The Leash Offered Willingly
In the NTR game Secret High Society, Lee Soyul is the main target in the early stages. A normal college student, she falls into hell when the mid-sized parts factory her father runs goes bankrupt overnight. Of course, the bankruptcy was the result of Han Seojun's meticulous scheme, born from his desire for her. In the original story, Lee Soyul resists until the very end, but when her family faces being torn apart by loan sharks, she comes to this mansion. She comes to stamp her seal on that horrific slave contract, offering her body and the rest of her life in full.
But the timing is far too early. The original story's pressure events haven't even begun yet.
"Come down."
For now, I absolutely cannot show any sign of panic. Right now, I am the shadow pulling the strings of her life—Han Seojun.
As I descend the spiral staircase leading to the first floor, Lee Soyul stands in the middle of the wide, silent living room. The black tea the servant brought remains untouched. She hasn't dared to sit on the large sofa, frozen like a herbivore thrown into a massive predator's cage.
Up close, Lee Soyul doesn't look well. Her face is bare of makeup, and her bloodless lips bear deep bite marks from how hard she'd clenched them.
"Sit."
Lee Soyul hesitates before perching on the very edge of the sofa, as if ready to bolt at any moment.
"I didn't expect you to come all the way here first thing in the morning. You didn't come to thank me for yesterday, I assume."
When I cross my legs and ask with feigned ease, Lee Soyul's breathing grows ragged.
"This is what you wanted, isn't it?"
Me? Lee Soyul? I don't recall ever wanting that.
"What are you talking about?"
"Stop pretending you don't know. That 'Young Entrepreneurs' Sponsorship Party' yesterday… From the very beginning, inviting me there was a trap."
Yesterday's party. Only then does the background setting of the party naturally surface in my mind. On the surface, it was a plausible charity event hosted by our group's foundation. In reality, it was a dumping ground where second- and third-generation chaebol brats gathered to pick out toys under the guise of sponsorship. Desperate to save her father's factory on the verge of bankruptcy, Lee Soyul must have crawled into that den of beasts herself, clutching at straws.
The extra whose head I'd cracked yesterday had been about to grab her wrist and drag her into a private room, using investment as bait. Lee Soyul continues, her hands trembling as she opens her bag.
"Someone like you wouldn't step in to save my wrist for no reason. The way you took down Director Choi's son at that party yesterday—it was all a warning meant for me to see."
"……"
"No matter how much a nobody like you struggles, whether you get investment or anything else, in this world I'm the law and the power. No one can help you… That's what you wanted to teach me clearly."
What a suffocating persecution complex. From Lee Soyul's perspective, it might seem like a perfect, rational deduction. But even in the original story, this isn't the timing for Han Seojun to approach Lee Soyul. No matter which route was taken.
She pulls out a crumpled document envelope and slides it across the marble table.
"So, I'm here."
Thud. The envelope slides right up to me.
"My father's factory promissory notes. They were processed as the first default yesterday. The main clients all delayed payments as if they'd planned it together."
Lee Soyul's eyes redden. Her face is tense with the effort of holding back tears.
"That was your doing too, wasn't it?"
"……"
"So I've come to surrender. You win. So… please leave my family alone."
I stare quietly at the document envelope on the table. I don't need to open it to know what's inside. Surrender of the body, enslavement—those kinds of clauses would be written there. Lee Soyul is a woman who knows exactly what she's doing. She knows full well what I would demand in exchange for this request.
Honestly, if I said I wasn't tempted, I'd be lying. Before me is the main heroine of the game I've played dozens of times. That heroine has come of her own accord, prostrating herself and offering to give up everything. Even if I tore her clothes apart laughing like the original Han Seojun, she wouldn't resist once.
"……"
If it weren't for this damn game's ending. I'm not enough of an idiot to step on that predetermined death flag just for one night of lust.
I've narrowly escaped the immediate crisis, but Han Seojun's position is still precarious. This body has caused far more than one or two messes. Just look at the private meeting with my father, Chairman Han Taegun, this morning. A cold-blooded man who would discard even his own child without hesitation if it didn't benefit the group. While I'm still trying to clean up under that old tiger's watchful eye, running around collecting women as I please? That's insane.
First, I need to secure my life for certain and perfectly establish my footing in this world. I slowly reach out and pick up the document envelope. I hear Lee Soyul draw in a sharp breath.
I don't open the envelope to check its contents. Instead, I grip it with both hands and tear it in half without hesitation.
"W-what are you…!"
Paying no mind to Lee Soyul's shock, I casually toss the two torn halves into the trash bin under the table.
"I-is the condition… insufficient? If you want more…"
"You're severely mistaken."
I lower my voice to create the right atmosphere. This should feel like Han Seojun.
"Who would go through all that trouble just to have your body? Do I look that idle to you?"
Though I do want it. For now, I have to hold back. For now.
"Forget those trash conditions I just tore up. From today onward, I'm setting the rules."
"What… what exactly are you planning?"
"Your father's factory promissory notes. Was it five billion? I'll cover it with my personal funds before lunch today. I'll also personally crush any games the clients are playing."
This is an unexpectedly generous offer—something she could never have anticipated. Far beyond what her rigid mind can comprehend. But it's all necessary.
"Why… why suddenly…"
"I didn't say it was free. The only thing that's changed is that your creditor went from loan sharks to 'Han Seojun.' From now on, you're my debtor. My property."
No matter how I say this, I know exactly what she's thinking. She's probably calculating that I'll eventually demand her body under the pretext of the debt. There's no need to correct that misunderstanding right now.
"So don't get damaged."
"…What?"
"I find it unpleasant when flies swarm around my property. If anyone tries to touch your wrist without permission like that idiot yesterday, use my name and shut them down immediately. Don't bother dealing with them yourself—contact Manager Kim."
Lee Soyul's mouth falls open slightly, dumbfounded.
"And don't ruin your body with pointless part-time jobs or anything like that. I'll add your tuition and living expenses to the debt and deposit them monthly. Just go to school quietly."
Silence. Only the ticking of the clock echoes through the living room.
I have no intention of treating her like a toy right away. But I also have no intention of forgiving the debt with no conditions and letting her go. In the original story, she's one of the smartest and most tenacious characters. If I completely loosen the leash and she ends up getting involved with the original male lead, or worse, connects with my stepsister Yoon Seoa? I'd be personally completing the grim reaper duo coming to take my head.
It's better to lock her firmly inside a safe cage where my power reaches.
"…I don't know what kind of joke you're playing."
Lee Soyul steps back with a confused expression. Then she grits her teeth and looks up at me again.
"Then what exactly do you want?"
It feels less like she's trying to confirm whether I'm a good person and more like she's bracing herself for an even higher price.
"You're planning to demand something even more terrifying later…"
"Think whatever you want. It's not like you can refuse anyway."
Lee Soyul doesn't press further. She doesn't look convinced, but it doesn't matter—she wouldn't believe anything I say here anyway.
"Manager Kim."
"Yes, young master."
Manager Kim, who had been standing by the wall, approaches immediately.
"Block the factory promissory notes. And send someone to Lee Soyul's house to clear out all the shady characters loitering nearby."
"Understood."
I slowly rise from the sofa. As I pass the dazed Lee Soyul, I whisper low into her ear.
"From now on, you can't even break without my permission. Remember that."
As I brush past her, I hear Lee Soyul collapse to the floor behind me with a thud.
******
Only after he completely leaves the living room does Lee Soyul's legs give out, her hands barely supporting her on the edge of the sofa. At the end of her ragged breaths, she sees the two torn halves of the contract envelope in the trash bin.
'…What the hell is this?'
She is confused. The Han Seojun of Seojin Group she knows is not this kind of man. A vulgar, blatant piece of trash who tramples the weak with money and power and ultimately violates their bodies. That was the true nature of 'Han Seojun' she had desperately investigated from the edge of the cliff.
If he had demanded her body under the pretext of debt, it would have been chilling, but at least she could have understood the situation. She had prepared herself dozens of times to endure that horrific humiliation like an animal if it meant saving her family.
Yet he covers a massive five-billion-won promissory note while not laying a single hand on her body. He even adds the pretext of protecting her from surrounding threats.
'I find it unpleasant when flies swarm around my property.'
Lee Soyul clenches her trembling hands tightly. She must not misunderstand. This is by no means mercy. It is a far more vicious and intricately woven leash than any obvious violence.
That man is not the simple delinquent she had investigated. He is a monster whose depths she cannot read at all—and therefore infinitely more dangerous.
'…I absolutely cannot let my guard down.'
Lee Soyul stares at the end of the hallway where Han Seojun has disappeared, her face pale.
******
As I walk toward my room, I let out a sigh of relief inwardly. At the same time, a small sense of dissonance arises. Was I originally this skilled at holding someone else's life in my hands? I was just a substitute driver who ate convenience store triangular kimbap for meals and bowed to drunk customers.
This arrogance that presses down on people from head to toe comes out far too naturally. Perhaps Han Seojun's original nature is even eating away at my reason.
At that moment, Manager Kim, who had been following behind me, carefully speaks up.
"Young master. Regarding the cleanup around Lee Soyul that you just ordered…"
"Why. Is there a problem?"
"When we investigated Lee Soyul on your previous orders, there was one university classmate who particularly lingered around her. Kang Jinwoo."
Kang Jinwoo. The moment I hear that name, my steps stop. The main male protagonist of the original Secret High Society. A frustrating bastard who has no ability or money yet only spouts justice with his mouth, loses all the heroines, and only later gains an opportunity to awaken.
"Dig up everything on him. Leave nothing out."
The real game is only just beginning.