161 – Their Hearing (2)

I couldn’t even date, let alone have a child.

Because Jihyun died quite early before her regression.

But he didn’t tell me this fact in detail.

Even if I told you, it wasn’t a very good thing.

Anyway, it doesn’t matter now.

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… … .”

huh?

While I was thinking about something else for a moment.

I blinked and looked away.

The atmosphere in the room is a little strange?

An unknown pressure seemed to be weighing down on my shoulders.

The air became quite heavy and their eyes quickly sank.

Their gazes, staring at me blankly with dark shadows in their eyes, were quite burdensome.

‘… …Why are you all like this?’

It was a so-called ‘gapbunsa’ type of quarter, so I tried to suppress my bewildered feelings.

I just made a joke to humorously avoid questioning, but I never expected this kind of reaction.

“Seojun.”

“huh?”

“That’s what I mean.”

Jihyun slowly moved her lips.

As her pink lips twitched, their attention also focused.

I could tell that their attention had shifted to the topic of the child, as if the fact that they had been questioning me until just now was a lie.

“We had a child?”

“Oh, well, yeah.”

Jihyun asked me more seriously than I expected, and I couldn’t help but scratch the back of my neck with an awkward expression and slowly nod my head.

“The child’s name is Jijun?”

“Yeah, yeah, Ji-jun. It’s Han Ji-jun.”

Jihyun looked up into the sky and muttered to herself, ‘I have a child…?’

Then Seoyoon, Hwaryeon, and Yerin bit their lips slightly.

I could tell something was wrong from the look of it.

‘No, wait a minute… … Did I make a joke that was too reckless… …?’

In fact, if I had escaped the questioning, I would have tried to act cute and say, “Oh, what is it, Jihyun? Did you believe that? Hey, I’m joking, I’m joking,” but in the current atmosphere, I felt like saying something like that could cause a big problem.

If they were normal, they would have been able to tell that what I said was a lie with just a little thought, but for some reason, their reaction was strange.

I think it was probably because of the keyword ‘child’.

“……teacher.”

At that moment, Yerin called out in a low voice.

It was a rather gloomy voice, so I couldn’t help but flinch.

I don’t know why he called me with such a low voice, but I had to answer.

As I slowly turned my gaze towards Yerin, I could see a girl with gray hair staring at me with a gloomy face and her fists clenched tightly.

Yerin lowered her head slightly, then raised her eyes and asked me a question.

“Really, really, you and Jihyun unnie had a child… …?”

As I watched Yerin ask with eyes filled with envy and jealousy, I swallowed hard and realized that I had acted so foolishly.

Considering their position, the story about the child must have been quite sensitive, but it was too reckless.

Moreover, it seems that Yerin had her own romantic notion about having a child… … .

“If I had a child with Jihyun before the regression… … .”

She chews her lips tightly, sobbing a little.

“Then what about me… … ?”

Yerin’s large red eyes were sadly asking me a question.

“Teacher, before you returned, did you marry Jihyun unnie…? What happened to me, teacher? Did you never date me? Or, or did you abandon me after marrying Jihyun unnie?”

“No, that’s not it.”

Please don’t talk like a tragic heroine.

It started out as a light-hearted joke, but why did it turn out like this?

I couldn’t blame anyone because it was all my karma.

“Now that I think about it, I’m a bit curious. Are you really getting married to your senior?”

“Wow, Han Seo-jun, you punk. Before you returned, you had a wife and a child, and yet you were flirting with all these women? This is really useless.”

Seo-yoon just asked quietly with sad eyes, and Hwa-ryeon sneered with a face of bewilderment.

‘Oh my. How should I explain this?’

It’s a little funny to say now that I didn’t marry Jihyun even though we had a child together.

And it’s a bit weird to confirm that you’re married.

The fact that he was married to Jihyun meant that she was his only legally recognized ‘wife’, so it was obvious that this would be a very sensitive topic for them.

They probably have their own hierarchy, but Jihyun’s position has been solidified thanks to my comments.

And this won’t be a very pleasant thing for Seo-yoon, Hwa-ryeon, and Ye-rin.

If I can’t make a proper excuse for this, there might be some lingering ill feelings?

“… … Actually, that’s true.”

I opened my mouth and slowly looked at their faces.

I thought about how to make an excuse, then I moved my lips again, thinking, ‘Oh, I don’t know.’

Since we’ve come this far, there’s nothing we can do.

Since I can’t take back what’s already been said, what I need to do now is not make excuses or alibis, but to slap a metal plate on the face.

“… …Before you guys returned, you guys got married too.”

“?”

Suddenly, question marks appeared above their heads.

“Hey. What are you talking about? Do you think this is the Middle East?”

Hwaryeon looked at me with an expression that said, ‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Even when I thought about it, it was something that didn’t make sense. It was difficult in many ways to let out nonsense from a person’s mouth.

But I can’t hesitate like an idiot.

Because it is more effective to push forward consistently, even if it means making a few ridiculous excuses.

Of course, if you keep hearing nonsense, it will eventually turn into something plausible.

I continued to babble, ignoring the thoughts in my head, ‘Oh, shit, this doesn’t seem right.’

“After about 10 years, the law was revised and polygamy was implemented.”

“… … .”

“That’s why we were able to get married. Ah, haha.”

“… … .”

Their gazes seem to have become a bit colder.

“Hey, Han Seo-jun.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s wrong?”

Hwaryeon, who couldn’t stand to watch, peeled off the wrapped shell and chewed it roughly before firing.

“Are you just saying whatever comes to mind?”

“No?”

I put a plate of iron on my face.

It looked ridiculous on the thick iron plate.

“Ha. What the hell. Hey, what the hell law was changed to allow polygamy… … .”

“The s*x ratio is off. The soldiers who died because of the monsters have not yet been properly recovered. In a country with a low birth rate, the number of men has decreased, so there must have been many problems. And the situation was even worse before the return. Many more people died because of the powerful monsters.”

“Stop being such a jerk.”

Hwaryeon didn’t seem to believe it at all.

Well, that makes sense. I almost laughed out loud.

Probably no one will believe it.

Well, what can I do?

We have to keep pushing.

“Hwaryeon. Don’t you remember?”

“what.”

“What I did with you in the training hall.”

“… … .”

Suddenly, Hwa-ryeon clenched her teeth.

It seems that the embarrassing memory from the training ground came back to me.

At that time, I must have felt quite humiliated because I did something strange to Hwaryeon.

“Your unique surname… … .”

I took a quick look around.

Jihyun, Seoyoon, and Yerin are looking this way.

Since I couldn’t say it out loud in front of the kids, I spoke indirectly.

“… … Anyway, I really don’t know why I know so much about you. It’s probably because I had a deep relationship with you guys.”

“Teacher? What happened when you actually sparred with Sister Hwaryeon?”

When Yerin asked with a questioning look in her eyes, I quickly turned the light on.

“And Yerin, you had two children before you returned.”

“Me, really?”

Yerin was surprised.

I feel like this is becoming more and more difficult to deal with.

But now, what the hell is training? I’ll just charge forward with all my might.

… … Since you’ve decided to take responsibility for everything anyway, why don’t you just make it a reality instead of a lie?

If you get into a relationship with them later, you might actually have a child, and I don’t know, really.

“Then really? You said you had a son and a daughter?”

“What is your name?”

“Huh? Name… …?”

“Yes. Uh, our children’s names… … .”

Yerin asked with a rather surprised expression.

When I looked at that face, my lips couldn’t move.

Oh, I never even thought about a name.

What should I do?

“That, Serin, and Yejun.”

“Ah! It’s named after the two of us? Serin, Yejun… … Hehe.”

Yerin nodded her head in satisfaction, her cheeks slightly blushing, and smiled brightly.

When I saw that smile, I felt a strange sense of guilt.

Suddenly, he gently stroked Yerin’s lower abdomen and clenched his fists while saying, “Mom will do her best, kids.”

What on earth are you trying so hard for?

I had doubts, but I didn’t bother to ask.

Because I felt like I shouldn’t ask.

“I too… …was there?”

“huh?”

“Seo, Seojun and… … child… … .”

“Oh, yeah. What.”

“I see… … Irony… … .”

Seoyoon hesitated with a shy face, then suddenly tilted her head.

“Just a moment, Seojun.”

“why?”

“If you were close enough to have a child with me in the future, why did you… … break up with me last time… … ?”

“… … .”

… … A contradiction has arisen.

If you and Seo-yoon had a child and were married before returning, then your actions of breaking up last time would have been considered a really trashy thing to do.

Maybe you misunderstand that I dated you once before I returned, so I’m trying to eat you up this time?

That much had to be stopped.

“… … That, back then, my memories before the regression weren’t clear. I had amnesia.”

“Seojun? Didn’t you say that you’ve almost completely recovered your past memories?”

“… … I only recovered the memories after the regression, but, well, the memories before the regression are a bit confusing.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Seoyoon blinked slightly.

I don’t know if you believe me or not.

Oh, my tongue seems to have gotten too long.

If your tongue and tail are long, you can be caught.

“Anyway, they’re having fun, they’re having fun.”

Jihyun grumbled with her arms crossed in discontent.

I looked at Yerin with a pitiful expression, but Yerin didn’t care whether I said that or not.

She seemed to be lost in an unknown fantasy, gently stroking her lower abdomen with a face full of maternal love(?).

“… … Haa. So, to summarize, Seojun, you’re saying that even before you returned, you were a punk who harassed all kinds of women?”

Jihyun, he’s saying something hurtful again.

“No, why are you twisting my words like that?”

“Why? You’re right. You said you were all married to us? No? You perverted punk?”

“Because it was legal before the regression.”

“That would be very true.”

Jihyun continued to have an indifferent attitude, as if she didn’t really believe what I said.

But she only glanced at my face from time to time, perhaps because it seemed a little odd to say that she had a child.

“… … Phew. My head hurts for no reason. What is regression and what is a child? How much should I trust?”

“Ah, haha.”

I imitated Mina’s awkward laugh.

“Teacher, in the future, I will grow up a bit, Jo?”

“Growing up?”

Yerin wiggled her fingers and lowered her head slightly.

And he muttered in a slightly uncertain voice.

But there was a glimmer of hope in that voice.

“Height… … or something. T, chest… … or something.”

Even though he was talking to himself, he was so embarrassed that his voice sounded like an ant.

If you’re that embarrassed, there’s no need to ask.

Oh, and now that I think about it, when I think about how Yerin was provoked by Jihyun earlier, I’m sure Yerin couldn’t help but feel nervous.

It seemed like Yerin had a complex about being small, whether she knew it or not.

It wasn’t strange for me to have a complex about being a bit smaller than my peers.

“Well, growing up at this age is a bit strange… … right… …?”

“… … .”

“I asked the wrong question, I’m sorry… … Teacher.”

“… … .”

The face that had been slightly filled with anticipation began to blur, and soon he took on a complicated expression and slumped his shoulders.

If I remained silent, it seemed as if he had inferred the outcome without me saying anything.

However, contrary to what Yerin thought, Yerin before her regression was quite a s*xy(?) beauty.

I’ve grown quite a bit in height too.

Chest too.

“Don’t worry, Yerin. You’re much bigger now.”

“Really, really?”

“Of course. Have you been taking elixirs regularly since you returned to the Seong clan?”

“Huh? Oh, yes.”

“Even before the regression, my height started to grow rapidly starting around next year. I think it must be because of the elixir.”

“Is that so?”

This is not a lie.

Because before her regression, Yerin grew taller and taller.

Oh, of course I couldn’t tell if it was starting next year or not.

“But Seojun.”

“what’s the matter?”

“Why did you choose to return, Seojun? If what you said is true, it seems like there was no need to return.”

……Huh?