Craving Togetherness
The number of women living with me in the house had grown, but surprisingly, my daily life hadn't changed all that much. Sure, not having to do housework myself anymore, or picking and choosing which woman to sleep with every night—those were huge shifts. But the rest of my time? Pretty much the same. I didn't have a job, and there wasn't any hobby I was really obsessed with. My routine of playing the same old games or tackling those strategy titles I could never beat stayed unchanged.
And someone wasn't happy about that.
"That's why I think this is a problem!" Karin declared, gathering the three of us and pounding on the floor with her fist. Seongha, Yukiko, and Mikoto all stared at her with puzzled expressions.
"If we're family, we should be... you know, bumping into each other more! Getting that real 'living together' vibe!"
"I am not your family," Yukiko replied coldly, without missing a beat.
Karin yelped in surprise. "What? We're under the same roof—that makes us family!"
"That's a novel perspective," Yukiko said, unable to hide her exasperation as a hollow laugh escaped her. "I expected jealousy or rivalry as fellow women serving the same master. But family? That's... new to me."
"W-what? Jealousy? As if I'd do something like that..." Karin trailed off, catching Seongha's eye and flushing red before quietly sinking onto the sofa.
"So, how'd you spend time with your family back home?"
"Well, we'd train all day together. If we got into a fight, we'd settle it with wooden swords. When we got tired, we'd cheer each other on... You know, the usual?"
"Hmm... Want to head back to your hometown sometime?"
"Eh? Well... I miss it, sure, and I'd love to see them again, but I've only been a slave for a week now. Going home so soon might just worry them. I'm keeping in touch by phone for updates..."
I had a pretty good idea what the issue was. We weren't spending enough time together, so she was feeling a kind of loneliness.
"Don't you ever feel lonely living like this?"
"I lived this way before you all came along. If anything, it's livelier now, and I like that."
"This is lively to you? You must've gone out sometimes, met friends or whatever!"
"Nope."
Karin poked my chest, puffing out her cheeks like she thought I was joking.
"Anyway... I get what you mean."
I'd noticed things like everyone chattier at meals or the women being clingier at night than usual, but I hadn't pegged it as this kind of problem. Mikoto seemed cheerful on the surface, but she wasn't stable enough to voice complaints easily. I got stressed around people, so loneliness wasn't an issue for me. Meeting Yukiko had made me happier—maybe I was wired that way—but I still didn't enjoy socializing. Yukiko? Hard to say, but she didn't seem the type to get attached enough to feel lonely.
"There is a problem here."
Mikoto couldn't exactly speak up, and neither Seongha nor Yukiko could easily grasp the idea of 'loneliness.' I could see why Karin was frustrated.
"If you want to hang out with others so bad, why not just suggest it?"
"It's not that easy! You're working all day, Mikoto freaks out and runs if I even ask to play, and Seongha holes up with the door shut—who knows what he's doing..."
"Meeting new people..."
"We have a training room right here in the house—paying for a gym feels off, and joining a kendo club? Kinda awkward too..."
There were plenty of women coming to Korea to become slaves, but they were still outsiders in society. When a man screwed up, it was more common for his slaves to take the blame—"bad influence from slave so-and-so"—than for him to face direct criticism. Newspapers splashed every crime by slaves or candidates across the front pages. Coming from rougher areas out of desperation, their crime rates were higher. Plenty of people distrusted or shunned them, making it hard for slaves to mingle.
"No other slaves you know? Or people from academy days?"
"Nah, no slaves I know. And inserting myself into my old non-slave friends' circle? Even I know that's crossing a line."
No matter how close or kind old friends were, reconnecting after someone's big success bred resentment and envy. Objectively, I was a pretty good master, so I could only see Karin drawing jealousy in any group.
Once we brushed aside all those options, it was just us left for her.
"Alright. So, Karin—what do you want to do?"
"Eh? Already?"
It had gone in circles, but wasn't this just her being bored and wanting to hang out? Better to act than overthink solutions.
"Well, for all of us to go, we'll need Yukiko and Mikoto's okay."
"I will follow whenever Master wishes."
"M-me too!"
Seeing the two agree so readily, Karin stuck out her tongue in defeat.
"You all turned me down when I suggested going out..."
"I must attend to Master unless there's a special reason. Leaving him for hours on personal time would be above my station."
"I... As long as I'm with Oppa, anywhere's fine..."
Listening, it sounded like Karin had tried inviting the others before.
"Well, can't be helped. But sports or workouts? The gaps are too big, right?"
The difference between me and the women was huge, and even among the women, Karin outpaced the others.
"No workouts needed for you, and there's no way Mikoto or I could keep up with Karin's pace."
"So we're all agreed on doing something now? Great! Karaoke first!"
Karin jumped up, grabbed my hand, and bolted upstairs. Yukiko and Mikoto looked stunned but soon followed.
/////
I couldn't say why my own house suddenly felt unfamiliar, but climbing the stairs to the second floor was a fresh experience.
"If you just wanted to hang out, why not call me?"
"With you, even if it's boring, I figured you'd stick it out... Plus, whenever I tried, Yukiko gave me these killer looks!"
Yukiko still fussed over me a bit too much sometimes. Grateful, sure, but it could feel heavy.
"And you need to see how scary they get without you. They don't pick fights, but just having someone like Yukiko there, silent? Terrifying."
"I get it."
Even I, who'd held her plenty, got chills when Yukiko got serious or focused. For an outsider like Karin? No wonder.
"I wish we could all get along better... But that's just wishful thinking."
To me, this was home—a place where I could do nothing and relax endlessly, with the women as comforting presences. But to Mikoto, Yukiko, and Karin, it was like a workplace, and we were just colleagues or a boss.
Come to think of it, this whole thing felt like an impromptu after-work gathering.
"Kinda annoying? They're late."
"Nah, they're thrilled you called us out. They might be mad, but it's different when you do it versus me!"
As we waited, Mikoto and Yukiko arrived. They'd changed— Mikoto into a cute, fresh white sundress; Yukiko into a skin-tight white blouse and short skirt.
"Hey, no fair! I'm changing too! Everyone else shows up in slutty outfits except me!"
Yukiko's eyes sharpened. "Are you saying that's not slutty?"
"Uh, yeah?"
Her firm thighs, bared below the sky-blue dolphin pants, screamed lewd no matter who looked.
"Is the outfit you're thinking of changing into the one from the market yesterday? If so, it's several times sluttier than what you're wearing now—give it up."
"Th-that bad?"
"I assure you."
"Ugh..."
Unable to argue with Yukiko's firm tone, Karin slumped back down.
"Then, shall we start?"
Yukiko handed Karin the remote. Karin snatched it eagerly and hammered away, but soon her face flushed with panic.
"Wait, Japanese songs aren't searching!"
After a few fails, she hunted for the songbook—but no luck finding what she wanted.
"Didn't think of that..."
"In that case, I'll go first. Could you pass me the remote?"
"Sure! Here..."
Yukiko was on the other side, so reaching across made Karin's chest brush against her. No soft give through the firm bra, but the sudden closeness still set my heart racing.
"Then, I'll sing."
With her heavy makeup, Yukiko looked surreal up close—unreal beauty.