Ch.140Chapter 140. Exciting New Semester (1)

“Hnyaa……”

Early morning.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I spat out the hair in my mouth and turned my head.

I could see Jinsoo sleeping soundly.

When he’s asleep, he really is as cute as an angel.

If only he didn’t have these scars on his face, everyone would think so too…

Suddenly, I wanted to see photos of Jinsoo when he was young.

Maybe I should ask him later.

If he has any childhood photos.

I quietly moved closer to Jinsoo and placed my hand on his cheek.

I could feel the warmth flowing through my circuits.

It felt incredibly similar to real touch, but there was still a slight disconnect.

I tilted my head and pressed my cheek against Jinsoo’s.

Mmm, this is it.

This softness. This warmth.

This was the real Jinsoo.

“Mmm……”

“Are you awake? Hehe.”

Smooch.

I gave Jinsoo’s cheek a light kiss.

I think I’ve heard somewhere that one of men’s fantasies is to wake up to a kiss on the cheek.

We still had plenty of time before we both needed to leave for work, so we could take our time getting ready…

“Aaah! What time is it?!”

“7 o’clock……”

“Cuss! Are you up? We’re in trouble! Hurry up and wash! I’ll make breakfast!”

Just as I expected.

Jinsoo shot out of bed like a bullet, and I was left alone with a bitter smile.

There was no such thing as a sweet, leisurely morning for newlyweds.

It was because our daughter was going back to school today.

“What are you doing! Hurry up and wash!”

“Uhhh……”

“Geez. Come here. I’ll wash your face.”

“Jinsoo… Would you like to prepare breakfast? I’ll take care of washing Cuss.”

“Ah. Thank you.”

Jinsoo’s face immediately brightened as he came over, gave me a quick peck, and rushed past.

This is what I love about this man.

I love how he shows gratitude and affection for even the smallest things.

I wonder if these expressions of affection will gradually decrease as time passes and we grow older.

But thinking about my father and mother, maybe that’s not always the case.

I found myself hoping that things would stay just like today, even when our hair turns white with age.

“Did you stay up late last night? Why are you so tired?”

“I was texting with Alice… yawn…”

I led the half-asleep Cuss into the bathroom.

Alice must be the friend who was in the same class as her in first grade.

It was somewhat fascinating.

That Cuss maintained good relationships with other people.

Of course, Cuss always acted human and natural outside.

But seeing this droopy tail, I was reminded that she really was an alien.

I can’t tell you how many days I spent wracking my brain over how to accept this child.

But I made my decision long ago.

Cuss is Cuss.

As long as Cuss had decided to live as a human, as Jinsoo’s and my daughter, nothing else mattered.

I just needed to accept Cuss as she was.

“Now. Close your eyes.”

“Brbrbrbr……”

I turned on lukewarm water and carefully wet her face.

Then I squeezed out some facial cleanser, spread it all over her face, and rinsed it off with lukewarm water again.

“Puhaa……”

“Now, time to wash your hair.”

I patted her face dry with a towel and pulled over the shower head.

At this point, I knew Cuss was already fully awake.

She was just pretending to be drowsy even though she was completely awake.

Still, I wanted to wash Cuss myself, so I deliberately played along with her act.

Jinsoo has probably washed her plenty of times, but this is my first time…

I wonder if there will come a day when Cuss grows up and refuses to let me wash her.

I couldn’t know.

That’s why I needed to build up these experiences before I regretted it later.

“Uuuuu……”

After washing her hair completely, I wrapped it in a towel and left the bathroom.

As I was drying her hair with a blow dryer, I thought about how beautiful and flowing her hair was.

“Mm.”

“What are you doing, Juliane……”

“Just curious what it tastes like.”

I put a strand of her hair in my mouth, but it didn’t taste like anything.

Still, for some reason, the texture made me want to keep putting it in my mouth.

Since I couldn’t keep getting my saliva on her freshly washed hair, I decided to restrain myself a bit.

“Hmm. It’s much better when Juliane washes me.”

“Oh? Really? How does Jinsoo wash you?”

“He scrubs hard like he’s doing laundry. He really doesn’t have an ounce of consideration.”

“Hey! If you don’t like it, wash yourself! Why complain when you’re letting someone else do it for you!”

Jinsoo must have heard our conversation, as he burst out angrily from the kitchen.

I suddenly found myself laughing.

I loved this rowdiness so much.

It made me feel like we were truly a family…

This was the kind of pleasant chaos I could never experience when living alone.

“Sit down and eat. We don’t have much time.”

“Eh? What’s this?”

“Seaweed soup.”

Breakfast was Korean food for the first time in a while.

But what was this soup?

Miyeok-guk…?

The deep green color didn’t look very appetizing.

Among green foods, I hadn’t seen anything tasty except mint chocolate.

I sat down next to Jinsoo and tried a spoonful of the soup.

“Hmm? It’s delicious?”

“Would I serve you food that doesn’t taste good? Cuss, what do you thi—”

Jinsoo’s mouth fell open as he looked at Cuss for her reaction.

Then a smile spread across his face.

Cuss was too busy ravenously inhaling the soup to answer.

As if even using a spoon was too much trouble, she was holding the bowl with both hands.

Ah. What should I do? She’s too cute.

I want to bite her to death…

“The school bus is coming! Hurry up and get dressed! Hey! Why are you wearing shorts?!”

“Ah! I mixed them up with what I wear at home!”

“We’re going to be late!”

There was never a quiet moment in this house.

Watching Cuss dash into the room, throw on clothes, and dash back out made my head spin.

Although she wasn’t a child I gave birth to, nor one I raised from infancy, so it might sound presumptuous to say this…

I felt like this must be what it’s like to raise a child.

“The bus is here! Hurry up and go!”

“Ugh… I’m off.”

“Take care, Cuss. Make lots of friends!”

“I’ll consider it…”

Cuss trudged out of the house with her backpack and headed toward the bus.

Standing beside Jinsoo and watching her, I suddenly felt like I might burst into tears.

Why am I like this?

She’s just going to school…

“…!”

Suddenly, Cuss whirled around and waved her hand enthusiastically.

That made my tears disappear instantly.

I waved back, and Cuss grinned before scampering off toward the bus.

I glanced up at Jinsoo.

He was following the departing bus with his eyes until the very end.

Until the bus turned the corner and disappeared…

Only then did Jinsoo click his tongue and turn around.

I wondered if Jinsoo felt the same way I did.

If he felt that same melancholy feeling even though we’d only be separated for a few hours.

“Phew. Finally gone, that troublesome kid. Looks like we still have some time left. Should we do it once?”

“Huh? What…?”

“You know what I mean.”

“What?! This early in the morning… ah, really…”

I had underestimated him.

I had overlooked the fact that this man’s mind was filled with nothing but lewd thoughts.

“I don’t think… mmph… we have that much time…”

“It’s fine. I’ll finish in three minutes. Besides, you usually come three times in three minutes, don’t you?”

“……”

Whatever, you premature ejaculator.

***

“Oh, Cuss, you’re here?”

As the faculty room door slid open, a large-framed man could be seen waving his hand.

The vice principal, Julien Mehmed.

Recognizing his name immediately upon seeing his face, Cuss looked around and slowly entered the faculty room.

“So many teachers…”

“Haha. No need to be nervous. This is the teacher who will be your homeroom teacher from now on.”

“I’m Chris Jackson, homeroom teacher for Class 7-12. Nice to meet you.”

“……”

Cuss’s eyes widened as she casually turned toward the deep voice behind her.

The man was so tall that she had to crane her neck up to see his face.

Actually, she couldn’t even see his face.

Light was reflecting off his head, blinding her with its brilliance.

“Class 12?”

“Yes. Do you know anyone in Class 12?”

“Hmm… I can’t remember.”

Class 12.

It sounded familiar somehow, but nothing came clearly to mind.

Soon, Chris gestured for her to follow, and Cuss fell in step beside him.

As soon as they left the faculty room, Cuss tried to get a look at Chris’s face, but—

“Ugh…”

She had to lower her head again due to the intense light reflecting off him.

Did he possess some quality that attracted and reflected all surrounding light?

While Cuss was wondering about this, they had already arrived in front of the 7th grade classroom.

-7th Grade Class 12

Standing in front of the door, Cuss gulped.

New classmates and new friends.

They would be six years older than first graders, so they would be much bigger.

She could easily subdue the little first graders if she wanted to, but now everyone would be as big as Jake.

She was a little tense, but not afraid.

If they came at her, she could just slam them all to the floor like she did with Jake.

“Ready?”

“I’ve been ready from the start!”

“Good. Then open the door. Everyone, quiet!”

The door opened with a clatter, and Cuss stepped inside confidently.

But the students filling the classroom were so much larger than she had imagined that she found herself shrinking back.

These are kids?

They all looked adult-sized.

Jake would be a dwarf compared to them.

“Now. Would you like to introduce yourself?”

“I’m Cuss Kim.”

“Hmm. And?”

“I am from space… Huh?! Jake!”

Cuss shouted in surprise, pointing to the back of the classroom.

The students’ gazes all turned in that direction.

“Damn it…”

There was Jake, blushing to the tips of his ears and avoiding eye contact.