Crossing the Line (53)
"Ooh, it really suits you, just as I thought."
I was pissed off for her sake. The moment Yesuh stepped inside, the inevitable exclamations about her outfit burst out.
"I picked it out myself, thinking of you."
In any other situation, those words might have sounded different. In fact, Yesuh had heard compliments like that often since she was little from the adults around her back then. But right now, it was incomparably more repulsive.
Of course, there was no comparison to be made. Back then, they had treated her like a real daughter and bought her clothes. But these guys? They bought this filthy, whore-like outfit to satisfy their own lust and selfish desires.
'Fuck, even a whore would wear something better than this.'
Tears welled up in her eyes. But she resolved not to cry.
"Come here and pour us a drink."
"A... drink?"
"Yeah, have one yourself too."
"But I'm a minor..."
"Hey now, alcohol from an adult is fine."
She desperately wanted to snap back that these weren't the kind of adults they were talking about, but Yesuh barely suppressed the urge and poured the man a drink as she sat beside him.
She still couldn't understand why she had to go through this. Why was she pouring drinks for these people driven by their filthy desires?
"Here, drink up."
"N-no, I'm fine. I..."
They kept pushing the alcohol on her, maybe thinking it would cloud her judgment. She struggled to keep her expression neutral, but her face twisted anyway.
"Please... stop..."
"Hey, who refuses an adult's offer?"
"If you hate drinking, then just strip right now."
The oldest-looking one slowly walked over and sat beside Yesuh.
"Y-yes...?"
"I said strip. You knew what you were coming here for anyway, so don't play innocent."
"Don't you want to shine? Do you want to get buried and disappear pathetically like that? There are plenty of girl idols out there."
As they sipped their drinks and chatted among themselves, Yesuh's anger boiled over. How could they be so brazen?
"I... I don't like it..."
"What was that?"
The moment she voiced her refusal again, the men's eyes flashed.
"You don't like it? I clearly told you this isn't a position where you get to say no."
The man who had sat next to her roughly grabbed her small face, losing his temper.
"Your face is pretty enough that even forcing a resisting bitch like you wouldn't be bad."
The man who had been scrutinizing her face smirked, his smile dripping with false kindness that made Yesuh want to spit in it.
"The feel of these tits is great."
"Must be that young skin."
Before she knew it, the uncles had surrounded her, groping every inch of her body. She realized it too late.
"Kyaa! Kyaaaaak!"
Her scream and tears erupted together. She had planned to gather more evidence, but she couldn't hold back.
"P-please... spare me...!"
"Shh, shh. We won't kill you, won't kill you."
One hand groped her ass, another her breasts, another tugged at her clothes to strip them off. She even considered biting her tongue to end it all.
Then, suddenly, everything stopped.
And standing before her was the person she had been desperately waiting for.
***
I saw Yesuh enter the Jasmine room after those creepy old fucks filed in one by one.
'Fuck, what the hell is that outfit? No, what's the difference from being fully naked?'
It was like wrapping a naked body in scraps of plastic—everything was on display. Even more revealing than the passing waitstaff. And what was with that stern-looking woman with the slicked-back hair and glasses?
'She's annoying.'
It was a relief there hadn't been any major friction and it ended without them laying hands on the girl. But still, how annoyingly persistent they were. They gave off the vibe of a cartoon orphanage director tormenting the protagonist.
'Fucking hell... no normal humans here.'
Were they deliberately gathering only weirdos? After Yesuh went in, I waited bored for a bit longer.
"Kyaa! Kyaaaaak!"
"P-please, spare me...!"
Her scream echoed out. It was happening now.
Thinking I needed to rescue her quickly before she got traumatized, I invoked my power.
"Time Manipulation."
Time Manipulation has been activated.
Everything that had been moving busily froze in place.
I kicked the door open and went in. Sure enough, the psychos had the kid surrounded, groping her everywhere.
'Fucking crazy bastards. Sigh. Target Designation: Yesuh.'
Target Designation has been activated.
With Yesuh designated as the target, she was freed from the time stop. I reached out and helped her up.
"You okay?"
"Uh... eung... ugh... It was really scary. I was going to wait for more decisive evidence..."
Tears streamed from her wide eyes. It was obvious how terrified she'd been, and it made my heart ache for her. I gently stroked her head.
"You did great. I told you there was no need to go that far."
I'd already informed her about the cameras and recorder I'd set up. Even if she'd screamed the moment she went in, no one could blame her.