Ch.171Big Gun! (4)

#171

It was nice to be invited by Dexter, to dress up prettily, and to come all the way from Summerlin to Honeygood Springs.

But what was this?

This Latina woman sitting next to her, wearing a light smile.

She seemed close to Dexter, and on top of that, she had a figure that Judy herself didn’t possess, and she was much more energetic and bright compared to Judy’s boring personality.

Thanks to that, Judy was pretending to be composed on the outside, but inside, she was festering.

‘Was I acting without reading the situation…? Maybe Dexter wasn’t trying to form such a deep relationship, was that it?’

As these thoughts flashed through her mind, her composed expression gradually lost its vitality, and a gloomy expression began to appear on Judy’s face.

“Don’t you like the tea? Since you’re from England, I specially bought some delicious tea.”

“No… the tea is delicious….”

She tried to maintain a calm expression, but there was no way Himena, who worked at OSA, wouldn’t catch her subtle change in expression.

Himena gently placed her hand on top of Judy’s, holding Judy’s slightly trembling hand.

“Judy, I’m sure many thoughts are crossing your mind right now.”

“……”

“Why someone who claimed to be FBI is in Dexter’s house, why she’s comfortably making tea as if it’s her own home, where Dexter is when his car is here.”

She was spot on.

As if seeing through her mind, she was accurately guessing the numerous thoughts Judy had been having.

Judy was afraid of that, but she was more afraid of what would come next.

‘She might say there’s a huge gap between you and me, so break up with him….’

Judy was grateful enough to be working at Honeygood Prison.

Because Dexter was there.

Even working with somewhat frightening inmates was something she could do with dedication and sincerity because Dexter was there.

But if she could no longer form a deeper relationship with that Dexter.

If this FBI agent were to ask her in a roundabout way to cut ties with Dexter.

‘What should I do….’

As many thoughts were once again rummaging through Judy’s mind, Himena’s hand on top of Judy’s tightened.

And Himena carefully opened her mouth.

“I hope Judy and Dexter date for a long, long time.”

“……?”

When this unexpected statement came out, Judy, who had been staring at her knees, looked up at Himena with confused eyes.

“However… for Judy and Dexter to continue dating, there’s a minor, a very minor issue… just one.”

“A minor… issue…?”

“Yes, a very, very minor issue.”

With those words, Himena smiled, squinting her eyes.

Judy was still tense, so she didn’t notice that Himena’s smile was somewhat awkward.

“Well, some of what you’re guessing is probably true. It’s obvious at a glance.”

“You mean that you, Joaquina, are dating Dexter… right?”

“That’s right, but there’s something more important.”

“……?”

“Wasn’t what I just said strange?”

“That you and Dexter are dating…?”

“Before that.”

‘She said she hopes Dexter and I date for a long time.’

It was the opposite statement.

‘Or? What if both statements are true?’

Himena’s words suggested that Dexter should continue dating both her and ‘Joaquina’.

No matter how she thought about it, it was strange.

Judy’s mind was filled with question marks.

“Is my understanding correct? I mean, Joaquina…”

“Not Joaquina, but Himena.”

“What? Oh, I’m sorry. I’m not good at remembering names….”

“No, it was Joaquina, but you can call me Himena, Judy.”

As the conversation became more and more complex and incomprehensible, a confused expression appeared on Judy’s face.

Reading that expression, Himena pointed to the black tea in Judy’s mug and said,

“Take a sip of tea first.”

“Yes, yes….”

As Judy took a sip of tea as instructed, Himena began to speak again.

“I know you can’t give up on Dexter. Honestly, neither can I. He’s quite mischievous, but he’s manly, responsible, kind… like a prince from a dream. Riding a red pickup truck instead of a white horse.”

Judy agreed on that point.

It was Dexter’s charm itself that had brought her, someone not interested in dating, to this place.

“But Dexter is dangerous. More precisely, our positions are at risk because of the actions Dexter takes without knowing better.”

As Himena’s expression turned serious, Judy began to focus on her words.

“At this rate, Dexter will live a life that’s practically a public resource. For that, our roles are important.”

Himena held Judy’s hand tightly and said,

“Dexter is not someone one woman can handle. We need to cooperate. What if Dexter falls for some strange woman without even realizing it? We can’t throw away all the time we’ve spent with Dexter. They’re precious memories.”

“But is this right? Two women dating one man at the same time….”

“Let me be frank, Judy. You spent a night with Dexter last week, right?”

When those words came out of Himena’s mouth, Judy’s face immediately turned red.

“H-how did you know that….”

“Judy, we share everything. Of course, we don’t share private matters that we really don’t want to talk about… but that’s not the important part. Be honest, it was tough that day, wasn’t it?”

Himena’s voice was so serious that Judy couldn’t just brush it off.

“But do you know what’s important?”

“……?”

“Dexter doesn’t get tired after just a few tens of minutes. At least 3 hours or more.”

“Th-three hours?”

“Of course, Dexter doesn’t meet us just for that, but Judy, you especially have to work early in the morning. Your body gets exhausted.”

Himena’s suggestive voice overlapped with the memories of that day.

Intense memories that wouldn’t be forgotten even if they were dreams.

The touches and marks engraved on her body were deeply imprinted in Judy’s mind as well.

“Doing that for three hours….”

“I’m not kidding, Judy. This is serious.”

“Then, Joaquina, I mean, Himena, you too….”

“I understand completely.”

They weren’t meeting for the first time today, but it wasn’t a topic to be boldly discussed between people with almost no friendship.

Still, because they were sharing one person, the two were able to become close instantly.

The problem was that as Judy’s expression became more comfortable, Himena, on the contrary, grew anxious.

‘When is the timing?’

She couldn’t figure out when to call Jessie in.

‘Is it now? Now? When her heart’s door has opened to some extent?’

If Judy’s heart were to be compared to a door, it wasn’t wide open.

It was open just enough for one person to pass through comfortably.

What Himena was worried about was whether two or three people could fit through that gap.

And the pang of conscience felt somewhere inside her body.

A feeling of guilt kept pricking Himena’s chest.

‘This is all because of Dexter.’

Blaming Dexter and thinking of it as a threshold to cross, Himena cleared her throat once.

“Ahem! And, Judy. There’s more I need to tell you.”

“What? Something more to tell? What kind of….”

As Judy blinked her eyes, trying to hear Himena’s answer, the bedroom door opened and someone quietly came out.

“Can I come out now?”

When she turned her head towards the sound, there was someone familiar, though not close.

When she confirmed who that person was, Judy’s body stiffened.

“…Hello?”

“B-Blueberg?”

Judy jumped up in surprise, pointing at Jessie with a trembling finger.

“She’s an inmate! Wait, she must have been released on parole recently! No way, no way! Dexter with an inmate… No, this is wrong no matter how you look at it!”

“Judy, please calm down first, and we’ll explain everything.”

“Yes, Judy. We’ll explain everything. Okay?”

It was an odd situation where Jessie, a former inmate, was trying to calm down Judy, a correctional officer. If an outsider who knew the situation had seen it, they would have found it strange.

“How can this be happening?! To think that Dexter was having a relationship with an inmate… No. This shouldn’t be! Please tell me this is the end!”

Judy began to tremble as she realized it wasn’t just one person, but two, and one of them was a former inmate from the prison where she worked.

Judy and Himena stood side by side, trying to smile, and held both of Judy’s arms as if restraining her.

“So… Judy? It’s too early to be surprised.”

“Too early? Please, please tell me this is the end.”

“Well, actually….”

“Is the explanation over?”

“Emily! The conversation isn’t over yet….”

When Emily, another former inmate, came out of the bedroom without being signaled, Judy’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open.

“An-another… inmate… Bell?”

As Judy’s body went limp upon seeing Emily and she was about to collapse, Emily pointed at Judy and shouted,

“She fainted!”

Jessie caught Judy as she was about to fall, and Himena picked her up and laid her on the sofa.

“Oh my, Judy! Judy! Wake up!”

“Oh my goodness, what should we do!”

* * *

“Oh, is it over?”

-There was a bit of a commotion, but it’s fine now. I think you can come.

Dexter, who was waiting at the Oasis Bar, noticed various emotions in Himena’s voice.

“This is wrong….”

“What?”

“Nothing, nothing.”

Dexter smiled at Kiara as if nothing was wrong, paid the bill, and returned home.

Upon arriving home, Dexter saw three women huddled around Judy, who had a haggard face, and silently looked at Jessie.

“There was a bit of a commotion. Hahaha.”

Seeing Jessie trying to brush it off with the most awkward laugh in the world, Dexter then looked at Emily.

“Judy fainted for a moment.”

“Yeah, I figured as much.”

It wasn’t strange for her to faint, given that she was naturally a sensitive person and had just heard that her boyfriend was involved with not just two, but three other women.

Judy was staring blankly at one spot, but when she heard Dexter’s voice, she turned her head to look at him.

“How can it be not just two, but… four people…?”

“That’s how it turned out.”

“And everyone shares… Dexter? Is Dexter an object…?”

“That’s something those three women decided on their own without my permission.”

“I don’t understand what’s going on….”

Judy was truly confused.

“But she said she’ll join in.”

“Actually, Jessie practically bullied her into it….”

“No, you shouldn’t say it like that! It makes it sound like I’m some mafia forcing relationships through threats!”

“That’s half true, isn’t it?”

“Jessie practically forced an answer out of her.”

“Hey, Emily! You shouldn’t say that either!”

As they all blurted out their own words, Dexter squeezed his eyes shut.

“Geez, even a flea market wouldn’t be this noisy. Everyone, please be quiet.”

When Dexter opened his eyes, the three women had closed their mouths.

Judy also closed her mouth and looked at Dexter, who approached her and half-knelt down.

“What will you do?”

“I….”

Judy, who had been looking at Dexter, slowly lowered her eyes and spoke.