Chapter 162: A Distorted Hero (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 162: A Distorted Hero (3)
The excruciatingly long four-hour drive—including a thirty-minute stop at a rest area for a bathroom break and some snacks to fill our empty stomachs—was finally over.
“Whoa…!”
Jeong-hee’s face was brighter than ever as she gazed at the pure white snowfield spread out before her.
I guess it was only natural, seeing as we’d finally arrived at the ski resort she’d been so desperate to visit.
“Haaam…”
Shin Yu-jeong, who had eaten her fill at the rest stop and promptly fallen into a deep sleep, stretched lazily as she got out of the car. She, too, wore a pleasant smile.
Before we left, she’d done nothing but complain, saying it would’ve been better if it were just the two of them, or that this was cutting into her training time—spitting nothing but fire. But now that she was here, it seemed she was enjoying it in her own way.
“Hey, you two! Let’s go, hurry!”
Jeong-hee walked ahead as if every second we stood around was a waste.
Then, she stopped dead in her tracks and asked with an awkward smile.
“So, what do we do first?”
“First, we check in and drop off our bags.”
“Ah, right!”
We grabbed our luggage from the trunk and headed toward the hotel located inside the resort.
The hotel’s name was the ‘Snow Royal Hotel.’
As some might have guessed, it was one of the many branches of the Grand Royal Hotel.
Apparently, Manager Kim Seong-tae was close with the owner of this ski resort, and that owner had personally contacted the hotel manager here to book rooms for us.
“I have a reservation under the name Kim Do-jin.”
The moment I gave my name, nearby hotel staff approached and took our bags.
“We’ve been expecting you, Mr. Kim Do-jin. We will guide you to your rooms.”
“Ah, yes…”
Bewildered by the excessive kindness—a first for this body—I followed them.
They led us to three separate single rooms on the 20th floor.
This was something I had specifically requested through Manager Kim Seong-tae.
Why?
Because if we got a three-person room, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. If we got one double and one single, one of them might get caught trying to sneak out.
But with separate single rooms?
Whether I went to them or they came to me, the risk was significantly lower.
“This room is amazing…”
I set my bag down in a corner and looked around. The room was larger than I expected.
The bed was big enough for two to lie down comfortably, and beyond the floor-to-ceiling window that replaced one wall was a stunning view of the clear sky and the white snowfield.
I also liked the ambiguously sized bathtub, which looked like two people would have to press their bodies tightly together to fit.
After working up a good sweat, we could plunge in there, our bodies flush against each other…
Knock, knock, knock!
Just as I was sinking into a lewd fantasy, someone knocked on the door.
“Hey! Mom says to hurry up and come out.”
“Got it.”
Right. I’d almost forgotten that Jeong-hee was practically vibrating with excitement to go skiing.
I grabbed my smartphone and wallet and went outside, heading to the ski rental shop with the two of them.
Before coming here, we’d debated for a while whether to buy or rent our gear, ultimately deciding to rent.
It was the result of Jeong-hee’s strong argument that since we’d never been before and didn’t know if we’d come again, buying everything would be a waste.
“Hey, what are you gonna ride?”
“Hmm… what about you?”
“I’m snowboarding.”
“I see.”
After changing into ski clothes that fit me perfectly, I stood for a moment, thinking.
Should I ski or snowboard?
For the record, my skill level was about the same for both.
Just barely good enough to make it down the beginner’s course.
Watching Yu-jeong rent a snowboard and Jeong-hee rent skis, I made my decision.
“I’ll take the skis, please.”
Yu-jeong already seemed to be a proficient snowboarder, so I figured I’d teach Jeong-hee a little as we went.
“…You’re skiing?”
“Yeah. Since it’s your mom’s first time, I thought I’d teach her.”
As I came out with my skis, Yu-jeong pouted slightly.
Was she upset she couldn’t ride with me?
“D-Do-jin… how do I do this?”
Just as I was about to comfort her a little, Jeong-hee, who had plopped down in the snow and was struggling, called out to me.
In the end, I just gave Yu-jeong’s shoulder a few pats before going over to help Jeong-hee with her gear. Then, I led the stumbling woman onto the ski lift.
As the lift ascended, Jeong-hee, sitting beside me, quietly hugged my arm.
“It’s a… a little scary.”
“Are you afraid of heights?”
“Yeah… not severely, just a little?”
A smile formed on my face at this unexpected side of her, who always acted so sharp and fearless.
Then again.
Why wouldn't Jeong-hee have things she was afraid of?
After sending her husband far away, she had to live as the head of the household. She probably just acted like nothing scared her.
The things one does as the head of a family.
I helped her off when we finally reached the top of the beginner’s course.
“I’m going to teach you how to ski now, so follow me closely.”
“Hoho! Okay, teacher.”
“Oh…”
The word ‘teacher,’ which Jeong-hee had said so suddenly, resonated in my chest.
It was an overwhelming feeling, hard to describe with words.
A sudden inspiration struck me.
Maybe trying some teacher or nurse cosplay role-play later would be a good idea…?
Just then, Yu-jeong, who had put on her goggles and was ready to go, cut in between us.
“Well, I’m heading down first.”
“Okay, honey! Your mom will be right behind you!”
Yu-jeong gave a faint smile at her mother’s excessive enthusiasm and carved her way down through the snow.
As I watched her go, I muttered to myself without realizing it.
“Fucking cool…”
Even in a bulky ski suit that hid her figure and with goggles on, she radiated coolness.
Her posture and speed as she cut through the snow were definitely not at a level for the beginner’s course.
“Do-jin! What do I do now?”
“Ah, right. First…”
I snapped back to my senses and began teaching Jeong-hee the basics of skiing.
Starting with the golden rule of ski lessons—how to fall safely—all the way to making an ‘A’ shape with her skis to slide down slowly.
After a few runs, she was able to make it down the beginner’s course on her own, and we skied together at a leisurely pace.
As I took the overjoyed Jeong-hee back up the lift for another run, I remembered something I’d forgotten.
I don’t think I’ve seen Yu-jeong for a while… did she go somewhere else?
“Do-jin, let’s go down!”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
I quickly dismissed the thought.
Seeing her skills earlier, it was clear the beginner’s course was a waste of her talent.
She was probably whooshing down the intermediate or advanced slopes by now.
With that thought, I started down the slope once more.
But why did the back of my neck feel so prickly…?
*
It’s a strange thing, falling asleep in a car.
You feel like you’re in a deep, pleasant sleep, yet you can clearly hear the voices chattering around you.
That was the case for Shin Yu-jeong, who had been purring contentedly in the back seat.
Listening to the conversation between the other two, who were talking in high spirits about something so delightful, she felt a strange sensation creep over her.
“Since you’re young again, you should do all the things you wanted to do back then but couldn’t.”
“…Will you do them with me?”
“Hehe, of course.”
A conversation with a strange nuance.
It wasn’t like they were saying anything they shouldn’t.
Her mother had suddenly become young again, brimming with new energy and a long list of things she wanted to do.
And Kim Do-jin was practically a son to her, so what was the big deal about them sharing a hobby or activity, especially when they were already traveling together? But…
‘It just keeps bothering me…’
It kept weighing on her mind.
Part of it was because Seo Jeong-hee had become so incredibly young.
Before, seeing them together didn’t spark any particular thoughts. But now, when they stood next to each other, they just looked like a couple with a bit of an age gap.
So, watching them being so friendly with each other felt… how should she put it? It felt like watching her man help another woman separate her perilla leaves.
That’s how much she disliked it.
“Hoo…”
Even after arriving at the resort, seeing them stick so close together under the pretext of him teaching her how to ski filled her with regret.
‘…Shit, I should’ve just rented skis.’
If she had rented skis instead of a snowboard, she could have been the one teaching him, and she wouldn’t have had to see that.
Tired of watching them, Shin Yu-jeong deliberately headed for the advanced course. After speeding down to the bottom, she pulled off her goggles with an irritated gesture and sighed.
“Ah, what is wrong with me…”
She thought a refreshing ride down in the cold wind would clear her head, but it hadn’t.
Finding her own behavior ridiculous, she let out an involuntary laugh.
“Puhaha…”
A woman getting jealous over her man being nice to her mother-in-law-to-be, who was practically her own mother.
Wasn’t that the kind of story the whole world would tease her about forever?
At the same time, she was just amazed.
To think that she, who’d never had the slightest interest in men, could change so much.
No, actually, she still had no interest in men.
Her attention was directed at one person and one person only: Kim Do-jin.
“This isn’t fun.”
Suddenly, everything felt boring.
Would it have been fun if she had been riding with Kim Do-jin?
Probably.
She sat down right there, took off her snowboard, and a small smile graced her lips.
“Maybe I should ask him to go on a trip later, just the two of us…?”
He was more of a pervert than she’d expected, so if she told him she had a special event planned for the night, he’d probably follow along eagerly.
Just as she was about to get up, someone suddenly extended a hand to her.
A man’s rough hand.
Hoping it might be Kim Do-jin, she looked up with a bright expression, only to be immediately disappointed.
A man she’d never seen before was standing there with a smile.
“I don’t need it.”
She coldly rejected his hand and stood up on her own.
The man awkwardly retracted his hand and blocked her path.
“You seem to be here alone. If you’d like, do you want to hang out with me? I’m by myself too.”
“……”
Shin Yu-jeong looked the man, who was smiling confidently, up and down with an indifferent gaze.
A handsome face and a tall frame.
He seemed to have the specs to confidently hit on a woman in a place like this.
A thought suddenly occurred to her.
If she took this man and skied down with him in front of Kim Do-jin…
‘Should I try to make him jealous…?’
The idea was quite tempting.
But that was as far as it went.
“Not interested.”
Provoking jealousy with another man was just childish.
If it happened naturally, that was one thing, but she didn’t want to use someone else to do something like that.
Besides, she knew her own limits.
‘Playing games is for people who know how. That’s not me.’
She knew her personality was terrible at skillfully pushing and pulling the line between a man and a woman.
Passing the man, Shin Yu-jeong immediately returned her snowboard and headed for the hotel.
Rather than ride alone and be bored, she would wait for another opportunity.
After all, the greatest progress between a man and a woman is made at night.
While Kim Do-jin was exhausting his stamina skiing, she would recover. Then, when he was at his most tired, she would storm his room and launch a physical offensive.
“I’ll make him cum at least ten times tonight, hehe…”
Maybe she would even see Kim Do-jin crying and begging her to stop for the first time.
“You’re so dead, Kim Do-jin.”
Ding!
Licking her lips, she stepped out of the elevator, about to tap her card key on her door and go inside.
Suddenly, a sharp pain pricked the back of her neck, and she let out a short cry.
“Ah…!”
She tried to turn around to see what was happening, but she couldn’t.
Her body had frozen solid, unable to move even a single finger.
And that wasn’t all.
Her vision began to swim, and her consciousness started to fade.
As her mind drifted into the distance, a woman’s voice, as cold as a winter frost, tapped at her ears.
“Final preparations are complete. We will commence the operation as soon as you give the order.”
With those words she couldn’t quite comprehend, Shin Yu-jeong finally lost consciousness and collapsed.