Cliff's Edge (5)
I poked my sleeping husband’s cheek with a soft pok. He slowly lifted a hand and scratched at his face. I waited a moment longer, but he showed no sign of waking. His condition had improved a lot, yet maybe four rounds in one night had still been too much. He’d passed out cold, sinking into such a deep sleep that I could have carried him on my back without him stirring.
…
I’d been a little forceful, but I had succeeded in keeping my husband here. The time we’d promised each other was only two days. By the day after tomorrow, I had to guide him into naturally wanting to live together. I needed to rip out those soft, mushy ideals of his by the roots and thoroughly educate him so he could only think the right thoughts.
It wouldn’t be solved with a few words or swinging a sword around like before. If I failed, there was no telling when or where he might come back with some massive tumor attached. No—if he came back at all, that would be fortunate. He might leave my side forever.
Min Soyeon. That sly little daughter of mine. Why else would she have boldly declared she wanted to marry me? She wanted to make it a done deal, tie him down socially, and glue him to her side. That’s why she asked for my help. If she had wanted some other man, I would have cheered her on and helped with all my heart. But since she’s aiming for my husband, I absolutely cannot allow it.
…
I lay on the bed, quietly watching my husband for a while, then leaned down and pressed a light kiss to his face. I slowly rose and turned my gaze toward the fourth camera I had secretly hidden in the corner of the room.
It’s recording properly… right?
Recording in progress. All footage saved securely.
When I came to, it was already evening. My wife, who had just returned after taking care of Soyeon, handed me a suspicious-looking liquid she claimed was a fatigue recovery drink…
“…I just want to rest.”
“Who’s bothering you? Just chug it down and sleep deeply.”
She pressed the bottle firmly against my lips, forcing me to drink. Well, it’s not like she’d put poison in it… right? In the end, I obediently took the bottle and quietly poured the liquid into my mouth. A subtle sweetness spread across my tongue, mixed with a strange refreshing tang. It tasted decent enough that I could have mistaken it for a regular beverage.
“…How is it?”
I smacked my lips at my wife’s question and answered, “It’s drinkable.”
She said she was glad it suited my taste and naturally began taking off her clothes.
…Wait, why is she undressing again?
“…We’re doing it again?” I asked, startled.
She met my eyes with a meaningful gaze and replied, “I’m just changing clothes… Do you want to?”
Then, with a seductive curl of her lips, she continued stripping off the rest of her clothes. I realized—too late—that I had been played. I quietly shut my mouth and threw myself onto the bed. If I opened my mouth here, I might have to stay up all night again.
After going two more rounds with my wife and heading into the bathroom, I finally heard news about Soyeon from her.
“A laptop?”
She had bought Soyeon a new phone and laptop because the girl was bored. Since Soyeon liked games, it was actually a pretty good gift.
“…She seemed to really like it?”
“Did she…?”
I was submerged in the warm bathtub, feeling languid, and absentmindedly kneaded my wife’s body as I held her in my arms. Besides the gift story, she told me Soyeon hated hospital food so she’d pack lunches, how to respond when the Association came by, and various other things. It seemed Soyeon found it much easier to open up to her mom than to me; they had shared a lot of what was on her mind.
…Even back when I was alive, Soyeon had always been closer to her mother than to me…
For some reason, I felt a strange pang of jealousy toward my wife. I subtly tightened my fingers, teasing her.
“…Haa…”
Startled by the sudden stimulation, she let out a soft moan and turned her head slightly. Her sidelong glance carried a sultry look. Those slightly parted, plump lips she bit in mild frustration completely stole my attention.
I almost unconsciously devoured her lips, but I snapped back to my senses and quickly looked away.
“…It’s not like that.”
She began swaying her hips teasingly, provoking me. “Really?”
“…Ugh…”
Soon the water in the bathtub started to overflow.
…How much time had passed?
Talking with my wife about Soyeon like this suddenly brought back old memories. The days when we would always hold each other like this every night and talk about our daughter. We had fought many times because our views on education differed, and we had been moved by the sight of our grown child.
…
It really is good to be alive.
*
Right before bed. My husband, already lying down first, spoke to me.
“…This weekend, I’m thinking of stopping by to see Haeseon for a bit.”
Haeseon. He must be talking about the kid he had beaten. When I asked why, he answered in a slightly serious tone.
“…It’s been bothering me a little. We fought together, after all. It doesn’t sit right with me that she left without proper treatment.”
I was so dumbfounded I closed my mouth. This was exactly my husband’s problem. He went out of his way to worry about things he didn’t need to worry about, creating trouble for himself. If he had bad intentions, I could at least beat some sense into him, but because he purely acted out of goodwill, I couldn’t even get angry.
If I stopped him here, he would clearly keep feeling uneasy and suffer in silence. But simply allowing it made me feel a bit anxious.
“…Do you really have to go?”
When I asked, testing the waters, he glanced around as if reading my mood and answered, “It’s not that I absolutely have to go. I’ll see her next week anyway…”
Even though he said that, it was obvious he was still bothered. As I watched him and pondered, an idea struck me—this could be an opportunity.
“…Going is fine. But in return, you have to make a few promises with me before you go.”
“…Promises?”
I put away the tablet that was full of skin-colored images, then approached him.
“Not confident?”
He waved his hands, insisting it wasn’t that, and asked what kind of promises. Time for the direct approach.
“…Promise you won’t do it with her.”
“…What?”
I moved closer to my flustered husband and lightly placed my hand on his thigh.
“…If she puts her hand here like this, what will you do?”
He looked at me as if I was ridiculous. “Why would she touch me there?”
I stared at him intently, urging him to answer quickly. He let out a short sigh, brushed my hand off his thigh, and asked as if undergoing an inspection, “Like this?”
Without saying a word, I pounced on him and kissed him.
“Mmph!”
He seemed genuinely surprised; no matter how I tried to pry them open, his lips wouldn’t budge. I wriggled my tongue and caressed his body, attacking him for a long time until his tightly sealed lips finally began to part slightly.
…Oh?
The moment he accepted my tongue, I immediately pulled away, glared at him, and said, “You’re not pushing me away?”
He let out a low sigh and answered dazedly, “How could I push away a beautiful woman like you throwing herself at me?”
Beautiful woman. The thought that he still found me pretty secretly made me happy, but I couldn’t let it slide.
“Act properly. Pretend I’m that girl.”
He grumbled, asking what that even meant. I stroked his body and said, “I’ll overlook you getting hard. But if you make a mistake, both of us die. …Understood?”
It was the beginning of a very long ‘practice’ session.
*
Right after Mom left the house.
I hurriedly started unpacking the laptop Mom had bought me.
Rip— Riiip—
“Wow…”
I couldn’t help letting out a small gasp of admiration at the sight of the brand-new laptop in front of me. We had a desktop at home, so I didn’t know much about laptops, but I was pretty sure she had bought the best one available. I sent infinite thanks to Mom, who was probably on her way home, and quickly plugged in the power cord.
Beep—
The monitor lit up with a particularly welcoming startup sound. The thought of finally being able to meet my ‘friends’ again made my chest swell with excitement.
My plan to confess to Jihwan and make our relationship official had failed, but introducing him to Mom had succeeded. After hearing about everything Jihwan had done so far, Mom said he seemed like a really good kid and praised him. She even told me to do my best and that she would support me. She even said she hoped I wouldn’t have a child too early like she did, showing her support for my plan!
It was practically the same as getting permission. I had to let my ‘friends’ know this happy news and quickly prepare the next operation…!
Tap— Tap tap—
After hurriedly setting up the laptop, I entered the game homepage and started the installation. But…
Remaining Time: 40 minutes
Maybe because it was a hospital, the internet was ridiculously slow.
“Ugh, why is it so slow…!”
It wasn’t like I couldn’t wait, but I wanted to brag about my news to my ‘friends’ and get their advice as soon as possible. With impatient fingers, I turned on my phone and continued setting it up to use mobile data…
About twenty-five minutes later.
“Done!”
I had finally managed to launch the game. Just as I grabbed the mouse, wondering how to surprise my friends—
Patching — 1% Remaining Time: 15 minutes
“Ughhh!!”
The wait still wasn’t over.