The Humiliating Date (2)
"Whew. The weather's absolute garbage today."
The last Saturday of February. Out of nowhere, fat flakes of snow had begun drifting down from the sky.
Cursing under his breath at the pure white powder settling on his head, Jo Jinhyun had come out once again to surveil Min Yewon's meeting with Lee Seonho.
Something about this just doesn't sit right. Last time, I could've sworn he'd practically fallen for Min Yewon.
If they'd gone as far as a physical relationship on their very first date, there had to be some genuine feeling involved—yet here they were, nearly two weeks later, only now arranging to meet again. It made no sense.
Worse, according to the report Yoon Selena had passed along recently, Lee Seonho had been spotted going out alone with Kim Isabel. In other words, with rare free time on his hands, he'd chosen to focus on a different woman instead of Min Yewon.
Jo Jinhyun had known beforehand that the boy had a wandering eye for women, but he hadn't imagined he'd be quite so thoughtless about it.
Cheating on a woman of Min Yewon's caliber with a Saint Candidate, no less. God, the balls on this kid.
On top of that, he'd picked up information that a purple-haired girl named Cha Eunju was also this boy's girlfriend. Which meant he was juggling at least three women at once.
Jo Jinhyun frowned faintly at Lee Seonho's trash-grade philandering—yet at the same time, he couldn't help feeling that this very trait was a stroke of luck. After all, it was precisely because of that filthy womanizing that he now had a hook into the boy through Min Yewon. The fact that she'd had to surrender her body as well was entirely unforeseen, of course.
"...Tch. Filthy bastard."
Jo Jinhyun was in a foul mood, feeling as though a woman he'd rather liked had been briefly stolen out from under him.
After watching Min Yewon's devotion—loyal enough to offer up her own body for the mission—he'd quietly upgraded his assessment of her from an exploitable idiot to a competent woman who at least knew how to follow orders.
For some reason, her hairstyle and figure were starting to resemble his dead ex-girlfriend more and more, and that made even the act of watching Min Yewon meet Lee Seonho like this feel vaguely unpleasant.
Even though it was an order he himself had given. Regardless.
Whatever. He's a dead man walking the moment this job is over, so there's no point dwelling on it.
Even as he consoled himself, Jo Jinhyun was grinding his teeth inside. He observed Lee Seonho's movements from the shadows, and before long, Min Yewon appeared before the boy wearing a faintly sulky expression.
"...W-Won, did you... have a good..."
"......"
"Have a good... Answer me..."
"...Right now, I could...... for you."
The distance made the words impossible to make out, but it wasn't hard to infer that the atmosphere between them was anything but pleasant.
Was that narrow-minded punk Lee Seonho throwing a fit for showing up late to the appointed time, or was he simply souring the mood because he couldn't stand seeing Min Yewon smile in front of him?
He couldn't catch enough of the conversation to determine the exact cause, but either way, a widening rift between the two was not a good sign for the operation to lure Lee Seonho into the dungeon.
"......"
And yet, for reasons he couldn't quite name, Jo Jinhyun felt a strange flicker of pleasure watching Min Yewon grimace in front of Lee Seonho.
Squeeze.
"Ah."
But the pair seemed to recover their relationship almost immediately—after only a few exchanged words, Lee Seonho and Min Yewon linked arms and walked into a restaurant together.
Watching them, Jo Jinhyun felt relief and disgust wash over him in equal measure as he quietly slipped into a snow-dusted corner of the plaza to keep observing the two.
Min Yewon trailed in beside him with a look like she was chewing gravel, arms linked with his.
As she deliberately tried to pull her body a few inches away, I rubbed my elbow against her chest without a shred of shame and steered us to a table at the very back of the restaurant.
"Whew, it's cold out there. The sidewalks weren't slippery on your way over?"
"...Not particularly."
"Your face has gotten awfully pale since the last time I saw you, Yewon. You are remembering to eat properly, right?"
"...None of your business."
The last time we'd parted, she'd been clinging to me like she'd die without me—the instant the suggestion lifted, she'd turned prickly all over again.
She clearly wanted to beat me half to death, but with that video hanging over her head she couldn't do a single thing about it, so she was swallowing her fury and doing her best to at least sour my mood instead.
From where I sat, knowing exactly what was going on in her head, even that petulant display was nothing short of adorable.
...Well, that aside, it was still a boneheaded attitude, so a little training was in order.
"Yewon, straighten up. If you keep grumbling like that and Jo Jinhyun catches wind of it later, then what?"
"...H-He's not even here."
"He could be disguised as another customer, or he might have an accomplice watching. If you let your guard down and get caught, guess who ends up in a worse position? You, Min Yewon. Always you."
"F-Fine, I get it..."
Well, she at least had enough brains to know that earning the grudge of a terrorist wasn't exactly a healthy pastime.
Watching the open hostility on her face loosen just a fraction, I pointed at the menu and started picking out our dinner.
"Should we start with a couple's set and add a side or two on top? Anything you're craving?"
"...Forget the couple's set. We could just each order one thing."
"Really? The Yewon I knew would've been nodding along eagerly, thrilled at the chance to order a couple's set. I think your acting is slipping, Yewon. Want me to help you out a little?"
Swish.
"G-Get that away! Don't—don't touch my head!!"
Just like the last time I'd applied the suggestion, the moment my hand drifted toward the crown of her head she flinched back and batted it away.
She'd raised her voice a touch too loudly, and the other diners and the staff turned to look at us.
"Ah—sorry, sorry."
I offered a flat apology without so much as a change in expression, and one by one the onlookers turned back to their meals.
They probably figured it was just a couple roughhousing, their voices getting a little too loud for the room.
Once everyone's attention had drifted elsewhere, I met Min Yewon's eyes and whispered, low enough that only she could hear.
"Watch yourself, Min Yewon. Keep making that constipated face, and even I won't be able to hold back."
"I said I get it..."
Her face made it plain she hated every second of it, but she nodded all the same. She didn't really have a choice.
Two secrets she could never afford to have exposed—as a hunter, and as a woman—both of them held in my hands.
Taking advantage of a situation Min Yewon couldn't refuse, I fastened one more leash around her neck.
"Also, take the Born Actor buff. Going by that expression of yours, anyone who glances over is going to think you're a girl dragged out on a paid hookup instead of a date."
"N-No, that's not... I can act. S-So that buff, I don't..."
"In exchange, I won't make you play the love-at-first-sight girl like last time. Honestly, that part rubbed me the wrong way too. It felt like forcibly overwriting your actual personality with someone else's, and that's not really my thing."
"......"
"But Born Actor will cover the awkwardness, so take it. If you dig your heels in over even this much, honestly, I'm not in a very generous mood."
"......F-Fine. I'll do it."
With those words, Min Yewon lowered her gloomy face toward my hand, baring the top of her head.
Wearing the exact expression of a dog that had just escaped the house and come back only to have its collar buckled on again. I channeled mana into her hair and reapplied the suggestion I'd had such fun with last time.
Pat, pat.
Born Actor — Target: Min Yewon
"U-Uuugh..."
I'd hold Master Director in reserve for later. No need for it right now, after all.
Ignoring Min Yewon as she let out a moan with an expression grown all the more uneasy, I pointed back at the menu.
"Let's do one two-person couple's set and pick one other thing to split. How about we order something like a rice bowl and share it?"
"...D-Do whatever you want. Whatever you like."
"What do you want to eat, Yewon?"
"......Salmon sushi."
"Alright, then let's order the two-person set with salmon sushi added on top. Order up, please~!"
She'd grown a touch more careful, no doubt because she knew that one word from me could have her personality overwritten at any moment, just like before.
And yet even in the middle of all that, she still made sure to ask for her salmon sushi. Well. The girl has her principles, at least.
"Wait... you're paying for this?"
"Of course. I'm the one who asked to meet, so obviously I'm treating."
"......Then I want the rice bowl too."
"Sure, sure."
Never mind that it wouldn't be my money on the tab, but yours. Eat plenty while you still can, Yewon.
That's the only way you'll be able to hold out without collapsing, even on a freezing day like this.
By the time we finished dinner at the sushi restaurant and stepped outside, it was a little past eight.
I hadn't expected a single meal to eat up two whole hours. Then again, Min Yewon had demolished half the couple's set, an entire platter of salmon sushi, and three-quarters of the rice bowl—plus one more platter of egg sushi—before she finally rose from her seat, so maybe it made sense.
She looked skinny as a rail, but apparently being a Physical Enhancement Type came with a monstrous appetite to match.
"It's already pitch black out. Hard to go anywhere at this hour."
"...Yeah. Should we call it a night, then?"
"Calling it quits after just dinner? Come on. There's really only one place a couple goes at this hour."
"......"
"Don't tell me you hate the idea of going to a hotel with your loving boyfriend?"
"...N-No! Of course not... I-It's obvious I'd love to go with you, Seonho..."
Even under Born Actor, she was stammering this badly—she was clearly rattled.
Considering what had happened to her in that hotel last time, the reaction was hardly a surprise. If anything, it was only thanks to the suggestion that she was managing to hide her emotions and play it this composed.
Asking her to return to the site of a nightmare—her first kiss, her first time, her naked body, even her backside all violated in that one place—her entire body was broadcasting its fear.
"Let's get going. I brought a spare battery pack today, so we can film even longer."
"...Wait, y-you're filming today too?"
"I told you last time, it's my taste. Can't help myself. Obviously I'm filming."
"C-Can't you skip it this once...? W-We already have more than enough leverage from last time...?"
"That's strange. The Min Yewon I met last time gave me permission even though it was her first. Is your acting slipping again? Want me to walk you through exactly how you're supposed to play this scene?"
"...N-No...! Y-You can film...! Y-You can film me, so... j-just not that thing from last time, please..."
Having her emotions puppeteered around must have left quite the trauma.
Not that I blame her—anyone would find that experience revolting, Min Yewon or not.
Still, it had left her far more obedient, so it wasn't exactly a loss for me. Frankly, given the choice, I prefer a girl who grumbles and resents it but gives in anyway over one whose emotions I've flat-out rewritten into someone else. It just hits different.
I can't unleash these dark, sordid appetites on my girls like Eunju or Isabel—so a creature like Min Yewon is the only viable outlet.
"Fine. Since you hate the idea so much, Yewon, we'll skip the hotel."
"...R-Really?"
"Yeah. We'll just take a little walk through the park nearby and head in after. It's snowing, and the mood's perfect, no?"
"...O-Okay. I like walking in the snow too..."
Watching Min Yewon's face light up with relief—so relieved that all she'd had to give up was the hotel—I simply smiled to myself.
...Which means I can't wait to see the look on her face when she's the one begging through her tears to check into a hotel instead.