First Delusion — Idol Hunting (1)
The city nightscape had vanished.
Or, to be exact—every view the five members of Lunatic had ever known had disappeared.
"...Where are we?"
Chaerin looked around. Until moments ago, this had been their waiting room, without a doubt. They'd finished their schedule, come back, changed their clothes, and were resting briefly while their manager went to bring the car around. And now they were standing somewhere they didn't recognize at all.
At first, they thought it was an amusement park. Dazzling signage. A carousel in the distance. Game arcades and rides of every kind. Facilities of unknowable purpose lined both sides of the broad, sprawling paths, stretching on without end.
But within seconds, something strange caught their eye.
"Unnie."
Harin, the maknae, pressed close to Seoyun. "This is... indoors, isn't it?"
All five looked up at once. There was a ceiling. It was so high that at first they'd mistaken it for the night sky. The entire vast space—too enormous to even guess at its limits—was contained within a single building.
"That's impossible," Sea murmured. "What building on earth is this big?"
No one answered—because there was something stranger still.
There were no people. No visitors. No staff. No manager, who should have been the one to bring them here. Not even the most mundane PA announcement could be heard. Only the sound of their own breathing rang out, far too loud.
Yuna pulled her phone from her pocket. "Let's try calling first."
The screen lit up normally. Yuna immediately dialed their manager. A moment later, her brow furrowed.
"It's not going through."
"The call?"
"Yeah."
Seoyun took out her phone as well. Internet. Messenger. Calls. All dead.
"Is this some kind of hidden-camera prank?" Chaerin said, scanning their surroundings. "Do people get kidnapped for pranks these days?"
"Don't say 'kidnap.'"
Harin shot her a look at once. "You're scaring me."
"Then what would you call this?"
"Chaerin." Seoyun cut in, and Chaerin shut her mouth.
Their leader was only pretending to be calm herself. All five of them had been moved to this place without their knowledge. That alone was impossible by any normal means.
Then it happened.
"There you all are."
A stranger's voice. All five turned at once. In the middle of the path, a little ways off, a man stood—no telling how long he'd been there. He was smiling, perfectly ordinary. Somehow, that made it stranger.
Seoyun stepped half a pace in front of the others. "Who are you?"
The man—Ingong—didn't answer. Instead, he looked each of the five over in turn, then nodded, satisfied.
"Welcome."
"...?"
"To the selection for my personal maids."
Silence. For several seconds, no one could manage a reply. Chaerin was the first to recover.
"...What did you say?"
"A maid selection."
"I heard you the first time." Chaerin's voice sharpened. "Why on earth would we take part in something like that?"
Sea chimed in. "We don't even know who you are, and suddenly we're supposed to be maids?"
"Are you the one who brought us here?"
At Seoyun's question, Ingong nodded. "That's right."
At that single word, the atmosphere turned hostile in an instant.
"Then send us back right now."
"Can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because the selection hasn't started yet."
"Are you kidding me right now?"
The moment Chaerin moved to step forward, Seoyun's arm shot out to stop her. "Wait."
Seoyun looked Ingong dead in the eye. "I don't know what it is you want, but if we vanish without a trace, our company is not going to let it slide."
Ingong let out a short laugh. "You don't need to worry about that."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like."
Not a trace of tension could be found anywhere on him.
Then—
Clack.
The sound of heels. From behind Ingong.
Clack.
From deeper within the passage, a woman walked slowly out. At first, all five watched without thinking much of it. Then, the moment they recognized the face, their expressions changed in unison.
"...Huh?"
Yuna reacted first. Harin's eyes went wide.
"Hold on."
Chaerin stared at the woman as if doubting her own eyes. As people who worked in the entertainment industry, there was no way they wouldn't know that face. Movies. Dramas. Commercials. Countless award ceremonies. An actress so famous it would be harder to find someone in South Korea who didn't know her.
The name left Seoyun's lips, careful and disbelieving. "Jeon Ji-yeon... sunbae?"
Jeon Ji-yeon spotted the five of them. "Oh." She smiled as if she'd run into someone she was glad to see. "So it's you girls?"
"Sunbae, why are you here...?"
Instead of answering, Jeon Ji-yeon walked to Ingong's side—and took her place beside him, so naturally it hurt to watch. Questions bloomed in the Lunatic members' eyes. The distance between the two was unnervingly close.
Jeon Ji-yeon looked the five of them over, one by one. "I was a little worried when Master said he'd be bringing in new maids."
"..."
Harin's mouth fell slightly open. Chaerin asked back.
"Your... what did you say?"
Jeon Ji-yeon paid it no mind. "I was wondering what I'd do if they turned out to be strange girls." She looked the five of them over once more. "Girls like you should be just fine." Then she looked up at Ingong. "You've brought some lovely ones, Master."
"..."
"..."
No one could speak. Even Seoyun failed to keep her composure this time.
Ingong wrapped an arm around Jeon Ji-yeon's waist, and her body melted into his, smooth and easy.
"Oh, Master." Her words sounded like a scold, but a smile hung on Jeon Ji-yeon's lips. "The girls are watching..."
She didn't push him away. If anything, she settled comfortably into his embrace.
"...Sunbae?" Harin called out, dazed.
Jeon Ji-yeon turned her head. "Hm?"
It was such an ordinary reply. That was what made it so wrong.
Chaerin pressed close to Seoyun and whispered, "Unnie. Something is seriously wrong here."
Seoyun couldn't answer either. Until moments ago, she'd assumed this was the prank of a madman. But Jeon Ji-yeon—the nation's actress—was calling that man Master. And not under duress, either. It was utterly, terrifyingly natural.
Ingong released Jeon Ji-yeon's waist. "Now, then."
Five pairs of eyes turned to him.
"Let me explain the rules."
"We never agreed to participate," Seoyun said.
"I know."
"Then what rules are you—"
"It's simple." Ingong cut her off. "Anyone I catch passes the maid hiring process."
Harin looked at Jeon Ji-yeon. Then back at Ingong. "...And if we're caught?"
"You become my maid."
"That's insane." Sea gave a hollow laugh.
Ingong paid it no mind. "If you don't like it, run for your life. Make it out from the top floor, and you fail the selection."
"Wait a minute—"
"Oh." Ingong added, as if remembering something. "Of course, anyone who'd rather pass doesn't need to run at all." He took a step forward. "Just stay exactly where you're standing."
The five didn't move. It was nonsense. Even if he caught them, there was no way they'd actually become maids. And yet—even thinking that, not one of them could laugh. Because of Jeon Ji-yeon, standing right there behind him. She hadn't moved from Ingong's back, as if that spot had always belonged to her.
Ingong took another step closer. Harin backed away reflexively, and seeing it, Ingong smiled.
"Not running?"
One step. Another.
"Unnie..." Harin looked at Seoyun.
Ingong drew closer, little by little. And then—
"Run!" Seoyun shouted, and all five spun around at once.
"Eek!"
"Hurry!"
"Harin, this way!"
Sea was the first to bolt, Yuna and Chaerin on her heels. Seoyun kept hold of Harin, checking behind them until the last moment.
Ingong didn't chase. He simply stood there with Jeon Ji-yeon, watching them go.
"What the hell!" Chaerin shouted as she ran. "What is with that guy!"
"Just run for now!"
"Where?!"
"I don't know! Just get away!"
The five ran in a frantic blur. Up close, the space that had looked like an amusement park was even more bizarre. On the left, a building that evoked an old circus tent. On the right, the entrance to an enormous maze. In the distance, they could even make out an escalator climbing toward the next floor. But the signs listed only facility names—not a single exit marker anywhere.
"Wait!" Yuna shouted, and the five hid behind a massive pillar.
For a while, no one could speak. Only ragged breathing filled the air. Harin was the first to sink to the ground.
"This is insane..."
Sea checked the direction they'd come from. "He's not following."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Then why did you make us run?" Chaerin said, incredulous.
"Don't even think about going back now," Seoyun answered immediately.
"I wasn't." Chaerin shot back. "I'm not that curious."
Then Yuna looked down at her phone. "Huh?"
"What?"
"Hold on." Yuna tapped the screen a few times. "My call to the manager didn't go through earlier, right?"
"Right."
"But it works calling Seoyun unnie?"
Seoyun's phone rang. All five stared at the screen.
"What is this?"
Seoyun answered. "Hello?"
Seoyun's voice came out of Yuna's phone—Yuna, standing right beside her. Yuna hung up. Chaerin immediately checked her own.
"So only outside lines are blocked?"
After several tests, they had their answer. The company. Their manager. Their families. The outside internet. None of it connected. But calls between the Lunatic members went through just fine.
"Then start a group call," Seoyun said.
"Why? We're together right now."
"Because there's no guarantee we'll stay together."
No one laughed at that. A moment later, the same call screen lit up on all five phones. Seoyun. Chaerin. Yuna. Sea. Harin. Five of them.
"Don't hang up. Ever," Seoyun said. "If we get separated, keep talking—tell us everything that's happening."
"Got it."
"Yeah."
Harin asked carefully, "But where do we go?"
All five looked around at once. No exit was in sight. In the end, they decided to check the nearest paths first.
For a while, the five moved as one. But the space was far vaster than they'd imagined. Every fork in the road forced them to check their surroundings, and dead ends abounded. Then, at some point, gaps began to open between them, naturally, without anyone deciding it.
"Nothing over here," Sea's voice came through the phone.
"There's a way up on our end." It was Yuna.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Stairs, I think?"
"Then everyone head that way," Seoyun said.
Chaerin looked around. "Wait. My location's a little weird."
"Where are you?"
"Somewhere with a lot of mirrors."
Chaerin stopped walking. Enormous mirrors lined both sides of the corridor. At first she'd taken them for decoration, but the deeper she went, the more of them there were. Walls of mirror. Pillars of mirror. Even part of the ceiling was mirror. Dozens of Chaerins stared back at her from every direction.
"This is literally a mirror maze?"
Seoyun's voice came through. "Can you make it back?"
Chaerin looked behind her. "...Probably?"
"'Probably' isn't an answer."
"Hold on. I'm looking for the way I came in."
Chaerin walked slowly. Her reflection followed her from every direction. Left. Right. Front. Back.
"This feels gross."
"Chaerin unnie, are you scared?" Harin asked.
"I'm not scared, okay?"
"Your voice is shaking."
"It is not."
Sea laughed. "Hurry up. We're almost at the stairs."
"Okay, okay."
Chaerin quickened her pace. Past the mirrors. Around a corner. More mirrors. Another corner. More mirrors. Little by little, she lost track of which direction she'd come from.
"Seoyun unnie."
"Yeah?"
"Keep talking, okay?"
A brief silence. Soon, Seoyun's voice came through, laced with laughter. "You said you weren't scared."
"I am, actually."
"Then why do you want me to keep talking?"
"It's just... it's so quiet in here, it feels weird."
"Watch the mirrors," Yuna said. "If anything looks off, say so right away."
"What could possibly be in a mirror?" Chaerin grumbled, staring ahead. Her reflection. Another reflection. And another—
Her steps stopped.
"...Huh?"
"What is it?" Seoyun asked at once.
Chaerin didn't answer. She took a slow step back. The mirror in front of her. It was definitely a mirror. The one beside it showed her reflection perfectly. But—only the mirror straight ahead had no Chaerin in it.
"What the..."
"Chaerin?"
"Hold on." Chaerin raised her hand. The Chaerin in the side mirror raised her hand too. The one ahead stayed exactly the same, showing nothing but an empty corridor.
"This is wrong."
"What is?"
"One of the mirrors..."
At that moment, in the mirror straight ahead—from the far end of that empty corridor where no one had been—someone began to walk toward her.
One step. Another.
The color drained from Chaerin's face.
"...Huh?"
Ingong, inside the mirror, was smiling. But something was wrong. Chaerin looked behind her. No one was there. She looked back at the mirror. Ingong kept coming closer.
"Chaerin, what's wrong?" Seoyun's voice.
Chaerin couldn't answer. The Ingong in the mirror came right up to the glass. And then—he reached out from inside it. His fingertips passed through the surface of the mirror.
Chaerin's eyes went wide. "That's... insane..."
One of Ingong's feet emerged from the mirror. Chaerin screamed.
"Kyaaah!"
"Chaerin!"
"What's happening?!"
The other four voices burst from the phone all at once. Chaerin spun around—and from behind her came Ingong's voice.
"Found you."
His first prey. Now it was time to tame her.
Ingong took Chaerin's chin in his hand. "Congratulations. You've passed the personal maid selection."
"I don't want to be any such thing. Please, let me go."
"No. You're going to be my maid. I've already decided."
"That's ridiculous, that's not—"
"You'll see soon enough."
The smiling Ingong's hand moved toward Chaerin's chest. Startled, she couldn't even manage a scream. Instead, the moment his fingers touched her blouse buttons, all the strength drained from her body.
"No..." Her voice trembled, thin and small. "I don't want this... please..."
"You don't?" Ingong chuckled low. "Your body doesn't seem to agree."
Chaerin looked down at herself. Without her realizing it, her nipples had stiffened and swelled, poking out so prominently they were visible even through her clothes. Shame burned across her face.
"Why... in a situation like this... why am I like this..."
"That's the proper reaction of a slave meeting her true master," Ingong whispered at Chaerin's ear. "Unlike your silly little reason, your body already knows its master."
The buttons came undone one by one, and her white bra came into view.
"Aah..."
"Go ahead—moan as loud as you like."
Chaerin's mouth fell open on its own. "Nngh... ah..."
It felt good. A strange sensation coursed through her whole body. Ingong's fingers brushed over her taut, straining nipples through the thin fabric of her bra.
"Ugh... haah... aahhn...!"
The sensation of her breasts swelling. Chaerin felt her nipples stiffen even harder.
"Your nipples are awfully naughty, Chaerin." Ingong pinched one. "Standing this stiff the very first moment you laid eyes on your master."
"Aaahn...!"
Her mind went white. She could no longer even think of resisting.
Ingong laid Chaerin down on the floor. His hand slid up her skirt.
"Ah... not there..."
"This little place says otherwise?" Ingong's fingers pushed her panties aside, and his fingertips met the soaked heat of her pussy.
"Haah... aah...!"
Her body grew hotter. Ingong's finger slid inside.
"Feels good here, doesn't it?"
"Yes... haahn..."
Chaerin stopped thinking. Just as he'd said—her body wanted it. In mere moments, she was being consumed by a pleasure she could no longer refuse.
Soon, Ingong lowered his pants. For the first time in her life, a man's hard cock appeared before Chaerin's eyes.
"Now, the real thing begins."
Tears welled in Chaerin's eyes.
"It's time for you to become mine."
Ingong gripped her ankles in his hands and spread her legs. Chaerin wanted to resist to the very end, but her body could no longer move an inch.
"Please... have mercy..."
Tears and pleading were all she had left. And the next moment, Ingong entered her.
"Aagh...!"
Pain and pleasure crashed over her at once.
"Aah... aah... aah...!"
In that strange sensation she would never experience again, Chaerin reflexively wrapped her arms around Ingong. He didn't hold back, moving exactly as her body demanded.
"Ahn... ahn... aaahn...!"
The ever-intensifying stimulation emptied her head completely. And at last, something hot filled Chaerin from within.
"Haah... haah... haah..."
The moment of her first creampie. Just as the Terminal had decreed, Chaerin's world was rewritten. She was still Chaerin—and at the same time, a maid who loved Ingong.
Ingong smiled down at her, and Chaerin smiled back, happy.
"Thank you, Master. I was scared, but I held on for you."
Her voice was brimming with affection.
"Please use me whenever you like. Your personal maid Chaerin will be standing by, always."
And so, just as Ingong had declared, Chaerin was reborn as his personal maid.