Welcome Home?
The feeling of greeting Hyun-ah right after she'd finished her classes was utterly unfamiliar. The sight of a girl in her school uniform coming through the entrance into the house wasn't something I was used to at all.
Hyun-ah walked up to me with an awkward expression on her face.
"Thank you."
"A bit thrown off, huh?"
I'd sent her a text beforehand, but even I knew it had been a pretty abrupt approach.
"Thank you..."
Hyun-ah bowed her head in greeting. I let out a sigh of relief, brushing a hand over my chest.
"Make yourself at home—like it's your own place. Any empty room is fair game."
Hyun-ah hesitated before opening a nearby door.
"I was so startled... I came back from the academy, the house was empty, and there was just this text telling me to come here..."
"Sorry about that. Hungry? Anything you want to eat?"
"Oh, no. I don't usually eat dinner anyway."
Hyun-ah paused for a moment, then bowed her head deeply.
"Really... really thank you so much..."
Her voice was thick with emotion, right on the edge of tears.
/////
Both Hee-ah and Hyun-ah were adorable. Just watching them filled me with happiness, but I didn't want to pester them. Right now, they both seemed wound up tight with tension—if I pushed too soon, it might backfire.
I flopped face-down on the bed in a daze.
A knock came at the door.
After all this time with the slaves, I could tell who it was just from the sound. Yukiko's knock was precise and rhythmic, straight out of a textbook. Mikoto's was soft and came from noticeably lower down. Karin's was quick and forceful.
"Yukiko? Come on in!"
"Pardon the intrusion..."
But it was Hyun-ah who opened the door. The t-shirt she wore was faded but clean, well-cared-for.
"Oh—sit, sit!"
I patted the bed, and Hyun-ah sat down beside me after a moment's hesitation. It was a subtle distance between us.
I knew she was tense, but I had no idea what to do about it. Encourage her? Take her hand? Just wait it out? Grab her shoulder?
There were too many things I hadn't decided on—didn't want to decide on.
"M-Master..."
"Ah, not master yet, so feel free to call me whatever's comfortable."
"Then... what should I call you?"
"Just 'Uncle' is fine."
"That's..."
She seemed to balk at the idea.
"It's okay. Just 'Uncle.' And say whatever else is on your mind? Bed comfortable? Anything inconvenient?"
"Everything's perfect. Thank you so much."
She bowed her head again, but she didn't look relaxed.
"Thank you for curing my mom... for letting me and my sister live here. I haven't even proven my value yet..."
"You don't need to prove anything."
"But... you trusted me and paid for the treatment upfront, right?"
I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth right to her face. Admitting I hadn't expected much from her efforts wouldn't land well.
"Don't worry about that."
Hyun-ah shifted her hips slightly, leaning against me.
"If I stop worrying about it... then I wouldn't have to do anything at all, would I?"
Her hair brushed against me.
"What do you plan to do from here on out?"
"Hmm... I like you, Uncle, so I'll do my best to make you happy. Should I get my eyes fixed a bit, like Yukiko unnie?"
"Hey, plastic surgery right off the bat is a bit..."
"Don't like plastic beauties? I think getting prettier—surgery or whatever—is great, but if you hate it, I'll hold back."
"It's not that I hate it. You're already pretty—no need to waste time and money."
Money came up, and her shoulders slumped again.
"Yeah... I've been eating nothing but ramen and rice for days now with no living expenses. I wish I could've kept the part-time gig at the gukbap place at least."
Gukbap joint. I'd eaten there a lot back in the day, but not anymore. Before Yukiko arrived, I'd had money to burn and delivery was easier than walking. After she came, I ate her cooking unless something came up.
"Was the job fun?"
"Pfft, what job's fun? The boss lady was nice, plenty of kind customers, but work's always tough. If it's easy, it ain't work..."
Balancing school and a part-time job couldn't be easy.
"How's slave academy? Tough?"
Honestly, I hoped she'd give up. Just beg me to make her a slave outright.
"It's hard. The lessons aren't tough, but every time I see the people around me... it hurts my heart."
Hyun-ah glanced up at me.
"Why am I so lucky?"
"Lucky? Your mom's illness was bad luck."
"But my country didn't fall. My friend introduced me to you."
Her eyes trembled weakly, like they might flutter shut any second.
"Just that makes me the luckiest out of the thirty girls in my class."
Hyun-ah inched closer. Her soft hand stroked my leg.
"I can tell from your eyes. When you look at Karin unnie or Yukiko unnie... you get that happy, horny smile. Like you're imagining them naked."
"No, it's not like that..."
"But when you look at me, you don't. You think I'm cute, sure... but it's just pity. My body's worthless, right?"
Her pure, voluptuous figure—blended seamlessly with her uniform—did get me excited. But seeing her now, half sad and half teasing as she cornered me, it was hard to picture taking her.
"Convenient—we're already on the bed. Just rape me now. A girl who's lost her virginity has no value, so if you take me, I can't be sold to anyone else. I'd be your slave only."
White tee, black shorts. Nothing special, but my heart kept pounding. Come to think of it, this was the first time seeing her out of uniform. Her clothes felt endlessly private—not for meeting someone, but the kind you'd glimpse if you followed a classmate home and peeked through a cracked door.
While I froze, mesmerized by her temptation, she turned away again.
"Hmm, not yet, huh. Guess I'm not your type after all..."
"No. That was dangerously close just now. Push a little harder, and I might not hold back—I'd pounce for real."
"Thank you for the encouragement."
Hyun-ah was smiling brightly now.
"Hah, but you don't have to force yourself to like me! I think you should always be honest with your feelings!"
"I already like you."
If wanting to keep her in sight longer, to have her beside me even a moment more counted as liking her, then I already did.
"So no need to push yourself. You're pretty right now, and..."
"I like you, Uncle."
She cut me off gently. Her expression was so bold, I couldn't say a word.
"That's why my heart races every time we meet—it pounds like crazy. But when you look at me... you seem anxious about something..."
"What, the police?"
"Not that!"
Dating her would definitely mean watching out for cops every time. I'd have to remind her to bring ID.
"I want to be someone who makes you happy. Not just dead weight..."
"I've never once thought of you that way."
"Have I made you as happy as the money you've spent on me?"
"Of course. You have so far—and you will going forward."
She looked like she hadn't expected such certainty from me.
"I'll do my best. I'll make it so you pounce on me with just a glance!"
I nodded with a laugh.
An awkward silence fell, then the door opened.
"Huh, already Hyun-ah's turn? I got fucked the first day I showed up too, though..."
Karin sauntered in wearing a sheer cloak that left nothing to the imagination and a bikini that barely covered the essentials.
"Uh... uh..."
Hyun-ah froze, speechless in shock.
I patted her shoulder casually.
"Sorry. Time flies. Anything else you wanna talk about?"
"N-No... Have fun!"
Face beet red, Hyun-ah bolted from the room.
Karin shrugged, shut the door, and headed for my bed.
"Man, Yukiko's holed up in her room today, Mikoto's asleep... Thought it was my chance, so I rushed over. Didn't know there was a guest."
"It's not like that..."
If I gave her a chance to talk, she'd seize control—so I grabbed one arm, yanked her onto the bed, and pinned her limbs down.
"Ow ow... No mercy, huh."
It was a bit rough, but this was more Karin's taste than mine. She wore her desires on her sleeve, so it was obvious what got her going.
"Punishment. Kids around, and you open the door in that outfit..."
"Punish... yes, punish me..."
Excitement crept into Karin's eyes. Before long, her room-filling moans of pleasure echoed through the air.