A Stroke of Luck - 1
"There are no special conditions."
That wasn't what Hyun-ah wanted to hear. But even if specific conditions were laid out, she had no confidence she could meet them.
"As long as there's sufficient bond and mutual affection, that should be enough."
It was as untrustworthy as a company's claim that they'd hire you just for your passion and diligent attitude toward work.
"Is that really all it takes?"
"Yes."
Yukiko's cold eyes sent a chill down her spine. Hyun-ah thought that if she were a man, she wouldn't want to sleep with a woman this icy.
But Yukiko was the one closest to Seongha right now.
"As long as you can settle into an ordinary place by his side, that will suffice."
"Why... is it so easy?"
Ever since visiting the slave market, Hyun-ah had learned to judge her own value coldly. She was pretty enough in her class, but compared to prospective slaves, she was just average.
If Seongha were the type to have such low barriers, every woman would have confessed and snagged a girlfriend spot by now.
"If it were really that simple, he'd have way more lovers... Does that mean I should have forced my way in as a slave after all?"
"I heard that Master took me and the other slaves in purely for pension reasons."
Hyun-ah's expression darkened.
"It may seem simple, but it's not an easy issue."
"No, if you can't even manage that, you shouldn't be dating in the first place!"
Hyun-ah's words rang true, but Yukiko shook her head slightly.
"That's correct... but that's precisely what makes it difficult."
Yukiko continued in her flat, emotionless voice.
"Suppose you happened to learn of Master by chance and decided to seduce him. How would you go about it?"
"Like I said earlier—meet up casually, talk, build a bond..."
"Where would you meet?"
"Ah."
Only then did Hyun-ah realize why no one had managed that simple feat.
"Men like Master don't have jobs..."
Men didn't need to work for a salary. But they managed their own businesses, took women out for fun, formed hobby clubs, and more—there was always plenty to do. Even the laziest would play golf, dine with others for social life, haunt slave markets to meet women, or just wander the streets.
"I... I can't even begin to figure it out..."
Saying bonds and love were needed meant that even the most stunning beauty couldn't just walk up and say, "Let's fuck," to achieve her goal. It was conservative thinking in this era, but still commonplace. The problem was there was no way to even get entangled with him.
"K-Karin unnie said that the moment she got here, he hugged her roughly..."
"That was just me being pushy."
"Huh?"
"There was a brief incident with Mikoto... Once a woman has been taken by a man even once, she can't afford stray thoughts."
Seongha hadn't said it outright, but Yukiko assumed he agreed with her approach.
"Karin had no resistance to being held by Master, and she'd at least met him once before becoming a slave, so it worked."
Hyun-ah bit her lip at Yukiko's warning not to get her hopes up.
"W-What should I do?"
She knew he did something on the computer, but not what. Bonds, understanding, love—you had to meet first, see his face, to even start talking. Hyun-ah hadn't even reached square one.
"W-We met once when there were three of us... He goes shopping sometimes, right? Should I wait at that department store?"
"That was right after I arrived and needed to buy things. Since then, he's gone out personally to shop fewer than ten times."
"This is bad..."
Hyun-ah slumped, hanging her head.
"So, the only option is to 'happen' to run into him. Even better if it's a place he's 'just stopping by' for fun."
Hyun-ah's head snapped up in surprise at Yukiko's words.
"Y-You're willing to go that far?!"
"There's no reason not to. For Master's happiness and pleasure, I will do my utmost."
"Th-Thank you!"
Hyun-ah bounced with joy.
"Then, uh, when should we..."
"You set the time. I'll adjust accordingly, but I'll try to match your schedule as much as possible."
"Thank you! Really, thank you!"
Hyun-ah bowed repeatedly.
The lover-slave dynamic was special. Usually, the higher-status woman was the girlfriend, but the one closest to the man was the slave. A slave's instability—losing everything in an instant without the man's love—was one of her charms to him.
Being able to date him without clashing with the slaves was tremendous luck for Hyun-ah.
/////
A fist grazed past my eye.
Even a light punch from a trained fighter was too fast to follow with the naked eye.
"Not bad, huh?"
Dodging wasn't a concept I was used to. Before the physical enhancement procedure, I couldn't dodge bullets; after, I didn't need to.
Karin's fists came in a flurry of combos.
The rules... were blocks above the elbow a pass? Her punches thudded into my arms without impact.
Karin kept up the barrage without a hint of panic.
"No matter how I think about it... you're strong! The damage isn't stacking!"
The longer it went, the more anxious her expression grew.
Another combo flew in. Some punches twisted at the wrist in amusing arcs, but I could react.
"You're getting tired."
"Not... yet! Hya!"
At that moment, the alarm blared noisily.
"Eut!"
Karin tried to create distance, but I stomped hard and leaped forward, tackling her into a roll.
"Huuuugh!"
She twisted wildly to break free, but the strength gap was too vast for that.
I pinned both her wrists together with one hand and gazed down at her face.
"Think... you're gonna lose?"
"This time, I feel like I'm gonna win."
I grinned.
Karin loved playful physicality and had a fierce competitive streak. But I was too strong for fair play, and Yukiko and Mikoto too weak. This subtle ruleset—pseudo-boxing—was the compromise that let us enjoy it together.
Five minutes on the clock, during which I couldn't attack. I could only raise my arms to block while she attacked unilaterally. A clean hit to my head or midsection meant defeat.
The first tries, I wasn't used to evasion and ate some unexpected punches. We even had to record on my phone because I couldn't confirm hits afterward.
But once accustomed, my overwhelming physique let me block everything.
"Hut, damn, hiit, all you've got is raw, strength..."
Her body heated up gradually. Like a beast thrashing in a net, her strength ebbed away.
In a normal game, it would've ended with me unscathed at time-up. But Karin's masochism was twisted, and I couldn't swear I'd resist her body every time.
I swear, the "second round" was her idea, not mine.
"Where're you... hikut! Stop touching! Hands are still..."
I slipped one hand into her sports pants. Scorching heat met my palm.
"Told you—the conditions are too easy."
Time-up didn't just mean my win; it granted me attack rights and the power to restrain her. She could escape my grip with full effort and endure without climaxing for the set time to earn a rematch.
"Not even half a finger in, and you're soaked."
"Ah... nya!"
Karin kicked at me with her legs and twisted to free her wrists, but no dice.
"You come way too easily."
"N-No I don't! Who's the quick-shot here?! Hah!"
She slammed her heel into my thigh as hard as she could—no pain. Instead, her movement oddly stimulated her inner walls with my fingers.
"Ughut..."
"Wasted effort."
I leaned down and ravaged her mouth roughly. Her body was firm where it should be, but soft where it counted—lips, breasts, the walls I fingered. Even a warrior like her was a woman, after all.
"Ha-ut, uh, uh..."
I withdrew my hand from her crotch, sliding it slowly into her sports bra.
"Stop, stop it!"
"I could just wiggle my fingers and win, but that's too easy, right?"
I smirked and peeled off the bra. She seized the moment to slip free but ended up on her stomach, back to me—no real change.
"Now, shall we get started..."
It was something I'd waved off when Karin first suggested the second round, but now I enjoyed it too. I swallowed hard at the sight of her back.
Time to savor victory.