Penguin Man?
Penguin Man? “Hey, Park Jin-young, you didn’t say anything weird, did you?” Park Jisu glared at him with her fierce eyes, but her little brother just snorted and shot back.
“What’s so great about a loser like that? Bro’s got some balls.”
“Tell me about it. Dude says he’d die without me, so I’m basically saving his life. Cut your brother-in-law some slack.”
Park Jisu was fuming as she watched us bro-ing out already, but it was time to bounce. No point hanging around someone else’s house too long. I slung my arm over Park Jisu’s shoulder and yanked her close.
“Eek!”
Ignoring her squeak, I turned to the dumbfounded Park Jin-young. “Bro-in-law, now that I’ve fetched my wife, we’re outta here. Hit those books hard.”
His sister squirming and playing cute in some guy’s arms had him looking green around the gills, like he was gonna hurl. After a quick goodbye, by the time we hit the parking lot, Park Jisu finally snapped to and started wriggling free in my arms.
“Wh-what the hell are you doing outside?”
I planted a kiss on her forehead as she flailed to escape. She went beet red and shut up. Cute as fuck, I smirked, bundled her into the car, and hopped in the driver’s seat.
“What’s... going on...”
Once she’d meekly buckled up, I peeled out. “You’re Association staff, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You know my ability’s Iron Man, yeah?”
“Uh-huh. So?”
She cocked her head all adorable-like, so I ruffled her hair. “Iron Man lets me graft mineral properties onto my body. Figured we could hit the auction house... You can tag along as staff, right?”
Park Jisu’s eyes sparkled—she’d never heard the full deets on my power. “Whoa! So you were that strong even without tweaking it?”
It was my pre-rank-up version she’d seen, but whatever. “Yup. Assignment’s done—perfect timing.”
She nodded, getting it.
“Plus, we got unfinished business.”
She pondered my mutter, then her pupils went apeshit. Today was prime time to school this cocky little wife proper.
The car tore down the road in steamy silence, pulling up to the Association’s auction house way later.
+++
“Give me the tour, Secretary Park.”
I spoke up to cut the tension—she was still fidgeting like a nervous virgin. Great in bed, sure, but zero initiative kinda killed the vibe. She’ll loosen up like Ritka eventually.
She finally perked up. Must’ve been here before; she started leading the way.
“Whoa! Check this out!”
But she got way more hyped than me, bouncing around like a kid, and soon the other guests were chuckling. Couldn’t blame ’em—she was having a blast.
“Wifey’s lit.”
“Wh-what’s your problem?”
Too late; she clocked how childish she looked. I shook my head and scoped the place.
Unlike the big public auctions for headline items, this was a show-and-buy setup—prices listed, managers handling deals. Perfect for eyeballing minerals en masse.
Rare metals are thin on the ground anyway...
A manager sidled up as we browsed. “Welcome. Looking for anything specific?”
I sipped the drink he handed over. “Yeah, rare metals.”
“Ah, ores are this way. Meisters love this corner.”
We hit a hall full of sleek gray displays.
“Right here. Enjoy.”
He dipped. I started scanning each mineral’s properties.
“Got a fave in mind?”
“Eh? Hardness goes without saying... Mana conductivity’s the real prize, I guess?”
Most rare metals were hard as fuck anyway. I needed standout traits.
With her help, we checked a ton, but nothing clicked.
All flawed somehow.
The keepers were refined for niches—high conductivity but fragile in certain conditions, self-repair but heavy as sin. Nothing body-ready.
Par for the course?
Modern industry tailored metals to specs. Flawless all-rounders? Snapped up by tycoons and S-ranks. Gutted, but expected.
Guess I gotta dip into another game world.
Decision made, I turned to split. No point wasting time.
“Let’s roll.”
“Already?”
We’d been there ages, but no dice. She tilted her head.
“Yeah, too flawed for body mods. Grub time.”
She recalled the specs and nodded.
“What’re we eating?”
Eyes gleaming. Not gukbap again, is it?
I shook my head and drove on.
“Hey? This ain’t the way?”
Ignoring her wistful stare at a passing gukbap joint, we pulled up to a swanky downtown hotel.
Her eyes quivered as reality hit. But she followed without a peep—clearly hyped.
Lucky no special event; rooms galore. Smooth check-in at the desk.
“Room service for dinner.”
“O-okay.”
Prime booze would heat things up nice.
> Eighth floor.
We stepped into the hall and keyed into 803. Fitting for a name-brand spot—pure luxury inside.
She forgot the situation again, gasping as she poked around. First time in a suite like this? Adorable.
“I got the menu. No allergies?”
“N-nope.”
“Shower up while I order—we walked a ton at the auction. I’ll rinse too.”
“O-okay... I’ll go first!”
I tossed her an out; she bolted. Big suite—small bathroom for me.
Together after. Heh heh.
Humming, I ordered. Sweet Moscato’d suit her.
Quick rinse, robed up, fiddling with my phone when the trolley rolled in: yukhoe bibimbap and samgyetang.
Gukbap fiend.
Pasta’d go to waste—she’d pick at it. If she digs it, she’ll beg to come back.
Wait, samgyetang’s basically soup too?
Hotel’s best shot at satisfying her. Scratching my head, she finally emerged robed, hair damp and sexy clinging to her nape like a photoshoot.
But her getup? I lost it.
“UHAHAHAHAHA!!! Penguin Man! Fuck! Kek. Penguin bitch!!”
“D-don’t laugh!”
“HAHA! Ngh! UHAHAHA!”
I cracked up nonstop; she flailed her stubby limbs, smacking me. Like cotton swabs—tickled.
“Heh. Fuck, good laugh. Ow, my gut.”
Neck flushed crimson under the robe. She sighed as I calmed.
“A big-ass hotel’s gotta have sizes, right? Fuck!”
Shortstack penguin vibes, arms windmilling in rage.
“Why? You’re fucking adorable.”
She grumbled but turned away pretending not to care. Never a dull day.
“Room service is here. Chow first.”
“Yeah.”
We sat; her face lit up.
“Whoa~ They do this too?”
“Demand’s demand.”
Tension gone, she grinned ear-to-ear. We chatted over bites, her constant “So good!” mixing with clinking dishes. Glad she was into it.