Ch.60Chapter 60. Second Test (1)

“Slurp… Sluuurp… Mmm…”

I felt an inexplicable sense of guilt.

A feeling that somehow this was wrong.

“Mmm… What’s wrong, Jinsoo?”

“Nothing. Just wondering if we shouldn’t be doing this.”

“Why? It’s just an expression of bonding.”

That’s right.

I’m just sharing deep affection with my daughter, what could possibly be wrong with that?

Everything became clear now.

The guilt inside me was completely gone.

I accepted Cuss’s lips as she leaned her face toward mine again.

“Mmm… I think I understand why we do this now. It feels calming…”

Is that so?

For me, the more we do it, the more I feel like I’m going crazy.

My hand moved on its own across her rustling clothes.

When it reached her chest and squeezed the small mound, I suddenly came to my senses.

Oh. This is amazing.

Kissing while fondling doubled the healing effect.

“Mmm… That hurts.”

After doing this for quite a while, Cuss’s tentacle wrapped around my wrist.

“Does it hurt?”

“Yes. A little.”

“Should we stop then?”

“…No.”

I particularly enjoyed feeling the hard nodule inside her soft breast.

This is a sensation you can only experience during the growth period.

So I had no choice but to touch it as much as I could now.

Once this time passes, it won’t come back.

Cuss didn’t seem to mind too much either.

“What are you doing?”

“…”

Soon Cuss stopped kissing and hugged me tightly.

The close contact folded my arms, making it an awkward position to continue rubbing her chest.

I could tolerate that level of discomfort.

I kept touching her in that position.

“Maintaining body heat.”

“Ah, I see.”

I noticed she clings to me whenever she gets the chance.

I was just realizing that Cuss’s hands were cold.

We hadn’t even turned the air conditioning up that high.

I wonder if she’s naturally this cold.

My dead wife used to be exactly this cold all over…

That’s why she would often ask me to hold her.

“I have a confession to make.”

“What is it?”

“Jinsoo, I’ve considered killing you several times. If it weren’t for that email, I would have killed you long ago.”

“Email? What email?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

What email is she talking about?

And I already knew she was considering assassinating me.

This little shit tried to attack me just because I wouldn’t give her the remote not long ago.

“But now I don’t think I can kill you.”

“Of course not, you punk. How could you kill me?”

“Yeah. I can’t kill you. I can’t kill you anymore.”

Cuss hugged me tighter as she spoke.

She must have finally realized the difference in our strength.

She kept coming at me even after taking several hits.

Maybe now she’ll stop being so defiant.

“Now without Jinsoo… blrblrblrb.”

“What are you saying?”

She buried her face in my shoulder while speaking, so I couldn’t hear anything.

Looking at her voice, she seems to be losing it.

If we stay like this a little longer, she’ll probably fall asleep.

“Mmm… mmm…”

“Sigh.”

Sure enough, she dozed off immediately.

I thought it was strange she was staying up so late when it was already bedtime.

I carefully grabbed Cuss’s thighs and lifted her up in my arms.

Even in her sleep, she must have been tensing her arms because she didn’t fall forward.

“Go to sleep, kid.”

“Mmm…”

When I tried to gently lay her down in her room, her arms wouldn’t let go from around my neck.

I carefully unclasped her fingers and covered her with a blanket.

Though she’ll probably kick it off by morning anyway.

I couldn’t understand why someone so cold-bodied would keep throwing off her blanket.

“I need to crack open a beer before bed.”

I’d learned that a moderate amount of alcohol helps with getting good sleep.

As I was heading to the pantry to get a beer… wait, what the hell?

I felt something wet on my pants.

“What the hell is this?”

My thigh area was soaking wet.

Shit.

Is this discharge coming out right after her period ended?

But is discharge normally this transparent, colorless, and odorless liquid?

Well, whatever.

“Damn it…”

I had to take off my pants and do laundry in the middle of the night.

***

It was truly a hectic morning.

Maybe because I was mentally stressed.

Today was particularly chaotic.

“Hey, hey, hey! Put on your socks!”

“Mmm… right.”

“Eat your breakfast! Breakfast!”

“Hmm? Just plain white rice? Can’t you make black rice like last time?”

“Stop talking and eat! Here’s some pickled vegetables to go with it!”

“Ugh. I hate pickles.”

“It’s not pickles. Try it before you say anything.”

She must have confused the cucumber pickled vegetables with pickles.

Cuss took a bite with a dubious expression, then her eyes widened.

Then she quickly emptied her rice bowl using just the pickled vegetables as a side dish.

She didn’t even touch the potato strips I’d worked hard to make…

Nothing can beat the taste of a Korean Town grandmother’s cooking honed over decades.

“The bus is here. Let’s go.”

“What about my bag?”

“Oh shit, right.”

I hurriedly put the backpack on Cuss and pushed her toward the bus.

“Go now.”

“Kiss.”

“Damn it. Fine.”

Cuss, standing on the bus steps, smiled like a little devil.

I had no choice but to offer my cheek.

I was already in a rush.

“No. Not like that.”

“Huh?”

“Mmm…”

But Cuss grabbed both my cheeks and turned my face forward.

Then her moist lips met mine, making a wet sound.

You little shit.

Don’t use your tongue here.

“Mmm. I’ll be going now!”

“Yeah. See you later.”

But Cuss pulled her lips away immediately.

Now I noticed the bus driver looking at me with a warm expression.

From his angle, he probably couldn’t see if she was using her tongue.

Phew. Fortunately, I wasn’t misunderstood as a pervert satisfying his sexual desires by deep kissing his daughter.

After seeing the bus off, I immediately prepared for work.

I quickly had bread for breakfast again.

Now I noticed we were running low on bread.

I’ll need to buy more bread next time I go shopping.

I used to buy bread and it would go moldy before I could finish it, but now it seems to disappear as soon as I buy it.

Maybe it’s because I often just eat bread while getting Cuss ready.

With toast in my mouth like a female protagonist in a Japanese romance manga running toward a corner on the first day of school, I got into my car.

I couldn’t be late today of all days.

Who was it again?

Some congressman was coming to observe the test today.

“Jinsoo! Why are you so late?”

“What? Have they already arrived?”

“No, not yet. But you should have been here earlier.”

As soon as I arrived, my supervisor greeted me with an anxious look.

Was it a senator or a representative?

Someone who’s on some committee, and the amount of funding our company receives essentially depends on this person.

We need to make a good impression.

“They’re coming.”

“Excuse me?”

The supervisor was looking up at the sky while muttering.

Wondering what he meant, I looked up too…

Indeed.

A helicopter was approaching, spreading tremendous noise.

I didn’t even know our company had a helipad.

Soon the helicopter landed on a large space prepared in a corner of the parking lot.

By the way, I never understood why helipad markings look like the Chinese character for “master.”

It’s not like helicopters were invented by Chinese people.

“Welcome, Congressman! Welcome to Tactum company!”

“Hahaha. The site is very spacious. Truly LA’s pride.”

“Isn’t it? Haha.”

Amid the loud propeller noise, the congressman who had just disembarked shook hands with my supervisor.

He looked somewhat older, but he was quite a handsome blonde middle-aged man.

He could be an actor.

Soon the congressman approached us, the responsible engineers.

“Conrad Stadtfeld.”

“Congratulations on your election, Congressman.”

“Is this your fourth term? Congratulations.”

“Hahaha. No, it’s not.”

Conrad Stadtfeld?

That name sounds familiar somehow.

I searched my frontal lobe diligently for a moment, but while it felt like I almost remembered, nothing came clearly to mind.

I must have seen it in some news article in passing.

“Hey! Jinsoo! Shake his hand!”

Snapping back to reality at my supervisor’s whispered voice, I realized the congressman had already approached me and was extending his hand.

“Jinsoo? Is your name Jinsoo Kim?”

“Ah, yes, that’s right.”

“I see. Does my name remind you of anything?”

“Pardon? Well, congratulations on your election.”

“Hahaha… Thank you.”

The congressman burst into laughter and then passed by me.

It seemed like a forced laugh.

What was that? Does he know me?

“I heard this is the second test.”

“Yes. We already passed the first test yesterday.”

“Then the second will surely succeed too?”

“Haha. That’s uncertain. Even under the same test conditions, new defects can always appear. We can’t be complacent.”

“That’s a good attitude.”

While moving to the test room, my supervisor and the congressman continued their conversation.

They occasionally discussed difficult topics, so I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt.

Not that I was planning to interrupt even if they were talking about simple things.

“Wow. Is this the Gryphon engine?”

“Yes. Gryphon 9. It’s a prototype. We’re aiming for a multi-purpose engine that can be used in atmospheric escape rockets, long-distance space vessels, and exploration ships.”

“Aiming for a monopoly market, I see, hehe.”

“Hahaha. Not at all. We’re still far from that.”

Even the congressman exclaimed when he saw the massive engine in the test room.

It’s such a sexy-looking engine, I tell you.

Look at those continuous diagonal lines in the exhaust nozzle without any gaps.

Isn’t it beautiful, like the wrinkles of an anus?

Wow. I’m drooling.

“The second test of the Gryphon 9 engine will begin at 10:00 AM. Repeat…”

“Let’s go to the observation area.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

It was a nerve-wracking moment.

Although my supervisor humbly said unexpected defects could occur, if the first test was completed successfully, it’s usually smooth sailing through the second and third tests.

We should be able to show an impressive success.

The appointed time was approaching.

As we watched the test room through thick glass, all entrances were sealed, and decompression began, creating a vacuum inside.

“Please wear these sunglasses.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Proceeding with the second test.”

The process was no different from the first test.

A trailer approached and injected fuel from the front.

“Ignite.”

“Igniting.”

The engine began to emit heat.

“Afterburner ignition.”

A red pillar of light erupted from the engine’s exhaust.

The light continued to flicker and slowly changed its color.

Finally, it turned blue, indicating maximum output.

This was 400 seconds from startup.

“Impressive output.”

The congressman, who had initially been pressed against the glass watching with excitement, had now stepped back.

Judging by his soulless comment, he seemed a bit bored.

“Increase rotation to 180 RPM.”

“Rotating.”

“Oh. It rotates too?”

“Yes. It needs to withstand any possible situation.”

“Hmm…”

The rotator began to slowly rotate the engine.

“Excuse me. I’ll just take this call and be right back.”

“Ah, yes. Go ahead.”

The congressman tapped below his ear and went outside.

110.

114.

118.

Meanwhile, the RPM continued to rise steadily.

How urgent could this call be?

By the time he finishes his call and returns, the test will probably be over.

Why leave right at the climax?

What a rude congressman.

With the congressman gone, the mood in the room became somewhat gloomy.

“I wonder if he didn’t like it.”

“It’s fine. All that matters is showing a successful result.”

That’s right.

Success is all that matters.

BOOM!

BEEP! BEEP!

“What? Is it the rotation fixture alarm again?”

Just then, an alarm went off with a vibration that shook the ground.

One red light was frantically blinking on the control panel.

Come to think of it, this happened during the first test too.

It’s probably not a big issue.

“No, it’s not! The fuel tank support… the support has detached!”

“What?!”

Oh shit.

This looks really bad.