Ch.42Chapter 42. Proof of Becoming a Human Woman (3)

“Aaaah… Jinsoo. What is this… Blegh.”

“Hahaha. Juliane. Having a hard time these days?”

Cuss opened her eyes, apparently awakened by Juliane’s strange scream, and was looking in my direction.

She absolutely must not see this.

That disgusting sight of tentacles protruding from under my shirt, waving around.

When I frantically gestured with my chin, Cuss seemed to understand and hurriedly hid the tentacles inside her clothes.

“Here, let me do the other side too…”

“Ugh! What do you think you’re doing?!”

When I tried to service the other side as well, Juliane violently pushed my hand away.

Looking back, Cuss had already hidden all her tentacles.

I figured it was time to stop now.

“I was just giving you a stretch.”

“That doesn’t give you permission to put your hands on a lady’s body!”

“We’re lovers, aren’t we? So it’s fine.”

“Huh…? I guess so…?”

What’s with that “I guess so” response?

We’re only pretending to be lovers, not actually lovers.

This person seemed to keep confusing acting with reality.

Though this time, it worked in my favor.

“Hey, Cuss. Juliane is here. Should we go change clothes?”

“Huh…?”

“You can change in front of me if you want?”

“No thank you.”

“No way!”

Cuss, who had been half-asleep, suddenly opened her eyes wide and shouted.

She must know that if her tentacles are discovered, we’re screwed.

I helped Cuss up and shielded her back with my body as I took her to the bedroom.

Finally, I got her into pajamas and we came back to the living room together.

By then, Juliane had already laid out medicine bottles and sanitary pads on the table and was waiting, sniffling as if she had a runny nose.

“Here, Cuss. Would you sit here?”

When Cuss looked at me hesitantly, I gave her a little push on the back.

It would be better to leave this kind of thing to Juliane while I just sit at the dining table and watch.

“What are you doing? Jinsoo, come sit with us!”

“Ah, yes.”

Just as I was thinking that, I made a sharp turn and sat down on the sofa.

Still feeling a bit chilly, Cuss sat right next to me, pressing close.

“Here. This is medicine for menstrual cramps. A painkiller. It helps relieve abdominal pain, headaches, dizziness, and so on. The pain will probably go away once your period starts, but if you really can’t bear it…”

“What? Painkillers?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“As a rule, painkillers are only for weak cowards. Unless you have a major injury like losing a limb, you should never take painkillers that dull your senses, as they increase drug dependency and tolerance…”

“Oh please. If you’re going to be like this, just stay out of it.”

Juliane promptly pushed me aside and started talking with Cuss alone.

She explained the types of sanitary pads, how to wear them, how to dispose of them, precautions for indoor and outdoor use, and how to take the medication…

To be honest, I only half-listened.

Cuss would probably remember everything.

Or maybe not, considering her hopelessly bad memory.

“Proper disposal is really important. Otherwise, it’s inconsiderate to others. Got it?”

“Yes. I understand.”

“By the way, is this your first time?”

“Umm?”

I could see Cuss’s pupils trembling.

Was she running her brain at full capacity right now?

“Y-yes, it is.”

She had no choice but to answer that it was her first period.

If asked about before, she would have no way to answer.

“Wow! Then let’s have a first period party, Jinsoo!”

“First period… what?”

“A first period party! To celebrate Cuss’s growth!”

“…”

I mean, the intention is good.

But the name is a bit… much.

Maybe it’s because I’m a Confucian Taliban or an old-fashioned conservative, but this seemed a bit off to me.

It was way beyond what I could accept with my Korean sensibilities.

“No. That’s a bit…”

“Why not? We could take pictures for the party and upload them to social media to show off our family love!”

“…”

I couldn’t help but squeeze my eyes shut.

It was awkward enough just between us, and now she wanted to show it off to others.

“Do all Americans do this?”

“Yes. It’s natural, isn’t it?”

“I see… I’m sorry, but I’m Korean.”

“Ah. This culture doesn’t exist in Korea? Then how about introducing it this time…”

“I decline.”

Ugh. I can’t do this.

I just can’t accept this kind of advanced culture.

I could somewhat understand how Heungseon Daewongun felt when he refused to open the doors even while being bombarded by superior Western cannons.

This just felt fundamentally wrong to me.

“Anyway, thank you. It’s definitely good to have a mother figure.”

“Hehe. You’ll need my help often in the future, right?”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“Why not?!”

Juliane tilted her head with an indignant expression.

Please refrain from doing that; it might stop my heart.

I handed the TV remote to Cuss, who kept tugging at my sleeve.

Cuss then scurried over to sit where she could see the TV better.

“Ask me if there’s anything you want to know.”

“Pardon?”

“About what happened ten years ago. Or about the memo I gave you. Ask me if there’s anything you want to know. That’s why you came, right?”

“No. I clearly didn’t come for that…”

“Then you don’t want to ask?”

“I do!”

Originally, I was planning to just take what I came for and send her back right away.

Whether due to my capriciousness or being captivated by Juliane’s beauty, we ended up having a Q&A session.

“Is it okay with Cuss nearby?”

“She doesn’t hear anything when she’s focused on TV. And it doesn’t matter if she does hear.”

“I see, then…”

With a suddenly serious expression, Juliane took my notebook out of her inner pocket.

She flipped through the pages and stopped in the middle.

That part… damn it.

It was a part I didn’t want to recall.

“Actually, I don’t have a question, but I want to confirm something.”

“Go ahead.”

“About your daughter’s traffic accident mentioned here.”

When the word “daughter” came up, I noticed Cuss flinch behind Juliane’s back.

That girl was listening to everything.

This wouldn’t be a pleasant conversation.

“You wrote that she was hit so horribly that she was unrecognizable, and the hospital didn’t even show you the body. Is that true?”

“There are no lies in what I wrote in the memo. Everything is at least what I believe to be true.”

“I see… Then did you perhaps sign an organ donation agreement?”

“What are you talking about?”

“There’s a contract on record. It shows your daughter was transferred to Allison Hospital for organ donation after death, but organ donation would be impossible with a body damaged beyond recognition…”

“What the fuck!”

When I came to my senses, I was standing up with my fists clenched tight.

Cuss was looking up at me, startled.

Juliane was sighing as if she had expected this reaction.

“So you don’t remember signing the contract, as I suspected.”

“It’s not that I don’t remember—it never happened. Fuck, it’s invalid!”

“That’s uncertain. Drugs, brainwashing, post-event memory manipulation… There are countless possibilities where you might have signed the contract yourself but don’t remember it. Of course, we can’t rule out the possibility of a forged contract with a fake signature or seal.”

“…”

I slumped back onto the sofa and clutched my head.

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck.

Those bastards.

After all that hellish torment, they even took my child’s body from me?

They even took away my chance to see her one last time?

They were determined to suck every last bit of marrow from my bones.

Those fucking animals…

“Those fucking bastards… worse than beasts…”

“I debated whether to tell you… but I thought you should know. I’m sorry. If I find out anything new, I’ll come tell you right away.”

“…”

“Jinsoo. Are you okay?”

“Let’s do it. The party.”

“Excuse me?”

“That menopause party or whatever it was.”

“You mean the first period party.”

“Yes, that. Let’s do it.”

I said weakly, completely deflated.

First period or whatever the fuck it was called, I didn’t care anymore.

I’d heard the same word too many times today and was experiencing some kind of Gestalt collapse.

“I can’t handle this without alcohol.”

“Jinsoo…”

“Would you like to join me?”

“Yes. Gladly.”

Let’s have a party.

A grand one.

Any excuse will do.

As long as I can rape my throat with alcohol, nothing else matters.

If it’s to celebrate the birth of a new family, even if it’s fake, that’s reason enough.

Yes. A new family.

Just forget the old one.

Forget it and focus on the new home now.

Thinking this way, my troubled mind seemed to calm down a bit.

Thud…

Cuss dropped the remote control, and it rolled under the table.

She bent down to pick it up, but suddenly her face turned pale and she straightened back up.

Poor thing must be having a hard time with her period.

Sighing, I got off the sofa and bent down to look under the table.

There it was.

“Hah.”

The remote control, and a small device wrapped in tape stuck under the table.

I peeled off the device and held it up for Juliane to see.

“Let’s hear your explanation.”

“Ah…”

Juliane, who had been in the kitchen preparing for the party, turned pale.

Simultaneously, there was a crash as a plate fell and shattered.

This fucking troublesome woman.