Chains (3)
I occupied the very last stall in the restroom, steadying my breath before cautiously answering the call.
“…H-hello?”
[…You must be really busy, huh?]
There was a strange sharpness in her voice coming through the phone, like tiny thorns. She seemed a little upset that I’d taken so long to pick up.
“Sorry. I was with Soyeon.”
[…Just the two of you?]
I’d messed up. I’d completely forgotten to tell my wife that I was going out with Soyeon. I should have mentioned it beforehand.
“…I should’ve told you in advance. I’m sorry. You know Pia Tower, right? We came here to celebrate Soyeon finishing her exams… It would’ve been nice if you could’ve come too. I really wish you were here.”
She was supposedly resting in Gangwon Province for her recovery. If she found out her daughter and husband had gone out to have fun without her, how hurt would she be? It was my fault for not considering her feelings. But everything I was doing was for Soyeon, so surely my wife would understand.
“While we were here, I bought Soyeon some clothes. I took a few pictures too. Want me to send them?”
[…Go ahead.]
The moment my wife gave permission, I quickly sent the photos and added a comment.
“She’s so pretty, you can really tell whose daughter she is. I swear it felt like I was looking at you when you were younger.”
A little while later, after she must have checked the photos, my wife spoke again, her voice slightly hesitant.
[…You picked them out, didn’t you?]
“Yeah. Aren’t they cute?”
She seemed to check the photos again, because it took her quite a while before she finally answered with a quiet They’re pretty.… Was it just my imagination? Her voice sounded like it was trembling ever so slightly.
“Anyway, we’re heading to the zoo now and then going home. Sorry for telling you so late. I’ll head over to you tomorr—”
[Then I guess you can just come tonight.]
I’d been subtly trying to push it to tomorrow, but my wife had cut in first.
“…Tonight?”
[It’s not like you’re staying overnight. Coming today should be fine, right?]
“W-well, that’s true, but…”
To be honest, I was exhausted. No matter how young this body was, I’d taken an exam in the morning, spent the whole day playing around, and now she wanted me to head straight to Gangwon Province? Still, I felt bad refusing outright by saying I was tired.
As I hesitated, unable to answer, she struck again.
[…I suddenly miss my husband… Should I come to you instead?]
My wife was playing dirty with emotional blackmail.
“…Yeonhee. What are you—”
[Noona.]
“…Please stop saying that. …Noona.”
Then my wife—no, Yeonhee noona—let out a faint laugh and said,
[I’ll send a car at nine tonight. Wait for it.]
“Huh? Yeon— Noona!!”
I called out desperately, startled by the one-sided announcement, but the call had already ended with a click.
“…Haa…”
I stared blankly at the disconnected phone and thought to myself: When she threatens me with her own life, what choice do I have? I had no option but to do as she said.
“Two students, please.”
The zoo tickets were surprisingly cheap for what they offered. Maybe that was why, even though it was a weekday, the place was packed with people. It was so crowded I worried I might lose my companion in the throng. Had everyone in Seoul decided to come here today?
Still, it wasn’t so bad that we couldn’t enjoy ourselves. While it was technically a zoo, it also housed many beasts, so the grounds themselves were quite large and spacious. There were small staircases for viewing, which helped keep the crowd moving efficiently.
I unfolded the pamphlet I’d received at the entrance and casually asked Min Soyeon,
“Soyeon. Where should we go first?”
“…I don’t know.”
“…R-right…”
This was awkward… Ever since I’d stepped away to take that call with my wife, Min Soyeon’s mood had completely tanked. I’d felt guilty and explained the situation to her—that I’d gotten an urgent call from my part-time job and had to postpone an important appointment. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a lie. I just hadn’t told her everything.
Honestly, I wanted to come clean and explain it all, but… if I did it wrong, I could lose the trust I’d worked so hard to build with her. We’d come this far. The risk of destroying that hard-earned trust was too great.
Even after I’d explained everything, she continued to respond with silence and short answers, openly showing her displeasure. It meant she’d either noticed I was hiding something or was simply unhappy with my behavior.
In a situation where the cause wasn’t clear, acting rashly would be dangerous. But leaving things like this felt uncomfortable too, so I needed to find some way to fix it…
…Hm?
Just then, a family walking past caught my eye. The child was holding a fluffy stick of cotton candy, while the parents carried ice cream cones.
…That’s it. Let’s start by feeding her something sweet. If I coax her gently, maybe she’ll eventually tell me what’s wrong.
It was a bit of a simplistic approach, but it was better than doing nothing.
“Soyeon. I feel like getting some ice cream. Want to head over there?”
“…Whatever.”
Ugh… Her indifferent reply nearly made my heart sink, but I couldn’t back down now.
As I led her toward the food court, we passed the path between the lion and tiger enclosures. The crowd was so dense that I genuinely worried I might lose her. This wouldn’t do.
I immediately grabbed the hand of Min Soyeon, who was standing right beside me, and said firmly,
“Hold on tight.”
She flinched in surprise, then stared at me intently before squeezing my hand back and nodding. With our hands firmly clasped, we pushed through the sea of people.
“Whew… That’s a little better.”
After forcing our way through for quite a while, we finally reached a spot where we could walk comfortably.
“You can let go now, Soyeon. …Soyeon?”
“…Yeah?”
“You can let go of my hand.”
She looked slightly disappointed as she reluctantly released my hand.
We walked a little further and finally reached the snack booth. I quickly scanned the menu, then casually suggested,
“…Soyeon, want some ice cream?”
“…Not really.”
I’d expected that. I already had a backup plan in mind.
“Then let’s buy one and share it.”
“…What?”
Leaving the flustered Min Soyeon behind, I walked up to the counter and ordered the item I’d already picked out.
“One large strawberry parfait, please.”
The Min Soyeon who had followed me immediately grabbed my arm and protested,
“Hey, I said I’m not eating!”
“I’m ordering it because I want to eat it.”
While we bickered over why I’d order a large one if I was eating alone, the parfait was soon ready. It came in a plastic cup the size of a venti, layered with all kinds of ingredients in a visually stunning display that practically screamed delicious.
“Whoa, it’s huge… Oh, can we get two spoo—”
The moment I took the parfait, impressed by its grandeur, Min Soyeon suddenly cut in and shouted,
“One spoon is enough!”
In the end, we left the booth with only one giant spoon. That meant we’d have to share it… She probably hadn’t even considered that part.
…Well, no helping it. We’d just have to share one spoon.
We wandered around looking for a place to sit and luckily found an empty bench that had just been vacated.
“Hold this for a second?”
I handed her the parfait and quickly pulled out my phone…
“…What are you doing?”
She glanced at me with a sharp look.
“…I just want to take one picture.”
Of course, it was to show my wife. But there was another reason too.
“We came all the way out here to have fun. It’d be a waste not to take any photos.”
The ‘me’ from my previous life hadn’t been particularly fond of taking pictures. It wasn’t that I hated it—I just never felt the need to. But things were different now.
“All that remains are the photos. Still, if you really don’t want to, I won’t take any.”
No matter how much I wanted the picture, I couldn’t force her. If Soyeon truly didn’t want to, I had no intention of making her.
“…Haa…”
She bit her lip hard while glaring at me, then let out a deep sigh and said,
“…Then just take it.”
I grinned at her and thanked her. We positioned ourselves with the parfait between us, faces close together, and took the photo…
“…Is the camera broken? My face looks weird.”
Her face in the photo looked unusually flushed. When I glanced at her in real life, her cheeks were indeed a little red, as if she were excited.
“…I’ll edit it.”
I brushed it off by saying I’d fix it in editing, slipped the phone back into my pocket, picked up the spoon, and asked her,
“Between the chocolate and the cookie, which one do you want?”
“…I’m not eating.”
“Then chocolate.”
“I said I’m not eating!”
I naturally ignored her protest, scooped up some chocolate and ice cream, and held the spoon out to her. She shot me a fierce glare.
“I said no.”
She was being unusually stubborn today. I ignored her sharp gaze and gently tapped her cute little lips with the ice cream.
“It already touched your lips, so you have to eat it now.”
It was the most ridiculous coercion, but if I didn’t do this, she would never eat it. Min Soyeon licked the ice cream off her lips, then unconsciously glanced at the parfait on the spoon.
It must have tasted good. I smiled warmly and offered her the spoon again.
“Here, say ‘ah~’”
“…This is so annoying.”
In the end, she snatched the spoon and sucked it clean. With chocolate topping, strawberry, and vanilla ice cream, there was no way it could taste bad.
…
Even while glaring at me, she chewed diligently. The sight was so adorable that the corners of my mouth kept twitching upward on their own.
“It’s good, right? Let me try some too…”
The moment I scooped a spoonful for myself, her eyes widened as she stared at me.
…Why is she reacting like that? She looked like she wanted to say something, but her mouth was full so she couldn’t speak. I glanced at her, then popped the spoon into my own mouth. By then she had swallowed and immediately shouted at me,
“Y-you crazy bastard! How can you put that in your mouth!!”
Well, there’s only one spoon. What else was I supposed to do?
“We can’t eat with our hands. That’s why I asked for two spoons…”
Only then did Min Soyeon realize her own mistake and made a flustered face.
“What’s the big deal? Here.”
I casually scooped another bite and offered it to her. Her eyes trembled.
“…Y-you’re really going to let me eat it…?”
“Yeah.”
Even though I was now someone else, we were still practically family. This much should be fine. It seemed she thought the same, because she swallowed nervously, carefully opened her mouth, then grabbed the spoon and sucked it clean. She lightly covered her mouth and said,
“…I-it does taste good.”
Luckily, her mood seemed to have improved a little.
After gently coaxing her and sharing the parfait, we were finally able to properly enjoy the zoo. While there were more visitors gathered around the beasts than the regular animals…
“…Let’s go over there.”
Among them, one beast in particular had caught Min Soyeon’s attention.
“A unicorn?”
“…I saw earlier that you can feed them too.”
“Really? Want to try…?”
When I asked cautiously, she nodded, clearly expressing her desire to do it. Was this okay?
I had been amazed to see that there was a unicorn, but I hadn’t planned on participating in the feeding event. I had already seen one inside a Gate before. Back then, I’d been exploring the Gate alone with my wife. The moment the creature saw us, it vomited blood and fled in panic. We’d been happy about obtaining unicorn blood from it, but…
Now that I was in Yu Jihwan’s body, would it be fine?
As I hesitated for a moment, Min Soyeon glanced at me and asked,
“…You don’t want to?”
“Ah, no? I’d love to. Let’s go. …We’re feeding it too, right?”
“…Obviously?”
In the end, I had no choice but to head toward the unicorn enclosure.
And then…
“Two unicorn feeds, please. No refunds even if the unicorn refuses.”
…Fifty thousand won for one unicorn feed? And it was just a single raw carrot. No matter how rare the beast was, wasn’t this a total rip-off?
“Babe, should we buy one too?”
“Hmm? Nah, that’s obviously a scam.”
“Why? Don’t you have confidence? I’m pretty confident in myself.”
The ironic part was that there were truckloads of couples falling for this ridiculous marketing ploy. A fifty-thousand-won virginity test… The world had clearly gone mad.
“…Did you buy it?”
“Y-yeah…”
Of course, our Soyeon could pass. After splitting one carrot each, we approached the unicorn enclosure.
“We will now verify the Carrot of Faith. …Yes, you may proceed.”
Using the carrots as tickets, we passed through the gate into the unicorn area.
“…There are so many people.”
A long line of people stood in front of the unicorn. There were children with their parents, but most were young couples.
“Soyeon. Look, there’s the unicorn.”
“…It really has a horn…”
Seeing her eyes widen like a child in wonder made the hundred thousand won feel completely worth it.
[Yes, you may now feed it.]
At the staff member’s words, one couple began offering their carrot.
Whinny~
“You go first.”
At the woman’s words, the man carefully offered the carrot. The unicorn stretched out its muzzle, sniffed the carrot, then immediately bit down and began chewing. It had passed the purity test.
“Ooh…”
“How wholesome.”
The other couples waiting with us smiled warmly at the man ahead of us.
But then…
Clack! Clack!
The moment the woman held out her carrot, the unicorn snapped its teeth together in refusal.
“…Y-you…!”
“N-no! Believe me! I haven’t done anything since—Huk!”
“You bastard…!”
At that moment, sighs erupted from the crowd.
“Poor guy…”
“Is that what they call NTR?”
[Yes, please take care of the rest outside! Next guests please!]
Following the staff’s instructions, the couple was ushered out, and the next pair stepped forward. Some couples were both rejected, confirming mutual fault, while others both passed, earning applause for their true love.
The curious children who had come along were a whole different story. The line moved quickly, and soon it was our turn.
“Alright, you may feed it right away!”
At the staff’s words, Min Soyeon stepped forward boldly and offered her carrot to the unicorn.
Whinny~!
The unicorn let out a cry that sounded almost like laughter and happily accepted the carrot. It was the expected result, so I wasn’t particularly moved. But if Soyeon had been rejected… my heart might have shattered.
Min Soyeon watched the unicorn chewing on the carrot, then looked at me with a proud expression.
…Hm?
Not quite understanding what she was feeling, I simply smiled back at her.
After Min Soyeon’s “examination” was over,
“Yes, next gentleman please.”
It was finally my turn. I swallowed hard and approached the unicorn.
Its pure white coat, the straight horn, and those eyes that seemed to roll around searching for purity—it looked exactly the same as the one I’d seen before.
Snort…
To be honest, I wasn’t confident. In my previous life, I’d tried many times to give Soyeon a little sibling, so to a unicorn I was practically its natural enemy. Having already collected a massive amount of unicorn blood in the past, would this really be okay?
…Please…
I carefully extended my hand with the carrot. The unicorn began acting strangely.
Snort…?
It tilted its head, bringing its nose close to the carrot, then pulling back, repeating the motion.
…This guy is suspicious of me.
The fact that it wasn’t eating right away meant that the “love” from my wife that clung to my soul hadn’t been erased. But on the flip side, it meant Yu Jihwan’s body itself was clean.
“Good boy…”
I pushed the carrot closer, coaxing it like a puppy. After hesitating for a long time, the unicorn finally brought its muzzle forward.
…T-that’s it!
Even at the very end, the unicorn hesitated as if it were eating something extremely distasteful. It stretched out its teeth and barely nipped the tip of the carrot.
At that moment, the people waiting behind us burst into applause and congratulated us. I tossed the remaining carrot into the enclosure and pulled my hand back. Min Soyeon, standing beside me, looked at me with a satisfied expression.
…Hm?
The surrounding applause and Soyeon’s reaction created a strange sense of unease, but before I could figure out why, the staff’s announcement came.
“Yes, next guest!!”
…What was that about?
With that subtle feeling lingering, I left the enclosure with Min Soyeon. From inside the unicorn pen came the sounds of something collapsing.
Whinny!!! Whinny…!!! Whin… Thud—
…No way.
“…What was that sound?”
“Ah, it’s probably nothing. Let’s hurry and go eat dinner.”
I gently wrapped my arm around Soyeon’s shoulder as she tried to look back and quickly led her out of the area.