Family Dinner Plans
The moment we met, less than five minutes had passed when my wife asked, “…Is something wrong?” Her words sent a slight chill down my spine. It was almost like she could read my mind. I took a sip of the cool tea in front of me, cleared my throat, and carefully began to speak.
“…It’s about Soyeon.”
Was it just my imagination? The instant I mentioned Min Soyeon’s name, I could have sworn my wife’s eyes sharpened. She didn’t say a word. Instead, she leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs, and gave me a look that clearly said, Go on.
“We had a bit of an incident today, and… it seems she thinks I’ve been doing something strange.”
“…Strange?”
“Well… she seems to have misunderstood and thinks I’ve been doing something… indecent.”
She narrowed her eyes as if she understood exactly what I meant and murmured, “…You mean she thinks you sold your body to me?”
Ugh… She went straight for the throat. I was a little flustered.
“A-anyway! I managed to clear up the misunderstanding, but… she said she wants me to quit the job, so….”
“…And? Did you tell her you would?”
Her gaze had turned icy. I shrank back a little and slowly nodded, confirming her words. She let out a short sigh, brushed her hair back, and naturally met my eyes.
Those red pupils that seemed to see straight through me. They were much better than when we first met, but they still carried a strangely dark light.
“…That’s not everything, is it? Keep talking.”
As expected, my wife had seen right through the heart of my problem.
“Well, like I mentioned before… it seems Soyeon is starting to see me as a man….”
At that moment, her eyebrows twitched. She quietly interlaced her fingers and gave me a look that said, Continue.
I explained all the concerning words and actions Min Soyeon had shown so far. My wife listened in silence, tapping her foot as she stared blankly into space, lost in deep thought.
I’d half-expected her to scold me for overthinking again, but it seemed she truly understood how serious I was. After I finished explaining everything and waited for her response, her tapping foot suddenly stopped. Her red eyes flashed.
Had she found a solution?
“…We should have a family dinner together soon.”
…Huh?
I watched my bewildered husband and let the corner of my mouth curve upward.
“Don’t you want to be a real family? From now on, you should call me Noona.”
“Ah, no, that’s not what I—”
Still embarrassed about the age-play we’d done before, he waved his hands in refusal. I let out a small laugh at how adorable he was, then spoke with a gentle smile.
“I think I need to see for myself what kind of state Soyeon is in. After all, only a woman truly understands another woman’s heart, don’t you think?”
“…Y-yeah, that’s true.”
“And until we all meet together, you are strictly forbidden from any skinship with her.”
He looked confused and asked, “…Skinship? I don’t do any—”
“Patting her head, hugging her, holding hands, brushing her hair back, feeding her—all of it is forbidden. Understood?”
As I listed them one by one, he shut his mouth tightly, clearly feeling guilty. It was obvious he’d been casually touching her under the excuse of treating her like family. Even if it came from pure goodwill, it was still incredibly dangerous. I pretended not to notice his dejected expression and quietly lifted my teacup.
The refreshing herbal scent wafted up. It eased some of the frustration in my chest. As I sipped my tea, I compared the crises I’d overcome so far with the current situation.
…Had there ever been a problem this difficult to solve?
Not when I struggled to cut down an S-rank beast. Not when I cleared a Gate alone. Not even when I thoroughly crushed those pathetic rags who dared to covet my husband.
No situation had ever been harder than this.
With enough power to cover up any incident, a bit of money, and a few connections, nothing was impossible in this country. That was how I had protected my husband without any major difficulties until now….
…Min Soyeon….
This opponent was someone no amount of power or astronomical wealth could handle.
Who could have imagined that the very shackles I had given birth to in order to keep my husband by my side would one day bind my own ankles?
Last time I had glossed over it, but after hearing my husband’s serious attitude and what that daughter of mine had done, this was not something I could simply ignore.
Seeing that my husband was deliberately hiding his identity from her, it was clear the System was involved. Just like it had done to me, the System must have given him some kind of order. That was probably why he had approached her first.
In other words, it would be a loss for me to drive her away with my own hands.
I could take my time to soothe my husband’s heart, but there was nothing I could do about the System’s penalties. For the same reason, I couldn’t order him to draw a clear line with her.
Of course, I would have to thoroughly educate him never to accept her during any “dangerous moments,” but forcing him to draw a line might make him stray from the System’s instructions.
In this frustrating, hopeless situation, the only thing I could aim for was her self-destruction.
Min Soyeon was currently standing at the edge of the highest cliff, staring at a star she could never reach no matter how much she struggled for the rest of her life.
Unless my husband accepted her feelings, there was nowhere left for her to climb. I would have to meet her in person to confirm, but she had almost certainly turned into a bitch in full heat.
All I had to do was wait for the moment she slipped off that cliff. The moment she flailed desperately, lost her grip, and fell into the abyss beyond.
…It wouldn’t be so bad to give her a little push so she could muster up the courage.
After an entire weekend of “exercise” with my wife finally came to an end, Monday arrived. Today wasn’t a regular day at the Academy. We were going on a field trip to Toyland, an amusement park in Gyeonggi-do.
I arrived at the meeting spot early to wait for Min Soyeon and slowly replayed the conversation I’d had with my wife over the weekend.
Before, she had scolded me for doing something wrong. This time, however, she unexpectedly took my side. She said it was only natural for parents to love their daughter and even praised me for taking good care of her in her stead.
Maybe that was just how parents were.
But she had been very strict about the skinship issue. No matter how much I saw Soyeon as a daughter, Soyeon might interpret it differently. It was a bit shocking, but she wasn’t wrong.
After a long discussion with my wife, we decided that for now I would gradually create some distance, and the three of us would meet this coming weekend to talk things through.
As expected, talking it over with my wife was the right answer instead of suffering alone. They say one wise wife is better than ten beautiful ones, but our Yeonhee is both wise and beautiful. She really is the perfect woman.
While I was proudly thinking about my wife and waiting for Min Soyeon, I spotted her walking over from the other side. I gave her a small wave, and she quickened her pace a little.
“…You’re early.”
“No, I just got here.”
She must have gone shopping while I wasn’t around, because she was wearing clothes I had never seen before. High-waisted denim shorts that reached her belly button, a loose white seven-part sleeve shirt, her hair lightly tied back, and a small crossbody bag. The fresh, youthful look suited her so well that she looked like someone else’s precious daughter. She really was beautiful.
I unconsciously smiled warmly as I looked at her. She seemed self-conscious about her outfit and fidgeted with her clothes as she spoke.
“…D-does it look weird?”
In my heart, I wanted to shower her with praise and tell her how incredibly pretty she looked, but my wife’s warning about misunderstandings flashed through my mind.
“It looks good. Did you buy it recently?”
“…With my friends.”
Friends…? I had never heard that Min Soyeon had friends she could go shopping with…. Still, she might have parts of her personal life I didn’t know about, so I didn’t press the issue.
After meeting up with her, we headed toward the station to go to Toyland. As we walked side by side in silence, she quietly spoke up.
“…Did you quit the part-time job?”
“Yeah. The madam even gave me a bonus for all my hard work.”
It wasn’t exactly a bonus. She had given me precious elixirs and told me not to show her daughter any signs of suffering. Min Soyeon nodded as if relieved and naturally changed the subject.
“…Should I get a tattoo?”
…Did I hear that right?
“…What did you say…?”
She slightly raised her pale arm and said, “…A tattoo. I saw a small one and it looked pretty.”
A t-tattoo…!
“W-why a tattoo all of a sudden?”
“…I saw my friends with them….”
It turned out that the friends she met over the weekend all had tattoos and piercings. She said they looked meaningful and pretty, so she wanted one too. These days, tattoos weren’t just for decoration. Many were used to control mana or increase mana capacity, so I could understand the appeal.
But the problem was that they weren’t ordinary tattoos.
“…Where did they get them…?”
“…One friend got a heart on her lower belly, another on her chest…. I’m not saying I want one there, though….”
Oh my god. Every single one of them was an impure design in a suggestive location. Just what kind of friends were these, getting such tattoos already?! They seemed to be around the same age as her, yet I couldn’t believe they were getting tattoos at such a young age.
While I was seriously worrying about Min Soyeon’s social circle, the fact that she smoked suddenly came to mind. Maybe the reason she started smoking was….
I wanted to believe it wasn’t true, but smoking was heavily influenced by one’s surroundings. It was possible she had fallen in with a bad crowd. I couldn’t just ask her outright if she learned to smoke from her friends, nor could I tell her not to hang out with them….
Feeling frustrated, I was carefully choosing my words to persuade her when she suddenly asked,
“…Want to get one with me?”
She was inviting me to get a tattoo together.