Ch.134Born for the First Time! (3)

#134

Summer was approaching.

Even though it was quitting time, the sun still hadn’t set.

Dexter, who had received a message from Himena, was coming outside with an expressionless face.

“Eliya, that bastard…”

Unlike his expressionless face, Dexter’s mind was complicated.

If one were to say he had acted selfishly toward the Preston family who had treated him well, then yes, he had been selfish.

In the end, for his own safety, he had forcibly cut off relationships built over years and come to Earth alone.

‘At least he could have discussed it with me before sending me to Earth…’

He hadn’t been able to properly explain to the people around him, yet now he was suddenly receiving guests.

As Dexter leaned against his pickup truck with his hands in his pockets waiting, a familiar black Cruze entered the prison parking lot and stopped in front of him.

And as soon as the passenger door opened, Aisha shouted in a loud voice.

“Dexter!!”

Hearing that shrill voice, a smile appeared on Dexter’s face.

It was a reunion after several months.

Aisha looked like any other Earth child.

Dexter, who had intended to relieve his guilty feelings by embracing Aisha, bent his knees halfway with his arms spread wide, ready to hug her.

“Oppa, you’re mean!!!”

With those words, Aisha rushed at him and kicked him right in the shin.

Even if it was just a nine-year-old girl who did it, when someone kicks you in the shin, anyone would momentarily collapse.

Dexter, who hadn’t prepared any defense, let out a short cry and dropped to one knee.

“Ugh.”

“How! How could you leave without saying anything!”

“Hey, no matter what, kicking someone in the shin…”

“I hate you!!!”

As Aisha tried to kick Dexter again, Id-ya, who had been sitting in the back seat, rushed over and lifted Aisha with both hands, stepping back as he spoke.

“Young miss, you shouldn’t do that.”

“Let go! I said let go!”

“That’s right. This is when Gabi should stay quiet to make Dexter feel more indebted to her.”

“Himena, whose side are you on?”

“Obviously Aisha’s! You should have told her!”

Whatever scheme it was, Himena was taking Aisha’s side.

“Ouch, I wonder if my shin is cracked.”

Hoping the sharp pain would subside, Dexter rubbed his shin a few times before standing up. Then, taking Aisha from Id-ya’s arms, he said:

“Squirt, have you been well?”

When Aisha saw Dexter smiling, she began to sniffle, then buried herself in his arms and started sobbing loudly.

“Hiiing.”

Dexter was taken aback by Aisha’s immediate crying but patted her back.

“I thought you abandoned meee!”

“Yes, yes. Oppa is sorry, I’m sorry.”

Even while comforting Aisha, Dexter looked back and forth between Himena and Id-ya, mouthing the word ‘bags’ and pointing to the bed of his pickup truck.

Understanding his message, Himena moved Aisha and Id-ya’s luggage from her car trunk to Dexter’s pickup truck bed, with Id-ya helping.

“Oppa is mean… waaah…”

“I didn’t know Miss Aisha could cry like this…”

Id-ya watched with curiosity as Aisha wept bitterly.

“No, she’s such a crybaby. She never cried once?”

“No. Instead, she was always irritable…”

“You’ve been holding it in all this time?”

“I’m not a crybaby… waaah…”

“Right, you’re not a crybaby.”

While continuing to comfort Aisha, Dexter looked at Himena and said in a low voice:

“Himena, where will Aisha be staying?”

“She’ll probably stay at Honeygood Springs for about a week. There’s someone running a guesthouse near your place.”

“Guesthouse? Oh, you mean Mr. McClure’s place.”

Honeygood Springs wasn’t famous enough for tourists, and since there were larger towns and Las Vegas just a bit further away, it was a small town without even a motel.

By nature, there were many trailer parks, but they couldn’t have aliens from far away stay in trailers for a week.

“Your name was… Id-ya, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct! It’s an honor to meet you, Team Leader Dexter!”

As Id-ya extended his hand for a handshake, Dexter held Aisha with one arm and shook hands lightly.

“Which team?”

“Pardon? Oh, Team 1!”

“Hmm.”

Nodding at Id-ya’s words, Dexter comforted Aisha and said:

“Aren’t you tired of that bastard’s whims?”

“Excuse me? Ah. Recently, he’s been so busy with work that he hasn’t had time to focus on other things.”

“Well, he has been expanding his business a lot lately.”

Agreeing with Id-ya’s words, Dexter pointed to his pickup truck with his eyes and said:

“Rather than continuing to talk here, let’s go home first. How about Aisha rides in my car, and Id-ya goes with Himena?”

“I’ll do that.”

“Aisha, let’s get down now.”

“Nooo!”

When Aisha clung to Dexter and threw a tantrum, Dexter chuckled and said:

“So you want me to drive while holding you? You know we don’t even drive spaceships that way, right?”

“Fine, I get it!”

Still pouting, Aisha let go of Dexter, who then carried her with one arm to the passenger side and placed her in the seat himself.

Id-ya and Himena smiled warmly at the scene, which resembled a father putting his tantrum-throwing daughter into a car.

“Let’s go now.”

Once in the pickup truck, Dexter called Jesse using the hands-free function.

“Jesse.”

-Hey, I’m a bit busy right now?

Jesse’s hurried voice came through the speaker, along with clattering sounds and something boiling.

“Sorry, but I’m coming with two guests now. Did you hear from Himena?”

-Come on. I’m cooking like crazy because of that right now! They’re your guests, so why did Himena have to tell me instead of you?

“Because I was at work?”

-I also came straight here after work to prepare. I’m busy, so we’ll talk later, and bring some snacks and milk on your way back.

“Oh, okay. Got it.”

Finding out that Jesse already knew about the two visitors, Dexter looked at Aisha with a slightly embarrassed face and said:

“Haven’t had dinner yet, right?”

“Who was that?”

“Jesse? Um, my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?”

When Aisha asked incredulously, Dexter stroked her head and said:

“You didn’t have a girlfriend when you worked at Dad’s company!”

“I did, what do you take me for?”

“I never saw you go on dates!”

“A nine-year-old sure has a lot to say. And when you get older, you’ll learn how we met.”

If you want to meet someone, you’ll find the time somehow.

Shortly after arriving home, Aisha got out of the car and crossed her arms, saying:

“It’s tiny!”

“It’s naturally small since it was originally just for me. And do you speak so rudely everywhere else too?”

“It’s small so I’m saying it’s small!”

“If you talk like that elsewhere, you’ll get a knock on the head.”

Id-ya, who had gotten out of the car, looked around and muttered in agreement with Aisha:

“If you had stayed with the Chairman, you could have lived in a mansion.”

“Would Dexter want something like that?”

Himena said with a light laugh:

“If he had wanted money or wealth in the first place, he wouldn’t have come to Earth.”

Soon the front door opened, and Jesse, wearing an apron, greeted them with a bright smile:

“You’re here?”

The food aroma that had been trapped inside the house escaped as the front door opened, and the four people standing at the door couldn’t help but smell the intense food scent.

“Wow, what did you make that smells so good?”

Himena sniffed the air and looked at Jesse with round eyes, to which Jesse replied with a slightly embarrassed face:

“Just tomato soup, roast beef, baked potatoes, and blueberry pie… Nothing special.”

With those words, Jesse quickly gestured for them to come in, trying to hide her embarrassment.

“Why are you all standing there? Come in! But I heard the guests were aliens, yet I don’t see anyone who looks like an alien?”

“That’s because they’re using disguise kits.”

“Disguise kits?”

Jesse, who didn’t know much about OSA technology, accepted this explanation and led the four inside.

“So this is Aisha, and this must be Id-ya?”

“I’ve heard you’re the Team Leader’s partner. Pleased to meet you.”

Jesse shook hands lightly with the formally greeting Id-ya and said:

“Ah, yes. So by Team Leader… does that mean you’re in a position junior to Dexter?”

“Not directly under him, but I’ve heard many stories about Team Leader Dexter from my seniors.”

“I see. Let’s talk more over dinner later. Then this cute one must be Aisha?”

Jesse bent down to meet Aisha’s eyes and greeted her lightly.

“Hello?”

“…I can’t say hello.”

Aisha ran behind Dexter and hid, saying:

“What’s with you? Go and greet Jesse properly.”

“No.”

“You’re not usually shy around strangers, why are you suddenly acting like this?”

“It’s fine, children can be like that with people they’re meeting for the first time.”

Jesse pointed toward the bathroom, looking at Aisha nonchalantly:

“Why don’t you go wash your hands? Or Dexter, could you help her wash her hands?”

“I’m not a baby.”

Unlike Dexter who was about to get angry at Aisha’s continued grumbling, Jesse smiled and said:

“Then can you wash by yourself? You can do it since you’re not a baby, right?”

“…Fine.”

As Aisha headed to the bathroom alone, Dexter looked at Jesse in amazement and said:

“You’re surprisingly good with kids?”

“All kids are like that. You should wash your hands too, and change your clothes.”

Jesse began serving the completed dishes, and Himena, watching this, said to Dexter with curiosity:

“Doesn’t she handle things naturally?”

“I can kind of understand why.”

Not all inmates are rough and fierce.

When asking someone to do something, it’s not always about relying on violence; sometimes inclusion and persuasion are necessary.

“I learned it from Marcy.”

Jesse waved her hand dismissively as if it were nothing.

Marcy, the matriarch of Medium Security Facility Block 2, was experienced in mediating fights between inmates, and Jesse had learned a lot from her.

“Everyone has some childish aspects. Himena, help me for a moment, and Dexter, check if Aisha washed up properly. And change your clothes already!”

“Alright, alright.”

While Himena and Jesse set the table with food, the other three changed clothes or finished preparing for the meal before heading back to the kitchen.

On the table, as Jesse had mentioned, there was cold tomato soup, roast beef with juices slowly dripping, and baked potatoes topped with bacon and cheese.

Aisha and Id-ya, seeing Earth food for the first time, looked at it with curiosity, while Himena and Dexter were salivating.

“Wow, this is amazing. You really went all out today?”

“I can’t do this twice, it’s too much work. Or you could help next time.”

“Of course I’ll help.”

Dexter kissed the top of Jesse’s head lightly and said:

“Eww.”

As if she had seen something unsightly, Aisha made a strange noise, making Jesse embarrassed while Dexter chuckled.

“Still a kid, I tell you. Well then, let’s eat.”

And so, Aisha and Id-ya began their first meal on Earth, welcomed by Jesse’s hospitality.