Ch.134Chapter 134. Happy Birthday (1)

“If there’s one call I hate receiving early in the morning, it’s definitely from my boss.

I stared at the ringing phone for a while, debating whether to ignore it or not.

“What are you doing, Jinsoo? It’s noisy.”

“Ugh.”

But Cuss went ahead and pressed the button, connecting the call.

I hurriedly got up and left the room, bringing my wrist to my ear.

“Ah, Manager. About the report? I’ll send it to you right away…”

“What are you talking about? The report isn’t due until tomorrow.”

“You didn’t call to rush me?”

“No. I’ll be quite busy tomorrow, so I called in advance.”

“…?”

What on earth was he talking about?

Not understanding, I racked my brain for a moment as silence fell between us.

“Um… what’s special about tomorrow?”

“Why are you pretending not to know? It’s your birthday. The company will send a cake, so enjoy it.”

“…?”

My birthday?

Surprised, I quickly checked the calendar.

My birthday really was tomorrow.

More than half the year had already passed?

Time flies way too fast.

It’s already been almost a year since I joined Tactum company.

“On behalf of the company, happy birthday in advance.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you, Manager.”

“Hey. Remember last time? That an… ane… ah, damn it. That tail story!”

“Pardon?”

“Why are you playing dumb? Last time I almost got killed by my wife because of you. Why did that topic even come up?”

“…?”

What on earth was he talking about?

I told my manager a tail story?

No matter how hard I tried to recall, I had no such memory.

Maybe we watched an animal documentary and had a related conversation?

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Damn it. Forget it. Young-onset dementia, I swear. Hanging up.”

“Yes, sir. Goodbye.”

After the call ended, I zoned out for a while.

Come to think of it, I haven’t celebrated my birthday in about 10 years.

But this birthday…

“Tomorrow is your birthday, Jinsoo? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“What is a birthday, Juliane?”

“Hmm! A birthday is a day to celebrate being born! Let’s have a party tomorrow, Jinsoo!”

“…”

It seemed things were about to get lively.

***

“Party preparations… party preparations…”

Sitting in the passenger seat, Cuss rested her chin on her hand, looking outside while repeating the same words.

It had been a while since we’d gone out.

Well, going out itself wasn’t rare, but…

“What should I do, Cuss? What should we prepare? Tomorrow is too soon! If only I’d known at least three days earlier!”

“…”

Outings with just Juliane and herself were definitely uncommon.

Seeing Juliane chattering excitedly without pause, Cuss kept her mouth shut.

So this is how undignified people look when excited.

Cuss found herself reflecting a bit on her own behavior.

“Is a party like what we did last time?”

“Huh? Like your first period party? That was… a bit hastily arranged. Since it’s a birthday, let’s prepare something more grand.”

“Oh…!”

Even then, there was lots of food and a really fun atmosphere, but this would be even grander?

Cuss’s eyes sparkled as she swallowed hard.

Though it wasn’t a celebration for her, that didn’t matter.

As long as she could eat lots of delicious food, she’d be happy.

“But why did we leave Jinsoo behind?”

“Well, we need to prepare in secret. Of course, he probably knows already… but it’s no fun if he knows the preparation process, right?”

“Hmm… So we’re doing the preparations? Wait, who’s going to cook…?”

“I will, of course!”

“…”

Looking at Juliane’s proud declaration, Cuss’s expression quickly turned to despair.

True, Juliane had recently learned to make edible food, but… even so…

Compared to Jinsoo’s cooking, hers didn’t even come close.

“Couldn’t we leave the cooking to Jinsoo?”

“Why? I can cook delicious food too!”

“I’m not disparaging your cooking skills. We can eat your cooking anytime, so for the party, I want to enjoy top-tier cuisine.”

“I can make top-tier cuisine too!”

“No, you can’t, Juliane.”

“Hic… I can… do it…”

“Ah! You can! Juliane can do it!”

When Juliane started to sniffle, Cuss panicked.

As she hugged Juliane’s waist to comfort her, Cuss suddenly felt something was off.

She caught a glimpse of Juliane’s lips curling up slightly.

“You tricked me!”

“Ahaha. Sorry…”

Using fake sympathy to fulfill her selfish desires!

Indignant, Cuss turned away from Juliane and sat facing the other direction.

By now, the car had arrived at their destination and stopped.

“…?”

Cuss’s eyes widened as she looked out the window.

It wasn’t the usual supermarket they shopped at.

Instead, there was a massive building that looked like several of those supermarkets combined.

“It’s huge. It seems like everything in the world might be in there.”

“Not everything… but most things are. Shall we go? It’s big, so hold my hand tight!”

“…”

When Juliane extended her hand after getting out of the car, Cuss pouted.

Did she think she was a child?

She wouldn’t get lost, and even if she did, she had a phone, so there was no problem.

Nevertheless, Juliane’s outstretched hand looked so lonely that Cuss quickly ran over and firmly grasped it, interlocking their fingers.

She was just holding it because Juliane looked pitiful.

Just that, nothing more, Cuss kept telling herself.

‘Kyaaaa…! She interlocked our fingers! What do I do!’

Meanwhile, Juliane had to cover her mouth with her other hand to suppress a scream.

It was already enough strain on her heart that Cuss had come running over to hold her hand, but interlocking fingers too?

The only comparable feeling was when she received the engagement ring from Jinsoo.

Taking deep breaths to calm herself, Juliane walked side by side with Cuss into the hypermarket.

From the entrance, they could see the food court, and drool started dripping from Cuss’s mouth.

“Want to eat something?”

“No. Today we’re here to prepare for Jinsoo’s party…”

“We have plenty of time. Are you sure you don’t want to eat?”

“C-can I eat? Then I want that first!”

“Hehehe…”

She clearly had a face that said she was dying to eat.

Juliane firmly held Cuss’s excited hand and headed to the food court.

Now she was finally acting like a child her age.

Children should act like children.

Juliane thought this was much better than seeing her act too mature.

“Look at that hot dog! It looks delicious! It’s my first time eating dog meat, though!”

“That’s not dog meat, Cuss…”

“What’s that? Chicken bake? I want that too!”

“Hmm…”

Being pulled along by Cuss, Juliane pondered for a moment.

She clearly wouldn’t be able to eat everything.

If it were Jinsoo, he would probably firmly say no and tell her to choose just one.

It’s not good for education if parents take different stances.

Right. Since it’s a snack, not a meal, she should tell her to choose just one.

Juliane’s firm resolve…

“We need to eat dinner later. How about just one snack?”

“But Juliane… these are all foods I’ve never seen before, and they look so delicious. I really want to try them…”

“Sob! I’ll get you everything!”

…crumbled as soon as she saw Cuss’s sparkling eyes.

How could she refuse this angel’s request?

Wondering if perhaps Jinsoo was a machine rather than a human, Juliane found herself going around the food court and purchasing one of everything on the menu.

“Ahhh… I’ve done it now…”

“Wowww…! This looks delicious…!”

The table was filled with food.

It clearly wasn’t an amount for just two people, causing passersby to glance over.

But seeing Cuss take a big bite of a hot dog, sauce smearing around her mouth without her noticing, all of Juliane’s worries melted away.

It was obvious they’d leave more than half uneaten, but… occasional indulgences were fine.

Juliane helped a bit by eating a few pieces of the bake.

As expected, it wasn’t long before Cuss burped and leaned back.

“Ugh… That was delicious.”

“Was it? I’m glad. Now for the rest… huh?”

Something was off.

The table was filled with only empty paper bowls and foil.

Had they really eaten all that food already?

It didn’t make sense.

Juliane suspected someone might have secretly taken some.

“Whoa! Those two women ate all that!”

“What’s this? A challenge to eat everything on the Costco food court menu?”

“Mom! I think they’re YouTube mukbang creators!”

Only then did Juliane notice people gathering around, staring at them.

Realizing they had watched her eat, Juliane’s face turned red.

She’d been told she ate more than others, but not to this extent…

Surely Cuss had eaten much more.

She had to have.

Juliane hurriedly gathered the trash, threw it in the bin, and grabbed Cuss’s hand to leave the food court.

“Phew… I didn’t think we could eat all that.”

“Neither did I.”

“Hmm… Maybe as an alien, you burn more calories?”

“Juliane. You ate much more than I did.”

“T-that can’t be true. Tell me you’re lying.”

“I saw it clearly. Juliane, you ate incredibly fast.”

“I’m not a pig…!”

“No one called you a pig…”

What’s wrong with eating a lot?

Consuming more resources and burning more calories should be a trait of the strong.

Not understanding Juliane’s reaction, Cuss tilted her head.

“Now we need to prepare for the party! Let’s go, Cuss?”

“Juliane.”

“Yes?”

“I want to ride in the shopping cart.”

“…”

Looking up at her while tugging on her sleeve, Cuss’s gaze froze Juliane in place.

Jinsoo would have immediately said no.

Parents shouldn’t take different stances, but…

“Sob! You can ride, Cuss!”

“Juliane is the best!”

“Ugh…!”

Once again, Juliane couldn’t overcome her desires.

The two went around the store, putting various items in the cart.

By the end, even Cuss had to get out of the cart because it was so full.

Even a month’s worth of groceries wouldn’t pile up this much.

After a satisfying shopping spree, they were heading to the checkout when…

Ring ring ring…

“Oh? It’s Jinsoo.”

At that moment, Juliane paused and turned her attention to the phone.

A call from Jinsoo.

Cuss clicked her tongue in displeasure.

When I’m with Juliane, Jinsoo calls her instead of me.

Of course, it didn’t matter who he called, but she couldn’t help feeling annoyed.

Meanwhile, Juliane tapped just below her ear to answer the call.

“Jinsoo. What’s the mat—”

“Juliane! Do you know anything about cars?”

“Huh? Why suddenly about cars…?”

“The car’s not listening to me! It’s going to strange places on its own, and the steering wheel isn’t responding… Huh?!”

Screeeech!

“Jinsoo!”

A sharp braking sound came through the phone.

Then the call abruptly disconnected.

“Juliane. Your expression is scary.”

“…”

At that moment, Juliane’s thread of reason also snapped.

With hollow eyes, her fist clenched tightly.