I'd Rather Have an S-Rank Gate (2)
I'd Rather Have an S-Rank Gate (2)
One of the highlights of any amusement park: the haunted house.
The ghosts inside were supposedly incorporeal monsters captured from Gates by Awakeners themselves...
—Whisper, whisper.
"Ready?"
"Yeah. Today, we are going to make history."
...Naturally, they weren't monsters at all, merely humans in costume.
Today, however, the costumed employees' professional dedication rivaled that of real ghosts.
The reason was the Sia-Yujin pair who had just entered.
'He said he liked one of those three. Could it be Yoo Sia...?'
'Any Korean should support Sia. Absolutely.'
'Imagine telling the story over drinks later. Hey, I brought Korea's representative Awakeners together. Damn.'
What sort of place was a haunted house?
A dark interior. An eerie atmosphere. A heart pounding with fear.
Beside you was someone of the opposite sex who would protect you—or whom you had to protect.
Physical contact followed naturally.
Then the suspension-bridge effect slowly disguised fear as love...
and when the couple finally stepped out of the haunted house?
They emerged closer than ever, laughing happily together.
The ghosts exchanged triumphant cheers over another successful match.
The employees took some pride in considering themselves matchmakers.
Today, however, unprecedented guests had arrived in more ways than one.
Naturally, the employees burned with determination to bring together a couple who would go down in Korean history.
Armed with that solemn resolve, they headed into the attraction to frighten the pair...
"———Which bitch is it, Aika or Alice?"
—Freeze.
"......?"
They froze in the employee passage.
The well-costumed ghosts' eyes wandered helplessly through empty space.
'What was this? Were those two not here to get together? What the hell was going on?'
'They had been walking arm in arm and smiling outside, but the moment they were alone in the dark, her voice dropped to that temperature? Terrifying.'
They'd expected a heart-fluttering romance and tried to help.
Instead, they received a thriller—suspense frightening enough to make even ghosts recoil.
After exchanging cautious looks, they slowly began backing away.
"Should we let the couple enjoy themselves for a while...?"
"Y-yes, that would be best. Even ghosts need to choose the right time and place. Absolutely."
'If we kept eavesdropping and Yoo Sia caught us, we'd get fired.'
Yoo Sia's pressure was enough to make even the ghosts retreat in terror.
If the chill terrified people through a wall, how much worse must it have been in person?
Yujin's eyes darted in every direction.
"Wh-what did you mean...?"
"You said you loved one of the three of us. I asked who."
"......."
'Why did she sound angry? Why!?'
Yujin simply couldn't understand.
She'd clung to his arm and acted like his girlfriend, only to change completely the moment they entered the darkness.
And now she was interrogating him about whom he liked?
No. Sia, why did you assume it wasn't you?
I liked you too. Just as much as I liked the other two.
'But she could not possibly want a confession like that... right?'
Was that the confession Sia wanted?
Probably not. She was rational, so there had to be another reason.
I couldn't understand it at all. Unless she liked me and was sulking, nothing explained this.
Those thoughts left Yujin utterly confused.
"If you don't answer...."
—Squeeeze.
"You know my ability, right? I control darkness. And it happens to be dark in here. You had better answer carefully."
"Eeeek...."
Yet all Sia did was hug Yujin's arm more tightly.
So tightly that his forearm pressed deep between her breasts and flattened them.
That was how furious she was...
—Thump, thump.
'H-he couldn't hear my heartbeat, could he? He wouldn't think I was a pervert, right? Would he think I had lured him into the darkness to pounce on him?!'
...She wasn't nearly as angry as she appeared.
She'd certainly meant to confront him angrily at first.
But after walking around arm in arm, her anger had naturally melted away.
Perhaps this was why women made such a fuss about dates.
Sia was rather excited by her first amusement-park date.
"......."
'How angry was she if I could feel her heartbeat through my arm?! Had I truly done something wrong!?'
The only problem was that Yujin mistook her excitement for pure rage.
The wholesome young man immediately pressed the surrender button.
He made full use of the Wisdom of a Married Man: when your wife was angry, apologize first and ask questions later.
"Sorry. I...."
"Sorry? For what?"
—Squeeze.
"......."
'I'd rather clear an S-rank Gate!! Save me!!!'
Naturally, the Wisdom of a Married Man failed.
Sia continued inching Yujin toward the wall.
She pretended to be angry while unconsciously seeking more physical contact.
Their stomachs pressed together.
—Press.
"Why aren't you saying anything? I told you to explain what you did wrong."
"W-well...."
"Did you never consider that announcing you liked one of the three of us without consulting me would put me in an awkward position?"
"I thought you, of all people, would know how to make good use of attention like this...."
"And what does that make me if you start dating another woman?"
Their bodies overlapped. Her breasts flattened against him, proclaiming how little substance they possessed.
The brown eyes looking up at Yujin dripped with sweetness.
Each flick of her tongue sent a puff of fresh breath across Yujin's face.
'This was crossing the line a little... Ah, whatever♡'
—Slide.
"Did you screw up or not?"
As if that weren't enough, her knee subtly slipped between Yujin's thighs.
It declared that she wouldn't hesitate to use inhumane violence if he refused to answer...
while creating a scene that would look like sexual assault to any observer.
Haru's eyes sparkled.
—Stare.
'Dad's precious place was about to touch Flatty. They were going to do something embarrassing.'
Hadn't Yujin said so during the shoulder ride?
If we did that, your precious part would touch me, so we couldn’t.
Even innocent Haru understood that he had meant the crotch.
She merely didn't understand why it was embarrassing.
And now a live practical lesson in sex education was unfolding before her eyes?
Haru was fascinated.
The child who'd barely listened to the Chairwoman while doing other things now displayed the finest learning attitude of her life.
'What was the embarrassing thing? Why was it embarrassing?'
—Stare.
"......."
'Haru, don't just watch—help meeeee!!! You said you'd protect Dad! Had you deceived meeee!!!?'
At that sight, the wholesome young man entered his second panic.
His wife pinned him down with her body while interrogating him about which bitch it was.
His adopted daughter watched with an expression that suggested she wished she had popcorn.
All he could do was lament.
Ah, what was I supposed to do? How had things come to this in the first place?
"W-well, I was wrong...."
"I asked what you did wrong."
"I spoke carelessly in the interview and put you in an awkward position...."
"Is that all?"
"......."
Even apologizing blindly had failed.
Sia smiled because the cornered Yujin was adorable.
Yujin trembled in mortal terror.
Haru remained fascinated by the sex education.
Their perfectly mismatched thoughts prolonged the silence.
Sia quietly licked her lips.
—Lick. Sliiide.
'Yujin had done something wrong, so this was fine, right? It'd be perverted if a man did this to a woman, but I was a woman, so it was fine, right?'
At the same time, her knee rose higher.
Like the fuse of a bomb burning down, her kneecap slowly approached its destination.
At the end of its path lay the top of his thighs—his groin.
Her breathing quickened.
"I-if you don't answer soon...."
'Could I really do it? Should I ride the momentum and go through with it!?'
'That was the embarrassing thing...!!'
Three seconds remained before the sexual assault—and only Yujin had not realized it.
Sia and Haru swallowed hard while Yujin squeezed his eyes shut...
"Th-the truth is...."
—Ding-dong-ding.
[Excessive ph-physical contact may anger the ghosts~.]
"......?"
An announcement followed the chime. It came from the employees who'd fled in fear moments earlier.
"Manager, if we wait just a little longer, Korean history might truly be rewritten. Could we not just look the other way...?"
"Absolutely not. Lewd conduct is occurring inside the attraction, and instead of stopping it, the employees are sitting around watching. Does that sound like proper work?"
"Hmph."
They'd been caught watching the CCTV with popcorn and cola, so they tearfully issued the order to stop.
Only then did the thoroughly overheated Sia grasp her situation.
'Excessive physical contact? What had I even done...?'
—Freeze.
'......Huh?'
Yujin was pinned against the wall and unable to move.
She was grinding her breasts firmly against him.
Her knee was moments from touching his groin.
Combined with her clothing, the pose could only make her look like a pervert about to do something obscene.
Sia sprang away.
"A-a-aaaaah!!? N-no, it's not like that!! Don't misunderstand, you stupid idiot!!!"
'What should I do? What should I do, what should I do...!! I must've gone insane!!'
She protested her innocence to empty space, but everyone who could have seen it already had.
Only Haru smacked her lips in disappointment.
"Flatty. Aren't you going to do the embarrassing thing?"
"No, you idiot!!!"
"Shame."
And finally, the wholesome young man...
'Thank you for saving my life. You were my savior. If anyone around you ever had psychological problems, I would gladly....'
He felt grateful to the entire world.
He remained a wholesome young man without the faintest idea what had almost happened to him.
* * *
Sia's consecutive unblockable moves had been thwarted by the employees' timely intervention through the CCTV.
Thanks to them, I had narrowly escaped death.
"W-well, Yujin. I...."
"I'm sorry, Sia!! I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm sorry anyway!!!"
—Thud.
"I'm the worst bastard under heaven!!!"
"......Huh?"
I seized the opening created by Sia's confusion and surrendered unconditionally.
I even prostrated myself completely.
I did not want to behave so disgracefully in front of my wife, but...
after suffering the two-hit nuclear strike of 'What did you do wrong?' followed by 'Was that all?' I understood.
Ah, so this was why Japan had surrendered unconditionally.
It was an utterly unexpected moment of historical education.
"Please forgive...."
"W-well. Get up, Yujin. I'm not that angry."
"......?"
Had my prayer been answered? A hesitant voice came from above.
I carefully raised only my head.
My eyes met Sia's as she held out her hand to me.
"I got too worked up too, so I was in the wrong as well. I...."
"......I'm sorry!!!"
—Wham.
The angle brought me face-to-face with something I should not have seen.
"What's wrong!? I said it's fine, so why—"
"Y-your clothes rode up! Your underwear is showing!"
"...? ......!!!!!?"
—Whip.
"Y-you idiot!! Just get up already!!"
"Okay. Sorry."
Perhaps because I had honestly confessed everything, Sia let the matter pass without becoming as angry as I expected.
I hurried to my feet.
"I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have raised my head...."
"Sigh. Forget it. Let's call it even."
"...Even for what?"
"Something. You idiot."
She even magnanimously forgave me for seeing her underwear.
Her kindness nearly brought tears to my eyes.
My wife was an angel. I loved her.
"Anyway... I know it's not really my place to interfere in your love life. But everyone except me is a foreigner. I was worried, and my words came out too harsh. Sorry."
"Ahh."
Even the reason she had confronted me was absurdly simple.
She was afraid that a top Korean talent would be seduced by foreign women and leave.
Only then did I understand, and I nodded.
"I can't answer everything, but I can promise one thing. I have no intention of leaving Cheonhwa or Korea."
"R-really? Well, in that case... I'm relieved for now."
My answer seemed to satisfy Sia, and she was willing to let the matter fade away.
After that, we enjoyed the haunted house normally.
Of course, Haru was the only one who enjoyed it.
—Boo!
"Waaagh!!!"
"Hello, Mr. Ghost."
"......Ah, yes. Hello."
Her way of enjoying it was rather strange, but...
as long as she was having fun, it was probably fine.
In any case, after continuing onward, we soon approached the exit.
The lights gradually brightened.
"...Yujin. So, which of those two did you like?"
"Hmm?"
"I was just... curious."
Then came a quiet question.
When I looked over to see what was wrong, Sia subtly averted her eyes.
Her shoulders drooped dejectedly as well.
'The standard move would be to call it a secret and brush her off, but....'
[Honestly, you idiot. What's with that pathetic display? If you're going to two-time them, put on a brazen face and act like a bastard! Ugh. If your face and personality weren't so cute, I'd kick you to the curb.]
'Should I do something a little wicked?'
"———Why only two?"
"......?"
Her shoulders shot upward at my mischievous question.
Then Sia hesitantly turned her head toward me.
I gave her a playful smile.
"I said it's one of the three of you. Why do you assume it isn't you?"
"...What? W-wait. What did you mean?"
"Come on, Haru. Let's go! Dad will buy you delicious pork cutlets!"
—Dash.
I hurriedly fled the scene.
I grabbed Haru's hand and ran.
...It would be extremely awkward if Sia saw my cheeks reddened by that near-confession.
—Thump, thump.
"Huh...? A-aaaaah!!!? Yujin, could you possibly mean me—"
"Haru, run!! Mom's chasing us!!"
"Okay, Dad!"
We sprinted toward the nearby exit.
We ran until light wrapped around us.
Until the soft atmosphere between Sia and me faded beneath the clear sunlight.
And what greeted us when we emerged was...
'Sia. Next time, I'd confess properly....'
—Burst open.
"———It's the angel!!! Seo Yujin, saint bestowed upon us by the Lord!! Please lead us down the righteous path!! Become the Pope of the Church of the Lord!!!"
"———It's the angel!!! Seo Yujin, saint bestowed upon us by the Lord!! Please lead us down the righteous path!!"
"Become the Pope of the Church of the Lord!!!"
"Ah, shit."
A mob of insane cultists awaited us.