A Makjang Drama…?
A Makjang Drama…?
A woman who had been brainwashed as a child, unable to do anything without someone's command.
Her frozen life began moving again only after she was given the three-syllable name 'Seo Haru'.
It was thanks to the young man before her, Seo Yujin.
"Daddy. Why were you so late? You said you'd be gone for a hundred sleeps."
"Sorry, that's..."
"I'll forgive you, so—uppies."
Unfortunately, her mind had remained trapped in those days as well.
A furrow formed between Yujin's brows.
'I felt bad for my wives, but...'
The situation was pitiable, and he did want to help, but...
Still, wasn't she a grown woman?
Judging from her memories, her current age would be in her late twenties.
And he was supposed to indulge her whims?
Eating together, going to amusement parks. Giving her piggyback rides?
This was cheating. He was trash.
For someone who aspired to the contradiction of a devoted harem romance, it was something he desperately wanted to avoid.
-Whisper whisper.
"Association President, what should we do?"
"Hm? Just give her a piggyback ride. Wouldn't that be fine?"
"No, I mean, I'm afraid I might... touch her here and there..."
"...Hoh."
'With looks like his, had he really never been with a woman? Where had such a wholesome young man come from?'
Without knowing the context, it was prime material to be mistaken for a virgin, but anyway.
Afterward, Yujin and the Association President reached an agreement.
Regarding her treatment.
"I only have to look after her after my daily duties are finished?"
"Yes. You may be an awakener, but you are a cadet. I can't take away too much of your free time."
They agreed that Yujin would spend an hour or two with her each day in the role of her father.
"I will also compensate you for taking up your free time. I'll pay the average hourly rate for an A-rank awakener mission."
"...Did you just say, the average?"
"Yes. It would be too much trouble to nickel-and-dime you by calculating the average from solo missions alone."
"......I'll work like a dog at being her father, ma’am!!"
Having suddenly landed such a sweet part-time job, Yujin was all smiles.
Seol Hayeon, the Association President and Chairwoman, was also deeply satisfied.
"Well, on paper, you may need to help me a little with my own duties..."
"Just leave it to me!!"
"Hehe. Good, good."
'Even so, he probably had no practical experience, so I needed to get him started early.'
She had acquired an A-rank awakener who refused to cooperate when deployed yet was far too valuable to throw into prison.
On top of that, she had naturally drawn in Yujin, whom she had chosen as her successor.
Well, it would cost a bit of money.
Although it was a huge sum for Yujin, to a billionaire like her it was nothing more than pocket change.
She couldn't help being delighted at securing both prizes so cheaply.
"Alright, let's go then. Haru! Aren't you hungry? What do you want to eat?"
"Pork cutlet."
"Pork cutlet! I like pork cutlet too. Shall we go eat together?"
"Uppies."
"Okay, okay! I'll give you uppies too!"
"......Okay. I'll forgive you."
'I was mad that Daddy was late, but he was super weak, so he probably couldn't help it. And he was super nice and super, super handsome. I wasn't mad anymore.'
Seo Haru was simply happy.
Just seeing her father's face made her happy.
* * *
I headed to the cafeteria in a good mood with my temporary daughter, Haru.
A wide smile plastered on my lips.
Anyone watching might ask if I was really the same guy who'd been reluctant because it looked like cheating...
'They were counting this as a month-long A-rank mission? The average fee was one billion won, so two hours a day for a month... sixteen million won an hour? This was insane!!'
It was sixteen million won an hour, not sixteen thousand.
One billion won was normally money a whole team divided after accepting all kinds of risk.
I would be keeping all of it for myself.
An hourly wage of 16 million won.
Surely, even my wives would have to accept this.
'I had not known the old lady could be this generous. Had her heart softened in her final years?'
Thanks to that, the smile wouldn't leave my lips.
Man, 16 million won an hour?
The dopamine rush from earning this much as a newbie was incredible.
Of course, it was pocket change compared to what I'd earned before the regression...
Aah, already I could see top-of-the-line training equipment and Gate bidding rights flashing before my eyes.
Long live capitalism. Long live hypnosis. Long live my daughter.
"...Daddy's smiling. You like eating pork cutlet with me?"
"Of course, of course~! Daddy is very happy~!"
"Okay. I like Daddy too."
-Squeeze.
"Right. Let's hurry and eat some pork cutlet~."
'Haru's father, if nothing else, I promise I will feed her plenty of delicious food! Please rest easy!'
My 200-percent-sincere reaction left Haru highly satisfied as well.
Just like that, we cheerfully walked into the student cafeteria.
"So anyway, Yujin is just so frustratingly... Hm? Yujin?"
"Yujin!! About earlier, I'm sor— huh?"
'Huh. What were those two doing?'
The moment I walked in, I ran into my wives.
What was this? Had they been chatting over a cafeteria meal?
I greeted them brightly.
"Alice, Sia. I'm bac—"
"......What is with that girl?"
"Yujin......?"
-Shudder.
'What was this? Why was I scared?'
...Murderous glares came flying back.
What was this? Had I committed a capital crime or something?
Well, before the regression, I actually would have been doing something worth getting slapped for.
Since a taken man was walking around giving a piggyback ride to some random young woman.
But in this Second Round, none of them should have any feelings for me yet...
-Whisper whisper.
"Daddy. Those girls are glaring at me."
"......!!!"
"Haru was the problem!!"
Enlightenment came swiftly.
Who was my daughter? An Awakener with a history of smashing a building during the last academy attack incident.
She may not have hurt anyone, but to someone who didn't know that, she looked like a full-fledged villain too.
And if that image had been broadcast on TV or other media?
It was only natural they'd be staring like they wanted to kill her. Even I would be horrified if my wives came home carrying a villain, so that was a given.
I quickly opened my mouth to explain.
"I know what you're thinking, but no. Haru is my daughter!"
".........?"
-Silence.
A hush fell over the student cafeteria.
Even I went quiet after blurting that out, and so did Alice, Sia, and Haru.
The silence broke when the cafeteria nutritionist watching from a distance dropped a plate.
"A trashy soap opera...?"
-Crash!
".........What?!!!!!!"
"Wha, whaat!!!? You were a married man!!!!!?"
The silence broke with the sound of shattering plates.
Alice and Sia charged over with blazing eyes and confronted me.
Asking if I was a taken man.
...Ah. I had really put my foot in my mouth.
The 16-million-won-per-hour dopamine must have melted my brain and made me commit a moronic mistake.
'It was fine. They would all understand once I explained the situation.'
"The thing about this is..."
"Daddy. Who are these women? Are they my mommy?"
"...Huh?"
My tongue tied itself just as I tried to explain.
She had suddenly fired a hard inside fastball straight at me.
The fact that they were my former wives was top secret.
It was a secret I could never reveal before I married them again.
If I revealed it beforehand, from their perspective, they'd just go 'Eeek, stalker!'
But suddenly, that top-secret information was just dropped out in the open.
Even though I knew she hadn't meant it in that sense, my brain momentarily froze.
'They really were both my wives, but how was I supposed to say that?! I'd rather die than call them anything else!!'
"Th, that's..."
"What do you mean by that? You!!"
"Ye, Yeah!! Who would ever be the w, wife of a guy like this...."
"Which one of you is my mommy?"
Of course, the conversation didn't wait for my mental circuits to recover.
The three women started talking about this and that.
"Wh-what!!!? What are you talking about?"
"Daddy is Daddy, so of course he'd have a wife. Who is Daddy's wife?"
"Sia, am I misunderstanding Korean...? W-wife means someone you are married to..."
"She means wife, so stay out of this!! What have you been talking about this whole time!? And what's your relationship with Yujin anyway!!"
Main dealer. Yoo Sia.
A fierce assault poured out, as befitting a presumed S-rank skill holder.
"We're daddy and daughter."
"Don't lie! You, at a glance, look way older than him..."
"I dunno. Anyway, Daddy is Daddy."
But the person before her was an awakener at the very top of A-rank, as even the Association President acknowledged.
Without batting an eye, Haru evaded every attack.
What's more,
"Hmm... I don't think you're my mommy. If you were my mommy, the baby would cry from hunger."
"H, haaaaaah!!!!!?"
Extreme damage.
Hit by a critical blow in that one-sided damage trade, Sia hurriedly covered her chest.
As a bonus, she glared at me even though I had done nothing.
"Th-they are not small!? It is just these clothes. If I wore a push-up bra...!!!"
"Then is Pinky my mommy?"
"Ye, yes...?"
Seizing the opening, Haru dragged Alice into the melee as well.
It was a textbook frontal strategy: eliminate the close-range opponent first, then immediately crush the ranged attacker.
"I asked if Pinky was my mommy."
"Wh-what does that mean? Why would either of us be Yujin’s w-w-wi... wife in the first place...?"
"The way you two looked at Daddy told me."
Haru's attack spat fire this time too.
Merciless violence against a back-line dealer who couldn't possibly have understood the situation yet.
It was a combination that would catch any ordinary person flat-footed before they could react.
But my wife was on a different level.
"...Aha? Then shall I be your mommy? Hehe."
A composed parry!
A decisiveness almost unbelievable for a Magic-type Awakener, responding with a smile without succumbing to the opponent's provocation!
It was such a perfect defense that three perfect tens flashed across my mental scorecards as I watched.
Look. Even Sia was acknowledging it...
"What are you even saying now, you vixen!!! Yujin, you too, snap the hell out of it!!!!"
"Ah."
......No, wait. Why was I even doing a running commentary on this?
I had been so flustered that I had done something stupid.
I quickly stepped in to try and salvage the situation.
"The thing is, actually..."
"Daddy. So is that Pinky your wife after all?"
-BAM!!!!!!
"No, she is not, you idiot!!!? Why does it have to be her of all people!!!"
"Heeek!?"
'Sia is seriously pissed!!'
My damage-control attempt went flying in the face of Sia's genuine rage.
"Uh, hey. Sia. Wait a sec..."
"Heh. I'm not sure what kind of Korean-style joke this is... but admittedly, I do suit him a bit more."
"Alice, you shut your damn mouth!! Hey, you!! What did you mean by that, huh!?"
"C, calm..."
"Chest. Too small."
"It is NOT small!!!!!!!?"
...Because Sia had entered her berserk phase, I spent nearly ten minutes scrambling to calm her down.
I mean, poking at Sia's chest size would genuinely set her off.
I'd have to tip those two off secretly later.
That nitpicking her bust was, to a guy, a provocation on the level of 'Man, you suck at games.'
* * *
The next day.
"Nice to meet you all. I am the one who will teach you about Mana Manipulation..."
-Fizz.
"Professor. This is roughly my level, so would it be okay if I just went to the training room during your lectures from now on?"
"......What?"
The self-styled Second-Round Hypnosis Breeding Guy had started not hiding things.