The Devil's Bargain
"Yerim. Let's get married."
"Oppa. That sounds good. I accept."
"...Are you sure? Won't you mind if I have sex with Lilim?"
At that, Charlotte beamed. "We're just filming videos, right? It's not like you're giving her your heart, so it's fine. But in return—you have to be much rougher than you were with me. Graffiti play, enemas, double penetration, rimming, rape play—everything you can possibly do—Lilim hates sexual intercourse, right? She’ll be absolutely miserable. She’ll probably be crying her eyes out."
A wicked smile curled on Charlotte’s lips. I’ve never seen her make a face like that before... It seems her bad blood with the Lilim race runs deep. It’s Lilim’s own fault, really. Why did she have to go and provoke Charlotte in the first place? *Sigh.*
"But what about the house?"
I had Charlotte’s permission, but there were still many hurdles. The studio apartment was already packed with Charlotte living there. It was far too small to live with Lilim, too. Charlotte seemed to be racking her brain as well, resting her chin on her hand.
"What happened to the earnings from Pornhub?"
"It's still in progress."
"We’ll need to find a new place..."
After thinking for a long time, Charlotte shook her head. "Forget it. Mages have plenty of money. Let’s ask him to lend us some. We’re going to film and upload videos for him, and we’ll earn the mana to heal his legs, too. Just try acting a bit shameless!"
Huh? Is that even possible? But nothing ventured, nothing gained. We went into the study and demanded money from Park Seong-yeon to find a house. Park Seong-yeon looked flustered.
"I don't have much cash on hand... Just wait a moment."
He muttered to himself while flipping through his diary. Interest, loans, commercial property liquidation? After continuing to talk to himself, he closed the diary and spoke with a bitter expression.
"I'll take out a loan and lend it to you. I am a building owner, but after paying taxes and consulting fees, I don't have much liquid cash."
This mage guy, he’s a bourgeois... I really want to smash him with a bamboo pole...
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I was just wondering if bamboo grows in your garden."
"There’s no such thing here."
Park Seong-yeon made calls to various places. Judging by the talk of interest rates and collateral, he seemed to be speaking with a bank. As he hung up, he looked at me as if something had just occurred to him.
"Come to think of it, you haven't received your settlement from Pornhub yet, have you? Just wait. If you're going to upload videos to your account, I should take care of these things for you."
He made a call to somewhere. Fluent English. What on earth were they talking about? After waiting a moment, Park Seong-yeon, who had finished his conversation, spoke to me.
"Check your Pornhub account."
"Huh? Oh? Wait, what is this!"
The verification status, which had been stuck on a yellow 'Pending', had changed to a green 'Success'. Wow, this mage guy’s service is top-notch. Does this mean I can withdraw the entire 70 million won via PayPal?
"Charlotte! I can withdraw it now!"
"Wow! Really? Oh my god, thank you!"
Charlotte hopped up and down, thanking Park Seong-yeon. Hmm. I thought he was just a crazy pervert, but he’s surprisingly capable...?
But it wasn't over yet.
"And the *jeonse* (deposit-based rent) market price around Konkuk University was 200 million won. But you'll get sick if you live in a place like that. Take this instead. A 450 million won *jeonse* villa. Fully renovated, four rooms. Good sunlight. Top floor. This should suffice, right? I’ve already finished the loan consultation, so don't worry."
My jaw dropped. "The loan is already approved?"
"Well, I'm a VIP at the local bank, so they tend to handle things for me right away. If you send me the contract, I'll process it immediately."
Suddenly, my posture slumped. The power of money is truly great. I was a fool for thinking he was just a pervert earlier. Wait, but if it’s a 450 million won loan, how much would the interest alone be...? Wouldn't it be close to 1 million won a month? What do I do about the interest?
"Uh, then how about I put in 70 million won of my own money and take out a loan for 380 million won? I'm a bit worried about the interest..."
He furrowed his brow and waved his hand dismissively. "Use your 70 million won to fill the house with appliances. Forget about the interest. Why would I take interest from the person who is going to heal my legs? Just pay back the principal when you move out later. You don't have any gambling debts or anything like that, do you?"
"Oh, no. None at all."
"Then that's fine. Write up a paper debt contract here. 450 million won upon loan execution, repayment without interest. And Charlotte, could you draft a contract for Lilim?"
Charlotte was in charge of the magic-infused contracts. Park Seong-yeon handed a sheet of paper to Charlotte.
"You can just look at this and make one. I, ahem, used this when I played with my wife."
What kind of "play" did they do to require a contract?
"Ugh... Uh..."
Charlotte stammered after receiving the contract. She began diligently writing her own. What kind of content was in there to make her act like that?
After finishing the debt contract, I examined the one Charlotte had written.
- Lilim Nimona is referred to as Seong Ji-hyun in the contract.
- Kang Min and Charlice are referred to as the New Masters in the contract.
1. Park Seong-yeon's wife, Seong Ji-hyun, is leased to the New Master for 5 years.
2. Seong Ji-hyun must not harm the New Master, nor allow harm to come to the New Master through inaction.
3. Seong Ji-hyun must obey the orders given by the Master.
4. Mana obtained through Seong Ji-hyun's Pornhub videos is paid to Seong Ji-hyun. Seong Ji-hyun retains 80% of the monetary earnings.
5. Failure to comply with or refusal of the above clauses will result in a penalty of double the total mana earned via Pornhub. If compensation is impossible, the Holy Knights will be notified.
It’s pretty good, isn't it? But there was something strange. I pointed to clause 1 with a question. "Nimona... is that Lilim your wife?"
"Not yet."
Not yet? "That Lilim needs a carrot, too. She’s been throwing tantrums lately because she wants to marry me. I intend to make her sign this contract for 5 years in exchange for marriage."
That Lilim, too... she’s going through a lot of heartache. How did she end up getting involved with a madman like this mage? What? You’re asking if Charlotte is any different? Absolutely not! We’re doing this because we like each other!
Park Seong-yeon scratched at my insides with the comment that there was no difference between me and him. "Well, anyway, this is enough."
Park Seong-yeon called for Lilim. As she entered, she glared at Charlotte once before clinging to Park Seong-yeon with a sweet smile. She really shouldn't do that...
"Honey. Why did you call me?"
Without a word, he slid the contract across the table. As she read the contents, Lilim’s face turned deathly pale, and by the time she finished, she was gnashing her teeth in fury. Her usually demure face twisted hideously. She shouted and protested at the top of her lungs.
"Are you... joking? You want me to become a succubus's slave? Have you lost your mind? I told you I didn't want to! It’s humiliating enough to be held by a human, but even with a succubus? Are you sane?"
She grabbed Seong-yeon by the collar and shook him, panting. But Seong-yeon said coldly, "Then do you want to starve to death?"
"Wh-what?"
"Don't you feel it too? My body is reaching its limit. Can you prolong your life by sucking essence from just one human?"
*Grind.* The sound of Nimona’s teeth grinding echoed. She was slowly killing Park Seong-yeon right now. That was an undeniable fact. Then, Seong-yeon unleashed a verbal assault.
"What will you do if I die? Do you think you can live wearing that collar? Are you going to beg the Holy Knights to raise you?"
"I'd rather die than do that! Did you think I was a joke? Thrusting such a humiliating contract in front of me?"
Black lightning sparked from Nimona’s hand. As it touched Seong-yeon’s body, his skin wrinkled slightly. She was draining his life force. Park Seong-yeon furrowed his brow in pain. Watching that, Nimona screamed.
"Seong-yeon Oppa. How could you... do this to me! For the past year, I’ve done everything for you! Is this the reward I get?"
Seong-yeon chuckled. How had Nimona been for the past year? She had driven away all the servants, tried to monopolize him, expressed extreme disgust when he said he wanted to see her sleep with another man, clung to him every day to take his essence, starved for days after seeing his body weakening, then lost her mind and drained his essence—desperately acting like a wife and begging him to look at her—that foolishness was adorable. And hateful. I wanted to lend her to Kang Min, just to see Nimona crying in a mess.
Seong-yeon opened his mouth. "Ji-hyun. Do you really love me?"
At the mention of the name 'Ji-hyun', Nimona’s grip loosened. Park Seong-yeon’s body slumped onto his wheelchair. Nimona knelt and prostrated herself on top of him, shedding tears. "I love you, I love you!"
"Then let's get married."
What? Nimona’s eyes widened. Park Seong-yeon whispered to the stunned Nimona, "Exactly 5 years after we marry. Just stay with Kang Min for 5 years. That will be enough. In 5 years, I’ll have gathered enough mana to heal my legs. And enough essence for you to live on for the rest of your life—then you won't have to drain essence from me anymore."
He was tempting Nimona like a devil. Then again, they said that in the old days, stupid demons were tricked by cunning mages into working for free. Right now, Park Seong-yeon looked much more like a devil.
"What happens... after 5 years?"
Nimona asked with a trembling heart. 5 years? My heart was pounding. Stay pinned under a human man for 5 years? But what happens after that?
Park Seong-yeon whispered sweetly, "You and I will get married and live for a long time. Let's live together here in Gangwon-do. If you still hate sleeping with other men then, I’ll consider it. But please, this time. Just 5 years. Ji-hyun. I’m begging you—. If you refuse, I’ll probably die soon."
A request involving the life of the man she loved. And the bait of marriage. Nimona looked up at Seong-yeon, not knowing what to do. How, how should she handle this—?
"Wait... just let me think for a moment."
Nimona stumbled out of the room. I pretended to be calm on the outside, but my mouth was dry. Is this really okay?
"Will Nimona accept?"
"Well. I don't know. I’d say it’s a fifty-fifty chance."
"If Nimona refuses, I have no other way. Please rethink and give me another proposal."
"Damn it."
Park Seong-yeon scowled, as if he were in an undesirable situation. But if Nimona says she hates it, I have no other way either! A long time later, Nimona returned to the room, her eyes wet with tears. And she slowly opened her mouth. "I, I..."