Ch.137Chapter 137. Happy Birthday (4)

“Something is… coming…!”

Bob’s legs were frozen and wouldn’t listen to him.

With each heavy thud that echoed, his heart pounded in sync, adding to the creeping chill.

No matter how much he tried to shake his stiffened legs, they wouldn’t respond.

He’d experienced this feeling before.

“No way…”

That day when his underlings accidentally injured a police officer, an investigator had raided their workshop.

The Justice Department investigator known as “Wonder Woman.”

Back then, his legs had trembled and refused to move just like now.

Though he’d seen all sorts of disgusting and cruel things throughout his life, he couldn’t overcome this primal fear etched into his very genes.

‘Wonder Woman wouldn’t come here. Surely it can’t be someone even more fearsome…?’

Bob gulped.

Why would such a person come here of all places?

Just imagining it made his flesh tremble.

“Hey. Are you punks for real? Why are you shaking so much? At worst, it’s probably just a combat android.”

“The important thing is that it’s coming here, Jinsoo… Here, where there are countless ways to cover up any deaths.”

Bob frantically racked his brain, trying to recall anyone who might hold a grudge against him.

Was it those brats he’d kicked in the ass when they tried to sell drugs in his territory?

Or was it because he’d recognized and greeted that city councilman who frequented the brothel, and now they wanted to eliminate witnesses?

Or perhaps the LAPD had finally decided to wipe out the cartel once and for all?

He couldn’t tell.

“Is there a back door?”

“No, boss.”

“Then…”

“Boss, just be our shield! We’ll escort Mr. Jinsoo and somehow get him out of here!”

“Huh?!”

Bob lowered his sunglasses and turned around.

All his underlings had surrounded Jinsoo with solemn expressions.

These bastards weren’t even thinking about protecting their own boss…

“Hey, hey! What’s going on? Get away! You’re creeping me out!”

“When I count to three, we run! There’s only one opponent, so they can’t stop all of us! We’ll surround them and at least get Mr. Jinsoo out!”

“I get it! Damn it! One of you homos is touching my ass!”

Amidst the confusion, Bob alone kept his wits about him, staring intently at the door.

Without mechanical arms or legs, there was no way he could face an android.

But if he could buy some time…

BOOM!

“Ugh?!”

At that moment, the metal door was ripped off with a thunderous sound.

Bob’s mouth fell open as he barely dodged the flying metal plate.

There stood Wonder Woman with glowing blue eyes…

“Huh?”

If it were Wonder Woman, it would be Jinsoo’s wife.

Sure enough, Cuss was standing beside her, tilting her head.

After blinking and assessing the situation, Bob let out a defeated laugh and was about to approach them.

“Wow. You scared me, ma’am. I thought some combat android was coming and was completely terri—”

“Stop right there, you vermin.”

“Excuse me?”

Wonder Woman’s expression was murderous.

Turning around in confusion, Bob slapped his forehead.

Jinsoo was surrounded by his underlings with handcuffs on, looking like he was being kidnapped.

“N-no, this is a misunderstanding!”

“Get away from Jinsoo right now!”

CRASH!

Wonder Woman’s fist slammed into the wall with a loud noise.

The entire warehouse resonated, with walls and pillars shaking.

At that terrifying sight, Bob’s lips trembled. When he turned around again, the underlings had already moved away from Jinsoo and were standing at attention in neat rows.

“I let it slide once, and now these slum trash don’t know their place…”

“Juliane! This is a misunderstanding! See that cake? It’s a surprise for my birthday.”

“Who does a surprise like this?!”

“That’s what I’m saying! You should have done it properly, you idiots! You’ve made Wonder Woman angry!”

“We’re sorry, ma’am! We didn’t mean to worry you!!!”

After approaching Jinsoo and touching his face and checking him all over, Juliane finally relaxed her expression.

She sighed deeply and then hugged Jinsoo tightly.

“I was so worried…”

“I’m sorry. I got hit with a taser gun and couldn’t call you back.”

“A taser gun?”

When Juliane’s gaze turned toward them, the underlings’ faces went pale.

She gritted her teeth once and hugged Jinsoo even tighter.

“I knew Jinsoo would be safe. That’s why I wasn’t worried.”

“What? How would you know that?”

“If Jinsoo dies, I would know.”

“I see.”

As Jinsoo stroked Cuss’s cheek, who was smiling awkwardly, he felt a lump in his throat.

They really did look alike, he thought.

Pretending not to be worried when they clearly were—they were exactly the same.

Had they grown similar from living together?

“Juliane. You can let go now…”

“No.”

“What?”

“Why do you keep calling me that? I’ve told you many times to call me ‘honey.'”

“Here?”

“Why? Are you embarrassed?”

“Not really…”

“Then you should be able to say it. I’ll let you go if you do.”

“H-ho…”

“Alright, that’s enough! Do we have to watch you two rubbing salt in our wounds?”

“…”

Finally, Bob couldn’t take it anymore and shouted.

Newlyweds, seriously…

They’re probably happy just looking into each other’s eyes.

But please, do your lovey-dovey stuff at home.

My home is always in a cold war, and I don’t need to see this.

Bob was too irritated to hold back.

“Anyway, thanks everyone. Even though it was a stupid surprise, you even prepared a big cake… Cuss will like it.”

“Not at all, boss! Happy birthday!”

“Right. Now let’s head out…”

CRACK!

Just then, something twisted in the ceiling with a loud noise.

The next moment, something fell with a thud right in front of Jinsoo.

It was a large bolt.

Everyone looked up with their mouths wide open.

They saw the ceiling trembling, about to collapse at any moment.

“We’re screwed… Everyone run! Quickly!”

“Cuss! Come here!”

“But the cake…”

“You pig! Is the cake important right now?”

Jinsoo picked up Cuss and started running first.

The pillars began to shake violently, and vibrations spread throughout the warehouse.

Dust poured down, creating a thick cloud of smoke.

“This way, Jinsoo!”

Just as Jinsoo lost his sense of direction, Cuss pointed toward the exit.

Without hesitation, Jinsoo ran in that direction.

In the smoke where he couldn’t see an inch ahead, he trusted only Cuss’s words.

All while firmly holding Juliane’s hand behind him.

“This way, you punks! Follow me!”

“Yes, boss!”

The moment the group entered the corridor, the ceiling behind them began to collapse.

It was only a matter of time before the corridor would collapse too.

As Jinsoo kept running without stopping, he suddenly felt the sunlight blinding his eyes.

“Ugh! Cough! Cough!”

“Ugh…”

Jinsoo burst outside, gasping for breath, and looked back.

Juliane was safely holding his hand, and Bob and all the thugs had made it out too.

Looking up, they saw the warehouse ceiling collapsing with an eerie sound.

“Ah…”

With dust-covered faces, all the thugs’ gazes turned toward Juliane.

Feeling guilty, Juliane clasped her hands together, fidgeted, and hung her head low.

Although the warehouse was already in such poor condition that it could have collapsed at any time, the direct cause was clearly her punch…

“I-I’m sorry, everyone… Because I hit the pillar…”

“Woooah! Wonder Woman punch! Wonder Woman punch!”

“Hmm. Your combat power has increased?”

“Destroying such a big building with one punch!”

“Building Destroyer! From now on, Wonder Woman’s other nickname is Building Destroyer!”

“Please, everyone, be quiet…”

Juliane covered her face with both hands in embarrassment.

***

“Sigh…”

“Ugh…”

In the evening as dusk fell.

Entering the house, there was a chorus of groans.

Juliane and Cuss were in terrible shape.

They were completely covered in dust…

“I-I’m sorry. Really.”

“It’s fine. Who could have known that would happen? It’s actually better this way. It was a warehouse that could have collapsed at any time, so by bringing it down now, we’ve prevented others from being in danger.”

“Does it work that way?”

Since the warehouse was abandoned without an owner, it didn’t cause any problems.

No one was hurt, so it ended up being just a small mishap.

Of course, from the demolition crew’s perspective, their work was just beginning, but that wasn’t my concern.

“Yawn… I’m so tired. Should we eat something simple and go to bed tonight?”

“No! We need to enjoy the party until midnight! It’s Jinsoo’s birthday!”

“Ah…”

I was mesmerized by Juliane’s sparkling eyes.

Isn’t a birthday party… supposed to be on the actual day?

She wants to celebrate from the evening before until midnight?

When I was young, I would wake up early, eat seaweed soup, and have a modest party in the evening of my birthday.

This was a fresh shock.

Is this the American way of celebrating birthdays?

“I’ll get things ready, so Jinsoo, you can wait in the room… Huh?”

“What’s wrong, Juliane?”

“The groceries… Where did they go?”

Juliane’s pupils began to shake, and then—

“Ahhh! I left them at the store without paying!”

She let out a shout.

Still, leaving groceries without paying was better than paying for them and then leaving them behind.

In a way, I was relieved.

My birthday party would be modest, which meant I wouldn’t need to throw such a grand party for Juliane’s birthday either.

“I-I can still! Cuss, want to come with me? We can go back and buy—”

“It’s getting late. Let’s just buy some ingredients from the supermarket and have a simple party.”

“But the ingredients for the dishes I prepared aren’t sold at supermarkets…”

“Really? Can’t be helped then. I’ll cook.”

“How can the birthday person cook…”

“It happens sometimes.”

Juliane seemed very dejected.

That meant she had worked hard to prepare something for me.

Come to think of it, this whole mess started because I didn’t notice Bob’s surprise and overreacted.

As I was thinking of ways to cheer Juliane up—

“Hmm?”

My eyes met with Cuss’s.

She tilted her head as if asking what was going on.

I had a good idea.

When I grinned, Cuss seemed to sense danger and took a step back.

“Juliane. Let’s clean up first before any party.”

“Sniff! You’re right. We’re a mess because of all the dust.”

“You two go wash up first. I’ll go in later.”

“Ah…! C-come to think of it, now we can bathe together…!”

Juliane’s eyes widened.

Those large blue eyes that had been staring blankly at me soon turned toward Cuss.

“Heh, hehehe. Hehe. Cuss. Would you like to… hehe… take a bath with mommy?”

“J-Juliane… you’re drooling… scary…”

“Don’t be afraid, slurp. It’s okay. It’s okay, come here.”

“No! I want to bathe alone!”

“Ah! Just once! Please! Just once!”

Phew. As of today, the responsibility of bathing Cuss has been transferred from me to Juliane.

It’s good for me because it’s easier, and it’s good for Juliane because she gets to fulfill her desire.

Except for the fact that Cuss has to suffer a bit, it was a win-win situation.