K
Before I knew it, my mouth had opened, and a rude question slipped out.
"……Aren't those heavy? Ah—I'm sorry. It just came out."
Her face wasn't much to look at. If anything, I caught myself thinking Kim Do-hoon might be the handsomer of the two. The freckles scattered across her nose and cheeks, and a figure closer to some ancient fertility goddess I'd seen in a textbook—or to the Michelin Man—were absolutely not my type. She was quite a bit older, too. But her breasts were nearly the size of soccer balls. No. Basketballs?
What am I even supposed to compare those to?
They were big enough to call up the giant gourds from the picture book of Heungbu I'd read as a kid. Far from taking offense at what I'd said, though, the woman and Kim Do-hoon burst out laughing, as if they were delighted.
"It's all right. Master said the same thing, didn't you?"
"I did. The first time I saw you, I said exactly what Shinwoo just did."
"……Yes. The whole world was busy mocking me, and only Master worried about me."
"……Yeong-hee. You're still beautiful."
"……Master. My love……"
All at once the two of them pressed close, trading a quiet look and locking eyes. Surely I didn't look like that to other people. Goosebumps prickled up my arms, but the fact that I was wondering how I came across meant their display wasn't purely unpleasant to watch. It was only that this, I supposed, was what love in middle age felt like.
Maybe you're supposed to show some restraint once you get older.
Whether I'd manage it was another question. It might have been nothing more than a vague certainty—or a hope—that none of their beauty would simply vanish because they'd aged a little. Catching my own face reflected in Kim Do-hoon's, I felt a flicker of understanding, then shook my head and scattered the thought. I could worry about getting older later.
"……Well then, enjoy yourselves. I should be going."
"Ah, forgive me. I got carried away."
"I'm sorry."
"Not at all. You two look good together."
I started to turn away, then found I couldn't stand it and turned back. The two of them were already facing the car. I asked, carefully.
"This might be a genuinely rude question, though."
They smiled as if they'd been waiting for it, and the woman called Yeong-hee answered in a quiet voice.
"……They're K-cups."
K. And there were two of them, so was that KK? I had never expected to see that letter attached to a bra size. In the world before this one, a size like that would have struck out every man in the country—a strikeout king. Still, it was closer to fascination than anything else. Big was good, but that was so big it looked monstrous.
I'm starting to look like a small-breast purist.
A C-cup or so was really my sweet spot. Hyunji's chest had been cute enough that anything from a B-cup up would have satisfied me. I'd only ever seen a D-cup for the first time on Ju Hayeong, and only Rahi, when she was on her period, got about that large, so I'd never even laid eyes on anything bigger. I'd have to experience it myself to know. I knew Hayeong and Rahi were already enormous, and that sizes like theirs weren't common, but looking at those nuclear-warhead breasts, maybe the world had more huge chests than I'd thought.
"……Thank you. Um, where does a person buy underwear in a size that big?"
"I knew a man like you would ask straight off. You saw it too, didn't you, dear? Hasn't everything he's said been exactly to your liking?"
"……Yes. Even worrying about me. He really does seem like a good person. And his eyes are so pretty."
"They are. It's been a long time since I've seen anyone look at our Yeong-hee that purely."
"……Not as much as Master, though."
"Yeong-hee……"
"Master……"
It wasn't worry. It was curiosity. Somewhere along the way he'd slipped into addressing me the way a senior addresses a junior, but I didn't particularly mind. He'd been polite to me despite my age and treated me kindly; a form of address like that was only natural. I watched the two cockroaches tangle together again, then offered a goodbye.
"Then I'll really be going."
"Ah, there I go again. Sorry. Might I ask one last favor?"
"Yes. Go ahead."
"I'd like you not to speak of the group to anyone outside."
"I understand keeping it from being exposed, if that's about the risk. But is there a reason I have to hide it even from people I know?"
"Registered women are fine. To bring them to a banquet, a member of our Dowon has to ask their understanding anyway. People at the level of society's leadership know we exist, but ordinary folk can be startled. And this is for your sake, Shinwoo. There are those who are wary of multimales gathering. They make direct threats against one's person."
Ah. I remembered Hyunji and Rahi worrying about something similar before. Nothing had happened yet, but if even Kim Do-hoon was telling me to be careful, maybe I really did need to watch myself a little. There was the Song Gayeong incident, too. Doing as I'd been doing ought to be enough. And there was Han Gyeo-wool. That kick of hers, like a thrown javelin, had felt plenty reassuring. Kim Do-hoon, who had been watching me with a worried look, went on.
"If you experience stalking, or any crime beyond that, contact me at once. I can see it resolved to your satisfaction."
"Ah, thank you. I doubt anything like that will happen, though."
"Hm?"
I hesitated over whether to mention that I was under protection, then decided to just say it. I had the feeling that being on good terms with this man, Kim Do-hoon, wouldn't cost me anything. The information I'd picked up talking with him, a multimale, was already too valuable. I had a hunch I'd be getting a lot of help from him going forward, and the kindness he'd shown today was enough to earn a certain amount of trust.
"I'm under protection myself."
"……Protection?"
"Yes. It has something to do with the woman I'm seeing."
"……I had no idea."
But Kim Do-hoon's face, and Yeong-hee's, stiffened. Enough that I tilted my head. After a moment lost in thought, Kim Do-hoon asked, carefully.
"Don't misunderstand. When I looked into you, there was no trace of anything like that. I'm sorry to say it, but Dowon's intelligence is well above ordinary. Of course we didn't investigate you like we were hunting a rat, so something may have been missed—but this is a different matter."
"There have been times when a clumsy approach was taken as a threat."
Yeong-hee, picking up Kim Do-hoon's words, was staring at me with her eyes round.
"That's right. If we'd known you were under protection, the approach for a recruitment offer would have had to change. If we don't know, then Valhalla doesn't either. A security team that thorough about blocking information, in this country—"
It was Yeong-hee who cut him off.
"If even Dowon doesn't know, it would have to be on the level of Team Leader Han Gyeo-wool. Security teams of that caliber are all already under contract."
"Huh? How do you know Gyeo-wool?"
The name coming out of nowhere startled even me. At my words, Kim Do-hoon's eyes and Yeong-hee's went wide as washbasins, more startled still. At this rate they were going to pop out.
"……Wh-what relationship does young Shinwoo have with the Myeongdong Witch?"
"The Myeongdong Witch?"
"Lee Hyesun, that devil of a—"
"Master. If this is real, watch your words."
"Ah. Right. Yes. This might get collected, too."
Lee Hyesun. If it was Lee Hyesun, that was Hyunji's mother's name. The Myeongdong Witch? All I could remember was a woman so elegant and beautiful that the title of witch didn't suit her in the slightest. She'd spoken gently, and she'd been kind. I'd felt how dearly she treasured Hyunji. The way she looked after her daughter had been a little twisted, but she was a mother; I could see how that might happen.
"Yes. She's the mother of the woman I'm seeing."
"……Then that woman, Lee Hyunji—you're saying she's that Lee Hyesun's daughter, Lee Hyunji?"
"……That's right?"
"……I see. A nuclear bomb is about to drop on our Dowon. Still, it doesn't seem as if she's targeting young Shinwoo—"
"Master. Your words."
"Ah, yes. It's been a while since something flustered me like this."
"……What on earth. How do you know all this?"
"I'm sorry. I have no wish to get entangled with that person, so I'd rather not know more. You probably have nothing to worry about. Anyone who takes her fancy, she cherishes to a frightening degree."
"I've only met her once."
"……The fact that nothing has happened from that meeting until now is already enough to say you've taken her fancy. Quite apart from the matter of her daughter. There does seem to be something—"
"Master."
Surveillance. Surveillance, was it. Looked at a certain way, I could see how it might appear that way. But there hadn't been any unpleasant nuance like that at all. It had been the same when I talked with Han Gyeo-wool. Filing a report was something you did because your employer told you to.
……Have I been thinking about this too naively?
I was scratching my cheek, sunk in thought, when Yeong-hee whispered to Kim Do-hoon as if to stop him. He clamped his mouth shut in a hurry, looking as if he'd only just realized, and muttered.
"Ah. Right. I'm breaking into a cold sweat."
"Master. It's nearly time for our appointment, and today it would be better to leave. The things that have been said……"
"Ah, yes. I'm sorry the last goodbye turned strange, young Shinwoo. Contact me next time."
"……Ah. Yes."
I scratched my cheek, watching the two of them scramble into the car. Why were they so flustered? She'd seemed like such a good person. Her eyes had sparkled like a child's; I'd thought some innocence was still left in her. Enough that I'd come a little closer to understanding Chang-soo's thing for mature women.
Well, whatever.
If it was something I needed to know, our Hyunji would tell me herself. The words of Hyunji, who looked only at me and smiled, mattered more than Kim Do-hoon, whom I'd met for the first time today. I hated lies. Secrets, I welcomed. Secrets were what made a relationship between a man and a woman more fun. It wasn't as if I had none of my own. I'd already known Hyunji's mother was no ordinary person, and in the end nothing changed.
"Shinwoo."
"Ah. Were you listening?"
Rahi, who had come up without my noticing, carefully caught the edge of my coat with her fingertips. At that little gesture I turned my wrist and took her hand.
"No. I thought it might be rude…… I was watching from up there, and I came down when I saw them leaving."
"I think it would have been all right to listen. Want to know?"
I asked as we started toward the van, and Rahi smiled at me and nodded.
"Yes. I'm curious. He looked really rich."
"He did. Says he's a lawyer. Do you like that style?"
"……I do think it would suit you."
"Ah. You like suits?"
"……I don't think there's a woman who doesn't……"
True enough. It had been a while since I'd seen one myself. Kim Do-hoon's suit had fit him so well that even a man could think it looked good. It had been close to suit porn, and it seemed Rahi had a fantasy of her own. She flushed and stole glances at me, and I smiled quietly back, turning the thought over.
So……
Tomorrow, after the café, I had to go to Hyunji's performance in the evening, and on the weekend I had a date planned with Hyunji. There was something set with Go Yewon, too. Still, I hadn't pinned down an exact time with either of them. If I saw Hyunji's performance on Friday, there was no telling when it would end—ah. If I called Hyunji and suggested a date Saturday morning, that ought to work. Then the date with Rahi could be Sunday. I hoped the mall would be open, though.
"Want to go on a date Sunday?"
"Th-this Sunday……?"
"Yeah. Let's go shopping. You pick me a suit."
"……Really? I can pick? I don't know much about it…… Hyunji would know better……"
"I don't know much either. I want to wear what our Rahi wants to see, or what she likes."
"……Okay……"
How could anyone dislike a girl who got this moved over a single sentence of mine? The shy look on her, and the shine in her eyes that said she was touched, made me want to pull her into my arms right then. She watched me, her gaze going soft and wet, and a bit of mischief stirred. I leaned in and murmured.
"I need to buy some underwear, too. You'll pick it out, right?"
"……Ah…… Yes…… gulp……"
"And I want to pick some out for you."
"……Yes……"
"I'm going to dress you in all sorts of things."
"……I-I'll wear whatever you want to see, Shinwoo……"
"Then shall we go Sunday morning? I hope it's open."
"……O-okay…… We'll go after the morning run……"
"Yeah. Let's eat breakfast together, too. I've never gone running in the neighborhood."
"……Okay……"
Even in the middle of all that, Rahi wasn't about to skip her run. A short laugh escaped me. We walked up to the van; Rahi climbed into the passenger seat, I got behind the wheel, and I drove us home.
"Why so quiet today?"
"……It's just……"
She was plainly, oddly tense. Why? I hadn't seen Rahi this nervous in front of me lately. Had something happened today?