Chapter 9: Father's Medical Incident – The Puzzle Starts Unraveling
Father's medical accident. The puzzle pieces were starting to fall into place one by one. The reason Father was murdered in Cambodia had nothing to do with Park Taejun's schemes. But if Park Taejun wanted to take over Samjeong, he could've just targeted Chairman Kang Rokgi. So why was Father, who was doing business in Cambodia, killed? By Park Taejun? ...Or Chairman Kang Rokgi?
Chairman Kang Rokgi was one of the prime suspects in Father's murder. That old bastard was a night demon. A real psycho fuck with a pathological womanizing obsession. He had four sons, and he turned every one of their wives into his personal fucktoys. And I was the only one who knew that secret. One of the vengeful spirits clinging to the chairman's body was his third daughter-in-law, who'd killed herself. That was the twisted secret of the Samjeong conglomerate family. A conglomerate chairman raping his daughters-in-law.
Father was a bastard child, so he was kept far from the succession game, but apparently, the daughters-in-law still tempted him. There were even signs that U Minjeong had been secretly meeting the chairman behind Father's back for illicit trysts. That was why Father hated Chairman Kang Rokgi. He knew. He knew his own wife was part of the old man's harem.
Anyway, what kind of business was Father running in Cambodia? The reason U Minjeong and Kang Mina flew straight there right after the funeral was because there was something urgent they needed to resolve quickly. In the end, both mother and daughter ended up as Half-Human Shikigami... but to uncover the secret behind Father's death, I'd have to rescue U Minjeong first. How much did Kang Mina know? I'd have to slowly pry it out of her tomorrow morning once she came to.
I took a deep drag on my cigarette and exhaled into the air like a sigh. And then.
The Virgin Ghost must have witnessed Jang Chen's process of creating Half-Human Shikigami.
"How long does the process to make a Half-Human Shikigami take?"
"It takes three months, my lord."
The timeline matched perfectly with Mina and U Minjeong's disappearances.
"What materials are needed to complete a Half-Human Shikigami?"
"From what I know, Gu Poison is required, my lord. Gu Poison and the deaths of a hundred souls... You must create vengeful spirits from their wretched demises."
Gu Poison? Throw all sorts of venomous creatures into a jar, and the sole survivor becomes the source of the poison. And on top of that, a hundred wretched deaths... No wonder the sorcery for Half-Human Shikigami was an atrocious forbidden art, on par with human body alchemy, something that should never manifest in this world.
"Fucking insane ingredients..."
"And there's one more forbidden ingredient infused with everyone's hatred..."
"What is it?"
"Even I do not know that, my lord."
"What a load of shit."
The Cambodia crime complex was the perfect place to complete a Half-Human Shikigami. Tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of kidnapped people from around the world slaughtered like cattle. And their phishing scams targeted ordinary folks, ripping their lives apart at the roots in the most vicious way. It was inevitable that they'd soak up mountains of hatred.
"Could Park Taejun really take down Chairman Kang Rokgi on his own? There has to be something backing him..."
"Park Taejun has the Triad involved behind him, my lord."
"The Chinese gangster syndicate Triad?"
"Yes, my lord."
The entertainment industry, gaming—nothing escaped China's grasp. So even the Samjeong conglomerate had caught their eye? Anyway, I was in danger now too.
"If he wants to fuck over Kang Rokgi, using U Minjeong would be faster..."
I shook my head.
Chairman Kang Rokgi wasn't someone you could take down easily. Samjeong wasn't built on luck. And the vengeful spirits hanging off his body weren't just one or two. The fact that he was still alive meant he had powerful shamans protecting him.
"This feels off. If Kang Rokgi's too tough to touch directly, they're targeting his surroundings first?"
This hypothesis made the most sense. Father was the first target. Then U Minjeong and Kang Mina became Half-Human Shikigami. And now they'd sent Mina after the last one standing: me. Park Taejun and the Triad.
"Park Taejun... this fucker biting his master?"
No, maybe this was an opportunity for me too. I could settle Father's old grudge against Chairman Kang Rokgi... But shouldn't I stop Samjeong from falling into Chinese hands?
"What kind of sorcerer is helping Park Taejun?"
"Shamans from the Triad's Mudang faction, spanning Hong Kong and mainland China, my lord. Especially for Kang Mina, a Special Grade shaman named Jang Chen led the Sal curse."
"Jang Chen?"
Jang Chen. He was definitely the one who'd launched the Sal at Detective Nam Gyuho.
"Interesting."
I stubbed out my cigarette and grinned coldly. Anyway, now that I was a target too, I had no intention of just sitting there taking hits. I needed real power.
"Time for a shower. You good at washing?"
"Leave it to me, my lord."
I took Mina into the bathroom.
I had to evolve the Virgin Ghost into a Baekryeonggwi fast.
After the rough fuckfest in the bathroom, I wiped down Mina, who'd passed out from exhaustion, and laid her on the bed. Her voluptuous naked body sprawled defenselessly over the pristine white sheets. A massive eye slowly materialized over her belly, the Virgin Ghost gauging my mood.
'My lord... your spiritual power is truly remarkable. With your energy, we can heal Kang Mina's wounds quickly.'
"Save the flattery. Just rest up quietly. I'll fuel you up often."
'I am deeply grateful!'
I threw on some pants and left the room. I sank deep into the living room sofa and pulled out my smartphone.
It had been a full day since I'd transferred 180 million won worth of Bitcoin from my account. But there was still no word from those bastards.
"If you took the money, at least prove she's alive, you fucks."
I opened KaraTalk and video-called the ID fuckingbitch again. The tone rang out long.
Riiing!
The call finally connected, and the screen lit up.
"S-Su... Suhu... w-wait a sec? Mommy's streaming right now..."
My stepmom U Minjeong appeared on screen, draped in a light gray silk robe over a lace lingerie set. A butterfly mask covered half her face.
"Ahh... BigSpender1! 1004 strawberries, thank you for the donation!!"
"I'll take this call real quick... Don't go anywhere, everyone."
She got up from her chair and moved to the bedroom for our call. As soon as she entered, she took off the mask.
"Suhu... thank you... I confirmed the 180 million won deposit."
"Mom... you're streaming right now?"
"Yeah, I'm working... at this hour..."
The Cambodia crime complex was even more massive than I'd imagined. They'd half-masked her face and turned her into an adult streaming slut. They were desperate to squeeze every last won out of her.
That's when it happened. The bedroom door opened, and someone entered.
"Ahh... sorry. Sorry."
U Minjeong's panicked voice cut through as the screen went dark, leaving only audio.
"Go keep streaming. We got a 10 million won donation— you gonna leave it hanging? You crazy? React to the donations!"
"Sorry. Sorry..."
It was that man's voice. Then the door closed. U Minjeong leaving the bedroom. And from the still-connected video call, the man's voice came through crystal clear.
"How was my gift? You fucked Mina, right? Popping a virgin ain't easy. Congrats."
"How did you know?"
For a split second, I wondered if the man was Jang Chen. I turned off my camera—no need to show my face.
"From now on, no more Bitcoin. You know adult streaming site MyFan? Go to Butterfly Wife's Deviation and donate there. Got it? Make an ID called 'BigSpender4'. Once you hit 10 billion won in donations, we'll release your mom. Then you can have mother-daughter rice bowl."
"What, Bitcoin too volatile? Need cash now?"
"Huh?"
I cleared my throat and spoke slowly.
"Is U Minjeong even worth 10 billion? She's not my real mom. And you've already turned her into a total cumrag... Who's gonna want sloppy seconds? The 180 million I sent already feels like a massive waste."
A ragged breath from the flustered bastard. It wasn't wrong. And that confirmed he wouldn't kill U Minjeong. She was their ace to lure Chairman Kang Rokgi, and they'd already made her a Half-Human Shikigami.
"Fine... you wanna kill Mom?"
"Yeah. Kill her. I was pissed about splitting the inheritance anyway. I've got prettier Mina—what's to miss? Fuck, 180 million down the drain. Eat well and live good, you motherfucker!!!"
I yelled and ended the video call.
"Whew... fucking refreshing."
The bastard's goal was to turn me into a Half-Human Shikigami. He knew I'd fucked Mina, so if I pretended to lose my shit— he'd come to Korea himself to make me one. Now the knife was in my hand.
Butterfly Wife's Deviation, huh? I signed up for MyFan and searched for it. A live channel with 25 viewers popped up.
"What... ID's LewdButterfly?"
I'd never watched a stream before. Let alone adult content.
"Uh... welcome! KangViewer, welcome! Hit follow and like! You'll get notified when live starts..."
KangViewer was my ID. Stepmom smiling and greeting each new viewer by name. Her gaze flicked somewhere specific. Probably a teleprompter.
U Minjeong wore the butterfly mask, thrusting out the swollen curves of her massive tits between the black lace lingerie set. Her hair was softly swept up, lips painted vivid coral pink against her pale face. Beneath the glamorous makeup, her pupils trembled like a trapped animal's.
"Yes, hello. Welcome..."
She glanced at the chat, smiled at the camera, then looked back to where the prompter likely was. The live chat scrolled rapidly beside the screen.
"I'm... LewdButterfly. This is my first time... doing a stream like this."
Her hand kept drifting toward her chest, but she fought it back, reciting the prompter script like lines from a play. But the tremor in her voice and halting breaths proved it wasn't her own words.
"Lately... I've been so lonely. No one to talk to... so I thought..."
She trailed off, head dropping. The robe slipped, baring one shoulder, and the chat exploded.
"...Sorry. I guess I'm a bit nervous."
She forced a smile, rubbing her brow to wipe tears from her eyes. Every tiny gesture screamed that this "stream" wasn't just adult entertainment—it was her horrifying performance for survival.
Suddenly, a low, eerie voice whispered from off-screen through the speakers. U Minjeong's face went ghost-white. She started to shake her head but stopped, biting her lip hard.
"...Yes. Got it."
She stared into the camera like gazing into the abyss, softening her voice as much as possible.
"A... among the viewers... there's someone named 'BigSpender1'. Thank you so much. So..."
She took a deep breath, eyes closing as she finished.
"...I didn't react to the donation... Is there a reaction you want?"
The chat flooded with BigSpender1 spam. Continuous donations. The user dumped massive strawberry packs, seizing top donor spot instantly.
"Th-this much..."
Her voice shrank. Seeing chats convert strawberries to cash, her eyes widened in terror. This wasn't sponsorship—it was her ransom. The metric of value she had to generate through the stream.
The off-screen voice whispered again. U Minjeong shook her head but steadied herself, stroking her chest as she glanced at chat.
"...Thank you so much, BigSpender1."
Her thanks weren't sincere—they were terrified submission.
"But... with such a huge donation... I guess I have to do something special?"
A line from BigSpender1 popped up in chat.
Silence. A beat of quiet. Then the chat erupted.
Following the script, she slowly undid the robe ties. Her trembling fingers couldn't grip properly. As the silk slid off her shoulders, she instinctively huddled.
"S-sorry... I'm still new at this..."
The chat heated up more.
The robe fell away completely, revealing her in just the black lace lingerie. The lace couldn't contain her freakishly swollen tits, most of the heavy breasts exposed raw. Her puffy nipples peeked through the gaps. In that instant, U Minjeong's body shuddered like a convulsion. The lace had brushed her hypersensitive nipples.
She bit her lip to stifle it, but too late. Her ragged breaths turned to faint moans picked up by the mic.
"...Hnggiiih..."
Face flushing, she turned away, but the camera caught her full body, her every reaction.
Drugs and three months of forced "training" had rewired her body to react independently of her will.
"Is... is this... what you wanted...?"
Her voice mixed sobs and gasps, coming off even more lascivious. She realized the change, shock flashing across her face, but the physical response had crossed the point of no return.
The chat exploded.
