“Are you sure you can do this?”
“Yes.”
“You really have confidence, don’t you?”
“…My dear.”
On a bright spring day, Gehenna, who had been strolling leisurely, suddenly stopped in her tracks.
She glanced over at the man beside her, who had been anxious the whole time, and let out a long sigh.
“This is the eighth time I’ve asked. Don’t you trust me that much?”
Her voice held a hint of hurt.
“It’s not that.”
Kim Suhyun waved his hand dismissively.
“It’s just that this is an important occasion. Because it’s important.”
“Didn’t you say you understood? I’ve heard it so many times it’s like my ears are bleeding.”
Gehenna grumbled, clearly annoyed.
“We’ve prepared a lot with Jegal Haesol for today. No matter what unexpected situation arises, we can handle it. So don’t worry.”
Speaking with confidence, Gehenna tilted her chin arrogantly.
Kim Suhyun, watching her smooth red hair and crisp monochrome suit, muttered quietly with a displeased expression.
“That’s exactly why I’m more worried…”
“Hm? What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
“Let’s go. We still have plenty of time, but in this country, it’s polite to arrive ten minutes early, right?”
Gehenna lifted the handbag Han Soyoung had picked out and crossed her arms.
Checking his watch, Kim Suhyun shrugged.
“That’s true, but she’s probably already here. Mom always arrives at least twenty minutes early.”
“What? Then we shouldn’t just stand around here, should we?”
“Hm? It’s fine. As long as we’re not too late… Ge-Gehenna?”
“Let’s go!”
Pulled along without a choice, Kim Suhyun barely managed to raise his hand and point across the street.
“Over there!”
In the next moment, a Korean restaurant sign appeared right before his eyes.
Gehenna had instantly leapt across the three-lane road.
It was a terrifying teleportation so swift that no one noticed anything unusual.
“This is bad.”
Gehenna’s reflection in the window wore a worried frown.
“Things got off to a rough start.”
“We haven’t even met yet, and you’re already—”
“Isn’t it obvious? They’ll think I’m a rude, disrespectful stray cat for being late on our first meeting.”
“Who would think that?”
“Fine. It’s my fault. I’ll accept getting doused with water for this.”
“…No more morning dramas starting tomorrow.”
Kim Suhyun turned away as if he didn’t want to hear any more.
Before Gehenna could protest, he pushed open the restaurant door and strode inside.
As promised, in the seat with the best view sat a middle-aged couple—the man with graying hair and the woman dressed elegantly.
They were waving at their son, who was walking slowly toward them, but their expressions suddenly turned blank.
They had just noticed Gehenna entering behind him.
Gehenna was definitely unlike any ordinary woman.
Far from shrinking back, her walk was graceful yet confident.
Well, of course.
Gehenna wasn’t human—she was a god.
Not just any god, but a Nine Heavens-class deity known as the Flame of the End.
She was the infernal fire of hell, commanding sixty-six legions in submission, reigning supreme at the peak.
A being of that caliber wouldn’t be nervous meeting her husband’s parents.
She had simply absorbed the wrong information.
When Gehenna stood beside Kim Suhyun, the natural aura of authority she radiated made the couple awkwardly rise from their seats.
“Have you been waiting long? Ah, this is the person I told you about—Gehenna.”
“Ah… P-pleased to meet you. I’m Suhyun’s father.”
The gray-haired man, hesitant at first, managed a greeting.
“P-pleased to meet you, Ms. Gehenna…?”
Kim Suhyun’s mother also finished her greeting with some effort.
Gehenna smiled warmly.
And said,
“Very well.”
…….
………….
……………….
……………………No.
That was the mistake.
To change an attitude she had maintained for thousands of years in just a few days was absurd.
Gehenna realized her error when she caught the blank, confused looks on the human couple’s faces.
“…Ah.”
“Th-this person isn’t quite used to our language yet. Haha.”
Kim Suhyun forced a smile and quickly tried to smooth things over.
“I see.”
The bespectacled middle-aged man smiled kindly, as if the excuse was acceptable.
“Oh my, she’s so beautiful I was momentarily lost for words.”
The woman nodded in agreement.
“Thank you, Buin.”
Gehenna hurriedly responded with a sharp tone.
Kim Suhyun breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Though it had started awkwardly, things were going better than expected after that.
“I heard you came from Russia for volunteer work…”
“That’s right.”
The parents were trying to accept that their son’s partner was a foreigner.
“You must have had a hard time. Is there anything inconvenient about your life here?”
“Yes.”
Gehenna was not the type to make the same mistake twice.
The atmosphere, which had been cautiously tense, relaxed a little when Gehenna briefly excused herself.
She said she was going to the restroom, and as soon as she left, the mother spoke.
“She’s truly a beautiful young lady.”
“Isn’t she?”
“To be honest, I was surprised. She hardly seems like the same person.”
“R-really?”
Kim Suhyun flinched.
“Yes. But you know…”
Suddenly, the woman’s eyes narrowed as she looked at her son intently.
“What happened to the girl you were seeing before?”
“Huh?”
“You know, that girl you almost wasted on—the CEO of the Han Soyoung Group.”
“Ha, Han Soyoung?”
Kim Suhyun instinctively looked down.
His mother clicked her tongue at her son, who was nervously fiddling with his chopsticks.
“I expected as much… so you broke up.”
No, we didn’t.
Kim Suhyun answered silently in his mind.
“Maybe it’s for the best. There was too much difference in social status and family background from the start. Why would you keep seeing her if there was nothing special? Don’t hold on to regrets—think of it as a valuable experience. A pine caterpillar should only eat pine needles.”
Suddenly cast as the pine caterpillar, Kim Suhyun blinked in confusion.
“But I do feel a little sad.”
“Soyoung?”
“No, the florist girl. She was so kind and sweet.”
“Hanna.”
“That’s right. She was nice too. And there was another smart, clever girl, right?”
“Haesol?”
“Not her. The researcher.”
“Oh, Hayun.”
“Ah, now that you mention it, how is she doing these days? I heard she’s running a shop.”
“Yeonju is… doing well.”
Kim Suhyun said as he popped a well-cooked chive pancake into his mouth.
But he noticed his mother still shooting him a sharp glare, so he bowed his head again.
“Son?”
“…Yes?”
“A man who makes a woman cry will one day shed tears of blood.”
“…”
“There’s a saying that if a woman holds a grudge, frost will fall even in midsummer.”
“M-mother, why do you keep saying things like that…”
Kim Suhyun trailed off, feeling a little guilty.
“I’m not saying that about you.”
His mother put down her spoon and sighed deeply.
“Phew… about Yuhyun.”
“Your older brother?”
“Don’t you know?”
“Why? What about him?”
“It’s embarrassing to say. He got caught cheating on me recently.”
“Huh?”
“But the funny part is, when I pressed him, he confessed to having four more. I was utterly shocked.”
“…”
Kim Suhyun swallowed hard.
“Even though he’s my son, I can’t understand it. How can he be seeing six women at the same time? Does that make any sense?”
Kim Suhyun had known about the power struggles surrounding his older brother in the Hamil clan for some time.
The problem was that Kim Yuhyun’s secret had been exposed.
And worse, he had confessed under pressure.
Knowing his brother’s usual smooth talk, it was hard to believe it was true.
“In that sense, you’re better than your older brother. At least you only see one woman at a time.”
Kim Suhyun started counting on his fingers how many wives his brother had.
But soon realized ten fingers weren’t enough and gave up.
“Anyway, remember this. You’re not old enough to marry yet, so I won’t say much, but love isn’t about looks. It’s about the heart.”
“Yes. Now that you mention it, that’s true.”
Having heard this advice so many times, Kim Suhyun agreed immediately.
Because once, jokingly, he had said, “Yes, love is about the heart. I also like women with big chests,” and learned firsthand how that backfired.
Agreeing quickly was the fastest way to escape nagging.
“Why don’t you say something too? Don’t just stay quiet.”
Suddenly, the attention shifted to him.
Startled for a moment, Kim Suhyun quickly composed himself.
“Hmm… Suhyun.”
“Yes, Father.”
His father, who had been quietly eating, put on a stern expression.
“Your mother is right. You said her name was Gehenna?”
“Yes.”
“How many is this now? The fifth? Sixth?”
“Yes…”
“It’s not bad to see multiple women. But I believe it’s been less than a year since you first introduced that Hanna girl.”
“…”
A sharp reprimand.
“Come to think of it…”
After a pause, his father met his youngest son’s gaze.
And quietly added,
“…I envy you.”
Smack!
The sharp sound echoed.
The middle-aged man turned his back and let out a deep groan.
It was a perfect smash.
Even Gehenna, returning to her seat, couldn’t help but admire it.