The President's Humble Reward
Lunch hour. A brilliant autumn sun shattered across the campus lawn in dazzling fragments, and I strolled the grounds at an easy pace, turning over the events of the past few days in my mind.
Shin Nara is finished. Yura got a decent enough reward...
Nine hundred million won was a serious sum, but I didn't regret a single won of it. For the price of locking down Yura's soul — her entire family, really — it was a bargain.
That left Seo Jisu.
She had played the decisive role in digging up Shin Nara's dirt. In a way, she was the real MVP — using her authority as student council president to deliver the most dangerous, most delicate information quickly and completely. She deserved a reward to match. The question was what.
Money in the hundreds of millions, like Yura? A limited-edition luxury piece? But Jisu wasn't Yura. What she craved wasn't money or things. It was recognition. Love. A hunger born of something missing.
"Dohun!"
A familiar, clear voice carried from across the lawn. I turned. In front of the student union, Jisu stood surrounded by three or four classmates, waving. After a hurried bow of apology to the people around her, she broke off the conversation and came trotting over.
"What are you doing here?"
She stopped in front of me, catching her breath. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead, and the moment her eyes found mine, a smile bloomed across her face like a flower opening.
She had opened her heart to me completely now. The wounds and trauma of her past had been healed in my arms — under my control — and she had made me her only sanctuary. Her master. The man who had been her assailant. Her blackmailer. The irony was almost beautiful.
"I was on my way to get lunch."
"Oh, really? Perfect. I haven't eaten yet either. Let's go together."
She fell in beside me as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and we walked the campus side by side. Nearby students kept glancing our way — and no wonder. The sight of Seo Jisu, the most famous face on campus, strolling along like a couple with some unfamiliar guy was unusual enough to turn heads.
I snuck a look at her from the corner of my eye. She pretended not to notice the stares, but the corner of her mouth had lifted, just slightly. Like she was announcing to the world, This man is mine. Or maybe she was putting on a show to keep Yura in check.
"Where should we go? I heard there's a good pasta place by the front gate. Steak works too. My treat today."
She shook her head.
"No, let's do the cafeteria. They've got the good stuff today! Jumbo pork cutlet and spicy pork."
"The cafeteria?"
"Yep. I'm buying!"
She grinned, bright and unselfconscious. I was a little surprised. If it had been Yura, she would have been demanding the car keys already — Oppa, I want something expensive! Hotel buffet! Omakase!
Jisu was different. She was simple. Human. The thorns and the defensiveness had only ever been armor against what Gang Minho had done to her. Underneath, she was warm. Considerate. The kind of woman who was born to take care of people. That was how she had become student council president. How she had earned so much trust.
Sure, in the last life she had lectured me and been a pain in the ass... but that didn't matter anymore.
"Sounds good. It'll taste even better if you're buying. I'll take you up on that."
We headed for the student cafeteria. The place was packed and noisy with the lunch rush, and we found a corner table and sat across from each other. The tray she had brought back held a steaming jumbo pork cutlet and a bowl of spicy pork over rice — humble fare, but Jisu looked as happy as if she were serving a three-star Michelin tasting menu.
"Eat up."
"Thanks. Looks great."
We ate for a while. Then Jisu started fidgeting with her water glass and spoke carefully.
"So... about TA Shin Nara... what happened to her? She barely showed up on campus until a few days ago..."
Yura hadn't been the only one curious. Jisu wanted to know what I had done with the evidence she had brought me.
"Taken care of. Cleanly."
I took a sip of water, keeping it casual.
"You'll run into her at my place before long. She's going to look a lot different."
"Different...?"
Jisu tilted her head, but she didn't press. She trusted that I had handled it.
"Oh — and earlier, when we were walking. You looked so serious. Were you worrying about something?"
She changed the subject, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. Her interest in me was enormous. She watched me with a kind of intensity, as if she refused to miss even the smallest shift in my expression.
"Ah. That."
I set down my spoon and looked at her steadily.
"I was trying to figure out what kind of reward to give you."
"Reward...?"
"Yeah. You worked hard digging up Shin Nara's corruption. You deserve something for that. I gave Yura one, after all."
"Ah..."
Color rose in Jisu's face. She had already considered herself rewarded. The night she had come to my place to deliver the information — the heat we had shared, the praise. The fact that I had acknowledged her as my woman. In her mind, that had been more than enough. More than she deserved.
"I thought... that was it. You told me I did well. You held me. That was enough."
Her simplicity caught me off guard again. This woman really did value the heart over anything material. She was Yura's opposite in every way — and that made the urge to own her even sharper.
"That was that. This is this. We should do this properly. Fair's fair."
I rested my chin on my hand.
"Are you curious what I gave Yura?"
"Mm... honestly? A little."
She nodded, straightforward as always.
"Yura's father was about to go under. Business stuff. So I 'lent' him about nine hundred million won. Interest-free."
"Nine... nine hundred million?!"
Jisu's mouth fell open. She nearly dropped her spoon. It was a sum she couldn't even imagine. She sat speechless for a moment, then nodded as if it suddenly made sense.
"So that's why... Yura's been in such a good mood lately. I'm glad..."
She should have been jealous. Instead she looked relieved. She really was too kind for her own good. Of course, she had no idea what kind of chain that nine hundred million had become around Yura's neck — or what Yura had done in a bathroom in exchange.
"Alright then. What do you want? Doesn't have to be nine hundred million. Anything. Is there something you've been wanting? Want me to buy you a car?"
Jisu sank into thought. She chewed her lip, stared at the ceiling, and thought for a long time. Then, shyly, in a very small voice:
"A date."
"Sorry?"
"Let's go on a date. Us."
"A date? We're on one right now. Eating together is a date. We see each other all the time."
"No. Not on campus. And not in bed, either. Outside."
Her face flushed as she spoke.
"I was thinking about it... we've never actually gone on a proper date, just the two of us, out in the world. We either meet up in a room to do that, or it's the three of us with Yura. I want to try being like a normal couple."
I didn't know what to say. She was right. Our relationship had been warped from the start — bound by leverage, begun with blackmail, held together by pleasure. We had never done the small, ordinary things that regular couples did.
"That's really all you want? No designer bag, no car? I can buy you expensive things. Chanel, Hermès, whatever you want."
"Yeah. I don't need any of that. I just... want to hold your hand and walk. Eat something good. See a movie. Ordinary things. Like your girlfriend."
She smiled, bright and clear. The purity of that smile sent a sharp little ache through my chest. A strange mix of conquest and transgression washed over me — I thoroughly destroyed a girl like this.
"Alright. Fine. A date. The full course."
"Really? You promise?"
"Yeah. When?"
"Um... I have the afternoon free tomorrow. Does that work?"
"That's fine. See you then."
We set the date and time. Jisu couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the meal. One date. That was all it took to make her look like she owned the world. Watching her, I felt something I couldn't quite name. Something interesting.
The next afternoon. The entrance to a quiet park downtown — our meeting place.
Autumn had settled in properly. A cool breeze moved through the trees, and the leaves along the avenue were turning red. I sat on a bench and waited.
Ten minutes before the appointed time, I saw someone in the distance, hurrying toward me with eager, almost skipping steps.
"Dohun!"
Jisu. She wasn't in her usual comfortable casual clothes. A light apricot chiffon dress floated around her, a thin ivory cardigan over her shoulders, a tiny ribbon pin in her hair. Her makeup was brighter and more carefully done than usual — obvious even from a distance. Anyone looking at her would have known: I dressed up for a date today. Please tell me I look pretty.
"Have you been waiting long? Sorry — I took forever picking an outfit. And my hair wouldn't cooperate... I'm not late, am I?"
She was out of breath. Her cheeks were flushed, pink as a peach.
"No. I just got here myself."
I stood and looked her over from head to toe.
"You look beautiful today. I almost didn't recognize you."
I meant it. Stripped of the rigid, flawless student council president image, she was simply a sweet, delicate college girl.
"R-really...? It doesn't look weird? Too dressed up? Did I try too hard?"
She fidgeted with the hem of her dress, her face going red. The shyness was surprisingly cute.
"Not weird at all. It suits you perfectly. Now I'm worried other guys are going to stare. I'll have to keep a close eye on you."
I smirked.
"But why'd you tell me not to bring the car? I could've driven you around in comfort."
"I just... wanted to walk."
She answered shyly.
"If we take the car, we get there too fast. I wanted to walk slowly with you. Talk. Look around. Hold hands... like everyone else does..."
Something unfamiliar stirred in me at her words. Not the destination — the journey itself. The simple act of being together. For someone who had spent his life chasing efficiency and advantage, it was a feeling I had forgotten. Or maybe one I had deliberately ignored.
I'm the one in charge here. But today is her reward day. I should play along.
I held out my hand.
"Alright. Today we do things the president's way. Allow me to escort you."
"......!"
Jisu's face lit up at the offered hand. She linked her arm through mine — boldly, but carefully.
"Understood, Master. Then I'll be in your care today, Master."
She whispered the title against my ear, playful. But there was no submission or fear in her voice. What I heard was affection. Trust. The secret thrill of a word that belonged only to us.
We walked the park path arm in arm, fallen leaves underfoot. Autumn sunlight settled warm across our shoulders.
As we walked, my thoughts drifted.
Yura. Honest about money and desire. Immature, but a cute, physical kind of slave. And Jisu. A woman who valued the heart. Mature, devoted — a slave of the mind.
Both of them had started as revenge. Women who had tormented and dismissed me in my previous life, now broken and brought to heel. But things had taken a strange and interesting turn. They had been tamed. And through them, I was tasting not just pleasure, but an unexpected exchange of feeling — and the flavor of real power.
Life really does take some funny turns.
Starting with revenge and ending up building a harem. I snorted softly and laced my fingers through Jisu's, gripping tight. She looked up and met my eyes. It was the happiest smile in the world.
Maybe this wasn't such a bad ending after all. Sweeter than ruin. Crueler. And far more permanent — a lifetime of keeping them. They would stay by my side forever. Laughing for me. Crying for me. Offering up their bodies and their devotion.
My steps felt light. The autumn of my second life was ripening — deep, and rich, and full.