Subjugating on Broadcast (16)

Dong-hyun settled on Han Gyeo-wool as his final fighter.

In a way, it was the only choice that made sense. He couldn't trust Cho Yu-min. Not completely. Unlike Won-seon, Yu-min was only playing at submission — the System had already confirmed she hadn't actually broken.

After turning it over in his mind, he picked Gyeo-wool. Her physique was clearly a step below Yu-min's, but she was his. No question. That certainty was worth more than raw muscle; it eliminated the one variable he couldn't afford.

The good news was that her opponent, Lee Seul-bi, wasn't exactly an athlete either. If the dice came up right, Gyeo-wool could take it.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for — the final match! Who will walk away the victor? Contestant Lee Seul-bi, you'll roll first."

At the host's cue, Seul-bi stepped up and sent the die spinning.

"Yesssss!!!!!"

A five. She shrieked like she'd already won.

A staffer handed her a shield and a spear. Seul-bi took them in both hands and gave them an experimental shake.

"They're lighter than I expected."

Light enough that even a woman could use them without much trouble. Across from her, Han Gyeo-wool watched with a face like stone, then looked down at her own die.

"Hah..."

She drew a long breath, lifted the die, and tossed it into the air.

It clattered across the floor and came to rest on a six.

"Woooah!! That's impossible! A six — here, of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all places!!"

Even the host was yelling into the mic, swept up in the drama of it. Gyeo-wool didn't so much as twitch. She accepted the revolver from a staffer, checked the cylinder, and asked how to use it. The man walked her through it with surprising patience.

Then the two of them moved out onto the floor.

Seul-bi's expression, so triumphant a minute ago, had gone rigid. They took their marks thirty feet apart.

"Please surrender. I don't want to hurt you."

Seul-bi turned and looked back toward the stands. Nobody said a word. If she gave up here, the match was over — her team lost, just like that. No one was going to tell her to fold.

And Seul-bi didn't want to betray Jeong Min-ju. Min-ju was the one who had pulled her out of Lee Jung-hwan's hands and freed her from slavery. The thought of becoming some man's property again — of whatever new humiliations that would mean — terrified her. Lee Jung-hwan's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠idea of ownership had been so wretched that taking a bullet almost sounded kinder.

She turned back and leveled the spear at Gyeo-wool.

"I can't..."

The point trembled, but her mind was made up. Gyeo-wool raised her arm and sighted down the barrel. Seul-bi lifted the shield and covered her vitals — if she was going to get shot, she at least didn't want to die.

Bang!!

The round punched into the floor. A warning.

Seul-bi had looked ready to charge a second earlier. The gunshot locked her legs in place. She swallowed, raised the shield again, and started forward one careful step at a time.

Bang!

"Aaagh!!"

The second shot slammed into the shield dead-center and ripped it out of Seul-bi's hands, sending it clattering away behind her. The shield had stopped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the bullet, but the impact was enormous. Her arm hung useless; she couldn't even lift it.

By the time she registered that, the revolver was already aimed at her again.

"Nngh..."

Seul-bi squeezed her eyes shut and sank to her knees. The word surrender still wouldn't come out of her mouth.

"Give up! Seul-bi!"

Jeong Min-ju couldn't watch it anymore. She shouted from the stands. Seul-bi twisted around, eyes still wet, and the tears spilled over.

"Hhk... I'm sorry..."

Sorry her own weakness was about to cost them the match. She turned back to Gyeo-wool.

"I surrender."

The host declared Dong-hyun the winner the instant the words left her mouth.

"Winning team, losing team — both of you, please come down to the floor."

Dong-hyun's people walked out like they owned the place. Jeong Min-ju's team dragged their feet.

"And here we are! Both teams assembled. The fate of Jeong Min-ju's defeated team now rests with Contestant Ahn Jin-woo. What will it be?"

Min-ju had been quietly certain he would set them free. She and Yoon Jin-ju had talked. Jin-ju had described Ahn Jin-woo as a reasonable man — decent, even — and someone who could help with the work the two of them were already doing.

"All four of them. They're my slaves."

"What??"

Min-ju's head had been down. It snapped up. The words were barely out of Dong-hyun's mouth before the waiting staffers closed in and locked collars around every throat.

Two of them came for Min-ju as well. Unlike the others, she didn't fight it. She stood still and let them fasten the collar at her neck.

Chu So-yeon and Lee Seul-bi tried to resist. They were pinned in seconds and collared anyway. Lee Jung-hwan had already made his peace with how this was going; he cooperated fully while they swapped the chip in his collar. Some part of him was even hoping that if he got on Dong-hyun's good side, a few scraps might fall his way. Dong-hyun's team, after all, was stacked with beautiful women.

"It's just a safety measure. Relax."

Dong-hyun had stepped in close to Min-ju.

"Understood."

She accepted it.

"All matches are concluded and the procedures are complete. You may all exit."

The eight of them followed the staff out into the main hall. From a room on the other side, Yoon Jin-ju's team was just emerging. Jin-ju took one look at the collar on Min-ju's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠throat and stopped cold.

"Ah! Min-ju?!"

"That's how it went."

Dong-hyun answered for her.

"What... happened?"

"Safety measure. Don't worry about it."

"Ah... I see..."

"Looks like you won, though."

"Ah — yes. We got lucky."

"Those men with you have collars on too."

"Ah... I needed a safety measure of my own, honestly."

Jin-ju had doubted him the second she saw the collar on Min-ju's neck. Then she remembered she'd done the exact same thing to the men from the other team, and the argument died in her throat. They were strangers. Leaving newly acquired people uncollared and calling it trust was a risk — and the fact that you could release them whenever you wanted didn't make the first night any safer.

"Yeah. Makes sense. We need to talk things over as a team, so we're heading out."

Dong-hyun left Jin-ju standing there and led his people back to his room.

Gyeo-wool sat down on Dong-hyun's bed, right beside him. Won-seon and Yu-min took the other one. The four newcomers stood in front of him. A little tense, maybe — but the air in the room was still loose. Free, even.

"Alright. All of you, strip."

It came out of nowhere.

"Excuse me? What did you just say?"

Min-ju bristled.

"You deaf? I said take your clothes off. I want to see you naked."

"This is— you're insane—"

The curse slipped out of her on its own.

"Ghhhhhhkkk!!!"

All four of them hit the floor, convulsing at a single word from Dong-hyun.

"The hell's with all the talking. I said strip."

They dragged themselves up and started taking their clothes off.

"Whoa, whoa — not you, old man. Don't strip. Get in the shower and stay there."

"Ah... yes, sir."

Dong-hyun had zero interest in looking at a middle-aged man's naked body. Lee Jung-hwan scrambled for the shower stall like his life depended on it.

Seul-bi was already bare. Whatever Lee Jung-hwan had done to her had come flooding back, and she'd peeled everything off in a rush. Chu So-yeon, by comparison, had only just gotten her top off. Slow. Very slow.

"And you. What are you doing? You not stripping?"

"You think a little pain like that is going to make me do anything?"

Min-ju was still on her feet, planted, refusing to move. She had a temper on her. No question.

"That right?"

"Ghhhhkkk..."

The pain dropped her instantly. She rolled on the floor, writhing. Chu So-yeon took one look and started moving — clothes off, all of them, as fast as her hands would go.

Dong-hyun lifted his eyes and looked the women over. This was always his favorite part. New bodies, stripped on his word, his to look at and his to use however he wanted.

Seul-bi stood under five-three, slight and delicate, with an A-cup chest so small it barely registered. She'd been through this before, though. She stood at attention and didn't cover a thing — a marked improvement over Chu So-yeon, who was still trying to hide her breasts and her pussy with both hands.

So-yeon hit the floor again.

"Wh... why?"

"I told you to strip so I could look at you, and you're covering up? You stupid or something?"

"I— I'm sorry."

She got back to her feet and, finally, dropped her hands.

"Oh... those tits are... pretty huge, huh?"

So-yeon was only about five-three herself, but her chest was enormous. You'd never have guessed it under that white T-shirt. Stripped, there was no hiding it — and standing next to Seul-bi only made them look bigger. She flushed at the comment, but she was too scared to cover herself again.

Both women were naked now. Min-ju still hadn't so much as reached for a button.

"Heh. See, this is more like it. Let's find out how long you can last."