Ch.36Chapter 36. X-Per-X-Ri-X

“Are you asleep?”

“Hueeeee……”

“……”

You.

I sighed as I entered the room and picked up the blanket that had fallen to the floor, covering her roughly.

She probably won’t kick it off again.

And she was complaining about stomach pain too.

“Sheesh. You brat.”

“Uhehe……”

Looking down at her sleeping peacefully, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

I was about to flick her forehead.

When she keeps her mouth shut, she can’t possibly look any cuter.

“Sigh……”

I accidentally let a tentacle touch Tom’s brother’s leg.

Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about it at this point.

How am I supposed to silence the governor candidate’s son?

Alice was just lucky it worked on her.

There’s simply no solution.

All I can do is hope he thinks the sensation in his leg was just a malfunction.

I just hope some suspicious special forces without unit patches don’t suddenly burst in during the night.

No, maybe it would be better if they did come.

Then I could just hand over Cuss and return to my normal life.

“Has she grown a bit?”

Thinking this might be my last chance, I squeezed Cuss’s chest over her clothes.

Oh. She definitely seems to have grown since before.

Maybe she’s in her growth phase.

As I was kneading, I felt a lump in her left breast.

I think I’ve read somewhere that this is a symptom that appears in adolescent girls.

Or could it possibly be breast cancer?

If it’s breast cancer, that would be serious, so I should check thoroughly by feeling it.

To make a more accurate assessment, I should probably feel under her bra.

“Unnngh……”

Every time I touched her, Cuss kept tossing and turning as if it hurt a little.

It probably wasn’t breast cancer after all.

My wife had breast cancer, and she said the lumps didn’t really hurt no matter how much they were pressed.

It seems to be a natural development after all.

I can rest easy now.

“Phew.”

I’m so relieved it’s not breast cancer.

You had me worried and drained my mental energy.

I continued kneading for a while longer to recharge my mental energy.

But I didn’t like how I could immediately feel her ribs when I moved my hand just a little below her chest.

How do you eat so much and still not gain any weight?

You need to fatten up quickly so I can eat you. Tsk.

“Hmm. Fully recharged.”

This seems sufficient.

Tomorrow’s a day off, so sleeping in should be fine.

I yawned and returned to my room.

The bed felt unusually spacious tonight.

***

Bubble bubble……

“Jinsoo……”

While I was heating up the army stew leftover from yesterday, I heard shuffling footsteps behind me.

Cuss was coming out of her room with messy hair, rubbing her eyes.

“You’re up already? Go back to sleep.”

“School……”

“It’s a holiday today.”

“Holiday? So I don’t go to school?”

“Right. We rest for two days on weekends. You. And me.”

Well, I might not be resting.

Actually, being at the office might be much more comfortable.

“Go wash up. We’re going out after breakfast.”

“Where are we going?”

“To buy your phone.”

“Phone…!”

Cuss’s eyes widened, and she turned around and scurried into the bathroom.

Is she that desperate for a phone?

Who does she want to contact so badly?

Shaking my head, I was about to drop two packets of ramen noodles into the pot when……

“Tsk.”

I put them back down and lowered the heat a bit.

It takes Cuss quite a while just to wash and dry her hair.

If I put them in now, they’ll be all soggy by the time she comes out.

I can’t ruin the image of Korean food because of some overcooked ramen noodles.

I need to make this girl unable to live without Korean food.

I dropped the noodles in just as the bathroom door flung open.

Soon I heard the sound of a hair dryer from inside the room, and by the time the ramen was cooked and I brought the pot to the table, Cuss came running out.

“Your hair isn’t completely dry.”

“I can dry it after eating!”

“If you don’t dry it right away, you’ll get split ends.”

“Eek!”

“Never mind. Just sit and eat.”

I sat the startled Cuss down and brought the hair dryer to dry her hair carefully.

This happened partly because I misjudged when to add the noodles.

She eats so heartily, by the way.

Even though she ate just over ten hours ago.

Well, it is my cooking after all.

Makes me feel oddly proud.

“If you’re done eating, get dressed and come out.”

“Okay!”

“Don’t run!”

If she falls and scrapes her knee, I’ll be called to school again.

It wasn’t long ago that there were suspicions about kiss marks on her neck, and I don’t want to add rear-entry position suspicions on top of that.

Cuss quickly finished getting ready and came out.

She was wearing a flowy pink dress.

Somehow it seemed incongruous with her silver hair, but it also strangely suited her.

“Let’s go.”

“Hmm?”

“Wear this.”

I put a straw hat on Cuss’s head.

The sun is strong today.

In Cuss’s case, her skin is unusually sensitive, so even a little sun exposure could cause skin problems.

And then I’d be the one paying for the ointment, so I have to be careful.

Vroom……

As I slowly drove the car out of the garage, the door automatically closed behind us.

Today we’re going to visit Bob.

I used to be afraid to take my car there because thugs might wreck it, but now I’ve heard that word has spread that my car shouldn’t be touched, so I can comfortably drive it to the slum.

“Are we going to meet Bob?”

“That’s right.”

Cuss immediately caught on as we entered the slum.

“Then can we meet Bella too?”

“I’ll ask.”

Why does she like that cyber-prostitute so much?

Just looking at all those piercings, you can tell she has a nasty personality.

While I was thinking about this and that, we soon arrived at Bob’s abandoned factory.

“Jinsoo! Long time no see!”

“What do you mean long time?”

“Cuss seems to have gotten prettier too?”

“She was always pretty.”

Bob greeted us with a smile as soon as we got out of the car.

Since I contacted him early this morning, he must have known we were coming.

“I’ll park your car, sir.”

“……?”

“It’s okay. He’s one of my guys, you can trust him.”

“Oh. Alright.”

I handed the keys to a skinny bald guy who was bowing politely.

If Bob says it’s okay, he probably won’t steal it and run away.

Leaving him to park the car, we entered the abandoned factory.

“Bella! Is Bella here?”

“She’s over there. Want to go play with her?”

“I want to!”

Cuss tugged at my sleeve and looked up at me silently, as if asking for permission.

She’d go even if I said no.

She only pretends to listen to me at times like this.

“Go ahead. If you want to go outside, tell me first.”

“Okay!”

Cuss dashed over to Bella, who was playing a video game.

Is that Super Mario?

She really likes retro games.

That’s a game I used to play when I was young.

“So, you don’t want body implants?”

“Absolutely not. How dare they.”

“Right. If you put that stuff in your body, Bill Gates will monitor you 24/7.”

“No, that’s not the reason……”

They actually believe that stuff.

I wondered where these conspiracy theory idiots were, and they were closer than I thought.

“There are plenty of other reasons too. Why are you trying to buy her a used one anyway?”

“They’re too expensive. If she’d use it for 10 years, I’d buy her a new one, but she’s the type who might break it tomorrow and it wouldn’t be surprising.”

“Hahaha. Then a cheap used phone is perfect. Here, take a look and choose one.”

Bob led me to a shelf where phones were lined up.

There were almost the latest hologram-type phones.

And in the back, I could see older touch-screen phones like the one I use.

“I think an older model would be better.”

“Why? Do you have that many expenses?”

“No. I don’t know how to use the latest ones. If I want to make sure she’s not doing anything stupid, I need to at least know how to use it myself.”

“Oh my, you old geezer……”

“……”

He keeps calling me an old geezer.

As if he’s so cutting-edge himself.

“I’ll take this one. It’s the same model as mine.”

“But that one won’t get any more service support.”

“What?”

“After-sales service has been discontinued. They won’t fix it at the store anymore. So if it breaks, bring it here. I’ll fix it for you.”

“How much are you planning to charge for repairs……”

“Hahaha! Since it’s parts for a discontinued device, it might be a bit more expensive. But I’ll give you a fair price. Okay?”

“……”

Bob’s eyes were practically spinning.

He must smell money.

Well, I guess it’s like a tip for finding all these used phones.

Though it feels like I’m giving too many tips.

“Just insert this chip and it’ll be activated right away.”

“You didn’t install any weird software, did you……”

“Hey! If you’re suspicious, go to a carrier store to activate it! Don’t you trust me?”

“Come on, I know exactly what you’re like.”

“No matter what, I wouldn’t stab a friend in the back. If I did something that disloyal, the guys would beat me up and drag me down, right boys?”

“Yes! Even if you’re the boss, we’d beat you mercilessly then!”

“These guys…… I really didn’t expect that……”

I guess I can trust Bob.

After some joking around, I received the activated phone.

When I turned around with the phone, Cuss was still sitting next to the cyber-prostitute, holding a console.

Aren’t they going to play outside?

Tsk tsk. Kids these days just stay cooped up indoors.

Back in my day… we had nothing to do so we’d go outside and play on monkey bars and stuff.

“Cuss.”

“Mmm.”

This girl.

I called her but she barely responded without even turning her head.

Do you like the game more than me?

“I got your phone.”

“Really?!”

“Whoa.”

Cuss jumped up instantly and rushed toward me.

Shit, you startled me.

The cyber-prostitute seemed surprised too, trying to catch the console that Cuss had dropped behind her.

“Can I call Alice with this! Like Jinsoo does with Juliane!”

“Yeah. They said it’s activated so you should be able to use it right away. But do you know Alice’s number?”

“Number?”

“Her phone number. Didn’t Alice tell you?”

“She didn’t.”

“Then you can’t call her now. Ask her when you go to school.”

“Ehhh?”

Cuss’s expression instantly turned into a pout.

You should have gotten her number beforehand.

Stupid alien girl.

“Huuu! Uuuuu……”

“……”

When Cuss tried to snatch the phone, I raised my hand high above my head.

Then Cuss stood on her tiptoes, clinging to me and stretching her hand up.

This disrespectful girl.

“Hey. You’re just going to take it without asking? Say ‘please.'”

“Please.”

“Step back. And hold out both hands.”

“Hmm?”

“Yes. Like that.”

Cuss stepped back, put her hands together, and looked up at me.

That’s right.

“Please……”

“When you receive it, say ‘thank you.'”

“Yes! I will!”

“Here.”

“Thank you!”

Cuss shouted loudly as she received the phone.

That’s right, kiddo.

I roughly patted Cuss’s head as she examined and touched the phone.

Ring ring……

“Just a moment. Let me answer this call.”

I looked to see who it was…… ugh.

It was Juliane.

This is a bit inconvenient right now.

“Hello?”

“How’s your schedule today, Jinsoo? Should I come over?”

“No. Don’t come. I’m out with Cuss right now.”

“Oh my. Where are you?”

“Uh……”

Bob kept mouthing “who is it?” so I muted the phone for a moment.

“That woman from the Justice Department I mentioned before.”

“What? Hang up right now! The Justice Department can track your location! If they find this base, I have nowhere else to run!”

Bob was making an X with his arms and reacting intensely.

Come on, seriously?

She’s probably just calling personally, surely they wouldn’t be tracking my location.

“Uh…… Juli…… ane…… the signal…… bad……”

I pretended the signal was poor and hung up.

She kept calling back, but I decided to ignore it.

I even switched the notification sound to silent.

“Hey. If you’re done, get out of here quickly. I’m scared.”

“Alright, alright. But wait a second.”

Just as I was about to leave with Cuss, the television screen caught my eye.

I thought it had been showing the same screen for a while.

The cyber-prostitute kept dying at the same stage without being able to clear it.

“Why do you keep dying there?”

“Ugh. This is hard to beat alone. But Cuss is so bad she’s actually trolling me……”

“Really? Let me try then.”

“What? You, mister?”

This brings back memories.

Before I knew it, I was sitting next to the cyber-prostitute and picking up the console.

“You can’t beat this? You should be able to get past this part alone. Like this.”

“Whoa. How did you just do that?”

“Advanced technique. Running on water while holding an item. That way you won’t get hit by the squid.”

“Wow. Such a hardcore gamer.”

This is actually pretty fun.

Seeing her play such a classic game, maybe this cyber-prostitute isn’t so bad after all.

You pass. You’re worthy of being Cuss’s friend.

“Jinsooooo. When are we leaviiing?”

“Just a minute. Five more minutes.”

Annoyed, Cuss hung on my back and started pressing down on me.

Hey. Don’t interfere. I’ll die like this.

Oh, but I can feel her chest lightly touching my back.

No, keep going.

“Let’s go! Jinsoooo!”

“Aaargh!”

Cuss was pressing her chin into my shoulder.

Come on, I’m about to clear this stage.

Just wait a little longer, please.