Dangerous Posture
[On my way! My wife's making something delicious, says she'll feed me before I go, so I'm running a bit late!]
Kim Taesoo's excited voice rang out cheerfully over the receiver. Having shot straight to stardom as an A-rank hunter, even his nagging wife had done a complete 180, apparently whipping up a full breakfast spread from the crack of dawn.
"Oh, from your wife? What's the occasion? Take it easy coming over. Seo Ayoung hasn't arrived yet."
[Dude, don't even get me started. Came home after the news aired, and man, did I get my ass whooped. Promised I'd never pull any more dumbass stunts like that again before I could escape.]
Taesoo's booming laugh made me snort despite myself.
"That happen often? No need to charge the front lines anymore anyway. You're gonna be my full-time manager."
[Kuhaha, hell yeah! Looking forward to that sweet manager life!]
"Alright, see you at the junkyard in a bit."
[You got it! Ten minutes!]
I was just about to pocket my phone when—
"Oppa!!"
At the junkyard entrance, Seo Ayoung bounded in, waving brightly with massive plastic bags in both hands.
"Hey, Ayoung's here? You're an early bird. Taesoo's just heading out now."
"Hehe, Daesung Oppa’s exclusive slave No. 1, Seo Ayoung, reporting for duty! What'll it be today? Should I start with cleaning the bathroom?"
Her perky response left me so baffled I rubbed my forehead.
"Hey... don't say that shit anywhere else. People will get the wrong idea."
"Pfft! You actually got me martial arts, so this much loyalty is the least I can do!"
"......I told you yesterday, no guarantees I can even get it."
"That's why I'm doing this—so you'll pity me and snag it quick. Hehe."
Her beaming smile drew a smirk from me. Raised in a wealthy family without a trace of arrogance. Was this the power of fresh-faced twenty-year-olds?
"Well, not calling you for anything bad, so park it on the sofa and wait. What do you want to drink? Got some soda."
"Ice-cold water for me!"
I opened the fridge.
Empty—
'Aw... fuck. There were like 3,000 liters of water piled up here just this morning. And not a single bottle of my own drinking water...'
I ended up handing her a random soda can and sat across from her.
A little later.
Kim Taesoo burst in, arms loaded with bundles of convenience store water bottles, sweat pouring down his face.
"What, no water at home?"
"That's why I called you, hyung."
"Dude, just get a water purifier already. Way more convenient."
'Water purifier?'
His offhand grumble sparked an idea.
'Oh yeah? Instead of shipping out 3,000 liters of bottled water like an idiot, sending a purification filter could solve it at the root.'
No matter how much cash I dumped into mart deliveries, it was just consumables. 3,000 liters would vanish in days for the plague zone folks. But a large-capacity filter? Pour in contaminated well water, purify tens or hundreds of thousands of liters on-site.
'Nice. Next deal's filters.'
Having schemed my devious interdimensional trade plan, I cleared my throat at Taesoo and Ayoung.
"So, the reason I called you two here bright and early..."
Ayoung started drumming the desk with both hands, adding her own sound effects.
"Dudum, dudum, dudum...!"
"......"
I shot her a deadpan look, and she flinched, clasping her hands demurely in her lap with a pout.
"......Sorry."
"Ahem. Anyway. No official stamp yet, but we'll be operating as top-tier party from Roijir Guild soon, right?"
"Whoa! For real!?"
"What, you against it?"
"Noooo!! I'm all in!! Totally!!"
Seo Ayoung scooted closer, tail-wagging with eager eyes.
"So, with our fresh start ahead, I prepped some spec-up gifts for my party members."
With that, I pulled the martial arts manual I'd pried from Muyounggeom yesterday—Moon Shadow Swordsmanship—from my inventory and tossed it onto her lap.
"Here."
"Huh? Oppa, what's this? Some old book in Hanja...?"
"The one you were begging and singing about. Martial arts manual."
"Whaaat!!!???"
Stunned, Seo Ayoung froze like a paused video, mouth agape. This girl had a knack for physical comedy... solid acting chops.
I waved a hand in front of her rigid face, chuckling.
"Earth to Seo Ayoung."
Her pupils quaked wildly as she stammered.
"W-w-w-wait! Oppa! What did you just say? This is really the m-m-martial arts manual!?"
"Yeah. Real deal."
"The 500 billion one...?"
"Yup. But it's not free."
Tension flickered across her flushed face.
"Th-then... how much...?"
"490 billion."
"Oppa, you're kidding, right?! You know my net worth's 90,000 won!! It's barely less than that Chinese guy's bid!"
"Heh, joking. You know I haven't stamped the official Roijir contract yet?"
"Yeah, just a provisional agreement?"
"Right. So when we do the real deal, I'm locking you and Taesoo in as my official direct party members. You cool with that? Can you keep up?"
No hesitation from Seo Ayoung.
"Duh!! I'm in 100%!"
"Think it over. Once it's official, no bailing if it's too tough. Penalty's brutal."
"P-penalty?"
"Yeah, 500 billion penalty."
"F-fuck it! Deal! Becoming your slave won't ruin my life or anything!"
"Not a slave..."
Wait. Actually...?
I'd been planning to dump paperwork and grunt work on these two anyway, playing puppet master from the shadows. Taesoo was older, so bossing him around felt iffy sometimes, but Ayoung? Six years younger, easy to roll.
Then Taesoo, who'd been listening quietly, butt in.
"Hey. I'm Daesung's exclusive slave No. 1, Ayoung. Don't cut in line, newbie."
"Ack, sorry, senior slave sir! Junior slave Seo Ayoung reporting! Loyalty! Loyalty!"
"Good. Hustle from now on."
We dissolved the tension with that ridiculous skit. I nodded seriously.
"Enough fooling. Ayoung, learn the manual now."
She clutched it, tilting her head.
"Uh... how? Like a game—'Acquire skill?' popup?"
"You're a wulin expert, right? System probably auto-recognizes you as one."
Eyes sparkling, she flipped open the first page.
"Ooh...! Gonna shoot sword beams and fly now?!"
But one minute, two... no popup.
She stared blankly at the dense Hanja pages, then looked up teary-eyed.
"Um... Oppa. Not working?"
"Then read it. Wulin pro like you should get the gist."
"No... I got no clue...? Hehe..."
"You don't know?"
"Nope... I can read classical Chinese decently, but this isn't even that?"
"Not classical?"
"Yeah... looks similar, but totally different script."
That's when it hit me—my ability's quirk. The multidimensional community translated otherworldly languages to Korean for me. But pure Earth hunter Seo Ayoung's system? No interdimensionals.
"Shit. Guess I translate it line by line?"
As I scratched my chin, puzzled—
'Hold up. Martial arts basically opens meridians and forges inner power paths, right? What if I force qi into her body for breakthrough?'
Classic wuxia trope: qi transmission. Channel mana to implant the full Moon Shadow Swordsmanship heart method. And I had the cheat Dragon Words for it.
"Hey, Ayoung. Come here, sit facing away in front of me."
"Huh? Suddenly? Not mentally ready yet... Taesoo's watching..."
I barked.
"What?! Just turn around!!"
She shuffled over hesitantly, sitting cross-legged with her back to me. I opened the manual, scanning the heart method quick.
'Moonlight Heart Method... swordplay shadows, core light? All flash, no substance...'
Hands up, palms pressed to her slender back—between her shoulder blades, key acupoints.
"Kyahahaha!! Oppa, that tickles!!!"
"Quit... moving..."
"Too fast, teacher! We need to get to know each other before physical contact..."
Smack—! Couldn't take it; flicked her forehead.
"Kyaaak!!"
"Mess around again, and it's another flick."
"Y-yes sir!"
"I'm guiding the heart method now. Close eyes, feel the energy inside. Deep breath in. Scream or move, you fuck up—focus."
"H-huh? W-wait!!"
Pure bullshit to calm her. Whoooong—!!
"Guh!?"
She gritted her teeth. I surged massive mana from the Dragon Heart to my palms.
"Cheok."
Dragon Word triggered—overwhelming energy blasted through her back, flooding her sealed meridians like a waterfall.
"Kuhhh!"
Muffled scream from her.
'Oh, her wulin class keeps acupoints open?'
"H-haah... w-wait, Oppa... feels weird...!"
"No whining! Critical moment—endure!"
I finely controlled the qi, guiding it precisely along Moon Shadow paths for a full circuit. If it leaked, Suh to yank back; jammed meridians, Cheok to blast open.
Push and pull. Repeat.
"Haaang... hak... haaahk... heung!?"
Head bowed, her face beet-red, sweat pouring like rain. White steam even rose from her pale scalp.
But... why the sounds...?
Ten minutes later.
"Phew... done."
I pulled away; she collapsed forward on all fours, panting like a cat.
"Haaaang...!"
Weird pose, weird moans. Taesoo glanced away, flustered.
"Uh... why's she like that...?"
"I-I dunno..."
Daesung, th-think pure thoughts. Pure!!
"N-no idea. Handle it!!"
Married man Taesoo bolted from the room in a flash, leaving me alone with her.
"Hak... haaang... O-Oppa... b-body... feels..."
On all fours, ass up high, flushed face calling me—Seo Ayoung in prime danger pose.
Gulp—
My throat bobbed audibly.
M-move her to bed for a rest? She's wrecked...
Then—
Bang—
Door flew open; someone entered.
Assuming Taesoo, I shifted to pick her up.
"C'mon, Taesoo, help. She's out of it—needs the bed now..."
But a sharp, high-pitched voice cut in, not his.
"K-Kwon Daesung-ssi? What the hell is this...?"