Date
The setting of this novel is Earth in a parallel universe.
February 16, 2003. Early morning.
I snorted under my breath.
I couldn't even tell when they'd nestled against my arms, but I could feel the children wedged between Jeong-mi and Juae. Soft, even breathing filled the room. Looking at Na-hui in particular — curled against my left side, smiling in her sleep — I felt a stab of guilt.
I'd been petty enough to pick emotional fights with a child like this once I became an adult. Lately I'd even considered sending her to Myeong-hak.
Myeong-hak, Seung-woo… those bastards better treat their daughters well. Just one day of playing dad and the kids are this happy.
Normally, kids this age after a divorce would be aching for their parents. Instead they followed me so readily that I was starting to feel like I really had become their father — not just in name.
"Honey. Are you awake?"
Jeong-mi, who had been holding A-hui, must have felt my hand twitch. She lifted her head and smiled at me.
"Yeah. Go back to sleep. We've only been out for three hours."
The clock on the wall pointed to seven.
"It's fine. I just woke up somehow."
Semen… that was a cheat in its own right.
After tangling with Juae in the bath, Jeong-mi had joined us soon after, and we'd spent a scorching night together. Even though she'd barely slept a few hours, Jeong-mi's skin was taut and glowing with vitality thanks to that.
Shame I couldn't bury myself in her with the kids here…
"That so?"
"Yes. Shall I order room service for breakfast?"
The children had slept enough, so I nodded. Jeong-mi carefully rose, woke Juae, and the two of them slipped out of the room.
On my right, the twins lay side by side, arms draped over me, smiling in their sleep just like Na-hui.
Two years is far too soon… that means they'll only be fifth-graders.
My own children were pitiable enough, but in a way these kids might never even get a proper adolescence — the happiest stretch of a young life.
I won't let that happen. Everyone who comes under my protection will live out their full natural span…
I tried to carefully free my arms, but the children only burrowed deeper into me. Helpless, I simply lay there and let time pass.
I can't just zone out like this. I need to prepare for the future the way I told Jeong-mi to…
That was the thought, at least. What else I actually needed to prepare for refused to surface right away.
Martial training for the women?
I snorted again.
I should have learned more.
When I'd crossed over from that other world, I'd only been five. I hadn't received any systematic training in things like that.
Anyway, the question for today was where to go at Ohsung World. And ideally we needed to head back to Seoul early. I still had to take Emily to the jjimjilbang, and A-jeong was flying back from Jeju tomorrow evening.
I closed my eyes, turning over the day's plans, when the door opened again and I heard them waking the children.
"Did you have fun yesterday?"
"Yeah, Mom."
Hotel checkout wasn't until nine-thirty, so we were all gathered in the living room, lounging against the sofas. The amusement park didn't open until ten, so there was nothing to do even if we left early.
Juae sat Na-hui in front of her and braided her hair as she asked the question. Hearing Na-hui call her "Mom" without a second thought, smiling as she said it, drew a quiet laugh out of me.
"Daddy… where are we going today?"
Jeong-mi must have already finished her hair. A-reum, sporting a cute pair of dumpling buns, sat down beside me, nestled against my side, and asked.
"Hmm? You want to go somewhere again today?"
Well, kids always want to go somewhere.
"Yeah!!! I talked it over with Na-hui and A-hui. We want to go to the aquarium."
"The aquarium…?"
The Ohsung World aquarium. Built right against the sea, it was supposed to be pretty massive.
"Yes, the aquarium here is worth seeing."
"Hmm…"
A-reum, A-hui, and Na-hui were all staring at me with bright, expectant eyes, so I gave an awkward smile and nodded.
"Alright. Shall we do that?"
"Honey. I have the work you assigned me, so I'll grab a taxi and head back."
"That isn't urgent."
Jeong-mi shook her head. Whatever I'd told her yesterday must have hit her hard. With Juae and the children present, she couldn't say it outright, so she redirected.
"It's better to finish everything at once while we're furnishing the apartment."
Hmm… was it that shocking?
Well, the world was about to end. Without the vague hope that the Constellation would help, a reaction like hers made sense.
Still, at least Juae is here…
"I also… have some things to buy… so I'll head back with Unnie. Spend a little more time getting close to the kids."
"Huh? So you're telling me to go alone?"
That was a disaster waiting to happen. Wandering around with three kids by myself? Absolutely not. Physically it wouldn't be hard, but the stress… yesterday had piled a little of that on already.
"From our perspective, the four of you still feel a bit awkward together. Honey. Have fun with the children today and get closer to them."
"Ah…"
My eyes met A-reum's just then, and it was as if she were saying with her gaze alone:
I'm fine with it… Daddy.
I was briefly flustered, but the aquarium wouldn't be as sprawling as the safari. I ended up agreeing. It was indoors, so there was no real risk of losing anyone.
"Alright. We'll see the moms off in a taxi, then head to the aquarium."
"Daddy!!! Thank you…"
I grinned, lifted A-reum onto my lap, and stroked her hair.
"By the way — Mi-jin said it's fine to use the land?"
I'd gotten her half-accidental permission while we were having sex in the chairman's office, but letting it slide like that still felt uncomfortable. Even if she was a slave, just seizing a woman's property made me no better than a thug or a kept man.
"Yes, honey. When she heard you were building a house, she said to use it freely. It's her own land anyway."
Richer than I thought.
Once the house settings were complete, ownership would transfer to me as well. Of course the Constellation or Jini would wire laundered funds into Mi-jin's account at current market value — but it was greenbelt land, so the market price was practically free compared to the surrounding parcels.
The conversation must have been too hard for her to follow. A-reum was staring blankly, and our eyes met.
"A-reum. Who do you like better — Daddy, or your old dad?"
It was childish, but I finally understood why people asked kids whether they liked Mom or Dad better. For no particular reason, I just wanted to hear it.
A child's heart was fickle, but I still wanted those lips to say she liked me more.
"Ian-Daddy is way… waaay better."
"Really? Come give Daddy a kiss, then."
I turned my cheek slightly. A-reum planted a little peck on it, and I pulled her into a tight hug.
"Me too… I like Daddy the most."
"Me too."
Peck. Peck.
A-hui and Na-hui came running over — their hair already finished somehow — and I had to offer both cheeks. The thought that this was what it meant to raise daughters left me deeply satisfied.
Moments like this make me feel like I'm actually changing for the better…
I decided to stop worrying about how my personality was shifting. The Constellation was watching over me. I wasn't going to turn into a complete bastard.
Come to think of it… my feelings about Na-hui, and accepting A-reum and A-hui as daughters… that might have been the Constellation's handiwork too…
I only nudged the direction of all four of your thoughts a little. What you should know is this: the three children you are holding right now will, in the future, be women who bore your children.
…What? Are you insane. How much of a degenerate was I that my cousin—
What's the difference between an aunt, a maternal aunt, a cousin older sister, and a cousin younger sister? Just keep the age of nineteen.
That's… but there was no blue light, was there?
The Constellation had clearly said that women I'd slept with in the future would show a blue light above their heads. A-reum and the other children didn't have it.
And one more thing.
By the Constellation's regulations, the mark does not appear if they have not yet turned nineteen. Women already bound by an Absolute Obedience Contract are likewise not marked.
Ah…
Seeing the light didn't necessarily mean I would have sex with them, so that part still didn't fully make sense — but I let it go.
"Honey?"
"Hmm?"
"Emily Unnie texted asking when you're coming back. She said you originally planned to go to the jjimjilbang today?"
Jeong-mi had said something earlier, but it had all washed over me. She must have noticed, because she got straight to the point.
Right… I do need to go to the jjimjilbang.
Back when I'd been Ha-yun — in Huang Zhong's body — something about the existential whiplash had left me never wanting to become a woman again. That was why I'd promised to go to the jjimjilbang with her instead. I remembered that much.
"Yeah. We're only going to the aquarium, so there's plenty of time. Tell Emily to clear her evening."
"Yes. I'll prepare tickets for the best jjimjilbang in Seoul — no, for that place."
"Huh? Can't we just go to the one near the villa?"
"Come on. It's a date for just the two of you. Go somewhere nice. It's not even far."
Not far from home, sure.
Having to go back to Mapo and then down to Gangnam was a hassle, but Jeong-mi's eyes were practically ordering me to go there, so I nodded.
"Fine."
"Yes. Then I'll give the tickets to Emily Unnie. So you won't be coming home tonight, right?"
"Well… probably not."
"Hehe. Okay."
Blue light.
Proof I wasn't a complete womanizer: yesterday, among all those people, not a single one had glowed blue. That light that supposedly flared for any woman I'd slept with in the future.
Of course, minors weren't marked, so half of them had to be excluded — but still, tens of thousands of people had brushed past me yesterday.
Oddly enough, today a few blue lights drifted by. None of them had faces that caught my eye, though. No one who made me look twice.
Did I operate around Gaeseong or something?
Hard to say. Today was Sunday. A good portion of the people at this amusement park would be tourists, gathered from all over the country.
"Here's your weekend pass receipt. The two adults are already deducted."
"Yes. No refunds, and please put on these wristbands according to the numbers here."
The ticket booth clerk glanced at the children, clipped the tickets, and handed them over. No matter how I looked at her, she wasn't my type and wasn't pretty — a woman in her early twenties. Worse-looking than even Poppy. Disappointing.
Have my standards dropped?
I never expected light to come off a ticket booth clerk. Her looks weren't my taste at all.
I cut off any interest in her and turned around. The children clustered behind me broke into bright smiles.
"Let's go, kids."
"Okay, Daddy."
Smart. Most kids would overdo it or make it obvious, but they called me Daddy so naturally. I'd worried that emphasizing "Daddy" too loudly would sound weird, but they made it sound effortless.
"Up we go. A-hui's turn this time?"
"Yeah!!! Me…"
I scooped A-hui into my arms. My left hand took A-reum's, and Na-hui took A-reum's free hand, and the four of us headed for the aquarium.
Watching how excited the children were, I felt glad I'd made the time to come out. It was more worthwhile than yesterday, too — when we passed through the glass tunnel and a massive whale glided leisurely overhead, it was genuinely wondrous.
I did wonder how they'd managed to cage animals like that, but seeing a living creature that large right before my eyes… the awe of it was something else.
Of course the kids got stuck for a long time on the cuteness of the penguins, otters, and sea otters. They were cute, I'll give them that.
The Mermaid Princess Show will begin shortly. Guests wishing to attend, please proceed to Hall C.
"Daddy. I want to see the Mermaid Princess."
"Yeah… shall we?"
Na-hui said it from my arms. I nodded and headed for Hall C.
The crowd thickened little by little. Fortunately it was close, so we managed to claim relatively good seats. Tropical fish swam inside the aquarium tanks.
I sat the kids down briefly and went to buy snacks. When I looked into the aquarium, I stopped dead in my tracks.
Three white girls in mermaid princess cosplay were visible… and all of them were glowing with blue light brighter than anything I'd seen so far.
Out of five performers, three younger-looking women.
What the hell…? And what's with the difference in brightness…
My feet refused to move. Too stunned to do anything else, I slowly walked back to the children. I handed them the donuts and milk, sat down, and stared blankly at the white women cosplaying as red, yellow, and green fish.
Not quite at Emily's level, but they were quite pretty. They smiled brightly, drawing hearts in the air and scattering them toward the children.
The brightness of the light corresponds to how many times you slept with them. When you meet Seo A-jeong, you will understand the difference. She is the woman you slept with the most.
…Just how much…
At minimum, they shone dozens of times brighter than any light I'd seen so far. Even my high school classmates had only glowed about as much as that ticket booth clerk earlier…
Those people didn't go back to their home country after five years?
Korea on this Earth is far more livable than Russia, and the pay is better too. Those three women are the same age as you. They continued their studies here while performing on weekends, and by five years from now all three had passed the naturalization exam.
Ah…
I had no desire to force a connection with women I didn't even know and drag them into the harem. Coming all the way to Korea at my age to do underwater shows meant they'd entered the workforce early. There was no need for me to go out of my way and mess with pitiful kids like that.
Still, it left a slightly uneasy feeling. The brightness of that light… it didn't feel like a connection that had merely brushed past.
On the other hand, the future me and the present me were different people. Did I really need to get involved with those women? The thought left me briefly unsettled.
"Daddy, ah!!!"
"Yeah. Ah."
Just then, the woman in red scales drew a heart in my direction — more precisely toward Na-hui, but still. She smiled.
She is pretty, I'll give her that.
If I hadn't met Hye-yun — especially if I hadn't met Emily — I might have fallen for a face like that, smiling the way she was.
No. I already have plenty. If fate brings us together again next time…
That was the right call. There was no need to force anything. I wasn't desperate for women.