Chapter 41
Chapter 41
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Before the Cafe Opens, A Short Holiday (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I started dating both Yu-ra noona and Seo-yeon.
[No, I don't want to acknowledge you as the main wife anymore.]
[...Mr. Deuk-jong? What on earth are you talking about?]
Polygamy.
After unintentionally forming a harem, while gathering all sorts of information on harems to smoothly maintain my relationships with the two of them, watching a certain program that caught my interest became a new hobby.
[Your second wife is better than you.]
[Pardon? You prefer Seung-yeon over me? Why? Is there something I failed to do for you?]
[Hmph! That damn job! Job! Job! You're always working and never paying any attention to me! Every time we meet, we just go to a motel! You don't care one bit about my feelings—you only like my body!]
"Ooh..."
The name of the program was *Harem and War*.
It was similar to *Love and War*, but this one was a sort of documentary reconstructing real stories that happened to men who formed harems and the women who loved them.
[So you're casting me aside to make that bitch the main wife?]
"No. I want you to leave my harem entirely. I don't want to date a pervert who only likes my body anymore."
[Mr. Deuk-jong, are you sure you won't regret saying that?]
"Never!"
I crunched into a piece of fried bread crust and chugged some zero-calorie cola.
[Hey! You, you! Put down that knife!]
[Mr. Deuk-jong... If we can't be together in this life, then let's be together in the next...]
[D-don't come closer! Stay back!]
"Wow..."
Who would have thought she'd kill the man for kicking her out of the harem and then commit suicide herself.
What was even more shocking was that this was based on a true story, not a movie.
"There are all sorts of things happening in the real world."
And with that, episode 27 of *Harem and War* came to an end. I'd thought there wouldn't be many episodes since so few men actually formed harems, but it turned out to be a super long-running hit show that's been airing for 20 years already.
"I really had no idea about the real world."
The gender ratio is 3:7 for men to women, but Korea's current population is 70 million.
That means there are over 21 million men.
According to the National Statistics Office, about 5% of men are in polygamous relationships or have formed harems, meaning over 1.05 million men are dating or married to multiple women.
"And it's not just Korean cases—they include foreign ones too, so the material must be endless."
In my previous life, I'd never watched dramas or anything like that, but now that I'm watching, I can't believe I never did before. They're so entertaining.
Among them, love triangles fueled by romance are top-tier clickbait, and harems are the perfect setup for that kind of drama, so it's no wonder I binged through 27 episodes in just two days.
"And... not all women are sweet and gentle."
I'd vaguely realized that a little while ago and looked into it.
Who knew I'd learn more through a drama like this.
I've only watched 27 episodes so far, but I can't even count how many ugly sides of women I've seen in those.
"They're not that different from men in my previous life."
One woman joined a two-timing harem, got caught by the men, and was kicked out.
Another overdid it with her man at night, got sued for divorce, then turned around and claimed he didn't love her, assaulted him, and got arrested.
In the worst cases, like the one I just saw, they even committed murder.
"I'd seen news about domestic violence and murders by women in my previous life too. Same as always."
Of course, it wasn't just women. Men were the same.
With harems legally recognized, there were hardly any adultery charges, but on the flip side, some men demanded money in exchange for dating women or scammed them out of their newlywed homes.
In extreme cases, men with good abilities would try to poison women who wouldn't give them the time of day with laxatives or arsenic...
"The world may have flipped genders, but people haven't changed."
Realizing this brought to mind a famous post from a community in my previous life.
[Good-looking, pretty people have better personalities. Everyone around them treats them kindly, no one shows hostility. Their world is a warm Eden, full of good, kind people from fairy tales. As for us ugly ones? Well, no need to explain further.]
I definitely only met good people.
Or maybe... they became good people because they were around me?
"If I think about Seo-yeon, maybe that's it."
Forget her Go Jin-yo days—looking only at her actions afterward, she was just a career woman who worked hard, but remembering what she showed me on our first date...
"Ugh... I don't want to remember..."
Who would have thought Seo-yeon was a total otaku!
I respect people's tastes no matter what, but what she showed me crossed the line big time.
"Cheering for a fictional character like that."
There was this meme in my previous life about otakus and something called "Pao Yun."
Thank goodness women in this era have a high awakener rate, and awakeners can easily sculpt their bodies with a bit of exercise, so there weren't many with the "material ratio" for Pao Yun.
[Jun-hyuk, for our next date, want to hit up a comic convention? I've never been, but it'd be fun with you! We could do cosplay too!]
I don't know what a "seoko" is, but I know cosplay.
At the end of that movie, a character who looked just like me appeared, so she must have meant cosplaying as that one.
I'd held it together the whole date, but at the end, I couldn't help making a sour face, and I still remember how Seo-yeon's expression crumbled too.
"Well, thanks to that, we didn't go to whatever seoko it was."
So the world I knew has changed a bit. Come to think of it, in my previous life, I had friends who thought all women were angels like in stories. Who knew I'd become one of them.
At least I know now.
"Should I check out the porn sites again?"
This time, I'll explore more sites.
But not today.
"Time's flown by already."
I'd made time after a while to have a dinner date with Yu-ra noona.
With the appointed time approaching, I changed clothes and waited outside the house.
'Noona doesn't have any hidden sides like Seo-yeon, right?'
I hadn't dated Yu-ra noona often, but we'd talked and messaged frequently, so I was confident we knew each other well.
A kind woman who treats me well and has no weird hobbies.
An EX-rank awakener and member of Korea's number one hunter guild, yet she never pulls rank—a model of goodness.
Beep beep-!
As I was thinking about noona, a car pulled up in front of the house and honked.
'Huh? That car...'
In my previous life, I never cared much about cars. I was always a walker, same now, but I recognized this one.
'A Rolls-Royce?'
The pinnacle of luxury sedans, one that no amount of money can buy without the right status—only those with both wealth and fame can ride it?
Why was one parked in front of our house?
'Yu-ra noona drives a guild-issued limo, so not her. Who is it?'
The sedan drew closer and stopped right in front of me.
The driver's side window rolled down, and an unexpected person smiled at me.
"Jun-hyuk, hop in!"
＊＊＊
'It really is nice.'
Seated in the passenger seat, I looked around the car's interior. As expected of a luxury sedan—the ride was smooth, and the inside was perfectly stylish and comfortable.
But on the contrary, my mind was filled with doubts.
'Why this car all of a sudden?'
Noona would certainly qualify for a Rolls-Royce, but I still remembered our conversation.
[Cars are fine as long as they get you around. The guild provides vehicles anyway, so why buy one? If I can't use the guild car, public transport works. Spending money on a car I won't use often feels wasteful.]
That was when I'd asked if she had her own car.
Yu-ra noona didn't have a personal one since she had the guild limo, so why was she here in such an expensive ride?
"Noona, is this your car?"
"Yeah. I just got it recently. What do you think?"
"It's great. Clean and cool."
"Right?"
I snuck a glance at noona while she drove. Unlike our last date, she wasn't in a dress but a suit, decked out in all sorts of accessories.
'No, what's with all this?'
A gold necklace studded with gems.
Matching gold earrings, and a massive gold watch peeking from her sleeve.
Every piece looked insanely expensive.
'Is she going for the nouveau riche vibe?'
There's no effect without a cause.
There had to be a reason for Yu-ra noona's sudden look, so I pondered it.
'Gender reversal filter ON!'
Thinking from my previous life's perspective. If a guy suddenly flaunts his wealth, ditching his frugal image to show off to his girlfriend—what's the reason?
'Obvious. He wants to impress her. Wants to show off how capable he is.'
Aha, got it.
This was straight out of an episode of *Harem and War*!?
'There was that woman who took out loans to deck herself in luxury brands to impress a guy, ended up chased by loan sharks, turned to robbery, and ruined her life.'
So why was Yu-ra noona suddenly trying to impress me like this?
That, too, was solved with knowledge from *Harem and War*.
'Because I went on a date with Seo-yeon. She's worried my feelings might lean toward Seo-yeon.'
High probability. Like before, noona hadn't looked thrilled when accepting Seo-yeon.
She probably allowed it out of consideration for me, so naturally, she'd see Seo-yeon as a rival.
'Noona, you're unexpectedly cute.'
Did she think my feelings might waver?
Noona's my eternal main wife in my heart, but sigh, I can't just open my chest and show her.
'For now, I'll play along.'
Acting like this forever would be a problem, but for one day, it's fine.
Of course, before the date ends, I need to bring her back to the real Yu-ra noona—and I just thought of how.
'I'll use that method. Gotta act a bit.'
So for now, I'll say what noona wants to hear.
"I've thought this before, but noona, you're really amazing."
"Huh? Why all of a sudden?"
"I don't know much about cars, but this one—you can't buy it without both wealth and fame, right? And noona drives it around. So cool."
"It's nothing special."
Her words sounded sincere, like it was no big deal, but her mouth corner had been twitching since earlier.
'Alright, then...'
Wonder what noona prepared for this nouveau riche date? Let's enjoy it.