Ch.111Chapter 111. Helicopter Parents (2)

“Huh… This feels nostalgic.”

The stench-filled slum.

Sitting on a bench in an empty lot, I felt oddly emotional watching Cuss and the cyber prostitute playing in the playground.

A rocking horse with springs as thick as Bob’s thighs.

A jungle gym so rusty that just touching it might give you tetanus.

A metal slide that turns into a human steak grill in summer.

And even a merry-go-round.

I thought these playground designs had been relegated to history, but I never dreamed they’d still exist.

“Surprising?”

“What is?”

“I thought they wouldn’t let kids play in dangerous places like that.”

“…”

Bob snickered mockingly.

I keep telling him I’m not a helicopter parent.

“Kids need to be raised tough. They should play in places like that, break a few bones, get some bumps on their foreheads. Kids these days are raised too softly. That’s why they have no manners.”

“Wow… You really sounded like an old fogey just now.”

“What?”

“Until now I was half-joking when I called you an old fogey. But you really are one.”

“…”

Fine. I’ll just be an old fogey then, you bastard.

I took a swig of hot coffee while watching Cuss and the cyber girl play.

I don’t think I’ve seen her this excited and active many times before.

Maybe she gets along well with the cyber girl.

Since it’s vacation now, I figured they’d be hanging out together often.

“Your daughter doesn’t do drugs, right?”

“What? Oh, no, she doesn’t.”

“Tell me straight, you bastard.”

“Well… weed doesn’t count as drugs, right?”

“…”

Shit.

I was about to get up and fetch Cuss when Bob stopped me.

“Hey, hey, hey! I’ll make sure to tell her. Never smoke in front of Cuss or offer her any.”

“You serious?”

“Bella isn’t addicted. Besides, weed isn’t even addictive in the first place.”

“If Cuss ever comes home high on weed? You’re dead that day. Got it?”

“I got it… I’ll make it clear to her.”

I decided to trust him this once.

After all, weed has been legal in California for quite some time.

Still, I couldn’t stand the thought of that stuff going anywhere near Cuss’s mouth.

“Hey. So you won’t let her smoke cigarettes either?”

“Of course not. How is that any different from drugs?”

“But you used to smoke.”

“I quit after I got Cuss.”

“Damn… Weren’t you smoking two packs a day? How did you quit?”

“I threw away all my cigarettes and just endured it.”

“Shit. I really respect you for that. You’re an old fogey, but at least you’re one who practices what he preaches.”

“…”

I received Bob’s respect for something rather strange.

Not sure how I feel about that.

“Alright, I’ll correct myself. Not a helicopter parent, but a rather conservative father.”

“What’s the difference…”

“Helicopter parents shield their kids without any standards, just following their whims. The latter has their own principles. I never thought Jinsoo, the thug who rolled around in prison, would become this kind of father… Hmm. Does a good school change the parents too?”

“…”

I think it’s more the dormant Confucian dragon inside me.

In Korea, this would be considered normal, but here, a student not doing drugs or smoking is treated like a model student.

The mindset of slum dwellers really is messed up.

I’m glad I sent her to a good school.

That thought struck me again.

“Hehe. Cuss, want to get on this?”

“This thing?”

I noticed Cuss climbing onto the merry-go-round.

She didn’t seem to know what it was…

Well, whether she gets thrown off or falls, she’ll figure it out. I decided to just watch.

It seemed like the cyber girl wanted to surprise Cuss.

“You should hold on tight!”

“Tight?”

“Yes!”

“Waaah…?!”

The merry-go-round started spinning at a fierce speed.

I’d noticed the cyber girl’s unusually thick forearms before, and now I saw why—each push was transferring an enormous amount of vector force to the merry-go-round.

She really takes after her father…

I wondered where her mother’s genes had gone.

Or maybe this was the result of both parents’ genes mixing.

Bob probably couldn’t shake the feeling that he should have had a son instead.

“Haha. They’re having fun. Should I get another coffee?”

“…?!”

As Bob bent over to stand up.

That’s when my eyes widened.

Cuss’s skirt flew up in the wind as she spun on the merry-go-round.

And what was underneath naturally came into view.

“What’s wrong? Is something happening over—”

“Ah! No! Yes! Let’s go get more coffee!”

I quickly turned Bob’s head back toward me.

Did he not see it?

That was fortunate at least.

As I led Bob to the nearby café, I shot the cyber girl a fierce glare.

“…”

“…”

You’re dead if you talk.

I put my index finger to my lips and made a throat-slitting gesture to warn the cyber girl.

Did she understand?

The cyber girl froze in place and nodded vigorously.

Meanwhile, the dizzy girl was staggering around unable to regain her balance before collapsing on the ground.

Go ahead and spread rumors all over town.

This is giving me a real headache.

***

At the café next to the playground.

Jinsoo was anxiously tapping his foot.

He kept glancing out the window.

Watching this, Bob sighed.

Just because his daughter was out of sight for a moment, he was acting like this…

Maybe he really was a helicopter parent after all.

“Here’s your first coffee.”

“Hey! That’s mine!”

“Get the next one. I’m heading out first.”

“Hey…”

As soon as the coffee arrived, Jinsoo grabbed it and rushed out.

That’s a serious case.

Bob shook his head.

Meanwhile, Jinsoo put the coffee down on the bench and headed straight for the playground.

As soon as he spotted Bella, he ran over.

“Ah, mister?”

“…”

Jinsoo bent down and put his arm around Bella’s shoulder.

Then he tried to make the most threatening expression possible.

‘What’s this? Is he trying to be funny?’

But Bella just thought his already narrow Asian eyes looked strangely smaller.

“What did you just see?”

“Um… You mean what was under Cuss’s skirt? I won’t tell anyone about—”

“Say it again. What did you just see?”

“Under Cuss’s skirt…”

“Again.”

“I didn’t see anything…”

Understanding why he was trying to hide it so desperately, Bella quietly agreed.

He must have a girlfriend.

If it got out that he had his daughter wearing an anal plug tentacle tail, it could cause serious problems for his family.

She had no intention of putting her father’s benefactor in such a predicament.

His sexual preferences might be a bit perverted, but he didn’t seem like a bad person.

“That’s right, you didn’t see anything. And you don’t know that Cuss is an alien either.”

“What…?”

What did I just hear?

Bella felt her head spinning.

This must be a joke, right?

But his tone was too serious to be joking…

“What are you asking? Don’t ask questions. You don’t know anything.”

“Yes…”

“Good. Buy yourself some candy with this.”

She even received what seemed to be a bribe.

As Jinsoo removed his arm and stood up, Bella carefully unfolded the bill.

A one-dollar bill…

She wondered what she was supposed to do with this.

“Um… These days you can’t even buy a bag of chips with one dollar…”

“Damn it. Here’s a hundred dollars then.”

“Thank you! I’ll take what I saw to my grave!”

“Good.”

A hundred dollars changes everything.

Bella folded the bill tightly and stuffed it under her shoe insole, grinning from ear to ear.

She decided to forever forget the fact that Cuss’s father was training Cuss’s anal cavity.

***

“I’m here.”

Stepping out of her car, Juliane slowly removed her sunglasses.

She stood at the entrance of a cemetery located in the suburbs and sighed.

“This should be the place…”

She hadn’t learned about it from Jinsoo.

She had found out through channels that might displease him if he knew.

It wasn’t difficult to discover the names of his deceased wife and daughter.

She would have preferred to come with Jinsoo, but it wasn’t easy to bring it up.

He might not want to come together…

Even someone as sturdy as him might cry like a baby here.

He probably wouldn’t want to show such a side of himself.

So she had no choice but to come alone.

She needed to meet his late wife.

Though she didn’t seriously believe in souls or religion, she thought she’d feel better speaking directly to the deceased woman.

That was all.

“This place looks really expensive…”

Passing by the columbarium, Juliane tilted her head.

While burying remains in a cemetery wasn’t cheap to begin with, this cemetery was particularly expensive.

It seemed Jinsoo had stretched his finances to lay them to rest here.

Was it because of the Korean Confucian emphasis on proper burial?

Though difficult to understand, Juliane tried to accept it as she headed inside.

“Here it is.”

Juliane’s footsteps came to a halt.

She saw one large, well-polished tombstone and one small one.

Perhaps the expensive cemetery provided such good maintenance.

The tombstones were engraved with:

-Elizabeth Kim

-Mary Kim

His wife Elizabeth and daughter Mary.

“…”

Juliane was about to place a flower in front of the tombstone when she paused.

A fresh white chrysanthemum was already there.

Cemetery staff would typically place roses…

Puzzled, Juliane took a deep breath and was about to speak.

She wanted to say she would make Jinsoo happy.

That there was no need to worry.

Just as she was about to say these words.

“Elizabeth. And Mary…”

“Oh? You came yesterday too, and now you’re back again?”

“What?”

Startled by the voice behind her, Juliane turned around.

Judging by his uniform, he appeared to be a staff member.

“Oops, I made a mistake. You’re someone else. I apologize for the interruption.”

“It’s fine. But what do you mean by ‘came yesterday too’?”

“I’m talking about the Asian man who visits these tombstones. Aren’t you acquainted with him?”

“Yes, Jinsoo…”

“He’s quite peculiar, isn’t he? He comes almost once a week. He brings water to clean the tombstones, brings his own flowers to place… For the past few years, I haven’t needed to touch those tombstones at all. They shine brighter than the ones I maintain, haha.”

“Ah…”

Juliane couldn’t help but let out a sigh.