The Devil's Date with His Livestock, and a New Target
Lee Ah-young could not answer right away. “Th-that… What do you mean by that… I’m not sure…”
“…I am simply asking for Lee Ah-young’s thoughts or feelings regarding Lee Ji-yeon. I would appreciate an honest answer.”
Click! Kang Ju-hyeok opened the passenger-side door and gestured for her to get in. Lee Ah-young hurriedly climbed into the car. He released the door and closed it behind her.
What… what is he after? Why is he asking something like that? The question left her mind blank. Until now, Kang Ju-hyeok had almost never asked her anything in this manner. Whenever he questioned her, she had answered exactly as he wanted. She had never been allowed to speak her true thoughts. Yet this question about Lee Ji-yeon made it impossible to guess what answer he desired.
Kang Ju-hyeok walked around to the driver’s seat. The engine started, and the car began to move. Lee Ah-young still hesitated, unable to form a reply.
What should I say? Why… why is he asking this? Why? Her heartbeat quickened. The longer she stayed silent, the more dangerous the situation felt. She had to say something—anything. This silence was terrifying.
“Ah, a… I’m sorry for taking so long to answer. Th-that… Lee Ji-yeon is…”
“Lee Ah-young.”
“…Yes, Chairman…”
“Today, I will not punish you for anything you say… as long as it is not a lie.”
“Eh?”
“I sincerely hope that, for today at least, Lee Ah-young does not have to suffer.”
Her heartbeat gradually returned to normal. There was no malice in his words. Somehow, they felt genuine.
“In other words, stop overthinking and simply answer.”
“Ha… haha… Y-yes, of course…”
What should she say? Even if this man claimed to harbor no ill intent, that promise only applied to the present moment. She could not risk saying anything that might harm her later. She needed to give the answer that would please this devil named Kang Ju-hyeok—the kind of answer that would make a man who enjoyed ruining others feel satisfied.
“I… I feel no sympathy toward Lee Ji-yeon…”
“Is that your true feeling?”
“Y-yes… Because she… tried to do something terrible to me…”
“Yes, that is correct.”
Their conversation continued as the car sped toward its destination.
……
Lee Ah-young did feel pity and compassion for Lee Ji-yeon. No matter how much the woman had tried to destroy her, the current Lee Ji-yeon was simply too pitiful… suffering far too cruel a punishment. But Lee Ah-young could not voice those feelings. She had to survive. She had to say only what Kang Ju-hyeok wanted to hear and obey him absolutely. Enduring three years of this hell and returning to her original life—that was her ultimate goal.
“Your food is served!”
“Thank you.”
Kang Ju-hyeok offered a brief thanks to the waiter. Their first destination was a restaurant—an upscale Italian establishment. Expensive dishes releasing fragrant steam were placed on the table one after another. Lee Ah-young could not take her eyes off them.
“Hah…”
Before her sat an appetizing meal: oil pasta, potato gnocchi, and a large steak beautifully arranged on fine plates. Gulp. She swallowed hard. Her wide, sparkling eyes remained fixed on the food, completely captivated. It was an unexpectedly adorable sight.
“Eat as much as you like. For today only, you are not livestock—you are simply an ordinary person.”
Kang Ju-hyeok chuckled softly and transferred some pasta onto her plate.
“Th-thank you very much!”
Lee Ah-young carefully picked up her fork. Before becoming livestock, she would have started eating without a second thought at the sight of such food. Now, however, her expression was filled with pure happiness. Simply being able to eat a proper meal in a proper manner was itself a source of joy. She could not even remember the last time she had eaten like this.
The metal fork felt strange in her hand, but the food before her made that awkwardness irrelevant.
“Enjoy your meal.”
“Y-yes!”
She quickly speared some pasta with her fork and shoved it straight into her mouth, almost as if eating instant noodles. Nom! Nom-nom-nom! Anyone watching might have called it unrefined, but on a woman with such a beautiful face, it only looked endearing. In truth, the sight of her eating so eagerly was genuinely lovely.
Kang Ju-hyeok sliced the large steak in the center of the table. Once he had cut it into manageable pieces, he transferred them onto her plate. To an outsider, it might have looked like a boyfriend tenderly caring for his girlfriend. Yet the scene was undeniably strange—especially for Lee Ah-young. The same man who had trained her to eat like a dog while exposing herself was now cutting steak and serving it to her. She could not help wondering what he was plotting.
Delicious! It’s… really… so good!
Lee Ah-young’s face showed happiness as she ate the pasta, yet a trace of anxiety lingered beneath it. The awkwardness of the situation and the fear that this man might change at any moment kept her on edge.
The devil who had sliced the steak into bite-sized pieces placed it on her plate. With pasta in her mouth, she continued to steal glances at his face while chewing. On the surface, he looked ordinary. But the overwhelming presence radiating from his muscular frame was terrifying. It was not his appearance that frightened her—she had already experienced the true horror this man was capable of.
Nom-nom!
“Is it good?”
“…Yes… hup!”
The clean, tender texture and perfect flavor filled her mouth. It was said that children tasting cola for the first time became overwhelmed with excitement. These high-class dishes, which she had not eaten in so long, were even more intense for her than a child’s first sip of cola. They were so delicious.
She truly felt with her entire body just how wonderful it was to eat good food.
“Hah… hah…”
Lee Ah-young was even panting. Though the devil sitting across from her was unsettling, the meal before her brought her greater happiness. She pushed her worries aside and focused entirely on eating.
“Is it good?”
“Hah… haah… Yes, yes! It’s… it’s delicious… Ah, I mean, it is delicious!”
With steak in her mouth, she answered Kang Ju-hyeok. For the first time since her abduction, Lee Ah-young wore a genuinely happy expression—one that came from the heart, not forced. To anyone else, this might have been an ordinary meal, but for her, this moment was anything but ordinary.
Nom-nom-nom!
Kang Ju-hyeok kept serving her food. He himself did not eat.
“Ch-Chairman… aren’t you… going to eat…?”
“I am fine. Simply watching you eat so happily is enough to make me content.”
The devil smiled faintly. It sent a chill down her spine, yet it felt slightly different from the smile he wore when she was naked. Somehow, she had the feeling that today, at least, he truly would not harm her.
Nom! Nom-nom-nom!
Their meal continued. Lee Ah-young thought that this weekend was not entirely bad. For a brief moment, she pushed the memory of her life as livestock out of her mind. As the plates emptied and her stomach filled, her anxiety began to creep back in. Still, there was nothing she could do except enjoy the moment while it lasted.
“Wh-where are we going now…?”
“We came out to watch a movie, did we not?”
“Ah, aha, th-that’s right! Yes!”
Though her fear of this devil had eased slightly, Lee Ah-young remained extremely cautious. A single word from him could force her to strip naked even here. Whether watching a movie, walking down the street, or standing among hundreds of people, she would have to obey any command he gave—and every command would be perfectly legal.
She imagined what would happen if such a thing occurred.
In the square… in front of so many people… the Basic Posture…? Hh, hhhng…
A shiver ran through her entire body. Even the thought filled her with despair. She could not afford to let her guard down. This man could turn back into a cruel devil at any moment.
“What… kind of movie is it?”
Lee Ah-young cautiously initiated the conversation. Even taking the first step to speak felt awkward. Livestock were never supposed to speak to their master first.
“It is an adult film.”
“Eh?”
“The title is rather obscene, so I will leave it at that.”
“Ah… ah… Yes…”
Of course, this was never meant to be an ordinary date. Whatever the movie was, it did not matter. Lee Ah-young still could not understand what this man was thinking—why he was suddenly being kind, why he had suggested a date. She had no idea at all.
Quite some time had passed. When they emerged from the theater, the sky had grown considerably darker. The weather had turned colder, and sunset was arriving earlier. The two of them walked out of the cinema together. Lee Ah-young’s face was flushed a deep red.
Wh-what… They actually screened something like that…?
Kang Ju-hyeok, by contrast, wore a completely neutral expression, as if he had just watched a documentary.
“Ah… haha…”
As Lee Ah-young walked in a daze, Kang Ju-hyeok’s hand overlapped hers. Once again, the devil naturally took her hand. She obediently interlaced her fingers with his, just as he wished. When she was livestock, his taking her hand had always signaled something positive—either that he was about to ruin Lee Ji-yeon or that he was about to reward her. This moment was no different. The fact that he was holding her hand meant his target was not her.
Haa…
A sigh—whether of relief or fear, she could not tell—rose endlessly within her chest.
Step! Step! Step!
Countless people passed by Lee Ah-young and Kang Ju-hyeok. To any observer, they looked like an ordinary couple. No one could possibly know that the beautiful woman walking beside him was legally classified as Special Livestock.
She felt men glancing at her. She had once been accustomed to such stares, but now every glance made her body shrink inward. Somehow, it felt as though they were seeing through her clothes to her naked body. She kept looking down at herself, repeatedly confirming that she was actually wearing clothes. Having grown used to nudity, Lee Ah-young could only feel at ease after constantly verifying that she was properly dressed.
She walked. Though her gait was no longer as confident as before, her beauty still radiated throughout the street. It would be difficult to find anyone more beautiful than her.
“Chairman… are we… going somewhere else now?”
“We are heading to a café. And after that…”
“Ah, yes!”
Meal, movie, café—the route felt like a typical date course. Hearing his words, Lee Ah-young felt somewhat relieved and followed him. Today, it seemed, nothing bad would happen. Aside from the horrific event called “Lee Ji-yeon’s Walk,” this had simply been an ordinary date. In any case, she decided to savor this brief taste of an ordinary person’s life. Once the date ended, she would have to return to her usual routine.
Lee Ah-young’s hands trembled violently.
“Haa… haa… haa…”
Her shallow, rapid breaths betrayed the emotions her shaking pupils could not hide.
Why… why did he make that promise without asking me…?
“Ahaha! That’s right! Ah-young really is a goddess… There’s no one at our school who doesn’t know her!”
“Haha! Ever since I met Ah-young, every single day has been truly happy.”
“Oh my~ You’d better treat her well! Do you have any idea how popular she is? Hehe…”
“I am well aware of that.”
“Goodness! Look at that figure and that face! And she’s so kind, too—plus she studies so well!”
Slurp!
People sat in the café, drinking warm coffee.
“I’m telling you, you really have to treat her well!”
Lee Ah-young and Kang Ju-hyeok were seated at a table, each with a cup of coffee in front of them. They sat side by side, holding hands. Across from them sat a woman Lee Ah-young had never seen before. Objectively speaking, she had a rather pretty face, but next to Lee Ah-young she looked utterly ordinary. She seemed to already know Lee Ah-young.
“Ah-young! Why are you… shaking like that? Are you cold?”
“Ah, no… Um… Y-yeah, it’s a little cold…”
“Oh dear! Boyfriend! Ah-young says she’s cold! Blanket! Get a blanket!”
Kang Ju-hyeok smiled and naturally stood up, walking toward the blankets provided in one corner of the café. Once he was gone, the woman across from them leaned in and whispered to Lee Ah-young.
“Hey! Lee Ah-young! Why did you suddenly go off the grid? Seriously! Everyone was so worried about you!”
“Y-Yoon-ji… Th-that’s…”
Lee Ah-young continued trembling, unable to meet her friend’s eyes. Her gaze darted around, unsure where to settle, and her hands fidgeted anxiously beneath the table.
“Hey! Hey! You—you were rumored to be a serial killer… Of course I knew it wasn’t true, but right after you disappeared, those rumors started spreading… The others are in an uproar. Why on earth did you just vanish like that? Why?”
Every word from her friend named Yoon-ji made Lee Ah-young feel as though blood were rushing backward through her veins. The trembling in her hands grew stronger. She hid them under the table so Yoon-ji would not see.
Sh-she really thinks… I’ve become… a serial killer…?
“Ah, answer me! Before your boyfriend comes back! Why? Why did you disappear? You even submitted a leave of absence without saying anything!”
Leave of absence? I took a leave of absence…? Wh-who…? I was kidnapped… I couldn’t even…
“Ah… Y-yes, I… took a leave… That’s right…”
“Well, of course you know that! You’re the one who took it! And now you have to deal with the rumors, don’t you? If you go back to school like this, everyone will think you got released from prison! There were articles about the Brand of Livestock and everything! Huh? Seriously, Lee Ah-young! Do you even know what’s going on?”
“U-um… Th-that’s…”
“You don’t look well either… and you cut off all contact… What on earth have you been doing?”
Just then, Kang Ju-hyeok returned carrying a warm-looking blanket.
“Lee Ah-young has been working with me.”
He seemed to have overheard some of Park Yoon-ji’s words. Lee Ah-young flinched, and Park Yoon-ji leaned back against her chair. As soon as Kang Ju-hyeok returned, he draped the blanket over Lee Ah-young and naturally took his seat again, once more taking her hand.
“Th-thank you…”
At Lee Ah-young’s thanks, her friend Yoon-ji immediately turned her attention back to Kang Ju-hyeok.
“Hey, if someone next to you is cold, you should have brought the blanket earlier!”
“You are right. I did not realize Lee Ah-young was this cold.”
“Goodness! By the way… what do you mean by ‘working together’?”
“Lee Ah-young works at my company.”
“Ah~ Ah, right! You said you run a business… Hmm~ What kind of business do you do?”
“Here, this is my business card.”
Kang Ju-hyeok handed Yoon-ji a single card. Her eyes widened dramatically as she accepted it, unable to hide her shock.
“M-Mirae… Group… Ah, ah…?”
Yoon-ji looked back and forth between Kang Ju-hyeok and the card, then nodded as if everything finally made sense.
“Ha, haha! You’re… quite capable… Ah-young and… ah, haha! So that’s how it is!”
Yoon-ji’s expression shifted subtly. Though she wore a pleased smile, a strange sense of displeasure now emanated from her.
“S-so, Lee Ah-young… you dropped out of school…? No, still… Hey!”
Just moments ago, Yoon-ji had been proudly talking about her friend “Lee Ah-young” to Kang Ju-hyeok while expressing distrust toward him. Yet the moment she saw his business card, her attitude changed completely.
“Lee Ah-young told me that you were her closest friend.”
“Eh? M-me…? Ah-young said… she and I…?”
Yoon-ji glanced sideways at Lee Ah-young. By now, Lee Ah-young looked so ill that her face had turned deathly pale. Her trembling body was visible even to the naked eye. She did not look well at all. Her expression was one of extreme tension.
“Ah, ah… Yes, well… we’re close friends… That’s right! Yes! Haha!”
Kang Ju-hyeok chuckled softly.
“We are currently recruiting new employees to work directly under me at our company. At Lee Ah-young’s recommendation… I would like to hire you, Park Yoon-ji.”
“Eh?”
Yoon-ji stared at Kang Ju-hyeok with a bewildered expression. Lee Ah-young also looked at him with a grave face.
“Me? Ah, no… I’m not… I mean, I’m still an elite in my own way… Haha… You really don’t have to…”
“You have debts, correct?”
Park Yoon-ji’s eyes changed instantly. She whipped her head toward Lee Ah-young. Whoosh! Lee Ah-young, deathly pale, was met with Yoon-ji’s glare—a look completely different from the concerned expression she had worn just moments before.
“If you work directly under me, I will resolve all your financial issues.”
Kang Ju-hyeok smiled brightly.
The word “debt” seemed to be a particularly painful topic for Park Yoon-ji. Anger began to surface clearly on her face.
“H-how did you… know about the debt…? No, ha! Lee Ah-young… I didn’t know you were that kind of bitch…”
Beside her, wrapped in the blanket, a single tear welled up in Lee Ah-young’s eye. She bit down hard on her lip, looking as though she would burst into tears at the slightest touch. She said nothing, simply staring at the coffee in front of her. She could not bring herself to look at Park Yoon-ji.
“No, that bitch… I mean… How much did Ah-young tell you?”
Park Yoon-ji’s voice was filled with anger. Without listening to the end, Kang Ju-hyeok stood up.
“If you are interested, please contact me.”
He rose from his seat, and Lee Ah-young followed unsteadily. As he walked away, her faltering figure trailed behind him. Left alone in the café, Park Yoon-ji stared blankly at their retreating backs.
“…Debt…?”
Park Yoon-ji clenched her fists tightly.
“Shit… How did he find out about that? Lee Ah-young…?”
After confirming that the two had completely disappeared from the café, she picked up her phone and called a friend.
“Hey, I ran into Lee Ah-young. With her boyfriend. Ha, I wish she really had been a serial killer… but apparently not.”
“No, and… that bitch seems to have gotten greedy for money.”
“No, I was acting all friendly with Lee Ah-young, but her so-called boyfriend is the chairman of Mirae Group?”
Her voice was different from before. The conversation that followed had nothing to do with concern for Lee Ah-young. It seemed she had never truly been a close friend after all.
The black luxury sedan carrying Kang Ju-hyeok and Lee Ah-young came to a stop on an empty road. It was the entrance to the narrow road leading up to Kang Ju-hyeok’s building—a quiet street with almost no pedestrian or vehicle traffic. Inside the car, the two of them were talking.
“What do you think? Lee Ji-yeon is no longer entertaining.”
“Hic… hic… N-no… Ch-Chairman…”
“What is not allowed?”
“Why… why…”
“Lee Ah-young said she felt no sympathy when she saw Lee Ji-yeon, did she not?”
“Th-that’s…”
“And you said you felt somewhat relieved when Lee Ji-yeon was being punished, correct?”
“Th-that… that’s…”
Kang Ju-hyeok and Lee Ah-young were back in the car. Though some color had returned to her deathly pale face, her expression remained tearful—more than that, she looked utterly tormented.
“I was thinking of specially creating a new livestock even lower than Lee Ah-young.”
“B-but… th-that’s… this… this isn’t right…”
“It is not? What do you mean? If someone you dislike—like Lee Ji-yeon—becomes livestock, what could be better? Your three years would become much more comfortable.”
Kang Ju-hyeok’s words meant that he intended to turn the university classmate they had just met—Park Yoon-ji—into livestock, just like Lee Ji-yeon.
“Ha… haah… haa…”
Lee Ah-young clutched her head with trembling hands.
This devil… So this was the reason for the date… This was his goal from the very beginning… P-Park Yoon-ji…? He wants to turn Park Yoon-ji… into another Lee Ji-yeon…?
She shook her head violently from side to side.
No… even so… that’s not right…
“According to my investigation, your relationship with that woman was not good. Similar to the case with Lee Ji-yeon… So why are you opposing this?”
Kang Ju-hyeok smiled as he asked. It was true. Lee Ah-young and that classmate Park Yoon-ji had not gotten along well. In fact, it was more accurate to say that Park Yoon-ji had been one-sidedly jealous of Lee Ah-young. Their relationship had indeed been poor. But from Lee Ah-young’s perspective, she did not want to ruin Park Yoon-ji’s life. She was not someone she hated enough to turn into livestock. And if she agreed to make Park Yoon-ji into livestock now, even after her three years ended and she returned to normal life, she would have to live with that guilt for the rest of her life.
“Haa… haa…”
Lee Ah-young’s breathing grew ragged. This man’s smile was completely different from the one he had worn during their meal earlier. Though similar, it felt entirely unlike it. The terror she had been suppressing surged forth and began to devour her.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Her heart raced at an incredible speed. With a single word from her, the Park Yoon-ji they had just met might truly become another Lee Ji-yeon. This cruel man named Kang Ju-hyeok was capable of making that happen. Yet… Lee Ah-young was different from Kang Ju-hyeok. No matter how much she had agreed with everything he said, no matter how much she had witnessed Lee Ji-yeon’s miserable end, she was not the same kind of person as him. No matter how much she disliked someone, she could never bring herself to turn another person into such a wretched state.
She had seen Lee Ji-yeon with her own eyes. She could not bring herself to inflict that same misery on someone else through her own choice.
“I… I can’t… N-no matter how much… I dislike them…”
The image of Lee Ji-yeon, wretchedly dragging something with her now-miserable clitoris, remained vividly burned into Lee Ah-young’s memory. That pitiful, miserable sight. He wanted her to create another woman like that…? Through her own decision…?
“Ah, ah… I… I can’t… N-no matter how much… ha… ah…”
Clutching her head, Lee Ah-young bowed deeply. Refusing Kang Ju-hyeok’s words was something she had never even imagined—something utterly terrifying. Yet the humanity still remaining within her had ultimately made this choice.
Lee Ah-young’s answer was “refusal.” She refused to turn Park Yoon-ji into livestock. Though she herself—Lee Ah-young—was also deeply unfortunate, she did not want to create another person like that.
“U-ugh…”
She knew that the words she had spoken would offend Kang Ju-hyeok. She also knew that the consequences would not be pleasant. Lee Ah-young let out a pained groan and bowed her head even lower. Her hands trembled, and tears began to spill from her eyes.
Kang Ju-hyeok chuckled softly. Then he reached out and gently stroked her hair, as if he had already anticipated this outcome.
“Excellent! Lee Ah-young! As expected! You are truly a perfect woman!”
Lee Ah-young’s body continued to tremble violently. Her eyes, filled with terror, looked up at him.
“Your appearance is perfect, and your inner self is also truly wonderful! Such excellent humanity! Such upright principles!”
Lee Ah-young’s gaze quivered while Kang Ju-hyeok appeared genuinely excited.
“But… humanity? What exactly is humanity?”
“Heh… heek…”
“That is something that only humans possess… is it not?”
“Hee… heek… heeeek…”
Lee Ah-young was breathing so rapidly and desperately that it seemed she might hyperventilate. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She was being swallowed by overwhelming terror. She already knew what was coming… and she knew it would not be anything positive.
“That woman, Park Yoon-ji, seems to be quite fortunate after all. Lee Ah-young! Very well. I will not turn her into livestock.”
Kang Ju-hyeok withdrew the hand that had been stroking her hair and suddenly began fiddling with his wristwatch. No—he was operating it.
“Hee… hee…”
The sight of him touching the watch triggered something from the past in Lee Ah-young’s mind. Her body went rigid.
“Ah, ahhh…”
“However… that is a separate matter. It is problematic for livestock to possess such outstanding humanity.”
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!
“K-Kyaaaaaaaah!”
A horrific electric shock coursed through Lee Ah-young’s entire body. Her body convulsed violently as the terrible sensation she had forgotten wrapped around her once more. Her twitching form was forced to confront the overwhelming pain again. Though the seatbelt held her in place, it offered little help.
“Khhhhhhng!”
Her body went limp, and she lost consciousness.
“Ha… Lee Ah-young… I truly like you.”
Kang Ju-hyeok’s solitary murmur echoed through the car. Lee Ah-young lay unconscious in the passenger seat, her eyes closed, looking heartbreakingly beautiful. He reached out and gently caressed her face.