40-54

Chapter 54: Chapter 17: Subtle Intent (3) 

There was an unexpected guest waiting in front of my studio apartment door. 

"You’re here." 

"Oh, unni..? You said you’d be busy today." 

"Ah, work finished a bit early. Sunhwa, did you take good care of Master while you were out?" 

"Y-yes..." 

Sunhwa seemed to freeze at Sua’s sudden appearance. More precisely, she looked tense because there was a new woman with us. But after seeing Jiye’s face, Sua smiled softly and spoke to me. 

"So, who is this time?" 

"Uh, well... This is the owner of the convenience store downstairs..." 

"Hmm... So, it doesn’t seem like you went at it until she passed out, though." 

Sua touched her cheek as if something was odd, lost in thought. For some reason, her gaze felt different than before. It was as if she was embracing me with a gentle force, like a comforting hug. 

"Let’s go in for now." 

"Y-yeah, let’s." 

Sua entered my apartment like someone who’d been there many times, punching in the door lock code. I had told her in advance, but still... 

It wasn’t possible for three adult women and me to sit comfortably in the small room. I laid Jiye down on the bed first and tried to get some water for the others, but  

"Here, have some water. Sunhwa, do you want some too?" 

"Y-yes..." 

Sua was already handing a glass to Sunhwa, who nervously sipped it, glancing at Sua. She acted so naturally, as if she were in her own home. As the breathing of Jiye, lying behind us, grew heavier, Sua glanced at the clock and spoke. 

"Shouldn’t we send her home? It’s getting late..." 

"Right. Sunhwa, could you wake Jiye up?" 

"Uh, okay! I mean, yes!!" 

Sunhwa hurried over to the bed and gently shook Jiye. 

"Hey, wake up. You can’t sleep here!" 

"Mmm..." 

Jiye slowly came to her senses at Sunhwa’s voice, rubbing her eyes as she sat up in bed. 

"This is... ah...!!" 

The moment she saw me sitting at the foot of the bed, her face flushed and she bowed her head. 

"Um, earlier I... I lost consciousness for a moment..." 

"It happens." 

"Yeah, it happens." 

Even Sua, who didn’t know exactly what had happened, nodded in agreement. After all, both of them had spent plenty of time with me, so it was easy to guess. Jiye, now fully awake, looked nervously at Sua and Sunhwa. 

"Um, you two are...?" 

"Ah, right! Let me introduce this is my unni... I mean, just think of her as the eldest!" 

"Sunhwa, wait a moment." 

Sua gently cut off Sunhwa’s hasty introduction with a gesture and a soft smile. 

"We don’t know what decision she’s made yet. It might be risky to say too much too soon." 

"R-right... Sorry, unni." 

With a kind smile, Sua placed her hand on her chest and bowed her head slightly. 

"Hello. I’m Han Sua, Master Sehyun’s first woman. This is the second, Jin Sunhwa." 

"N-nice to meet you..." 

"So, have you decided to be the third?" 

Sua smiled at me. It wasn’t that I’d done anything wrong, and she didn’t seem upset, but maybe she was a little hurt that Sunhwa found out about a new woman before she did. Well... I guess it is my fault. 

Historically, it wasn’t always common to get the first wife’s permission before bringing in a new woman. Still, in our relationship, the harem was forming with Sua’s approval, so it was natural for Sunhwa to be nervous. 

"Um, I..." 

"Sunhwa?" 

"Hic!" 

"Unni’s talking to Master right now, so let’s wait a bit, okay?" 

"Yes, yes!" 

Our first wife seemed to have a lot of authority. 

"R-right! I was planning to do that. Sorry for not telling you in advance." 

"It’s okay, Master. I was just asking to confirm. Sunhwa, don’t be nervous. Unni’s not mad." 

With that, the tense atmosphere in the room vanished in an instant. It was almost on par with my own abilities. Had something changed in Sua? Or did she have a system like mine? 

Anyway, after settling things, Sua spoke to Jiye. 

"So, what will you do?" 

"Yes, um... I, um..." 

Jiye glanced at me, swallowing nervously. She clearly remembered our intense encounter. Her ears turned red, and after a sigh, she bowed her head. 

"Please... accept me as the third..." 

"Hmm." 

Sua put on a stern face. 

"I didn’t see everything, but it looks like you passed out from Master’s love." 

"T-that’s..." 

"It’s okay. You need more practice, but that’s something time will fix. More importantly..." 

She glanced at Sunhwa and asked quietly, 

"Just to check, you don’t have a husband, right?" 

"N-no! I don’t have a husband. I do have a daughter, though..." 

"That’s fine." 

Sua waved her hand with a smile. 

"We have daughters too. By the way, how old are you? Are you younger than us?" 

"I’m thirty-two. Even if I’m older, I’ll treat you as my unnies, so please don’t abandon me!" 

"Huh? No, not at all." 

Sua’s eyes widened, then she laughed heartily. 

"Ahaha! So you’re much younger? Sorry, is it okay if I speak informally? I’m forty." 

"What...?" 

Jiye looked stunned. 

"How...?" 

"Sunhwa, you should say something too." 

"I’m around forty too... but I’m still in my thirties!" 

"Who said otherwise?" 

"No, but... are you two serious?" 

"Why, can’t you believe it?" 

"It’s just... your skin is so good! No wrinkles, and your bodies..." 

"Ah." 

Sua smiled and wrapped her arm around mine. 

"Because we have a tonic right here." 

"I’m a tonic?" 

"Shh, just play along." 

She pinched my cheek playfully. The atmosphere relaxed. After exchanging names and contact info, Jiye stood up. 

"I’ll go now... My child cries if I’m not there." 

"She’s eight, right? So cute..." 

"Yeah, go ahead. We’ve both raised kids, so don’t worry." 

"Thank you, unnies!" 

Something had happened. Even though I’d been watching and listening, the hierarchy among the three women had been perfectly established. 

As soon as Jiye left, Sunhwa rushed at me. 

"Thirty-two?! That’s so young! I thought you liked older women!" 

"Strictly speaking, I just like older women. Why are you so surprised?" 

"Well, I was worried you’d get tired of me..." 

"Don’t worry about that." 

I calmed Sunhwa by stroking her hair, and Sua let out a short sigh. 

"So this is how it was going to be." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Master, it’s fine for you to bring in new women. But before that, I want to apologize for setting the mood today." 

She adjusted her posture and bowed her head. 

"Sorry for overstepping." 

"No, get up, please..." 

"Yeah! Unni, it’s my fault!!" 

After the commotion, Sua stood up and cleared her throat. 

"Actually, something weird happened today. The park security guard..." 

"Security guard?" 

That reminded me of the day I first met Sua, when the guard gave me some kind of tonic. Now that I think about it, it was special... Wait. 

Why didn’t I ever try to find that old man again? 

As I froze, Sua spoke first. 

"Master, I think Sunhwa and I deserve to hear the story." 

"Unni, what do you mean...?" 

"Come here, Sunhwa. We both need to hear this." 

After quickly settling Sunhwa down, Sua looked at me intently. 

"Master, you’re not an ordinary human, are you?" 

"..." 

"I asked you before to tell me when you were ready. Sorry, but I don’t think I can wait any longer." 

Sunhwa gently took my hand. 

"Please tell us, Master. I think both of us deserve to know your secret too."