Storming the Demon King's Castle
I grabbed the Sex Skill synopsis and preliminary script, then drove to the Mir Entertainment headquarters.
I parked in the visitor's spot and gazed out at the expansive parking lot, my thoughts drifting to Bora noona.
'Feels like I've become the hero storming the demon king's castle to rescue the princess.'
Mir Entertainment, where noona was signed, had started out as a singer-focused agency before expanding into producers and actors. Their actor roster was nothing special, but their idol production skills were top-notch—they managed four tier-1 groups.
The founder, CEO Han Dongho, had deep ties with noona.
Ahead of her contract renewal, she'd been tangled in agency troubles and hit a slump, struggling for a while. Han Dongho was the one who'd sorted it out and brought her to Mir Entertainment. To noona, he was like a benefactor.
After the move, her luck with projects exploded too. She went from skilled supporting roles to a ten-million-ticket actress, then landed the lead heroine spot, and finally claimed a trophy at Cannes. The Best Actress award was obviously thanks to noona's talent, but Han's role in giving her the breakthrough couldn't be understated.
"If CEO Han hadn't reached out back then, I wouldn't be where I am today."
Sadly, just a few months before noona became the Cannes goddess, Han collapsed from a myocardial infarction. He made it to the ER in time and survived, but with recurring paralysis and the constant fear of relapse, he eventually stepped down as CEO.
The current CEO was Choi Haksoo, who'd been the division head at the time. And now, I was on my way to meet him.
"The JH rep? I figured you guys were all Park Hyungpil since he's the only one I ever see. So, what's the occasion?"
He tried playing it cool, but he and Hyungpil were thick as thieves. He acted like someone like me wasn't even on his radar—just a figurehead CEO at best. Fine, if that's how he wanted to play it.
"It's about actress Kang Bora. Didn't want any misunderstandings if I went straight to her, and I was curious about who succeeded the great Han Dongho that I respected so much. Two birds with one stone."
His face twisted at the mention of those two prickly names.
Han Dongho had been an insurmountable wall as an agency manager, and Kang Bora was a peak he couldn't just grab and shake. One symbolized his inferiority complex; the other was a pie in the sky.
"Huh, you have business with our Bora? From JH?"
Since becoming CEO, Choi Haksoo had poured everything into taking the company public. To that end, he'd launched a rookie girl group and aggressively signed a slew of leading male actors, bulking up the agency nonstop.
A rival CEO contacting their top-class actress with renewal months away? To Choi Haksoo, it was a panic button.
"Why the shock? I've got a project in the works and wanted to show it to Bora. She's got a huge appetite for roles, but she's been off for over a year now, right? She'll love this one, guaranteed."
"I'm personally overseeing Bora's casting. No idea when you last saw her, but worry about your own house. JH. Re. Pre. Sen. Ta. Tive."
Overseeing it, sure—in the direction of manufacturing excuses to block her next projects.
Choi Haksoo had been pettily pressuring noona by isolating her from the public for over a year to break her in. Meanwhile, fans worldwide were dying for her next work!
"Then why don't you 'personally' deliver this to the actress you're taking such good care of."
I held out the synopsis and script, and his expression soured even more.
"I'll pick Bora's next project myself, so don't shove this crap at her."
Crap?
"Not even lobbying for a role, and you can't pass on a script? Guess you see a fellow industry CEO's request as 'crap' too? You've handed me perfect fodder for the production reveal presser—should I thank you? With your 'IPO' prep, the media will eat it up."
Mir was decent at PR, but nothing compared to JH Entertainment. Even if Hyungpil stonewalled, I could get Hwayoung to turn it into articles easy.
At the mention of press and IPO, Choi Haksoo's momentum crumbled instantly. Works like a charm.
"Offering it first out of respect for your position. Keep refusing, and I'll have to deliver it myself."
He glared at me with a sullen scowl before grudgingly taking the synopsis and script. That mug screamed 100% he wouldn't pass it on.
Down in the parking lot, noona's manager was waiting by my car and greeted me.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Make sure actress Kang Bora reads this script."
"Yes, sir."
"Pass this card along too. She'll need to contact me soon."
I handed over my business card as well, then pulled out of the lot.
―ding~
Waiting at a crosswalk, my phone alarm went off. Figured it was a message or KakaoTalk, so I opened it.
"Sex Skill…?"
An app with the most ridiculous name imaginable had installed itself.
"Sex skill? Sex and you die? Or killer sex? What the hell is this…?"
Carriers did push default apps without consent sometimes, but no way was there a stock app named this. A hack, then?
"What hacker targets a phone with zero valuable data… Whatever, delete it."
Long-pressing the icon did nothing—no delete option. But that wasn't the issue. Suddenly, the phone froze solid. No apps launched, calls wouldn't connect, not even the lock screen's emergency dial or camera.
"Fuck, now what?"
It felt like some invisible force was demanding I run the app. Was hacking even possible like this? And who the hell would bother?
In the end, I tapped it at the next light. Contacts and data were cloud-synced anyway—worst case, factory reset.
> [To use the app, administrator approval is required.]
"What the actual fuck… If it's gonna pull this, why install it at all? Who's the admin?"
I started hunting for an admin option, but there was a hint at the bottom of the start screen.
Copyright (C) 0069-2024 Luxuria Factory, all rights reserved.
Luxuria was Latin for "lust."
Not sure what would happen if I launched the app, so I headed back to the officetel first.
"Explain why this bullshit got installed."
['This bullshit'? It's the treasure that'll light your path like a lantern.]
"Some obnoxious prick called it bullshit first, so I borrowed the line."
[Don't spread your bad mood. Makes you look petty.]
Guess insulting demons didn't count toward their pleasure quota.
[Upgraded the status screen—added sectaji, inventory, and more. Dev said smartphones rule the human world, so app it is?]
"Dev? Demons have developers?"
[Tons of contractors wish for IT stuff. Big tech, crypto, AI… Had to spawn the job. Even make custom apps for high-tier types like me.]
Requests, my ass. Those devs were probably ground to dust under demonic deadlines and insane demands.
"What can this app do?"
[Open it up first.]
"Said it needs admin approval?"
[Approved it just now.]
"It's just for me—why bother with approval steps?"
[It's cool, right? Permission's the ruler's ultimate fantasy.]
Think about how much extra work that "fantasy" dumped on the devs. Haa~
Launching the app brought up a status screen fitted to my phone display. Menus lined the right side… but they were seriously off. Extremely.
"……"
The menus were plastered wall-to-wall with "cock."
"As. What the fuck are these cock menus?"
[Oh, that. Yeah, that's how it originally looks.]
The menu text shifted right as As finished speaking.
Standard game menus. As compared the original to the new ones, explaining each.
'Cockfest = Profile'
[Check your stats here. They'll go up based on contract progress—get excited. You're alpha-male level now, but alpha-plus incoming.]
Suddenly felt like prime beef. Oh, so that "me" was me.
'Cockhouse = Heroines'
[Info on targets and conquests. Includes old sectaji, hints, their stats. You'll check this most.]
"Pleasure hits you at conquest points?"
[Yep. Same as before. Pull pure or impure Climax Stones, and proper rewards flow.]
"What kind?"
[Useful items, app upgrades… stuff like that. Gacha-style, so random.]
Humans had poisoned demons with gacha, huh…
'Cockroom = Items'
[Expanded inventory. Unlimited storage, conquest rewards go here. Only you and I can use what's inside, same as before.]
Like a storeroom. I'd thought it was a human insult from the pronunciation match.