A Peculiar Intent (3)
An unexpected visitor was already waiting at the door of my studio apartment.
"You're back."
"Huh, unnie...? You said you were busy today."
"Ah, work wrapped up a little early. Sun-hwa, did you take good care of Master while you were out?"
"Y-yes..."
Sun-hwa's brain seemed to freeze at the sight of Su-ah showing up out of nowhere. No — more accurately, she looked tense because of the new woman who'd come back with us. Su-ah, however, took one look at Ji-ye's face, then smiled sweetly and turned to me.
"And who might this one be?"
"Uh, well... she's the owner of the convenience store downstairs..."
"Hmm... Well, it doesn't look like you went at it until she passed out, at least."
Su-ah rested a finger against her cheek, looking puzzled as she sank into thought. For some reason, her gaze felt different from before. It wrapped around me like a force with actual physical weight, holding me in a steady, unhurried grip.
It felt like an embrace. The kind that put your heart at ease.
"Let's go inside first."
"Y-yeah, let's."
Su-ah punched in the door-lock code like someone who'd been here a hundred times. I mean, I had given it to her beforehand, but still...
There was no way three grown women and I were all going to sit comfortably in that tiny room. I laid Ji-ye down on the bed first and was about to fetch water for the other two, but—
"Here, have some water. Sun-hwa, you want some too?"
"Y-yes..."
Su-ah had already beaten me to it, holding out glasses for both of us. Sun-hwa glanced at Su-ah's face, then brought the glass to her lips with a timid little motion. Su-ah, on the other hand, moved as if this were her own home — completely at ease, completely natural.
When the soft, whistling sound of Ji-ye's breathing started up from the bed behind us, Su-ah glanced at her watch and spoke.
"Shouldn't we send that woman home? It's getting late..."
"Y-yeah, you're right. Sun-hwa, can you wake Ji-ye up for me?"
"Y-yeah! I mean, yes!!"
Sun-hwa scrambled over to the bed and gave Ji-ye a few shakes.
"H-hey! Wake up. You can't sleep here!"
"Nngh..."
Ji-ye slowly came to at the sound of Sun-hwa's voice, rubbing her eyes as she pushed herself up on the bed.
"Where am I... ah..!!"
Then, the moment her eyes found me sitting at the foot of the bed, her face flushed pink and she ducked her head.
"I-I, um... earlier I just kind of... blacked out..."
"It happens."
"Yeah, it happens."
Even Su-ah, who didn't actually know why Ji-ye had passed out, nodded along. No — given how long the two of them had been with me, they could probably figure out the reason without much trouble. Once she was fully sitting up, Ji-ye turned to Su-ah and Sun-hwa in a slightly nervous voice.
"Um, you two are..."
"Ah, r-right! Let me, let me introduce you. This is our unnie... I mean... uh, you can think of her as the, the first wife!"
"Sun-hwa. Hold on."
Su-ah cut off Sun-hwa's frantic introduction with a simple gesture, then smiled gently.
"We don't even know what she's decided yet. Don't you think it's a little dangerous to jump the gun?"
"Y-you're right... Unnie, I'm sorry."
Still wearing that warm smile, Su-ah placed a hand over her chest and gave a slight bow.
"Hello. I'm Han Su-ah, Se-hyun's first woman. And this is the second — Jin Sun-hwa."
"N-nice to meet you..."
"So, have you decided to make her the third?"
Su-ah turned to me with a sweet little smile. I mean... it wasn't like I'd done anything wrong, exactly, and she didn't look like she was blaming me, either. But she seemed a little hurt that a new woman had shown up without her knowing — and that Sun-hwa had found out before she had.
...Okay, yeah. That part was on me.
If you looked at historical precedent, getting the official wife's permission before bringing in a new woman wasn't exactly a universal custom. But our relationship had always been the kind of harem that formed under Su-ah's blessing, so it wasn't strange that Sun-hwa was trembling like that.
"I-I, um, well..."
"Sun-hwa?"
"Eep!"
"Unnie is talking with Master right now, so why don't we chat a little later?"
"Y-yes!"
Our Official Wife, it would appear, commanded a rather formidable degree of authority.
"Y-yeah... that's right! Yeah, I was planning on it. Sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
"It's alright, Master. I was only asking to confirm. And Sun-hwa, don't be so tense. Unnie isn't angry."
The oppressive atmosphere that had been crushing the room vanished in an instant. What the hell... it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say this was almost on par with my own abilities. Had something changed in Su-ah's body? Or... had she encountered some kind of system, the way I had?
Either way, having neatly wrapped up the situation, Su-ah turned to Ji-ye.
"So, what will you do?"
"Y-yes..!! I-I... um..."
Ji-ye swallowed hard and snuck a glance at me. I wasn't really in a position to say anything here, but our time together had clearly left a strong impression. Once you pound a woman like that, she can't even move... okay, that was a bit much.
But I wasn't entirely wrong. Her ears had gone completely red. She let out a sigh, then bowed her head demurely.
"I-I'd like to ask as well... Please accept me as the third..."
"Hmm."
Su-ah put on a deliberately stern expression.
"I didn't see it myself, but it looks like you fainted while receiving Master's love."
"Th-that's..."
"Well, that's fine. You'll definitely need a bit more practice, but time will take care of that. More importantly..."
Su-ah shot a glance at Sun-hwa, then asked in a low voice.
"Just to be sure — you don't have a husband, do you?"
"Ah, no..! A husband, I... I don't have one. I do have a daughter, though..."
"Ah, that's fine."
Su-ah waved a hand with a sweet smile.
"We have daughters too. More importantly, how old are you? Younger than us?"
"I-I'm thirty-two. Um... e-even if I'm older, I'll serve you both properly as my unnies, so p-please don't throw me out!"
"Huh? No, no."
Su-ah's eyes went wide and she shook her head — then, looking thoroughly delighted, she burst out laughing.
"Ahaha! What, you're way younger! Ah, sorry. You don't mind if I drop the formalities, right? I'm forty."
"What..?"
Ji-ye's mouth fell open like she'd been hit in the back of the head with a hammer.
"How...?"
"Sun-hwa, you should tell her too."
"I'm around forty too... b-but I'm still in my thirties!"
"Who said you weren't?"
"No, wait... um, are you two serious?"
"What, you don't believe us?"
"It's just... y-your skin is so good! It's not even comparable to mine... not a single wrinkle, and y-your, your figures..."
"Ah."
Su-ah smiled brightly and pulled my arm into a hug.
"Well, the tonic is right here."
"I'm a tonic?"
"Shh. Just play along for now."
Su-ah gave my cheek a playful pinch that didn't hurt at all, pretending to scold me. I was just glad the mood had lightened. After a brief round of introductions and exchanging contact information, Ji-ye carefully stood up.
"I-I'll head out first, then... Ah, my kid cries if I'm not there..."
"Eight years old, was it? Aww, she must be adorable..."
"Yeah, go on ahead. We've both raised kids, so don't worry."
"Thank you, unnies!"
Well. Something had happened.
Without me even realizing it... no, I'd been watching with both eyes wide open the whole time, and I'd heard every word of the conversation, and yet somewhere in there a hierarchy had been perfectly established among the three of them.
The moment Ji-ye left the apartment, Sun-hwa's eyes flew wide and she came charging at me.
"Th-thirty-two?! That's so young! I-I thought older women were your type?"
"Technically it's more that I like older women, not specifically old women... why are you so shocked?"
"It's just, I mean... I-I thought maybe you'd gotten tired of me..."
"That's not it, so don't worry."
"You mean it..?"
I stroked Sun-hwa's hair to calm her down, and Su-ah let out a short sigh.
"So this is how it was going to turn out after all."
"What do you mean?"
"...Master, I have no problem with you bringing in new women. But... before that, I want to apologize for the atmosphere I created today."
Su-ah shifted her seated posture slightly, then bowed her head as if performing a formal bow.
"I'm sorry for overstepping."
"N-no! Get up, come on..."
"Y-yeah! Unnie, I-I was the one who messed up!!"
After a brief commotion, Su-ah finally stood up and cleared her throat, looking a little embarrassed.
"Actually, something strange happened today. The old park security guard..."
"The security guard?"
Come to think of it, something I'd buried in the back of my memory surfaced. The day I first met Su-ah, that old security guard had given me a bottle of some kind of tonic.
And now that I thought about it, that stuff had been something special... wait.
Why had I never thought to go find that old man again?
My body went rigid at the thought — and Su-ah spoke first.
"Master, I believe Sun-hwa and I have the right to hear this."
"Uh, unnie. What are you talking about..?"
"Sun-hwa, you come here too. This is something both of us need to hear."
Su-ah effortlessly brought Sun-hwa to heel, then looked at me steadily.
"..."
"I told you before, didn't I? That I'd wait until you were ready to tell me. I'm sorry. I don't think I can keep that promise."
Sun-hwa gently, warmly took my hand as Su-ah spoke.
"Please tell us, Master. I believe that I — and Sun-hwa — have the right to hear this. Please share your secret with us."