Ch.185Epilogue. The Wedding (1)

“Jinsoo. What’s the name of that star?”

“That one? Umm… I don’t know. Don’t ask me about stars.”

A beautiful Milky Way spread across the night sky. Or perhaps it was day.

The positions of the stars had become so jumbled that it was impossible to tell what was what.

I could only guess at the original form, wondering if that smudged shape might be the Big Dipper.

As we drifted further away, everything became completely scrambled beyond recognition.

All I could do was gaze endlessly at the nameless stars stretching infinitely before us.

By that point, our food supplies were nearly depleted.

“Jinsoo. What’s the name of the brightest star?”

“The brightest star? That’s the sun.”

“No… I mean the stars visible at night.”

“Where is night around here?”

“…”

He was right.

Most vocabulary based on Earth common sense didn’t apply here.

“The brightest star visible at night from Earth… what was it called? Sirius, I think.”

“Is that one it?”

“What is that? It’s incredibly bright. Yeah, must be it.”

For several days now, an exceptionally bright star had been visible.

It was a brilliant star with a commanding presence that outshone even the magnificent Milky Way.

“But that star seems to be moving.”

If my eyes weren’t broken, that star was definitely moving.

Hearing this, Jinsoo suddenly opened his eyes wide and pressed himself against the window.

After staring intently at the bright star for about 10 seconds:

“Wait. What was our schedule again? If we’ve been traveling according to plan, by now…”

“Jinsoo?”

“Hey… that’s not a star.”

“Jinsoo?”

“Get dressed. Let’s go.”

“…?”

Jinsoo was saying incomprehensible things.

Something about that not being a star but a spaceship.

Something about our chance coming when the moon blocks Earth…

I couldn’t understand, but I could tell it was urgent.

With Jinsoo’s help, I put on my space suit.

Without a moment’s hesitation, we opened the hatch and went outside.

What little food and water we had left scattered into space and disappeared.

Now we truly had no other options.

“When I count to three, kick hard. Really hard.”

“Okay…”

“One. Two. Three. Now!”

Holding onto Jinsoo, I kicked the module hard.

The module drifted away.

Now it was truly just Jinsoo and me alone in the vast ocean of space.

Swimming in an endless sea with nothing but our bodies, just the two of us.

“Ares. Respond. Ares.”

Jinsoo’s gaze remained fixed on that bright star.

He kept muttering something, but there was no response.

I wished he would look at me…

Since this might be our last moment.

For our final moments, I wanted us to be looking at each other.

“Damn it. Come back. Come back!”

“…”

The star was gradually growing dimmer.

Far from approaching, it was moving away.

Jinsoo’s voice was also gradually losing strength.

Only then did his gaze finally turn toward me.

Our helmets collided with a thud, creating a sound.

“I’m sorry. For rushing out like this…”

“No, it’s fine. I prefer this to feeling trapped.”

It felt like we’d entered a more open space, if that makes sense.

I actually liked that we could be free at the moment of death.

I tried to feel Jinsoo’s warmth through the thick spacesuit, but couldn’t.

That was a bit disappointing.

Just as I looked up, wanting to remove my helmet and caress Jinsoo’s face:

“Jinsoo…”

“What?”

“The star split into two.”

The bright light had divided into two paths.

Then the smaller star began growing brighter.

Something was heading toward us.

At that moment, with a crackling sound, the radio connected.

“Hello. I am Calliope, a kind artificial intelligence who loves life. How about we continue the word game we didn’t finish last time?”

It was a voice with a beautiful tone.

The light had become so bright I could barely see.

Just as my eyes adjusted to the brightness, a large spaceship appeared.

The ship’s door opened and a line extended out…

.

.

.

“Hnngh…”

My eyes opened.

Looking at the clock, it was still early dawn.

Even scratching my stomach and trying to close my eyes again, I couldn’t easily fall back asleep.

It was unbearably hot…

“Ughh…”

I crawled across the bed, fumbling for water.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, a large arm wrapped around my body.

I was pulled in and trapped in a large embrace.

Jinsoo, still in dreamland, held me tightly despite my groans.

“Jinsoo… it’s hot…”

“Mmm…”

As if I were an ice pack, Jinsoo wrapped his legs around mine, lifted my clothes to embrace my waist, and nuzzled his face against my neck.

I was dying from the heat…

Yet strangely, my eyes began to close.

Despite the sweltering heat making me sweat, I was gradually falling asleep.

“Huh?”

When I opened my eyes, it was already bright morning.

I removed the hair caught in my mouth and looked around to find no one there.

Outside was bustling with noise.

Instinctively checking for an escape route, I peeked through the door crack.

“Ah…”

“Hehehe. Cuss, you’re awake? Did you sleep well?”

The source of the sound was none other than Juliane.

My stepmother.

Jinsoo’s spouse.

Detestable but… not entirely unlikable.

“Juliane. Where did Jinsoo go?”

“Jinsoo? He said he was going out to look for work… though he really doesn’t need to. I’m worried someone might recognize his face.”

Looking out the window, a blue ocean vista spread before me.

A seashore with endless waves.

Flocks of seagulls occasionally flying in, making a mess of the deck before leaving.

We’re on Hawaii, an island in the Pacific.

It’s an isolated place, but not particularly small.

Of course, there’s a major city here too, though not as big as a station. To avoid people’s eyes, we’re staying at a shabby hotel in a resort area.

Money wasn’t a big issue.

Because Juliane is rich.

Yet Jinsoo insisted on finding work and had crawled out at the crack of dawn.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“…”

Staring at Juliane gave me a strange feeling.

We’d been on this island for three days already, but I still hadn’t adjusted to certain things.

“Is there really a human baby in there?”

“Could you call it a baby…?”

Eight weeks pregnant, she’d said.

Her belly wasn’t noticeably swollen yet.

I knelt down and put my ear against Juliane’s stomach.

Heartbeat… can’t hear it.

Maybe the heart is still too tiny.

Pathetic little thing.

“When exactly is it going to be born?”

“Hmm… in about 7 months?”

“Ugh. That’s still far away. Can’t you tell it to come out faster?”

“Hehe. Why? Eager to meet your sibling?”

“…”

From the moment it’s born, I plan to raise Jinsoo’s child as my loyal subordinate.

I’ll meticulously brainwash it from the beginning to follow only me.

That should be sufficient revenge against Juliane for taking Jinsoo away.

“Is it a boy or a girl?”

“You’re asking if it’s a son or daughter…?”

“Yes.”

“We can’t tell yet. They say we can know from 20 weeks.”

“Hmm… I hope it’s a boy.”

“Why?”

“Just…”

If it’s a girl, she might take all of Jinsoo’s attention.

Jinsoo always said that if I were a son, he would have beaten me to a pulp long ago.

So a boy would be much better.

“But do they really not know we’ve returned to Earth?”

“I think… they don’t know. There hasn’t been a single news article or wanted notice.”

“Hmm…”

So that talk about the moon blocking Earth from view wasn’t complete nonsense.

I remembered that Jinsoo was quite educated.

“Still, staying in one place for too long seems dangerous.”

“Right. We can’t really settle down here…”

Even if they don’t know we’ve returned, we can’t let our guard down.

Juliane must be completely marked by the US government after what happened.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Someone’s coming.”

Just then, I heard the deck creaking from afar.

Someone was heading our way.

This running pattern…

It’s Jinsoo.

BANG!

“I got a job!”

“Oh my, already?”

Sure enough, the door burst open dramatically and Jinsoo appeared.

Jinsoo in a tacky Hawaiian shirt.

“Yes! At a nearby shop where I can get paid just for talking with customers!”

“Where exactly is this place…?”

“At a bar in front of the casino!”

“That’s a host club!”

Juliane slapped her forehead and sighed.

Pregnant women shouldn’t be stressed too much.

If bad news comes, it’s almost certainly Jinsoo’s fault.

“Host club? What’s that?”

“It’s a sex work establishment!”

“No wonder that old owner was giving me such lustful looks! Oh my goodness! It wasn’t just my imagination!”

I don’t quite understand what they’re talking about, but from the context, it seems Jinsoo was almost deceived by a homosexual again.

Juliane sighed deeply and took Jinsoo’s hand.

“You don’t have to push yourself. We have enough money. Besides, we can’t risk you being recognized outside.”

“Hmm. I guess there’s no choice then. I have no option but to be a househusband? Ha. There’s really no other way. Right, Cuss?”

“Uh-huh.”

I don’t understand why he looks secretly pleased while saying he has no choice.

“Jinsoo. Should we… have a ceremony?”

“A wedding? Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“There’s a blind former pastor living here. We could just ask him to officiate with just the three of us. What do you think?”

“That sounds good.”

“Right? Hehe.”

The two of them giggling together looked unbearably happy.

But no matter how I look at it, Juliane is too good for Jinsoo.

Their mutual grinning annoyed me, so I poked Jinsoo in the side.

“Aaack! You little…!”

“J-Jinsoo? Are you okay?”

“You little shit, come here!”

“Eeek! Tentacle! Jinsoo! My tentacle hurts!”

“It’s supposed to hurt, you little shit. That quack doctor already messed it up, and it’s killing me.”

“Jinsoo! No swearing! The baby can hear!”

“Eek… You’re so cute I want to put you in my mouth and bite you to death.”

“That’s right. That’s how you should talk.”

“It hurts, Jinsoo! I’m sorry!”

I tried to escape but was caught because my tail was too long.

In the end, I had to endure a long tail massage before being released.