Date
The novel is set on Earth in a parallel universe.
Three in the afternoon.
After making do with a few light snacks for lunch and spending a good long while wandering through the dolphin pavilion, we were now eating at the food court's buffet.
This… I really need to avoid buffets when I've got the kids with me.
The little ones weren't running around or making a racket — their mothers still scared them enough for that. But a buffet being what it was, the moment any of them wanted something I had to keep getting up, and the thicker cuts of meat like steak had to be sliced for them one by one, so I wasn't getting much to eat myself.
"Natasha. Did Almina give you a hard time today?"
Spanish drifted over. But wasn't Natasha a Russian name?
Judging by the slightly awkward delivery, it seemed like a group of Russian women — Almina and the others — were speaking Spanish so their own people wouldn't overhear.
"No. Sasha. She only got snippy the day we reported for orientation. She's been quiet lately."
"That's what makes me nervous. When she's quiet, I get even more jumpy. Hey… Katya. You're getting fat. That's already your second plate."
Three women seemed to be talking behind Almina's back. I picked up my plate and brushed past them — and realized they were the mermaid performers I'd seen earlier.
"Alright. This is the last round. I brought cake and desserts."
"Okay. But what's that?"
"Daddy needs to eat something too. You said you couldn't handle any more meat, right?"
"Heehee. Yeah."
A-hee quickly took the dessert plate and set it in the middle of the table. I set down a plate with two thick pieces of steak and finally picked up my knife and fork, ready for a proper meal.
Scrape. Slice.
The sound of the knife meeting the ceramic plate rang out. The steak I'd sampled in bits earlier wasn't quite Stella Hotel quality, but it was still pretty good — especially for a buffet.
"Ahh… you only brought the flavors we like? Daddy's the best!!!"
"Na-hee gets chocolate, A-reum and A-hee get strawberry. What's so amazing about that? Eat slowly. Daddy's just starting now. If you want something else, just say so."
"Okay."
The three of them happily divided up the cakes and ate together. I watched them with a warm feeling, then put a piece of the sliced tenderloin in my mouth and savored it.
Yeah… first thing I need to do is hit every steak place worth the name…
My palate had been trained on Korean food, sure, but for the foreseeable future, whether it was a family restaurant or a hotel, if we were eating out I was going to be chasing steak and nothing else.
The juice bursting with that bloody, meaty flavor was pure fantasy.
Hm?
"I saw a guy I liked today. He seemed married, though…"
I was still savoring the meat juices when the mermaid girls' conversation drifted over from behind me again. My sensitive hearing filtered out the surrounding noise and locked onto their words even from a good ten meters away.
"What? Who? I didn't see anyone worth looking at."
"Ah!!! There was someone. Katya… Sasha!!! 'The quiet cat climbs the stove first,' huh? Spill it."
"Well… he seemed married. He had three twins with him…"
Me…?
I nearly flinched and turned around. My name had just dropped into the middle of those three women's conversation out of nowhere.
Still, having a woman who'd only just laid eyes on me call me her type felt pretty good. I'd been a little self-conscious that my looks only really worked in ancient China.
"Yeah, that guy feeding the three twins. Hahaha. He's married. That's why I lost interest."
"Natasha, you saw him too?"
"Katya. You didn't? He was seriously handsome… those big eyes, the whole face — gorgeous. Only problem is the three kids. And did you see him… that bulge in his pants… that monster cock?"
"Huh? Hey. When did you even look down there… you perv."
"How am I supposed to not see what's right there?"
"Those extra hearts you threw — those were for him, weren't they? You threw more than you were supposed to…"
"That's… no!!!"
They giggled and went back to eating while I sat there dumbfounded. It was the first time I'd ever become side-dish material for other people's dinner conversation.
"Is it that guy over there?"
"Huh? The clothes and the build look right…"
I controlled the urge to flinch and calmly kept eating, wiping Na-hee's mouth.
"Daddy?"
"Young ladies don't get food all over their faces when they eat. Got it?"
"Okay, Daddy."
"Oh my… if only he weren't married."
"Sasha. What does married matter when he's that sweet? Right, Natasha?"
"But the kids look about ten. Isn't he a little old? Asians, especially Koreans, are hard to age."
"Probably knocked someone up young. Early thirties, maybe. No mom in sight — divorced, you think? Hmm? Hahaha. Look at Katya's eyes rolling back."
Ah… sharp hearing isn't always a blessing.
I shut them out and focused on the meal, managing the kids one by one as we kept eating. The children chattered away with smiles that never faded, and that alone made me happy.
"Want more?"
"Yes!!!! Cake. Na-hee wants chocolate cake. Please, Daddy?"
"I want strawberry."
Even with tadpole bellies, they were demanding each other's cakes now. Thanks to the body modifications, no matter how much they ate they'd still slim down into those lean frames I'd seen earlier by the time they hit nineteen — so I just chuckled and stood up again.
Our eyes met. I smiled and gave a small Western-style nod of greeting.
All three of them nodded back in a daze.
As I walked off to get more cake, their conversation started up again.
"Did you see that? Ah!!! Oh my god…"
"He's handsome. Exactly my type — just a little old…"
Haa… this damn baby face that looks old… and the kids on top of it… Do I really look like I'm in my thirties?
Their talk had already wandered into every kind of dirty speculation, so I briefly cut off my senses and silence settled in.
Too many women already. It's not time to collect those ones yet…
I snorted. Even thinking that when I should have been grateful for the attention was ridiculous.
I loaded up cake and cookies, poured myself a coffee, and headed back to the table, cracking my senses open just a little. No more conversation from that table — a relief.
Next time… if fate brings us together again…
Thinking that, I handed Na-hee her strawberry cake.
"Did you have fun today?"
"Yeah!!!!"
All three answered in perfect unison. I chuckled, got out of the car, opened the door, and helped them down one by one.
"Good. When you go up, listen to your moms."
"Okay, Daddy. But…"
Na-hee looked at me and wiggled her fingers — clearly telling me to crouch down. I squatted to meet her eyes. She came over and kissed my cheek, and then A-reum and A-hee did the same, twisting their little bodies shyly.
I snorted softly.
"Ji-yu. Take them up. When I get back from abroad, I'm planning a date with Na-yeon and Yu-ri too — you in?"
"No. You take them. I'm sticking right to Hye-yun unnie so we can cockblock your date."
Huh… she's sharp.
"Fine. An outdoor best-friend threesome with Hye-yun doesn't sound bad either."
I whispered it into her ear so the kids wouldn't hear. Her face went red and she started pounding on my chest.
"I—I'm going up. Kids, come with Mommy."
"Yes!!! Daddy. Next time, Disney Land!!!"
"Hm?… Sure."
The nearest Disney Land was in Japan. There had been plans to bring one to Korea, but about ten years ago the Oseong Group announced they were building a theme park even bigger than Disney Land near Kaesong, and the whole thing fell through.
"Hahaha. Honey, I'm coming too. Disney."
"Alright. Head on up."
The four of them passed through the entrance and climbed the stairs until they vanished from sight. I stood there smiling warmly for a moment, then headed back to the car.
In the passenger seat, Emily was holding her phone and texting.
Click.
"Who is it?"
"Ah… my little sister in America. She says Mom and Max had a fight."
"Hm?…"
Ah… when I go to America I'll have to meet Emily's mom and her sister too…
We'd be heading to the States soon, and the news that Emily's mom and her Black boyfriend had fought was good news. It meant I wouldn't be getting shot at.
"That so?"
Click.
I shut the door and started the engine. Gangnam was still a good thirty minutes away.
"When we get to the sauna, come straight to the jjimjilbang."
"Yes, Honey. I'd be too embarrassed to bathe alone. I'll just shower and come find you."
The stares. We might have secured a vast territory all the way to Manchuria, but Manchurians and Koreans looked similar enough. Foreigners who stood out that much still drew a lot of curiosity.
Those stares would probably be even more annoying than the ones fixed on my cock, so I just nodded.
"It must be uncomfortable. People staring at you like you're some exotic animal."
"Yes…"
"Have you been to a jjimjilbang before?"
"I went with some friends from the language school in Sinchon."
Vroom. Roar!!!
I turned the key and nodded at Emily's answer.
One look at the women's bath had been enough for me, but a whole pack of white women stripping naked was still something I was curious about.
Well… based on today's experience, my looks seemed to work on Westerners too. That day would probably come soon enough. I shook my head at the thought and snorted.
Heh.
"When I go to LA, any places you'd recommend? First time in America for me…"
"I didn't get around that much either… nearby Las Vegas, or…"
A map of the United States flashed through my mind.
She calls that nearby?
Americans' sense of distance was completely different from ours. Even with Manchuria under our belt now, no one born and raised on the Korean Peninsula would call LA and Las Vegas close.
"No, I mean downtown LA."
"It's winter… nothing really comes to mind except Galaxy Studio. Ah… the beaches are nice, but… it's winter."
Not sure I want to go there…
In the old days I would have gone out of my mind for it, but after reading the scenarios from other parallel universes, I'd been pretty disappointed by the movies of the Earth I currently lived on. So Galaxy Studio — supposedly a collection of famous film sets — didn't do much for me.
"That so? Hmm… then how about we go hunting on the Northern Three Islands in the summer, then head straight to LA for the beach?"
"What?!! Yes."
Her face lit up. She must have felt how carefully I was considering her, because she nodded hard.
Taking Emily back to her hometown was only two years away. Given how happy it made her, I figured I should stop by America whenever I could.
"Thank you."
"What for… you're my wife too."
"Ah!!! You have to go to the Grand Canyon. Of everywhere I've been, that place left the deepest impression on me."
"Ah… isn't that far? How far is it?"
"Only five hundred miles from LA."
"That's eight hundred kilometers… hmm…"
Even at a hundred kilometers an hour, eight hours one way… sixteen hours round trip meant burning a whole day.
I'd forgotten about the Grand Canyon, but somehow I really did want to see it at least once.
"I'll have to make time. I want to see it even if it's just for a little while…"
"Yes. Definitely go if you get the chance."
Emily finally beamed, delighted that I was taking her recommendation seriously.
I chuckled — and she immediately turned filthy, unzipping the pants of the man driving and pulling down his underwear.
"I'm driving."
"Honey said you never get hurt during sex. And the tinting's dark enough…"
"Fine. Go ahead."
She took hold of my soft twenty-one-centimeter cock and closed her mouth over the head. Her lips peeled back the foreskin and her tongue lightly brushed the tip.
Mm…
Smack.
The thing slowly rose. Emily smiled radiantly and kissed the urethra again.
"No hands. I want to see if Emily can make me come before we hit Gangnam. Just that throat of yours…"
"Yes, Master…"
Emily put her hands behind her back, opened her mouth, and swept her lips over the head. Her teeth caught on the ridge, and her tongue toyed with the urethra.