Self-Destruction (3)
I kept nagging the entire way to the meeting spot. For some reason, I couldn’t stop worrying about Min Soyeon.
“Soyeon. From now on, if any weird guys keep bothering you, just pull your sword first. If they still don’t back off, swing it without hesitation. The tech these days is good enough that you won’t kill them unless you really mean to, so don’t worry about that. And if any problems come up, I’ll take care of everything…”
Strangely, Min Soyeon just stared at me quietly and listened to my endless lecturing without a word.
“…Did you get all that?”
She slowly nodded, as if to say she understood, and that was her only reply.
…This is making me even more worried.
Watching her, a knot of anxiety tightened in my chest. I’d told her to just cut them down, but there was no way my soft-hearted, kind-hearted Soyeon could actually go around slicing people up. Maybe I should get her some proper self-defense gear instead. Lost in those thoughts, I kept walking until…
“…It’s here.”
Min Soyeon stopped in front of a building and told me this was the place.
…Huh? This is…
Now that I looked properly, it was the family restaurant the three of us used to visit often back in the day. No wonder my wife hadn’t given me the exact location. I never imagined she’d prepare a surprise like this.
We stepped inside the building. At the first-floor lobby, we gave the hostess my wife’s name as the reservation holder and were guided to a private room on the third floor.
As Soyeon and I followed the staff, I glanced at the instant photos hanging on one side of the lobby.
“….”
One of them was a picture from Soyeon’s twelfth birthday. A beaming Soyeon in the center, with my wife and me smiling happily beside her. We used to see this photo every time we came here…
I never thought I’d get to see it again.
Overwhelmed by rising emotion, I stood there staring blankly until Min Soyeon, who had walked ahead, nudged me with her elbow.
“…What are you doing?”
“Ah. Sorry. I was just looking at the photo for a second.”
She glanced at the picture I’d been staring at, then told me to hurry up and go inside like it was nothing.
Her face looked indifferent, but I wondered if she, like me, had been recalling old memories.
We continued on, took the elevator, and stepped out onto the third floor. Although my wife had reserved a private room in the back, it was still a family restaurant, so we could see crowds of customers everywhere.
“For real? They said the Sword Empress is here?”
“I saw her earlier! Her hair’s gotten really long.”
“She went into that room in the back.”
“Whoa… So she really is making a comeback? No articles have dropped yet, though?”
I could hear people chattering about my wife from all directions. Her striking appearance must have caught the eyes of passersby. She was too sharp not to have expected this… Maybe that was why she deliberately chose this place?
We walked a little farther and finally reached the private room in the back of the third floor. The staff member knocked politely, then opened the door with a soft creak—revealing my wife, elegantly dressed and waiting for us.
“Mom!”
The moment she spotted Min Soyeon, my wife shot to her feet to welcome us. One look at her outfit told me she had gone all out.
“…Come in, you two.”
A blouse that beautifully hugged her devastating figure, paired with a wine-colored long skirt that perfectly revealed the line of her hips. It was the exact combination I used to praise endlessly, saying how pretty it looked on her.
I pretended to know nothing and bowed politely.
“Hello. Mother. It’s been a while.”
She gave a faint smile and casually returned the greeting, asking if I had been well. Just this morning we had been tangled together naked, yet here we were acting like complete strangers… It was truly bizarre.
*
After we sat down and exchanged light conversation, the food we ordered soon arrived. Every dish placed on the table looked mouthwatering. Since Min Soyeon had taken the lead in ordering, every item was a familiar favorite. It felt like we had stepped back in time.
“If it’s not enough, just order more, okay? Eat as much as you want.”
At my wife’s gentle words, I offered my thanks.
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it, Mother.”
“…I’ll enjoy it.”
I started by slicing two portions of the signature baby back ribs and transferring them to plates. The tender meat sliced smoothly with a soft shhk-shhk. Even though it had been a long time since I’d last done this, the sensation in my fingertips was still there.
In no time, I deboned the meat and quietly moved a portion onto my wife’s plate, meeting her eyes. Her gaze curved beautifully. I gave her a small smile, then deboned the other piece and placed it on Soyeon’s plate.
“…Thanks.”
Soyeon kept glancing at her mother, as if checking her reaction, before thanking me. It almost looked like she was showing off a little.
I ate a few french fries, then scooped some of the fried rice my wife loved onto her plate. After that, I meticulously picked out the seafood from the pasta and piled it onto Soyeon’s plate.
I kept looking after the two of them, eating with deep satisfaction, when—
Tap.
Something touched my calf.
…Hm?
I froze in surprise. Min Soyeon glanced at me and asked,
“…What’s wrong?”
Tap. Tap. Something was sliding up my right calf.
“Ah, no… I was just wondering if you wanted the clams. Is that okay?”
“…Yeah.”
I casually withdrew my hand and shot a quick glare at my wife sitting across from me.
“….”
Right on cue, something landed softly on my knee.
This woman…
It seemed my wife was playing games under the table. I frowned slightly, signaling her to stop. She put on an innocent face, pretending not to notice my look, and casually asked us a question.
“…So why were you two late today? Did something happen?”
At the same time, her foot drew slow circles, stroking my leg. The moment I tried to push her foot away, Min Soyeon, who was sitting beside me, took a sip of her drink and answered nonchalantly.
“…I got hit on.”
Oh, come on… She’s saying that like it’s nothing again…
While I was slightly flustered by Soyeon’s boldness, my wife’s foot suddenly stopped. She looked a little shocked too.
“…You did?”
“…Yeah. But Jihwan saved me.”
Min Soyeon casually brought up my name and shot me a quick glance. It was a signal for me to take over the story.
“That’s right. Some guys were bothering Soyeon earlier, so…”
I naturally turned my gaze to my wife and calmly recounted what had happened. As I briefly explained how I had rescued Soyeon, my wife looked at me with proud, almost seductive eyes while her foot continued its teasing under the table.
Her foot slowly worked its way between my legs.
S-stop it…!
I cut the story short at an appropriate point, smoothly changed the subject, and pushed her foot away.
“It must be because Soyeon takes after you, Mother. She’s incredibly popular at school too.”
While Min Soyeon quietly twirled her pasta with a satisfied little smile at my compliment, my wife answered with a faint smile of her own.
“…Is that so? Our Soyeon is that popular?”
Even as she praised her daughter, her foot moved skillfully, tormenting me beneath the table.
…I’m going crazy.
Fighting with my wife’s foot under the table while keeping a straight face and continuing the conversation above it was far from easy.
As we talked about Soyeon’s school life, my wife suddenly asked about me.
“…Jihwan seems like he’d be popular too… Soyeon, what do you think of him?”
Min Soyeon, who had been chewing the meat I’d prepared for her, glanced at me. Her gaze carried a strange sharpness.
“…I don’t know.”
There was a distinct prickliness in her tone.
The atmosphere grew slightly awkward, so I quickly changed the subject and casually spoke to my wife. I mentioned that while Soyeon had outstanding talent with the sword, my own swordsmanship wasn’t enough to teach her properly.
“…Is that so? It seems Soyeon really does take after me.”
At my wife’s response, Min Soyeon looked a bit shy and quietly sipped her ade.
“Yes. I’m somewhat confident in mana control, but I believe it would be best for her to learn swordsmanship directly from you, Mother. That’s why I brought it up.”
“…Hmm…”
Min Soyeon, who had been quietly playing with her fork, stopped eating entirely and stared at her mother. It looked like she was hoping, just as I expected, that she might get to learn from her mom.
And at that moment, my wife unclasped her hands and spoke as if it were nothing special.
“…You don’t have to worry about that. I’ve decided to join the Academy this time.”
“Huh?”
“…M-Mom?”
Both Soyeon and I looked at her with question marks floating over our heads. My wife continued in that same casual tone while her foot began stroking me again under the table.
“…The Chairman said he’d like me to return to the Association, but I told him I’d go to the Academy instead.”
R-Really…?
I was genuinely shocked by the unexpected news. I had known she was planning to make a comeback, but I never imagined it would be at the Academy instead of the Association.
The Sword Empress coming to the Academy… This wasn’t just about a celebrity joining the school. For the Association, which was currently locked in a tense standoff with the Gujae Church, this was their strongest card. It was also the perfect opportunity to focus public attention on the Academy.
I’d been wondering what Jeon Nando was thinking… So he went and pulled my wife in.
As her husband, I couldn’t help worrying whether she was ready to return so soon. But as someone who needed to help Min Soyeon grow stronger, I couldn’t be anything but happy that the Academy would have the woman once called the strongest.
Feeling a weight lift from my chest, I let out a small sigh. Meanwhile, Soyeon asked excitedly,
“…When? Are you coming as a teacher? What subject?”
My wife told her that nothing had been finalized yet and that it would be decided soon. As she spoke, she sent me a subtle glance, as if checking my reaction.