Min-ah's Sick...?
With the tents finally up, we sat down to a simple lunch and managed to get through the introductions with Master's party.
"So you're saying you're Yu-na — the one from that famous idol group that's been blowing up lately?"
"Yes! Yu-na feels a little weird, though, so please just call me by my real name — Da-hye!"
I'd figured walking around with pink hair wasn't just some random fashion choice... so that was who she was. Then again, looking at her properly, she had more than enough commercial appeal. Pale skin, a generous chest — she had her selling points.
But how the hell had he managed to reel in an idol this young? Just to be sure, I asked her age. Twenty this year.
A little late for a debut.
Maybe that had something to do with it.
Anyway, watching Ring-ring's reactions closely, it wasn't hard to figure out that Da-hye was Master's latest prey. Da-hye smiled and held out a green grape to him. He took it with his fingers, smiling right back, and popped it into his mouth. Ring-ring watched the whole exchange with a look that said she really, truly could not stand it.
There wasn't any dramatic shift in her expression, so Jae-min and Min-ah didn't pick up on anything off — but she couldn't fool my eyes. A fire was burning in that woman.
You've got to hand it to him...
I'd been watching him do this since way back, but the fact that he hadn't changed one bit was genuinely impressive. That aside — if I tamed the fox, would she turn that docile too? I was a little curious. No. A lot.
Anyway. Once the meal was over, Jae-min started cleaning up and asked Master a question.
"Will you be joining us for some fishing, sir?"
Master gave a mild shake of his head.
"No, I'm fine. I just came out for some fresh air."
More precisely, he'd come out for some fresh air and to break in his latest catch. He might even come to me tonight with a request.
And that prediction of mine landed dead on the mark.
Darkness settled over the mountains and the water, and everywhere the flashlight beams couldn't reach was swallowed in pitch black. After dinner, Ring-ring suddenly came over to me. She confirmed I was alone, then approached as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Seo-hoo. I have a message for you."
"I'm listening."
That same cool, unchanging face looked at me, just as it always did. A woman who hid her feelings the way she always had. But to my eyes — well-versed as they were in the psychology and body language of women — it was obvious. She'd been radiating irritation all day, and now she seemed a little looser...
Why the better mood?
That question of mine was answered immediately.
"Master asked me to tell you he'd like your help."
So that's how it was. I'd had a feeling. There was no one else out here but our two groups, after all. That's why her mood had improved.
What Master meant by "help" was simple. That pink-haired girl from earlier — Da-hye, was it? He wanted me to fuck her.
I really, truly cannot understand this part of him.
After meeting Master, I'd learned the lifestyle of taking other men's women — but that didn't mean I'd absorbed everything about him. This was one of those things. I fucked the women I took, enjoyed them to my heart's content, and discarded them. Master was different. He took it one step further and passed them on to someone else.
I'd learned every other technique, every trick, every approach — but I simply couldn't do that one, so I discarded it without hesitation. Master had been terribly disappointed, but what could you do? His life was his. Mine was mine.
The trade-off was a nickname I heard often enough. A half-baked Casanova. But I hated the word "Casanova" itself, so I actually welcomed it.
Ring-ring waited quietly for my answer. She wasn't leaving without one. She knew, too — that this was the reason I resented Master. Not that I ever turned down a woman who came to me... but I wasn't about to just say yes. Conveniently enough, I wanted this woman's body more.
"Well... if you helped me out, Ring-ring, I might feel a little more motivated."
Ring-ring's face crumpled, just a fraction. She'd probably just unleashed a torrent of curses at me on the inside. And she'd still take the deal. The image of her gasping, impaled on my cock, flashed through my mind. Heh. My dick swelled with a sudden, heavy pulse.
Ring-ring nodded. Very slowly. Reluctantly.
"...Very well. I'll come get you later."
"And the service?"
"I'll come about thirty minutes early, then."
Meaning she'd come early and take care of me first. But come on. Only thirty minutes?
"That seems a little short..."
She let out a light sigh, as if conceding defeat.
"I'll try to make time for another round afterward as well."
"Okay. See you later, then, Miss Ring-ring."
Instead of answering, she spun on her heel and headed back to her tent. She'd completed the task her master had given her, but she was in a foul mood about it. Still, a woman like her wouldn't go back on her word, so it didn't matter. Elites weren't elites for nothing. She was the type who did everything in her power to keep her word — a woman built entirely of pride and self-respect. She would never do anything cheap.
Well then. Maybe I'll catch up with Jae-min for a change.
Originally I'd planned to spend the gaps in the day conditioning Min-ah, but the appearance of that celebrity kid had made that difficult. On the other hand, I was going to get a taste of Ring-ring, so it wasn't a bad situation. Besides, Min-ah was already completely gone on me. Unless I did something truly pathetic, her affection wasn't going to drop. Even if I let her loose like this, she'd spend at least two months pining over me. Leaving her alone for a day wouldn't be a problem at all.
I headed over to where Jae-min was. He was packing up the fishing gear. I glanced at the plastic bag sitting next to him — four bottles of soju inside.
Planning on a drink, huh.
I understood. Coming here would make him think of her. Min-ah's mother. My old childhood friend, long dead and gone.
When I walked over, he gathered up the gear and jerked his chin for me to follow. Then he lifted the dark bag just enough for me to see and asked,
"This okay?"
"Works for me."
I glanced over at Min-ah — she was frantically busy. Which meant it was just the two of us. We crunched our way about fifty meters from the campsite and found a spot. He started threading bait onto his hook. I just whipped my line out with nothing on it at all, and he looked at me, puzzled.
"Did you just cast without bait?"
"Yep. We didn't actually come here to fish, did we?"
Jae-min scratched his cheek, looking a little sheepish, then tossed his own line roughly into the middle of the water. Bait wouldn't have hurt, technically — but unlike daytime fishing, at night you usually get a bite within thirty seconds of casting. We'd come here to talk, not to fish, so there was no point creating extra work.
He set the lantern down between us and started cracking open the soju. He poured into paper cups, and we drained them without a word.
"Hoo. Lately I just... I don't know why I miss Ji-yeon so damn much..."
Fair enough. His daughter was her spitting image. He probably thought of her every time he looked at the girl. The same way I did.
With Min-ah not around, Jae-min took the opportunity to pour out his complaints without end. The more he drank, the more he repeated himself — the same stories, over and over. It was a little tedious, but I knew what was in his heart, so I just sat and listened.
Three bottles of soju vanished like that. Wait — I'd only had two and a half cups, and already...? Anyway, as I sat listening to him vent, a thought occurred to me, and I asked quietly,
"Alright, enough about you. Tell me about Min-ah. Seeing her this time... she seems like she's changed a bit?"
And in that instant, Jae-min's body flinched.
What... was that? He was drunk, sure, but that just now...?
He suddenly went quiet. He just sat there, pouring soju into his empty cup and drinking. He did that three times. Had something happened while I was gone? Curiosity flooded in, but I waited in silence for him to pull himself together.
It wasn't until he was about to finish off the last of the soju that he finally, slowly, started to speak.
"About Min-ah."
"What about her?"
Why the long buildup? But the moment I heard what came next, my mind locked up.
"Min-ah... she's sick. We went to the hospital, and they said she has a condition..."
"A condition? What kind of condition?!"
She hadn't looked sick at all. Something you couldn't see, then? I pressed him with my eyes, and Jae-min forced the words out, his head hanging low.
A psychiatric condition... I supposed I should be grateful it wasn't something physical. A small measure of relief settled in my chest. She was my prey, yes — but she was also my childhood friend's daughter. A woman who wore the face of my first love. What I felt for Min-ah right now had long since gone past simple hunting. It was complicated. Ambiguous. A mess.
Anyway, Jae-min knocked back another cup of soju and began to explain his daughter's condition, carefully, piece by piece.
"They think her mother's death was probably the cause. The shock hit her hard, apparently. After that... she has trouble empathizing with other people. Or rather — she just... doesn't."
"What do you mean?"
"She can recognize other people's actions and intentions. She just... only thinks about herself."
That couldn't be right.
"The way she treats me, the way she treats other people — she looks after everyone, she's considerate. I haven't seen any problem."
Jae-min gave a bitter smile. Then he shook his head.
"She does it because she knows she's supposed to. It doesn't come from the heart. She's just performing what she knows intellectually."
"...I understand what you mean. But so what? Every human being is like that, just to different degrees. Thinking only of yourself is normal."
That was the truth. People only ever think of themselves. It just looks like they don't, because that instinct gets diluted most with family. Human beings are, at their core, selfish creatures who know only themselves.
"The way I see it, Min-ah's fine. There's nothing wrong with her."
"Heh. You really are something else..."
Jae-min laughed quietly. Then he stood up. Had that lightened his mood? He looked considerably lighter than when he'd been hanging his head. I added one more thing, telling him not to worry.
"Min-ah isn't sick. That level of selfishness? Everyone has it. Look at me, for God's sake."
"Heh. True. Our Hoo — he only ever thinks about himself! You bastard!!"
And then he charged at me. I caught him easily and lifted him a little off the ground.
"Would it kill you to come drink with me more often?!"
"If I had time to see you, I'd spend it seeing a woman."
"Yeah, that's fair."
He agreed immediately. Heh. No fun at all. I let go of his arms, and he dropped away from me for a moment. Then he winked and asked,
"So, found yourself a decent woman?"
A decent woman, huh...
"Of course."
"Ooooh! Who is she? Pick a day and introduce me!"
And right then, a light came bobbing toward us, accompanied by the crunch of footsteps. I turned to see who it was... Min-ah.
Oh? Perfect timing. One of the two decent women I had — Min-ah. No need to pick a separate day. I'd introduce her right now.
"Speak of the devil. Min-ah!"
As if answering my call, the girl beamed and shouted,
"Dad!! Uncle!!"
Jae-min's face went blank for a second. No — blank wasn't right. He looked... moved. I'd just stated a fact, but he'd taken it as something kind. He waved at Min-ah, then suddenly slung an arm around my shoulder. And said, quietly,
"Thank you. Still just you, in the end."
"Don't mention it."
Kid. He'd been carrying this alone for a long time, hadn't he. Selfishness, from a girl like that... Even if she only thought of herself, it was fine. If it was Min-ah.
I put my own arm around his shoulder and gave it a couple of pats.
Don't worry too much.
Even after the hunt was over, I'd keep checking in to make sure everything was fine. Not as Seo-hoo the hunter — but as Seo-hoo, the childhood friend of forty years. I promise you that, right here.