Ch.20Chapter 20. Crack (1)

“Huh. Really. Ha. Seriously. I can’t believe this. Ha. Hmph.”

While fanning her face vigorously, Juliane kept making snorting sounds.

No matter how much she knocked on the door, there was no response from inside.

There’s no way the knocking sound wouldn’t be heard through this thin wood.

This meant Jinsoo Kim was deliberately ignoring her.

Unable to accept this fact, Juliane’s face had already turned bright red.

“When he was flirting with me because he liked me, that was fine, but now…”

After saying this, Juliane covered her mouth, afraid it might have been heard inside.

Clearly he was the one who tried to seduce me first because he liked me…

It had been quite convenient when the surveillance target approached on his own.

But after Jinsoo was attacked and injured his head, losing his memory, his attitude completely reversed.

Even though he lost his memories, I thought he’d still try to seduce me since he’s the same person…

If Jinsoo was going to be like this, it was a complete disaster.

It meant that now Juliane would have to take the initiative and approach Jinsoo.

“Why are you being so cold… It’s not like you’ve figured out I’m from the Justice Department…”

Completely unaware that she had just spoken the truth, Juliane got into the car parked in front of the house.

As soon as she sat in the seat, electronic sounds signaled the ignition and lights turned on.

When she turned the steering wheel onto the road, she heard the slightly irritating sound of tires scraping.

That’s the problem with this rural area.

A magnetic levitation car wouldn’t make such noise at all.

Ring ring ring…

While driving along the quiet road, her phone rang.

It was her superior from the Justice Department.

“Sigh…”

Juliane switched to autopilot with a sigh, leaned back in her seat, and tapped below her ear.

“I’m returning now. I’m almost there…”

“No, it’s fine. Just go home instead of coming back.”

“What? But I still have work hours left.”

“I sent something to your home. Go back and check that.”

I knew it.

There’s always a reason when they let you leave early.

But if there’s something to handle, why not do it at the office instead of sending it to my home?

“What is it?”

“Uh… Documents. For the review we’re currently conducting.”

“…”

There was no review currently being conducted by Juliane’s department.

But Juliane remained silent, making no response.

This was their code.

A code used when there was something that shouldn’t be exposed externally, something that must be kept confidential.

“Understood. I’ll go back and check it right away.”

“Good.”

Even after the call ended, Juliane pondered for a long time.

The fact that they sent it to her home rather than giving it to her at the office meant it was material too sensitive to be seen even among Justice Department colleagues.

Why would they send something like that to me…?

“Increase speed.”

-Ding. Increasing speed to 200 kilometers per hour.

Juliane was simply eager to check it as soon as possible out of curiosity.

***

“Phew…”

I swung my freed arm a few times.

My shoulder wasn’t completely healed yet, but I decided to remove the cast.

It was too inconvenient to live with just one arm.

By the way, I gave up on teaching Cuss proper etiquette.

It was simply beyond my patience.

Still, she seems to have learned the basics of using forks and knives, so at least she won’t make a spectacle of herself while eating.

As long as she observes basic manners, that should be enough.

If she just remembers to greet people properly…

“Hmm. I’m screwed, aren’t I?”

Come to think of it, I’ve been setting a terrible example.

I’ve been cursing in front of Cuss all the time, saying all kinds of vulgar words.

Looking back, I’ve basically taught her every crude curse word there is.

At this rate, she might end up saying

-Teacher. It’s a fucking morning.

The possibility is extremely high.

I need to do something about this.

“Hey.”

“Hm?”

I hurried to the living room to call Cuss.

Maybe because the sofa was gone, she was sitting right in front of the TV, completely absorbed.

“Move back when you watch, kid. You’ll ruin your eyes.”

“Mmmmm…”

She’s whining disgustingly.

I put my arm under her armpit and pulled her back.

As a form of resistance, she kept slapping my cheeks with her tentacles, which was incredibly annoying.

“If you hit me one more time, I’ll rip those tentacles off.”

“…”

Only then did she calm down.

After pulling Cuss back, I brought a chair to where the sofa used to be.

“Watch from here.”

“Okay.”

“…”

Even as I sat her down, Cuss’s eyes remained fixed on the television.

As a test, I tried blocking her view, and without even looking at me, she just stretched her neck to the side.

What is she watching that has her so captivated?

Let me see too.

“Hmm…”

It was a documentary about penguins.

I thought all the Antarctic ice had already melted, but seeing the glaciers there, it seemed to be a rerun of an old program.

“Is it interesting?”

“Don’t change the channel.”

“No, I’m asking if it’s interesting.”

“It is. So stop bothering me.”

“…”

When I put my arm on Cuss’s shoulder from behind, she got slightly irritated.

This makes me look like some troublemaking delinquent.

It’s fascinating to see someone who doesn’t even know what a penguin is so engrossed in this.

Maybe as an alien, she finds different things interesting.

“Hey. I need to talk to you.”

“Go ahead.”

“Let’s do a speaking test. I’m your teacher. How would you greet me when we first meet?”

“…”

“Hey.”

This brat isn’t listening to me.

Disrespectful girl.

I immediately changed the channel to the news.

“Ah!”

“You little…”

Cuss immediately started biting my wrist.

Doesn’t she have any learning ability?

Why does she always attack with her teeth?

“Ang.”

“Aaaaargh! Stop!”

If she bites my nape, I’m done for.

Now I see there’s a big bite mark on my neck.

Well, it’ll disappear soon, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

“Listen to me. If you listen properly, I’ll change the channel back.”

“Fine…”

“Let’s say I’m your teacher. How would you greet me?”

“Jinsoo. You’re not a teacher…”

“No, I mean hypothetically. Let’s say the teacher comes in. What would you do?”

“…”

Cuss’s mouth refused to move.

I was so frustrated that I almost cursed, but I desperately held back.

I need to be careful from now on so she’ll swear less at school.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Do I have to say something? Can’t I just stay quiet?”

“Uh…”

It felt like I’d been hit hard on the back of my head.

No, that’s not right. I’ve experienced that, and it’s too strong for this comparison.

Yes, it was similar to the shock I felt when that former trainer gay bastard slammed my head against the wall when he tried to rape me.

Come to think of it, there’s a saying that silence is golden, right?

She’s going to be rude automatically whenever she opens her mouth anyway, so there’s no need for her to speak.

Kid’s smarter than I thought.

“Fine. Just stay quiet then. If you really can’t manage, just copy what the other kids do.”

Cuss nodded vigorously.

It was a gesture that showed her strong desire to finish this conversation quickly and get back to watching penguins rubbing against each other.

“If there are no other kids around… uh… you know how I talk to Ms. Juliane? Copy that tone. Got it?”

“Got it.”

I’ve never said anything vulgar to Ms. Juliane and always speak politely.

Just copying that should be enough.

Good. Now I feel a bit more at ease.

“Now change the channel back…”

“Okay.”

Just as I was about to pick up the remote to change the channel:

-News has come through authorities that an alien parasitic organism may have been introduced to Earth…

“What?”

News that couldn’t be ignored was coming from the TV.

Even Cuss, who had been tugging at my sleeve, could only gape and focus on the news.

This was none other than a story about Cuss herself.

-Do you remember the shocking alien monster that killed all crew members of the research ship recovered three years ago? The United States Space Force has directly revealed the possibility that the main body of this alien organism may have actually landed on Earth. Let’s listen to the announcement.

Holy shit.

The content that followed on television was enough to make both of us hold our breath.

For three years, the research team had been puzzled by the empty space inside the alien monster’s corpse and focused their investigation there.

As a result, they concluded that the organs that had been there corresponded to the human brain, and that a parasitic organism had occupied that space and escaped when the host died.

-Citizens, there’s no need to worry too much. It may have actually died somewhere on the spaceship, or even if it had hidden in the return ship and descended to Earth, it might have already died due to environmental differences. However, there is a very small chance that this alien organism… may be parasitizing Earth’s life forms… particularly human bodies.

We’re really screwed.

That’s practically the government issuing a public wanted notice.

They’re basically saying if you see someone acting like an alien, report them.

The one fortunate thing is that they’re expecting Cuss to have low intelligence.

While her common sense and values may be different, her intelligence itself is probably equal to or even higher than humans.

If Cuss acts a little less weird, there shouldn’t be any incidents of her being reported as an alien.

Only poor physically disabled people will end up being reported en masse.

“Jinsoo. Aren’t we fucked?”

“Not we, just you. And don’t use the word ‘fuck.'”

“Why?”

“It’s a curse word.”

“Why can’t I use curse words?”

“That’s social convention. Don’t try to understand it. Just accept it. Never use it in front of others.”

“Okay.”

Even if I explained that it makes people feel bad, she wouldn’t understand.

Rather than trying to make her understand, it’s easier to just make her accept it.

“What should we do?”

“Not we, just you.”

“What should I do?”

“Just keep doing what you’ve been doing. If you act well, you won’t get caught.”

“Mmm… Really…?”

“Don’t you trust me?”

“I do.”

“…”

I’m surprised she said she trusts me so readily.

When did I build trust with her?

Anyway, I’m serious about acting well being enough.

They’re not going to install full-body X-rays across the country just to catch one alien acting like an idiot.

If this were quasi-totalitarian South Korea, they might have hurriedly installed them, but that won’t happen in America.

“Now! Now! Change it back!”

“Okay.”

Just as the news was about to move on to the next story, Cuss tugged at my sleeve repeatedly.

Here you go, kid.

Instead of watching that useless stuff, you should watch the news and build some knowledge.

I’m starting to sound like my father now.

“I wouldn’t mind if you kidnapped me along with the TV.”

“…”

She’s completely absorbed.

Is it really that interesting?

But sit up straight when you watch.

“Eek?!”

“Sit up straight when you watch.”

I placed my hands on her upper chest and lower back, straightening her posture.

When I let go, she tried to return to her original position, so I straightened her several times until her posture was fixed.

Yes, that’s better.

A hunched, turtle-necked girl is uncomfortable even during sex.

“Hmm…”

As I was about to go back to my room to rest, my attention was drawn to one spot.

Those tentacles rising from under her skirt, swaying behind the chair.

She’s being so careless now because there’s no one else around.

Well, she’s been good at hiding them outside lately.

She wasn’t discovered even after spending all day with Ms. Juliane.

But is it really possible to never let her guard down during all those long hours at school?

In my opinion, there’s a 140 percent chance this girl will get distracted during class, take out her tentacles, and get caught.

If only there was a way to get rid of those tentacles.

“Hmm?”

Get rid of them?

Actually, there’s a simple way.

A crude but effective method.

I headed straight to the kitchen.