09. 3,827th Class Enrollment
09. 3,827th Class Enrollment
Just a few days ago, Sihwan had pissed off Jihye something fierce.
Bari had been stuck right by his side back then too, so if she'd paid even a lick of attention to her surroundings, she'd remember.
Plus, wasn't it Bari who'd stabbed her right before the kidnapping?
But Jihye tilted her head.
For starters, when she'd faced off with Sihwan at Yu Ina's house, she hadn't given Bari a second glance, and in that earlier situation, it was too dark to even make out a silhouette properly.
In the end, she had zero clue who Bari was or why she was pulling this shit.
"That's too bad. Next life, try looking around a bit more before you live it."
"What the hell does that... Just untie this first."
—H-Hey, untie Mom! I'm right here!!
"I always figured you were endlessly dumb and pathetic, but hey, looks like you've got some filial piety after all. You know what they say, though? Cherish them while you've got 'em. Late-blooming filial piety in a mess like this? It's utterly meaningless."
She flashed a bright smile.
Anyone seeing her for the first time might call it a friendly grin, but Seong-hyeon, who knew what she really was, felt his legs go weak just from that expression.
"Alright, lemme lay out the plan real simple. First, we'll dissect Jin Ji-hye here down to the last bit, run a DNA sim based on that, and whip up a clone. Then we'll fake it like the clone offed itself around the 5th floor or whatever. Oh, and with that 'mother who lost her son' vibe? Everyone'll buy the 'suicide' story easy-peasy, right?"
"......What the hell are you talking about."
"Once we've handled your identity like that, we'll get into the real experiments. We're already culturing Seong-hyeon's heart to produce Nobling, but male stuff's kinda weak—low concentration, shitty interference power. You're female, though, so you'll make top-shelf material. Right?"
Jihye was still totally clueless.
She'd clocked that Bari was up to something weird with her.
But even hearing the explanation, she couldn't grasp exactly what.
Clones? DNA? Was she gonna make a doppelganger or some shit?
"Oh! Super important too—you've got a weird personality, but your looks are killer pretty, so you'll get offered up to Master that way too. Don't worry, though, we won't sell you off to a whorehouse or make you breed with your son or anything lame like that. Maybe stick clones together? Hmm. Actually, that's a solid idea. Gotta pitch it to Master."
Bari, spouting pure nightmare fuel with an innocent face, grabbed a long jungle blade from one corner.
Jungle blade my ass—it was monstrously huge with a razor edge that could pass for a proper weapon.
"This baby's custom-made from intel I got dissecting your boy hundreds of times. It'll shred Noblesse flesh like paper without injecting Mana or Nobling. Impressive, huh? I named this metal 'Novril.' When it touches you Noblesse, every atom vibrates like crazy, slicing through that tough skin—serreg-serreg!"
Bari was super sweet about it.
She proved it right on the spot while explaining.
Puuk!
"Aaaahhh!!!"
Of course, her methods were a tad brutal.
"Lemme see~. Wonder if female organs are any different?"
.
.
Next morning.
An hour early—around 6 AM, before Sihwan's usual wake-up—Bari finished dissecting Jihye.
As a top-tier AI, she could've just scanned for a rough layout if she wanted, but Jihye had crossed the line insulting Bari's master, Sihwan.
Bari wasn't the type to half-ass scan a rotten bitch like that and call it a day.
Ssaek... ssaek...
Only weak, raspy breaths echoed in the place.
Seong-hyeon, who'd watched his mom get carved up while screaming and thrashing nonstop, had gone silent ages ago after repeated stabs and torture.
He wasn't dead, but waking up again? That'd take a while.
Jihye herself—the main event—had her mind shattered by Bari slicing every organ and nerve from head to toe, corner to corner.
Wounds that'd kill anyone normally, but Bari's med skills pushed into 'regeneration' territory, so she couldn't die.
Had to endure every agony wide awake from start to finish—mental collapse was inevitable.
Seong-hyeon had walked the same path.
Not even a full day—two hours in, his psyche crumbled beyond recognition, and what Bari rebuilt was the current Seong-hyeon.
"Hmm. Keeping Seong-hyeon's personality intact is for Master's NTL Pleasure... but do we really need to bother with Jihye? A Noblesse slave loyal to the bone for Master sounds way better."
If she wanted, she could brainwash with hyper-detailed new memories implanted.
Like, born a Sex Slave solely for Sihwan, forever duty-bound to serve him.
And to Bari, that option was way more appealing.
Of course, she'd check with Sihwan first.
"But first time's probably better with her original personality intact, right?"
"......"
.
.
"It's hard enough just doing it—why bother pinning down a fighter? How 'bout we make her see her kid worshiping me as master and serving willingly instead?"
Before heading to school, he asked Sihwan, who was deep in 'tribute' mode.
That dizzying conquest rush when a woman offers herself up.
Just thinking about it made his junk tingle.
"From that punk's view, watching mom get raped by force has gotta hurt less than seeing her volunteer as a slave and serve, yeah?"
"Probably."
"And we've got personalities backed up anyway."
"Of course. Server's still shaky, but I've got both Seong-hyeon and Jihye stashed on the temp one."
"Cool. Pull 'em out whenever later. For now, just brainwash her."
"I'll handle it after school then."
"Nah, do the brainwashing today. Have her ready for tribute when I get back."
Sihwan stopped Bari from tagging along.
"Huh? It's risky without me."
"I'll be inside the Academy."
"You said that last time and almost got rocked by a slave."
"That was when I was truly alone. Now Eun-hye's always glued to me. Girl's ready to follow me into the damn bathroom stall."
"Hmm."
"And inside the Academy, I've got my wife and Yeonseo too. Zero danger."
"......Yeonseo might be risky."
"Why?"
"......Well, a woman with pride that strong getting reamed like that from behind... bound to leave some resentment, right?"
"She's fine. She likes me."
"......"
She wanted to say more, but it felt pointless, so she dropped it.
"Alright, stay strictly inside the Academy, head straight back after training, no Slums or anything. And when meeting Rihana, always bring Eun-hye."
"She won't leave even if I tell her to. Don't worry."
With that, Bari saw Sihwan off.
.
.
Back in the lab, Bari dove straight into brainwashing.
First, she wiped every memory of being Jin Ji-hye from this body. She wouldn't even recognize herself as Jin Ji-hye, let alone act any different seeing her son Jin Seong-hyeon right in front of her—like a total stranger.
Hell, even if he was dying, zero fucks given. Wouldn't even clock him as her kid.
On top, she imprinted absolute loyalty to Sihwan.
Not just 'die if he says so'—she'd obey torture-commands without flinching, like 'saw off your own arm,' loyalty overriding everything.
And simultaneously, planted sexual disgust.
Bari's little twist for fun: absolute loyalty forces sexual tribute to Sihwan, but she personally loathes the sex acts, feeling utter horror.
Bonus: slapped on full-blown misandry.
So she'd obey Sihwan as her absolute master, but hate him deep down as a man, double the loathing during sex, pure agony.
Some other dude in front of her?
She'd probably puke disgust and rip him to shreds verbally.
"Hehe. Once brainwashing's done, she'll make a fine assistant. Hand her Seong-hyeon's care and see what drama unfolds."
Bari cackled evilly, meticulously tweaking Jihye's brain.
+++
"Report."
"......"
Sihwan, heading to school with just Eun-hye and two other guards sans Bari, planted himself in front of Rihana the second he entered the classroom.
She'd clearly agonized a ton lately—rocking unsightly dark circles totally not her style, face twisted like she'd shank you for breathing wrong.
"Report."
Sihwan didn't flinch at all, just prodded her on.
"Told you to wrangle the Slums kids proper? Said I'd get the report today."
In the weirdly tense classroom vibe, Rihana slowly lifted her head.
A gloomy, dangerous expression.
Eun-hye wedged herself between Sihwan and her.