초보 육아
Pandora's box, said to unleash disaster upon opening, had been opened.
"Yu…Yuna. Th…this is what happened—."
"Excuse me, Cheon Seong."
As the door to his apartment opened, Seong had been about to launch into an explanation about Beatrice and Hana, but Yuna's calm demeanor as she stepped inside made him glance furtively over his shoulder.
"Wh…?"
Inside, there was no sign of Beatrice or Hana—only the ordinary sight of his plain one-room apartment.
"Hana is with me, so do not worry."
Beatrice's voice sounded in his mind. Seong looked around at the sudden intrusion, and her voice came again.
"This is me speaking from afar via telepathy. There is no need to search for me."
'Telepathy? Is this like telepathy?'
There was a magic similar to this. Telepathy was a communication spell that let two people inscribe mana marks on each other and converse across great distances.
But this didn't quite fit the definition of telepathy—there was no trace of Beatrice's mana mark on his body. Sensing his thoughts, Beatrice explained.
"Telepathy is a superior technique to the telepathy that uses mana marks. To be precise, telepathy was a magic created to imitate this. Telepathy is a technique that carries one's thoughts through mana to communicate."
From Beatrice's explanation, this telepathy was quite different from regular telepathy. Telepathy connected two people through mana marks to converse from afar, but this telepathy allowed communication even without any marks.
Still, from Seong's perspective, it didn't seem unconditionally superior to telepathy. Carrying thoughts through mana meant you had to know where the other person was, whereas telepathy worked as long as the mark remained intact—no matter how far apart or how little you knew of their location. Simply put, telepathy shone when both parties were close enough to locate each other, while telepathy excelled when they were too far apart to find one another.
'Well… at least it's a relief that Beatrice is taking Hana with her.'
Thinking back on it, he realized he didn't really need to worry. Beatrice was a powerhouse whose detection range was incomparable to his—even from vast distances, she could sense his presence. There was no way she hadn't noticed him coming with Yuna. He'd been so tense about Yuna's arrival that he'd forgotten about Beatrice's capabilities entirely.
"Cheon Seong? What are you doing, not coming in?"
"Ah… I just had something to think about, and I didn't even realize it."
The door clicked shut. Inside, Yuna was already unpacking the groceries he'd bought and prepping them.
"Hmm… what should I make? Oh? Wait, Cheon Seong—were you planning to make galbi?"
"Yeah. I was going to make galbi… no, I just wanted to eat it for the first time in a while."
"Hmm~~ Really? Then I'll make it for you!"
"If you're making it, Yuna, anything you make will taste great."
"Flattery won't get you anywhere. Sit and wait. I'll have it ready soon."
Yuna pushed Seong back onto the bed and went back to prepping the ingredients.
"Hmm? But Cheon Seong, why did you buy snacks? I thought you didn't really like snacks that much?"
A sharp pang hit him.
Yuna had spotted the snacks he'd bought for Hana. Sweat beaded on Seong's forehead as he stammered a reply.
"Ah… th… that's… I was thinking… maybe… I'd try them this time. Wh… when… when I'm resting at home."
"Wow! Really, Cheon Seong? That's a great idea! It's not good to just train every day! You should rest when you rest!"
Thankfully, his excuse seemed to work—Yuna clapped her hands in delight and agreed enthusiastically.
"Phew…"
Seong exhaled in relief, having survived another crisis—when a voice from behind him made him jump.
"Daddy."
"H…Hana!?"
Hana's voice, which absolutely should not have been heard right now, made Seong freeze. Seeing his reaction, Hana giggled and wrapped her arms around him from behind.
"Daddy, I've never seen you look like that before."
"Ah… no, that's not it, Hana. Wh… why are you here? What if we get caught?"
"Do not worry, my lord. Right now, only you can see and hear Hana and me."
"Beatrice, you too!?"
Beatrice's sudden appearance startled Seong even more. His voice rose in alarm, and he immediately clamped a hand over his mouth.
"My lord, I have of course taken measures so that your voice cannot be heard either."
"Haah… You should've told me that sooner. I was really scared."
"Hmm… a surprise?"
"Yeah… quite the surprise."
He'd been so startled his heart nearly dropped out of his chest.
He'd already been on edge from the look Yuna had given him earlier, and now if she found out he was living with Beatrice and Hana…
He didn't even want to imagine it.
His hands trembled.
'Just thinking about it is terrifying.'
It had always been this way. Whenever he spoke briefly with another woman—regardless of the topic—Yuna would appear out of nowhere, drag him away, and give him that same clouded look while demanding to know what they'd talked about.
If she reacted like that to a brief conversation with a stranger, what would happen if she saw Beatrice living with him and Hana calling him "Daddy"…
'Don't think about it. This is something I can't think about…'
Seong stopped himself and made a resolve. Under no circumstances could Yuna find out about this life. No matter what happened.
Something had changed about Cheon Seong.
Of course, it was a good change, so that was nice.
Yuna had noticed immediately that Seong, who had always been expressionless and cold, was smiling more often lately and seemed warmer somehow.
He'd smiled and been affectionate during their dates before, but never to this extent.
What could it be?
What had changed him?
'Could it be… he's found another woman?'
*Snap.*
The wooden chopstick in Yuna's grip, tightened with force, snapped in two.
No.
That was absolutely not allowed.
There was no way another woman could come between her and Seong. Absolutely not.
He was already so handsome that women had been approaching him since he was young, and it had taken her a long time to clear them all out. Was there going to be someone new to deal with?
'And that woman from earlier…'
The red-haired woman who had saved her alongside Seong when she'd nearly been taken by those thugs.
That woman had asked Seong if he'd seen her before, and Seong had answered while avoiding her gaze… Could it be because of her?
Of course, she was immensely grateful for being saved. Thanks to them, she'd been able to keep her purity for Seong.
But that and this were separate matters.
Being saved was something she was deeply thankful for, but Seong was off-limits.
That woman was a beauty, too, she had to admit.
But if someone asked whether she was inferior to that woman… well, that was debatable.
'I'm definitely winning in some areas, but I'm not sure about others.'
She'd been called beautiful wherever she went, and she'd already received more than ten confessions—but that woman was undeniably gorgeous to anyone who looked at her.
And what other people thought didn't matter.
She only wanted to look beautiful for Seong. She only wanted to be loved by Seong. She only wanted to be touched by Seong.
But what if Seong chose someone other than her?
Yuna herself didn't know what she would do.
But one thing was certain: she would never let Seong go. No matter what she had to do, she would never let him go.
Under any circumstances.
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"Cheon Seong, I'm heading out now. The galbi is all done, so make sure you eat it. Got it?"
"I will, Yuna. Should I walk you home?"
"No~ Why would you walk me all the way home? But if you really want to, Cheon Seong, you can~"
It was obvious she wanted him to walk her home. Seong smiled and stood up from the bed.
"Let's go. I'll walk you home."
"Beatrice, I'm going to walk Yuna home, so please make sure Hana eats."
"Understood. Take care."
Seong sent a telepathic message to Beatrice through the mark he'd inscribed earlier, then left the apartment with Yuna.
The door clicked shut. Beatrice dispelled the magic that had hidden her and rose from her seat.
"Mommy, who was that lady who just came by?"
"…She could also be called another mother of yours."
"That lady is Hana's mommy too? But why? Hana only has one mommy—Mommy."
Beatrice met Hana's gaze and answered.
"I would like to say that, but I cannot. Cheon Seong likes that other mother as well."
"Daddy likes that lady too? More than Mommy?"
"I do not know that either. But it is certain that they like each other."
"Then Daddy's a cheater?"
Beatrice laughed aloud at Hana's words.
"Indeed. Hana's daddy is a cheater. But it is fine."
"Why? Does Mommy not like it when Daddy only looks at Mommy?"
"That is not it. Of course, I would also like Daddy to look only at me."
"Then why is it okay?"
"Because I love him. It is fine because I love Cheon Seong. Even if Cheon Seong does not look only at me, I look only at Cheon Seong and love him, so it is fine for me."
Beatrice stroked the head of Hana, who looked at her with a face that still didn't quite understand, and spoke.
"The one who loves first is the one who loses. You lose because you love, and you endure because you love. Hana is still young, so it is difficult to understand, but one day you will come to know."
That the one who loves first is the one who loses. That you lose because you love.
"Fucking useless thug bastards! What's so hard about dragging one woman away that you can't even do that!"
*Bang!!*
*Bang!!*
Cheon Yu-seong slammed his fist onto the desk in a rage, then ran a hand through his hair and muttered.
"And why the hell did those guys show up out of nowhere!"
The thugs who had been dragging Yuna away earlier were ones he'd hired. Before entering the academy, he'd tried to get close to Yuna by having her placed in danger and then saving her himself—but it had failed.
"I can forgive that halfwit, but why the hell was Yoo Hwa-young there!"
In the novel, Yoo Hwa-young was someone who did nothing if she wasn't interested. That was why she rarely left the house. So why had she come out this time to save Yuna?
And that halfwit. The guy who was supposed to be separated from Yuna had gotten even closer to her instead.
"Haah… no. Let's think positively. That halfwit isn't even going to get into the academy anyway. I'll just make another plan."
That halfwit would fail the academy's first entrance exam—the mana test. He'd just have to comfort Yuna when she was sad about it and get close to her that way.
"Right. That'll work. Incidents happen at the academy too. I'll just save Yuna when she's in danger then."
That's how it'll work.
After all, I'm the protagonist.