Changeling 9
"More... I need to serve you more..."
"Don't push yourself."
Yukiko's belly was already swollen tight with my semen.
"At this rate, you might get pregnant by tomorrow..."
Yukiko gave a faint smile.
"I would love for that to happen. But realistically, it's unlikely."
"Really?"
If this was 'realistically unlikely,' then birth control might as well not exist. Condoms still existed, of course, but most had holes in the tips. They weren't really for contraception anymore—just tools for women's pleasure. In our country, they were so unpopular you had to order them overseas, but in foreign countries without the physical enhancement procedure, they were commonplace.
"After two years like this... considering how many women Master will have by then, if we keep at it for five years, I might manage to bear one child."
Yukiko seemed to share my thoughts, gently stroking her own belly.
"That long?"
"Men who've undergone the physical enhancement procedure have reduced fertility. Didn't you know?"
"No clue!"
Yukiko continued her explanation, lightly caressing my chest.
"I've heard it's a side effect. Have you truly never heard of it?"
I racked my brains, searching my memory.
"Maybe I have... but back then, I just thought, 'Do we really need to worry about that?' and ignored it."
During the war, with the virus potentially waking the guy next to me at any moment, who had time to fret over side effect warnings?
"Sex like this, filling my womb to the brim for impregnation... it's wonderful."
"Come to think of it, some guys have fathered a ton of kids, right? How do they..."
"They kept thrusting until one stuck."
I nodded at Yukiko's words. Even a 0.00001% chance becomes inevitable if you keep rolling the dice.
"You're right. Someday, Yukiko, you'll bear my child..."
The idea of life springing from me because of me still felt unreal. Imagining Yukiko as a mother stirred something bittersweet in my chest.
"Nothing comes without effort."
Yukiko smiled gently.
"This might be my last chance. If luck's against me, even after eight or ten years... no, by then, I'd have to give up."
"Ten years? Isn't that too short?"
"Of course, I'll strive endlessly for Master's sake."
Yukiko said it matter-of-factly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"But I won't arrogantly assume I can maintain this appearance past thirty or mid-thirties."
"What are you talking about?"
"The ability to embrace Master, to seduce him—there's a limit. In ten years... girls like Hyun-ah, or even younger, will be the ones by your side."
I stroked Yukiko's hair.
"What nonsense... Hyun-ah's too young."
"From twenty to thirty. That's the time allotted to a woman. With rigorous self-care, maybe a few more years, but past forty? Impossible."
I silently pulled Yukiko into my arms.
"A man as noble and great as Master should always hold the most valuable woman. For me to cling to you as my value fades would be unfair."
"Why judge people by value alone...? And you'll still be beautiful ten years from now, twenty years from now."
"While I'm desperate to preserve my looks, countless women with fresh allure and youth will flood in."
I stared blankly at Yukiko's face, imagining it a decade or two hence. A few wrinkles, a bit less firmness, but still breathtakingly beautiful.
"You say Hyun-ah's young, but she's an adult. Old enough to bear children and take responsibility for her actions."
"The age gap..."
"Yours and hers is less than ten years. Besides, Master will remain healthy and virile even in old age."
Yukiko's hand drifted lower, lightly fondling my still-massive cock.
"Master can bring joy to women at forty, sixty. Would you then fuck women your age, ignoring fresh, vibrant ones like Hyun-ah, because of some age gap?"
"At the very least, I won't let you go, Yukiko."
I'd never really thought about the future. Just live like this until I die someday.
"Hey, back in the day, I'd have said something corny like 'for your happiness, I'll let you go'... but aren't we a bit past that now?"
"Not for my happiness—for Master's."
"No way. I won't accept it. Even if the time comes and you want to leave, I won't let you. If you insist, file for formal divorce. We'll go through mediation. Even if you win, I'll drag it out with appeals."
Even as I spoke, I could feel how unreasonable I sounded.
"I couldn't leave Master even if I wanted to. I'm not your wife—I'm your slave."
"What about the child? You said you'd have one. Would it grow up without a dad?"
"These days, far more kids are born that way. No need to worry. Carrying Master's seed ensures the highest treatment."
With birth rates so low, they might even live more materially comfortable lives than us. But it was hard to imagine such a bright future.
Would people truly value each individual so precious because there were so few?
"If that were true, they'd start cherishing the people we have now..."
Korea wasn't without its impoverished underclass. People were still dying somewhere even now.
"Master needn't grow too attached to future children. I'll raise them well, mold them into women worthy of you someday."
"Please stop with that nonsense."
"If the child takes after my looks, I'm sure Master will adore her."
For a moment, I imagined it from the baby's perspective. Born into the world with no dad, and mom is Yukiko. That cold face teaching me to become one of dad's women, someone whose face I've never even seen...
"For the child's sake alone, I can't let you go."
"Why not?"
I couldn't bring myself to say to Yukiko's face, 'Yeah, you're [disqualified] as a mother.' But no matter how I thought about it, she seemed lacking as a mom.
"Kids need both parents raising them..."
"Among the women Master embraces, some might conceive easily or match your body perfectly."
"Huh?"
"In ten years, you might have kids over twenty. No need for Master to fuss over each one."
"Of course I'd fuss. They're my kids."
Yukiko tilted her head slightly.
"I've never known a proper family, so I'll defer to Master's judgment. But a child shouldn't be valued over Master."
Raising kids into their twenties? My head already hurt thinking about it.
"Besides, children... they're an obstacle during sex."
"Yeah, probably."
"Usually, they hire wet nurses. If not, the pregnant woman steps aside voluntarily—it's etiquette."
I stared blankly at the ceiling, sorting my thoughts. I'd never pondered the future so concretely; it left me flustered.
"Even if I age out, bear a child, and leave, it wouldn't mean eternal farewell from Master."
"..."
"I'd just become 'former slave' Yukiko, running a modest business, living independently. I wouldn't seek another man, and I'd come running anytime Master calls."
"That eases my mind a bit."
I'd blustered about never letting her go, but could I really say that in twenty or thirty years? I didn't trust myself.
"Thinking it over, I don't even qualify as a father."
A dad who can't promise a newborn he'll love only its mother forever.
"Master will surely be the ideal father. You've been the ideal master, friend, lover to us. You'll be the same to your children."
"What if the kid clings with tiny hands, crying, 'Stay with Mommy a little longer!'?"
"You must teach them some realities can't be changed by whining. One man can't devote himself to one woman alone. The child will accept it."
The child would, naturally. All the other kids would be the same, so no bullying for single-parent homes. They might even find the old sight of kids jumping rope-holding between mom and dad hands weird.
"Yeah, they'll accept it."
The more I thought about the future, the more sighs escaped me. A society built by people taking that for granted—how different from the world I knew?
I turned from the ceiling to gaze at Yukiko lying beside me. She was beautiful.
"Still, that's distant future. Aren't you tired? Wanna go one more time?"
"My womb's already full of semen, and one more load won't change the odds much."
Even so, Yukiko sat up and gently fondled my cock.
"But for Master's pleasure, I'll serve anytime."
"Yeah, let's savor the now."
I pulled Yukiko into my arms.