A Wager with Mu-gang
From that day forward, Dong-hyun groped Ga-eun's breasts at every opportunity. Even when the maids were nearby, he would casually knead them, slipping his hands in as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Son Ga-eun would flare up or flush with panic each time, but she could only resist in the most halfhearted way — anything more, and someone might notice. She couldn't truly stop him, either. She was the one who had done wrong, and she knew it. All she could do was endure.
Life at the company had grown almost comfortable, and Kang Su-yeon had stopped coming around to torment him. All things considered, his days here were becoming rather enjoyable.
Even now, he was freely fondling the breasts of Son Ga-eun, who sat right beside him. A maid passed behind the sofa, and still he made no effort to hide what he was doing. His hand slid beneath her blouse and closed around her bare flesh, kneading without restraint.
"Mother. I'm going to see Grandfather this evening."
"Nnhh..."
Son Ga-eun gripped the sofa cushion, fighting not to feel the pleasure he was giving her. Dong-hyun had just told her he was finally going to ask his grandfather for a proper position — and she could barely even listen. She was already at her limit.
Every time she caught herself growing used to his touch, shame and fury burned through her. But her body was honest. Each time his fingers found her, her panties grew wet enough to soak through.
Her husband no longer even tried to share her bed. She had nowhere to take the heat building inside her. Dong-hyun was sitting right there, delivering news that should have shaken her to the core, and she couldn't even keep her thoughts straight.
"Heh. You're not even objecting anymore, Mother. Ah — right. We already agreed you wouldn't. You're being such a good girl."
His hand slipped free of her chest and stroked her hair instead.
"Wh-what do you think you're doing..."
She couldn't raise her voice. There were people nearby.
"Because you look so cute when you act like that. Shall I come find you again tonight?"
At his words, Ga-eun felt her panties grow wet all over again.
"Not tonight. Your father is coming home early."
"Is that so? Then this time, you can come to my room instead."
"What did you just...?"
"Unless you'd rather get that wet right in front of Father."
Ga-eun had no answer. She could feel her panties, already soaked through.
"Th-that's... ridiculous..."
She was still refusing him, but the conflict in her eyes was growing deeper by the second.
"Anyway, I'll be waiting in my room. See you tonight."
Leaving Ga-eun sitting there in a daze, Dong-hyun headed for his grandfather Kang Mu-gang's chambers.
Two burly bodyguards stood watch outside Kang Mu-gang's door. They offered a slight bow of the head as Dong-hyun approached.
"I've come to see Grandfather."
"Please wait a moment."
One of them stepped inside, apparently to report. A short while later he returned.
"You may enter. Just a moment, please."
The bodyguard patted Dong-hyun down. Being Kang Mu-gang's grandson earned him no exception. Once they confirmed he carried no weapons, they stepped aside.
Dong-hyun pushed the door open and walked in.
His grandfather sat behind the desk in his private study. Dong-hyun approached and bowed deeply.
"So the likes of you have come looking for me. The sun must be rising in the west tomorrow."
Kang Mu-gang clicked his tongue as he looked his grandson over. For years, Dong-hyun had been so beaten down that even standing in this room had been an ordeal.
But the Dong-hyun standing here now was not that boy. The crushed self-worth was gone. In its place was a confidence that he could accomplish anything.
"You placed your trust in me, Grandfather. I want to live up to that."
Dong-hyun met Mu-gang's eyes without flinching.
"Hah..."
Even his own children and daughters-in-law shrank in his presence. To find someone looking him straight in the eye after so long — and for that someone to be his own grandson, the same boy who had spent years hanging his head — it drew a laugh from him.
"Well then. What did you come all this way to tell this old man?"
Mu-gang rose from his desk and moved to the sofa. A signal that he was ready to talk in earnest. Only then did Dong-hyun sit across from him.
"Being an assistant manager on the Industrial Materials Team isn't enough of a stage for what I intend to do. I want to lead the Mugang Group from a higher position."
A vein stood out on Mu-gang's forehead. A boy who had barely started working was already talking like this?
"You've only just found your feet at the company, and already the seat's too small for you?"
"Yes. I can't accomplish anything meaningful working under Su-yeon."
"And what makes you so sure? You think the world is that easy?"
Mu-gang's voice rose a notch. Dong-hyun didn't so much as blink.
"I have talent. And that talent is wasted as an assistant manager in Section 3 of the Industrial Materials Team."
How long has it been since someone talked back to me like this, point by point? This brat...
The words were insolent — and yet, somehow, they pleased him.
"What talent would that be? You, who spent twenty-five years of your life locked in a room?"
Mu-gang had a point. A shut-in who'd done nothing but play games, showing up at the company for all of five minutes and already demanding a promotion — it was absurd on its face.
Dong-hyun glanced around the study, then spoke.
"Grandfather. You enjoy Go, don't you? If I beat you at Go, will you acknowledge my talent?"
"Hah. Go? Have you ever even played?"
"No. But it seemed like the fastest way to show you what I can do."
"So what you're saying is, your talent is that head of yours."
"Exactly right."
"Hah... Fine. I'll give you a nine-stone handicap. Beat me, and I'll create whatever position you want."
"What's a nine-stone handicap?"
Dong-hyun genuinely didn't know the first thing about Go.
"You don't even know what a handicap game is, and you want to play me? You insolent little..."
Only then did Mu-gang realize his grandson truly knew nothing about the game.
"I know the basics. You surround the stones and capture them, right?"
"Hahaha..."
It was so ridiculous Mu-gang could only laugh.
"All right. If you win, I'll give you a fine position in the company. But what happens if you lose? A wager needs stakes on both sides, doesn't it?"
"Hmm... Then if I lose, I'll do whatever you tell me to, without a word of complaint, until the day you die."
"Wahahaha!"
Mu-gang burst out laughing. He would never assign his own grandson anything cruel — which meant that even in defeat, Dong-hyun was essentially offering to learn under him. It sounded impressive, but it was a match Dong-hyun couldn't really lose.
"Fine. Let's see what you've got."
They moved to the Go board. They agreed to play an even game rather than a handicap match, and Dong-hyun, being the younger, took the white stones.
He placed each stone with care. And in the end, he lost — thoroughly, humiliatingly — to Mu-gang.
"Hahaha. From now on, you do as I say, no arguments. Understood?"
"Yes, Grandfather. I was far too arrogant. But if I study Go a little and beat you tomorrow, would you honor the wager then?"
"Wahahaha! You think a single day of study will let you beat me? That arrogance of yours just won't die, will it? Fine. Not tomorrow — anytime. Whenever you beat me at Go, I'll count it as your win."
It was absurd, but Mu-gang took it as a grandson's charming antics. He had all but withdrawn from the front lines, and the days had grown dull. A grandson offering to play Go with him didn't sound so bad.
"Understood, Grandfather. Please rest. Tomorrow I'll show you a completely different side of myself."
"Go on, then."
Dong-hyun bowed and left the room.
The truth was, he could have beaten Mu-gang then and there. He'd played at his actual skill level on purpose — to make it obvious just how terrible he really was. Standing out too much from the start was never a good idea.
Dong-hyun left Mu-gang's chambers and returned to his own room. Serién was there, as always, ready to receive him.
"What on earth were you thinking, making a wager with that old man? You actually think you can beat him at Go?"
Serién was genuinely curious.
"It's not hard. I could win right now if I wanted to. But I need to take my time, feel him out, and then win."
"How?"
"I can cross between worlds, remember? There's Go in the Subjugating Delinquent Girls world too. I'll just ask a pro player over there."
The same principle as when he'd used Sirian's help with grappling to beat Han Su-yeon. Apply it here, and he was done.
"Wow... You really are something. The second there's a loophole to exploit, that brain of yours just lights up, doesn't it?"
Serién was still marveling at him when someone knocked softly on Dong-hyun's door. Without waiting for an answer, Son Ga-eun stepped inside.
"You're here early."
"Let's just... get this over with... so I can go..."
A flush colored her face, as if the mere act of walking into his room was humiliation enough.