Ch.101Chapter 101. Joke

I felt conflicted.

I had always expected that someday some beast would come after Cuss. After all, she’s pretty and cute.

But damn…

“Are you serious?”

“If I wasn’t serious, I wouldn’t have mentioned it to you, sir.”

“…”

I never dreamed someone would actually say they liked Cuss.

This fucking guy has some nerve.

Just because you discovered the existence of her tentacles, you think you know everything?

Do you think if you pull those tentacles, she’ll jump up like a frog?

Do you know that when I stroke the top of her head, she slowly lowers my hand and begs me to stroke her cheeks too?

What’s there to like about Cuss when you don’t know a damn thing about her?

“I’ll give you three seconds.”

“Pardon?”

“Get the hell out of here. If it weren’t for your lawyer, you’d be a dead man.”

“B-but sir, I’m not saying I want to do anything right away. I just wanted to let you know how I feel—”

“Are you not leaving?”

“Eeeek!”

When I stood up abruptly, he finally kicked back his chair and bolted.

As he left the restaurant, he kept glancing back at me nervously, but still managed to smile and wave until the end.

Damn bastard.

At least he has manners.

All smiles and sweetness.

It’s always these sweet-talking guys who turn out to be the dirtiest when you see what’s inside.

“What do you think?”

“Huh?”

“You… weren’t listening, were you?”

Cuss looked up at me while sucking on the straw in her shake, her eyes looking completely clueless.

I shouldn’t have ordered food.

She clearly wasn’t paying attention at all.

“Hey. I bought french fries too, why aren’t you eating them?”

“They don’t taste good.”

“Then try dipping them in your shake.”

“In my shake…?”

I dipped a french fry into her shake and pushed it into her mouth.

Her eyes widened, and she slowly nodded her head.

“Hmm… it does taste better when dipped.”

Sweet and salty together.

It’s a combination that couldn’t possibly taste bad.

But that’s not what’s important right now.

“So what do you think about Jake?”

Of course, regardless of her answer, I was planning to issue a restraining order keeping that bastard Jake at least 10 meters away from Cuss.

But I should at least ask for formality’s sake.

And I was curious too.

“Jake? Hmm… He’s nice. Jake is.”

“Not that. I mean your feelings. Your feelings about Jake.”

“Hmm…”

Munching on french fries, Cuss looked up at the ceiling as if deep in thought.

Damn. Why am I so tense about this?

I realized I was staring at Cuss, having forgotten even to breathe.

“Well… I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean you’re not sure? Try to describe it. How is he? Does Jake seem appealing to you?”

“He’s just okay.”

“What does that mean?”

“He’s nice and a good guy but… that’s all.”

“Really? You don’t feel anything else?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Say it with certainty, will you?”

“Hmm. I don’t feel anything. Jake is just Jake.”

Suddenly I felt a wave of relief.

That’s right. This is how it should be.

Thankfully, Cuss wasn’t some loose woman who would drool over any handsome, nice, rich guy.

Perhaps my education was paying off.

She seemed to have some discernment when it came to men.

“Good. Stay away from that guy from now on.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s a sleazy guy who’s approaching you just for your body.”

“Isn’t that the same as you, Jinsoo?”

“…”

Well shit.

There’s no way to deny that.

“Hehe… I’m joking.”

“What? Joking?”

“Yes. It was a joke. I know that Jinsoo cherishes not just my body, but everything about me.”

“…”

For a moment, I stood with my mouth open, unable to say anything.

A joke. Did she just say it was a joke?

I’ve made plenty of jokes to Cuss, or in front of her.

But until now, Cuss had never once made a joke or shown any humor herself.

I thought it was just a limitation of being an alien creature.

I believed that no matter how human-like she became, there would still be things she couldn’t understand due to biological limitations.

But that wasn’t the case.

Cuss had finally understood.

She understood why humans tell lies, make jokes, and laugh.

That pure smile was proof of it.

Beyond merely imitating human behavior, Cuss was becoming truly human in a meaningful way.

“French fries taste so good when eaten like this. I’ve been giving them all to Jinsoo until now… I’ve missed out on half my life.”

“If you feel like you’ve missed out, just eat all you want. I’ll buy you plenty.”

“Really? Then get me more!”

“Finish what you have first, you little pig.”

“Ugh…”

I pressed down on the top of her head and gently stroked it.

Her soft hair felt good as it brushed between my fingers.

When I came to my senses, I realized I was burying my nose in Cuss’s hair and inhaling deeply.

Ah, this little brat. She didn’t wash her hair today.

Instead of shampoo, I could smell her distinctive hair scent.

“Sniff… haah… sniff… haaah…”

It was a strange scent, somewhat musky but not unpleasant.

A bit different from body odor.

As I kept smelling it, I felt an inexplicable sense of comfort.

It was strangely addictive, and I couldn’t pull my nose away from her hair.

“Jinsoo.”

“Huh? Yeah?”

“What kind of feelings do you have for me?”

“…”

Me?

So many things came to mind that my head suddenly felt complicated.

I wanted to turn her head back and tell her to just eat her food instead of talking nonsense, but…

I didn’t want to do that to Cuss.

“There are quite a few.”

“Tell me all of them, then.”

“First, hatred.”

“Yes.”

“Affection.”

“Yes.”

“Contempt.”

“Yes.”

“And lastly…”

“Lastly?”

Suddenly my throat tightened, and words wouldn’t come out easily.

It was a word that felt somewhat repulsive.

I could count on my fingers how many times I’d uttered it in my entire life.

Would such a word suit this damn girl?

“Love.”

“Yes.”

That was the conclusion.

Without any room for debate, that’s how it was.

Whether it was love-hate or whatever form it took, I clearly loved Cuss.

Otherwise, why would I be taking care of this troublesome girl who I couldn’t even sleep with?

“Didn’t you love Juliane?”

“That’s a different kind of love.”

“How is it different?”

“Well…”

Love is such a funny word.

When you break it down by meaning, it splits into dozens or hundreds of branches, yet we lump them all together under one word.

“I don’t really know either.”

I couldn’t understand it myself.

In what sense did I love Cuss?

As a person? As a lover? Or as a daughter?

I really don’t know.

I don’t know…

“I love Jinsoo too.”

What a ridiculous thing to say.

No matter how human-like you’ve become, how could you understand love?

You’re probably just misunderstanding possessiveness or sexual desire.

It was so absurd I couldn’t even snicker properly.

“Huh. In what way do you love me?”

“I love Jinsoo as Jinsoo.”

“…”

“Yes. There’s no other way to explain it.”

“…”

Cuss shyly bumped her head against my chest and nuzzled against it.

Somehow…

I felt conflicted.

***

“Ugh…”

In the parking lot in front of the restaurant.

Looking in the mirror, Jake examined the slightly swollen bump.

He’d taken a solid knock on the head, and this was the result.

“Hmph.”

Soon the lawyer opened the driver’s door and got in.

Jake stared at him with a slightly disgruntled look.

“What was that? I hired you to prevent this kind of thing.”

“Taking that hit was the best strategy in that situation.”

“What did you say?”

“What father would look kindly on a man who bluntly says he likes his daughter at their first meeting? You deserved that hit.”

“How can you say that? You’re a lawyer. You should be considering the legal aspects.”

“Of course, you could file charges. You’d be found not guilty in criminal court, but in civil court, you might get a small settlement. But is that what you want, young master?”

“…”

Jake crossed his arms and pressed his lips together.

Of course, he couldn’t do that.

If he went as far as filing charges, he would truly become enemies with Cuss’s father.

“See? That’s why I said taking the hit was the best strategy. It wasn’t even that hard of a hit, right? That means he wasn’t serious about hurting you.”

“Hmm…”

It was all true, but he didn’t want to hear it.

A lawyer should act like a lawyer.

This was more like bringing along a life mentor than a legal professional.

“I have a daughter too, so I understand. When my daughter brought home some skinny, nerdy guy claiming he was her boyfriend… wow… my blood pressure shot up so high I nearly met Jesus.”

“So what happened? Did that guy succeed in convincing you?”

“Young master, there’s no need to convince the father. I still don’t accept that guy. But what can I do? My daughter likes him. Sigh…”

“…”

Jake gained much insight from the lawyer’s deep sigh.

He finally realized he was trying to skip several steps.

First, he needed to capture Cuss’s heart.

Then her father would have to accept him, whether he liked it or not.

‘Alright. Let’s give it a try.’

Do your best in everything, whether it works out or not.

Recalling the motto of the Prime family, Jake gritted his teeth.

***

“Ms. Juliane! Come over here!”

“Ah, yes!”

At the scene of an illegal research facility raid.

Hearing the urgent voice, Juliane ran over with excitement on her face.

Perhaps they needed the help of an elite rookie like me.

“Can you break this door open? Can you do it?”

“Ah…”

They needed physical strength.

Juliane grabbed the doorknob with a grim expression and—

CRACK!

She ripped out the entire lock.

The door immediately creaked open.

Juliane entered with the armed agents.

Down a dark, narrow staircase.

After descending for quite some time, what appeared underground was—

“Ah…”

A research facility as vast as a plaza.

But what filled it was appalling.

Children were in tanks with oxygen masks, their eyes closed.

At least twenty such children…

Juliane gritted her teeth at the sight.

“Their vital signs are stable. We can rescue them safely.”

“Are you sure they won’t die if we drain the water? No dependency on drugs or anything?”

“No, don’t worry. It’s just water.”

The children’s rescue proceeded smoothly.

Fortunately, they were all healthy.

When they took fingerprints, none of them had any records.

They were children who didn’t officially exist in this world.

“Everyone seems to have fled. Nobody’s here.”

“We were too late…”

Her superior clicked his tongue as he stood beside Juliane.

No meaningful data remained on the computers or electronic devices.

They had meticulously disposed of everything before escaping.

Perhaps leaving the children alive was their last remaining conscience.

“This is truly incredible. How did you find this place?”

“About three years ago, we discovered a research team using children for human experimentation. They were bold enough to send them into space for research. In the process, there was a minor accident that caused them to lose all crew members and return to Earth.”

“A minor accident?”

“While collecting comet fragments for research, a man-eating monster emerged from them.”

“Ah…”

Juliane had seen that news before.

That terrifying monster that had devastated an entire spaceship.

It was quite a sensation at the time, but now it was a completely forgotten issue.

The discovery of strange alien creatures wasn’t exactly news these days.

“There was a girl in the spaceship’s hibernation device when it returned. Perhaps due to side effects of hibernation, she had lost all her memories. But get this—just as we were about to conduct a thorough physical examination, she suddenly escaped.”

“What? By herself? What were the guards doing?”

“We didn’t know she was a human experiment subject at the time, so she was placed in a regular hospital room. Here’s the important part: if she was a child who had been on their spaceship, the research team should have been the first to step forward and ask us to find her, right?”

“That’s true.”

“But they took no action whatsoever. They didn’t even file a missing person report. That’s when we smelled something fishy, suspected human experimentation, and followed the trail…”

And that’s how they found this place.

Juliane nodded and surveyed the research facility once more.

A mere research team couldn’t possibly have this kind of financial backing.

Someone must have been providing support through dark channels…

And that someone must have known about all of this and still provided support.

“These scum…”

It was unforgivable.

I’ll make sure to catch them all and make them pay for their crimes.

Justice and a sense of responsibility burned within Juliane.