Unable to stay at her own place, Yoon Hayeong found herself receiving help from Seo Hyun-joo. Somehow, Hyun-joo had found out about her situation and contacted her first, offering a place to stay for a while.
"Come on in."
"Th-thank youâ¦."
Yoon Hayeong, hunched over with nerves, carefully took off her shoes and stepped inside. As the team leader of a well-known media company, Hyun-jooâs home was reasonably well-kept. Even if it was a rented apartment, it was around 1300 square feet with a sleek interior design, and most of all, the view of the cityscape from the living room was beautiful.
"You can stay in that room. Thereâs a bathroom attached."
"Um, excuse meâ¦!"
Hyun-joo had just finished giving minimal directions and was about to head to her own room when Yoon Hayeong called out, stopping her.
"Thank you for letting me stay⦠And Iâm sorry⦠for everything. Especially⦠for that timeâ¦"
"â¦."
Hyun-joo, watching her visibly deflate, sighed.@@novelbin@@
"Just take a shower and get some sleep."
"â¦."
With that somewhat cold response, she walked into her room, leaving Yoon Hayeong to bow awkwardly towards the closed door. After standing there for a few seconds, she hesitantly made her way into her own room.
"â¦This room alone is bigger than my entire place."
Her own apartment, now a mess, cost her 1.2 million won a month for just about 130 square feet.
In Ganghwa, where real estate is pricey, she could almost accept that cost, but it wasnât the main issue.
Shouldnât people at least be able to live decently?
Her bathroom was so cramped that it barely had enough room to use the toilet and wash up; for a proper shower, she had to use a communal bathroom at the end of the hallway shared by the entire floor.
For air conditioning or heating, she had to go ask the tenant in room 1 on each floor to turn it on.
There were countless other ridiculous conditions like that.
And yet, they still charged her 1.2 million won every month.
"Crazy bastard."
Itâs no wonder she cursed under her breath.
"I donât care if youâre a victim or whatever! It happened while you were staying here, so youâre paying for the repairs!"
She remembered the fight with her landlord. That pig of a woman demanded that she cover the costs of replacing the wallpaper and flooring due to the recent events, threatening to take it out of her deposit if she didnât pay.
A wave of sighs and disgust washed over her.
How can someone,
While sheâs trembling in fear after what sheâs been through,
Say something like that?
If it hadnât been for the presence of the police, she probably would have slapped her.
âWhy is this my faultâ¦.â
Why was she getting all this grief?
She was just the victim here.
Plop.
She stripped off her clothes and entered the bathroom. The attached bathroom alone was about the size of her entire studio.
"â¦."
There was a bathtub partitioned off with glass on one side, and a shower booth in front of it. She turned on the shower.
Shhh.
Warm water cascaded down, quickly filling the bathroom with steam, obscuring her reflection in the mirror.
"That filthy excuse for a human being⦠I wish theyâd just dieâ¦."
The next morning.
There was still some time left even after breakfast.
Hyun-joo sipped her coffee while checking her phone.
"â¦."
From behind her glasses, Yoon Hayeong watched her, nervously sipping through a straw. She felt awkward. They werenât the type to casually chat, so it was uncomfortable, to say the least. This was about as close as theyâd gotten recently.
"Um⦠Team Leader."
"Yes?"
"You donât use a household robot?"
"I do."
"But where�"
"I recently ordered a new one. It was supposed to arrive on the delivery date, but they suddenly delayed it. So Iâm going without for a bit."
"Oh⦠I seeâ¦."
Silence settled again. Then,
Hyun-joo put her phone down.
"Ms. Yoon."
"Y-yes?"
"About what we talked about before, can you handle it today? If itâs too much, donât force yourself, considering everything that happened yesterday."
"About�"
"The list of those cleared. I need it so I can capture it and post the article."
"Ohâ¦!"
The list of those cleared!
Memories of yesterday flashed through her mind.
The shock upon learning Rainbow Miracle was cleared,
The sickening smell of blood at the Dream First execution site,
And Prosecutor Lee Na-eunâs words that had stuck in her mind like a blade.
âHaha⦠Yesterday was reallyâ¦.â
It was,
A fantastic day.
"Can you keep going with the special prosecution?"
"â¦."
To be honest, she wasnât sure. Forget the fearâcould she hold on with her resolve wavering like this every day?
"Is Rainbow Miracle the only thing that matters? Is everything else insignificant to you?"
ââ¦.â
Prosecutor Lee Na-eunâs words, clear as day, resurfaced and stirred her again.
"I⦠I donât knowâ¦"
"â¦."
"What should I do? Am I even on the right path�"
"What happened to the old you? The one whoâd fight tooth and nail whenever I suggested reviewing an article, claiming your writing was flawless."
"â¦."
She bowed her head. She had no response.
Hyun-joo silently stood up and placed a card on the tableâa luxurious black card with golden trim.
"Take a break for a while. Iâm leaving the card, so order food with it."
"W-what? No, thatâs too muchâ¦!"
But Hyun-joo had already left for work.
"â¦."
Bzzz.
Her phone buzzed.
"I need to meet my spending requirements, so just do as I say. Itâs harder to meet than youâd think."
"â¦."
Was this even real?
Yoon Hayeong felt baffled, but soon, she smiled.
Amid her increasingly bleak feelings, a small warmth began to seep in.
"Thank you⦠Team Leaderâ¦."
Lunch.
As a small gesture of gratitude, Yoon Hayeong thoroughly cleaned every corner of the house. Then, with the card Hyun-joo had given her, she ordered a burger. Considering Hyun-joo had been so thoughtfulâeven going so far as to send that odd textâit felt rude to refuse.
But then,
"Why is the payment amount⦠like this?"
Something was off.
She had ordered the "Quattro Maximum Meat Onion Focused Amazing Ultimate Grilled Patty for Super Meat Freak Premium Legend Cheese Steak Burger Set" for 10,900 won, with a 5,000 won delivery fee, totaling 15,900 won. But when she checked the payment, it was only 1,590 won.
Thinking it was an error, she reviewed the details and found a 90% discount applied.
âWas there an event?â
She checked but found no event, no coupons either.
Out of curiosity, she tried another restaurant.
"Another 90% discount."
She canceled the payment and tried another.
"This one tooâ¦!"
She checked five different places, and each showed a 90% discount.
By then, she realized something must be unique about the card.
Examining it closely, she noticed:
"Koryo⦠Prestige�"
The issuing bank wasnât Koryo Card but Koryo Prestige.
"A royal exclusive�"
And then, there it wasâa peculiar inscription.
"Koryo Prestige Royal Exclusive VIP Card? Why would the Team Leader have something like this-"
As her thoughts spun, her eyes widened in realization.
"Could it be�"
That same uneasy feeling washed over her.
Her blood ran cold, and every nerve was on edge.
"Did you do it right?"
"Yes. Sheâs meticulous and sharp, so sheâll definitely notice."
"Good."
I slowly mulled over Hyun-jooâs report as she stood there, naked.
Weâd taken Yoon Hayeong in, unable to stay at her place.
Let her rest for a few days, and given her a card to use.
That card, specially issued for my toys, provided perks beyond what anyone could imagine.
Up to ten million won limit, with a 90% discount on all purchases.
Of course, it only worked within the range of Koryo Groupâs influence, but thatâs practically synonymous with the entire country. It meant she could live with a 90% discount on everything, up to ten million won each month.
Given how absurd the card benefits are, anyone perceptive would be curious and dig a bit deeper, eventually finding the name "Koryo Prestige" or something like that.
âThen, sheâll start to wonder why Seo Hyun-joo has such an unbelievable card.â
Thereâs only one reason.
That assault, back when she was called to a mansion for supposedly failing to guard a subordinate.
If not for that, thereâs no reason why Seo Hyun-joo would be associated with Koryo Prestige.
At least, not from Yoon Hayeongâs perspective.
"Good work. Now, come here and suck."
Spreading my legs, Hyun-joo, whoâd been standing naked, quickly knelt between them. She parted her red lips and took my cock into her mouth.
Slurp,
Suck.
She pressed her nose against my groin, her glasses fogging up as she swallowed me whole, then pulled back until only the head was left between her lips.
She repeated this rhythm quickly.
"When you come by tomorrow, make sure to act as suspiciously as possible. We want Journalist Yoon to follow you."