18-193

EP.193 What Happened in a Month 

On a sunny summer day, 

After finishing his university classes, Jun-ha answered his father’s phone call with a smile, perfect timing. 

  Oh~ Dad? Why’d you call? 

  Do I need a reason to call my son? I just wanted to see how you’re doing. 

  Really? Of course, I’m always doing fine. 

  You seem brighter lately, makes me happy too. Haha. 

After being rejected by Heo Seong-ah and then essentially ostracized at university, Jun-ha had been pretty much living alone. 

His father had seriously worried that Jun-ha might drop out and become a shut-in. Luckily, lately, Jun-ha had rediscovered his smile and regained his energy. 

  Is it thanks to that livestock that you seem so happy? 

  That’s right. I really liked Seong-ah. 

Rubbing his nose, Jun-ha shyly admitted it. 

His father burst into hearty laughter at his son’s sudden love confession. 

  Haha! Well, she’s your property now, so use her as you like and throw her away if you want. By the way, about the housekeeper… why did you do that to her? I did as you asked, but at least tell me your reasons. 

  Ah… so that was why you called? 

As expected, there was a reason for the call his father rarely reached out on his own. 

Jun-ha answered with a wry smile. 

  I just wanted to live alone with Seong-ah. Besides, I’m an adult now; I can handle housework by myself, right? 

A lot had happened in a month. 

The housekeeper, who’d always hated female livestock, tried to poison Heo Seong-ah by deliberately putting poison in her food. 

Luckily, Jun-ha happened to be passing the kitchen at that moment and caught her red-handed. 

At first, the housekeeper denied it, but eventually she fell to her knees and confessed. 

Jun-ha was furious at how far she’d gone. 

He was about to call the police, but as she clung to his legs, crying and begging, his heart softened. 

She pleaded not to cause trouble for her family she had five mouths to feed, and didn’t want one mistake to ruin them all. 

No matter how much she begged, the crime of attempted murder didn’t simply vanish... 

He couldn’t stand the thought of someone who had worked for his family for more than a decade being hauled off to a public facility to become female livestock. 

So instead of calling the police, Jun-ha ordered the housekeeper to go to a friend’s mansion in America and train as a housekeeper for a year. 

He sent her a large sum, calling it a training stipend. 

He said if she finished the year abroad and came back, he’d forgive her as if nothing happened but she must keep it a secret from her family. 

If she broke that pact, he’d call the police and have her turned into female livestock immediately. 

The housekeeper, after glancing at Heo Seong-ah, nodded, saying she’d do anything to avoid such a horrible fate. 

Jun-ha already knew that the rest of the housekeepers were in on it, too, but since he hadn’t caught anyone else directly harming Heo Seong-ah, he simply had them quietly resign. 

And so, only Jun-ha and Heo Seong-ah were left in the huge mansion. 

  Still, isn’t it a bit much to send her to your friend? 

  She was someone you hired, and honestly, like a mother to me. I can’t go into detail, but you should know she wronged me so badly it wiped away all my affection for her. 

That friend in America had the hobby of collecting women. 

He was one of the worst sorts, a genuine criminal, but Jun-ha figured the housekeeper who hated female livestock would get proper “training” there. 

If she survived and came back, Jun-ha really would go easy on her. 

  Sigh, alright, fine. 

  Thanks, dad. 

  I haven’t called in forever isn’t there something you want to say? 

  ...No. 

Did his dad want to hear “I love you” or something? 

That kind of cheesy line would never leave Jun-ha’s lips. 

  I’m hanging up now. 

Jun-ha’s relationship with his father was always a bit awkward. 

His father had always been a workaholic, so there were few family memories. 

Still, they both tried to have a normal father-son relationship now, respecting each other and offering mutual support as adults. 

  Oh, by the way... 

  Yes, what is it? 

  Don’t mention anything about female livestock to others, you know how rough things are these days… 

  Really? 

Come to think of it, anti-communal property protests had been flaring up all over the country recently. 

Feminist organizations blamed the government for the low birth rate and organized large, ignorant protests, 

and as more and more people sympathized, the number of anti-communal property protesters had surpassed a million. 

  Be careful. Protesters are getting violent… One misstep and you really could be killed. Even I only go from home to the facility now; nowhere else. 

  You’re the head of the facility, so you’re a target. I’m just nobody, I’ll be fine. 

  Still, you keep a private livestock. Just watch yourself. 

  Yeah, yeah, I’ll be careful. Hanging up now~ 

Annoyed by his dad’s nagging, Jun-ha hung up without ceremony. 

“What’s so scary about some protest...” 

He said that, but the news had already reported four deaths. 

What started as a nonviolent women’s protest movement had degenerated into violent riots. 

The catalyst? The influx of a few male protesters. 

Women united, demanding women’s rights. 

Meanwhile, the men protested not getting private livestock and having to use filthy communal girls instead  

they wanted to abolish the system. 

Men, jealous of those with private livestock, joined in the riots. 

Thanks to their wild violence, public opinion began to turn against the protests, and the movement devolved into infighting. 

Maybe the government wanted to see them destroy each other. 

Bzzzt  

As Jun-ha read his phone, an emergency alert arrived: 

A man in his early twenties, an employee at a communal facility, was reported missing no doubt, Jun-ha thought, they’d find his body by tomorrow. 

“Sigh... It is scary, honestly.” 

Having a private livestock, Jun-ha felt a chilling fear that he could be killed at any moment. 

No matter what happened… 

He promised himself he’d keep Heo Seong-ah’s existence a secret. 

Ding  

“Oh... What’s this?” 

Summoned by a friend, Jun-ha headed to a bar just like any other college student. 

Jun-ha got together with his usual friends for drinks. 

After catching up, they got down to business. 

“You all know why we’re here?” 

“We’re drinking to celebrate your hospital discharge.” 

“Yeah, Jun-ha’s buying. I just want my party, idiots.” 

“Ugh, you moron.” 

The reason they were all together: 

Their friend Lee Sung-jun was stabbed a month ago. 

“Anyway… wow, I really almost died…” 

It was no joke everyone agreed Sung-jun had been through hell. 

He was walking home from work when a stranger stabbed him in the side with a kitchen knife and ran away. 

Luckily, the wound missed any vital organs, and quick-acting paramedics saved his life. 

It was truly a miracle he spent four weeks in the hospital and was just released today. 

“Did they catch the culprit?” 

“Duh, this is CCTV heaven. Police called two days after I was admitted they caught her.” 

“Oh, good. Who was it?” 

“No idea. Looked like a pretty girl.” 

Sung-jun, remembering that day clearly, cursed as he downed his soju. 

The more he thought about it, the more unfair it felt. 

What had he done to deserve some woman he’d never even met stabbing him? 

He insisted he’d never harmed anyone, even if he’d lived selfishly. 

“So, what was her motive?” 

“How would I know? Police questioned her, but she pled the fifth and said nothing.” 

“Pfft!” 

Jun-ha, who’d been listening quietly, burst out laughing. 

“The fifth? Like that’s going to help? Hilarious.” 

“Right? Haha! Anyway, the moment she committed a crime, she was marked for female livestock.” 

Just as he said in this twisted world, any woman who committed even a minor crime lost her rights and became female livestock. 

They had to throw away all pride as women and atone for their crimes by serving their victims as livestock a wonderful system, or so it was said.