A New Relationship
Silence settled over the first-floor studio.
I opened the window to dispel the faint perfume scent Cha Su-ah had left behind as she fled like she was being chased.
A cool breeze rushed in, clearing my head.
Just a little while ago, I'd been drunk on the insane amounts of money and this mad app's mind-manipulating powers, deluding myself that I was some omnipotent god.
It was the pathetic inferiority complex inside me—starved for cash—running wild after tasting absolute power.
But that solidified after the 1 billion won consultation earlier.
I had no intention of letting this fucking system play me like a pawn on its chessboard until my mind was completely eroded.
To make money and keep my abilities from being stripped away, I'd gladly don the mask of that deranged underground director in the basement at night.
But in the sunlight of the upper world, I'd live as my original self: Han Siwoo, the ordinary, humane guy who loved art and looked out for people.
That was the only way I'd protect myself in this twisted fantasy.
Kkiiik-.
The heavy iron front door—still without a door lock—creaked open cautiously.
Jeong Su-jeong peeked her head through the gap, her hands weighed down by thick plastic bags.
"Oppa... I'm here."
Instead of her hospital uniform, she wore comfy jeans and a thin cardigan—a plain, unassuming look.
No trace of the whore from last night in the basement, calling me "Master" with tears and snot streaming down her face.
Right now, she was just the familiar little sister I'd known for years, coming back from work with her hands full of food.
I flashed a perfectly natural, relaxed smile and walked to the entrance.
As my footsteps approached, Su-jeong instinctively flinched, her shoulders tensing.
I could see her eyes trembling with unease.
She was probably unconsciously recalling the violent, oppressive side of me she'd seen since starting this whore gig.
A shallow fear that I'd make her kneel the moment she stepped in or grab her by the hair.
But I casually took the bags from her, speaking in the same ordinary manager tone from our part-time days.
"Su-jeong-ah. You came straight after your shift? Must be exhausting, and you got here early."
"...Huh?"
Su-jeong blinked dumbly, letting out a bewildered sound.
Her frightened expression shifted to confusion and surprise.
"Why'd you carry all this heavy stuff alone? You should've texted when you got to the station—I would've come pick you up."
As I peeked into the bags and chided her lightly, a faint blush finally colored her cheeks.
"N-no, it's fine! The station's super close anyway... and it's your first day moving in, oppa. I wanted to treat you, so I got pork feet and bossam sets packed up. Beer too."
Su-jeong trailed off, still watching me carefully.
Once she confirmed I wasn't mad, her face broke into a beaming smile that was honestly pretty cute.
I set the bags on the bar table and gently stroked her hair.
"Thanks. Your legs must ache after running around the hospital all day. Come sit for a bit."
Her shoulders shivered under my touch.
But the emotion she felt now wasn't fear. It was a profound relief that the cruel demon from the basement was gone, replaced by the kind oppa she used to know.
Enchanted, Su-jeong followed me to the leather sofa in the center of the first floor and sank down.
"The house is so big and nice... Once the first-floor interior's done, it'll be gorgeous. This is your studio now, right? You must've worked hard moving stuff all morning."
"Nah, I'm full of energy! The movers handled everything. Want something to drink? Coffee? Water?"
"Ah! Water, please! I'll get it myself!"
"Guests just sit."
I grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge, opened one, and handed it over.
Su-jeong took it with both hands and gulped it down.
I quietly sipped mine while watching her.
Honestly, I was a little amazed inside.
If my mind had been fully corrupted by the app's fucked-up pleasure rush from earlier, the sight of that pale throat working away would've had me unzipping my pants and shoving my cock down it right then.
But strangely, no such impulse arose. All I felt was the perfectly normal, human warmth of watching a thirsty girl who'd carried heavy bags refresh herself.
Ah. So this insane system had been subtly eating away at my mind without me realizing.
The moment I recognized it and drew my line, my original senses returned crystal clear.
"How was work at the hospital? Did the head nurse chew you out again?"
At my casual question, Su-jeong's eyes widened round.
A perfectly ordinary conversation, genuinely interested in her tough daily life.
She seemed completely thrown by the gap.
"No... It was too busy today for her to scold me. But oppa..."
Su-jeong fidgeted with the water bottle in her hands, her voice dropping to a hesitant whisper.
"You were... kinda rough yesterday... My legs were still shaky heading to work this morning..."
Her cheeks flushed as she stole a glance at me.
Testing the waters: Would I treat her like a whore here in my new place too, or like the close little sister and woman she used to be?
I let out a light sigh and scooted right up next to her.
"I was a total beast yesterday, huh."
She flinched at my frank admission, her body stiffening.
I reached out, cupping her cheek, and gently rubbed her lips with my thumb—so tenderly.
"Sorry. Things got out of hand with work, and I lost control without realizing. Did it hurt a lot?"
"Ah... hnng..."
A short tremor escaped her lips at my sincere apology and soft whisper.
She carefully overlaid her hands on mine, pressing her face into my palm and shaking her head faintly.
"No... It's just, after that, you kept treating me like trash even normally..."
Tears welled up in her big eyes.
"I thought the kind manager oppa I knew—the one I trusted—was gone forever... That scared me so much..."
Her voice cracked with pent-up grievance and relief bursting out at once.
I swallowed a quiet bitterness inside and wrapped my arms around her shaking shoulders, pulling her into my chest.
Even if the app's system tried to turn me into a demon, I'd handle my people my way and control my life.
I'd wear that filthy mask for money and survival, but at least in this bright living room, I'd remain the real Han Siwoo she could lean on and rest against.
I gently patted the back of the sobbing Su-jeong in my arms.
Soon, she pulled away, face red with embarrassment.
"S-sorry... I got all mopey by myself."
"Cry more if you want. Let's eat first, though. You must be hungry."
I tore open the bossam and pork feet packages she'd brought, setting them on the tea table.
We sat side by side for the first time in ages, sharing a meal and slipping naturally into our old small talk.
As I listened intently to her stories and laughed genuinely, the last traces of tension melted from her face like snow.
Perfect peace filled the vast, empty first-floor studio.
But about halfway through the meal...
Su-jeong, munching away, quietly set down her chopsticks and glanced at me cautiously before speaking up.
"Um... oppa."
"Yeah? Not tasty?"
"No, it's not that..."
She fiddled with the condensation on her beer can, hesitating for a long moment. She seemed to have steeling herself for something.
"So, oppa... Are we... not doing that anymore?"
It didn't take long to grasp her meaning.
That—the hardcore directing streams in the basement at night, cameras rolling as we fucked like animals to rake in cash.
I set down my chopsticks and wiped my mouth.
Then I met her eyes with a dead-serious gaze.
"Su-jeong-ah. Let me be straight with you."
"......"
"I need money, and you... well, it started as fun sex with me, but either way, we made bank. Realistically, in just a few days, the only gig pulling that kind of cash is those streams."
Su-jeong swallowed hard and nodded.
She'd felt that insane money in her account after our broadcasts—sums she'd never dreamed of touching.
"But back then, I think I lost my mind to the greed. Treated you girls like tools instead of people. I don't want to keep hurting you like that, making you cry like just now, forcing it."
Her eyes trembled faintly at my confession.
"So, be honest—follow your heart. No pressure. If you hate it, we end it here. Do you... want to keep doing the streams?"
I handed the choice entirely to her.
Su-jeong bit her lip, lost in thought.
We'd already made a fortune—over 2 billion combined.
She could go back to being a regular nurse starting today, no issues. Her dad's hospital bills were covered too.
But she'd tasted it now: hundreds of millions hitting her account overnight, this 100-pyeong luxury mansion, and the depraved thrill of panting like beasts in ecstasy down in the basement.
Above all, the man before her wasn't some disposable trash anymore—he was still the caring oppa who cherished her.
"I'll... do it."
Su-jeong finally lifted her head with resolute eyes.
"I want to make money. And keep being with you like this, oppa."
The answer I'd expected.
I smiled faintly inside but kept a heavy expression on the outside.
"Thanks. Hearing you say that means a lot. So our sex-for-cash business will keep going."
"Yes...!"
"But one condition we need to make crystal clear."
I leaned forward slightly, and she swallowed dryly in tension.
"Like I said earlier, normally, I'm the kind oppa you know—Han Siwoo. But when I turn on the camera, start directing, and we go into shooting... I'll be that scary, sadistic guy you saw in the basement. No avoiding it."
Her shoulders twitched.
"The VVIPs on the other side crave that insane stimulation. To make money, I have to play the heartless pimp to the hilt—no blood, no tears. Sometimes rougher and more humiliating than yesterday."
I reached out again, softly cupping her cheek.
"That's thorough acting for the camera—pure business. Can you fully understand and handle that?"
Su-jeong closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of my palm.
This hand that stroked her so endlessly tenderly in daily life.
Even if it yanked her hair and slapped her cheeks during sex, once she internalized it as acting for profit, that violence lost its terror.
It became our private, twisted role-play instead.
"Yes... I can handle it."
Her eyes opened, gleaming with a strange heat and allure.
"In front of the camera... I'll do whatever you say, oppa. Even if you treat me like trash, I'll get it. That's the art you always talked about... our art, right?"
Perfect.
The underground art theory.
As she said, wasn't I lucky enough to do upper-world art by day and underworld art by night?
Thus, the perfect business partnership was born: this female and me, the male, in total subordination.
"Thanks, Su-jeong-ah. Looking forward to it."
I grinned and raised my beer can from the table.
She beamed back, clinking hers against it.
Clink-.
The crisp sound marked our double life truly setting sail.
If only Ji-hye and Ji-hee would submit to the same dynamic with me, it'd be perfect.