Correcting the Troublemaker
Hunter guilds were ultimately nothing more than slightly larger staffing agencies, Shin Ji-hye thought. The only differences were that they sent workers into gates instead of construction sites, and these laborers could wield power capable of altering the map itself. Even factoring in mana stones and the technologies derived from them, a guild's greatest asset was always its hunters.
...I wonder how Yoo Sung would react.
Apartment overlooking the Han River, luxury sports car—those were trivial. Among all her possessions, the greatest treasure Shin Ji-hye owned was none other than her guild. She was the 100% owner of Yuseong Guild, a colossal entity that stood shoulder-to-shoulder with conglomerates yet had never gone public. It should have been Yoo Sung's from the start. If he tried to take it now, she'd hand it over with joy. Hell, she'd love to offer it up on a silver platter.
Such ruinous, insidious desires slithered up from deep within her.
He's probably too burdened right now...
Yoo Sung wasn't greedy. He'd whine about his salary, but once he got paid, he'd just hoard it. His biggest expense was cigarettes.
If he used my mouth as an ashtray like in the movies...
"Ahh."
Her thoughts spiraled into fantasy. Feeling her face heat up, Shin Ji-hye slapped her cheeks to snap out of it.
I need to make Sung take the guild.
Ideally, in a way that made it look like she was the one being stripped of it. Could there be greater ruin than that? Losing the guild, her body, all her assets—reduced to a pet, fed only what he gave her, living solely by his command...
"Haa...♥"
...To make that happen, Yoo Sung needed to claim the other hunters first. Just like he'd claimed her.
Not all the guild's hunters, of course. They'd flocked here drawn by the dazzling fame of S-rank hunters like herself. Control the S-ranks, and the rest would follow.
Baek Seol won't be a problem...
Excluding Baek Seol, the two other founding members: Lee Seon-yul and Kim Hee-jeong. She'd never seen either date a man. They might have secret relationships, but unlike her who at least went home sometimes, those two rarely left the company premises.
The twin sisters, Do Hyun-ah and Do Yun-ah. Win over Do Hyun-ah, and her older sister Do Yun-ah would follow suit— she always went along with whatever her sister did.
The concerns were Park Ha-neul with her boyfriend, or married Choi Mi-ra. But Jin Seong-ah was a different story. She'd been on Team 3 right up until Yoo Sung retired, and from her behavior today, she was already head over heels for him.
Seong-ah, you little...♥
The sweet, cloying scent wafting from her body. The aroma of a bitch in heat luring a male. The handprint on her stomach. The dried saliva around her mouth. What had happened while Yoo Sung slept was obvious.
If I just slam her down and...♥
That would settle it. Jin Seong-ah was still young, mentally fragile. One taste, and she'd cling to Yoo Sung desperately. A light shove like today would do it... No, she probably didn't even need that.
"Haa...♥"
The day Yoo Sung turned all the S-rank hunters into his bitches and came to seize the guild... The image of him collaring them, whispering for them to bark like dogs—it was so tantalizing she felt like she might lose her mind.
—He's quicker on the uptake than most. I know that about my senior. A D-rank physical-type awakener who sensed danger in the gate faster than anyone...
...How do I even...
It was too embarrassing to say it outright. Burying her face in his body, sniffing him greedily, begging him to punch her... How could she utter something like that?
She felt like she'd die of shame.
Then I have to drop hints...
How? The question looped in her mind. How could she make him notice? Provoke him into anger? Act shamelessly? What if he got fed up with her and left...?
While Jin Seong-ah agonized and paced, Yoo Sung stirred on the bed.
"...Mm."
He opened his eyes lying down, blinked a couple times, then sat up. Slowly scanning the bed he'd just been on and the room around him.
"Seong-ah?"
"Y-yeah, senior...?"
"Why are you just standing there like that?"
"...Huh?"
A dumb sound escaped her lips. Jin Seong-ah looked down at herself. She was kneeling on the floor by the bed, gazing up at him.
"Oh... uh, that is..."
"Your legs don't hurt?"
"...No."
An S-rank hunter's body wouldn't ache from kneeling a few minutes. Jin Seong-ah scrambled to her feet in a fluster, then froze like a broken film reel.
What do I... do?
He knew she was S-rank, yet he worried about her legs hurting... His kindness, caring about even the smallest things, warmed her.
At the same time, a sudden fear gripped her.
Even if he gets annoyed with me... he'll just smile and put up with it, right?
He'd indulged her pillow-talk whims. He'd tease her gently like yesterday, notice something off and accept it anyway. And someday... he'd get sick of her and leave. Just like Mom ditched that guy called Dad.
"What time is it...? Seven."
"......"
"You haven't had dinner yet, have you, Seong-ah? Want me to grab something? Or should I ask the care team to bring us food?"
In the end, there was only one way.
"I'm fine."
"Yeah? Well, I need to eat something. There were leftover cookies..."
"Senior."
She grabbed his hand as he got off the bed. Looking up, he seemed even taller than expected. The rank gap felt irrelevant. His body, which she'd buried her face in while he lay down, loomed massively now that he stood.
"...I, I have something to ask."
"What?"
"......Today, I messed up, right?"
Jin Seong-ah's gaze shifted to his lips. No. They parted as if to say it. Just before they could, she squeezed her eyes shut and pressed on.
"You said it yourself, senior. Gates... aren't for going in alone."
"......"
"You said you'd die if you couldn't escape, but I went in alone. Stupidly, with my short arms, making all that noise fighting... that's why the scavengers swarmed."
Her heart pounded wildly. He was such a good guy, and here she was, driven by filthy desires... It was mortifying.
But that taboo thrill was irresistibly intoxicating.
"If not for you, I might've died. Maybe dying would've been better..."
"......"
"...I'm a really bad junior, aren't I...?"
Please notice. Yell at me, punish me—instead of saying it's okay.
Trembling with barely concealed anxiety, she opened her eyes. Yoo Sung spoke.
"Yeah."
"...Eek."
"First time I've met someone who ignores people like this."
"Sorry, I'm sorry..."
"I know. You're probably feeling the most guilt."
Comfort? The moment Jin Seong-ah thought that, his hand rose.
"Eh...?"
She missed the motion. Despite his S-rank speed, she only realized after his arm shot up and seized her wrists.
"Thanks to you, I had to go back into a gate even after retiring..."
"...Eek?!"
"Our guild master canceled her whole schedule, ran around the police station. The care team just fretted over you..."
His face drew closer. A coldly impassive expression. Chills ran down her spine, her legs weakening.
"Everyone let it slide 'cause you had it the worst and were the most shocked..."
"...Hic."
"But I get the feeling you'll perk up, mouth off like yesterday, forget again, and dive into another gate. What do you think?"
I won't do it again. She knew that's what she should say. But Jin Seong-ah couldn't hold back her desires leaking out.
"...You're right."
"You think so too? Then... you need punishment."
"...Eek."
"Don't want it?"
Jin Seong-ah shook her head without thinking.
"I... need to be punished..."
"Official guild discipline would mean pay cut or suspension, right? But we can't make a fuss. So think about it, Seong-ah. What punishment fits."
Shivers. Her lower belly clenched, vision blurring. What punishment should she get...?
"Y-yeah, it has to hurt... So bad I never even think of it again... Punish me harshly."
"How? Switch? Or hand?"
"I..."
Struggling to steady her trembling, excited voice, Jin Seong-ah pulled up her top. Her bruised abdomen was fully exposed.
"Yesterday, you hit me 'cause I pissed you off... so I went in."
"......"
"Hit me harder than yesterday... so I never think like that again..."
She said it. Out loud. No taking it back now.
"Hearing it straight from you makes it even more infuriating."
"Ah...?"
"I hit you to stop your bratty bullshit, and that pissed you off enough to run into a gate alone?"
"Sorry..."
"Seong-ah."
"...Yeah?"
"Why'd you do something worth being sorry for?"
Squeelch. Realization hit, her legs buckled, panties soaking through.
"Ha."
Drip. Clear fluid overflowed her panties, trickling down her thighs to the floor.
"Charging into a gate without a brain, and now you're scared shitless and pissing yourself?"
"N-not piss...!"
"Then what?"
At his indifferent question, Jin Seong-ah flinched, yanking her skirt down to hide between her legs. It definitely wasn't piss. She'd emptied her guts for this exact moment.
"This is, um..."
......But she couldn't say that. Admit she'd planned to beg for belly punches, even used mana in case she puked? Even a nice senior like him would despise her.
"...Eek."
"What is it?"
"P-punish me..."
"What? Say it properly."
"P-piss..."
"Ha."
A heavy sigh escaped him. His cold gaze raked her body.
"You're hopeless."
The words hit as her legs lifted off the ground. Like yesterday, he'd grabbed both wrists and hoisted her up like meat.
"...Gulp!"
Agony exploded through her. Flesh rotting, organs crushing—dizzying torment. But the pain was fleeting. Her brain flooded with pleasure chemicals to escape it. To Jin Seong-ah, hypersensitive from mana coursing everywhere, it registered vividly. A sensation like her brain frying.
Her uncontrolled body thrashed and convulsed. Legs flailed for the ground, but his grip on her wrists held firm.
In the end...
"Ah...! A-ahh...!"
Pssshhh....
With a deflating sound, clear fluid squirted from between her legs.
"Seong-ah."
"Hic... h-heuk...!"
"Jin Seong-ah."
"H-heuk, y-yes, se-senior...!"
"You're being punished right now."
"I kno', I kno—know, I know...!"
"But you're pissing again and dirtying my feet?"
"Sor—sorry... ah."
Thwack!
As he swung his arm, her organs crushed again.
"────!!"
A beastly scream—or wail—burst from her lips. Hanging like meat, her ears caught his voice amid brain-melting ecstasy.
"Ha."
"Guh...?!"
"Seong-ah, keep your mouth shut."
The hand that struck her belly now gripped her throat. Tension rippled through his fingers. Survival instinct yanked up mana to shield her airway. Even then, her broken brain sabotaged it, chasing one more scrap of pleasure.
"Seong-ah."
"G-gahk, gulp, heuk...!"
"Keep screaming and people will come see. If the care team drops by and sees you like this... what do you think they'd say?"
His grip on her wrists loosened. His hand trailed down, stroking her exposed, bruised belly. Her body jerked at the sensation.
"How's a bitch like you even S-rank."
"Hic..."
"That's why low-rank scavenger scum got the drop on you in the gate."
"Heuk, hic, gulp..."
"Worthless trash."
His whisper pierced her oxygen-starved, whitening mind.
"You don't wanna hear that, right?"
"Heuk... ha, heuk...!!"
Throat crushed, she nodded desperately. He might think it too—that she was trash. She couldn't bear his contempt, being discarded like that.
"So you gotta take it quietly this time?"
"Ha, ha, haa, haaah...!"
Only then did the chokehold ease. After gasping madly, Jin Seong-ah finally nodded.
"Strip. Hands behind your head."
"Y-yes, ri-right awa', doing it... hands behind too...?!"
She fumbled off her clothes, baring every inch. Hands clasped behind her head exposed her belly—and incomparable agony slammed into it. Her brain spewed pleasure to fight the pain, wrecking her mind. Drool streamed, tides squirted uncontrollably. Still, she held position, trembling violently to obey.
"...Ah."
She bit her lip hard to stifle the scream. A tiny whimper leaked through.
In her melting consciousness, Jin Seong-ah thought: ...I'm totally fucked now.
As her legs gave out and awareness sank...
"Seong-ah."
"......!"
His voice yanked her back. He seized her throat again, hauling her limp body up.
"Not done yet."
...Ah.
No matter what I say now, it's irreversible. I just have to take it like this until he lets go...
"...Aah."
Psssh...!
Her body reacted to his words alone, squirting wildly without even a hit.