117 – Epilogue – Ha-yoon

“Haaam….”

Han Seol-ah stretched languidly, rising from the bed. She brushed away a tear with her finger, then looked to the side, seeing only rumpled blankets as if someone had rushed out.

‘Could’ve at least said goodbye.’ She grumbled softly, then turned to step out of bed. Squish— Han Seol-ah frowned as she felt something under her foot.

“Oh? Were you there?”

“Ugh, kuh… Aah, ack!”

In response to her question, Ha-yoon clamped her mouth shut, stifling a scream of pain.

But Han Seol-ah, with a displeased look, stepped harder on her chest and stomach, pressing down firmly as she rose, causing her to cry out.

“You have to answer when I speak to you, Ha-yoon.”

“I-I’m sorry…!”

“So why are you here? You have your own room.”

“Seol-ah, you called me…”

“I did?”

Ha-yoon gritted her teeth at her confused expression, as if she didn’t remember at all. But getting angry here would only invite punishment, so she tried to remain calm as she answered.

“You said you’d be lonely if you woke up alone, so…”

“Ah, right~ I did.”

Han Seol-ah clapped her hands as if belatedly remembering. Woo Shin-hyung had to leave early in the morning, so she had called Ha-yoon as a substitute.

Of course, since they had to be alone at night, Woo Shin-hyung must have sent her up to the bedroom right before he left. Han Seol-ah pinched Ha-yoon’s nipple with her toe and asked.

“So, did Master leave okay?”

“Agh… Y-yes, he said he’d be back early, so not to be too upset…”

“Hmph, is that so.”

“S-Seol-ah. I’m sorry, but could you please get off me now, ugh!”

As she said that, the foot pressing on her stomach exerted even more force. Ha-yoon gagged from the pressure, as if her stomach would burst through her back, and Han Seol-ah smiled sweetly.

“Ha-yoon, you’re all grown up? You’re even ordering me around.”

“N-not an order, but a request, ugh!”

“Same difference.”

‘Bitch.’ Ha-yoon cursed inwardly, squeezing her eyes shut as Han Seol-ah’s foot moved from her chest to her face. Han Seol-ah played with Ha-yoon for a long time, as if washing her feet, before finally getting bored and stepping off.

Ha-yoon struggled to sit up, her body aching. Of course, she couldn’t stand on two feet. Unless Woo Shin-hyung was around, Han Seol-ah hated the idea of her walking around on two legs. She crawled after her on all fours.

Han Seol-ah’s day was extremely simple. In the morning, she took a quick shower or bath to erase the traces of the previous night’s activities, and skipped breakfast or ate something light. Then she would hole herself up in the mansion’s study to read or watch a light movie.

If Woo Shin-hyung came home in the middle, she would cling to him and have sex, or enjoy various games. Ha-yoon was always by their side, so she was dragged along and tormented by the two of them.

But lately, Woo Shin-hyung hadn’t been intimate with Han Seol-ah at all. Of course, it wasn’t that he was tired of her.

“Ha-yoon, can you help me?”

“Yes.”

At Han Seol-ah’s words, Ha-yoon, who had been crawling on all fours, stood up and slowly took off her clothes.

Her pale skin was revealed, along with her protruding belly. Noticing her gaze, Han Seol-ah carefully stroked her belly and murmured.

“It’s definitely getting heavier every day.”

Han Seol-ah was pregnant with Woo Shin-hyung’s child.

Originally, those infected could get pregnant one year after the onset of the disease. Han Seol-ah, who had been infected for six years, hadn’t gotten pregnant because she had been controlling it with birth control pills.

One reason was that it was difficult to have sex while pregnant, but the more practical reason was that there was still no law allowing infected people to marry.

It’s only natural that humans and monkeys can’t marry. You can’t equate infected people with monkeys, but that’s how different the perception of infected people was.

A primate that belongs to the same species as humans but cannot be called a person.

But a few months ago, a cannibalistic conglomerate that ate infected people was arrested on a large scale, and discussions were held about the plight of infected people. As a result, infected people were able to regain some rights, though not completely equal to humans.

Even if you become infected, you will still be taken to an education center for six months of training, but under strict supervision, unfair violence or forced activities outside of work hours are prohibited, and subsidies are increased so that families can receive priority after discharge.

Of course, even so, many infected people were still sold to people other than their families. But they could create new, deleted resident registration numbers without wearing identification tags if their owners allowed it.

It was only half a step, but they could become human.

As soon as the bill was passed, Han Seol-ah was dragged by Woo Shin-hyung to remove her identification tag and become a free woman. She soon got married and succeeded in getting pregnant after a long effort.

Of course, Ha-yoon still had to wear an identification tag. Unlike her, she hadn’t been approved by Woo Shin-hyung yet. No, she didn’t know if she ever would be.

Woo Shin-hyung was always whispering that he loved her, but his priority was Han Seol-ah.

If she didn’t allow it, she would be forced to live like a slave forever. Moreover, if she became a free person in this country where monogamy was legalized, Woo Shin-hyung would have to let her go.

And Woo Shin-hyung was not the kind of man who would make that choice. So, the day she could become a free person like Han Seol-ah would never come. When she thought that far, Ha-yoon couldn’t hide her gloomy expression.

“Ha-yoon? Your hands stopped?”

“Ah, no. I’ll do it right away…”

Of course, she quickly came to her senses at Han Seol-ah’s words and helped her prepare for her bath.

Han Seol-ah, who was now in her fifth month, had a hard time moving her body, so she had a hard time taking a bath without someone’s help.

Of course, she still teased and tormented Ha-yoon while receiving help, but she couldn’t offer any decent resistance.

If she lost her temper for a moment and lashed out at Han Seol-ah, and the baby was accidentally miscarried… Ha-yoon shook her head, her face pale, and shook off the thought.

‘Even imagining it is scary.’

She didn’t know how Woo Shin-hyung would react, but she knew that nothing good would happen to her. The mildest thing that could happen was that he would lose his temper for a moment and beat her to death.

But she couldn’t keep living like this forever. She would surely die of frustration before that… No, maybe she would get used to it and just get a little stressed.

‘Has it already been two years?’

Ha-yoon thought as she finished the bath and turned on the hair dryer to dry Han Seol-ah’s hair.

It had already been two years since she left the education center and followed Woo Shin-hyung to the mansion. If she were to say how she had been doing, she could say it as vividly as if it were yesterday.

Being tormented by Han Seol-ah, having sex, her heart fluttering at Woo Shin-hyung’s occasional whispers of love, and being tormented by Han Seol-ah again, a repetition of everyday life.

Of course, it wasn’t always like that, but that was generally the repetition.

It was now routine to be in the house without wearing anything and wearing a dog collar.

After all, the only people who would see her were Woo Shin-hyung and Han Seol-ah, and if she had to go outside, they would still dress her.

Rather, she felt a strange sense of liberation from not wearing clothes, so she was quite satisfied.

Moreover, when Woo Shin-hyung and Han Seol-ah were out, she could use the study and movies like Han Seol-ah did.

Even the computer. She had used computers back when she was a teacher, so it was easy to use a computer that wasn’t password protected. However, she couldn’t send messages to anyone with it.

She didn’t have a cell phone, and she didn’t have anyone’s number in the first place, so it was natural. Therefore, all she could do was search for the address she had heard from Kim Sun-ah before leaving the center on the internet map.

The distance… was a little far away. About four hours by car from here. A distance she could never go alone. Even if she sneaked out, she would be caught quickly, and above all, her status as an infected person was a problem.

Even if she wore an identification tag that she had an owner, she could be caught by mindless idiots and suffer. So, it was a place she could never go alone.

Unless she had proper identification like Han Seol-ah.

“…All done.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Ha-yoon, who had snapped out of her thoughts, gently arranged her hair and then dressed Han Seol-ah in a maternity dress.

She heard her grumbling that it wasn’t very pretty, but it was a common occurrence, so Ha-yoon lightly ignored it.

“Ack!”

“Aren’t you going to answer?”

“Y-yes, it would have been nice if there was something prettier…”

“Right?”

Of course, she had to be hit again for not answering. Ha-yoon clutched her stomach and forced a smile.

After the bath, it was time for a meal. Han Seol-ah had to eat breakfast for Ha-yoon to eat as well, so she swallowed hard. But, ignoring her expectations, Han Seol-ah slumped on the sofa and muttered.

“I don’t feel like eating today. Let’s skip breakfast.”

“Yes…”

“You sound upset. Why, are you hungry because I’m not eating breakfast?”

“A-ah, no. It’s not that…”

Ha-yoon stammered an excuse. Han Seol-ah smiled at the sight and beckoned her to come closer.

As she carefully crawled over on all fours, she stroked her head and said.

“Ha-yoon. We’ve been living together for two years now, right?”

“Yes…”

“Just bear with it for two more years.”

Bear with it for two more years? Ha-yoon looked at Han Seol-ah as if asking what she meant, and she continued.

“In two years, my and Master’s child will be born and able to stand up. By then, I’ll need less help. Of course, I’ll be more energetic than I am now, so raising a child won’t be difficult.”

“I-is that so…?”

“I only got Master’s child after being with Master for almost five years… but that’s because there wasn’t a proper law until then, right?”

“T-that’s right?”

She couldn’t understand what she was trying to say by dragging it out like this.

When Ha-yoon gave her an unknowing look, Han Seol-ah chuckled and stroked her face.

“It’s your turn after me.”

“…Pardon?”

“Master wouldn’t leave a woman carrying his child to be treated like a dog like this, right? Of course, I don’t intend to treat you so harshly when that time comes. After all, you caught Master’s eye like I did, right?”

“W-wait a minute…!”

Ha-yoon said with a flustered face and an excited expression at the same time at Han Seol-ah’s words.

“D-does that mean, I’m going to be pregnant with Master’s child…?”

“Why do you look like you didn’t know? Doesn’t Master whisper that he loves you every time you two are together? Surely… you’re not going to reject Master’s heart?”

“N-no, it’s not that!”

Ha-yoon shook her head and muttered at Han Seol-ah, who was staring at her with a chilling expression.

“A-a child. I’ve never thought about something like that…”

Even though she was in this body, she had never imagined having a child. It was the same when she first started her period.

Even though she saw the evidence that she was now able to get pregnant, Ha-yoon didn’t really feel it.

After that, she just had to take medicine, but Woo Shin-hyung always insisted on ejaculating inside her, and her period always came without fail.

Besides, with Han Seol-ah already pregnant, she didn’t think she would be like that too.

Woo Shin-hyung was always whispering that he loved her, but in the end, Han Seol-ah was always first in his heart.

She thought she was just a sex toy that was good for the two of them to play with while confirming their love.

But suddenly, she was told that it was her turn next, so she couldn’t help but be taken aback. Ha-yoon clenched her fists and muttered.

“Besides, even if I get pregnant, I won’t be able to become a free person like Seol-ah. This country is a country where monogamy is the law…”

“Oh my, what are you talking about? You’re more greedy than I thought?”

“…Pardon? Ugh!”

Han Seol-ah, who had been stroking her cheek so kindly, grabbed her hair and brought her face close, looking into her cherry blossom eyes.

“So you thought that if you got pregnant with Master’s child, you could become his wife like me? You’ll just be like a common mistress of a chaebol family. Your child will be illegitimate.”

“Ugh, kuh…”

“Of course, the kind Master will make your status a free person and put your child on the family register. But it will be registered as my child. Your name will never be engraved next to Master’s. Do you understand?”

“Y-yes, yes… sob.”

When Ha-yoon answered in a trembling voice, Han Seol-ah let go of her hair as if pushing her away.

She fell and hit her butt, but instead of feeling the pain, she lowered her eyes and gasped for breath.

Han Seol-ah looked at her and chuckled.

“Ah~ I haven’t talked this much in a long time, so I’m thirsty. Ha-yoon, can you get me some water?”

“…Yes.”

“Thank you~”

At the grinning voice, Ha-yoon lowered her head and headed to the living room.

Despair dripped from her falling steps.