Day 99 Post-Impact
The morning briefing started at 0700 sharp.
Sarnav sat at the head of the command table, his ten wives arranged around him in their usual configuration. Nisha at his right, the first wife anchor. Jiyeon at his left, the strategic mind. The others distributed based on role and preference, a seating arrangement that had evolved naturally over weeks of meetings.
Jade looked better. The dark circles under her eyes had faded, and her movements were sharper than before. The breakthrough to C-rank had done more than increase her power. It had refined her focus.
"Tanaka Yuki arrives in two days," Jiyeon began, pulling up a holographic display courtesy of Jade's systems. "Japanese government escort, three support staff, and approximately two terabytes of research data on dimensional anomalies."
"That's a lot of research," Minji observed.
"That's her leverage." Jiyeon's sharp eyes swept the room. "She's not just sharing information. She's auditioning."
Mythili looked up from her datapad. "Auditioning for what?"
"For us." Jiyeon manipulated the display, bringing up Yuki's profile. Twenty-one years old. Genius researcher. Ice manipulation abilities. And the title that had spread across survivor networks: The Ice Princess of Tokyo. "She could have sent the data remotely. Could have established a purely transactional relationship. Instead, she insisted on coming personally, with a government escort to legitimize her departure from Japan."
"She wants to stay," Serena said quietly. Her probability sense was active, processing the implications. "Permanently."
"The system flagged her at 89% compatibility," Sarnav confirmed. "She's a potential wife."
The room absorbed that information. Ten wives already. An eleventh approaching.
"Then we need to control the narrative." Jiyeon stood, her idol training evident in every graceful movement. "She arrives as a visiting researcher. What she becomes depends on how we manage the introduction. First impressions matter. Power dynamics matter." Her eyes met Sarnav's. "We can't appear desperate for her research, or she'll leverage that. We can't appear dismissive, or she'll reconsider. We need to present Harmony as the obvious choice while making her feel she's the one choosing."
"You've done this before," Zara observed.
"I was an idol trainee. I've watched agencies court sponsors, manage talent, and control public perception for years." A hint of bitterness in her voice. "At least now I'm using those skills for something that matters."
The discussion continued. Security protocols for the Japanese delegation. Accommodation arrangements. Research facility access. Jiyeon handled most of it, her strategic mind turning the arrival into a carefully choreographed performance.
Sarnav watched her work, appreciating how she'd grown into her role. When she'd first arrived at Harmony, she'd been guarded, suspicious, her idol mask firmly in place. Now she was integral to their leadership structure. Indispensable.
And he'd barely spent any time with her recently.
"The seal degraded another 0.2% overnight."
Jade's voice cut through the diplomatic planning, pulling attention to the more immediate threat. She brought up new data on the display, replacing Yuki's profile with energy readings.
"93.5% and dropping." She highlighted several anomalous patterns. "But that's not what concerns me. Look at these fluctuations."
The readings showed rhythmic pulses beneath the overall degradation. Regular. Purposeful.
"It's not just breaking down," Jade continued. "It's being broken down. Something inside is actively testing the seal's boundaries. Learning its weaknesses."
"The Voice said it was transforming," Ishani said. "Becoming something new."
"He was right." Serena's voice was troubled. "I've been trying to read the probability streams around the rift. The seal location. And there's... nothing. Not uncertainty. Absence. Like something is actively blocking my sight."
[SEAL INTEGRITY: 93.5%]
[DEGRADATION RATE: ACCELERATING]
[ENTITY ACTIVITY: PATTERN ANALYSIS INCONCLUSIVE]
[WARNING: PREDICTIVE MODELING COMPROMISED]
The system observes that things which block probability manipulation are typically quite dangerous. Recommend increased vigilance.
"How long do we have?" Sarnav asked.
"Unknown." Jade's frustration was evident. "If the degradation remains linear, months. If it accelerates further, weeks. If the entity manages a breakthrough..." She didn't finish the sentence.
"Then we prepare for the worst while hoping for the best." Sarnav stood, signaling the meeting's end. "Jade, continue monitoring. Serena, keep trying to get readings. Everyone else, focus on the Yuki arrival. We need that research."
The wives dispersed to their duties. But one lingered.
"We need to discuss the Tanaka approach privately."
Jiyeon's voice caught him as the command center emptied. She stood by the door, posture perfect, expression controlled. The idol mask she wore in public.
"Of course."
She led him to a smaller strategy room, closing the door behind them. The moment they were alone, something in her demeanor shifted. The mask cracked, just slightly.
"You spent yesterday with Jade." Her tone was carefully neutral. "The day before that, you were on the mission. Before that, the tribulation celebrations. Before that..." She trailed off, examining the wall rather than meeting his eyes. "I understand rotation. I understand priorities. I'm not questioning your decisions."
"But?"
"But I'm also human. And I'm a wife who calculates her own emotional needs alongside everyone else's." She finally looked at him, vulnerability flickering beneath the strategic exterior. "I know exactly how many days it's been since you've touched me, jagiya. Sixteen. I've been counting."
Sixteen days. He hadn't realized it had been so long.
"Jiyeon-"
"Don't apologize. I hate apologies." She stepped closer, her scent washing over him. Expensive perfume, the same she'd worn as an idol. A reminder of who she'd been. "I just need you to remember that I'm not just your strategist. I'm not just the one who plans the meetings and manages the politics." Her hand found his chest, fingers spreading over his heart. "I'm your wife. Your noona." The word came out slightly breathless. "And I need you."
He kissed her.
She responded immediately, her controlled facade crumbling as her arms wrapped around his neck. The kiss deepened, hungry and desperate, sixteen days of waiting pouring into the contact.
"Your quarters," she breathed against his lips. "Now."
They barely made it through the door before she was pulling at his clothes.
Jiyeon's movements were precise even in passion, her idol training turning even undressing into something graceful. She stripped his shirt away, then her own, revealing a lace bra that did nothing to hide her peaked nipples beneath the delicate fabric.
"I've been thinking about this." She pushed him toward the bed, following him down. "Every night. While you were on the mission, while you were with Jade, I was lying alone thinking about your hands on me."
"Show me what you were thinking."
She straddled him, long legs bracketing his hips. The position put her in control, exactly where she liked to start. Her fingers worked his belt, freeing him, and she made a small sound of appreciation at what she found.
"I missed this." She stroked him slowly, watching his reaction with sharp eyes. "I missed you, jagiya."
He reached for her bra clasp, but she caught his wrist.
"Not yet. I want..." She bit her lip, a rare moment of uncertainty from the confident strategist. "I want you to worship me first. Remind me that I matter."
He flipped them, putting her beneath him. She gasped at the sudden shift, eyes widening.
"You matter," he said, kissing down her neck. "Every strategy you create." A kiss to her collarbone. "Every plan you execute." Her bra came away, revealing firm breasts with dusty pink nipples. "Every moment you spend making Harmony stronger." His mouth found her breast and she arched into him with a moan.
"Jagiya... joha..."
He took his time. Worshipping her exactly as she'd asked. His mouth traced every curve, learned every sensitive spot, drew sounds from her that the controlled idol would never let anyone else hear. By the time he kissed down her stomach, she was trembling.
"Please," she whispered. "I need-"
He pulled her remaining clothes away and settled between her thighs. The first stroke of his tongue made her cry out, fingers tangling in his hair.
"Deo... more... jagiya, deo..."
[WIFE: JIYEON - SENSITIVITY ELEVATED]
[EMOTIONAL BOND: DEEPENING]
He gave her more. His tongue worked her clit while his fingers slid inside, curling to find the spot that made her back arch off the bed. She came with a sharp cry, Korean and English mixing into incoherence, her thighs clamping around his head.
But she wasn't satisfied.
"Inside me." She pulled at him, demanding. "I need you inside me. Now."
He positioned himself at her entrance, feeling her arousal coat him. But before he thrust forward, he paused.
"Say it."
Her eyes met his, understanding flickering. "Say what?"
"You know what."
A flush spread across her cheeks. Her biggest kink. The thing she'd confessed in whispered words weeks ago, too embarrassed to say it loudly. "I... call me..."
"Call you what, noona?"
The effect was immediate. Her whole body shuddered, pussy clenching around nothing, desperate for him. "Yes. That. Call me that."
He thrust into her.
"Noona feels so tight." He set a deep rhythm, watching her face as he used the word. "My beautiful noona."
"Jagiya-" She was losing coherence already, the word stripping away her control. "Joha... noona joha..."
[NOONA KINK: ACTIVATED]
The system declines to comment on the psychological implications.
She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him deeper. Her nails raked down his back as he increased his pace. The strategic mind, the calculating idol, the woman who controlled every aspect of her public image- all of it dissolved under his attention.
"More," she gasped. "Tell me more. Tell me how good noona feels."
"Noona's pussy is perfect." He thrust harder, making her cry out. "So wet for me. So desperate. My needy noona."
"Yes-" She was climbing toward her peak, he could feel it through the bond. "I am. I'm your noona. Your desperate, needy-" She broke off with a scream as the orgasm crashed through her.
He didn't stop.
"Again," he commanded, shifting his angle. "Noona's going to come again."
"I can't- it's too much-"
"You can. For me."
He drove into her relentlessly, one hand finding her clit, rubbing in tight circles. She sobbed his name, overwhelmed, the controlled strategist completely undone. When the second orgasm hit, she clenched so hard around him that he couldn't hold back any longer.
"Noona," he groaned as he spilled inside her. "My noona."
She held him through it, trembling, tears streaming down her face. Not from pain. From release. Sixteen days of tension, of calculated patience, of strategic waiting, all finally breaking free.
[DUAL CULTIVATION COMPLETE]
[ESSENCE GAINED: +3,200]
[JIYEON ESSENCE: +2,000]
[BOND LEVEL: SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED]
Afterward, she lay against his chest, fingers tracing idle patterns on his skin.
"Tanaka Yuki is 89% compatible." Her voice was steady again, the strategist returning even in the afterglow. "She's coming to join us, not just share research. You know that."
"I know."
"How do you feel about it? Wife number eleven."
He considered the question carefully. "The system chose this path for me. I didn't ask for multiple wives. Didn't plan for it. But every woman who's joined... I can't imagine Harmony without them now. Without you."
"Sweet talker." But she smiled against his chest. "I'm not jealous, if that's what you're wondering. More wives means more power. More stability. More protection for everyone." A pause. "But I am competitive."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning Tanaka Yuki needs to understand the hierarchy. I'm Wife Seven. I was here before her. I've earned my position." Her fingers stilled. "I'll welcome her. Help her integrate. But she doesn't get to waltz in and upset what we've built."
"I wouldn't let that happen."
"I know. That's why I'm telling you now, so you're prepared." She propped herself up to look at him directly. "When she arrives, let me manage the introduction. I know how to handle ambitious women who think they're special. I used to be one."
"You still are special."
"I'm strategic. There's a difference." She kissed him softly. "Two days until she arrives. That's enough time to prepare properly. I already have a welcome protocol drafted."
Of course she did.
"What would I do without you, noona?"
The word made her shiver, even now. "You'd manage. But you'd manage less efficiently."
He pulled her close, feeling her heartbeat against his chest. Through the network, the other wives pulsed with quiet approval. They'd felt the reconnection, the strengthening of a bond that had been neglected too long.
Two days until Tanaka Yuki.
Two days until their world potentially changed again.
But right now, in this moment, Jiyeon was exactly where she needed to be.
[DAY 99]
[SARNAV: S-RANK (HARMONY SOVEREIGN - FIRST STAGE)][PROGRESS TO SECOND STAGE: 7%]
[WIFE CULTIVATION STATUS][1. NISHA - D+ | 2. ISHANI - D+ | 3. ANANYA - D+][4. MINJI - D | 5. JADE - C | 6. SANA - C][7. JIYEON - C | 8. SERENA - C | 9. ZARA - C][10. ELENA - S]
[HARMONY SAFE ZONE: 1,295 SURVIVORS | 3 SECTORS]
[SEAL INTEGRITY: 93.5% (ACCELERATING)]
[ENTITY STATUS: TRANSFORMING - ACTIVITY INCREASING]
[INCOMING: TANAKA YUKI - ETA 2 DAYS]
[WIVES BONDED: 10/32]