370. Child (13)

A fire that has caught once cannot be easily put out.

A small fire might be extinguished somehow by spraying water or something, but the current situation is like pouring water onto a blazing fire.

The more you try to cover it, the more spectacularly it burns.

Even if you manage to put out the fire somehow, the soot won’t disappear.

It’s irreversible.

Forever.

“Brother-in-law.”

“Yeah.”

“Can I come in too?”

“…Sure.”

The other kids had all fallen asleep.

Soo-ah went home on shaky legs, and Hinami, looking happier than she had in a long time, crashed in my room.

Haeun also said she was tired and went back to her room first, leaving only me and Ye-eun awake.

But besides us, there were so many other people awake in the world.

“Anyway, this is insane. …My phone’s too hot to touch.”

“Well, that’s only natural.”

The person currently burning the hottest in this country sighed deeply, leaning against me while submerged in a bathtub warmer than her own body.

On the phone resting on the bathtub cover was, naturally, a picture of herself.

‘Idol Sex Suggestion Photos’-just the name alone is provocative.

And not just any idol, but ‘Seo Jia,’ one of the top five most famous idols these days.

Plus, the subject of the scandal is none other than her brother-in-law, who used to be a baseball player. At this point, it’s enough to pique the interest of someone who isn’t even into gossip.

Major news outlets hadn’t picked it up yet, but smaller outlets were already busy spreading it around.

The fact that the media was starting to gnaw at it meant everyone on the internet already knew.

Even at this late hour, people were furiously tearing us apart like piranhas smelling blood.

“…Your hand is hot too, Brother-in-law.”

“Well, you’re in the bathtub, so of course.”

But there were still plenty of untold stories piled up.

The private details with Haeun.

The relationship with Hinami.

The story of my first time with Jia.

…And the fact that I got all three of them pregnant.

There were still bombshells waiting that could raise the temperature by thousands of degrees the moment any one of them was revealed.

Just touching her belly right now, if we were to admit it honestly, would send even those who stayed silent out of fear of lawsuits into a frenzy.

Even though Hinami unfollowed me from her account, people are still calling us a lesbian couple or demanding a coming out.

“We can’t even go outside like this.”

“What’s the big deal? …Besides, most of the people cursing us don’t really care about us anyway.”

“…I suppose so.”

Of course, more people were jumping on the bandwagon for the juicy gossip than those genuinely denying reality,

and no matter how much I looked at the community forums, there seemed to be more excited people than angry ones.

Teasing Jia, mocking her fans, and then mocking the teasers-everyone seemed ecstatic and running wild.

Sure, there were quite a few angry people, but the atmosphere, with thousands of comments pouring in, felt more like a festival than a war.

Everyone must be thrilled to have a reason to curse someone and tear them down.

“…Smooch. Hehe.”

“What?”

“They don’t know we’re kissing right now, do they? They can only imagine.”

“…Probably.”

…Just like how I always felt superior while screwing Jia.

Kissing her lightly while she’s submerged in the tub, my head heats up and satisfaction boils over.

I actually felt grateful towards the people chattering about us.

The bigger the fire spread, the more they’d have no choice but to look our way.

Just being watched would prevent them from pulling any stunts like last time.

I don’t want to get stabbed in some dark alley again.

“Still, people seem to be catching on. …Someone did spread the news about me getting stabbed.”

“Will that change public opinion?”

“No, why would public opinion change over something like this? Of course not. It’s just… your director might calm down a bit.”

The Instagram post I uploaded earlier, along with plenty of evidence of sex, also included the clean scar on my side.

News about a former baseball player getting stabbed in a dark alley late at night didn’t spread widely, but there was at least one article, and it drew attention to me while scattering everywhere.

Even people who initially didn’t care about a mere side scar started brainstorming amongst themselves, diligently writing all sorts of scenarios about hired assassinations and whatnot.

With things this way, neither the director nor anyone else would dare try anything funny with me again.

Hundreds of conspiracy theories are already pouring out; if I actually died, public opinion would be unstoppable, regardless of what the law says.

“Hmm, I think some of my fans might go completely nuts, Brother-in-law.”

“Not many people in the world are willing to spend their lives rotting in jail just because they lost their minds. …The guy who stabbed me last time clearly thought he wouldn’t get caught.”

“…Well, that’s true.”

“And from now on, if I die, your company will be in more danger. …Even if some crazy bastard kills me in a fit of rage, will people really think it’s that bastard’s fault?”

Having come this far, it was actually Jia’s agency that would be in trouble if I died.

A girl group falling apart is a completely different level of problem than the company facing murder-for-hire accusations.

Of course, I can’t just say that out loud.

Because there’s no evidence.

Only suspicion remains.

“Don’t say scary things, Brother-in-law.”

…But unlike in a courtroom, the internet loves suspicion and dopamine.

A stalker who lost his mind stabbing a female idol’s boyfriend,

Or the agency, fearing their idol’s dating scandal would spread, trying to eliminate the idol’s boyfriend from the world.

It was obvious which of the two would seem more plausible and ‘fun.’

The comedy was that both were actually true.

“Don’t take it too seriously, just enjoy it. …People are enjoying cursing us anyway. It’s mutual.”

“…Then should I upload more explicit photos?”

“No. …If it burns too hot too fast, it’ll burn out quickly.”

“Okay.”

Caressing Jia’s chest, which was leaning completely against me, I imagined how this scandal would end.

The first ending that came to mind was one of us dying, but it wasn’t even worth imagining, so I discarded it immediately.

An ending where we go completely off the rails and release all the videos we’ve ever taken briefly crossed my mind, but I regretfully gave up, thinking Jia’s fans’ balls would end up completely empty.

The best ending would probably be one where we maintain a certain boundary.

Hinting that something’s going on, then subtly revealing that I got pregnant.

An ending where we just soak up the attention from people who found good bait to tear into, while living ordinary lives in the real world.

“Then we have plenty of time, so let’s take it slow. …The belly you got pregnant also has a long way to go before it swells.”

“Sure.”

But even this ending didn’t seem entirely smooth sailing.

Wherever we go, people will give us strange looks, and it won’t have a good influence on the children growing up.

Even if we give birth in Japan, maybe we’ll have to move somewhere quieter when the kids get older.

I’m a little scared of immigrating to America, thinking I might get shot by a Jia fan living there.

Perhaps staying in Korea would be the safest.

Because this place is like the eye of a storm.

If we enroll them in an international school or something and live quietly, maybe-

“…Hey, Brother-in-law.”

“Yeah.”

“After I give birth, what do you think about trying to be an idol again?”

“…You’re joking, right?”

“…I’m not joking.”

…It seems my third wife has no intention of living quietly.

Come to think of it, I forgot that Seo Jia was originally a woman obsessed with fame.

She wouldn’t have chosen the idol profession just for being pretty and cute.

She couldn’t have climbed this high if she didn’t love being the center of attention for so many people.

“I don’t think you’ll get a good outcome.”

“Well, I say idol, but I was thinking of trying YouTube like my sister. Since my sister plays guitar, maybe I could learn bass?”

“Are you going to form a band?”

“Not exactly… just… I think I’ll get bored if I live quietly.”

“…Do whatever you want.”

She came to depend on me… I almost forgot why.

…It’s because I exchanged all the honor, popularity, and attention she had built up for pure pleasure.

Even if it couldn’t surpass the thrill of a top idol bungee jumping, I had to shove something similar into her mouth.

Because she’s my woman, who entrusted everything to me, believing I would do just that.

“…Can I really do whatever I want?”

“Yeah. Whatever you want-hey….”

“……♡”

…Even though she’s only two weeks pregnant, she hugs me tightly,

My own female, desperate to take in even more of my semen.

Because she’s my wife, who carries my child.

I should love her the way she wants.

The one who once despised me,

Who has now submitted to me,

To my own woman.