Chapter 112

Once all the women had left, Seo-yoon said to Jun-sang, who was looking through the catalog, “She’s a truly beautiful young lady.”

When it came to topics among men, cars were one thing, but discussion of women was inevitable. Especially since Jun-sang had Henes, such a special young lady from another world, by his side, it was bound to be even more exciting.

“Indeed.” But Jun-sang’s reaction was unenthusiastic.

Seo-yoon tried once more, “She’s cute, and what should I say? Like a kitten.”

“She has that side too.”

“…” While he was agreeing, Jun-sang’s somewhat bland reaction made Seo-yoon and Seong-ryeol look at each other. Seo-yoon asked, just in case, “Surely… nothing happened?”

“Of course not.”

“…” Seo-yoon and Seong-ryeol looked disbelieving. “H-how can that be?! She’s always giving you such loving, heart-eyed looks, and you’ve been using the same room, the same bedroom, and nothing’s happened until now? Are you serious?” It was a feat in itself that Seo-yoon managed to suppress the words, ‘What kind of eunuch is the man inside you?’ from escaping his lips.

But the next moment, as his eyes met Jun-sang’s, Seo-yoon realized he had spoken carelessly. “Ahem… No, what I mean is…”

But Jun-sang glanced at him, then returned his gaze to the catalog and replied, “This isn’t the place for that child.”

“But…”

“Furthermore, I’m someone with an uncertain future.”

“…” At those words, the two men had no choice but to fall silent. Although Jun-sang was strong, no one knew when or where he might encounter danger. Moreover… in a situation like this, if something like a pregnancy occurred, it would be even more devastating for the woman. Even during her menstrual cycle, a woman’s physical condition significantly deteriorates, and if she were to become pregnant, it would undoubtedly be a matter directly related to survival. Only then did Seo-yoon and Seong-ryeol realize that Jun-sang was not taking Henes lightly. If she were a woman who was “good for anything,” he might act without thinking of the consequences, but because she wasn’t, he couldn’t act recklessly.

“But…” As Seo-yoon was about to say something again, Yoon Seong-ryeol, sitting next to him, quickly nudged his arm to stop him. It was likely a judgment that continuing the conversation wouldn’t be good for the atmosphere, but Seo-yoon ignored the hint and continued, “Wouldn’t it be a problem if she simply returned as she is?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know the specifics, but even if she’s from an ordinary family, being out with another man for such a long time would be sufficient grounds for scandal.”

“…” Jun-sang silently looked at the catalog for a moment, then quietly said, “I understand, that’s enough.”

“Yes.”

“By the way… is this the only catalog you brought?”

“Don’t you like it?”

Jun-sang looked away from the catalog and replied, “Perhaps because I drove a Humvee for a while, everything else feels too light.”

“Haha…” Had he finally understood the charm of the Humvee? “Then perhaps it would be better to just keep driving a Humvee…”

“That won’t do. Henes can’t stand it. Besides, it’s too well-known.”

“Indeed…”

Seo-yoon deliberated for a moment, then pulled out another catalog. “I brought this just in case, but how about something like this?”

“…” As Jun-sang looked, there were pictures of large, robust-looking cars.

“What is this?”

“It’s a type of vehicle called a pickup truck. Although it’s called a truck, it’s somewhat different from what people commonly imagine a truck to be. It’s not a perfect analogy, but if you think of it as a combination of an SUV and a light truck, it might be easier to understand.”

“I’d like a more detailed explanation.”

Seeing Jun-sang show interest, Seo-yoon held up the catalog and began to explain. “It’s a type of vehicle commonly used in countries with large territories like the U.S. or Australia, rather than places like Korea. Its characteristic feature is its focus on off-road driving and towing, rather than cargo transport. The ‘terrorist trifecta’ often refers to an AK, Allah’s magic wand, and a technical, which is a modified pickup truck. In fact, during the conflict between Libya and Chad, Chad used about a hundred modified Toyota pickup trucks to destroy Libya’s armored division. That’s why it was named the Toyota War, but…”

However, as Seo-yoon’s words began to stray, Jun-sang quickly raised a hand to stop him. “Stop, that’s enough.”

“…”

“So, it’s similar to a Humvee but has a good ride quality, is that it?”

Seo-yoon looked somewhat dissatisfied with Jun-sang’s concise summary, but soon had no choice but to nod in agreement. “Yes, well… for now.”

“What are some representative models?”

“First… Ford’s F-Series, Chevrolet’s Silverado series, Dodge Ram under the Chrysler brand, and Volkswagen’s Amarok are famous. Recently, Toyota’s Tundra has also been selling quite well.”

“Hmm…”

“Although there are differences depending on the model, most have a towing capacity of 4.5 tons or more, a maximum output of 350 horsepower, and a maximum torque of 55 kg.m. As they are performance-oriented, fuel efficiency is a bit lower, but it’s still better than a Humvee. They’re hard to see in Korea, but if you look at the U.S. car sales rankings for the first half of this year, the top two were pickup trucks.”

“I see.” Jun-sang nodded and asked again, “If you were to recommend one?”

“The epitome of pickup trucks would still be Ford’s F-150 series. It actually ranked first in U.S. car sales in the first half of this year, and with over 60 years of history, it’s a bestseller.”

“I see.”

“Honestly, I’ve never driven a pickup truck myself, so it’s a bit difficult for me to compare its pros and cons with other car types.”

Seo-yoon then opened his phone and began searching for information on pickup truck models online, explaining them to Jun-sang one by one. Later, they even borrowed a laptop from the hotel and connected it to the TV, engaging in a heated discussion.

After several hours of gathering and analyzing information, the three men finally regained their senses when the phone suddenly rang.

“Hello.”

“What are you doing? It’s almost lunchtime. Aren’t you done yet?”

“Ah…” Not only Seo-yoon but also the other two men realized only then how much time had passed.

Jin Se-ah, as if she had expected it, said again, “Come down. Everyone’s at the ice rink right now.”

“Understood.” Seo-yoon hung up the phone and said to the other two, “They said it’s lunchtime, so we should go down. They seem to be at the ice rink.”

Although Jun-sang wasn’t very hungry after brunch, and he was curious about Henes, he nodded and rose from his seat. Then he went to the bedroom, changed into the clothes he had taken off, and said to Mong-mong, who was still rolling around immersed in chocolate bars and walnuts on the table, “Stop rolling and come here. We need to go out.”

Then Mong-mong, as if nothing had happened, quickly got up, put the chocolate bars and walnuts from the table into its pouch, and then leaped onto Jun-sang’s shoulder to settle down.

“It looks like a squirrel, but it’s quite amazing.” Seo-yoon asked curiously at the sight of the chocolate bars and walnuts on the table disappearing in an instant, but Jun-sang nonchalantly changed the subject.

“Let’s go now.”

“Yes.”

The three men left the suite and headed towards the amusement park connected to the hotel. As they entered the ice rink that Jin Se-ah had mentioned, they saw men gathered around them, flirting.

“We have company.”

“Aw, come on… Ladies, let’s just hang out.”

These were guys who, at best, were probably high school students. Jin Se-ah, with an annoyed look, debated whether to punch them, but seeing the three men enter the ice rink entrance, she quickly raised her hand.

“Over here! Here!”

Then the men surrounding them all turned their heads.

“…” And they froze.

Among the three men, Seo-yoon had the slenderest build. But that was only when compared to the other two; he, too, was a master of weaponry and had been diligently training his body recently, as per Jun-sang’s advice, so his physique was on a completely different level of solidity compared to an average man.

In terms of sheer size, Yoon Seong-ryeol was the one. This man’s inverted triangle physique was evident even through his clothes, and his forearms were thicker than most men’s thighs, making him intimidating just to look at.

But undoubtedly, the most intense was Jun-sang. Though he wore only a plain shirt and pants, the wild curves created by the fabric stretching with each step, as well as the intense gaze that overwhelmed anyone who met his eyes, made it impossible for even the most oblivious person not to recognize that he was a type of human beyond the reach of ordinary people.

As these three men approached side by side, the men who had been flirting with the four women felt cold sweat trickling down their backs without realizing it. There were certain opponents one dared not show off to.

“Ha… Haha… You really did have company. We didn’t know that…”

“We-we apologize.” Without needing to exert force, they quickly bowed low to Jin Se-ah and the other women, then fled.

“Sigh… Why did you come so late?”

“Things just turned out that way. By the way, why didn’t you teach them a lesson? So they wouldn’t even dare to show their faces again.”

At Seo-yoon’s words, Jin Se-ah shrugged and replied, “Our abilities aren’t something we can just show off casually. And it’s not like we can tell Yoo-mi to draw her sword.”

“Haha…” Indeed, Jin Se-ah and Jung Da-bin were magic users, and for Seo Yoo-mi, if she showed her abilities, the police would immediately come running, so it would have been awkward to display her powers unless her life was on the line.

As they were talking, Henes, who had been hiding behind the three women, quietly stepped forward and approached Jun-sang. “Um… How do I look?”

“…” Jun-sang just looked at her for a moment without saying anything. Not many changes had been made. Just… a slight wave added to her fine brown hair, and a light-colored lip gloss on her red lips? Of course, Henes’s face was currently enhanced with high-level, sophisticated makeup techniques to bring out her most natural beauty, but Jun-sang was not knowledgeable enough about makeup to recognize such details.

However, even to Jun-sang’s untrained eyes, the current Henes had transformed from the childlike girl he had always seen into a beautiful young woman who was just beginning to blossom.

“Is it not good?” Jun-sang shook his head and briefly commented, “You’re beautiful. I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Only then did Henes erase her anxious expression and smile brightly.