Ch.74Chapter 74. Bittersweet Holiday (2)

“Fuck.

Why now of all times?

“Oh? I think I got the wrong address, haha! I’m sorry!”

“Are you Jinsoo’s friend? You just called him Jinsoo.”

“……”

This is driving me crazy.

Now I can’t even take it back.

“I’m fine with it, Jinsoo. Let them in.”

“No. No. I was just stopping by on my way somewhere…”

“Weren’t you suggesting we go out on this nice day? It would be great if we all went together! Come in first, Jinsoo.”

“Yes……”

There was no escape route.

I’d already shown Bob’s face to Juliane.

If I tried to take back what I said and run away now, it would only make her suspicious.

I had no choice but to let the pale-faced Bob into my home.

“You should really do something about those piercings… Sigh… Never mind.”

“…?”

The cyber-whore had fewer piercings than before, but they were still an eyesore.

As much as I wanted to rip them all out, I had to hold myself back.

“Coffee! I’ll bring some out. Jinsoo, please chat with your friend.”

Juliane skipped off to the kitchen.

Cuss and I sat on the sofa next to Bob and his daughter.

After glancing around cautiously, we huddled together and started whispering.

“What the fuck is going on? Why are you barging in without any warning?”

“I texted you yesterday. Didn’t you see it?”

“Damn it……”

It was true.

When I checked my phone, there were two unread messages.

I must not have noticed them because I had turned off notifications.

“Even so, for fuck’s sake. You just show up without getting a reply?”

“How was I supposed to know there’d be a fucking Justice Department investigator here……”

“Investigator? How do you know she’s an investigator?”

I’d only heard she worked at the Justice Department, not that she was an investigator.

“I’ve seen her going in and out of federal buildings a few times. She’s famous. They call her Wonder Woman.”

“Wonder Woman…?”

Cuss asked with sparkling eyes.

“Wonder Woman is, you know, that hero from old comics who deflects bullets and everything, folding bad guys in half at the waist.”

“Wow. Is Juliane Wonder Woman?”

“Just similar. It’s like a nickname.”

Cuss looked back at Juliane once and gaped.

I’d prefer if she didn’t tell her that, though.

“Wonder Woman, my ass. She probably just took down a criminal or two with judo techniques. Do you people have some disease where you’ll die if you don’t exaggerate rumors two or three times?”

“Fuck, if you don’t believe me, whatever. When I heard you were dating someone from the Justice Department, I thought it was some low-level employee or secretary… Are you seriously out of your mind?”

“How was I supposed to know she was an investigator? And you’re the one who committed the crime, so why are you giving me shit?”

“Damn it……”

“Are you guys still dealing drugs?”

“No. We quit that since the government’s happiness supplements sell better now.”

“Contract killings?”

“Quit that a long time ago too. It’s impossible not to get caught these days.”

“Then what the fuck do you guys do for a living? Auction off virgin assholes?”

“We do that occasionally, but MILFs sell the best.”

“Good lord……”

This is really messed up.

I needed to come up with an excuse to send Bob away somehow.

I needed a natural excuse that wouldn’t make Juliane suspicious.

“What’s a MILF?”

“A MILF is… Ah, fuck it.”

I turned to see Cuss resting her chin on her palm with her elbow on my thigh.

I almost explained that a MILF is a taken, extremely hot woman.

“You don’t need to know. It’s just a thing. Dirty talk.”

“Bob. Are you doing bad things?”

“What? No, nothing like that. We just make a lot of people happy, that’s all. The greatest happiness for the greatest number. Was that Marx, Jinsoo?”

“It’s Bentham, Dad.”

“Right. Benzene. I knew that. Just testing you, Bella.”

“……”

The daughter is much better.

Fortunately, it seemed that the daughter had received all the education that Bob had missed out on.

But what does “the greatest happiness for the greatest number” mean anyway?

“Let’s do this. I’ll call you. Pretend it’s an urgent call and run out.”

“That sounds good.”

“I’ll call you now…”

“This is my first time meeting Jinsoo’s friend.”

“Haha… yes…”

At that moment, Juliane barged in and set coffee cups on the table.

I could only smile awkwardly and hide my phone behind my back.

“I’m Juliane.”

“Ah, yes. Juliane. This bastard Jinsoo has been bragging about you every day. Nice to meet you.”

“Oh my, did he?”

“Yes. I’m Bob. And this is my daughter Bella.”

“Nice to meet you, Bella.”

“Yes…”

Juliane shook hands with both of them and then knelt across the table.

“How did you two meet?”

“……”

Damn it.

The interrogation had begun.

“Ah… well. In the military…”

“When I visited Korea…”

“……”

“……”

I looked at Bob in disbelief.

What the fuck? We met in Korea?

This fucking Asian-mocking bastard who’s always pulling his eyes back is claiming he went to Korea on vacation?

“Actually, I don’t remember well. It was so long ago.”

“Ahaha… I see…”

Juliane’s smile seemed somewhat forced.

I couldn’t shake the impression that we were completely screwed.

Should I just spill everything?

Tell her this guy is the head of a brothel cartel?

If I confess early and say I was never involved, maybe she’ll let me off?

“You must be very old friends if you’ve forgotten how you met.”

“Yes. That’s right. Well…”

“What kind of work does Bob do?”

“……”

I wasn’t mistaken.

This was a real interrogation.

I wasn’t sure if she had figured everything out and was doing this on purpose, or if it was just a habit, but Juliane’s tone had become sharp in a way that was concerning.

“Well…”

Grumble…

Just then, a rumbling stomach sound was heard.

It came from the cyber-whore’s stomach.

Good timing.

“Are you hungry?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Perfect timing. Have some toast then.”

“Oh, right. Jinsoo and I made toast.”

“……”

I decided not to question whether it was appropriate to say we made it together when all she did was occasionally give advice while I baked the bread.

I guided Bob and Bella to the kitchen.

Cuss, who had left her toast half-eaten earlier, scurried over and grabbed a new piece, munching away.

“Try this, Bella! It’s super delicious!”

“Is this a sandwich? It doesn’t look like toast…”

“Just try it!”

“Hmm?”

I couldn’t help but smile.

Someone eating my food and enjoying it.

Isn’t that why we cook?

“Um… hmm… It tastes healthy. Haha.”

“……”

It seemed it wasn’t to everyone’s taste.

That pig bitch.

How much greasy food must she have eaten to find this tasteless?

Tasteless bastard.

Just to be sure, I asked Bob too.

“Does it suit your taste?”

“Huh? It’s okay, I guess? Not inedible.”

“……”

His words didn’t have much credibility since he was already on his third piece.

As Juliane was wiping Cuss’s mouth, I poked Bob in the side.

It was time to send him away.

I quickly manipulated my phone to make a call.

Ring ring…

“Oh! Who is this! Oh…?”

Bob’s face, which had been exaggeratedly answering the phone, grew serious.

What’s going on?

Was he always this good at acting?

Finding it strange, I looked at my phone and saw that the call hadn’t gone through.

The person Bob was talking to wasn’t me.

“Oh… Yes. Your subordinate. Yes. Died…?”

“……”

Motherfucker.

Are you some kind of soap opera auntie who narrates every detail of your phone conversation?

Can’t you just shut up?

“Oh. We need revenge. Find out where he lives. I’ll go there myself.”

“……”

The call ended with a beep, and Bob’s face turned ashen.

He seemed to have just realized what he’d done.

“That was about a game. In case you were curious.”

“Ah… I see.”

“I’m a guild leader in a game. It seems one of my subordinate’s subordinates got PK’d. Ah, PK is short for Player Killing, which means killing another player’s character…”

Please stop, you bastard.

You’re already fucked.

You should be thinking about how to beg the judge for mercy.

“Hahaha. Could I have another cup of coffee? My throat is suddenly dry.”

“Would you like some water instead?”

“No. Coffee would be better.”

After sending Juliane to the kitchen, we huddled again.

The cyber-whore had brought a game console and was quietly playing with Cuss in a corner, which I was incredibly grateful for.

But wait a minute.

Isn’t that a NinXXdo?

Wasn’t the XXtendo extinct?

“Hey! Be… Be… Berry! Is that…?”

“It’s Bella, you idiot. Try to remember. And forget about the game console.”

“What? Why?”

“We need to make a plan. Fuck, I might end up meeting your girlfriend in an interrogation room.”

“Just give up. It’s easier. Quickly contact your subordinates and tell them to run.”

“I can’t do that. They all have families to support.”

“Really? Then you can all get caught together like a string of sausages. Wouldn’t it be nice to see each other’s faces in prison? Huh?”

“I’m trying to make a plan so that doesn’t happen…”

“What are you two whispering about?”

Juliane appeared again at the worst possible timing.

Looking closer, I could see Bob’s thick legs trembling.

“Actually, we were thinking of going on an outing too. Would you like to join us?”

“Ah. No. Something came up.”

“Is it about that game from earlier?”

“Embarrassingly, yes. Hahaha. I’m actually addicted to games. I need to go quickly.”

“By the way, Cuss… Bella seems to have become good friends.”

Juliane looked behind the sofa and smiled bitterly.

Wait, what the hell is that?

Suddenly the XXtendo console split into two pieces, and they were each holding one and playing.

Am I seeing things?

What kind of new technology is this…?

“They’re the same age. They fought fiercely when they first met, but now they seem to have become friends.”

“I’m a bit envious of Bella.”

“Haha. What could a soon-to-be mother be envious of?”

“I feel like Cuss hasn’t fully accepted me as her mother yet. If I were her age, could I have become friends with her like that…?”

Juliane was talking nonsense.

“Then you couldn’t have dated me.”

“Ah… That’s true.”

So I grabbed Juliane’s hand.

For a long time, Juliane couldn’t meet my eyes and blushed to the tips of her ears.

Now’s your chance, Bob.

“Ooh, the honey is dripping, dripping honey. Oh my, look at the time. We need to get going. It was nice meeting you, Juliane.”

“Ah, yes. Likewise.”

“Bella! Let’s go now!”

That’s right.

It was the right decision to slip away while Juliane was affected by a status ailment and couldn’t make proper judgments.

While Bob quickly took Bella to the entrance, I held onto Juliane’s hand and wouldn’t let go.

During that time, Juliane really seemed debuffed, just wiggling her fingers without moving an inch.

“Come visit again sometime!”

“We will!”

Bob and Bella left in a great hurry.

The living room became much quieter afterward.

All that remained was the sound of Cuss yawning beside me, hugging my arm and nuzzling against it.

Since Juliane didn’t say anything, it seemed she hadn’t noticed anything suspicious.

“Shall we do the dishes and then go out somewhere, just the three of us?”

“Jinsoo.”

“Yes?”

“That person from earlier. He’s a criminal, isn’t he?”

“……”

Juliane’s eyes were cold.

We’re really fucked now.