[Current Location: Unknown (Leather interior smelling of money)]
[Current Status: Kidnapped by the 1%.]
Okay, Chat. Let's do a quick vibe check.
I am currently sitting in the back of a luxury sedan that costs more than my entire bloodline's existence. Next to me is Song Hana, the Student Council President.
She is typing furiously on a tablet. She hasn't looked at me for ten minutes. The only sound is the aggressive click-clack-click of her acrylic nails against the screen. It sounds like a machine gun made of diamonds.
I am pressed against the door. If I could phase through matter like a ghost, I would have done it by now.
"So," I whisper, my voice cracking. "Are you going to kill me?"
Hana stops typing. She adjusts her rimless glasses.
She looks at me like I'm a spreadsheet that won't balance.
"Kill you?" she asks, sounding genuinely confused. "Jinsu, do you know what the current market value of your face is?"
Me: "Uh... five dollars? A Happy Meal?"
"Wrong," she says cold. She taps the screen and shoves the tablet in my face.
It's a graph. The line is going up. Like, vertically up.
[Han Jinsu Popularity Index: +4000% in 24 Hours]
"You are trending," she explains. "The 'Silent Rebel' who tamed the Ice Queen and defeated the Kendo Captain with a banana milk. Do you know what the girls in the forum are calling you?"
I shake my head. I am terrified to know.
"The 'Dark Horse of Domination'."
Me: "EXCUSE ME?"
I choke on my own saliva. "Domination? I can't even dominate a zipper! I got stuck in my jacket this morning!"
"Irrelevant," Hana says, waving her hand. "Perception is reality. And right now, the reality is that the Student Council is broke. We spent the entire budget on the cultural festival fireworks, and we need liquidity. Fast."
She leans in. I can smell her perfume. It smells like expensive vanilla and ruthlessness.
"You are the product, Jinsu. We are launching a limited edition photobook. 'The Hidden Face of Han Jinsu.' Pre-orders are already at 500 units."
Me: "I didn't agree to this! I have rights! I have human rights!"
"You signed the club application form for the Gardening Club last year, didn't you?"
"Yeah? So?"
"Read the fine print on page 4, paragraph 12."
She smiles. A terrifying, shark-like smile.
"The Student Council reserves the right to utilize the likeness of any student with a Charisma stat over 80 for promotional material to save the school from bankruptcy."
Me (Internal): Who reads the Terms and Conditions?! Who?! I just wanted to grow tomatoes!
"We're here," she announces.
The car stops.
The door opens.
We aren't at school. We are at a studio. A professional studio.
"Get out," Hana commands. "Time to make me some money."
I am dragged—literally dragged by my collar—into a dressing room that is brighter than the sun.
There are mirrors everywhere. There are people running around with headsets shouting things like "We need more angst!" and "Where is the eyeliner?!"
I am shoved into a chair.
A man with neon pink hair spins me around.
"Oh my god," the stylist gasps. He grabs my face. His hands are cold. "Look at this canvas. It's so... desolate."
Me: "I... I use moisturizer?"
"No, darling. The vibe. It's giving 'I have seen the end of the world and I liked it.' It's giving 'tragic anti-hero who lost his memories.'"
He turns to his assistant.
"Don't cover the dark circles! Accentuate them! We want him to look sleep-deprived and dangerous!"
Me (Internal): I AM sleep-deprived! I stayed up until 3 AM reading fanfiction! That's not danger, that's poor life choices!
They start throwing clothes at me.
Leather. Velvet. Chains.
Why are there so many chains? am I a ghost in a Victorian novel?
"Put this on," the Stylist commands, handing me a shirt that is unbuttoned halfway down the chest.
"Can I have a button-up?" I ask weakly. "I get cold easily."
"Beauty is pain!" he screams. "Now go change! The President is waiting!"
I go into the changing booth.
I put on the outfit.
It's a black suit, but like... the kind a vampire wears to a funeral. High collar. Silver chains on the lapel. The pants are tight. Too tight. If I sneeze, these seams are going to explode and kill someone.
I look in the mirror.
[System Check: Reflection Loaded.]
Who is that?
The guy in the mirror looks... tall. His hair is styled back, leaving a few messy strands over his forehead. His eyes look sharp (because I'm squinting without my glasses). The suit fits perfectly.
I look like the villain in a romance manhwa who kidnaps the female lead and locks her in a tower.
I look like I own a castle and drink wine made of tears.
Me: "I look evil. I look like I'm about to kick a puppy."
I step out of the curtain.
The room goes silent.
Hana looks up from her tablet. She lowers her glasses.
She stares.
The Stylist claps his hands over his mouth. "Perfection! Look at that disdain! Look at that arrogance!"
Me: "I'm just trying not to trip over these boots!"
Hana stands up. She walks over to me. She circles me like a buyer inspecting a racehorse.
"Good," she mutters. "Very good. The pre-orders just doubled."
"Can I go home now?" I ask. "My mom is making stew."
"No," Hana says. "Now, we shoot."
We are on the set.
The background is a gothic library. Fake cobwebs. Candles.
The photographer is a guy named Pierre. He is very French. Or he's pretending to be French.
"Yes! Give me the ennui!" Pierre shouts. "Look at the camera like you want to destroy it!"
I glare at the camera.
Mostly because the flash is blinding me and I have a headache.
"Magnificent!" Pierre screams. "So much hate! So much raw power!"
Suddenly, the studio doors slam open.
BANG.
Everyone freezes.
Standing in the doorway, breathing hard, is Baek Yerin.
She is wearing her school uniform, but she looks like she just ran a marathon. Her hair is messy. Her cheeks are flushed.
"Yerin?" I whisper.
She scans the room. Her eyes lock onto me.
She freezes.
Her eyes go up and down.
From my boots. To the tight pants. To the open collar. To the neck chains.
She turns bright red.
Steam is practically coming out of her ears.
"What..." she stammers. "What is... this?"
Hana steps forward, calm as ever. "Ah, Yerin. You're interrupting my business venture."
"Business?" Yerin marches over. She points at me. "You kidnapped him! He wasn't at the bus stop! I went back to give him his... his phone he dropped!"
(I pat my pocket. Oh. I did drop my phone.)
"He is working," Hana says. "We are saving the Student Council budget."
Yerin looks at me again. She can't seem to look away. She's biting her lip.
"Why is he dressed like... that?"
"Like what?" Hana smirks. "Like a Prince?"
"Like a... like a..." Yerin stutters. She covers her face with her hands. "He looks dangerous. Put him back in his hoodie! It's too much for the public!"
Me (Internal): Thank you! Finally, someone with sense! Tell them I look ridiculous!
"Too late," Hana says. "But... since you're here..."
Hana's eyes gleam. She taps her chin.
"We needed a female model for the 'Forbidden Romance' concept. The agency model canceled."
Yerin peeks through her fingers. "Forbidden... Romance?"
"Unless you're scared," Hana taunts. "Scared to stand next to the Ice King?"
Yerin drops her hands. Her eyes narrow. The competitive spirit flares up.
"I'm not scared of anything."
"Good," Hana snaps her fingers. "Stylist! Get her in the Gothic Lolita dress! Make them match!"
Me: "WAIT. NO. PLEASE."
Episode 4: The Vampire and the Sacrifice
Ten minutes later.
I am sitting on a velvet throne (it's actually a plastic chair with a cloth over it).
Yerin walks onto the set.
[Critical Hit.]
Chat. I might be dead.
She is wearing a black lace dress. Her hair is curled. She has dark red lipstick on. She looks like a doll. A murder doll. But a very pretty murder doll.
She walks over to me. She refuses to make eye contact.
She sits on the armrest of the throne.
"Don't look at me," she whispers aggressively.
"I'm trying not to!" I whisper back. "You look... terrifyingly expensive."
"You look..." she trails off. She glances at my neck. She swallows hard. "You look different."
"Okay!" Pierre shouts. "Now, the concept is 'The Vampire Duke and his Captured Bride.' Duke, you want to bite her. Bride, you are scared but you like it!"
Me: "I DO NOT WANT TO BITE HER! That is unsanitary!"
Yerin: "I DO NOT LIKE IT!"
"Action!"
Pierre starts snapping photos.
I don't know what to do. So I just sit there, stiff as a board, terrified that if I move, I'll rip my pants.
"Closer!" Hana commands from the sidelines. "Jinsu, lean in. Smell her hair."
"I am not smelling her hair!" I protest. "That's creepy!"
"Do it or I leak your middle school poetry journal," Hana says calmly.
[Threat Detected: Level Extreme.]
I freeze. How does she have the journal? The one where I wrote haikus about being a lone wolf?
I have no choice.
I lean in.
I bring my face close to Yerin's neck.
She smells like strawberries and fear. Or maybe that's my fear.
I can feel her trembling.
"J-Jinsu," she whispers. "You're too close."
"I have to," I whimper. "She has the journal."
"Look at the camera!" Pierre yells.
I look up at the camera. My eyes are pleading. Help me.
But apparently, to the camera, my pleading eyes look like "Hungry Vampire Eyes."
"YES!" Pierre screams. "The desire! The restraint! magnificent!"
Hana walks onto the set holding a prop.
It's a riding crop. A whip. A leather whip.
Me: "Whoa. Whoa there. What is that for?"
Hana hands the whip to Yerin.
"Change of concept," Hana says. "Subversion. The Bride controls the Duke."
Yerin holds the whip. She looks at it. She looks at me.
A strange light enters her eyes.
"I control... him?" she murmurs.
Me: "Yerin? Put the weapon down. Yerin, please. We can talk about this."
She stands up. She stands in front of me.
She raises the whip. Not to hit me, but to lift my chin.
Using the handle, she tilts my head up.
Her face is inches from mine.
Her eyes are dark.
"You really are my idiot today, aren't you?" she whispers.
[System Alert: Dominance Shift.]
My brain short-circuits.
I am looking up at her. She is looking down at me. The whip handle is cool against my skin.
My heart is beating so fast I think it's going to break a rib.
I gulp.
My Adam's apple moves.
Yerin's eyes track the movement.
"Pierre!" Hana shouts. "Capture that! The submission!"
Flash. Flash. Flash.
I am frozen. I can't breathe.
Is this what girls want? Do they want to hold a whip and look at me like I'm a snack?
Because I am confused. I am scared.
And...
Me (Internal): Why do I kind of not hate this? Am I broken?
The shoot ends.
I am a puddle of sweat and shame.
I change back into my hoodie faster than the speed of light.
Hana is glowing. She is literally radiating money.
"Excellent work," she says. "We already hit 2,000 pre-orders. The server crashed."
Yerin is back in her uniform. She is sitting in the corner, holding a water bottle with two hands. She hasn't spoken for twenty minutes. She keeps touching her neck where my breath was.
"I'm going home," I announce. "I'm taking the bus. If you try to stop me, I will bite you. For real this time."
Hana waves me off. "Go. Rest. You have a fan signing event tomorrow."
Me: "A WHAT?"
I run. I sprint out of the studio.
I catch the bus.
I sit in the back.
I open my phone.
Bamboo Forest is broken. It's just loading circles.
Finally, a post loads.
[BREAKING NEWS]
Title: THE DUKE AND THE QUEEN.
> Leaked photo from the Studio.
> Image: Jinsu sitting on the throne, looking up with "longing eyes" (fear). Yerin holding his chin with a whip, looking possessive.
> Caption: "He belongs to her."
Comments:
* Simp4Yerin: "I wish I was that whip."
* User777: "I wish I was Jinsu."
* KendoMaster_Ryu: "A warrior submits only to the one he loves. Beautiful form, Jinsu."
* Mina_Choi: "My boy is all grown up. crying emoji"
* Anon: "Is nobody gonna talk about his collarbones? I'm fainting."
My phone vibrates.
New Message from Unknown Number:
"Good job today, Duke. See you tomorrow. - Yerin"
New Message from Hana:
"Your cut of the profits is 5%. I deposited it. Buy yourself some better clothes."
I check my bank account.
[Deposit Received: $500]
I stare at the number.
I made $500 for being terrified for two hours?
I look out the window. The city lights are blurring.
I touch my chin where the whip was.
Me: "Chat... I think I'm accidentally becoming a heartthrob. And I have no idea how to stop it."
I rest my head against the window.
Tomorrow is the Fan Signing.
I have to sign things.
I have terrible handwriting.
[Current Objective: Learn Cursive in 12 Hours.]
[Difficulty: Impossible.]
I close my eyes.
At least I got paid.
Maybe I can buy that limited edition Elden Ring figure now.
[To Be Continued...]
Author's Note:
Yooo! Author-nim here!
How was the photoshoot arc? Did you guys like the 'Vampire' concept?
Let's be real, Yerin with the whip unlocked something in all of us, right? Or just me? Just me? Okay.
Next chapter is the Fan Signing Event! Expect chaos, unexpected guests, and Jinsu accidentally starting a cult
.
Q&A:
Reader: "Does Jinsu realize Yerin likes him yet?"
Author: "Jinsu thinks Yerin is keeping him around as emergency food. He is denser than a neutron star."
Don't forget to drop those Power Stones! Let's get to Rank 1! 🚀🚀🚀