After a pleasant time, standing in front of the house brought a wave of anxiety. Having spent one night and two days away, it was natural that my girlfriends would have returned home early.
And I had no intention of hiding what happened during the preliminary investigation from them. From an Earthling’s perspective, my actions might be hard to understand, but for me, it was something commonplace and well within reason.
That didn’t mean I wasn’t considerate of my girlfriends, but thinking about it all, my mind became tangled again.
Regardless of what I thought or what my girlfriends thought, I now had to explain the situation in detail.
“Hoo…”
I let out a deep breath. There was no need to be nervous.
In fact, being nervous might lead to misunderstandings, so it was best to stay relaxed and explain things as they were.
And the moment I stepped inside the house.
“I’m back.”
I happened to make eye contact with Yubin, who was passing by the end of the hallway. I greeted her before even entering the living room, and Yubin looked at me with a sharp gaze.
“Yeah. You’re late?”
“I got caught up with work…”
Though I had a date with Esmeralda at a rest stop along the way, the main reason for the delay was work.
Yubin nodded and headed to the living room, allowing me to enter as well.
SuA was playing games as usual, while Hayang and Yura were sitting at the table looking at their smartphones. Not seeing Eunha around, I glanced around, only to meet Yura’s gaze.
“You’re back? Did anything happen during the preliminary investigation?”
Being asked directly about what I had planned to explain made me momentarily speechless.
“Uh…”
While I hesitated, everyone’s attention turned to me. Their gazes were already on me, but even SuA, who would usually be engrossed in her game, paused and turned her head.
I thought I could explain, but with everyone’s eyes on me, I couldn’t bring myself to speak.
Yura, sensing something was off, smiled and looked at me with a teasing gaze.
“Who was it?”
“Huh?”
I was startled by the question. From the moment I hesitated, my girlfriends seemed to have already sensed that something had happened.
Maybe even earlier. They might have anticipated it since the moment I mentioned going on a preliminary investigation for one night and two days.
Hayang smiled awkwardly, and Yubin sighed.
“She’s asking who you spent a hot night with during the preliminary investigation.”
Yura’s smile didn’t fade as she eagerly awaited my response. It was clear she was enjoying the situation.
SuA turned back to her game, and Yubin continued to glare at me, waiting for my answer. Her gaze seemed to say she had expected this.
“Did something happen while you were there?”
“Yahk!”
Startled by Eunha’s sudden voice from behind, I let out a loud yelp. Eunha, equally startled, stood there with wide eyes, looking up at me like a frightened rabbit.
“Sorry. You scared me.”
“No, it’s my fault for suddenly speaking up…”
“Hahahaha!”
Yura burst into laughter watching the scene. Hayang, who had been trying to keep her composure, also let out a chuckle.
“What kind of mistake did you make to get that startled?”
The tension dissolved with the little incident. The atmosphere seemed to lighten, so I thought it might be okay to speak a bit more freely.
“There was something that happened.”
As I finally opened up, all my girlfriends fell silent.
Among them, only Yura was looking at me with an expression full of anticipation for the juicy details.
They hadn’t officially endorsed the harem, but Yubin and SuA, who had been opposed, seemed to have somewhat softened their stance.
That didn’t mean everyone was okay with my increasing number of lovers. Some had yet to voice their opinions, but Yura was clearly in favor.
I still didn’t know why, but it was clear she was supportive, and it seemed she was really looking forward to hearing who I had been with this time.
“Was it Luche? Or someone else?”
She didn’t mention Siera, as she still seemed opposed. Should I say it was as Yura wished? In any case, I was relieved that Siera wasn’t involved in what had happened.
It suddenly occurred to me that I hadn’t had a proper conversation with Siera recently. We had confirmed our feelings for each other last time, and I thought it would make future conversations easier, but for some reason, I was talking to her far less often than before.
Occasionally, Siera would make the first move with a casual remark, but even that had become rare.
Setting aside my thoughts about Siera, I decided to tell my girlfriends about what had happened with Esmeralda.
“I spent some time with Captain Esmeralda…”
Some reacted with surprise, while others seemed to have expected it.
Eunha, who had been on the same team as Esmeralda during the last mission, was among the latter.
“The captain of Team 1?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
There wasn’t much my girlfriends knew about Esmeralda. What our past relationship had been like. What had happened between us.
Not knowing, some sighed at the thought of me being involved with someone other than them, while others were curious about what had happened.
“We had a lot of history in the past.”
My tone turned serious, and everyone focused on my story. My state of mind had changed since the previous focus, but it didn’t hinder my explanation.
And I carefully explained everything to my girlfriends. From the first time I met her at the air force academy, to becoming close while working together on missions for a long time.
From the marriage proposal that took place in her home, to my mission failure, and the events that had unfolded up until recently.
It took longer than expected to tell the whole story. I tried to condense it, but it was impossible to cover everything that had happened over such a long period in a short time.
More importantly, I needed to convey the details of my past with Esmeralda to my girlfriends.
Their attitude as they listened to my untold past was very serious. They could have interrupted with questions, but they listened until the end.
And when I talked about last night at the lodge. Though not simultaneously, they all nodded. Judging that it was okay to stop there, I paused and gauged their reactions.
“So, after a long time, you resolved your feelings for each other?”
“Yes.”
I nodded in response to Yubin’s question, who had clearly understood everything I had said. Yubin had accurately grasped all I had explained. However, understanding didn’t necessarily mean she was okay with it.
Yubin’s expression showed no signs of brightening. I knew it was unreasonable to expect my girlfriends to look cheerful, but Yura’s expression was just too bright.
“So… Yura, are you okay?”
When I cautiously asked, Yura, who had been smiling all along, tilted her head.
“With what?”
“With me liking more people.”
“Yeah. I don’t mind.”
Her immediate answer left me at a loss for words.
How should I respond when she answers so directly?
“Isn’t that how you’ll appreciate us more?”
“What do you mean?”
I didn’t understand what Yura meant. She smiled as if she had anticipated my confusion, her expression hiding some kind of scheme.
“What if we started seeing other guys?”
“Uh…”
I couldn’t bring myself to answer. I didn’t like the idea, but I felt I didn’t have the right to say much, given I was seeing multiple girlfriends.
“You wouldn’t like it, would you?”
“Yeah. No.”
I awkwardly responded to Yura, who had seen right through me. I knew I was being selfish.
But Yura, who had likely known my thoughts all along, showed no change in expression.
“I don’t have any intention of seeing other guys either. I think the others feel the same way.”
The other girlfriends didn’t disagree, showing they felt the same. However, they didn’t show any positive reactions, perhaps not wanting to get swept up in Yura’s words.
“I don’t think there’s a man in the world who could be better than A. Even with multiple girlfriends, there’s no excuse.”
“…”
I thought about apologizing, but it might have made things even more awkward.
First, I decided to listen to what Yura had to say, just as my girlfriends had listened to my story.
“That’s why I’m allowing it. That way, you’ll appreciate more and more that we’re allowing this.”
“Yeah. But what if I start taking it for granted?”
I didn’t intend to, but sometimes things don’t go the way you think.
Perhaps there would come a time when I would take my girlfriends’ feelings for granted.
“I don’t think that will happen, but if it does, I’ll dump you without hesitation.”
Though she said it with a smile, I could feel Yura’s sincerity.
I was grateful that my girlfriends were allowing the harem, but I needed to make sure I didn’t become complacent and continued to appreciate them.
“I thought something might happen, but I didn’t expect it to be real.”
Hayang, who had been silent until then, spoke up.
“How did you know?”
Actually, the preliminary investigation itself was structured in a way that nothing should have happened.
Luche and Siera, who my girlfriends thought something might happen with, hadn’t even gone on the preliminary investigation, which was supposed to be attended by multiple people.
The disruption in the schedule was sudden, so there was no way my girlfriends could have anticipated something happening.
“Just… a feeling?”
“Ah…”
It wasn’t something that could be logically explained, but sometimes, a woman’s intuition was almost scientific.
“But those people… didn’t they know about A and the captain and do it on purpose?”
Yubin voiced a reasonable suspicion, but unfortunately, there was no way they could have done it intentionally.
“I don’t think so.”
Among the Team 1 members who went, none had worked together for a long time. In fact, within the Seoul Branch, only a very small number of people knew about my relationship with Esmeralda.
If those people had been spreading our past to others, it might have been different, but there was no one around me who would talk about others’ secrets without permission.
Even Alt and Lloyd, who might seem loose-lipped, were tight-lipped about secrets others had confided in them.
If Kirk had been part of the preliminary investigation, there might have been reason to suspect they intentionally left me with Esmeralda, but Kirk hadn’t participated.
“So it was just a coincidence?”
“Seems like it.”
“If not a coincidence, then fate.”
I felt grateful for SuA’s casual remark. Hearing about my situation with Esmeralda could have caused discontent, but she seemed to view the resolution of long-held misunderstandings in a positive light.
“Still, be careful. It’s not a given.”
I responded formally to her sharp gaze, “Understood.”
My girlfriends had their limits. While they weren’t saying much now, if this continued, it was certain that dissatisfaction would eventually surface.
So, I’d need to be careful for the time being.
