Plaything
I let out a long sigh. “...Haa...”
I was genuinely shocked. I’d gone to the old dormitory on an errand for the professor to pick up some pencils, but I heard strange noises and stepped into the small clearing beside it…
“That was definitely… Im Chan-woo from our department, right?”
He was the guy who always sat quietly through lectures and somehow vanished the moment class ended, always the first one heading home. Yet contrary to his gentle appearance… that scene from earlier kept flashing through my mind, and I felt my face growing hot.
But wasn’t the woman he was with just now Lee Chae-yun? I thought she had a boyfriend…
Lost in thought, I kept walking until I bumped shoulders with someone.
“Ah, sorry.”
“No need. I did it on purpose.”
“Huh?”
I lifted my head to see who it was.
“Lee Chae-yun…?”
“Oh my, so you know this body.”
“What are you—urk?!”
In an instant, she unleashed a monstrous strength that her small frame should never have been capable of. She grabbed my throat with one hand and hoisted me clean off the ground. I couldn’t breathe. I clawed at her hand with both of mine, but it felt like concrete wrapped around my neck—completely unyielding.
“Cough! Ugh…”
“I won’t kill you. Still, I’ll need to use my hands a little.”
At that moment, I couldn’t comprehend what was happening right in front of me. While still holding me up, she opened her mouth impossibly wide and extended something. But it wasn’t a tongue. Two thin tentacles—there was no other way to describe them—wriggled out.
“Hiiik!”
A small scream escaped me at the revolting sight. The two tentacles drew close to my face and began rubbing against my cheeks. It felt exactly like being licked by a tongue.
“S-stop…!”
“We haven’t even started yet?”
What the hell was this woman? Was she even human? What kind of person could lift someone with one hand and spit tentacles out of her mouth?
I barely managed to string together what little common sense I had left, and the situation suddenly made horrifying sense.
“M-mon…ster…”
“…When he said it, it didn’t feel that bad. But hearing it from another human… it really pisses me off.”
The playful atmosphere vanished the instant those words left my mouth. The monster tightened her grip on my throat. Oxygen stopped reaching my body. The bones in my neck creaked under the crushing pressure, right at their limit.
“Aaaagh! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!! Please spare me!”
“…A lowly human like you would be useless even if I made you one of us. I was only going to erase your memories and send you on your way, but…”
With those words, the monster drove both tentacles straight into my ears.
“Eut?!”
What was this sensation? I had never felt anything like it in my life. It was as if someone was casually strolling through my mind. Nausea surged from the intense disgust and revulsion, but I couldn’t even vomit. Something was blocking it. My limbs, my eyelids, my breathing, even my heartbeat—everything was being manipulated.
I could feel it.
“Ah, aah, ut? Aah?!”
“…Hm. Looks like I’ve copied almost everything. Then now…”
Was she going to do something else? No—what had she done to me whatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhat a?a?a?a?a?a?a?a?a?
"...Do you understand? From now on, you are a 'maid.' You exist to serve me, and you will gladly die if I command it."
"....I am...a 'maid'...I exist to serve...Mistress and Master..."
“Good. You came here on an errand, right? Then hurry back. It’ll be a pain if anyone gets suspicious.”
“...Yes…”
The female stood up and staggered away, turning her back. Since Chan-woo-nim wanted her kept alive, I’d let her off with this much.
Human “maidification.” It copies the target’s personality, then deletes the original one. Once the mind is a blank slate, absolute obedience toward the target is imprinted. After that, the copied personality is reinserted into the surface consciousness. The result is a perfect doll that can be switched on and off as needed.
Originally I’d planned to just erase her memories and send her away, or maybe turn her into one of us. But hearing that inferior species call me a monster made me lose control for a second.
The human I’m parasitizing was originally gentle and cute, but she seems to be what humans call “a nice person who becomes terrifying when angry.” Our personalities tend to follow those of our hosts, after all.
“Oh right! Chan-woo-nim is waiting!”
I got so worked up I completely forgot I’d left him there! I hurried back toward the old dormitory.
“…Still, I wonder if Chan-woo-nim… maybe…”
I sat on the bench, legs shaking uncontrollably. If my mother saw me, she’d definitely scold me for looking like I’d lost my soul. But there was no way I could stop.
Lee Chae-yun had run off saying, “Just a moment, I’ll be right back!” What on earth was she planning to do to the class rep? Was she going to turn her into the same kind of monster…? She wouldn’t kill her, right?
All sorts of worries swirled in my head.
“Boo!”
“Uwaaaaagh!!”
“Kyahaha! Uwaaaagh~!”
I nearly jumped out of my skin. Behind me stood Lee Chae-yun, poorly mimicking my scream and laughing at me. Normally I would have been furious, but right now I was more concerned about the class rep.
“What did you do to her?”
“Her? Oh, you mean that girl from earlier? …We’re in the same department and you don’t even know her name? You really are a loner, Chan-woo-nim.”
“…Shut up.”
“She’s interesting. Her name’s only one syllable. Seo Rin, apparently.”
I finally learned the class rep’s name. Seo Rin…
“Never mind that—what did you do to her?”
“You can check for yourself in the lecture hall tomorrow~♡”
Lee Chae-yun turned away with a playful laugh. Her speech patterns seemed slightly different now. Had she already gotten used to human language because of her high intelligence?
“Wait, where are you going?”
“I have to meet my boyfriend. Oh, are you jealous?”
“…..Just go.”
“Aww, don’t worry. We’re breaking up today. Our kind prefers males with superior reproductive capabilities, you see♡ As a romantic partner, he’s completely worthless.”
What sin had her boyfriend committed? In a single moment, the woman he loved had changed into a monster. And he would never even know why they were breaking up. I felt a twinge of pity, but this was no time to worry about someone else.
Right now, I had to figure out my own situation first. What the hell was I supposed to do about her? I couldn’t report her, and I was no longer human. The fundamental problem was whether anyone would even believe me. Lack of information was another issue.
“For now… I guess I have no choice but to play along.”
I still couldn’t see a clear path forward. Ever since I entered university, why did I keep feeling so pathetic?
“…Maybe I’ll just have one beer again today.”
And what exactly had she done to the class rep? I’d find out tomorrow…
I grabbed the bag I’d left on the bench and headed back to my studio apartment.
"....I understand. I am now a 'maid.' I exist to serve Mistress and Master..."
The next morning in the lecture hall, I first noticed the changes in my own body. I’d thought I’d simply become stronger, but that wasn’t all. I used to get pleasantly drunk after just one can of beer and fall asleep. Now, even after one can, I felt nothing. Thinking it was strange, I drank two, three, four cans, then a bottle of soju, then two, then three. No matter how much I drank, I never got drunk.
And sleep. I’d finally passed out around 1 a.m., only to wake up at nearly 2 a.m. After that, sleep refused to come at all. I came to school in that state, and now it was 9 a.m. I still wasn’t the least bit tired. On the contrary, my mind was so clear that the professor’s usually sleep-inducing voice rang out with perfect clarity.
“Just how far did that thing upgrade me…?”
I sighed quietly.
As for the class rep, I’d noticed something was off the moment I entered the lecture hall. She’d glanced at me when I walked in, and I could feel her eyes on me throughout the entire class. Whenever I tried to observe her changes, our eyes would meet several times.
The painfully clear lecture finally ended. After enduring an hour where I couldn’t even zone out, I tried to approach her, but she was already surrounded by a crowd of friends. I worried that a loner with zero social skills suddenly walking up and talking to her would look suspicious. That was when I noticed the atmosphere around her group turning strange.
I couldn’t hear clearly from this distance, but it definitely wasn’t a good vibe. The class rep stood up, broke away from the crowd, and left the lecture hall. The others scattered as well, and their voices finally reached me.
“Doesn’t Seo Rin seem… kind of different lately?”
“Yeah. She used to answer so kindly, but now she’s cold and only looks at books.”
“Right? She even ignores people when they talk to her…”
Shit. It couldn’t be…
I quickly gathered my things and ran after her. I caught up in the hallway and grabbed her wrist.
“…What do you want?”
“Uh, well, it’s just…”
I’d grabbed her with confidence, but now I had no idea what to say. My mind went completely blank. At that moment, Chae-yun appeared behind the class rep and whispered into her ear.
“It’s an ‘order.’ Please take care of Master’s sexual needs♡”
“…..Understood.”
In an instant, the class rep’s entire aura changed. The coldness that had been there moments ago completely vanished.
“Wait, what did you just say?”
Before I could get an answer, the class rep grabbed my wrist and began dragging me away.
“Hey, w-wait a second!”
I looked back at Chae-yun in a panic, but she simply opened and closed her mouth in a mocking wave.
‘Bye-bye~’
I was practically dragged along until we reached the men’s restroom in a secluded corner of the building. She pulled me into the very last stall and locked the door.
“W-what’s going on? Are you… did she turn you into one too…?”
I asked with a sinking heart, terrified she might have become the same kind of monster as Chae-yun.
“……..”
“…Hello?”
Her face showed absolutely no emotion. A perfect blank expression. It felt distinctly different from Chae-yun’s case.
Then, without a word, she bent at the waist and pulled her skirt all the way up to her hips. The place that should have been covered by underwear was completely exposed, and between her legs was already drenched with sticky fluid.
“…I have waited a long time. This inadequate hole is for Master’s sexual relief. Please use it as you wish.”
“…Huh?”