Chapter 2

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 2

Chapter Title: No Mercy Belly Punches for the Cocky Actress

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I opened the door of the van where Son Sia was waiting and climbed in.

Clunk-. Slam-.

I sat down in the driver's seat and glanced at Son Sia through the rearview mirror. Even through the reflection, I could check her information.

It was astonishing.

According to the contract Mammon had shown me, the talents I could covet from others started with peripheral ones and gradually progressed to their core abilities.

In other words, the initial covetable talents were among the lower-tier ones that person possessed.

'A B-grade talent right from the start?'

Perhaps because of that, there were two conditions attached.

'The primary condition shouldn't be too hard...'

That was when it happened.

Son Sia seemed to sense my gaze and kicked the back of the driver's seat with her foot.

"Why are you staring like that? Let's go. You promised to get me coffee."

"Got it. Heading out now."

Vroom-.

For now, I pulled the van over to the side of the road, parked it, and dashed into the coffee shop to place an order.

"One ice Americano ready."

"Yes!"

After grabbing the coffee, I pretended to go fetch a straw, discreetly spat into it, then stirred it with a stick amid the disposable items to mix in the saliva.

I hurried back to the van and handed the coffee to Son Sia while checking the secondary condition.

"Here, your coffee."

I could see Son Sia leaning back against the car seat, slurping at the coffee through the straw.

The secondary condition didn't look too difficult either.

I drove the van to Son Sia's residence. She must have been tired, as she leaned against the seat and fell right asleep.

<18:35>

After parking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the underground garage, I woke her up.

"Sia, we're here. Go inside and rest."

"Mm..."

Son Sia stirred awake, rubbing her eyes as she mumbled.

"...Woo-jin oppa."

"Yeah?"

"If you're not busy, come in with me. I'm hungry."

"Sure."

Why was the secondary condition so easy? Because Son Sia had always treated me like a lackey.

She casually slipped on her sunglasses and mask as if it were the most natural thing, and I hurriedly got out of the driver's seat to open her door.

Click-.

Son Sia stepped out of the van, her heels clicking against the underground garage floor.

Her incredibly slender ankles and dizzyingly long legs made her walk an art form in itself.

"Yawn."

She yawned as she headed for the elevator, and I hurried ahead to press the button first.

The elevator arrived at the 20th floor in no time.

Ding ding ding-. Ding-.

I stepped out first and entered the passcode on the door lock.

Son Sia stood there waiting as if it were obvious, then stepped inside once the door opened.

Swish swish-.

She entered the entryway and carelessly kicked off her shoes without taking them off properly. I followed, brushed the dirt off the haphazardly discarded footwear, and neatly placed them in the shoe cabinet.

By then, Son Sia had sprawled out on the sofa and pulled out her script to read.

And the moment I entered Son Sia's house...

I could finally check my innate talents.

'Acting Dullard... What a joke.'

It was a full D-grade talent. Among what I had, my best was my appearance.

'A decent face for a prop.'

That was the general evaluation of my acting career.

"Oppa!!"

I was in the middle of lamenting over my talents when Son Sia's shout rang out.

"Huh, what? You called?"

"Get your head in the game! How many times did I have to call you?!"

The bitch who passed out while I was driving... My teeth ground together automatically.

Still, the underling responded with a smile.

"Sorry, I was lost in thought for a sec."

"Anyway, come here."

Son Sia sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, twirling her finger seductively. Her pose was incredibly alluring.

The kind that would make most men rip out their hearts and hand them over.

But to me, that sight felt deeply unsettling. What was this bitch about to order now...

I hesitantly stood before her, and she extended a pale, slender finger to point at the floor.

"Crawl on all fours."

"What?"

A cold expression flashed across Son Sia's face for an instant.

It vanished as quickly as it appeared, and she reverted to her original face with a soft smile.

"I was reading that overseas script you snagged for me, and there's a scene where she matches moves with a massive wolf. So, be my stand-in opponent."

Her tone was incredibly gentle, but the nuances and pitch twisted in eerie ways midway through.

Her eyes curved into pretty half-moons with a smile, contrasted by the straight line of her mouth.

It was chilling.

Like the prelude to one of her outbursts.

I hurriedly dropped to the floor and started crawling around on all fours.

A giggle ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠laced with amusement whispered in my ear.

"You need to howl too. Yeah, a wolf howl would be perfect. Right?"

"Awoo... Awooo..."

"Louder and more ferociously! Like a wolf in heat courting a female!"

"Awoooo! Awoo!"

A deep sense of humiliation boiled in my chest, but I kept crawling and howling like a wolf, and each time, Son Sia burst into peals of laughter.

But her laughter cut off abruptly. Suddenly, she spoke in a whiny voice.

"Oppa, I'm hungry."

"Yeah, got it. Just a bit longer."

I naturally stood up and headed to the kitchen.

A space more familiar to me now than my own kitchen at home.

The fridge had some conch salad I'd made recently, so I decided to whip up some simple conch bibimbap.

"I'll make you conch bibimbap."

"Yeah. Sounds good."

If there was one silver lining, it was that Son Sia wasn't picky about food.

Chop chop chop chop-.

I pulled out the cutting board and chopped the green onions and peppers.

The TV droned faintly from the living room.

As I prepped the ingredients, I recalled Son Sia's info from earlier.

The newly added 'Subordination Level' metric.

Using the covet ability on the same target repeatedly gradually increased my dominance over them, and this indicated the degree.

Anyway.

'Haha... Punch her in the belly?'

Apart from it being another B-grade talent, this was no longer something I could pull off sneakily.

It was a moment that demanded resolve.

I had a rough idea by now.

On the set of Don't Look for Me, the condition to covet the lighting director's talent—who had been worried about me—had probably been to shove him from behind and make him fall.

The power Mammon granted forced me to abandon my conscience in exchange for talents I could never dream of otherwise.

And conscience?

I glanced at Son Sia lounging on the sofa.

Her exquisitely sculpted facial lines and features, eyes as deep as embedded jewels, and that unique aura blending sensuality with intellect.

If my appearance was B+, hers had to be at least A+.

But with that pretty face, how much had she belittled and demeaned me?

She especially mocked my aspiring actor dreams. Just because she was a second-rater with better talent.

I set down the kitchen knife and untied my apron.

Bunching the apron into a ball, I strode boldly toward Son Sia.

"Huh? What? Done already?"

Ignoring her puzzled sideways glance, I shoved the bunched-up apron into her mouth.

"Mmph?!"

Son Sia jolted in surprise, eyes bulging as she flailed, but she couldn't overpower a man's brute strength.

I swung my fist into her struggling belly.

Thud-.

"Wha, wha...?!"

Son Sia's eyes flew wide open around the apron stuffed in her mouth.

Tears welled up in her bulging eyes in an instant, soon spilling down her cheeks.

Her futile resistance faded, and she clutched her belly, groaning.

The second condition was another belly punch.

"Ha..."

A dry laugh escaped me.

Son Sia hiccuped, her shoulders heaving. Her bloodshot, terrified eyes stared up at me.

Her pupils trembled like there was an earthquake.

"Mmph!!"

I shook the apron gagging her mouth to distract her nerves, then...

Thud-.

I delivered another belly punch.

"Guh... guh... sob."

In the end, Son Sia collapsed to the floor, curling up as drool spilled from her mouth.

I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠already absorbed two talents.

But it wasn't over. A new talent appeared.

This power was telling me to keep coveting Son Sia.

Then, an additional voice chimed in.

It was a quest with no reason to refuse.