Chapter 36 Briefly in the Car (1)
Chapter 36 Briefly in the Car (1)
Just as Fourth Mother, perhaps feeling tipsy again, tried to grab my arm while making a fuss, the female detective stepped in and restrained her, shoving her into the car.
Tears welled in Fourth Mother's eyes—whether from anger at my defiance or something else, I didn't care to look.
It didn't matter. As long as she didn't cause any more trouble at the station, she'd be out within a week anyway.
Any serious conversation with her could wait until then. Not that I expected Fourth Mother, Kang Da-eun, to want one.
"Your arm."
After securing Fourth Mother in the car and cuffing her to prevent escape, the female detective turned to me.
"Huh?"
Having rarely spoken to anyone outside my family, I hesitated before responding.
She was beautiful, but her expression was so cold it made me tense.
Of course she'd hate me—the son of a cult leader.
For all I knew, she might suddenly start hurling insults at me.
"Your arm. Is it okay?"
Luckily, that didn't seem to be the case.
Her icy demeanor had made me assume she was terrifying, but it turned out she was kind enough to worry about even someone like me—the son of a fraudulent cult leader.
My arm hung limp, dislocated, so I'd stuffed it into my pocket to keep it stable. I gave it a slight shake.
No strength. And it hurt quite a bit.
But after years of being subjected to human experiments, I'd grown accustomed to pain. It wasn't broken, so like always, a night's rest would heal it.
"I'm fine. No problem."
This was practically my first real conversation with a woman outside my family—unless you counted the lust-crazed college student from earlier—so my response came out stiff.
Apparently dissatisfied, the detective frowned slightly and stepped closer.
"Don't lie. It clearly isn't okay. Since I'm partly responsible, I'll cover the medical expenses. So... give me your number."
Before her hand could touch my arm, I quickly turned away as if suddenly remembering urgent business.
Money? I had none, but my mothers had more than they could ever spend—all of it squeezed from the cult's followers or earned by peddling the Holy Medicine.
They either ignored me or tried to use me as a tool, but they'd at least pay for medical treatment.
Given the circumstances, I couldn't possibly take money from the underpaid detective.
As the cult leader's son, the least I could do was avoid causing her any more trouble.
My reaction must have seemed arrogant, because I heard her sigh deeply behind me as I walked toward the convenience store entrance.
For some reason, that sigh sent a strange shiver down my spine—probably because, despite not having taken any Holy Medicine, I often acted like a depraved addict anyway.
"Hey there, Lee Eun-woo. Seen you in photos, but this is my first time meeting you in person. What's so special about you that the Millennium Cult keeps you hidden away?"
As soon as I stepped into the convenience store, Ryu Ga-hyeon, the detective from the Cult Investigation Unit, greeted me while greedily devouring ice cream from a tub at the table.
I hesitated, unsure how to respond.
She was the one who'd arrested my father and put him behind bars—technically my father's enemy.
But I felt no hatred toward her. If anything, I was deeply grateful. She'd saved me from my father's abuse and irrational demands.
Though raised in the cult, I'd been forced into it from birth—a victim just like the others. My hatred for the Millennium Cult ran deeper than most.
"...Yes."
But as the cult leader's son, showing gratitude was out of the question.
I answered politely, wary of provoking the heroic detective.
Lashing out at the officers earlier—thinking they were kidnappers after assaulting First Mother and Fourth Mother—had been an exception. I wasn't normally that aggressive.
"Don't wanna talk to me? Hah. Fine, I get it. But take this. We'll be seeing a lot more of each other."
Ryu Ga-hyeon set down her ice cream tub and fumbled for something in her pocket, but her hands were sticky from melted ice cream.
"This one?"
Out of habit—always accommodating—I stepped closer and unzipped the pocket she was struggling with.
"Yeah, the thing inside. Grab it for me."
"...In here?"
I hesitated at the thought of reaching into her trench coat pocket.
We'd just met—wasn't this a bit too forward?
Sure, tonight alone I'd aggressively fucked Fourth Mother and uploaded incestuous photos of First Mother after sex—hardly model behavior—but still.
And though her eccentric antics and heroic reputation overshadowed it, Ryu Ga-hyeon was stunning—easily on par with my mothers.
"Why hesitate? Just put it in already. ...Your hand, I mean. Heh."
Her phrasing struck me as odd, but given that even my cultist mothers were weirdos, I brushed it off.
Carefully, I slid my hand into her pocket.
"Ahh♥ D-deeper..."
The moment I did, she let out a lewd moan, startling me into pulling back.
But Ryu Ga-hyeon just smirked at me, as if asking why I'd stopped, despite clearly having heard her.
Reluctantly, I reached in again. She continued to let out soft, indecent gasps but never told me to stop.
Inside, I found an odd assortment: ginseng candy, a few pieces of gum, a set of sharp knuckles, black leather gloves, a torn receipt, coiled wire, and finally—a small case containing a business card.
"Here, Eun-woo. Take it."
"This...?"
I examined the card. Nothing special—just her personal contact info.
"Yep, that's my personal one. Not for work."
She stood up from the table, stepping closer.
Only then did I realize how short she was—barely taller than my youngest mother, Yun Gae-ul.
For the first time, I saw her not just as the detective who'd arrested my father—my savior and yet, as the cult leader's son, my enemy—but as a woman.
Not that I wanted to do anything with her, of course. Just acknowledging her femininity.
"Keep it. And call me."
Finally understanding why she'd given me her personal card, I stiffened.
She wasn't the first to approach me like this.
Leaders of smaller cults absorbed by the Millennium Cult, gangs connected to Fourth Mother's business ventures, corporations interested in the Holy Medicine's effects—they'd all tried to recruit me.
Though rarely seen in public, my high rank within the cult made them assume I was its shadow leader.
But they were wrong. The true powers behind the cult were my mothers—not me.
And I had an even bigger reason to refuse.
"I can't."
I handed the card back.
I expected anger or persuasion, but Ryu Ga-hyeon reacted unexpectedly.
"Huh? What're you talking about? I said it's personal, not work-related! What'd you think I meant, Eun-woo?"
"Huh?"
"Did you assume I was trying to use you to take down the Millennium Cult?"
"...You weren't?"
What else would a detective like her want from me?
"Of course not!"
She grabbed my hand with her sticky, ice-cream-covered fingers and lifted it, pressing a light kiss to my knuckles.
The sudden gesture shocked me.
And, absurdly, for the first time in my life, my dick twitched for a woman outside my family.
"I just wanted a fling. You're hot, Eun-woo. And I'm kinda... interested. So? What do you say?"
Ryu Ga-hyeon spun in place, her trench coat flaring open to reveal her figure.
Shockingly curvaceous for someone who'd been eating ice cream straight from the tub.
"Not bad, right?"
"......"
"Pretty, huh?"
"......"
"Turned on?"
"Yes. You're beautiful."
"Ahahaha! A handsome younger guy called me pretty~!"