Ch.75Chapter 75. Bittersweet Holiday (3)

“That person from earlier. He’s a criminal, right?”

“……”

I didn’t know Miss Juliane’s smile could be this frightening.

I froze with the coffee cup in my hand.

A coffee cup that had long been emptied and gone cold.

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

“You know what? You’re really bad at lying, Jinsoo.”

“……”

“Cuss. Want to go wash up? We’re going out somewhere later.”

Miss Juliane smiled sweetly as she spoke to Cuss.

However, Cuss seemed to sense something was off, standing still while looking back and forth between me and Miss Juliane.

“Right. Like Miss Juliane said, go wash up first. After you’re done, we’ll go wash up too.”

“O…kay…?”

Cuss gave me a suspicious glance before slowly heading to the bedroom.

It wasn’t a look of concern for me.

It was a look of worry that she might be in trouble.

Don’t worry, it’s not about you, just go wash up.

After confirming Cuss had disappeared, Miss Juliane slowly leaned her head toward me.

“Jinsoo. How many interrogations do you think I’ve conducted?”

“Let’s see? About a hundred……”

Miss Juliane chuckled.

Then she took my trembling hands and looked me in the eyes.

Soon, the sound of running water could be heard from the bedroom.

“Sure. Let’s say a hundred. I’m a skilled investigator, and you’re a clumsy liar. Do you think you have a chance?”

“We won’t know until we try.”

“That’s right. But you know what? We use something called a harm minimization strategy.”

“Harm… what?”

“It means minimizing the number of people who get hurt. Because you’re keeping quiet, we don’t need to have a SWAT team break through windows in the middle of the night for an emergency arrest, do we? That could lead to tragedy where excited people might get shot dead.”

“……”

“Let’s talk slowly. First, how did you meet? Put your phone down.”

Miss Juliane removed the phone from my wrist and wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing her body against mine.

I could feel her warm breath on my neck, and her soft voice sounded unusually sweet today.

Glancing down slightly, I could feel the weight of her breasts pressing firmly against my chest.

Is it okay for an interrogation to offer this much reward?

Isn’t there something called carrot and stick or whatever?

If this was all it took to make me confess, anyone could be an investigator.

“Uh… in prison. We met in prison.”

“I see.”

I had to admit it.

Miss Juliane was indeed a veteran investigator.

“So what does Bob do?”

“Huh?”

“Does he manufacture or deal drugs?”

“No. He doesn’t.”

“Look me in the eyes when you answer, Jinsoo.”

“No, no. He doesn’t. As far as I know, he won’t sell any.”

“Hmm… This isn’t a lie, but you’re so nervous that you’re afraid it might look like one.”

Damn, how does she know that?

I was starting to get scared.

Do investigators these days have lie detectors built into their bodies or something?

“Then is it contract killing?”

“No. How could it be?”

“Then what is it?”

“I-I don’t think I’m obligated to tell you that.”

“Hmm……”

Miss Juliane suddenly exhaled through her nose and grabbed my shoulders, pulling away.

Her eyes… there was something scary about them.

It was a face that exuded confidence, as if she could make me confess even the number of hairs on my balls.

Still, I had to try to hold out.

Whatever threats came.

Whatever torture was applied.

For my dear friend Bob, I could endure it.

“Want to touch my breasts?”

“Gasp. Yes. I want to.”

“If you tell me what Bob does.”

“I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you.”

“Ah… too… strong……”

Sorry, my friend.

I’ve already touched them.

Through the soft fabric and bra, I could feel the plush sensation.

I grabbed from above, then cupped from below, lifting them.

Damn, they’re so heavy.

Carrying these around must make her shoulders stiff.

“That guy’s nothing special. He just runs some scams and works as a pimp in the brothel district. He went to prison because he spread STDs due to poor hygiene management.”

“Hmm. Then did you use his services too?”

“What? What services?”

“What do you think?”

“……”

I found myself facing Miss Juliane’s expressionless face.

Ah. I shouldn’t have touched her breasts.

I’d fallen right into her trap.

“I… probably didn’t. Maybe.”

“Say it with certainty.”

When I tried to remove my hands, Miss Juliane grabbed my wrists.

Then she pressed them firmly against her breasts, making me rub them.

How can she be this strong…

“Yes, I did use them a few times… in the past, but I don’t know if Bob was running them then. I only reconnected with Bob relatively recently……”

“I see. You used them a few times. Was it good?”

“Pardon?”

“Was it better than with me?”

“No. How could it be?”

“Liar… How can I believe that?”

“I’ll make you believe it.”

“Mmm……”

As I leaned in, Miss Juliane’s lips came to meet mine first.

Smooch. Smoooch.

After lightly kissing her lips, there was no holding back.

We were soon sucking each other’s lips, exploring tongues and saliva.

“Ouch……”

“Hehe.”

Miss Juliane bit my tongue and stretched it, laughing.

Then she lightly bumped her forehead against mine.

“I’ll let it slide. That friend Bob. Since you say you didn’t use his services.”

“Well, I’m not entirely sure—”

“You didn’t use them. Am I wrong?”

“You’re right.”

“Then that’s settled. Mmm……”

Thanks to my compliance, I received additional rewards.

She seemed to think Bob was just some ordinary pimp.

I decided not to mention that the entire slum area was in Bob’s palm.

Come to think of it, I’m not sure what’s so illegal about an organization that doesn’t sell drugs or commit murder.

They just slightly cross the boundaries of the law, working in the shadows—not something the prosecution would grit their teeth to catch.

I felt I could relax.

“Phew… Jinsoo. I’m almost ready now.”

“What? Ready for what? Oh, you’re wet already—”

“Not that! I am wet, but that’s not what I meant… I recently found a useful informant. Once I organize the materials a bit more, we can blow the gate wide open.”

Oh. That’s what she meant.

My erection suddenly deflated.

“But… I wonder what the point is now. All the people I was so determined to get revenge on are dead. And now I’m happy with Cuss and you, Miss Juliane. I wonder if there’s really any need to expose all that.”

“Jinsoo… If you don’t want to, I won’t do it. The most attention and trouble will fall on you, after all. Just say the word, and I’ll discard everything.”

“……”

“But Jinsoo, even at this moment, there might be more victims like you being created. If we don’t act, the Navy will remain the same and repeat the same mistakes. Thinking about those people… even if it’s a bit difficult for us, isn’t it right to correct what’s wrong?”

Fine.

Correcting what’s wrong.

But why?

Why does Miss Juliane’s words sound artificial today?

I placed my hand on the back of Miss Juliane’s head.

When my fingers touched her hair, she seemed to flinch in surprise, but soon accepted my touch.

Her hair slipped between my fingers.

“Alright. Let’s expose it.”

“You’ve made the right decision.”

Miss Juliane smiled and tilted her head toward me.

Just as our lips were getting wet with a smooch, the sound of water from the bedroom stopped.

***

Tweet tweet.

Cuss lifted her heavy eyelids to the pleasant sound of birds seeping into her ears.

“You’re awake? You were sleeping like you were dead.”

It was a pleasant awakening.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Jinsoo smiling.

Feeling the firmness of his thigh against the back of her head, Cuss slowly closed her eyes again.

She could feel Jinsoo’s large palm stroking her hair.

She savored the touch as he twisted and played with her bangs.

She liked the warm palm caressing her stomach.

She also liked the movement as it slowly traveled upward.

When he grabbed her chest, an inexplicable discomfort crept up, but it was still okay.

Because Jinsoo liked it.

“Jinsoo!”

“Ah, that’s cold!”

“Hehe. I brought coffee.”

“……”

A voice interrupted this intimate moment.

Jinsoo’s thigh jerked in surprise, causing Cuss to accidentally bite her tongue.

“Ugh……”

She sat up abruptly.

Juliane had somehow approached right next to them and was beaming at Jinsoo.

Cuss instinctively inserted her head between them.

“Cuss, here’s your grapefruit ade.”

“……”

“You should say thank you.”

“…Thank you.”

She snatched the cold cup.

Juliane smiled, seemingly embarrassed, but Cuss didn’t even look at her.

She just rubbed her head against Jinsoo’s shoulder.

When she did this, Jinsoo would always respond.

Sure enough, Jinsoo’s large hand wrapped around Cuss’s shoulder and pulled her close.

“Hehe. This is nice. Spending time quietly like this.”

“It is.”

“……”

A gentle touch landed on her opposite shoulder as well.

Somehow, Cuss had ended up sandwiched between the two.

Though she didn’t like the voice at all, she agreed with the statement.

A wide, calm lake.

And a verdant field.

Just sitting on the grass like this made her feel at peace.

All the stress she’d endured trying to hide her tentacles seemed to disappear.

“Let’s come again tomorrow. This place is nice, Jinsoo.”

“Yeah. We should have come together earlier. But tomorrow won’t work.”

“Why not?”

“You have to go to school tomorrow. The holiday ends today.”

“Ah……”

The holiday ends today.

Why do humans create such rules?

They could rest when they want to rest.

Work when they want to work.

“Since it’s only until today, let’s enjoy it to the fullest.”

“Okay……”

She put the straw to her lips and took a long sip.

“Ugh.”

It tasted strange.

Bitter when it should be sweet.

Sweet when it should be bitter.

It was the last day of the holiday.