Ch.44Chinese Ice Tea 2

“Where exactly are you taking me?”

“Somewhere. A very nice place.”

I was surrounded by burly men and dragged into a back alley.

The man took my bag and slung it over his shoulder.

“This is something a man should carry for you.”

He rummaged through my bag and took out my phone.

Then he turned it off and tossed it into a sewer drain.

“Don’t worry. I’ll buy you a better one.”

A sour spice smell wafted through the tall men around me.

The scent made me terribly dizzy.

As we moved between tall buildings, the sky was obscured to the point where I had to crane my neck to see it.

After walking through that dark path for about 10 minutes, a street bathed entirely in red appeared.

Red lanterns hung in the air between buildings, and the sour spice smell had changed to a floral scent.

I soon realized what that fragrance meant.

And the moment I realized it, I saw women standing in front of buildings, waving at the men.

Dressed in form-fitting qipaos, they greeted the thugs with loose smiles.

The men waved back with casual smirks, seemingly familiar with these encounters.

“Boss, when will you visit our place? You’ve been away too long.”

“That’s right. Pay us some attention too!”

The bald man responded to their nasal proposals with a smile.

He pointed at me, indicating that today wasn’t the day.

The women’s expressions darkened when they saw me surrounded by his subordinates.

They glared at me, their lips twitching with what seemed like jealousy.

Intimidated by their murderous aura, I swallowed hard and lowered my head.

The bald man suddenly placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be treated completely differently from those cheap whores.”

“I’m really not that kind of person. I’m just a bartender!”

“Bartender? Ah, those girls who pour drinks? Don’t worry, what you’ll do here isn’t much different.”

I sighed at his unwillingness to listen.

What should I do? How could I possibly escape from these hulking men?

The man wasn’t just dragging me along.

He kept looking down at me throughout our journey.

It seemed like he would immediately swing his massive fist if he detected any sign of me trying to escape.

But I realized he wasn’t watching me out of concern that I might flee.

He had a more chilling plan in mind.

“You know, your walking style and movements are really awkward.”

“…?”

My brow furrowed involuntarily at his unexpected comment.

I looked up at him with a dazed expression.

“You’ll need some training at my establishment first. Before you start receiving men.”

The man exhaled a humid breath like a hippopotamus.

His eyes, buried in flesh, were leering at me mockingly.

I’m fucked.

I need to get my bag back quickly.

There should be emergency Molotovs inside.

<Molotov Cocktail>

Rank: ★☆

Effect: Reduces user’s health by 50%.

In exchange, all physical damage dealt is doubled.

Info: Commonly used as a firebomb, but can also be consumed.

Drinking two bottles reduces health by 99% and awakens all physical abilities tenfold for 1 minute.

I kept glancing at the crossbody bag firmly secured under his thick armpit.

But by then, the man’s group had arrived in front of a store.

“Hong Jeopru.”

“What do you think? Impressive, right? It’s the largest of my establishments. There’s probably no bigger drinking house in Seoul.”

My face was bathed in red light.

It was from the crimson neon pouring out of the establishment.

A massive gate about twice my height.

And above it, elaborate Chinese-style roof tiles.

I’ve never seen such a large pleasure house in my life.

Under the imposing five-story building, I felt as small as a dwarf.

Unlike other establishments, this one had no women soliciting customers.

It was the “industry leader” where customers came begging, rather than the other way around.

The man, as the owner, pushed open the gate forcefully.

An artificial floral scent, unpleasantly strong, pricked my nostrils.

The inside was even more spectacular.

Chinese-style chandeliers and carpets.

Even unfamiliar Chinese opera music.

It’s hard to believe this is Korea.

But what was even harder to believe was the woman walking out from behind the counter.

She approached the man with a swaying gait, wearing a form-fitting qipao.

The fabric was so thin that her body was clearly visible beneath it.

Moreover, the dress was split from the hip, provocatively revealing her thighs.

One wrong move and even her underwear might show.

“Welcome.”

“Yes, Sunhwa. Is the fifth floor cleared out?”

“Of course. Which girls should I send up?”

Sunhwa, wearing heavy makeup, smiled sweetly.

The man shook his head, saying he didn’t need any girls.

Then he suddenly pushed me toward her.

“I’ll be using this one today.”

I was shoved forward helplessly.

Without even getting my bag back.

Sunhwa caught me lightly and stroked my head.

She asked the boss:

“I haven’t seen this one before?”

“That’s right, I snatched her up when she was about to take her first customer on the street. Thought I’d scout her for our place.”

“But she doesn’t seem to have any training.”

As Sunhwa looked down at me with concern, the boss replied with a lecherous gaze.

“That’s why I’m leaving her with our madam. I’ll give you one day to train her properly.”

“I’ll do my best.”

The man boarded the elevator, trusting in her abilities.

Several burly men followed him in a group.

Their loud laughter gradually faded.

Soon, only the madam and I remained in the hall.

This is extremely confusing.

I left Anna’s shelter barely 20 minutes ago, and now I’m in a place like this.

What should I do now…

In this troubling moment, the madam looked down at me intently.

She’s as tall as Anna.

The madam greeted me with a gentle voice.

“Hello, pretty one?”

“Y-yes…?”

“You must be tired from the journey. Let’s go too.”

Sunhwa pinched one of my cheeks.

Then she gently wrapped her arm around my shoulder and guided me to the elevator.

She smelled strongly of flowers.

Unlike the men, the madam was delicate and kind.

Perhaps she could help me?

“4th Floor.”

The elevator stopped at the fourth floor.

When the doors opened, a Chinese-style corridor so long that I couldn’t see its end stretched before us.

Everything was red.

“Sister, you’re here?”

“Sister… I don’t want to work today…”

Many young women approached the madam, dressed in dance costumes and qipaos.

They were like kittens looking for their mother.

Soon they noticed me standing beside the madam.

The girls asked her with curious expressions:

“Who is she?”

“She worked in Sindorim, apparently. She’ll be staying with us from now on.”

Perhaps because the man was gone,

My sealed lips finally began to move.

I need to ask for help now.

These people will surely understand.

“Excuse me…!”

Everyone from the girls to Sunhwa turned to look at me.

“I was kidnapped. I’m not a dancer or a prostitute.”

“So?”

Sunhwa’s cold face stared at me.

Despite hearing my words, her expression remained unchanged.

Her resolute demeanor made me increasingly frightened beyond disbelief.

“What do you mean ‘so’? Please let me go.”

“But you came along so willingly? Aren’t you here because you’re interested?”

“Of course not! I told him many times, but that pig of a man just…”

As I shouted in frustration, Sunhwa’s expression twisted.

She wasn’t the only one.

All the girls who heard my outburst looked at me with shocked faces.

The madam immediately covered my mouth.

“Did you just dare to call Master Wei Chengshan a pig…?”

Her voice, which had been gentle, darkened.

Sunhwa placed her finger on my lips as if warning me.

“Once you enter this place, every woman becomes Master Wei Chengshan’s property.”

A strong smell emanated from her finger.

I soon realized that the scent coming from her wasn’t floral.

It was a thick, sticky plant smell like glue.

Disgusted, I roughly pushed her hand away.

“What nonsense is that? Anyway, I need to leave. You could just let me go secretly, right?”

All the girls in this establishment were abnormal.

They must all be in league with that man.

I looked up at her with an angry expression.

“That’s not possible…”

Sunhwa sighed deeply.

She shook her head and spoke as if there was no other choice.

“What kind of girl is so defiant… Perhaps it’s because you haven’t received affection yet?”

The madam grabbed her elegantly flowing hair.

Then she secured it tightly with a butterfly-adorned band.

“It seems you need training, just as he said.”

The madam snapped her fingers.

Immediately, the girls approached me in unison like well-trained soldiers.

They looked about eighteen years old but moved with the discipline of highly trained professionals.

The incongruity left me with an eerie impression.

I need to escape.

It should be easier to run away here without the men around.

I can see stairs at the end of the corridor.

Although there are girls sitting here and there doing their makeup, I could push past them.

They’re just kids after all.

I’m from the reconnaissance unit.

I used to hike through mountains carrying a 30kg military pack…

I was in the middle of calculating my escape.

But at that moment.

Two of the girls who had responded to Sunhwa’s call vanished instantly.

They landed behind me with hunter-like speed.

“—!”

They each grabbed one of my shoulders with a single hand.

Pressed down by their strong grip, I fell to my knees.

Damn, how are these girls so strong…!

“Do you think we were kidnapped and brought here?”

Sunhwa approached me slowly.

She tickled my chin as if handling a pet.

“Not at all. All the girls here were B-rank hunters or higher. Some were even elites who attended the Academy.”

What…?

Why would girls with money and talent who could attend the Academy be in a place like this…

“We stayed of our own will. When you’re chosen by him… you can have the most ecstatic experience.”

The madam’s eyes lost focus.

Like a madwoman, only insanity flickered in her pupils.

“You’re a blessed woman, personally selected by him.”

Her finger soon traveled from my chin to my lips.

“Yet you dare to show such a displeased expression? I’ll have to teach you how to make proper expressions before you meet him.”

Her long finger wedged between my lips.

She tried to insert something into my forcibly opened mouth.

I tried my best to keep my mouth shut.

But soon the girls gripping my shoulders forced my mouth open.

The madam took out a pill from her bosom.

She shoved it into my mouth and forced me to swallow it.

I tried to put my fingers in my mouth to vomit out the pill.

But other dancers twisted and bound my wrists.

As a result, the pill finally went down my throat.

“What… did you feed me?”

“Nothing special. Very occasionally, we get girls like you who try to escape.”

The madam smiled at me with narrowed eyes.

She gestured to the girls, indicating that restraints were no longer necessary.

“It’s a drug to calm such girls down.”

The moment I heard those words, a strange ringing started in my ears.

The madam’s voice rippled as if I were underwater.

“Now, let’s begin your education. First, let’s address that boyish voice and gait of yours.”

“Boyish? I am a boy!”

I shouted in defiance of her sensual voice.

At those words, the women covered their mouths in shock.

“My goodness… did you just say you’re a ‘boy’?”

The madam shuddered as if she couldn’t comprehend it.

She lifted my chin to make me face reality.

“Then what is this ecstatic expression? This alluring face belongs to a boy?”

The girls whispered among themselves.

I muttered with half-closed eyes.

“That’s because you… drugged me…”

The pill that went down my throat was gradually making my body hot.

I took a deep breath to avoid losing consciousness.

But with each breath, the drug seemed to spread further throughout my body.

Looking down at me, the madam said seriously:

“It seems we need to start with mental reconditioning.”

Someone approached from behind.

Something wrapped around my neck and clicked into place.

It was a choker with jewels.