Chapter 811 |
“Are you Taewon’s little brother? What’s your name? I’m Han Yujin. You can call me hyung.”
I was probably closer to a mister than a hyung, but kids were more likely to warm up to “hyung.” Chief Song’s little brother stared straight at me.
“…Taeil. Did you come from Seoul?”
“Yeah. Taewon lives in Seoul too, doesn’t he? Do you and your brother live apart?”
Little Chief Song spoke standard Seoul Korean with just a hint of the local dialect mixed in, while Taeil was the opposite. According to the records I’d seen before, Chief Song had been born and raised in Seoul. That meant only his younger brother had been sent off separately to their grandparents’ house.
“Yeah.”
Song Taeil nodded. He still looked deeply wary of me. He didn’t seem like an unfriendly kid. If anything, he seemed like he would be the opposite. It was probably because his brother was with him. His brother, who was weaker than him. Their parents must have told him often to look after his older brother. Seeing him cherish his brother instead of resenting him, even though he had been left here alone, made him seem like a good–natured kid too.
“You two look really close.”
I couldn’t get a handle on what to say. Just chanting, “This wasn’t your fault, Chief Song,” like a prayer obviously wouldn’t work. It was undoubtedly true that Chief Song was a victim too, but if he were the kind of person who could accept that easily, things never would have reached this point.
First, I had to get the kids to lower their guard. I looked around at the mountains, the sky, and the stream as if I wasn’t especially interested in the brothers. As I did, I naturally took a glass jar out of my inventory. Of course, to them, I made it look like I was taking it from my pocket.
“Do fish live in this water?”
I opened the lid of the snack jar Myungwoo had given me from the drawer. Inside were chocolates topped with pretty, colorful pieces of fruit. They weren’t real chocolate, but he had said they were made with dungeon ingredients that had a similar texture, with the flavor adjusted through mana control to be close to chocolate. He had still told me not to eat too many. I popped one fruit chocolate into my mouth. Two pairs of eyes followed my hand.
“Is that a damselfly? The black one.”
“That’s a damselfly.”
Song Taeil answered. Only then did I turn back to the kids and eat another chocolate. Then I spoke as if the thought had only just occurred to me.
“Do you two want one too?”
This felt less suspicious and more natural than simply asking, “Want something tasty?” Song Taeil accepted the chocolate I held out first. Then Chief Song also held out his small hand.
“I heard someone named Seong Hyunjae lives around here. Do you happen to know him?”
I deliberately brought up Seong Hyunjae’s name. Young Chief Song had no reaction. Song Taeil shook his head.
“I don’t know everybody’s names. What does he look like?”
“He’s very tall. Handsome, like a celebrity.”
“The mister down that way is tall, but he’s not handsome.”
“Really? Where’s ‘down that way’?”
Song Taeil said he would show me and took the lead. Chief Song looked at me once, then started walking too.
“I have a younger brother too. His name is Han Yuhyun. He’s a good kid. My brother is taller than me too.”
“Really?”
“Of course. He’s this much taller. He’s stronger too, so he tried to protect me.”
When you felt like you had something in common, words tended to come out more easily.
“We’re really close too. Maybe because I’m weaker than him, my brother nags me a little. Tells me to exercise, or to eat meals on time.”
“You should eat your meals properly.”
Song Taeil said it with a serious face. I agreed with him, saying, “You’re right, you’re right.” The mood wasn’t bad, but Chief Song was still quiet. How was I supposed to talk to him…
“…Huh.”
Suddenly, the scenery around me changed.
We were in the mountains. The brothers who had been walking right in front of me were gone too. Just as confusion hit me—
Ruuumble—
I heard dirt and stones sliding down somewhere ahead. A bad feeling stabbed through the back of my head. I hurriedly ran toward the sound. The two children had fallen below the mountain slope. Song Taeil soon pushed himself up, but Song Taewon wasn’t moving.
“Song—”
“Shouldn’t you see it through?”
Someone grabbed my wrist as I tried to jump down. It was Seong Hyunjae. He had appeared at some point and was looking down at the brothers with sunken eyes.
“But!”
“This isn’t reality.”
Seong Hyunjae let go of my wrist and took a step back. He couldn’t go any closer to Chief Song than this. Leaving only that brief warning, he released me as if to say I could do as I wanted. I swallowed dryly and looked down the slope. I could see Song Taeil trying desperately to haul his older brother onto his back.
He staggered as he walked. Chief Song weakly told him to go alone, but Taeil didn’t listen and kept taking steps. But before long, he collapsed. Chief Song, Chief Song was—
“Originally…”
“He must have died here.”
If Song Taewon had been an ordinary child.
Song Taeil closed his eyes. A black shadow appeared faintly. My breath clogged in my throat. Guessing it and seeing it unfold right before my eyes were entirely different things. Unable to hold back any longer, I went down the slope.
“Chief Song!”
The grass was crushed under my running feet, and then smooth pavement pressed against my soles. I heard water flowing. Song Taewon and Song Taeil were standing by the stream.
‘…Is it repeating?’
We had returned to the time before the accident happened. Was it because he didn’t want to hurt his brother? This time, instead of approaching them, I only watched. The brothers played without incident and went into the house. The sun set. I looked at the house beyond the closed gate, its lights on inside.
“Mr. Seong.”
Seong Hyunjae flew down from the sky. Black wings that blended into the darkness folded and vanished.
“What was it like before I came in? You must have stayed here for quite some time, since time moves much faster in this place.”
“The brothers kept living together, just like that.”
Time had been stopped. In the period before Song Taeil died. Had time begun to move and the accident happened because I, someone from outside, the present, had made contact?
“I should try talking to them again.”
“The children are asleep, so shall we go to my house?”
“What? You lived here?”
“I borrowed it for a little while. There are plenty of empty houses.”
Now that he mentioned it, I hadn’t seen anyone other than Chief Song and his brother. Had Chief Song wanted there to be no one else? Since we couldn’t stand outside forever, I followed Seong Hyunjae into an empty house.
“Hi, kids.”
The next day, I went to see the brothers again. We had a similar conversation, and not long after—
Ruuumble—
The same accident repeated. I ran with all my might, but it was already too late. Before I had a chance to do anything, the brothers tumbled down. Just like yesterday, Song Taeil struggled to save his older brother. This time, I ran down the mountain slope and pulled out a potion.
“H–help us!”
The moment Song Taeil saw me, the tears he had been holding back burst free. I hurriedly checked on young Chief Song, whose breathing was growing faint.
“It’s okay. You’ll be okay.”
I poured the potion over his wound. But the bleeding didn’t stop. It was a top–grade potion, yet it had no effect at all. Potions didn’t work. Noah’s healing skill was the same. Song Taeil clung to his brother, crying. A shadow leaked out of Chief Song. It had no effect on me and seeped into his younger brother. Chief Song’s unfocused eyes looked at Taeil. His fingertips twitched with difficulty.
“Go… away…”
“Hyung!”
Song Taeil’s crying quieted. At the same time, Song Taewon’s breath, which had seemed about to snap, began to steady.
In the end, Song Taeil fell asleep once more.
“There are fish. Frogs too.”
It repeated again. Song Taeil proudly told me he had caught them all before. It was hard to smile at his words. Soon after, we were in the mountains again.
Ruuumble—
I ran before the sound came, but I was too late again. Potions and skills didn’t work. The thought crossed my mind that maybe something that had already happened couldn’t be changed, but I still couldn’t just stand there. I had to try anything.
“H–hyung, he—!”
“Hospital, where’s the hospital?”
I picked Chief Song up in my arms. I carried Song Taeil on my back. I brought out my wings and flew up. Song Taeil freaked out, but even as he hiccuped in shock, he pointed the way.
“Town, hic, that way!”
I flew in the direction Song Taeil pointed. But the big road leading toward town was cut off. Beyond it, there was nothing. It was the same no matter which way I went. While I circled the sky in helpless confusion, the body in my arms grew colder.
“…Go.”
Chief Song murmured softly. A shadow seeped out of his small body. It crawled toward Song Taeil on my back. We reached the same ending once more.
“…Damn it!”
Grass growing at the water’s edge brushed against the tip of my foot. In the distance, I could see the brothers chatting quietly. Seong Hyunjae, who had somehow come up beside me, crouched on a wide rock where water lapped and shimmered. A black damselfly fluttered around the fingertip he dipped lightly into the surface.
“Potions don’t work, skills don’t work, and we can’t get out of here! Mr. Seong!”
What the hell are you doing? Why don’t you go all the way and play in the water while you’re at it?
“Do you know any emergency treatment? Teach me.”
“It won’t help.”
Smack! I brought out my tail and slapped the surface of the water hard. Water splashed up in a huge spray and drenched Seong Hyunjae. He stood, brushing the water off himself without much care.
“This is Song Taewon’s memory.”
“I know that—”
Wait. Something occurred to me.
But…
I drew in a deep breath. I turned my head and looked at the brothers walking along the path. I approached them, spoke to them again, and then once more—
Ruuumble—
I saw Chief Song collapsed on the ground, Song Taeil beside him. I picked Chief Song up. Song Taeil looked up at me, tears welling in his eyes.
“Taeil, go.”
“Wh–what about hyung?”
I looked down at the child in my arms. Chief Song had kept saying it. Go. Leave him and go by yourself.
“Go tell the adults! Hurry!”
“But, but!”
“Tell them to call an ambulance! Run, now! I’ll carry your brother, so go!”
Song Taeil hesitated, then turned around. He ran, staggering. His small back moved farther away and soon vanished between the thick trees. Chief Song let out a small, thin breath. The shadow crawled out. But with nothing to swallow, it wandered and then scattered away.
“…Chief Song.”
The already light weight in my arms disappeared completely. Somewhere, I heard a wailing cry. The one who had died was not Song Taeil, but Song Taewon.
“Now…”
What happens?
As if answering that question, the scenery around me changed. I was sitting at a desk in a classroom. I was wearing a school uniform.
‘…What the hell.’
As I stared in bewilderment, the classroom door opened and a large man entered. His face was unfamiliar, but I recognized him soon enough.
It was Song Taeil.
“Yujin, did you wait long?”
He was smaller than Chief Song. Even so, he looked to be in the upper 180s, centimeters–wise. He had an easygoing, open look about him, but parts of him still clearly resembled Chief Song.
“So. You’re saying you want to drop out of school.”
Song Taeil dragged a chair over and sat in front of me.
…Was he a teacher? Of course, my high school homeroom teacher had not been Song Taeil. Had my memories blended into the future Song Taeil had never had? After hesitating, I opened my mouth.
“Yes. I’m just going to work. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it through college anyway.”
The cost was a burden, and I didn’t have the room to keep going to school. With my family situation, I’d probably be able to get a scholarship, but that wouldn’t be enough. It wasn’t like my grades were good enough to get into a university where I could make serious money tutoring either.
“My brother’s good at studying. And it’s not like there’s anywhere I really want to go that badly.”
“Still, wouldn’t it be better to graduate from high school at least? That’s what I think, as your teacher.”
“I’ll take the GED. If I think about my brother going to college, I need to start preparing now. Yuhyun’s grades really are good, but once he’s in high school, I’ll still need to send him to cram school. They say it’s different from middle school. And I don’t know how much scholarship money he’ll get for college, so I should save for tuition too.”
I had said something like this in the past too. Yuhyun did well even in high school without needing cram school, but I hadn’t known that back then. I had wanted to do all kinds of things for him. Song Taeil’s expression softened, like he was trying to coax me.
“Yujin, you feel a strong sense of responsibility toward your brother.”
“Yeah… well…”
“I had an older brother too.”
Song Taeil let out a short sigh.
“My brother was weak when he was young. So I tried to protect him. But at the very end, he was the one who covered me and protected me.”
Ruuumble.
The sound of dirt sliding away, repeated countless times, seemed to ring in my ears. I hadn’t seen that scene directly. But every time, the one badly injured had been Song Taewon. Song Taeil’s injuries had been minor. No way.
“My brother protected me and left.”
So Chief Song had covered him.
To protect his younger brother.
“My childhood dream was actually to become a police officer. Part of it was because I wanted to protect my brother, but police cars looked so cool!”
Song Taeil laughed. Police cars. I liked them too.
“On the other hand, my brother… would probably have become a teacher. He was the one who taught me Hangul when I was little. My parents said he might have had a weak body, but he had a good head.”
“…Then did you become a teacher because of your brother?”
“Mm, probably? I didn’t end up getting into an education college in the end. But still.”
Song Taeil met my eyes.
“I think it would have been better if my brother had become a teacher himself. It’s the same for you, Yujin. Rather than giving things up because of your brother—”
“I’m not giving anything up.”
I quietly looked at him. His eyes were very much like Chief Song’s.
“It’s not a sacrifice either. I wanted to do it. To other people, it might have looked like I was struggling because of my brother. But I enjoyed it. Every day felt worthwhile.”
It wasn’t that there had been no hardships. But back then, I had definitely been happy. Every little thing had remained as a memory I missed, warm and dear.
“Teacher Song Taeil. No—Chief Song. I don’t think your brother didn’t know either.”
I knew this wasn’t something I, some outsider, should recklessly bring up. But right now, I had to say it.
“Chief Song, you weren’t someone who inspired that direct sense of rejection, like a born S–Rank such as Yuhyun. Even so, until the very last moment… I don’t think he didn’t know. Just because he was young doesn’t mean he couldn’t feel death coming.”
If anything, he may have felt it more strongly. I had been the same. Even though I hadn’t found my younger brother repulsive, I had clearly understood that if I didn’t let go of his hand, I would be abandoned too.
“But I still think he wanted to stay by your side. I think he wanted to protect his brother until the end.”
Even so.
“Whether you’re a child or an adult, there are moments when you simply want to do something.”
Chief Song looked at me. His black eyes were heavy and sunken.
“Chief Song.”
“That may be true.”
His dry lips moved slowly.
“But, Mr. Han Yujin. It changes nothing.”
“But—”
“There are things like that.”
Seong Hyunjae’s voice came from behind me. The sharp tap of a dress shoe rang through the classroom. He came up beside me, looked down at me, and lifted the corner of his mouth.
“It suits you.”
What did… Ah. The school uniform.
“No, this isn’t something I put on—more importantly.”
“There are things that can’t be helped.”
Seong Hyunjae passed me and stood beside Chief Song. Maybe because Chief Song had returned to his original form, he seemed able to approach him now.
“Not everything in this world can end neatly and perfectly.”
“…What are you suddenly talking about?”
“And it’s impossible to have no sacrifices at all. Isn’t that right?”
“What are you—”
“Mr. Han Yujin.”
Chief Song spoke again.
“I am a being born to harm the people around me. That, at least, is an unchanging fact.”
…
Even if that was not Chief Song’s fault.
Reality did not change.
–TL Notes–
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