A Hundred Million Won of Tears

"Mmph—!"

He passed the liquor from his mouth into Rina's as well. One glass apiece, fair down the line. Even while he was feeding them the drink, he didn't forget the hand between her legs.

"Nnh, oppa. Do you have a condom...?"

Tonight's fired-up oppa clearly wasn't going to be satisfied until he finished the job in the room. Sammy decided to accept it. The tip would beat a second-round fee anyway. She could swallow a little shame. Everyone packed in here was in the same boat.

"Don't have one."

"Aahn. Then what do we do? Want me to finish you with my mouth?"

"Just put it in raw. I don't really use condoms. Hard to find one that fits, anyway."

"Th-that won't work, oppa. No matter how much you pay, raw is a no."

The bareback suggestion made Sammy go pale. A woman who sold her body had to treat that body as precious—every disease on the list, and the threat of pregnancy besides. Catch even one and her life was over on the spot. A condom was not optional.

Kim Taeyoung scowled. Pay enough, and nothing stayed impossible. The only time a thing stayed impossible was when the money ran short. Even so, he didn't feel like spending more in this room. Trotting back out to pull more cash was a hassle.

"Then finish me with your mouth. Rina, you go sing something. Trade off—one of you blows me, one of you sings, back and forth. Whoever makes me come first gets five hundred thousand won. How's that?"

"Love it! I'll work hard!"

"Oppa, what should I sing?"

"Whatever. Oh—make it a duet. You two over there as well. Help the director out. With your mouths. Same terms for you. One sucks, one sings. First to make him finish gets five hundred thousand. Start."

At that, two of the girls looked over at Park Myeongcheol. There was no world in which Park Myeongcheol refused Kim Taeyoung. The man had weathered every kind of battle, bedroom included, and playing at this level still counted as tame. He shoved his trousers and underwear down in one motion. Smaller than Kim Taeyoung's, but a perfectly serviceable cock stood up on its own.

"Director. Had a good time tonight."

Two hours later, Kim Taeyoung—fresh from biting and sucking his way through the girls—gave Park Myeongcheol his goodbye. They'd played enough. Time to head back. The five million won Park Myeongcheol had brought was nearly gone.

"You're getting up? You're not coming to the second round?"

"A second round that needs condoms isn't to my taste. And I've got things to do."

Kim Taeyoung's oversized cock throbbed, precum leaking in a steady string. Sammy had managed to slip out of a round, and still his lust wasn't spent. Sex in a condom, though, didn't appeal. It wasn't as if he lacked women. No need to roll around with a whore and a rubber on top of everything else.

There was also the promise he'd made Hwayeon. Drink any more and he might forget it and pass out, so cutting it off here was best. He had Sammy and Rina wipe his cock clean, then pulled his underwear and trousers back on and made ready to leave. Park Myeongcheol, who had been enjoying himself just fine, hurried into his clothes as well.

"Take the second round on your own, Director. And let's set the next meeting for after your plan is fully drawn up. Call me then."

"Please wait just a moment. I'll have them send a driver."

A designated driver dropped him at home a little past ten.

"Boss! You home?"

The moment he stepped inside, Sally—still awake—came out to meet him. She looked far tidier than she had at the start. The worn, frayed clothes were gone, swapped for a black suit a hotel clerk might wear, and the hair that had never been looked after was tied neatly back.

Even when poverty and a wild edge still clung to her, he had thought she was pretty. Cleaned up, the looks and the charm came through all the clearer. She had a five-year-old, but she herself was only in her mid-twenties. Much younger than Kim Taeyoung.

The lust banked up in the private room lifted its head. Kim Taeyoung shook it off at once. He wasn't hard up enough to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠put his hands on a woman with a child. And he'd already called the one who would take care of his appetite.

"Jennifer?"

"She sleeping."

"Then don't wake her tonight. A woman's coming by in a little while. Big chest, pretty. When she gets here, send ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her up to my room."

"Ah... yes, yes. Boss. I understand."

Hearing him announce, flat out, that he'd summoned a woman, Sally was briefly thrown. She couldn't let it show. Kim Taeyoung owned the house and signed her pay. She was the housekeeper living under his roof.

"Boss. I mix honey water?"

"Yeah. Bring it up to the third floor. I'll shower and come out, so have it ready."

"Yes."

Fresh from the shower, Kim Taeyoung switched on the computer and went straight to KoreaTV. The instant the homepage loaded, the Excel Broadcast he'd promised to catch was sitting right there. Thirty thousand viewers. Most Excel Broadcasts didn't even average ten thousand concurrent, which made this an absurd number.

The dance floor was already in full swing, and a familiar female-cam reaction track poured through the speakers. The broadcast kept its frame on the camgirl doing the reaction, so whoever stood behind her was hard to make out. Even so, whenever it cut to the wide shot, you could see exactly who was waiting behind the table.

"What. Is she crying?"

Finding Hwayeon, Kim Taeyoung said the thought out loud. Her face on the screen was a wreck. The tears hadn't fallen yet, but it was a face on the verge of them. One look at the seven o'clock corner of the monitor told him why. 5,322. Dead last among every camgirl on the show, and not by a little.

Tsk. She'd been the number-one female cam once. How had it come to this? If ever there was a moment for how heartless the years could be, this was it. Kim Taeyoung slammed a donation through at once. She'd begged him that hard. The least he could do was put the wind properly back in her sails.

He planted a million in a single shot. Part of it was guilt for running late, and part of it, honestly, was pity for that crumpled face. The drink in him had a hand in it too.

The chat, which had been rocking along to the camgirls' chain of reactions, collapsed into chaos in a heartbeat. A million balloons carried that kind of blast. A moment later the broadcast caught the BJs murmuring among themselves. It didn't take long for the noise to reach Hwayeon. She lifted her head, found Kim Taeyoung's donation, and tears welled thick along her eyes.

A million balloons detonated and turned a mere ten thousand into pocket change.

The chat went up in flames.

"Kyaaaa!"

"Coin Up! Coin Up!"

"Unnie! What are you doing! Get out there, quick!"

The BJs were stunned.

A fast, heavy beat kicked in. Hwayeon and her team took the stage. Everyone but Hwayeon danced like they'd lost their minds. Hwayeon, stuck in the middle, had no idea what to do with herself. Tears poured out of both eyes. She wiped at them with one hand and shook the other in some awkward half-attempt at a dance.

"Hhh— hhhk."

The loud track buried her crying. Not all the way, though. The mic was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠planted right at the front of the stage.

Even in a moving scene, the viewers went looking for the joke.

"Mmm, yes. We'll cut away for a moment."

Once the stage ended—with only Hwayeon having cried her eyes out—Seed briefly killed the signature reaction. He could feel the room needed putting back in order.

"Ahem. Yes. Aigoo, our Hwayeon. I really am sorry about earlier."

Seed apologized to her. She was the day's number-one contributor, and when you apologize you don't drag pride into it. Fifteen years a broadcaster, and Seed had none of that pride left.

"Hhh— j-just a second."

Hwayeon ducked her head and got the tears under control. The moment the feeling settled, the first thought that arrived was that she could not let her makeup run. Beside her, teammates eager to look even a little closer handed over tissues and patted her shoulder—things none of them had done while she was being despised and mocked.

Everything had changed the moment Kim Taeyoung showed up. This was an arena where people competed over who could earn more. Whoever had the money stood on top. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Whoever took that money stood underneath. Everyone else was roughly infantry.

"Calmed down now? Please pull yourself together quickly. Sorry to say it, but we don't have time to hold for one person. Even if you're in first today, Hwayeon, it's the same."

"Hoo. I'm fine."

"Mmm, yes. Then please say a word to the whale who fired so big for us today. And ask him to fire again."

"Coin God oppa. Why did you come so laaate! I really thought you weren't coming, and I worried so much. But thank you so much for showing up. And thank you so much for shooting this big. I love you!"

Hwayeon drew a huge heart and poured on the aegyo. The smile was so bright it was hard to believe she'd been crying a moment ago.

"Oh, and don't stop after one shot. Shoot me a lot of little ones. I haven't even been on stage five times today. Got it? I love you. Oppa!"

Message received. Kim Taeyoung decided to do exactly as she asked.

He worked the mouse the way a man works a spreadsheet and sent Moon Balloons down the line. Two clicks and a donation was done. He lost count of how many times he clicked. All he knew was that for more than an hour, Hwayeon had to keep dancing on that stage.

He could see her wearing down. Now and then some other whale tipped a different camgirl and bought her a rest, but only a very short one. On an Excel Broadcast a signature reaction lasted thirty seconds at the outside. The moment a song ended, it was Hwayeon's turn again.

Hwayeon regretted the last thing she'd said. She should have just taken the hundred million and quit.