Chapter 135. Love Fight(?)
Chapter 135. Love Fight(?)
The meeting, which had started around 1 PM, didn't wrap up until well into the evening. We'd spent the whole time planning for every variable we could think of.
We really did assume the absolute worst. To the point where we even planned for the scenario where the bastard tried to run from me.
"Whew... everyone, thank you for your hard work so late. I'll be heading off first. Enjoy your meal."
I got up first with the girls, exchanged goodbyes, and headed home.
We ate a late dinner, but their reactions were a bit strange.
"What's wrong? No appetite?"
"..."
They stared at me with sullen expressions, starting to say something and then stopping.
"What...?"
After worrying her lip for a moment, Chaeyeon reluctantly spoke up.
"Sihu, what did you talk about with my mom?"
"What's this about all of a sudden?"
"Before, whenever an uncomfortable situation came up, she'd deliberately send me on an errand to get me out of the way. This time was exactly the same."
"Maybe she really did have an errand for you..."
"I've watched my mom for years, not just a day or two... and sending Jia with me was way too suspicious."
"..."
"Don't tell me you're trying to keep me and Jia from going to the U.S.?"
She was freakishly sharp. Looking into Chaeyeon's eyes, I could tell she wasn't guessing — she was certain. Since it had come to this, I decided to just tell the truth.
"You're right. I'd rather you two didn't go."
"Sihu... but still...!"
"No. I'm not changing my mind. Not for anything."
"Hey, Cheon Sihu. You and the others are going there and doing the hard work — does it really make sense for us to sit here resting just because we're your girlfriends?"
"Yeah."
The fact that she was using my full name told me she was seriously pissed off. I was sorry, but no amount of anger was going to change my mind.
"What will other people think of us? People weaker than us are volunteering and risking their lives, and yet we...!"
Her voice caught, as if she were choking up.
"Doesn't matter."
"There's definitely going to be ugly talk. And there will be people with complaints, without a doubt...!"
I'd never once raised my voice at them before, but this time I let a little force leak into my tone.
"If the monk doesn't like the temple, he leaves. What else can you do?"
"Sihu, how can you say that...?"
They weren't just throwing a fit. They were worried that if they rested just because they were the representative's lovers, gossip would start spreading within the group.
"You can think of me as selfish. I don't mind. I'll show you selfishness without limits when it comes to protecting my people."
"...!"
"And nobody's going to know that you two are resting while the others are out on the operation."
I'd lived for 900 years. I'd experienced enough internal feuding and factional bullshit to be sick of it. A conflict on this level was nothing. I'd already worked out a plan to keep even the smallest discord from forming.
"No. I don't care what you say. I'm going. No matter what."
"..."
I glanced at Jia to see if she felt the same way, and she met my eyes with a bold nod.
"I didn't want to go this far..."
I rose from my seat and placed my hands near the solar plexus of each of them.
—Criiik!!!
The energy flowing through their bodies let out a metallic screech as it halted. They surely realized faster than anyone what I had done. Their power drained away, and the draining lethargy of an ordinary person washed over them.
"You...!"
"Sihu!"
"This is an operation that only allows Awakened participants. Looks like you two won't be able to join. Still, don't worry too much. I'll undo it right away once we're back."
"Cheon Sihu, if you keep acting like this, we...!"
Even as furious as she was, she couldn't bring herself to threaten a breakup—not even as a joke.
'Even if you lashed out in the moment, I could still laugh it off... you're so damn cute it kills me.'
Chaeyeon and Jia exchanged a look, then stood up almost simultaneously and shouted at me on their way out.
"Sleep alone tonight!"
"Hmph...!"
I stared blankly as they opened the door and left. Having lived together for some time, I had a decent grasp of their personalities. Right now, rather than grabbing them to keep them here, I needed to let them cool off and give them time to think.
"Hmm... think they'll be back tomorrow?"
Where they'd gone was obvious without even looking.
"Off to their parents, I bet."
* * * * * * * *
I spent a lonely night all by myself(?), and when morning came, my eyes drifted open naturally. I reached out, patting around to either side, but my hands found nothing.
"Right... they stormed off mad yesterday."
Not wanting to pathetically fix breakfast for just myself, I spent the time doing nothing. My body didn't actually need to eat, truth be told.
Around lunchtime, I heard the sound of someone opening the door and stepping inside. I checked, and Chaeyeon and Jia walked in together, both still looking faintly sulky, each carrying something.
"You came back?"
At my question, they turned their heads away, acting coy and not even greeting me. Seemed they were still pouting.
"Eat up..."
They pulled things out and set down side dishes and gimbap — apparently, that was what they'd been carrying. Angry and pouting, but they'd still come to make sure I ate.
"Thank you."
"..."
Without answering, they sat on the sofa, sneaking glances at me while I ate. I smiled inwardly as I grabbed a piece of gimbap.
But then,
'No ham inside...?'
Maybe it was their way of advertising they were still upset — pulling this kind of petty revenge. I finished eating, washed the dishes, and tidied up the utensils, but their gazes kept pricking at my back the whole time.
'Well, can't be helped...'
After I finished cleaning up and showering, I took a seat next to where they were sitting. I deliberately tried to make conversation, but they radiated a loud and clear 'I'm pouting' vibe.
'Heh heh...'
Just as I was mulling over how to soothe their sulking, I heard another knock at the door.
"Who's that...?"
I went to the front door and opened it to find both my mothers-in-law and fathers-in-law.
"What brings you here?"
"Our daughters were bound to be sitting around sulking, so we came to help patch things up."
"Ah... please, come in."
As if they'd been caught red-handed, the girls spotted their parents and immediately tried to bolt for the bedroom.
"Lee Chaeyeon! Stop running and come here!"
"Ugh..."
"Jia, you come here, too, dear."
"Yes..."
The parents started lecturing them in that gentle way. They got a long talk about how they shouldn't leave their husband(?) and sleep elsewhere when they're upset, and that disagreements should be sorted out with words.
"Still, the fact that you packed gimbap for your husband because you were worried he'd be hungry, honestly..."
"Mom!"
Her face flushed bright red, and she let out a shriek, clearly mortified by her own actions.
"Oh dear, our Jia asked me to pack her some side dishes, too..."
"Mom... why would you say that...!"
Both of them were so deeply embarrassed their faces went beet-red and they couldn't lift their heads. Once the lecture aimed at them was over, they turned their attention to me.
"Sihu, we heard you used force to render them powerless because you were worried?"
"Ah, yes..."
They had plenty to say to me as well: that's not how you handle a marital relationship, you shouldn't resort to force, you need to talk it out, and so on. Once they seemed to feel a bit better, they slipped back into their usual mother-in-law tones and asked the girls warmly.
"We can roughly guess, but why do you two want to go so badly?"
"The truth is..."
They laid out what they'd said to me in considerable detail. In the end, it was because they were worried I'd be slandered for appearing to shield them as the representative's lovers. They presented quite detailed examples to make their case.
"There are cases like that... if a parent is a politician and their child doesn't go to the military, they get dragged through the rumor mill for no reason..."
"I'm not sure the analogy is apt... but we get the gist of your thinking..."
Then the mothers-in-law, perhaps trying to get at the heart of their concerns, brought up a rather sensitive subject.
"You two... do you not want to have children later?"
"Of course we will!"
"I want to..."
'I want that, too...'
"Even if you don't die, your bodies could end up wrecked from the radiation."
"...!"
"You might not be able to conceive at all, and even if you do, there's no guarantee you'd give birth to a healthy child."
"..."
"..."
"I want to see our daughters giving birth to healthy children and living a peaceful, happy life together. As a parent with daughters, is that wish such a selfish thing?"
As expected of mothers who had spent so many long years with their daughters, they gently scolded them and, in doing so, turned the tables and persuaded them. Faced with their soft-spoken reasoning, the girls eventually raised the white flag.
"Fine..."
"I won't go..."
"We'll stop nagging now. The rest is for you two to sort out among yourselves. We'll be off."
It seemed their sole purpose really was to mend things between us — after those words, all the parents left.
"I didn't even think about that."
"I'm sorry, too. For using my power without asking."
"Sihu, I'm sorry..."
I restored them to their original state, and we made up. And with the topic of children having come up, that night ended up burning hotter than usual. Enough that even those two — who ranked among the strongest — passed out.
* * * * * * * *
The personnel heading to the Hanford Site were finalized as me, the special mission agents, and the villagers. We connected a video call with the U.S. again.
"Mister Cheon, thank you, truly..."
"Above all, the safety of our villagers will be the top priority. Even if we reach a point where we have to abandon the Hanford Site."
"We are grateful simply that you are extending your help."
As I'd already told the Americans, I would enter first, alone. Then, I'd assess the situation and capture the entity that was spewing radiation and threatening to set off a nuclear explosion — no exceptions.
According to reconnaissance conducted by nearby drones, there was still no unusual movement. The radiation spreading through the vicinity was also within the predicted range.
From the moment the Hanford Site issue had come up, the research wing had halted all other research to focus entirely on manufacturing radiation suppression devices. Since operating a full factory was difficult, they were producing as many as possible by hand.
They asked Galrand to conduct a demonstration and trial run of the radiation shielding devices in order to minimize the machine's margin of error as much as possible.
"We will depart first thing tomorrow."
"In that case, we will dispatch a chartered plane to Gimpo Airport."
After the video call ended, the lights in the research wing stayed on even when night fell, right up until I headed out for Gimpo Airport.
The next day, after receiving word that the chartered plane had arrived at Gimpo Airport, I boarded a helicopter and headed there myself.