Traitor

After work, I came back to my studio apartment.

I immediately pulled a beer from the small one-person fridge and took a big gulp.

“Puhhaa—!”

The tight feeling in my chest eased a little. Though the fundamental problem still hadn’t changed.

The reason I was worrying was, naturally, the orc gym trainer who had come by today.

It was because of Maramdesh Eloak.

Someone who's good in bed.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized this was a truly ridiculous problem.

'What am I even supposed to do about this?'

For now, I’d listed a few people with similar mindsets.

There are definitely men out there who want someone open-minded about body type or sex.

Usually, things would be settled by now.

From the start, it’s impossible for a matchmaking agency to make things happen after just one or two meetings.

But there was a reason it kept bothering me.

'I feel like she'll never be satisfied.'

From the perspective of someone whose instincts are pretty sharp, no matter who I matched her with, Maramdesh somehow seemed like she'd reject them.

'Should I just leave her be?'

The less a customer gets matched, the more money the matchmaking company makes.

If anything, they might even welcome customers like that.

'Haa, no. That's not it.'

Wouldn't that make me no different from TopHorn? I took this job because I genuinely wanted to connect people with each other.

Because I couldn't do that myself.

While I was worrying, faint sounds from next door drifted through the wall.

“...What are you doing, pressing your ear to the wall?”

“I think the Great Hero is troubled. He’s already sighed three times.”

Damn, that's creepy.

For reference, just like last time with Sister Maria, Baek Yeonhwa was staying at Lenea’s place.

At first, she barged into my place and got kicked out immediately, then ended up mooching off Lenea next door.

Lenea said she was lonely living alone and accepted her readily.

People say loneliness comes easier with age, but at 1,902 years old, I couldn't even guess how lonely that must be.

'Since she's a woman too, maybe she knows a thing or two.'

But what would the two of them know?

One was a true lifelong single who had never dated once in 1,902 years.

The other was a martial artist who had spent her whole life reading books and living without freedom.

'Or maybe not.'

On the contrary, there is that saying.

That people who haven't experienced something imagine it even more vividly.

Because of that, they can reveal even more blatant, filthy desires.

And once that gets worse, they end up hearing a bitter retort like, 'Reality is different...'

“Haa, come here.”

I gave a short call, and a moment later.

The two of them came barging in, immediately punching in the password.

“Excuse us!”

“Excuse us, Great Hero!”

Hold on.

“What? How do you know the password?”

Startled, I asked, and our sharp-eared elf chuckled and shrugged.

“The button tones are slightly different, you know. Beep, beep-beep, beep! 3 27 5! Elves have good ears!”

Lenea, with her palms behind both ears as she boasted, and Baek Yeonhwa clapping in admiration beside her.

If that's the case, why is she working part-time at Meracle?

She should just go rob people.

So what's got you so troubled?

“I know, Great Hero! It must be because of that orc customer from earlier, right?”

“Ah! The thing you and Miss Kim were secretly worrying about and absolutely refused to tell us?”

“Right! The one where you even told us to leave the office, so I was kind of hurt!”

“Thanks to that, we played knucklebones in the parking lot outside!”

“I won!”

“......”

Ah, I should've just told them to get lost.

Telling them to leave was unavoidable, since Lenea’s ears are too good.

I never expected them to actually go all the way to the parking lot.

“How mean! So mean! Tell me too!”

“That's right! We have the right to know, Great Hero!”

The two of them started raising their hands and bickering. At the racket that showed no sign of ending, I squeezed my eyes shut.

The sudden fatigue made me want to silence them right away.

My body moved before my brain did.

“Someone who can have satisfying sex,” he said.

“......”

“......”

The two of them froze in place at my irritated answer. Both stood there blankly with their mouths open.

Lenea was the first to thaw from petrification.

“Y-You're so lewd! How vulgar! As expected of an orc! At the very least, something like that should wait until after five years of dating-!”

I don't think even in the Confucian era it would have taken that long.

“I, I’ve seen something like this in 'Adult Push and Pull.' It had all sorts of advice about what men and women do when they have sex!”

That useless 'Adult Push and Pull' again.

But Lenea beside her seemed intrigued, perking up her ears as she asked,

“Oh? There's such a book?”

“Yes! It says all the manners for the beginning, the middle, and the end.”

I'm glad it only seems to be etiquette. If it had detailed content, publication would have been banned.

“What kind of content is there? I'm curious!”

“Can you two stop chatting here and go home?”

“What kind of content, you ask—.”

The two of them just completely ignore me and talk to each other.

Baek Yeonhwa, puffed up as if she'd become a teacher, explains the contents she'd seen in the book as if they were her own experience.

“First, it said to compliment the man's manhood no matter what. Big or small, ugly or cute.”

“Ohhh......”

Then Lenea suddenly shouts at me, as if doing a practice run.

“How splendid!”

“What, have you seen mine?”

“No. I just tried out the compliment first.”

What is this.

What is this, like a grandma checking how big her grandson's junk got? Something like that?

“No matter what state it's in, if you compliment it, isn't it the same whether you see it or not?”

“No, I mean—hiss... that does make sense.”

It does seem like that isn't wrong.

Then, feeling like she'd been beaten, Baek Yeonhwa also raised both hands and shouted.

“As expected of you, Great Hero! Amazing!”

“How splendid!”

“Amazing!”

“Woo! Hooray!”

“Hooray!”

“This is sexual harassment, you crazy idiots.”

Watching those two idiots happily praising my junk with both hands raised made my head throb.

“Manshey!”

“Manshey!”

......But weirdly, it does feel good.

* * *

The next day.

The place we arrived at after making time at lunchtime was in front of the gym where Maramdesh works.

“Tall.”

“Oh, really tall.”

Kim Yang and I looked up at the gym and marveled.

The gym was located at the very top of a five-story building.

Normally, I thought gyms wouldn't go on high floors because of impact noise between floors.

Apparently, that doesn't matter here.

The reason we came here today was simple.

I wanted to get a feel for how Ms. Maramdesh was working, and what the surrounding environment was like.

We did have an interview, but there are plenty of things you can't tell from that alone.

The reason I was making such an effort for Maramdesh was just one.

'It's been ages since I had a premium customer. I absolutely have to take care of this.'

Because she'd signed up at the highest tier, with 5 million won plus all sorts of extra options piled on!

The same rate plan as our 'beast-fucker Lee Cheolsu,' who still hasn't found a match.

No wonder I had to go out of my way personally.

But I ran into an unexpected problem.

“H-hey, boss.”

“......”

“C-can we go in here?”

The first floor of the gym where Maramdesh works.

On the antique black-and-gold signboard, 'Royal Matching' was written boldly.

Royal Matching.

One of the three largest matchmaking agencies in Seoul.

Among all matchmaking agencies, it screens customers the most strictly, and its standards are the highest.

It accepts only ultra-elite clients, so it's the most expensive.

To give you an idea, even our highest premium membership tier is almost five times cheaper than the basic membership here.

“What, what? Don't be scared, Kim Yang. How are we any worse off?”

“Y-You're shaking, boss.”

“I'm not? I'm not?”

Just visiting a gym in the same building, but I was weirdly nervous.

As I was about to go in, I turned back toward Kim Yang.

“Hey, how do I look? Neat?”

“C-chicken.”

Membership here starts at a minimum of 30 million won.

“I-I-I, I-I’m shaking, boss.”

Kim Yang started trembling too.

While the two of us were straightening each other's clothes.

Maramdesh, the ponytailed orc gym instructor, came out of the building entrance.

She marveled at us, saying how amazing it was, without even greeting us.

“You really came. Does the matchmaking agency also do business trips?”

“Because you're a special customer, Ms. Maramdesh.”

“Heh, let's go in.”

We went inside.

The inside of the building was pleasantly cool and neatly arranged, and the natural stone tiles on the floor gleamed.

'I never thought our gukbap joint's building would ever feel shabby.'

The pride I'd built up from the 2nd- and 3rd-floor expansion work deflated.

Riding the gold-finished elevator up, I saw the names of the businesses on each floor written on the buttons.

---

B2: Deep Blue (Swimming Pool)

B1: Quiet Forest (Skin Care)

1F: Royal Matching

2F: Cafe Arco & Wine Bar Rouge

3F: Dining Restaurant TABLE 7

4F: Fairway Club (Screen Golf)

5F: Line Up (Gym)

---

“So flashy.”

Kim Yang marveled at the building's grandeur, but I frowned instead.

“There wasn't even a sign outside the building?”

“......Huh!?”

Kim Yang was a beat late to react to my words, while Maramdesh grinned.

“That's right. In fact, all the businesses in this building are operated in connection with Royal Matching.”

“It's a system that provides one lifestyle centered on Royal Matching. The folks in charge there call it a brand house? A platform structure? Something like that.”

The list of businesses came back into view.

Starting with the pool and ending with the gym.

All of it was prepared for Royal Matching's customers?

“Isn't this exactly the kind of natural encounter people are after these days?”

TopHorn is number one in the industry because it has the most customers.

But Royal Matching provides a different quality to its clients.

Overwhelming financial power.

Then another question came to mind.

“But why did you sign up with Meracle?”

“Well, first of all, I don't even meet Royal Matching's eligibility requirements. And it's my workplace, isn't it?”

“Since I work as a PT trainer, I end up teaching Royal Matching customers.”

So I kept work and private life separate.

“That makes sense-.”

The second reason is that one of my PT clients recommended Meracle.

“Recommended?”

“Seems like we know each other, doesn't it? Since we're doing PT right now, why don't you say hello?”

- 5th floor.

- The doors are opening.

As the elevator doors opened, the gym interior came into view beyond the glass doors.

At a glance, the gym equipment looked brand new and shiny. The space was large, but there were relatively few people.

And in the stretching zone, warming up while waiting for the PT instructor, was a former idol.

“No way, it's you.”

The moment we stepped inside and greeted her warmly, her face hardened.

The demon we sealed away together.

The unlucky S-rank catch who ended up leaving Meracle without even getting properly matched.

Former idol Seo Hajin.

“Our customer— no, traitor, Seo Hajin?!”

Now that you're not even a customer anymore, I taunted her right away, and she replied indignantly, sounding wronged.

“How was I supposed to keep going there when you introduced me to Deokgu?!”