Rainy Roads and Jealous Whispers
The drive back to Seoul was accompanied by rain. Rather thick raindrops struck the windshield with a heavy thud-thud. Looking at the gloomy sky, it felt like the heavens were blessing my bright future, and that put me in a good mood.
Yuria was sound asleep in the passenger seat. After being injected with Malice all day yesterday, it was only natural. But honestly, isn't this unfair? You were the one lying there motionless. I was the one moving my body.
“Mmm… Jihyeok… it hurts…”
She rolled onto her side and mumbled in her sleep. It was both amusing and adorable. And it made me happy that my name, not Aaron’s, had slipped from those lips.
I continued driving in silence for a while before switching the car to autonomous mode and reclining the seat. Then I fell into thought.
The Doctor had said he was nearly finished crafting Yuria’s bow. Once it was complete, I was thinking of releasing some monsters… but what kind? Something on the level of Astaroth, an A-rank? Or should I send out an S-rank right away and force Sehwa and Yuria to fight together?
No. With three Aether signatures currently missing, it might be too early to deploy high-ranking monsters. Better to flood them with the kind of D-rank or lower creatures that were practically underfoot, in overwhelming numbers. Mix in a few C-ranks here and there.
While I was sorting through these thoughts, Yuria stirred awake. She slowly turned her head to look at me, flinched in surprise, then quickly averted her gaze toward the window.
I let out a small chuckle and asked, “Awake now?”
“Yes…”
“Not hungry?”
“A little… I am.”
“Want to stop at a rest area and grab something to eat?”
“Is that okay?”
This girl. I didn’t tell you to follow me this blindly. In everyday matters, you’re supposed to assert your opinions more actively. At this rate she’ll be asking, “Can I go potty?” next. Actually… that doesn’t sound half bad.
“Of course.”
I changed the destination to the nearest rest area and reclined again.
“How’s your stomach?”
“It hurts…”
“A lot?”
“……”
She rolled her eyes around before glancing at me. It seemed she was in pain but hesitant to say so.
“Don’t worry about my mood. Be honest.”
“It hurts… a lot.”
That made sense. She had taken my massive cock more than ten times, after all.
I nodded and reached over, gently stroking her lower belly. I used to do this for Sehwa. I’m giving you special treatment too.
Apparently my touch felt good. Yuria let out a long, contented sigh and closed her eyes.
“How’s that? Feeling better?”
“Yeees… it feels sooo good…”
It filled me with pride to see her acting all proud and haughty in front of others, yet in front of me she spoke with that cute, lisping baby voice and acted spoiled.
Yuria turned her whole body toward me and relaxed completely. As I continued massaging her lower belly, a call from Sehwa came in. Perfect timing.
I answered the phone and deliberately turned the volume up loud enough for Yuria to hear everything.
Here we go again.
“I’m finished. On my way back from Incheon.”
“Got it.”
“Love you too.”
I ended the call and tossed the phone into the center cupholder, then checked Yuria’s expression in the rearview mirror. She was staring at the phone with obvious jealousy burning in her eyes.
“……Right now… with me…”
Yuria muttered something in a tiny voice. ‘Right now he’s with me.’ She was clearly trying to comfort herself with that thought. But the way her eyes were blazing, it looked like a catfight might break out soon. How entertaining.
“Um… Jihyeok.”
“What.”
“Can you… give me a kiss?”
She finally worked up some real courage.
“Why are you being so forward?”
“……”
Yuria’s face fell. The moment her lips pouted, I leaned in and planted a loud, smacking kiss on them. Her expression instantly brightened. She smiled happily and squirmed with delight.
“Thank you…”
“You worked hard yesterday.”
So I’m giving you a special reward. If you want more, satisfy me. The moment I gave off that kind of vibe, determination flared in Yuria’s eyes.
“Act normal in front of the Doctor and Sehwa.”
“Yes…”
Her answer lacked confidence right now, but I knew Yuria would manage. Why? Because she desperately wanted the reward I would personally bestow.
The car soon arrived at the rest area. The autonomous system handled parking perfectly, so I opened the door right away. As Yuria was getting out, I slightly spread my right arm. She immediately ran over with a bright face and linked her arm with mine.
I looked at her with a gentle, fatherly expression and asked, “What do you want to eat?”
“Can I look around first? I want to see the menu.”
“Go ahead.”
From now on, I was a tired, overworked businessman.
Disguised as Kim Taegon and having hypnotized myself into the role, I entered the door-lock code. Beep! The front door opened, and as I stepped inside, I saw Yuria in comfortable clothes, carefully examining various accessories laid out across the living room floor. Earrings, bracelets, anklets, necklaces, rings… While the earrings might have been acceptable, the rest were the kind of flashy ornaments the original Yuria would never have worn.
“You’re back?”
She didn’t even turn around to look at her own father, just stared intently at the accessories. How sad. Not even a proper welcome from my daughter. All that effort raising her, and for what? You ill-mannered brat.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to look at Dad’s face?”
“Just… some decorations. I’ll make dinner in a bit. Oh, right, Dad.”
Yuria whipped her head around. Her sparkling eyes told me she had something to say.
“Yes?”
“You said you were going fishing with Jihyeok soon. I want to go too. I’ll be bored by myself.”
Hah. That means Marcela will have to disguise herself again, but she’s busy right now.
“It’s a bonding trip between men. What would you do by tagging along? No.”
“Dad!”
She actually raised her voice. My middle-aged heart nearly gave out. I pretended to be startled and let out a dry laugh.
“You scared me… Have you been drinking during the day?”
“No! I just really want to go! I told you I’m super bored staying home alone!”
“I said no. Go meet up with your friends or something. You have that lab colleague, right? Lee Sehwa.”
“I don’t want to.”
Yuria’s face suddenly turned cold. I nearly burst out laughing inside but kept an appropriately puzzled expression.
“Why not?”
“Just because… Anyway, I’m going too.”
“I said no.”
I shook out my socks and tossed them carelessly toward the washing machine. Yuria immediately got angry.
“Those are whites! Put the dark ones in the basket!”
“……Good grief. What on earth happened in the last two days to make my daughter so hysterical…”
“Hurry up!”
“Alright, alright.”
Grumbling, I picked up the socks with my fingers and dropped them into the basket. Then I practically fled into the master bedroom. To anyone watching, it would look like I was running away from a nagging wife. It was rather undignified. Enough to make Yuria dumbfounded.
After taking a bath in the master bathroom and coming out, I was genuinely startled to find Yuria leaning against the doorframe like a zombie, staring blankly into space. Thankfully I didn’t scream. My body jerked as if I’d been electrocuted, and I frowned.
“What the hell are you doing there?”
“Daaaad… I want to go fishing too…”
“I already said no.”
“Why…”
“If you’re there, won’t Jihyeok feel awkward and unable to speak properly? Besides, we haven’t even set a date yet. I haven’t even brought up the fishing trip.”
“Then don’t go at all.”
“Hah…”
I clasped my hands behind my back and lifted my chin. It was the exact posture Glen displayed when he was angry. Yuria flinched.
“……I’m sorry…”
“Let me hear your reason. Why are you throwing such a tantrum over fishing, something you can’t even do? And don’t you dare say it’s because you’re bored. I know that’s a lie.”
“It’s just… the truth is…”
The truth? Are you going to confess that you fell in love with me after we slept together?
Yuria hesitated for a moment, then continued.
“Last time you said Jihyeok seemed like a good person. While you were away on your business trip, I visited the lab often… and he really is a good person. He’s mature and thoughtful… so… I thought it would be okay to see him more…”
Not even blinking while she lied. You’ve grown quite a bit.
I nodded with a serious expression. “Hmm… I see.”
“Yes…”
“What about Aaron?”
“I’ll meet Aaron too…”
“So you’re going to compare the two and then decide? Besides, Song Jihyeok already has a girlfriend named Lee Sehwa.”
“Then why did you tell me he was a good person in the first place!?”
Seeing Yuria raise her voice and turn aggressive again—just like earlier—convinced me that my Malice was mixing into her very well.
“I only said it because I felt it was a shame. Was that really something to get so angry about?”
“……Tsk.”
“What? Tsk? I must have raised you wrong! Acting like a child! Go to your room and reflect right this instant!”
“Do you think this is still the kingdom!?”
“Get in there right now!”
I shouted, spittle flying. Yuria trembled all over while glaring at me, then stomped off to her room. The loud bang as she slammed the door showed just how thoroughly upset she was. Something must be broken somewhere. I’ll have to call someone to fix it.
I strode over to her door and yelled, “Yuria Elenar! Are you rebelling against me right now!?”
“Ah!! I said it was because of the wind!”
“Pfft…”
I barely managed to hold back my laughter. Ah… how the dignified Yuria had turned into such a little brat. How tragic. Truly tragic. Whoever did this, you did an excellent job.
“Come out again!”
“No! I’m going to sleep! Don’t even think about opening the door! I locked it!”
“You… you little…”
Clicking my tongue, I went into the bedroom and lay down comfortably. Since both Song Jihyeok and Kim Taegon were me, Yuria had no choice but to be led around by me forever. This father-daughter quarrel had just given me even more ways to toy with her.
I locked the door, picked up Song Jihyeok’s phone, and saw she had sent messages.
Look at her. So this is how she’s going to approach me? What a cunning little vixen. I need to fix that attitude of hers! I should call the chamberlain right now… Oh, right. He’s dead.
Not long after, a flood of photos poured into the chat. One with her tongue sticking out, tinged pink. Another lifting her pajama top to reveal her cleavage. One with her lips puckered as if for a kiss. Another showing her thighs as she bent her legs…
Okay? What an adorable little thing. I grinned and hid the phone, falling back into thought.
It was about time to start preparing for the next season… The intermission had grown long because three Aether signatures had vanished. Should I start targeting Roze now? No. I should focus on Yuria while slowly seducing the Doctor as well. Until we find traces of the missing Aether, I’ll stay quiet… and stockpile as much strength as possible. You never know what might happen.