The Brand
The table held two steaming cups of coffee. I sat across from Haemi, watching her hum a little tune while she fiddled with her phone. All around the café, scattered glances kept drifting toward us. Not many people were staring openly, but once I noticed them, the attention became impossible to ignore.
The rumors about Haemi and her ex. To some, it was fascinating gossip. To others, juicy scandal they could sink their teeth into. Every pair of eyes carried its own reason for landing on us, and the discomfort made me hunch over my cup, taking small, bitter sips.
But Haemi herself didn’t seem to care at all. Even I could feel the prickling heat on the back of my neck, yet she kept tapping away at her screen with a carefree grin. She’d been glued to that phone ever since we ordered. What the hell was she doing?
“...What are you up to, Noona?”
“Hmm? Oh, just a second. ...Almost done... There!”
She didn’t even look up from her phone as she answered. After a few final taps, she flashed me a bright smile and lifted the device.
“I deleted every single photo and SNS post that had that bastard in it. Hehe, I never want to see his face again!”
She showed me her completely empty gallery, then tossed the phone onto the table with a satisfied flick. Stretching her arms overhead, she looked genuinely refreshed. Two days ago she’d been so lonely without her ex that she’d crashed a junior’s drinking party. Now she seemed truly liberated.
“...His name was Taejun, right? He’s the one who... cheated on you?”
I could understand why she was acting this way. From the conversation I’d overheard between her and that girl named Minji, I’d pieced together most of the story. Still, the betrayal of someone she’d truly loved had to hurt. I asked carefully, not wanting to poke at an open wound.
“Yeah. Him and that Minji bitch you saw earlier. They were already rolling around in bed together before he even shipped out for training. No wonder he kept telling me not to come visit. I really was pathetic, huh~”
Her tone was so calm it left me speechless.
“Actually, I’d suspected for a while. About a year ago he started seeing me less and less, and his texts became rare. Then one weekend I wanted to surprise him. He canceled, saying he had a family emergency. I thought, ‘Oh well, can’t be helped~’ and went out with a friend instead. That’s when I saw someone who looked exactly like him walking with another woman.”
“.......”
“I knew right then. But I told myself I must have seen wrong and let it slide. Even though I kept suspecting him, even though I found out exactly who the other girl was, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.”
Despite the bleak, heartbreaking story, Haemi kept smiling like she was sharing something funny. I hesitated before asking,
“...Are you really okay, Noona?”
Her expression and voice were so far from what you’d expect from someone who’d been betrayed that I almost stumbled over the words.
“Me? Of course I’m fine! I don’t care about any of that anymore. Well… I was angry and annoyed at first, but Taejun’s going to drop out the second he’s discharged and become the campus’s number one piece of trash. And as for Lee Minji, once she’s fully completed, I’ll make sure to use her thoroughly. So I’ve already gotten my revenge on both of them. Besides, thanks to you, Wooju, I’ve been reborn…♡”
Her tongue, glistening a vivid emerald, licked the rim of the mug she’d been pressing to her lips. Our eyes met.
“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that.”
The Haemi I knew would never have brushed off her lover’s betrayal so easily. She was the kind of person who became endlessly weak once she gave her heart to someone. Even if her head understood she’d been used and discarded, her heart would have kept her tossing and turning in agony. She was not someone who could talk about it so lightly.
Something had clearly changed her. And the thing that changed her was that mask. I needed to find out what the mask had told her.
“...Noona, do you realize you’ve changed since you put on that mask?”
“Of course. I’m very aware that I’ve become different~ When I look at you, my heart races. I want to obey everything you say. And I know my body has no choice but to follow your commands…♡”
She hooked a finger into the collar of her shirt and pulled it down just enough to reveal her cleavage, careful to keep it out of other people’s sight. I forced my pounding heart to calm down, took a sip of coffee, and continued.
“Then doesn’t any of it feel strange? Why you have to obey me, why it has to be me of all people—don’t you have any questions like that?”
“Not at all. I told you, didn’t I? The memories from when I wore the mask are hazy, but your voice is crystal clear. If it had been the old me, I probably would’ve cried and thrown a fit. But now? It doesn’t matter. In fact… I wish you’d do even more to me…”
.......
No progress. Every question I’d prepared was met with answers I couldn’t understand. At this point, only one question remained. I hoped I could at least get something useful out of it.
“Then, Noona, you said last time that ‘the mask taught me.’ What exactly did it teach you?”
“Ah~ That! It felt pretty strange. It sounded like a voice, but it wasn’t really a voice. It resonated inside my head with this deep hum, but for some reason I understood it instantly. It told me what my role was.”
“...What did that voice say?”
“The Saintesses must swear absolute loyalty to the Master of the Mask. They must increase the number of fellow Saintesses. They must love their Master. They must serve their Master with their blessed bodies. The Master’s joy is the joy of all believers. There were many more instructions, plus information on how to use my changed body and things like that.”
Finally, something. The terms Master of the Mask and Saintess echoed in my mind. It wasn’t certain yet, but Saintess probably referred to people like Haemi and Yunsol. And the Master was most likely…
Ziiing—
A sudden loud ringing pierced my eardrums. I flinched and looked up. It felt like it was echoing inside my skull, yet somehow different. The sharp, tickling sound was coming from my right.
“Wooju? What’s wrong?”
“......”
The source was my bag. The sound was coming from inside it. I slowly reached in, and my fingertips soon brushed against the origin of the noise.
When I pulled it out, the mask was vibrating violently, letting out a loud buzz only I could hear.
“...This is…”
On the pure white back of the mask, among the countless tiny characters crammed together, one caught my eye. A single letter glowing with a faint emerald light.
“...‘Slave?’”
It said Slave. Among all the unreadable symbols, this one word had slammed directly into my brain. It felt like a translator had activated inside my head, engraving that single character into my mind.
Just like Haemi had described, the sound that pierced my skull wasn’t exactly a voice. It was more like a vibrating hum, yet it somehow conveyed the meaning of Slave. An indescribable, bizarre sensation.
In a daze, I reached out and touched the character that meant Slave. The moment my finger made contact with the softly glowing symbol, the light traveled up my fingertip and grew slightly brighter.
In that instant—
“Ugh?!”
The faint glow of the Slave character suddenly exploded into brilliant light, then slowly faded away.
“......”
I rubbed the now-dark character, tapped it, even flicked it hard with my finger, but the gentle glow showed no sign of returning.
“...What was that just now?”
I shook my head at Haemi, who was blinking in surprise just like me.
“I have no idea… What the hell is this thing…”
“...Wooju, sorry, but I think we should leave right now.”
“Huh? What do you—”
When I looked up at her hand on my shoulder, I realized every single customer in the café was staring straight at us. Even the baristas were whispering among themselves.
Come to think of it, a flash like a photography studio’s light had gone off in this tiny café. Of course everyone was looking.
“...Um, sir? Is everything alright?”
“Ah, no, sorry… I accidentally pressed something on my phone…”
I gave the employee who’d come to check on the commotion an awkward lie and a friendly smile. I couldn’t exactly say the mask had randomly started glowing. In a situation like this, the best move was to get out fast.
After apologizing to the employee who politely bowed and said, ‘Please be mindful of the other customers,’ I gathered my things.
“...Can’t be helped. I wanted to talk with you more, Wooju~ But I need to head back soon, and you have class, right?”
“Yeah…”
I nodded at Haemi as she began stacking the empty mugs on a tray and let out a sigh. The tension draining away left me feeling completely exhausted. It was a little disappointing, but at least I’d learned something about the mask. If I talked with Yunsol during lunch, maybe I could find out even more.
So for now, I’d just quietly sit through class until then…
“...Huh…”
While Haemi took the tray to the counter, I finished packing my bag and noticed the mask again. After staring at and touching it constantly for the past three days, something about it looked different now.
On the pure white surface—where there had been no patterns, not even eye holes—a black character was now engraved on the forehead.
“...Slave…?”
It was the exact same shape as the glowing character I’d seen on the back.
“Haa…”
Every time I figured one thing out, something I didn’t understand popped up. The moment I solved one problem, a new one appeared. What the hell was this, some kind of homework? Why was I the only one getting extra assignments?
Walking down the hallway toward the lecture hall, I let out yet another sigh—I’d already lost count of how many—and looked down at the mask. No matter how hard I rubbed the newly engraved Slave character or washed it with water, it wouldn’t disappear. It looked like it had always been there, not drawn with paint or ink. I turned the mask over and over, studying it.
What exactly was this thing preparing to do next…? I couldn’t let my guard down…
“Wak!!”
“Ack! Ah, shit! You scared the hell out of me!!”
“Is it really that surprising? It’s not like this is the first time.”
A pair of hands suddenly grabbed me from behind and I nearly dropped the mask. I snatched it out of the air and hugged it to my chest, then spun around to see who had slapped my back.
Short hair, a bold yet cute face that almost made you wonder if she was a guy—until you noticed the prominent chest that left no doubt. My cousin, Choi Go-eun. She was practically a childhood friend.
“What, you were heading to class? Then lend me a cigarette before you go. I don’t have time to run to the convenience store.”
“...Didn’t you already steal a whole pack from me last time?”
“Did I do that?”
“You damn brat.”
“Ah, I’ll buy you two packs, so just lend me one. It’s not like they’ll run out!”
“Cigarettes do run out, you idiot. And no. I’m not sharing.”
“Please, Hyungnim! I mean, Oppa!”
She wrapped both arms around my waist and clung to me as I kept walking down the hallway. Go-eun had always been ridiculously strong since we were kids, and she refused to let go no matter what. Instead of just going to the store herself, what the hell was she doing…
“Sigh, fine then…”
The exhaustion that had been building up was about to explode. I rubbed my head and reached into my inner pocket for the cigarette pack when—
“...Ugh—?!”
A sudden wave of dizziness made my legs give out. I dropped to my knees on the floor. My head felt like it was boiling, a splitting headache combined with vertigo that made the world spin.
This was exactly what happened this morning too…
“What the hell, why are you suddenly like this? Leg cramp? ...Oh! Nice!”
While Go-eun happily snatched up the cigarette pack I’d dropped, I reached desperately for the mask I’d let go of. That one couldn’t fall into her hands. That was—
“But seriously, Choi Wooju, what’s wrong with you all of a sudden? Jaehyuk said you looked like shit and I guess he was right. Want me to pick this up for you?”
“No, don’t touch—!!”
Go-eun crouched in front of me and teasingly held out the mask that had fallen near my feet. Before I could finish my sentence, she’d already grabbed it. She tilted her head in confusion.
“You’re mad even though I picked it up for you? Anyway, what is this? A mask? What does it say here…”
The moment she frowned and lifted the mask right up to her face—
Flash—!
“Ubp?!!”
The mask moved as if it were alive. Just like it had with Haemi and Yunsol, it lunged straight at Go-eun’s face.
She grabbed at the mask covering her eyes with both hands, letting out muffled groans. It wasn’t too late yet. I forced my spinning vision to focus, somehow got to my feet, and immediately started pulling at the mask she was wearing.
“Fuck, why again…!! Ugh!!”
“Ubp, hurry…!!!”
I yanked with all my strength, but the mask clung tightly to her face. At this rate—!
Pop—
“Ugh! ...Huh?”
I fell backward, landing hard on my ass. But in my hand was the mask. It had come off Go-eun’s face.
Unlike with Haemi or Yunsol, it had peeled away ridiculously easily. I was full of suspicion, but Go-eun came first.
“Hey, are you okay?!”
“Cough, cough…! Yeah, I think I’m fine… That scared me…”
She coughed harshly while catching her breath. She looked completely normal.
“Haa, thank you, Master! I really thought I was going to suffocate to death…”
“...What? What did you just—”
“Huh? I said Master. Why? Why are you looking at me like that? What’s so weird about a slave calling her Master ‘Master’…?”
Her eyes now glowed an ominous emerald. The exact same Slave character that had been engraved on the mask was now branded on her forehead. Aside from the fact that she was calling me Master, everything else was—