Real Doll (24) # Epilogue 3. Real Doll Number 79
"Mr. James! I brought the beer... Huh? Mr. James? Mr. Jaaames?"
The snowball of fate that James had set rolling had reached this woman, Lee Jiyoung, as well.
To calm down the rampaging James, she'd stepped out for a moment—and that had been the trigger. She'd rushed back with the beer, only to find James already gone. The table and chairs were knocked over haphazardly. Including the papers scattered on the floor, it was all James's doing, no doubt.
"Ahh, that bastard. I told him to stay put, and he trashes the place. Where the hell did he go?"
Executive Director Hildebrandt was her direct superior. With the executive office turned into a disaster zone, all the blame would pour down on her. Lee Jiyoung swallowed her deep fury and painstakingly sorted the papers.
Then her eyes suddenly stopped on a confidential document James hadn't taken with him.
Real Doll Plan
"Real Doll... plan? What the hell is this?"
—Its contents contained a shocking truth that directly contradicted common sense.
Lee Jiyoung instinctively glanced around. If she exposed this astonishing truth to the world, what would happen to Blackstars' ironclad reputation? Would everyone rise up in condemnation? Or would it get buried quietly, like all the previous scandals?
"No... but this is about legally modifying desired humans into sex slaves... even for them, this is too much."
The foundation of the Real Doll plan lay in its randomness—no one knew who would be selected as a Real Doll. It was a massive scandal on the level of lottery organizers rigging the winners in advance and selling tickets. It was nothing less than toying with the entire world population.
What do I do with this...? Should I just keep my mouth shut? Does Executive Director Hildebrandt even know about this? I've worked here for 10 years and never heard a whisper. Is it a top secret known only to the upper echelons...?
Lee Jiyoung chewed her nails unconsciously, a nervous tic, as she wandered aimlessly. Her aimless steps halted when her forehead bumped into someone's chest.
Lee Kitak. Her former boss. A burly man with a benevolent, good-natured face—a classic paternal type. Even when subordinates talked back, he'd brush it off with hearty laughter. Lee Jiyoung had trusted and followed him deeply.
"Ow! D-Director."
"Haha. I'm a director now, not just a department head."
"R-Really?"
"But what's this? The ever-composed Lee Jiyoung wandering around? Something troubling you? As your old boss, I can at least hear you out."
"......"
Lee Kitak... Among the upper management, he was one of the more trustworthy ones. If he knew the truth about the Real Doll plan, he'd never condone it. Lee Jiyoung led him to a place where they could talk alone and briefly confessed the horrific truth she'd just uncovered. Though pushed to the sidelines in office politics, Lee Kitak was still an executive. Pulling him to her side would widen her options.
"Hmm. Hmm. So that's what happened. Must've been a shock."
"Director... no, sir. What should we do about this?"
"Do about it?"
It was a question of whether to expose the truth to the public or bury it in darkness. But Lee Kitak's reaction was utterly shocking. Goosebumps crawled over her skin.
"James needs a hitman sent after him. That idiot Executive Director Elise Hildebrandt fucked up, so she'll get 'disposed of'... Heh heh heh. With a top seat opening up, I can look forward to a promotion. Haha! No law saying I can't, right?"
"W-What...? What are you..."
Hitman? Kill? Dispose? What the hell was this man saying?
"I thought Hildebrandt's backing was too solid to overtake... hahaha. Life really is all about that one lucky break. I racked my brains for a way up, and she hands it to me on a platter. Hahaha! Guess I'm executive director now?"
"U-Um... Director Lee Kitak. What on earth are you..."
"Oh? Right. I suppose I need to issue your 'disposal' order myself."
"Pardon?"
Unease flooded her. Her primal survival instincts screamed for her to run. But strangely, her body wouldn't move. Her eyelids felt like lead weights—she couldn't do a thing. Drowsiness crept in.
"Daring to expose Blackstars' secrets? You've got some guts. Listen up, Lee Jiyoung... When a mere peon challenges a massive power, they ruin themselves. Well... too late now."
Thud. As Lee Jiyoung collapsed limply to the floor, a mechanical tentacle withdrew from her rear, mission accomplished. A syringe needle gleamed at its tip. An anesthetic potent enough to fell an elephant had knocked out an employee who'd devoted over a decade to the company. It coiled around her like rope, suspending her in the air.
"Farewell, Lee Jiyoung. You were a cute subordinate... but too naive. The world is far dirtier and uglier than you think."
Lee Kitak waved casually in parting.
Lee Jiyoung awoke in the modification room, having been transported by the mechanical tentacle.
"Mmm... ungh... Huh? W-Where...? This is... the modification room?!"
The workshop where humans were turned into Real Dolls. As a technician, Lee Jiyoung had witnessed countless Real Dolls being modified here. For study, for learning. She'd observed the processes, pondering only how to produce superior Real Dolls. The women's screams during it all? She'd never cared.
"Stop! Stop it! I'm not a Real Doll! I'm a technician at this company! What are you doing? Stop! Stop!!"
The modification process was handled automatically by machines. Someone might be watching from beyond the glass outside, but the magic mirror made it impossible to tell from inside.
"Stop! Help me! Please!"
A slender mechanical tentacle invaded her ear, piercing into her brain. As it discharged electricity, Lee Jiyoung lost consciousness. In the now-silent workshop, the machine successfully transformed one human into a Real Doll.
From now on, that was her name.
This can't be. Me, a Real Doll...? Impossible!
I've produced, repaired, and disposed of countless Real Dolls...
No matter how she denied reality, Lee Jiyoung ended up delivered to the mansion as a sacrificial offering to soothe Kim Hoyoung's mood. And the Real Doll shipped alongside her was none other than Executive Director Elise Hildebrandt.
Even the executive director... damn it!
But Lee Jiyoung's tragedy didn't end there. Thinking more gifts were better, they'd presented two Real Dolls—but Kim Hoyoung's reaction was that he already had plenty of women; did he really need another Real Doll?
"Elise is one thing... but Lee Jiyoung? I don't need her. I've already got Baek Eunha as an onahole, and I'll get Isia back later too. Just toss her out."
What...? Toss her out? What does that...
And so, unwanted even as a Real Doll, Lee Jiyoung was sent to the Waste Warehouse where discarded Real Dolls awaited incineration.
It was hell's waiting room, where Real Dolls stripped even of clothing lingered, uncertain when they'd be thrown into the incinerator, awaiting only death.
"Tsk tsk. Abandoned by the master too? Poor thing. Sigh."
The warehouse worker clicked his tongue, flung Lee Jiyoung inside, and slammed the door shut.
The dark warehouse was filthy and sinister. Lee Jiyoung trembled, staring back at the countless eyes gazing at her.
"Hey... isn't that Lee Jiyoung?"
"Yeah. She's the one who modified me."
"Right... When I broke down, she 'fixed' me and convinced my owner it was cheaper to dispose of me than pay repair fees. That's how I ended up here!!"
"N-No, I..."
Now she recognized them all. Real Dolls she'd tinkered with at least once... Dolls utterly helpless against humans with just a tweak to their circuits, now closing in with faces twisted in hatred. Terrified, Lee Jiyoung fell on her ass.
"Remember... me?"
A recently discarded Real Doll spoke from one eye, tears streaming down. The other eye, scarred by burns, couldn't cry. Lee Jiyoung recognized her. No way. That pitiful, discarded Real Doll was once the Hollywood actress Angelina.
"You kidnapped and modified me, you bitch..."
"No... no. It wasn't kidnapping—I was just retrieving Real Dolls on company orders..."
"Real Doll? I was human! You turned me into this."
"Not because of me... wait, hold on. Just wait a second!"
"Wait for what? My owner fucked me thousands of times, then tried candle wax play, accidentally set my face on fire, and ditched me the moment it got ruined... Haa..."
"A-Angelina, please... it wasn't my choice. I was just following company orders..."
"Fuck that! You ruined our lives! Now we're just waiting to burn in the incinerator!"
No way. She didn't want to believe it. But... she knew better than anyone the fate of Real Dolls abandoned by their owners. She'd seen them incinerated countless times. Back then... she hadn't pitied them.
"Not content with turning us into Real Dolls, now we'll burn like trash—and we'll take that grudge out on you!"
"Everyone! Stomp this bitch!"
"Kill her! Kill her!"
"I'm human, not a Real Doll!!"
Would she turn to ash in the incinerator first? Or die beaten by the Real Dolls first? In her fading consciousness, Lee Jiyoung envied Elise, chosen by Kim Hoyoung—envied her endlessly. Where was that woman now, and what was she doing...?