Chapter 22

“…Auntie… You should’ve told me that first…”

“Huh? Did I do something wrong? Why?”

Eun Morae clenched her teeth and forced the words out bit by bit. If she didn’t keep grinding her molars together, she felt like she would scream.

Yu Jimin, sensing that Morae was deeply upset for some reason but having no idea why, began to panic. Standing in front of the bewildered Jimin, who still couldn’t figure out what she’d done wrong, Morae let out a long sigh.

The members of the Downtown Workshop had come to meet Yu Pado, and all this time she’d been barking up the wrong tree and leisurely wasting time.

More than anything else, that realization shocked and infuriated her.

It was as unpleasant as sinking into a bathtub filled with loose hair. The thought of Yu Pado being taken away by another organization was enough to make her burn with resentment no matter when it happened.

Even knowing she had no authority to stop him and that he wouldn’t be leaving immediately, her heart still sank. A more selfish thought also crossed her mind.

‘After everything that’s happened… he’s going to meet other women right away?’

In just that short week, they’d spent two separate days together—or six times, if she counted each time they’d slept together.

And after all that… he just moved on without the slightest reaction?

Her fists trembled from sheer physical strength alone. Seeing Morae consumed by a sense of betrayal, Jimin frantically waved both hands.

“N-No, he’s not leaving! He’s not leaving. Calm down, Morae.”

“Are you sure?”

Morae asked without opening her eyes. If she looked at Jimin’s clueless expression right now, she didn’t think she’d be able to hold herself back.

“If he were planning to leave us, he wouldn’t have asked me for a favor. He already turned down the scouting offer. Pado asked me to write the rejection message for him.”

“…Really? I see. He turned it down.”

She repeated the words “he turned it down” three times in her head, and the blizzard raging inside her gradually settled. Waiting for her emotions to calm a little more, Morae slowly unclenched her fists.

She couldn’t help wondering, ‘Why did he ask Auntie Jimin?’

But reason quickly answered for her.

If he’d asked Morae instead, she probably would’ve written something brutally short like, “Get lost.”

He’d likely known exactly what she’d say, so he’d never asked.

“So he went today just to reject them?”

“I’m not sure about that. After he turned down the scouting offer, they kept begging him for days, saying that if joining wasn’t possible, then a personal relationship would be fine and asking to meet him just once. That’s why he went.”

“Why would you let him go by himself without even telling me?!”

The second twist knocked Morae flat, and the shout she’d been holding back finally burst free. Her thin voice echoed throughout the laboratory.

Facing Morae, whose presence was as fierce as a midwinter blizzard, Jimin looked like she was about to cry.

“Because you’re more important to me, Morae!”

“I’m happy to hear that! But not right now!”

Most of the people who had served in the West Sea Legion for a long time adored Morae. They doted on the tiny, lovable girl as if she were a princess.

That hadn’t changed even now.

Sometimes, it caused problems like this.

Strictly speaking, Jimin hadn’t done anything wrong.

But that didn’t mean she’d done the right thing, either.

Half giving up, Morae narrowed her eyes.

“Where are they?”

Whether Jimin had really been listening to Yu Pado’s concerns or not, she knew the meeting place exactly.

Inside the private room of the café Jimin had mentioned, Yu Pado was sitting with five women. Without a second thought, Morae secretly sent in a small surveillance robot she’d “borrowed” from the laboratory.

Rolling across the floor like a little mouse, the surveillance robot picked up their voices and transmitted a low-angle video feed. Having casually broken about four different laws in the process, Morae confidently leaned against the wall and listened in.

“Pado’s seriously so stubborn and diligent. We keep telling him he can sleep with us first and decide afterward, but he just keeps holding back.”

“No, it just means he doesn’t like you. You need to win him over with your chest.”

“You think I got surgery for nothing? I’ve got a weapon that’s even better than my chest. Once you’ve experienced it, you’ll know.”

“Ahaha, unnie is seriously amazing. Not a single man has ever beaten her.”

The five women laughed together, taking turns teasing and backing each other up. Judging by the half-empty drinks on the table, the conversation had already gone on for quite a while.

Each of the five women had a completely different style.

Since there were so many women in one place, they could easily have all followed the latest trends and dressed similarly, but these five were different in everything—from their figures to their clothes.

One was short, another tall. One had long, graceful hair, while another wore a sporty outfit with a short wavy bob.

It wasn’t a coincidence.

They were carefully selected women that the Downtown Workshop had sent.

They claimed this was only a private meeting, but there was no way they hadn’t calculated this much. Morae could clearly sense their determination to drag Yu Pado into their swamp, no matter which one of them succeeded.

According to Jimin, every woman who had come to meet Yu Pado today was someone who “wanted to sleep with him no matter what.”

Whether those feelings were genuine or driven by hidden motives didn’t matter.

Officially, at least, none of them intended to change that attitude.

“But seriously. Really, don’t feel pressured. We’re not telling you to leave the West Sea Legion. It’s not like we have the influence to ask for something like that. Just meet us once in a while whenever you feel like it. You don’t even have to choose just one of us. We don’t care about taking turns. We’re cool women.”

“If you’re embarrassed because you’re inexperienced, we’ll introduce you to someone who’s never done it either. She was too shy to come today, but she’s interested in you too.”

“Oppa, I’m really good at oral. Would it be okay if I only did that?”

It only took hearing a few sentences to understand.

They had come fully determined to have Yu Pado today, one way or another.

The fact that they deliberately spoke so explicitly meant they were trying to steer the conversation in that direction. Maybe they only needed one woman to succeed, but with five of them here, they might even try with three or four at once.

The moment that thought crossed her mind, Morae’s face turned pale.

It was shocking, but she wasn’t embarrassed enough to blush.

Suddenly, Morae felt uneasy.

She had no idea how Yu Pado would act now that she’d awakened his interest in women because of her. Since the surveillance robot was behind him, she couldn’t see his expression.

She knew nothing about his preferences when it came to women, but if he had enough stamina to go five rounds in a single night, maybe one woman wouldn’t be enough to satisfy him. Just as he’d gained experience with Morae, he might decide to do the same with the women from the Downtown Workshop.

If that happened…

‘Hm?’

If that happened… then that was simply what would happen.

Morae’s sharp mind immediately grasped the situation.

‘W-Wait…?’

First, the women from the Downtown Workshop wanted to sleep with Yu Pado whether or not he joined their organization. They probably genuinely liked him and were bold enough not to dwell on rejection.

Second, Yu Pado wasn’t careless with women he’d already slept with. He hadn’t treated Morae that way, so there was no reason to think he’d treat anyone else differently.

Third, because of that, Yu Pado wouldn’t leave the West Sea Legion just to sleep with other women.

In other words, even if he accepted their advances, the only outcome would be that a young man and young women were attracted to each other and spent the night together.

Come to think of it, he could have met as many women as he wanted while staying by Morae’s side. Even now, Yu Pado was quietly popular.

If anything, it might end up the other way around—his irresistible charm could lure the women of the Downtown Workshop into joining the Legion instead.

Either way, there was no chance he’d become so infatuated with their honey trap—if it was even a scheme at all—that he’d lose himself in a life of endless drinking and women.

Just look at how, right after his overwhelmingly intense first experience, he’d stubbornly insisted that sex wasn’t anything particularly amazing.

Yu Pado was the predator, not the prey.

“…”

The realization left Morae speechless.

She had no grounds to criticize him or tell him to stop.

At most, she simply hated the thought that a man who had slept with her could go after another woman before his semen had even dried.

And even that was unfair.

What they had wasn’t a proper relationship, nor even a normal one-night stand. Morae had no right to say anything.

To realize that only now…

It struck her like a bolt from the blue.

At that moment, Yu Pado finally spoke.

“So… what exactly do you like about me?”

It wasn’t an arrogant question.

He genuinely sounded curious about their answer.

The women immediately chimed in.

“Your face.”

“Your abilities.”

“Your dick.”

“You haven’t even seen that.”

“I don’t need to. I know I’ll like it.”

Two votes for his face.

Two votes for his abilities.

One vote for his dick.

The lone dissenter who’d mentioned his genitals laughed as though she were joking.

Even Morae found herself shaken by how effortlessly smooth they were.

Their flirting was so polished that, for a brief moment, she even forgot they were the enemy.

If this had been a drinking party, eight out of ten men would’ve fallen for it.

Ironically, the person they were targeting hardly reacted at all.

Yu Pado snorted and crossed his legs.

“Enough with the jokes. That’s enough. Sorry, but I’m not interested. You should stop contacting me soon. And stop sending me pictures.”

“They’re just normal pictures. Eating, going to the beach, working out…”

“They’re revealing. Your workout clothes are too tight.”

“Come on, that’s nothing. You can look all you want. I’d be even happier if you started wondering what’s underneath my clothes. I’m more serious about you than you think.”

“But I’m not interested. I’m really sorry, but please stop.”

“We’ve begged you this much already. Couldn’t you at least pretend to give us a chance? Why are you putting up such a wall? Do you already have someone you like? Or are you impotent?”

The ears of Morae, who had been crouching near the wall, instantly perked up.

For some reason, she felt both anticipation and irritation.

It wasn’t even directed at her, yet she felt strangely insulted.

Who would dare call that man impotent?

He wasn’t lacking in that department—he had more than enough. He’d nearly made Morae pass out during her first time.

“Now you’re just saying whatever comes to mind.”

“No, seriously. It’s not just me you’re rejecting—you’ve turned all of us down. We’re all pretty great, aren’t we? We’re not even asking anything from you. If you keep rejecting us, it’s going to hurt our pride.”

“Exactly. Wait… Oppa, you’re still a virgin, aren’t you? You’re scared that once you do it once, you’ll completely lose your head and become hopelessly obsessed with us.”

The saliva in Morae’s mouth instantly dried up.

It felt as though she’d been struck in the head.

Those were the exact same words she’d said to Yu Pado the night they’d slept together.

Probably to protect her own pride…

Or perhaps to provoke his.

Without thinking, Morae bit at a hangnail on her finger.

A sudden wave of anxiety washed over her.

It felt as though someone was painting over one of her memories.

It wasn’t as if she owned those words, yet having someone trample over them with muddy feet and take them away by force made emotion well up inside her.

What had Yu Pado replied back then?

Had he said, “You’re the one who won’t be able to get enough of what’s between my legs”?

Was he going to say those same words to them, too?

She tore the hangnail off until it bled.

And at that exact moment, the wall Morae had been leaning against exploded inward with a violent gust.

“Don’t say another word.”

Yu Pado’s voice rang out directly, followed by flying chunks of stone and a spray of water.

A powerful blast of water erupted across the room, smashing the surrounding walls and door to pieces.

The women suddenly found themselves sitting in a room that was almost completely open on every side, and they screamed in terror.

The café staff, the other customers, and even people out on the street cried out in shock.

Only Yu Pado remained perfectly composed.

Without uncrossing his legs, he calmly lifted his coffee cup and took a sip.

“Those aren’t words you have any right to say.”