Ch.41Chapter 41. Proof of Becoming a Human Woman (2)

“Not enough……”

Sarah laid out the photos on the table and bit her fingernails.

She had hired a paparazzo to get rid of Cuss, but the photos taken were nothing special.

One showed Jinsoo Kim meeting with his homeroom teacher and Jane at a kids’ cafe.

That was something that could be explained away easily.

Unless photos like this were taken every three days or so, they were useless for now.

The other showed Jinsoo Kim coldly throwing his girlfriend, Juliane, out into the rain.

This only revealed that their relationship was a bit rocky, but was essentially useless.

It wasn’t something she could use to blackmail Jinsoo Kim either.

“Is this all you got before getting caught? Seriously.”

On top of that, the paparazzo had been arrested by the prosecution.

Apparently he fired his gun while resisting, so he wouldn’t be able to avoid prison time.

The only fortunate thing was that he was known to be highly reliable and would keep quiet about his clients even with a knife to his throat.

She thought she should deposit some extra money for him when he got out.

“First, Juliane. I need to deal with that woman first.”

She had heard from Tom’s mother.

This woman named Juliane had half-threatened Mr. Snyder to prevent Cuss’s expulsion.

She seemed to be a woman with considerable legal knowledge and determination.

Because of her, even Mr. Snyder had backed down.

To get Cuss expelled, she needed to deal with Juliane first.

“What if I exploit the discord between them……”

She knew their relationship wasn’t smooth, so she planned to use that.

Create misunderstandings and misconceptions to completely destroy the trust between them.

If she could separate Juliane from him, attacking Jinsoo Kim would become much easier.

As for the specific method……

“Mom!”

“Yes! Alice! What is it?”

Just then, the door creaked open and her daughter Alice came running in.

Sarah’s face instantly brightened as she hugged Alice tightly.

“Mom, I love you.”

“My dear. Did something happen?”

“Oh, no? I just wanted to tell you I love you. And thank you!”

“Hmm…… I see. You want something, don’t you.”

“Hehe.”

Sarah felt like she was melting at Alice’s smile.

Alice would act cute like this whenever she wanted something.

And Sarah had never once been able to resist this charm.

Her husband, on the other hand, was quite firm and would cut her off decisively.

She wondered if there was another man as cold-hearted to his daughter as him.

“What is it this time?”

“Nothing much. A backpack!”

“A backpack?”

“Yes. A really big backpack. Bigger than me. One that even you could fit inside, Mom.”

“Is your school going camping? Even so, you wouldn’t need one that big……”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just trendy at school right now.”

“Who started such a ridiculous trend?”

“……”

Alice quickly averted her gaze.

Aha. Sarah’s expression hardened as she realized who was behind this trend.

There was only one person who would make Alice react this way.

“It’s Cuss, isn’t it?”

“……”

“Answer me, Alice.”

“Yes…… that’s right……”

“I clearly told you to stop hanging around with her.”

“Yes……”

“Why aren’t you listening to me?”

“……”

“Look at me, Alice.”

Sarah grabbed Alice’s chin and lifted it.

Alice couldn’t control her expression and avoided Sarah’s gaze.

When faced with this look from Sarah, words wouldn’t come out properly.

“Sigh. Alice. I think I mentioned this before, but I’ll say it again.”

“Yes.”

“I really hate dividing people into high-class and low-class too. But this isn’t about that. Alice, have you ever been to the slums?”

“No……”

“Are there good people there? Surely there are. There must be. But are there more smart, capable, and kind people in the slums, or more people with poor education, lacking work skills, and bad personalities?”

“……”

“Statistically, there would be more of the latter. Right? Because it’s the slums.”

“Yes……”

“So would you rather be friends with someone from the slums or someone from the Station?”

“That depends on getting to know them better……”

“There you go again. Trying to talk back. I’m speaking to you nicely, and all you think about is arguing.”

“……”

Alice pressed her lips together and lowered her head.

The question just now was one with a predetermined answer.

Only affirmation was an acceptable response in front of Sarah.

“I’m saying all this because I care about you, because I love you.”

“I know……”

“If you know, then listen to me. Don’t you love Mom?”

“I do love you……”

“Then you’ll listen to me? Don’t be friends with Cuss anymore. Don’t even talk to her. Understand?”

“Yes……”

Only then did Sarah smile brightly and hug Alice tightly.

As she was embraced by the slightly cool arms, perhaps from the air conditioning, Alice squeezed her eyes shut.

Cuss sits right next to me, how can I not talk to her?

But her mother wouldn’t know this fact.

She had never asked who sat next to her.

She probably wasn’t even curious.

“Hmm! Now, off you go. Mom is busy.”

“Good night.”

“Huh? Going to bed already?”

“Yes.”

“Sleep well, Alice.”

Only after closing the door with a creak did Alice feel like she could breathe again.

Saying she was going to bed was a lie.

She simply didn’t want to face her mother again today.

If her mother saw this face that couldn’t hide its true feelings, she would instantly know that Alice hadn’t truly accepted what she said.

‘I’ll have to ask Dad for the backpack.’

Alice turned away without regret, thinking this.

***

Oh my god.

“Hey! Move aside!”

“Ugh.”

I shoved Cuss to the side.

I couldn’t worry about her period or anything else right now.

It seemed like Juliane was seriously misunderstanding something.

If I didn’t want to receive an arrest warrant tomorrow morning, I needed to catch her right away.

I adjusted my pants to make my thing less noticeable and walked cautiously to the front door.

“Juliane! Just a moment……”

When I flung the door open, Juliane was standing rigidly with her arms crossed in front of the door.

But she had a bandage wrapped around her right hand.

Where did she get hurt?

“Are you finished?”

“Well, yes…… but it’s not what you think.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s a physiological reaction.”

“Sigh…… Even so, getting excited while hugging your daughter seems a bit inappropriate, don’t you think?”

“I didn’t get excited because I was hugging my daughter, I just happened to get excited while hugging her. Let’s be clear about the causality.”

“Hmm…… I’ll accept that.”

“But aren’t you going to apologize?”

“What?”

“You just barged into someone else’s house without permission.”

You need to respect boundaries, seriously.

Even if the door wasn’t locked, shouldn’t you ask before opening it?

If Bella or Bob had done something like this, they would have been shot with a shotgun and turned into a corpse long ago, but I don’t understand why this woman is so confident.

Is it because she’s white?

“Well, that…… you said it was urgent……”

“That’s a separate issue. Should I report you for breaking and entering?”

“No…… I’m sorry……”

If you’re going to lower your tail and apologize so quickly.

They say you should correct bad habits early on, and apparently that doesn’t just apply to children.

“I’ll forgive you this time. Now give me the menstrual pain medication and go.”

“What? Just give you medicine and leave?”

“What now?”

Juliane gave me a dumbfounded expression.

Why does she keep trying to come inside?

“Isn’t today the perfect day to strengthen family bonds?”

“You mean our fake family.”

“Still, we should post something on social media so others won’t be suspicious.”

“Are you planning to post the recording of me too?”

“……”

When I showed her the smashed listening device, Juliane’s mouth shut.

Then she snatched it from my hand.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Just go. I already gave you the notes. All the information I can remember is there, so go analyze that.”

“That’s not why I came……”

Juliane’s voice was trembling slightly.

Was she acting?

Probably not.

There’s no way Juliane could pull off such sophisticated acting.

“Cuss needs a mother. Even if not her real mother, she needs someone to fill that role. Jinsoo can’t empathize with things like menstruation.”

“……”

“So give me a chance. A chance to get closer to Cuss. I’m not doing this calculatingly because I want something. I just want Cuss to be happier…… that’s all. Really.”

“……”

Now I wasn’t sure.

Whether this was sincere or not.

So everything depended on me.

More precisely, on my trust in Juliane.

She approached me while hiding that she was a Justice Department employee, she tried to use me for her promotion, she even installed a listening device……

Looking at it all together, she was clearly not someone to be trusted.

I never knew when she might stab me in the back again.

Now I had my conclusion.

“Come in.”

“R-really?”

“What? You don’t want to?”

“Excuse me for intruding!”

But looking at it differently……

She tried to help Cuss because she was worried I might abuse her, she took care of Cuss for a day, she prevented Cuss’s expulsion, and now she was giving me advice when I was panicking about Cuss’s period……

When I think about it, I’ve only received help from Juliane.

The only thing I’ve given in return was a restaurant coupon, and we couldn’t even finish that meal properly.

So if I have any conscience left, I should trust Juliane one more time.

“What happened to your hand?”

“Oh, I got a little hurt. They said it’s just a minor abrasion and will heal quickly.”

“That’s good to hear.”

As Juliane smiled and entered, I turned my eyes toward the sofa.

Holy shit.

“How is Cuss do—Blech!”

“Ah! Your neck muscles are very tense!”

Juliane quickly twisted my neck to turn my gaze away.

Cuss was lying asleep on the sofa, gently waving her tentacles.