10. Decision
10. Decision
10. Decision
"Alright, you may lift your heads."
At her permission, the two women who hadn't moved a muscle until now
lifted their heads and looked at me while kneeling.
"You know, right? For now, this is Kim Seon-min-ssi, who holds ownership of you.
He resembles your former master, Kim Gyeong-hak-ssi, doesn't he?"
She probably didn't mean any harm,
but her words tore through my chest.
She must have been talking about my appearance,
but honestly, I did resemble my father.
However, unlike my father, who was a popular handsome man by anyone's standards,
I had a very plain face.
My lack of confidence made my already lacking appearance
look even more pathetic.
Both my mother and father were beautiful,
so I felt like it was somehow unfair.
To think I resemble them but am not handsome.
"Nice to meet you, Master."
A greeting heard along with our eyes briefly meeting.
One was in her mid-30s,
the other in her early 20s.
When I saw the older slave,
for the first time today, a curse word popped out of my mouth.
"Fuck!!"
I kicked the thick-looking door.
The sturdy door made of steel
produced a loud, booming sound in this wide, quiet space.
Everyone here was startled by my sudden reaction.
"We are sorry!"
Not even knowing why I was agitated,
the two women apologized by slamming their heads onto the floor with a 'thud'.
And Kang Min-jeong, the lawyer,
looked at me with eyes wide like a rabbit.
Actually, I was the most surprised.
I didn't know I would act like this in that moment.
"Ah.... I'm sorry. I got a little excited for a moment.
I'm going to go clear my head for a bit."
Without waiting for the lawyer's reply,
I went out to the garden.
I had made a scene out of a momentary outburst.
I suddenly headed to the pavilion next to the pond,
and grabbed the cigarette my father had left unfinished
that was lying there.
I had smoked for a while during my military service
because of a senior.
After being discharged, I managed to quit due to financial burdens,
but now that I don't have to worry about money, it should be fine, right?
I also received the ability of [Disease Immunity].
I lit the cigarette, took a puff, and thought.
That man really was trash.
He was trash to the point of being pathetic.
Of course, I saw the woman in her mid-30s for the first time today.
But I could clearly understand why she was in that position.
She was, although not perfectly,
a woman who resembled my mother.
Something my father, who had obtained unimaginable wealth
and the power of the [Organization], could not possess until the very end.
My mother.
In the end, my father had prepared a substitute for my mother.
Rather than being afraid of the genes I inherited,
I thought it was ridiculous.
It was the first cigarette I'd smoked in years,
but there was no coughing or dizziness.
I don't know if it's because I was a smoker originally,
or because of [Disease Immunity].
By the time I had almost finished the cigarette,
Kang Min-jeong, the lawyer, came out to the garden
and approached the pavilion.
"I'm sorry, Seonmin-ssi."
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry."
"No. Actually, I had investigated Seonmin-ssi in advance and knew about you.
That's why I tried not to show you the slaves,
but I didn't expect you to be this agitated."
"It was something I had to know eventually. You were quite surprised, right?"
She just smiled kindly at my apology.
"Then what will you do now?
Should I take care of it for you right away?"
Just looking at that slave's face was painful.
As the lawyer said,
it would have been better to take care of it here.
However, I felt that inheriting my father's estate
meant I also had to inherit the responsibility for his evil deeds.
Just like my father's cigarette currently in my hand.
Besides, it really wasn't easy
to throw away someone who resembled my mother a little.
"For now, I should at least hear them out."
"Seonmin-ssi is such a kind kid."
She approached my side.
"Noona, the smell of smoke will get on your clothes."
My heart softened at her kindness,
and I spoke as if joking
while putting out the cigarette in the stone ashtray.
"It's okay.
Noona is always a fragrant person, so bad smells don't stick."
She replied with a joke as well
and patted my shoulder.
I don't know why she, whom I met for the first time today,
is approaching me like this,
and I know she is a dangerous person,
but still, I couldn't stop her from coming closer.
I guess if this is what a honey trap is,
I would have no choice but to fall for it even knowing it.
"I've calmed down a bit. Then, I'll hear them out a little."
"Seonmin-ssi, there is one thing you need to be careful about.
Even if Seonmin-ssi feels pity or a sense of debt toward the slaves,
you must always treat the slaves as their master.
The consideration Seonmin-ssi is thinking of right now
will only make things harder for them."
"Yes, I'll be careful."
When we went back into the annex and faced the slaves,
they were prostrating with their heads on the ground,
trembling slightly.
"We are sorry. Please, punish us."
They weren't asking for forgiveness,
but asking to be punished.
"First, lift your heads."
Following the lawyer's advice,
I spoke in a coercive, informal tone.
When they lifted their heads,
disgust welled up again, but I resumed the conversation.
"I don't know if it's just for now, or if it will continue in the future,
but for now, I am your master."
The lawyer gave a bitter smile at my appearance.
"First, I give you my first order. Speak to me honestly without lies."
A strange tone that was awkward as could be.
I don't really know the tone of a slave master,
but thinking of a tone suitable for an order,
a tone I experienced in the military roughly came out of my mouth.
"Yes, understood."
"You guys, do you want to stay here?
Or do you want to return to the [Organization]?"
The thing I needed to check first.
Finally, this question came out.
They couldn't answer and hesitated, stammering.
And then,
a sound of air cutting through erupted.
Kang Min-jeong, the lawyer, struck the wall with a whip.
She, who looked like a calm beauty,
was overflowing with intensity.
I think I was more surprised than the slaves.
"Are you deaf?
Should I put bugs in your ears to take care of your [Hearing]?"
Words that I couldn't imagine
from the kindness she showed me
came out through her pretty lips.
"We are sorry. Please, punish us."
The startled slaves apologized in a hurry.
It seems that phrase is the basic form of apology for them.
"Forget about punishment for now,
we'll do that later, just answer me."
The lawyer really looked like she was about to whip the slaves, so I stepped in first.
"...We want to stay."
The slave in her 30s said, hesitating.
"We want to serve Master."
The slave in her 20s also said.
"No need to read the room.
If you want to return to the [Organization], I will accommodate you as much as possible."
"No. Master, please forgive us."
"Please, let us stay by your side."
The women, whose complexions changed urgently,
must really want to stay here.
Whether I send them away or take them in, it's an uncomfortable choice anyway.
I decided to feel a minimum sense of responsibility.
Ah.... Now, how should I solve the [Supervisor] problem?
I sighed, organizing my thoughts.
But the slaves must have taken that silence and sigh differently.
"P-please. I beg you.
I will satisfy you, Master.
I can do anything. I will do anything."
"I can do anything too.
I can even eat Master's urine and feces deliciously.
I can crawl around smiling with hundreds of needles stuck in me.
If you order me, I can even do it with animals."
"I.... even if you cut off my nipples or clitoris,
I can serve you with a smile.
I have perfectly received [Pain Training].
Whether it's Master's chair, toilet, or dining table,
I will serve as furniture all day long."
In an instant, like salespeople,
they listed their [Conditioning] skills,
crawled over, and grabbed my pant legs, begging.
The tears in their eyes were so desperate
that even the horrific things I heard just before
didn't register in my ears.
No, I wasn't trying to throw them away, but.......
At that moment, before I could even speak,
the lawyer kicked the young slave in the head.
I was so surprised by the sudden action
that I couldn't do anything.
"Are these bitches already trying to deceive? Are you crazy?
How dare you touch the master without the master's permission?"
The lawyer passed the young slave who had fallen backward
and whipped the back of the slave in her 30s.
Snap!
A sound that made me feel like I would be writhing in pain if I were hit.
The slave in her 30s let out a small groan,
let go of my pant leg, and said again with her head on the floor.
"If it is punishment, I will take it. I will take anything.
Please.... please don't throw us away."
The slave in her 20s did the same.
"Please, just once, I beg you."
Despite their pleas,
the lawyer's expression became even more ferocious.
So that pretty person could make an expression like that too.
"Now that the former master is dead,
it seems you've forgotten what you are?"
"We are Master's slaves."
"Right, but what are slaves again?
Was a slave someone who makes requests to their master?
I'm a bit embarrassed as a [Facility Manager].
I didn't even know this and talked about the [Organization] and slaves to Seonmin-ssi."
"We know we did something we shouldn't have dared to do. We will gladly accept all punishment.
Still, still, please, I beg you.
We don't want to return to the [Organization]."
Finally, the slave in her 30s says, shedding tears.
The lawyer says with a sadistic smile.
"You must have really hated the time you spent in the [Organization]?
I'm a bit hurt as a [Facility Manager]?"
"We want to serve Master."
"You know that what you're doing right now is an act of deception, right?
Do you think Seonmin-ssi is easy because he looks young and kind?"
"No. It's really not.
Even if it were the former master,
we would want to be here."
From her urgent words,
the feeling that she really hated the time with my father
is deeply embedded.
She must have said it without realizing it.
"No, you guys seem to have gone crazy,
what you need to do is not make requests, but obedience.
Why are you making even me embarrassed?"
The slaves are clearly afraid of the lawyer.
I don't know what a [Facility Manager] is,
but they must have known her from before through their [Conditioning] or management in the [Organization].
She is likely an object of terror
that makes them unable to even breathe just by her gaze.
Even so, they are gathering their last courage,
desperately resisting.
I have made my decision.
Anyway, whether it's the slaves, the lawyer, or me,
this is not a pleasant farce.
I should finish the situation quickly.
"I'll take them. Both of them."
A moment of silence hangs in the heated small room.
The lawyer looks up at me blankly.
"Can you do it?"
"I have to try."
The two slaves, understanding my words,
couldn't even lift their heads as they spoke.
"Thank....... Thank you. Thank you so much."
The slave in her 20s also bursts into tears.
"Really, I will serve you well. I will satisfy you.
I will do my best."
-[Emotion] has been acquired-
That voice ringing out suddenly.
The slaves seem to be genuinely happy with my decision.
-[Emotion] has been acquired by one unit, a card will be issued.-
-Please select one of the 3 cards-
-[Unselected cards may appear again at the next opportunity]-
-[Think of 'Issue' and 'Select' to begin]-
Their happiness score seems to be close to 100.
Let's postpone the issuance and proceed with the conversation first.
"Noona expected it would be like this.
I really wanted to stop you,
but you're a kid with unexpectedly stubborn persistence."
As if the conversation with the slaves a moment ago was a lie,
she returned to a kind, noona-like tone.
"Noona is worried.
Actually, the very act of what they are doing right now
is deception.
Even so, if you accept them,
you won't be able to avoid the [Organization]'s deception judgment.
Seonmin-ssi will also have taken them in for nothing, only to have them taken away,
and the slaves will be dragged off to the [Organization] just when they think they're safe for a moment. Do you have any countermeasures?"
Of course, there's no way I would.
Looking at the inheritance, it's pocket change that would be laughable to the [Organization].
On top of that, I have absolutely no social standing.
Perhaps the biggest thing I have right now
is not the 9 billion won house, nor the 5 billion won in cash.
The fact that Kang Min-jeong, the lawyer in front of me,
thinks favorably of me
is my biggest asset.
I have no choice but to cling to that.