A Reward, and a Last Chance
"Manager!"
"Haha. Aren't you putting a little too much effort into eating chicken?"
"Ah... hehe..."
The day I had promised her a reward had come. She was wearing a black mini dress, and a pair of red high heels caught the eye—whether they were the Puppets' taste or her own, I couldn't tell.
"You look lovely. An actress really is a different breed."
I folded my arms and looked her up and down. At that she flushed and let her head drop with a little jerk.
"Haha. Well then—shall we?"
I offered my arm to her as she hiked her shoulders, visibly pleased.
"Allow me to escort you."
"Hah...! Y-yes, yes. Thank you..."
Her hand crept in, hesitant, and wrapped carefully around my arm. Together we stood before the iron door, and I could see her eyes trembling in fine little flickers.
"You don't have to be nervous. Think of it as my home."
"...Yes."
A heavy thud. Then a long, grating creak—and we stepped out into the dark corridor.
Harsh lights were spaced sparsely along the quiet hall, and as we walked the click of her heels rang far down the passage. She kept glancing sidelong at the iron doors lined up in a row. She looked as though she wanted to ask me something, but I sealed her mouth with a light smile and offered a small hint instead.
"You're the only bitch who walks this corridor dressed so prettily, Seung-yeon."
"...R-really...?"
She leaned lightly into my shoulder and smiled. The slur bitch no longer seemed to trouble her.
"Here we are."
I opened a door from which bright light poured. Inside was the Dining Room where we had first eaten together—an ornate chandelier and a long banquet table.
"Waaah..."
She looked around as if she were seeing the place for the first time. I led her to the table and drew out her chair, and she sat with a smile that refused to fade.
"Well then. Is there a brand you'd like?"
"Ah... I-I don't really eat chicken much..."
"Pardon?"
"Hehe... S-sorry, I'm not teasing. It's just that the word chicken made me want to see it, somehow..."
It wasn't particularly funny. Even so, I covered my mouth with a loosely closed fist.
"Haha... You have a cute side to you, Seung-yeon."
"Ah... hehehe... D-do I...?"
Just as a punishment ought to be given thoroughly, a reward ought to be given thoroughly too. If this much lip service was all it took to finish her, I could afford it easily enough.
I called a Puppet and ordered him to bring every signature dish from the famous brands. When she startled, I sat her back down and told her to say whatever she liked, as freely as she pleased. She fretted over what to talk about, then before long began to chatter—the entertainment world, her family, the project she had been preparing. Of course everything she had to tell was about life outside and the life she was supposed to be living, and yet even as she spoke there was no great dissonance on her face.
I decided to press on a sore spot.
"Don't you want to leave? You have so many things you like. So many things you want to do."
"Ah... yes... I-I want to leave..."
Her face sank at once.
"B-but you said, Manager... i-if I become good merchandise, I can get out soon..."
"Yes. I did say that."
"And since you c-call me a bitch... I-I started to think maybe I'm doing well..."
Whether she was stupid, or simply pure. She seemed to be taking the slur bitch for something on the order of a title of honor. I treated that pitiful creature to a feast. The Puppets came trooping in, their hands loaded with takeout containers of every kind.
"Wow...!"
A greasy smell that soured the mood spread in a rush.
"Mm—. It smells delicious!"
"Doesn't it. Here—eat before it gets cold. Whatever you like."
"Haa...! Yes!"
"Did you enjoy it?"
"Yes...!"
She didn't even seem to think of wiping the lips glistening with oil. I drew a handkerchief from my inner pocket and wiped them for her.
"Nn... I-I could have done it myself..."
"Hold still..."
Eyes closed, trembling faintly, she flushed at once.
"There. All done."
"Hnn... Thank you..."
"Not at all. Well then."
I offered her my arm again. She laid her hand on it as if it were the most natural thing in the world and, without a word, matched her steps to mine. The way back to her room. In the dim corridor, only the click of heels could be heard.
"...Seung-yeon."
"Y-yes!"
"Is there anything else you need?"
"Yes...?"
I looked straight down at her. Meeting those finely trembling eyes, I asked once more.
"Anything you need."
"Ah... I-I don't really know."
"Hm. I see. There'll be training before long, so rest early tonight."
"...Yes."
We spoke no further. Until we reached the iron door she only followed with her head hung low, and as she turned quietly toward the bed I asked one last time.
"You truly don't need anything?"
"...A-anything... would it be all right...?"
"Of course."
She clutched the hem of her short skirt. Head still bowed, she spoke in a voice that shrank in on itself.
"I-I'd like to stay with you a little longer..."
"Hmm. Is there something you want to do?"
"Haa...! A-anything is all right...?"
"Of course. It is a reward."
That was when it happened. She suddenly rushed at me—and what she did, having flung herself forward like that, was throw her arms around my neck.
"Th-then... I want to stay with you, Manager... t-together..."
A click—I switched on the light in the darkened room.
"This is where I stay."
"Whoa..."
In the end I had let her into the bedroom. I hadn't expected to bring her in quite like this. I stepped inside, unfastened my watch, and shrugged off my blazer, and she trailed after me and stared, blank. To cover the laugh that threatened to burst out of me at the absurdity of it, I spoke first.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Ah... I-I'm sorry."
"It's all right."
I went on, undoing the buttons of my shirt.
"Seung-yeon. I'll give you something to sleep in tonight."
"Yes...?"
"You can hardly sleep in that dress."
"Yes... th-that's right...!"
"Here. There's sleepwear that will suit you."
For her, brimming with expectation, I opened the drawer beneath the wardrobe. The bitches' sleepwear is always kept ready there. A metallic clink.
"Here you are."
A dog collar. That is the sleepwear befitting a bitch. I held out a glossy, scarlet collar, and she looked down at it without a word.
"What. You don't like it?"
"Ah... n-no...!"
"If you'd rather not, you may go back."
"No! I mean it. I like it..."
I stripped off my shirt and my trousers, then pulled my underwear down as well. She had been staring straight at me; the moment our eyes met, she whipped her gaze away.
"You change into your sleepwear too, Seung-yeon."
I sat on the edge of the bed and watched her steadily. Hesitating, she didn't forget to answer. She looked quietly down at the collar in her hands, then, with a clink, began to fasten it around her neck. She shut her eyes and drew a few deep breaths.
"I'm dressed..."
"...The dress has to come off."
"Ah... yes... th-that's right."
Even though we faced each other naked every day, taking off her clothes seemed, somehow, to shame her. I still didn't take my eyes off her. Glancing about, she came up to me, turned her back, and spoke.
"Th-the zipper... please pull it down..."
"Yes."
She lifted her hair and bared the zipper pull. I drew it down, then dropped back onto the edge of the bed.
"...Ah, yes."
The reward seemed to have been a little too generous. She was still showing how unfinished she was. Bitches blushing when they look at me is common enough, but with her there was a small dissonance—and that I only belatedly recalled how little that would help in the making of a perfect slave was plainly my own mistake.
Her pupils flickering, she drew a long breath. Before long the black mini dress dropped with a soft thud around her ankles.
"A fine sight."
"...Yes. Thank you..."
"I need to wash now. Come here."
"...Yes...?"
The tip of my finger pointed at the floor beneath my groin. Her gaze followed it, passed over my groin, and settled on the space between my feet. Hands gathered neatly before her, she approached slowly and knelt without a sound.
"Begin."
I showed her my cock, still soft, the blood not yet gathered in it.
"Think of it as a kind of midterm evaluation. A blowjob, at least—you know how to manage that without being taught, don't you?"
"...Yes."
She shut her eyes and swallowed twice. Then she opened them, let out a soft breath, and parted her lips. Bracing herself on the floor, she bent down and took the downward tip of my cock into her mouth. Each time her eyes met mine as I looked down, she hurried to look away—another rather poor habit. So was failing to use her tongue with any real effort while she cleaned me.
"...There are quite a few problems."
At my words her eyes went wide.
"Seung-yeon. Do you want the reward to end here?"
The instant I finished, she began to rush. She rolled her tongue in a panic, making wet slurping sounds, and worked her head hard enough to shake her hair—but my cock did not grow.
"Pah—. Haa. I-I don't know what I'm supposed to do...!"
"What seems to be the problem?"
"Ah... I-I don't really...!"
I caught her chin as she sank lower and lower, and drew it up.
"Nn...!"
"Seung-yeon."
Her face was turned toward me, but her eyes avoided mine with everything she had. I prefer to let the bitches come to things on their own, but a creature this stupid occasionally needs to be told.
"...Yes."
She seemed to grasp what I meant, but that dissonant look remained.
"I'll see you at the next session of training. Go back for today. One of the staff will show you the way."
"A ch-chance... please, give me another chance...!"
She was desperate. And isn't it the duty of one who has taken up the role of educator to wait for a creature like that?