Ch.193Epilogue. I Love You (1)

“Juliane is asking for more money. That’s strange. She should have graduated by now, so why does she need such a large sum…?”

“Ahem! Hmm! Perhaps she’s opening her own office!”

“Ah, I see.”

Mrs. Stadtfeld nodded in understanding and left.

Conrad cleared his throat as if coughing and picked up the newspaper again with trembling hands.

‘Try to be a little less obvious, you fool…’

He was beyond worried.

Her spending habits were practically advertising “I’m setting up my own household and living independently.”

It was such a sloppy attempt that the Department of Justice could easily track her down if they put their minds to it.

If she was going to run away, she should have fled overseas—why Hawaii of all places?

“The darkest place is under the lamp, I suppose…”

“What did you just say?”

“Talking to myself!”

She hadn’t been discovered for almost three years, so she seemed to be hiding well.

But after three years, he thought she would have told her parents by now, yet Juliane hadn’t said a word.

He understood that the fewer people who knew, the better, but he couldn’t help feeling a little hurt.

“Tsk, tsk. Such an ungrateful child.”

“What did you say?”

“I said I’m talking to myself!”

Conrad shouted as he stood up and walked to the table with picture frames.

There were photos of his daughter as a child, during her college years, and when she got a job.

The last frame contained a family photo with a sunset in the background.

A child riding on her father’s back, and Juliane hugging the man’s arm.

It seemed to be a photo taken somewhere on a beach in Los Angeles.

Briefly wondering if the LA sea was really that blue,

“Would it hurt to give me a hint…”

Conrad shook his head and turned away.

“You! What did you say?”

“Oh! Enough!”

***

“Now, look carefully. This is a penguin. Do you understand?”

“Bwah…!”

“Don’t put it in your mouth!”

“Abwbw…”

As soon as I entered the living room, I was startled.

A large hologram was playing, showing footage from when Bliss was less than a year old.

It was a video of Cuss bringing all sorts of dolls to play with her.

It was hard to tell if she was actually playing with Bliss or just playing by herself, but Bliss in the video was constantly laughing and drooling happily, so I figured it was fine.

Thud…

The hologram suddenly turned off.

Beyond it appeared a tearful Cuss.

“Jinsoo! Bliss used to be like that! Cute and adorable Bliss was right there, alive and breathing!”

“Uh…”

“But what is this now? Where has my tiny Bliss gone?”

“…”

Cuss hugged Bliss tightly and burst into tears.

Bliss, looking puzzled, was held in her sister’s arms, rolling her eyes around as if trying hard to assess the situation.

She had certainly grown a lot.

That milk-drinking baby was now running around and speaking quite well.

Still, seeing Cuss, who hadn’t completely outgrown her childish ways, acting like this made me chuckle.

“Now do you understand how I felt? That’s how I felt when you were growing up.”

“I had no idea! I didn’t know it was this painful! I should have recorded more videos!”

“Sister, are you hurt…?”

“No! I’m not hurt! I misspoke!”

“Ugh…”

Alarmed by Bliss’s concerned look, Cuss hugged her even tighter.

At two years old, Bliss now understood and used all sorts of words.

We had to be careful about what we said in front of her.

Bliss’s pitiful eyes, buried in Cuss’s arms, looked toward me as if begging for rescue.

It reminded me of Juliane and Cuss from the old days.

“Dinner’s ready, so put Bliss at the table.”

“Inmah!”

“Check if her diaper smells first.”

“Hyago!”

“Fine…”

Cuss had become a perfect sister for Bliss.

She constantly talked to her, played with her, and set a good example.

Without Cuss, childcare would have been much harder.

Since Juliane registered as a lawyer, she’d been so busy that she hardly had time to look after Bliss.

I was worried Bliss might forget her mother’s face at this rate.

“Sniff sniff… Ack! Jinsoo! It’s a big one!”

“Good grief. Move aside.”

Even after three years, Cuss still had a weak stomach.

I pushed aside the fussing Cuss and lifted Bliss by putting my hands under her armpits.

Judging by how heavy the diaper felt, she had made quite a mess.

“If you’ve pooped, you should say so. You’ve probably left a smell on your sister’s lap.”

“Sowwy…”

“Apologize to your sister.”

“Okay…”

I wondered if it wasn’t time to start potty training.

I prayed daily for the time when she would need less attention.

When she was crawling, I thought I was going to die from the constant vigilance.

When I was younger, I could easily wake up from a short nap to tend to a crying baby, but doing that in my mid-thirties was killing me.

It was much easier now that she rarely woke up at dawn, but since she was walking, the number of accidents increased, so my workload hadn’t decreased at all.

Ding…

“Is that you?”

I was doing the dishes after dinner when I heard the front door open.

That tired sound of footsteps—it was definitely Juliane.

“Mommy…!”

“Hmm, my baby. Did you have a good day?”

“Ate porridge! Porridge!”

“Was it delicious?”

“Super! Very! Really! Extremely!”

“Hehehe…”

Super. Very. Really. Extremely.

A four-star rating.

Today’s porridge must have been a huge success.

I wondered what kind of food I’d need to make to get five stars.

“Juliane, she keeps asking me to take her fishing. Is that okay?”

“Hmm… I wonder. Would there be a life jacket that fits her? If not, I’d be too scared.”

“Wanna go! Wanna go! Me too!”

“Let’s all go fishing together on the next holiday. I’ll hold her the whole time.”

If I keep watching her closely, even if she falls in, I can quickly pull her out.

If she falls in, I’ll just think of it as an enhancement in the River Styx.

Swallowing a few mouthfuls of seawater won’t kill her.

“You finished early today?”

“Yes. One case fell through. But Jinsoo, I’m hungry…”

“I’m hungry too!”

“Me too!”

“You two just ate…”

Looks like we’re having an early dinner.

This usually leads to late-night snacking.

But what can I do when the head of our household says she’s hungry?

I shook my head and opened the refrigerator.

*

“Is she asleep?”

“Yes, she’s asleep.”

I gently closed the veranda door and sat down in the fishing chair behind the deck.

Was today supposed to be a supermoon?

A large full moon hung in the sky.

The taste of wine shared between a couple with just a table between them…

Clink!

“Oh. Was that too loud?”

“She won’t wake up from that.”

I had prepared a rather heavy wine to drink slowly, but I was surprised at how quickly it disappeared.

The sound of waves splashing against the wooden pillars below the deck, the brilliant blonde hair shimmering in the moonlight, and the atmosphere created by the red drink in the glass—it was all too sweet.

Juliane would have a hard time tomorrow.

But since her case fell through, the next few days would be like holidays anyway.

“Ah… The alcohol is disappearing too quickly. Hehe. I might fall asleep soon.”

“Then let’s go to bed early.”

“No way. I know you’ve been saving up for today…”

Juliane’s gaze felt unusually burdensome today.

It was a slightly different signal than usual.

A subtle pressure suggesting it might be time to think about a second—no, a third child.

“J-Juliane. Did you know? Siblings with a big age gap are more likely to get along well. Like Cuss and Bliss…”

“How many more years do you want me to wait? You want me to have a son when I’m in my thirties?”

“That’s still far off. Juliane, you’re only 25.”

“I already think I’m slightly late…”

“…”

What’s late about that?

At 25, with experience as a DEA agent, Justice Department investigator, law school graduate, and lawyer credentials, while raising two children—that’s already incredibly impressive, and now a third…?

But when I met Juliane’s eyes, I froze and couldn’t say a word.

That wasn’t a look of pleading or begging.

It was a look of command.

It seemed our household head had firmly decided to conceive a third child today.

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice that you’ve been pulling out halfway and not finishing deep inside lately?”

“T-that’s because I wanted to see a creampie so badly… You’re so tight that when I finish inside, nothing leaks out. So I have to finish somewhere in the middle…”

“Shhh. Enough excuses. Creampie or whatever, today you’re finishing deep inside. Understood?”

“Yes…”

I’m screwed.

I should have noticed when a box of diapers was delivered recently.

I became troubled by this sudden disaster.

I couldn’t tell if the wine was going down my throat or into my windpipe.

“Cuss… Is she still good to Bliss?”

“Of course.”

“That’s a relief.”

“What were you worried about?”

“Cuss is smart… I was worried she might figure it out as she grows up.”

Juliane let out a small laugh and put down her wine glass.

I poured a little more wine into her glass and held her hand.

“Do you plan to never tell her?”

“It’s… better not to tell, I think.”

When I first found out, it was incredibly difficult for me too.

It was so hard that suicide seriously crossed my mind as an option.

I constantly worried whether I could raise Cuss, whether I could look at her the same way as before.

But in the end, I decided to embrace Cuss.

I wasn’t sure if I could treat her the same as before, but I tried hard, and looking back now, I think I succeeded.

So for me, it was already a closed chapter.

It didn’t even hurt much to bring it up again.

But what if Cuss found out?

Could she accept it and continue as before, like I did?

“You’re right. Cuss is more sensitive than she appears. If she found out she was a clone of your daughter, she might not be able to bear the guilt…”

Thud.

Just then, something fell behind us.

Startled, I turned around to see Cuss standing there with her mouth open.

While I was momentarily stunned, unable to find words, tears streamed down Cuss’s face.

“Cuss. Wait a moment.”

“Jinsoo… I’m sorry…”

“Hey. Come here. What I just said… Hey! Stop!”

Before I could finish, Cuss turned and ran off the deck.

I tried to chase after her but tripped over the chair and fell.

When I looked at Juliane to ask her to go after Cuss,

“W-what should we do? It’s my fault for speaking thoughtlessly…”

“…”

She was already in a panic and in no state to help.

I finally freed my foot from the chair and went out to the deck to look for Cuss, but she was already gone.

Only a shark doll lay pitifully on the ground.