The Card Game That Sealed My Slavery
Since it was the first day, we wouldn't do anything too harsh. Seo Ye-eun, Kang Hye-won, and I sat around the table to play a game of One Card, wagering the right to set special rules.
Before the game started, I naturally took on dealing the cards since I'd grabbed the deck of playing cards.
Part of me wanted to rig the deck with some flashy sleight-of-hand to guarantee my win.
But I didn't have any cheater skills like that, so I just shuffled them randomly and dealt seven cards to each of us.
"Ah, what the hell. This is a shitty hand. Seojin, you rigged this, didn't you?"
"W-what are you talking about...! Mine's super shitty too."
"Hye-won, you just got bad luck~. Mine came out pretty decent? All colorful and pretty."
"That doesn't sound good, Ye-eun."
Watching their reactions, I smirked inwardly.
Kang Hye-won seemed to know the game a bit, but her hand looked bad. Seo Ye-eun was naively chattering away, clearly unfamiliar with One Card.
And I, who knew the game better than anyone here, flipped open my cards and instantly knew I'd win.
Jackpot. My hand is amazing!
It was a fantastic hand, perfectly mixed with Aces and 2s that could attack and defend at the same time, plus special cards like K and J that could flip the game's flow.
With a hand like this, there was no way I'd lose easily.
"So, can I start?"
"Yeah, sure. Ye-eun, you go first and play a card."
"Got it. Let's see... I play cards of the same suit or number, right?"
"Yep. If not, draw one from the pile in the middle."
"Lucky me, I have something to play~. Here goes!"
Seo Ye-eun, who had first turn, lightly played her card, and the real game began.
The living room filled with the crisp sound of cards hitting the table and light laughter.
As expected, Seo Ye-eun was still new to it, playing like it was just a simple matching game. Kang Hye-won showed some solid skill.
But neither could match me—I'd played One Card endlessly with friends during retreats, field trips, and even after the college entrance exam in empty classrooms.
"Spade 2."
"Spade Ace to defend, and pass the attack."
"No way, you have a Spade Ace? What don't you have?"
"Just in case. Your move, Ye-eun."
"Hmm... This is trouble~."
I easily blocked Kang Hye-won's casually tossed attack card with a bigger one of my own.
The two-card penalty instantly ballooned into a five-card bomb, passing to Seo Ye-eun's turn.
What if Ye-eun has a Joker here?
That worry flashed through my mind, but luckily, she didn't have anything special and naturally drew five cards from the pile.
"Oh dear, looks like I have to take them all~. Our Seojin is really good at this game, huh?"
"Y-yeah... I've played a lot before."
"Really? Hye-won, we gotta keep a close eye on our Seojin."
"Whatever, I'll handle it."
"Hey, no ganging up! That's not fair...!"
I pretended to whine at their alliance, but I couldn't stop my lips from twitching upward.
My hand was dwindling fast.
At this rate, first place was as good as mine.
Winning today meant I could imagine all sorts of happy rules filling my head.
Should I ban safe words completely? Or declare that we all sleep quietly in the living room tonight and start studying fresh tomorrow morning?
Either way, tonight I could avoid being treated like a horny pet and just relax.
Yeah, starting off as a bitch in heat on day one would be ridiculous.
I'd worry about that from day two. For now, chilling out wasn't bad.
The game continued with intense mind games and attacks flying back and forth, turns flipping wildly.
Finally, I had just two cards left.
"Whoa, Seojin only has two cards left."
"Oh, already almost done? You're fast~."
"Not yet, I don't have the angle to... "
I ignored them and checked the board and my cards. The top card was Heart 3.
In my hand: Heart 7 and Spade 7.
Here it comes!
I'd won. Play the Heart 7 first, switch to Spades, and wait.
Even if Kang Hye-won played another 7 to change suits, as long as Seo Ye-eun didn't play after, I'd win.
Confident in victory, I slammed down the Heart 7.
Now, just say "One Card" faster than anyone...
"One ca—"
"One Card~."
"Hngh?!"
"Oops, I was faster. You admit it, right, Seojin?"
I was sure I'd started first, but Seo Ye-eun snatched it away quick.
Guess whoever finishes the call first counts.
Regretfully, I drew one from the deck.
Spade King. This king let me play another right after, so I could disrupt and call One Card to end it.
"Got it. I'll switch to Spades and pass turn."
I pre-switched suits with the 7's power, then watched them anxiously.
If the suit stuck, my next turn I'd dump my last card and win.
Kang Hye-won and Seo Ye-eun's faces looked oddly stiff.
Maybe I really can win this...!
"Huh, Lee Seojin. Not bad."
Kang Hye-won muttered indifferently and tossed a card.
Spade Ace.
"Huh...?"
My brain froze.
I'd just played that card recently.
She must've gotten it by chance when shuffling and eaten it earlier.
Still, lucky—thanks to a prior Queen reversing direction, it was Seo Ye-eun's turn next.
Ace attacks, so next player defends with an attack card or eats three.
If she couldn't block, she'd eat them, and it'd be my turn to execute the win plan smoothly.
But.
"Oh, Hye-won played Spade Ace? Then I'll..."
Seo Ye-eun smiled lazily and lightly placed a card on top, like a stroll in the park.
Black-and-White Joker.
"......?!"
Three from the Ace, seven from the Joker.
Total of ten cards bomb headed my way.
"Well, Seojin? Got a defense?"
"Uh...?"
"Our Seojin probably saved an ace up her sleeve, right?"
Seo Ye-eun rested her chin, smiling sweetly at me.
My hand: cute Spade 7 and Spade K.
To block that, I'd need a better Color Joker.
"What ace? The Color Joker is right here."
"Oh, really~. So Hye-won had the Color Joker."
"Eek...!"
"Then Seojin... has to eat all ten~."
"Come on, our puppy. Your owner prepared a big meal, so chew it all up nice."
Kang Hye-won giggled as she drew ten from the pile and shoved them into my hands.
I stared blankly, mouth agape, forced to grab the mountain of cards.
What kind of bullshit is this?
"Alright, shall we restart the game?"
"Yeah~. Let's go."
"Eut... W-wait a sec...!"
While I flailed to salvage my ten-card hand, Seo Ye-eun and Kang Hye-won dumped their remaining cards like they'd been waiting.
The game dragged on a bit more, and I racked my brain desperately to win, but.
"One Card! Okay, I'm out."
"Oh, Hye-won~. You made it too."
"Yeah. So the one left is..."
"Hngh... "
In the end, crushed by that one blow, I could only watch Kang Hye-won call One Card.
The results were brutal: 1st Seo Ye-eun, 2nd Kang Hye-won. And me, clutching a fistful of cards, naturally 3rd.
"Haa..."
A sure-win game flipped in an instant, plummeting me to dead last.
My humble dream of a normal day shattered into pieces.
"Well~. The glorious 1st place on vacation day one is me."
"Jealous. Setting the first day's rules seems super important."
"Probably, right? But since it's day one, I'll keep it light."
Seo Ye-eun neatly stacked the remaining cards, flashing an elegant, meaningful smile.
The moment I saw it, my lower belly tingled sharply.
"So, I get to set today's special rule, right, Seojin?"
"Y-yeah..."
"It's fine~. Since it's the first day, nothing too tough."
I answered in a trembling voice.
What horrific, perverted rule is she gonna drop?
I gulped, staring at her lips.
Seo Ye-eun leaned toward me, her voice soft and silky as she laid out the rule.
"The rule until study time tomorrow morning is simple: respect each other and get along."
"Huh...? That's it?"
"Yes. But I'll mix in a simple hierarchy."
Hierarchy.
That word made my heart sink.
In this situation, ranking us was obvious what it meant.
Sure enough, Seo Ye-eun smiled and continued just as I'd feared.
"I'll be the master as 1st place, Hye-won the commoner as 2nd."
Her smooth finger lightly booped my frozen nose tip.
"And our last-place Seojin... naturally becomes a slave who absolutely obeys the master's commands, right?"
"W-what...?!"
"Don't worry. We'll basically respect each other, so as master, I'll respect our slave Seojin too."
She emphasized "respect," but it felt meaningless.
It was just a fancy way to justify lewd crap.
I'm screwed.
Now I'd gone beyond pet— a perfect slave with no human rights left.
"Alright, game's over, so let's apply the rules?"
"Hngh?!"
"And our new slave Seojin~."
Seo Ye-eun continued with a smile.
"Needs to look the part, right?"
"Hiiik..."
"Follow me, Seojin. I'll make you look perfect for a slave~."
Plunged into slavery in an instant.
No time to despair, I let Seo Ye-eun lead me to the room.