The Twins' Counterattack
95.
Silence settled over the room for a brief, very brief moment.
Kim Woongchan and Seol Hayeon were smiling, but everyone else’s expressions were easy enough to imagine without looking.
The Captain even put her feelings into her voice.
“Grandpa! How could you right now—”
“Quiet. An adult is speaking. Where do you get off interrupting?”
“Grandpa! This is too much. How could you—”
“Nari, just be quiet for a bit. This is fun—why are you like that? It’s like a morning soap opera. Great stuff.”
“Even Grandma is joining in!”
It was both flustering and refreshing.
Seeing her so completely disarmed was a rare sight in everyday life. Of course she let her guard down during sex, but this was a different flavor entirely.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Huh?”
“You, right now, are looking at our Nari so lovingly and smiling.”
I must have smiled without realizing it.
Well, of course—she was just too cute.
“I don’t know much about these things, but is it okay to do that with two grown young ladies sitting right behind you?”
“That…”
I reflexively turned around to find Keira and Elena smiling.
But my instincts told me those weren’t real smiles.
“Grandpa! Are you doing this because you want to see me die?”
The Captain’s face was so red it looked ready to burst. At that rate, her blood pressure might actually make her collapse.
So why did I keep wanting to grin like an idiot?
“Hmph, you fool. As if I’d take that kind of threat from someone who has zero intention of dying and leaving this guy behind. You do as you please, so I’ll do as I please—just deal with it.”
“No, Grandpaaaa!”
Now she was even putting on the cute act, and the corners of my mouth stretched to my ears. I wanted to take a photo of this.
And then the killing intent flowing down my spine.
Lee Jungmin. You really want to die?
Gulp.
Keira’s killing intent was razor-sharp. The kind that said you die, I die.
Elena was at least holding her back, which was the only reason my neck was still attached.
“If you’re upset, you should have brought a proper man from the start. Your life is your life, my life is mine, but in this day and age, where do you find a guy with three wives and concubines? No—hurry up and answer, you brat. You’ve already gathered three wives; how far are you going with the concubines?”
Grandpa’s question was aggressive and sharp, his gaze sharp enough to cut.
But the moment he told me to call him “Grandpa,” everything was already decided. That was also why I’d been grinning. In this setting, looking after the Captain rather than Keira or Elena was the right call.
“For now, it’s four wives, Grandpa. As you already know.”
“Right, that Suyeon girl has already fallen too. I heard all about it.”
As expected of a former NIS Director. He must have informants everywhere. He knew about the Shinyongsan incident that well; of course he’d know the inside of the GGC Crew House. Even if Keira cast magic every time, there were always gaps.
“I heard there are several other candidates as well. Are you going to take all those girls as wives too?”
“I haven’t thought that far. But if my heart moves for them, I’ll take responsibility for all of them. I can take responsibility.”
“An unbridled colt, you are. I don’t know who first let go of the reins, but you’ve unleashed a monster on the world. Tsk tsk.”
“A monster? That’s harsh, Grandpa!”
“I know full well you weren’t the first one to grab the reins, so stop it already.”
The Captain had spoken up for nothing and got nothing out of it. Keira, who had first loosened my reins, looked a bit more flustered than usual. Even the queen of poker faces seemed a little burdened by a setting like this.
“Still, it’s a relief you’re not the kind of sucker who takes in everyone who comes. You won’t go as far as three digits.”
“Of course not. How could a person go to three digits—”
“Obviously you’ll hit two digits, right?”
“…”
I couldn’t answer. Looking at myself objectively, surpassing two digits seemed like a foregone conclusion. Saying I wouldn’t here would have been meaningless.
“I have no intention of opposing it. My own grandfather had four grandmothers, after all. With abilities at the level of a brat like you, even ten times that would somehow work out. It’s a pity that our Nari is just one among them, but I have no intention of meddling in the affairs of a fully grown granddaughter—not even a daughter. Of course, all of that is on the condition that you make our granddaughter happy. You understand?”
“Yes! I understand perfectly. I will definitely make her happy. Please trust me!”
Honestly, there was a sense that the relationships had been formed somewhat by being pushed into them. Keira, Elena, and the Captain too. But they were all choices I had made, and I hadn’t done it without resolve. Above all, I had done it because I felt I could.
Back when I was a civil service exam student, making even one person happy would have been overwhelming, but now it was possible to make everyone happy.
“A brat living a man’s dream. But I’m not envious of you. The happiness that comes from a relationship where each monopolizes the other is on a completely different level from what an octopus like you feels. Isn’t that right, dear?”
“Of course. I’m happy to have spent my whole life with you.”
Their love was so beautiful it made me feel warm just watching. At the same time, the Captain’s slightly bitter expression caught my eye. She was usually so good at hiding her expressions that it only showed for a brief moment, but I saw it.
“Even octopuses vary. I’m a kraken. So you don’t need to worry about that.”
“Hmph, a young man so full of confidence. At that age, I wasn’t envious of a kraken either. It’ll be quite entertaining to watch how you change as time passes. The day will come when you’re crushed under the seeds you’ve sown.”
I honestly wasn’t sure if this kind of dirty talk suited the occasion. But well, we were all grown adults, so what did it matter?
“If Grandpa was a kraken, then I’ll go for Cthulhu. That level is what suits my potential. So even as time passes, no worries. Cthulhu remains Cthulhu no matter how much time flows. Live long and watch carefully. How happy a life my Captain lives.”
“All flashy talk and nothing else—you’re no different from a gisaeng’s older brother. Not a single manly bone in your body. Nari, what do you even like about a brat like this…”
Grandpa clicked his tongue, but the Captain’s expression had clearly softened. My feelings must have reached her.
“There’s no point in sniping like that anymore. Not a manly bone? This grandma’s heart flutters too. Our grandson-in-law is full of spirit—I like the look of it. Keep it up just like that.”
“Dear? What are you saying right now. What about a brat like that—”
“You’re being petty right now, so stop it. I might get embarrassed about having lived my whole life with a petty man.”
“What…”
The two of them were fighting like a couple in their twenties. And looking at each other like a couple in their twenties.
Seeing those two, I thought I understood why the Captain’s parents could wander overseas for ten years. They must be living a young and beautiful love just like these two.
“Well, fine. But this is all just my and this person’s position. Our son and daughter-in-law’s position might be different. Since they abandoned the kids and roam around outside, they might not care much… but we’ll have to open the lid to find out.”
“I understand. I’ll do my best to coordinate that part as well.”
“As this person said, your confidence alone is good. The world must seem very easy to you.”
As if.
To me, the world was difficult. Even now that a miracle had occurred, the world was still difficult. How many times had I brushed past death in the last half year? Four times? Five?
As much as miracles had happened, the world had grown even more difficult. So what I realized was that effort to the point of death is always necessary—whether I was a civil service exam student living in a one-room apartment, or a Keeper whose name was known around the world.
And I also learned that if there’s a situation or motivation that makes you put in that effort, at the very least following it means no failure. This might be luck too, but to reach that luck, effort is necessary either way.
Lastly, whatever else, when it comes to things for my women, I have both the confidence and the resolve to always put in effort to the point of death.
I’m not saying things like that because the world is easy. I’m saying them because I love them.
Because I love the Captain, I want my relationship with her to be one that her parents permit. Even if they feel regret that it’s not the ordinary relationship the world talks about, I hope they can be people who wish us happiness. I’ll make it that way.
“I don’t think that way. But I’ll overcome it with love. Please trust me.”
“Better to trust someone who moves while spitting blood from their eyes, nose, and mouth than someone who commits corruption.”
“Wait, how do you know about that…”
To think he even knew about what happened at the Eternal Gate. This didn’t seem like something he knew just because he was a former NIS Director. Was I meeting someone who ruled Korea from the shadows?
Moreover, he was teasing me by reusing the words I had used at the press conference. It was one of the lines I had said that I thought was pretty good, but hearing it like this was quite embarrassing.
“There are ways to know everything, brat. Good. Then what will you do now? You have money, power, fame, and people—what’s next? Are you going to keep playing hero?”
In that moment, I got the feeling.
This was the question. Grandpa had called me here because he wanted to ask this. He was curious about the career path of his grandson-in-law—no, of a person who could have a major influence on Korea.
His gaze, sharper than ever, was directed at me as if it would dig into my insides.
“I…”
I had an answer prepared.