Karmic Retribution (2)
The group had barely managed to pack their bags in time for the ten o'clock check-out and were already on the road. Both daughters had collapsed into exhausted sleep, and when Hanbyul glanced at the text from his wife—
Ah! It's Jiwoo…!!!
Everything that had happened came rushing back at once. The bright little smile on his face drained away in an instant, leaving him pale as a sheet.
"Hm? Hanbyul, what's wrong?"
Baek Jiwoo was still a little foggy, but she'd been looking after him the whole drive—feeding him bread, making sure he drank water. The moment his expression darkened so sharply, worry crept into her voice.
"Ah… i-it's nothing…!"
Something about the way he said it reeked of a secret.
"What do you mean, nothing. Are you hiding something from Noona?"
"I… I'm not…"
The night before slammed back into him without warning, and heat flooded his face. With a face that broadcast every thought he had, there was nowhere to hide.
"Hey, Hanbyul…"
Both hands on the wheel, Baek Jiwoo kept curling her index finger around it in restless little circles. The question she asked sat squarely on the extension of everything heated that had passed between them.
"You gonna keep working?"
On the surface it sounded like she meant the restaurant. Underneath, it was asking whether he intended to keep this going.
Unlike Jiwoo, who was quietly hoping—
The water was already spilled, but with his wife coming home, Hanbyul had already sworn to himself he'd never do it again. Penance, if nothing else.
"N-no… Jiwoo told me not to. Ah—! I mean my wife Jiwoo. Haha…"
"Ah… your wife. Jiwoo."
Her tone dropped hard, and a faint edge of jealousy mixed into the discontent on her face.
"Um… Noona…"
"Hm?"
Just like that, Noona Jiwoo's bright expression was back. He felt bad springing this on her the second the trip was over, but it needed to be said clearly.
"About what happened this time…"
"I know. You think I wouldn't figure that out?"
She answered before he could even get the words out.
"Y… yes…?"
He blinked at her, completely blank, wondering if she was saying she already knew and was answering anyway.
"You're asking me to keep it a secret, right. I was the one who asked for it the first time, and the second time was mostly on me. I'll take it to my grave."
She'd known exactly what he was about to say.
"Th-thank you, Noona."
"But remember this one thing."
Her whole demeanor turned serious.
"There's no such thing as an eternal secret."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I said. Sooner or later, it comes out. Either your wife catches on, or I say something, or…"
Gulp—
"…you slip up and blow it yourself. Though… the first one's probably the strongest bet."
She answered with a meaningful look. After everything with her ex-husband, Noona clearly knew this terrain well.
"Still, come help out once in a while. Sales went up pretty nicely while you were working."
"Alright. I'll come help about once a month."
"You mean it?! That's a promise!"
With a suddenly childish face, Noona thrust out her pinky. Moments like this made him wonder if Iseul had been modeled straight off young Jiwoo Noona.
"N-Noona! Ahead! Look ahead!!!"
Even this scatterbrained side of her.
Cute♡
"Unni! Thank you so much~"
"Of course! Get home safe!"
"Iseul! Bye~"
"Bye-bye, Papa toooo~♡"
After two nights and three days together, the four of them couldn't quite bring themselves to pull away. But each of them had a life to return to, so they forced their feet to move.
"Haa… that was actually really fun."
"…"
After two straight days of nothing but chaos, Hanbyul couldn't quite find the words.
"Huh? Dad?"
Jia stared at him without so much as a blink, as if asking whether he'd hated being with her. Even in broad daylight, a chill ran down his spine.
"N-no! What are you talking about…! Dad had such a great time."
"How great?"
"H-huh…?"
"I'm asking how great it was. Me."
For some reason, the closer they got to home, the worse Jia's mood seemed to get.
"M-maybe we should hit the convenience store…?"
"What are you talking about. Stop dodging and answer me."
If this went on any longer something was genuinely going to blow, so he hurriedly grabbed his daughter's shoulders.
"I-it was all great! Being with you, Jia—it was so happy and so good."
"Really?"
Thankfully, that seemed to smooth things over.
Maybe it was because they were walking past a playground, but she still looked unsettled. Perhaps those last words had eased even a little of that anxiety—Jia sagged into him like she was collapsing.
"Eup…!"
Of course, with the height difference, he was the one who ended up tucked into her arms…
"Daaad…"
"Mm… Jia."
"I won't even be able to do this anymore…"
She'd already moved past what happened with Yerim and was fretting about what came after meeting his wife, Jiwoo. Jia really did watch his wife's moods carefully. Then again, both of them were drowning in possessiveness and jealousy…
"Aww~ don't be like that~ Later you can just date a boyfriend like Dad!"
He tried to put it gently.
"Is there even anyone like Dad…?"
It backfired completely.
"I don't think I could do it with anyone but Dad…"
"J-Jia?"
"I can't live without Dad. It has to be Dad. Okay? As long as I have Dad, that's enough. Dad is everything. I want to do it with Dad."
"J-Jia…!!!"
They were close enough to the house that his wife might overhear, so he yanked her into a tight hug to shut her up.
"Heuuung~♡"
She trembled all over and hugged him right back just as hard. Then she buried her nose in his hair.
"Sniff sniff sniff."
She was smelling him.
"Jia! What are you doing! That's gross… Dad hasn't even washed his hair."
"I like Dad's smell♡"
At this rate Jia's whining would never end, so he shifted his gaze.
"Want some banana milk?"
When she was anxious, something sweet always helped. He pointed toward the nearby convenience store, hoping to make her feel even a little better—
"No, we don't have to go."
Not I don't want any—just we don't have to go. That strange answer came as she pulled him back in and wrapped him up in her arms again.
"Huh…?"
Looking up from below, Jia's face had gone a little sharp. Like she was watching someone—on guard.
He stared up at her, bewildered.
"Dad♡"
Chuuup~♡
Before he could even process the sudden move, his daughter claimed his lips.
"Euuup…"
His mouth was overrun by Jia's tongue.
The father-daughter kiss went on for a long time. Through the convenience store glass, a pair of eyes was watching them—but Hanbyul had no idea.
Jia might not have known either, but someone was already waiting for them at home.
Any minute now…
"Dad, though—when is Mom coming?"
She hoisted the suitcase up with one hand and peeked her head out to ask.
"Ah… Mom…"
He didn't even get to finish before the woman herself appeared.
"You're home?"
Contrary to every expectation, his wife, Yang Jiwoo, greeted them lightly. She'd clearly been cooking—standing at the front door in a pink apron, ladle still in hand.
"Mom~!!!"
Jia dumped the suitcase on the spot and barreled straight into her mother's arms. Moments like this made it obvious—her body might have grown up, but inside she was still a little kid.
"Honey…"
Unlike when she'd left on her business trip, her hair had gotten longer.
Ah… well, of course it had…?
By pure coincidence, it was the same length as Jiwoo Noona's now. The only real difference was the color—deep black versus bright white.
He tried not to compare them. He kept doing it anyway.
"Hanbyul. It's been a while."
"Yeah… it really has."
Past the apron, her wide hips were impossible to miss. The hot pants only made that child-bearing pelvis stand out more. The smooth, elegant line of her figure pulled his eyes first—then his gaze climbed the soft flesh and stopped on the gentle swell of her chest.
For a split second, yesterday's Jiwoo Noona in that outrageous outfit flashed through his mind—
A sharp jolt—
"Ugh…"
Arms crossed, tapping the ladle, the Queen fixed him with a pointed look. Somehow he could almost hear the words: You were thinking about another woman, weren't you?
"Go inside first and unpack."
"Okaaay~"
Jia took her mother's word as absolute law. The second she disappeared into the house, Jiwoo closed the distance in a single stride.
"It really… has been a while. Babe♡"
"Yeah… it really has…"
He was genuinely happy to see her—and yet unease kept rising for reasons he couldn't pin down.
"We finally see each other after so long, and you're standing in front of your wife thinking about another woman? A little disappointing."
"Euh…?!"
"Didn't you miss me? I missed you like crazy."
"Of course I missed you."
"Yeah? Then open your mouth."
"Euh?"
It took him a second to process the abrupt order—but the slight roughness in her breathing told him exactly what she wanted.
Jiwoo must have been so lonely…
"Aw wight…♡"
He leaned forward a little and stuck out his tongue like a puppy.
Thrust—! Chooooooop~♡
She crashed into his mouth and wound her tongue around his, twisting and pulling. It felt like being bound with rope, and a sweet fragrance bloomed between them.
"J-Jiwuahh…♡"
They drank each other in, lost in it—
"Mm…?"
Jiwoo narrowed her eyes like something was off. He was still wondering what could possibly be wrong when—
Ah…
He remembered. Right before coming home, he and Jia had traded saliva.
At the same moment, her tongue slowed to a crawl. And for some reason, if he didn't pull away right now, he was certain his tongue was about to be bitten clean off.
"Chuup…!"
He yanked his face back along with his tongue.
A murderous air rolled off her as she stared at him with a blank, emotionless face.
"Hanbyul."
"Euh…?"
"Why'd you pull away? Scared I'd bite it off?"
"N-nooo…? Euh…"
He was looking straight at his wife Jiwoo, and somehow it felt like he was looking at someone else entirely.
"What is this…?"
She asked it like she already knew the answer. All he could do was blink stupidly.
"Hm? I'm asking you what this is."