Chapter 53: 53
Yuki groans, wiping his face. "You're not gonna believe me. Hell, I still don't believe it. But I swear this is how it happened." He leaned back against the wall, eyes distant as if trying to piece back the details.
So engrossed in what Yuki was about to say, Jun and Haruto kept quiet.
"It was the first week of the semester. I remember Iwas taking the late train to school, right? Half-asleep, earbuds in. Just trying to survive after spending the whole three months summer break in the hospital because of my cancer sister."
"And Then..."
Flashback...
The train rattled along the track in a rush, the dull hum of fluorescent lights overhead glitching until it went dark. Everyone groaned at the dark train and began switching on their phone torchlight. Yuki stood near the doors, hanging onto a vertical steel bar, his brown sling bag across his chest.
Hoodies were up covering his forehead. He had a mask on his nose bridge. Due to the fast speed of the subway, held on tighter with an old man seating comfortably in front of him. Yuki raised his mask higher up, pointing his head downwards into the lit up screen of the old man.
All wrinkles and pale was the old man's skin. Perhaps in his seventies or eighties. He had on his body a suit too big for his thin frame and sat hunched over in the corner, muttering softly to himself. Nothing weird for Tokyo—until Yuki caught sight of his phone.
The screen was glowing this deep, crimson red. Not like any app Yuki had ever seen. And the old man…he was smiling. "You gonna judge me for watching porn on the subway, huh?" the old man rasped without even looking up, his voice scratchy like gravel and sleep.
Yuki blinked. He tugged one earbud out and chuckled, shaking his head. "Not at all. That's more of a… video game, though. Just curious."
The old man finally looked up, eyes a dull gray that gleamed weirdly in the red light of the phone. "Smart kid. You've played stuff like this before, haven't you?"
Yuki didn't answer right away. He shrugged one shoulder. "A few… hentai games, yeah. Nothing serious."
The old man grinned, yellowed teeth flashing. "Ahh, so you know the deal. This one's different though."
Yuki tilted his head. "Looks like it's still in dev mode."
"It is," the man replied, nodding sagely. "Still in its beta phase of testing. Lucky how an old man like me was called by a big company to help test their new AI-based porn sim."
He let out a wheezy laugh that didn't quite reach his eyes. "They wanted someone with… experience."
Yuki's brows lifted behind his mask. "They sent the beta to you?"
The man held up the phone between two trembling fingers. "Nah, kid. This one—" he tapped the screen gently "—this one finds you. It learns you. Builds her around your pain, your loneliness, your desire. You don't choose the girl. She chooses you."
That earned a chuckle of disbelief from Yuki."How is this different from other hentai porn RPG? The game layout looks normal."
"To you, it looks like just another RPG layout," the old man muttered. "But to me, it's my life. My wife. Let me tell you something, kid—I'm seventy, alone, and horny all the goddamn time. My wife died from pneumonia and since then, I've been nothing but a ghost in my own damn apartment. I've got penile dysfunction too, so I can't even hit on a lady, and let's be honest—"
He slouched in a bit, reeking faintly of mint gum."—ladies love thick dick. I ain't got that anymore."
Yuki blinked, his face frozen in awkward pitifulness. "So yeah," the old man went on. "I found solace in this game."
"—"
Yuki shifted a step back. He couldn't help it. Finding solace in a hentai porn game? That was messed up.
The old man grinned wider, clearly unbothered. "The girls I've fucked in that game don't give a shit about my dick size. And guess what? They pay me. I stream on live porn cams. I don't need to show up physically well maybe if they actually wanna fuck. Real women nude and those fuckers who watch? They tip like crazy. I'm living my damn life."
Yuki's mouth was slightly open, speechless. "I… I'm sorry for your loss, Ojisan," Yuki finally offered, the words slipping out automatically after struck with awe.
"Sorry for my loss?" The old man laughed, a little too loud. "Don't be. After my wife died, I became a millionaire. I got no kids, no debt, and no more diapers to buy. I'm swimming in yen, baby. Wanna see?"
He swiped the screen.
Yuki squinted as a new interface appeared—sleek, almost futuristic. At the top, under the "Withdrawal" tab, it showed:
Balance: 10,000,000 LPC
"That's LustPoint Credits," the old man said proudly, tapping the currency.
A conversion popped up underneath: Approximate: ¥6,666,666
Yuki's eyes widened. "Holy shit. That's a lot—from a hentai game? I've never seen anyone earn that kind of money from porn gaming."
The man gave him a sideways smirk, as if he'd been waiting for that exact reaction. "It's called Lustbound: Realm of Desire. You play for fun and it rewards you. This game shows how women dominate the sex world and pay you filthy money. Interested to download?"
"Maybe, I guess so..." Yuki shrugged, taking his phone and handing it over to the old man. The old man clicked some buttons and shared the beta version to him quickly. The train ride came to a pause soon after and he handed Yuki over his phone. "What do I do from here?"
He pointed at the loading home screen filled with a nude woman. He turned around to see the old man alighting from the train. "Um, thank you. Wish you good luck I guess."
******
Yuki gave a smug little chuckle. "What helast said was 'The MILFs are generous if you treat them right. Download Lustbound. Don't let youth be wasted on broke boys.'
Jun burst out laughing. "No way this happened. That's like a cursed urban legend—MILF Monk on the Morning Train or some shit!"
Haruto wasn't laughing. He looked… thoughtful. Too thoughtful.
"Wait," he said slowly, everything coming to piece in his head. "You actually played the game?"
"Nope I didn't. I had my phone stolen the next three weeks when I got into the dormitory and was only able to recover my memory card which I'm using now. So like last month was when I went to flash my memory card and figured out I still had that game on it. So I began..."
"Damn, that sounds like an anime I have watched. Bruh just told us a harem solo leveling anime. Bet you should enter the movie industry and flourish too." Haruto yawned and rose from the bed, going back to his videogame.
Jun sat on the bed, looking at the million in Yuki's account. "Bruh, mind if you could lend me ¥400,000. I swear I will pay you back in four months. I found this really good investment plan, mind looking at it?"
He hurried over to his shelf and took out some magazines and before he could shove it at Yuki's face, Yuki scoffed, grabbing a handful of chips from the freshly opened snack box and tossing one into his mouth.
"No way, bro. Weren't you the one making fun of the game? Calling it 'MILF Monk's Urban Legend' and whatnot? Go make your own cash, asshole!"
Jun whined dramatically, flopping backward on the bed. "Yuuukiiii, come on! That was before I saw the actual balance. Ten million LustPoints?! That's not just hentai money, that's f**k-you money!"
"Exactly. And I'm saying f**k you," Yuki grinned, kicking Jun lightly on the side. "You mocked the grind, you don't get the shrine."
Haruto let out a chuckle but didn't take his eyes off the game he was playing. "Honestly, I'm with Yuki. It's like watching a broke dude diss OnlyFans girls then beg them for rent money. Hypocrite level: maxed."
Jun sat up quickly, offended. "I wasn't mocking! I was just in disbelief! That's different! This is like finding out Candy Crush can buy you a f**king house."
"Yeah, but you still laughed at the legend of the Morning MILF Monk," Yuki teased. "Besides, the game chooses you, remember? That's what the old man said."
Jun pointed at him, eyes narrowing. "Okay, see, now you're the one sounding like you joined a hentai cult."
"I did join a hentai cult. A profitable one," Yuki said, reaching for his phone with a smirk. He wiggled the phone in his hand. "I'm the one with the cash and not you obviously. Any idea if the school clinic will be open?"
"Yes, 24/7 or kinda. Heard that from someone. You can try your luck."
Yuki scratched his side absently and muttered, "I think I have to get this rash checked. It's spreading more than I thought."
Jun didn't miss a beat. He shot finger guns at Yuki with a grin. "Good luck—and break a dick while you're there."
Yuki rolled his eyes. "Real mature."
Haruto added without looking up, "Plot twist: the MILFs in the game give you real STDs if you don't romance them right. It's all part of the hyper-immersive AI experience."