"Dada, yellaaaw!" Jay tried to call out to his male caregiver again.
He doesn't know why JJ was reacting the way she did, but it's fascinating to see how she put on a friendly mask as she approached them.
"Yeah, KJ. That's yellow." The Red King seemed to snap out of his daze, and he patted the baby's head. "Good job, little guy."
"Good to see you again." The teenage girl's polite smile didn't drop as she greeted the mother and son. "And such a cute little boy. I never got your name..?"
"What are your intentions?" Eden's mother repeated her question, more seriously this time. "Nothing is for free, madam. You gave me leverage or... Charity... What can I do for you in return?"
"Nothing." JJ's voice held an upbeat edge to it. "Keep it, it's yours."
The woman looked rather surprised, but she didn't say anything else. Instead, she looked away from the couple down to her son.
"Sunshine, say thank you to them."
Bright green eyes looked up at his mother, obviously asking why.
Not getting an answer, the toddler looked like he was fed up with everything, yet he still nodded.
"Thanks?" Eden mumbled, his green eyes moved from the two teenager parents to the baby whose finger was still poking his jacket.
Jay grinned before he took his hand away from the toddler. Just to make sure he's doing things right, the transmigrator patted his own chest.
"Bu."
"Blue." The other toddler corrected him, and a small smile soon formed on Eden's lips. "You're blue, KJ."
Oh, so the mini Ryun remembered the transmigrator's fake name after all. In all honesty, KJ is closer to Jay's real name than the villain's name.
"Eden yellaw." Jay raised his Rubik's cube once again to make his point, and the grin on his cheeks only got wider.
"Sunshine, he knows your name?" The black haired woman's eyes moved to her toddler, and the boy simply stared back. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"You were tired." Eden's voice was a lot smaller than when he talked to the other toddler. His bright green eyes didn't blink as he craned his neck up to meet his mother's gaze. "I don't want to disturb you, okasan."
While waiting for his friend to finish talking to the black haired woman, Jay was picked up by his male caregiver.
"Aah!" He resisting by wiggling his body as a pair of hands held on to his torso, but resistance didn't do much. "Mom!"
The baby tired to grab a hold of his female caretaker's shirt as he's being lifted up, hoping that she would take his side and let him walk.
However, one look at JJ's face told Jay that she's already had a full silent conversation with her partner about leaving this place and never look back on the black haired woman.
In another second, the transmigrator found himself sitting on the teenage boy's forearm with his side pressed into the Red King's leather jacket.
"Sorry to interrupt, but we gotta get going." The teenage boy's voice was a tiny bit friendlier than when he first talked to Eden's mother.
"We never got to learn your name, but that's alright. I have a work meeting in an hour, so I'll see you around." JJ waved at the mother and son duo before she turned around to look at the baby in her partner's arms. "Awe, look who's grumpy. Such mood swings for a little guy. Sweetie, say bye-bye to your friend."
Jay was grumpy alright. He was investigating Eden's home life, and he's wondering if the poor little boy was being abused by his parents. So far, Eden's mother doesn't seem suspicious.
"Bye." The transmigrator weakly waved his free hand at the toddler looking up at him from the floor. Jay's other hand clenched on his Rubik's cube as he resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his parents.
"Bye bye, KJ." Eden waved back at him before the teen parents pushed their way out of the bakery.
____
As soon as they got home, the baby was placed on the couch while his teenage parents were pacing the room.
Jay didn't know what's going on, but he congrated himself on having a productive day. By productive, he meant talking to Eden Ryun, no matter how small.
Meanwhile, the two teenagers seemed to be having a crisis conversation as they were taking off their coats.
"Did you hear him calling me dada?"
The urgency in the Red King's voice matched his companion's panic.
"Yes! And did you hear what he call me?" JJ responded while she's running her hands through her hair. "He's getting attached to us! I know it's not a bad thing but... I... I expected Kaon to start calling us his mom and dad at one point because that's how children should grow, but I just... I don't know... It's... It's the fact that Lady Red is his actual mom, not me."
It took a few seconds for Jay to realize what he did. Of course, he just had to call his parents "mom and dad" for the first time in public like that. No, it wasn't planned, but the transmigrator did learn how to make himself behave more childlike using his very limited knowledge about children from his past life.
Hey, the System didn't screw him over for it, so he's safe.
"And that fucking monster is Kaon's actual father, his biological father, but god knows where that fucker went or what he would do if he knows Kaon exists. Lady Red isn't here with us anymore." The teenage boy took a deep breath before he continued, "We stepped up and took the role of parenting, so... I guess we'll let him call us mom and dad until he's old enough to learn the truth."
The truth? The truth about what? Kaon's biological parents?
Jay already knows that Kaon is the product of Lady Red being violated during the war, which made the villain hated the USC with a passion enough to commit multiple homicides everyday. That fact was mentioned halfheartedly in the original novel, but now his twin caretakers just confirmed it.
"You're right." A weight was dropped on thd couch next to the transmigrator, and he flinched a little. JJ's hand stroked his hair while her eyes were focused on her partner. "When do you plan on telling him? Eight? Nine? Ten?"
"I don't know." The teenage boy made his way into the kitchen, and he looked back at them when he's in front of the fridge. "Maybe around that time?"
That's not very informative, is it?
Jay held on to his Rubik's cube, and he's still pouting. He has the right to be upset after all.
System! When will Jay Pleng and Jay Pleng tell him the "truth"?
[ WHEN THEY DEEM USER JAY MATURE ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND. ]
Oh, come on!