Ch.39Chapter 39. Will I Be Returned?

*Click*

The electronic sound echoed in the small room.

The camera that had been filming a house in the rain zoomed out with a whirring sound.

The house it had just been recording was now reduced to a tiny speck in the distance.

“With all this rain… I wonder if it came out right.”

He reflexively flapped the photo the camera had produced.

As he examined it, a smile spread across his lips.

It had come out perfectly.

The scene of Juliane Stadtfeld being thrown out of Jinsoo Kim’s house.

They seemed to be having a heated conversation, then Jinsoo pushed Juliane outside and slammed the door shut.

“Evidence of discord. This should be enough.”

His clients had requested three main things:

Information that could criticize Jinsoo Kim’s character.

Information suggesting an inappropriate relationship between Jinsoo Kim and Cuss.

And information about changes in the relationship between Jinsoo Kim and Juliane.

This one covered the third point.

“Whew. How much is this even worth?”

As he carefully placed the photo in its case, he couldn’t stop his hands from trembling.

These photos were worth tens of thousands of dollars each.

He had no idea who this Jinsoo Kim guy was, but…

“What on earth did he do to…”

One thing was certain—having such powerful enemies meant he was likely to be snuffed out like a mayfly any day now.

He should have been more careful about how he lived.

Clicking his tongue in disapproval, he put the camera in its case and stood up.

Just as he slung his bag over his shoulder and was about to fling open the door—

Ding…

The faint sound of an elevator came from the corridor.

Not wanting to run into anyone, he held his breath and waited by the door.

Until he heard the doors close.

Or until the footsteps stopped.

Click-clack…

‘What’s that?’

Regular footsteps in high heels were gradually approaching.

Sensing something strange, he peered through the peephole into the corridor.

“Huh?”

A woman was walking toward him.

She was dripping wet, as if she’d been caught in the rain.

Her blonde hair and clothes looked familiar.

“Juliane Stadtfeld…?”

No, that’s impossible.

How could someone whose photo he’d just taken kilometers away already be here?

It must be someone who looked like her.

Just as he was thinking this—

Click-clack-click-clack-click-clack-click-clack!

The footsteps quickened as the woman rushed straight toward him.

He might have been imagining it, but her eyes seemed to be staring directly at him through the peephole.

“Oh no!”

CRASH!

Just as he jumped back from the door in shock, it shattered with a thunderous noise.

Through the flying splinters, he saw Juliane Stadtfeld with a fierce gaze, her leg extended from a kick.

“Damn it!”

He calmly drew a pistol from his bag.

He aimed for her face.

One shot to end it cleanly.

Of course, he was confident in his shooting skills.

Bang!

The muzzle flashed.

Juliane stood perfectly still, and the bullet flew straight toward the philtrum of her face without any deviation.

That lead slug should have pierced through Juliane’s face.

It should have created a small entry wound in her philtrum and a large exit wound in the back of her head, causing her to collapse in a spray of blood.

“Ha… haha…”

“…”

But Juliane remained standing upright.

Her right hand was spread wide in front of her face.

The bullet was embedded in the back of her hand, creating a deep dent.

Her two eyes, gleaming between her fingers, seemed to radiate intense killing intent.

He couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

“So you’re an android…”

Having lost his will to fight, he dropped his gun.

There was no point in fighting a machine with bulletproof material throughout its body.

The correct decision was to minimize damage and reduce potential compensation costs.

“I don’t know who you are.”

Juliane lowered her hand and spoke in a cold voice.

There was nothing human in her gaze.

Only contempt, as if looking down at garbage, filled her eyes.

With a jingling sound, she pulled out a silver pair of handcuffs from her torn skirt.

“I’m placing you under arrest for aggravated assault.”

“Ha…”

While letting out a hollow laugh in disbelief, he slipped his hand into his bag and pressed the automatic transmission button.

Sending photos to clients online wasn’t his preferred method, but this time he had no choice.

He might not be able to continue his work after this.

“Oops.”

“…Tsk.”

With a pop, his bag burst into flames.

Juliane let out a deep sigh.

She thought that perhaps there might be some “unavoidable” violence during this arrest process.

***

This wasn’t the first time I’d had such an uneasy feeling.

Even when drowsy, I’d have to snap awake whenever I felt this way.

On those days, muscular gay inmates would inevitably target my bed.

Rather than some supernatural sixth sense, it was more like an unconscious danger alarm honed through experience.

So I was pretty tense, but…

Rumble!

When I opened my eyes slightly and saw Cuss, I finally felt at ease.

Man, that really scared me for a moment.

But wait, I just saw her sleeping—why did she suddenly get up and come here?

It’s not like she’s used to sleeping in my arms or anything.

Just last night, she slept perfectly fine on her own.

“Mmm…”

I heard the rustling sound of the blanket moving.

Something was fidgeting behind me, and then something warm pressed against my back.

“Inhale… exhale…”

I could feel Cuss’s breath right on the nape of my neck.

After pondering why she was acting so strange today…

I came to one conclusion.

“Why did you come?”

“Oh, you’re awake, Jinsoo.”

I turned around and met Cuss’s eyes.

She looked quite surprised, as if she hadn’t expected me to be awake.

I brushed aside the hair covering half of her face and tucked it behind her ear.

Cuss flinched slightly at my touch.

It’s not like I’m some abusive father who hits her all the time.

“Are you scared?”

“Huh? Of you? No, not at all, not even a bit.”

“No, not me. The sound outside.”

“What sound…”

RUMBLE!

A sound like the earth splitting apart came through the window.

At the same time, I felt Cuss trembling through my hand on her cheek.

Just as I thought.

“This. The thunder.”

“No? Not at all. I’m not scared at all. Nothing can frighten me, the universe’s apex predator…”

“Sure, sure. Whatever you say.”

“Ugh.”

I wrapped my arm around Cuss, pulling her head closer to me.

In other words, she was scared of the thunder and needed someone to comfort her.

It was annoying, but… I didn’t really mind.

I was feeling a bit lonely myself anyway.

She’s being unusually cute today.

At this rate, I’m worried about tomorrow.

What if today’s quota of annoyance gets pushed to tomorrow and doubles?

RUMBLE!

“Eek?”

Cuss trembled and burrowed deeper into my arms.

Her breath against my chest made me feel a bit ticklish.

My thighs felt warm as Cuss covered them with her legs and wrapped her tentacles around me tightly.

No matter what, this is still uncomfortable.

Once she falls asleep, I’ll quickly detach myself and sleep more comfortably.

“Mmm…”

When thunder struck again, I covered her ears with my palms to prevent her from vibrating like a vibrator.

Then Cuss’s hands followed mine up and held them firmly in place.

As if asking me not to remove them.

When the next thunder struck, either this method worked or Cuss had fallen asleep, because she no longer startled or trembled.

Soon she was completely asleep, and her grip loosened. The small hand covering the back of mine slipped onto the bed.

I tried removing my hand from her ear as a test.

Even during the next thunder, and the one after that, Cuss didn’t react or wake up.

She was truly in a deep sleep now.

The tentacles wrapped around my thighs had also loosened.

“…Huh?”

Just as I was about to move away comfortably, something held me back.

Looking down, I saw that both of Cuss’s hands were firmly gripping my shirt.

With her face buried in my chest.

It seemed impossible to loosen her grip without waking her up.

Damn it. This will wrinkle my clothes.

Does she even know how much this costs?

“You’ll pay for this later, you little shit.”

“Mmm…”

“She actually responded.”

“Mmm…”

When you make money, you’ll pay me back.

I’ll take double.

That’ll be my profit, you stupid alien girl.

***

Another day off today.

Yay. So exciting.

An exciting holiday where I have to look after this damn daughter all day.

“Yeah. You just keep sleeping.”

A refreshing morning.

My eyelids didn’t feel heavy at all.

Cuss’s hands, which had been gripping my clothes so firmly last night as if they would never let go, were now relaxed.

Afraid of waking her, I just lightly brushed aside the hair covering her face and got out of bed.

“6 AM…”

Waking up this early on a day off.

Normally, I would have crawled back under the covers to sleep more, but right now I wanted to stay awake.

It was a relatively non-tiring morning, and above all, in a few hours I’d lose my alone time anyway.

I was about to make some instant coffee first…

“Son of a bitch.”

Or so I tried.

When I opened the box, adult magazines popped out.

I definitely asked Bob to get me some Mac X, but…

Instead of coffee mix, he gave me a pile of Mac X magazines.

And three more boxes of them…

Feeling a surge of anger, I immediately punched in his number.

Ring ring ring…

“This bastard’s sleeping in again.”

He wasn’t answering, so I hung up.

I mean, logically, if someone asks you to bring three boxes of magazines, wouldn’t you double-check if you heard correctly?

It’s not like I’m going to sell magazines or anything.

Oh my god.

Seeing how Bob works, if he were in Korea, he’d be the type to bring his family to ruin.

“This is driving me crazy.”

I roughly taped the boxes back up and shoved them in the storage room before coming back.

Maybe I’ll have some milk.

I poured a glass of milk and grabbed a slice of bread before sitting at the table.

It was a light breakfast.

Perhaps because it had rained all night, the sky was bright blue and the air felt much clearer.

When I opened the window, I could even hear birds chirping occasionally.

“Peaceful.”

How long has it been since I had such a peaceful morning?

Tearing off small pieces of bread and drinking milk, it couldn’t have tasted better.

It seemed even more delicious than that restaurant I went to with Juliane.

Wait, how did that place taste again?

I can’t quite remember.

“If only it could stay like this.”

I almost wished Cuss would never wake up.

That thought was strongly crossing my mind when…

I heard rustling sounds coming from inside the room.

Ah, she’s awake.

I closed my eyes tightly in despair.

“Jinsoo…”

Perhaps because she had just woken up, Cuss called my name in a weak voice.

I didn’t want to open my eyes.

“Jinsoo… something’s wrong…”

But Cuss’s voice today wasn’t just weak…

Yes. It sounded like she was in pain.

When I opened my eyes in confusion, I jumped up in shock.

“My body… feels strange…”

“Hey?! What’s wrong!”

Cuss’s skirt was soaked in bright red blood.

Oh my god. Can I return my wish?

I wished she’d never wake up, not that she’d die in a bloody mess.