."

"……."

I hesitated a moment, then perched on the edge of the sofa. Satisfied, Kwon Jeonghee let herself sink back against the cushions, smiling.

"You got into college, didn't you? Must've studied pretty hard."

"…What is it you're trying to say?"

"Go study hard, and when you graduate, come work here."

I didn't catch her meaning at once, and my brow furrowed.

"…Here?"

"Mm. Our company. You'll work under me."

The offer was so far from anything I'd expected that it threw me completely.

What? She wants me to take a job here? Now?

What kind of company was Titan International? It had begun as a pharmaceutical firm, then used the superhuman business to conquer both the defense industry and entertainment—a conglomerate without precedent. Even now, countless companies were said to be copying TI's system. And she was offering me a job, just like that, as the price of my keep.

"The timing's perfect, actually. We'll look after you until you graduate, so all you have to do is finish on schedule."

"You want me to work here?"

"Mm."

It was absurd. There was no way I could simply swallow a story this good. Suspicion plain in my eyes, I probed.

"And what kind of work would that be?"

Kwon Jeonghee smiled brightly.

"Don't worry about that. I'll have a position ready that's a perfect fit for you."

The way she slipped past the question was suspicious in the extreme.

She's hiding something….

But I couldn't begin to guess what scheme she was keeping back.

"It's not a bad deal for you, either. This company isn't half bad, you know."

She glanced at the secretary standing quietly nearby and tossed her a question.

"Secretary Choi. Do we have benefits and all that?"

As if she'd been waiting for it, the secretary began to explain in a calm, even voice—basic insurance, meal allowances, housing support, phone and transit stipends, perks across the subsidiaries, and on and on. Even I, who had never set foot in the job market, felt my jaw drop.

And then—

"Oh, and we'll guarantee you through retirement. These days it isn't easy to last that long at a company like this, you know?"

Kwon Jeonghee smiled with open generosity, as if promising a job all the way to retirement age were nothing at all.

"Well? Not bad, is it?"

The more I heard, the less sense it made. The terms were so good I couldn't even begin to guess how brutal the work would be.

"…And if I refuse?"

In that instant the smile left her eyes, and she stared straight at me. I didn't look away. I held her gaze, and after a moment she curled one corner of her mouth.

"What did you say…?"

She flicked the toe of her shoe, indifferent.

"You were fated to die a long time ago, if it weren't for us. So just follow the natural order of things."

The tone was light, like a passing joke. Even so, I had a strong feeling it wasn't merely a joke. A little tense, I swallowed and slowly looked from her to the secretary at her side.

…She doesn't seem like a superhuman. Which means….

If, by some one-in-a-million chance, something actually happened, I might have no choice but to use my ability. The thought was just rising when she laughed lightly and went on.

"Well. I'm only saying."

"You don't have to answer right away, so take your time and think it over. Your mom's gone, and you're an adult now, aren't you?"

"……."

"Opportunities like this don't come around often, you know?"

She had been watching me with that spinning little smile; then she waved a hand, dismissing me.

"That's enough. Off you go. Let me rest."

"……."

"Or what…. Should your noona spot you some pocket money?"

Kwon Jeonghee uncrossed her legs and spread them wide. The already short dress rode up, and black underwear was laid completely bare. I scowled and shot to my feet.

"Oh my. Not your type?"

While she tossed out the vulgar joke and cackled, the secretary came over and held out a small card.

"The Honorary Advisor's card. Should you contact us at this number, we would be grateful."

"……."

I crammed the card into my pocket and hurried out. Just before the open door swung shut, an easy voice drifted after me.

"See you again?"

To put it bluntly, the time I was given wasn't long.

"…I'm sorry? You want us to move out…?"

"Yes. The landlord asked, on short notice, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that the unit be vacated…. Is your mother not in?"

"Uh…. That's…. I-I'll explain later."

The house we lived in wasn't in our name. And now, for reasons no one would explain, the landlord had suddenly demanded we leave.

Kwon Jeonghee…!

I knew at once that it was her doing. But I couldn't simply fly into a rage. Looked at coldly, we had been living entirely on TI's patronage. With my mother's contract ended, TI no longer had any grounds to support us.

That didn't mean I meant to tuck my tail and give in.

Is there any way out?

All the money I had was a little over fifteen hundred dollars, scraped together bit by bit from years of allowance. With no other choice, I dug through my mother's bankbook and seal, hoping to find some way forward….

"I'm afraid use of this account has been suspended."

"What? Suspended…?"

"Only the account holder, in person, can have that lifted."

The account I'd found barely had anything left in it anyway, and I couldn't even touch that much. It was checkmate.

Damn it.

By then I was starting to feel I had no real choice. Even if I ran, I had no idea how long I could last, and even if I held out, a normal life would clearly be impossible. No matter how I turned it over, I had no reason left not to compromise.

…Surely she wouldn't actually kill me.

For better or worse, Kwon Jeonghee had spoken as if she'd invested a fair amount in me. If that was true, she wouldn't see me all the way through graduation only to throw me away.

Whatever it is she plans to have me do.

So I called the number on the card and told them I would accept the offer.

And I added a condition of my own.

"If you find my mother, you have to tell me."

They agreed, and said they would send someone to help with the necessary procedures.

"……."

When the call ended, I sat at the desk, forcing down the weight in my chest, and stared at the monitor. TI's website was up on the screen, and in one corner four women held the frame. My eyes caught on them. They were TI's next generation of female superhumans, a team that had debuted not long ago. Among them I found a familiar face, and I looked at it in silence.

…Ban Soyoung….

If I joined TI, as Kwon Jeonghee had said, Ban Soyoung and I would belong to the same company. I had hoped that someday, even briefly, I might see her again, but I had never imagined we would be bound together like this.

…I'd be glad just to see her face.

I swallowed longing and bitterness as I looked at her on the screen.

Time passed in the blink of an eye.

Just as Kwon Jeonghee had promised, I was able to attend school on TI's lavish support. I had an entire luxury apartment near campus to myself.

This whole place, just for me…?

On top of that, my tuition was covered in the form of a scholarship, and living expenses landed in a separate account every month. In short, I had the best possible environment: all I had to do was focus on my studies. I had the uneasy sense that, before I knew it, my feeling for money would be ruined for good.

…Money really is something.

While I was in school I asked the staffer assigned to me, now and then, whether there was any news of my mother.

Her whereabouts were still unknown.

…Mom….

Time rushed on in a blur, and graduation season arrived.

"Must be nice for Daehyun. Landed a job just like that."

"…I got lucky."

"Ha! How come you're always the lucky one? Hey, if there's an opening at your company, hook me up."

"Like that's going to happen."

Most of the friends I'd made in college still hadn't escaped the job market. Employment had been locked in for me from the start, and I couldn't help feeling, all over again, just how rare an opportunity I'd caught.

If you can even call it a good thing.

In the meantime, the rookies once known as Valkyrie had become TI's undisputed flagship.

Every one of them had dazzling looks and superpowers that bordered on cheating, and they were living the dream everyone wanted—ideal superheroes and superstars both. Among them, their leader, Ban Soyoung, had become someone hardly anyone could approach. I wasn't even sure that if I met her someday, I'd manage to get a proper word out.

…I'm just glad she seems to be living well.

And so, with graduation in front of me, I joined TI on schedule.

Contrary to what I'd expected, I was treated the same as every other new hire. Before any posting, I went through the new-employee retreat and sat through the training, and I made friends among colleagues around my age. I felt like a proper member of society.

Fine. Since it's come to this, I'll give it everything I've got.

But that dreamlike life did not last.

Before long I received my assignment, the same as the rest of my cohort, and was placed in a department—only it was a team I had never heard of in my life.

LS3?

Lifestyle Management Team 3. LS3, for short. From the name alone, I couldn't begin to tell what they did, and digging through the internet turned up nothing useful. Stranger still, aside from the team lead, I was the only member.

What on earth does this place even do…?

As luck would have it, I was sent to the neighboring team before I could get a proper grasp of what LS3 was. There was no one to take me on as a trainee, they said, so for the time being I was to learn the work somewhere else.

Seriously, how does a place like this even exist?

And so I began learning the job on LS1. Before long, I understood what the LS teams really were.

"Daehyun, want some coffee?"

"Ah, yes. Should I make it?"

"No, come with me."

My mentor, Lee Soobin, swayed the small hips wrapped in his skirt and clicked along in towering heels. Short, with a cute face that stuck in the memory, he was spoken of as LS1's next ace. For the record, he was a neighborhood sunbae who had graduated from the same all-boys high school as me.

…Which meant he was a man, the same as I was.

This person is a man.

Even seeing him every day, I still couldn't get used to how he looked. Inwardly shaking my head, I followed him to the pantry. Once we arrived, he brewed the coffee with an easy hand and spoke as if in passing.

"By the way, Daehyun. Did you finish what I asked earlier?"

"…Ah. Yes…."

What she—no, what he had assigned me was to watch the "training videos" and write up my thoughts. They weren't terribly long, so it wasn't difficult work.

Except—

What company uses porn as training material.

The problem was that those videos were adult media. Extremely explicit adult media.

"Mm. Then we can do the practical this afternoon."

"…Sorry?"

"Hm? Didn't I mention it? I'm sure I said that once you'd finished the training videos, we'd practice with the tools."

"Ah, no…. I don't think that… came up…."

"Didn't it? Well, now you know."

Flustered, the color gone from my face, I asked carefully.

"…Sunbae. Um, sorry, but this practical—how exactly does it go…?"

"Hm? Oh. You practice on a doll."

"A-a doll…?"

"Would you rather try it on a person?"

"N-no?!"

Lee Soobin covered his mouth and giggled at the way I waved him off in horror. No matter how I looked at him, he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was more feminine than most women, and I still couldn't believe he was a man with the same chromosomes as me.

…He really does have one, doesn't he?

In any case, the thought of the afternoon's practical made my head start to ache all over again.

…I really want to quit….

There was a reason they showed new hires porn in the name of education and had them try out adult toys. That was the entire reason the LS teams existed. Put in a single phrase, the Lifestyle Management teams were in-house escorts—escorts kept exclusively for the superhumans.

Is this even allowed in the twenty-first century?

When I first heard it, I genuinely doubted my ears. But Lee Soobin, standing right in front of me, was proof of what the LS teams really were. For the record, LS1, the team he belonged to, was dedicated to Team Titan, the all-male superhuman squad that had debuted ahead of Valkyrie. Matched to the members' tastes, the roster ran about eight to two, male. It was a system that made me dizzy no matter how many times I thought about it.

"Here. Add the syrup yourself."

"Thank you."

"Want me to spit in it?"

"…Sorry?"

"Hehe. Kidding, kidding."

With that, Lee Soobin gathered a few of the condoms stocked beside the snacks and strolled out of the pantry. I stared ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blankly after him, then let out a heavy sigh where no one could hear.

LS1 handled Team Titan. LS2 handled the rest of the superhumans, the ones who worked solo. Which meant the team I belonged to, LS3, had superhumans of its own. My eyes drifted, unbidden, to the Team Valkyrie poster on the pantry wall, and the unease I'd already been carrying sank deeper.

"…Ha…."

The superhumans LS3 was responsible for were Team Valkyrie. Of all teams, the very one Ban Soyoung belonged to.

…The road in front of me had already gone pitch-black.