Ch.94Chapter 94. Stupid Girl

“What’s wrong with this, Ms. Juliane?”

“Ah.”

My heart felt like it dropped.

The moment I looked down.

The skin on my toe that Jinsoo was holding had torn, revealing the white titanium skeleton inside.

When did this happen?

Desperately trying to recall, what came to mind was…

“Ah. I must be crazy…”

There it was.

When I broke the cup last time.

A ceramic shard must have grazed or gotten stuck and then pulled out.

There was no other explanation for how my toe could have been injured like that.

“Th-that. That is, Jinsoo…”

My lips moved on their own.

To somehow gloss over it.

My body reacted automatically to make excuses.

But my mind had already gone blank.

I couldn’t think of anything.

What excuse could I give…

I couldn’t think of any convincing explanation that Jinsoo would accept.

“I’m actually missing a pinky toe too. It got completely burned and had to be amputated. Did you have some kind of toe surgery, Juliane?”

“…”

As if helping my frozen thought process, Jinsoo kindly provided an excuse.

Yes. It’s just my toe.

I only had one bone replaced with machinery.

All I had to do was say that.

Then innocent Jinsoo would believe me.

He believes everything I say.

Except for “I didn’t plant any bugs,” he’d believe anything I said.

But…

But…

“Jinsoo. Could you stand up?”

“What?”

I didn’t want to.

I didn’t want to deceive Jinsoo.

I’d convinced myself it was okay to just not mention it, to keep it secret.

That wasn’t deceiving Jinsoo, I’d told myself.

But making excuses now would clearly mean lying to Jinsoo, to the person I love.

I hated that idea.

If he found out later that I’d been lying…

I couldn’t even imagine the betrayal he would feel.

I didn’t want to put someone who had suffered from false accusations his whole life through that experience again.

No, that was just an excuse.

I simply didn’t want Jinsoo to think I was a liar, to be disillusioned with me.

That was all there was to it.

“I have something to confess.”

“What is it? Did you plant more bugs?”

“Under the sink… No, that’s not it.”

“…”

“The truth is, I don’t have arms or legs.”

I said it.

I finally said it.

I painfully raised my head to see Jinsoo’s face.

“Oh…”

Jinsoo stood with his mouth open, unable to continue.

Of course.

It must be too sudden.

“My legs, everything below the thighs… And my arms are completely mechanical from below the shoulders.”

“…”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you until now. It happened in an accident when I was young… I wasn’t trying to deceive you. Actually, I was looking for the right opportunity to tell you, but I didn’t expect to be found out like this…”

“That’s awesome.”

“What?”

“So can you like, shoot rocket punches and stuff?”

“N-no…?”

“Can they detach too?”

“Yes… they can…”

“Holy shit. That’s so hot. Can I see you take one off?”

“…?”

Huh?

That was a difficult reaction to understand.

***

This was big news.

Just when things were getting boring, an incredibly interesting issue came up.

Juliane’s arms and legs were all mechanical.

At first I was stunned, not understanding what she meant, but then I thought back and it made sense.

The occasional superhuman strength Juliane displayed.

And the force she used to tear off a crumpled door at the fire scene.

It all made sense now.

Juliane was a freaking awesome RoboCop, no, a Robo-investigator!

“Juliane, quick, quick. Show me once.”

“Ugh…”

After begging repeatedly, I was finally able to witness Juliane’s prosthetic limb removal demonstration.

Cuss seemed interested too, sticking close to my side and staring at Juliane.

I pulled Cuss’s shoulder closer as I focused with excitement.

Those things that looked just like human arms and legs were actually machines that could be detached?

No man could avoid getting excited in this situation.

Damn. I’m turned on.

“Do… do I have to take everything off? Do I really have to do this?”

“No. If Juliane doesn’t want to, you don’t have to. But I’d really like to see it once. Don’t feel pressured.”

“Haah…”

Maybe she had some trauma.

Juliane seemed slightly reluctant.

If she didn’t want to, I wouldn’t get to see it.

Just as I thought it was over, Juliane sighed deeply and grabbed her left arm with her right.

“I don’t want to hide anything from Jinsoo and Cuss, so…”

Yet she hides bugs just fine.

There was some contradiction in what she was saying, but I decided not to question it.

I didn’t want to upset her and miss the awesome scene of her limbs detaching.

Whoosh…

“Ohhh!”

When Juliane grabbed above her elbow and pulled slightly, a gap appeared between what had looked like seamless skin.

Then slowly, gradually, the gap widened and her arm came off.

“Wow. That’s so hot.”

“…”

Juliane’s face was turning bright red in real time.

Soon the completely detached arm settled on the sofa.

On Juliane’s left shoulder, there was only a short stump with surgical scars.

“You’re such a pervert… I didn’t know you’d like this kind of thing.”

“If a man doesn’t get excited seeing this, he’s not a real man.”

“Excited…! You pervert. Disgusting.”

No matter how she condemned me, it was useless.

I slowly approached Juliane who was shrinking back and…

“Wow. Woooow.”

I picked up the mechanical arm and examined it.

It was much heavier than I expected.

Maybe because the inside was metal.

Even though it was clearly detached from her body, it didn’t feel like I was holding a mechanical arm.

It looked just like a real arm, but the cross-section showed otherwise.

White…

What is this? Steel? Or titanium?

I’d like to peel off the synthetic skin and see the frame, but would that be too rude to ask?

How does it work?

Hydraulics? No, that would be noisy and hard to maintain, so probably not.

I had so many questions.

“Jinsoo. Don’t tell me you’re excited because…”

“Huh? Why?”

“Nothing…”

Juliane seemed somewhat displeased, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that.

“Look. Isn’t this awesome? This is human technology.”

“Oh… So it helps overcome disabilities.”

“Look at this. This. Don’t these fingers look real?”

“Hmm… They do look real.”

“Hey. Don’t suck someone else’s finger without permission.”

Your arm.

Has been replaced with our toy.

If I masturbated with this, would it be masturbation or would it be Juliane giving me a handjob?

That was quite a philosophical question.

“Hehe… Pfft…”

Suddenly Juliane covered her mouth with her hand—no, her prosthetic hand—and burst into laughter.

We were playing with her arm, touching it here and there, and just stared blankly as Juliane giggled.

“Why, why are you laughing?”

“No, it’s just that I realize how foolish I’ve been.”

“What?”

“I was actually really worried. Afraid you’d be disgusted if you knew my true self. Since Jinsoo dislikes machines implanted in human bodies…”

“No, I just disapprove of perfectly healthy people covering themselves with unnecessary tech. Would I ever dislike prosthetic limbs?”

“Exactly… I think I misjudged you. Hehe.”

“It actually expands the range of plays we can do. I have no reason to dislike it.”

“…?”

Juliane tilted her head as if she didn’t understand what I meant.

Surely she must know what I’m talking about?

If someone has no arms or legs, there’s a specific play that comes to mind.

You know, that thing that only appears in adult comics.

The human onahole play.

“Ah…”

Finally realizing what I meant, Juliane let out a sigh and her face instantly turned red.

Just imagining Juliane being helplessly penetrated and losing her mind was enough to turn me on.

Having to wait until evening when Cuss falls asleep.

This was nothing short of torture.

“Wow. It’s heavier than I expected. I thought you were a bit heavy for your build, but it was because of this.”

“Exactly! I’m so stressed about my weight! And adding bulletproof plates makes it even heavier.”

“Bulletproof plates? Why on earth…”

“I need to stop bullets sometimes. Very occasionally…”

“…”

That’s wild.

She said she was an investigator, but she was clearly working as a field agent.

Are they throwing a rookie into dangerous situations?

“If only I had been there during the mass shooting. Then Jinsoo wouldn’t have had to face them bare-handed…”

“Juliane. Just a moment.”

“Yes?”

No, this woman.

Cuss still doesn’t know about that.

I quickly covered Juliane’s mouth and looked to the side.

“Jinsoo? What did she just say?”

“…”

I closed my eyes tightly.

Cuss was gripping my sleeve and looking up at me.

But that look in her eyes wasn’t one of questioning.

It was a look of certainty.

The question was essentially a formality.

“Bare-handed? Is that true?”

“Hahaha… Cuss, I’m sorry. I must have misspoken. I was just wondering what if Jinsoo had faced them. Really. Okay?”

“Lies. Juliane is lying. Jinsoo. Look at me. Look me in the eye and tell me.”

“…”

Cuss ignored Juliane’s words and kept tugging at my sleeve.

Of course, I could have backed up Juliane’s story.

That would have allowed me to avoid this situation easily.

But I had already made up my mind.

I wouldn’t lie to this damn alien creature, to someone with whom I shared deadly secrets.

“Did you really face a human with a gun bare-handed? That terrifying human with a fire-spitting machine?”

“Yeah. That’s right, kid.”

“Jinsoo!”

I reluctantly admitted it.

When I opened my eyes, Juliane was staring at me with great agitation while reattaching her arm.

And when I turned and looked down…

“Why… why…?”

I found Cuss clinging to me, dropping tears like chicken droppings.

I thought this kid never cried except when scared or in pain.

But she was crying.

Staring into my eyes, disgustingly dripping snot, crying ugly tears.

“Why did you do something so reckless? Humans are fragile. One bullet is enough to kill you! So why? Why on earth did you do that?”

“Why? Because of you, you little shit. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have gone in.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“I went in to save you, kid. Don’t you understand?”

Yes, you little shit.

I tried not to say anything till the end, but if you ask directly, I have no choice.

It’s all because of you.

Because of you, I deliberately crawled into that dangerous place and faced that dangerous bastard.

If it weren’t for you, why would I have any reason to go in there?

“Then Jinsoo, you didn’t want to die?”

“Why would I want to die?”

“I thought you wanted to die because… I was making your life difficult…”

“Huh.”

She was saying something ridiculous.

If you’re difficult, I could just throw you out. Why would I die? As if.

Everything revolves around her, doesn’t it?

Stupid girl.

“Because of me… You came for me. To save me…”

“Yes. Now that you know, be good to me. How many times have I saved your life anyway?”

“I understand. Thank you, Jinsoo…”

“You should be thankful.”

“Thank you for not abandoning me… for not giving up on me till the end…”

“…”

Cuss swallowed her snot and wrapped her arms around my waist.

My shirt got wet from her tear-stained face.

I could feel her trembling through her face, no, her entire body.

To be honest, I was a little, no, very flustered.

This damn girl has never cried out of concern for me before.

What should I do in this situation?

I’ve never even raised a daughter at this age.

I could only do what felt natural, what my heart told me to do.

“Hic…”

Cuss’s head looked particularly empty today.

My hand moved on its own and gently rested on the crown of her head.

A groan sounded once, and soon the trembling subsided.

I stroked her hair back and held the back of her head.

Then I pulled her close, not too hard and not too gently.

Until Cuss stopped crying.

I absorbed all her trembling and tears with my body.

“Hic… You two, really…”

“Ugh.”

Juliane was also sniffling beside us and wrapped her arms around both of us.

But maybe because she had detached and reattached her arm, her strength control seemed off.

“Ow! I’m sorry!”

“Urgh…”

We almost got flattened like dried squid.

Soon Cuss raised her head and glared at Juliane as if she wanted to kill her.

Thanks to that, she stopped crying.

Ding

“Hmm?”

At that moment, both Cuss’s and my phones rang simultaneously.

We looked at each other blankly and then checked our messages.

-Supplementary class notice. All students please come to school by 2 PM today.

My goodness.

The day after school was closed due to a mass shooting, and on a holiday no less, they’re holding supplementary classes.

If it were my school, I would have cursed them out, but as a parent, it was a different story.

“Jinsoo… They want me to come to school…”

“Really? Well that’s great… I mean, that’s sad. Tearing a family apart on a holiday. But what can we do? You have to go, right?”

“Jinsoo. You look suspiciously happy.”

“Huh? No way.”

“Juliane too.”

“No, no, no! I want to spend more time with Cuss too!”

“…”

When our eyes met, Juliane’s pupils shook and she quickly looked away.

She was probably thinking the same thing.

This was a great opportunity for some happy time.