This Child Seems to Carry Many Scars Too
This child seems to carry many scars too.
“Huh? How did you… know that?”
“Can’t you tell just by looking?”
When Suji placed her palm above her head in a mock measurement of height, Noah gave an awkward little laugh.
“Y-Yeah… I guess so…?”
“How can our son look so much like his father?♡”
Suji giggled like a ditz and planted a loud kiss on Dohyun’s cheek.
Then, with a bitter smile, she said,
“Miss, come a little closer, would you?”
“Pardon?”
“Closer. Come here.”
“O-Okay…”
Noah timidly shuffled forward, her shoulders hunched as she brought her face near Suji’s.
“Even closer.”
“Yes…”
What entered Noah’s field of vision was
“See this?”
the vertically slit pupil embedded in the center of Suji’s bright green eyes.
“And this too.”
Suji stuck her tongue all the way out. It was slightly longer than average, with a faint fork at the tip.
“I’m a demi-human too.”
“Ah…”
“More specifically, a snake type. Our son didn’t inherit the trait, though…”
“I… see.”
Her strangely youthful appearance for her age finally made sense.
Demi-human traits were essentially a roll of the dice. Even if an ancestor carried the blood, it diluted over generations, and what form it would manifest in the next was pure luck.
In some cases it resulted in missing body parts, deformities, or mental abnormalities—unfortunate outcomes. But if one was lucky, it could appear as a powerful physique, strong immunity, magical aptitude, or
‘slowed aging…’
Those were the better cases. It was all probability in the end.
“Look here. On the back of my neck too.”
Suji turned her head sharply to the side, exposing her nape.
“…”
A patch of skin was covered in scales.
“I used to have such a huge complex about this, you know? But your father? He said it was fine. That he couldn’t live without me. So he confessed over and over and over again, and eventually…”
Suji cackled like a fool as she dove into old stories.
“That story… I’ve already heard it a hundred times—no, way more than a thousand times.”
Dohyun shook his head and cut her off.
His father had been a doctor at a major hospital. His mother had been a nurse. After his father’s relentless courtship, they got married, and that was how Dohyun came into the world.
Even the ponytail she always wore, tied high at the back of her head, had started from his father’s old comment: “Why hide it? The scales on your neck are beautiful.” That single remark had lasted all the way to the present.
“…”
Still, a small warmth bloomed in Dohyun’s chest.
After his father passed away, his mother had always sat in the living room like an empty shell, endlessly stroking his father’s memorial portrait with dead eyes. The fact that she could now smile and talk about him like this was truly a relief for her son.
…Though the way she had become overly obsessed with him was a little concerning.
“Seriously! Our son! Hmm? If you keep ignoring Mommy like that, I’ll get sad, you know?♡♡”
When Suji tried to sneak another kiss onto his cheek, Dohyun quickly stopped her.
“Mom, wait a second. I actually have something to ask…”
Dohyun spoke desperately.
“Do you happen to know any good hospitals?”
“A hospital? What hospital? Are you sick? Is our son hurting somewhere?”
To his mother, it seemed her son was still a baby.
“No, it’s not me who’s sick…”
Dohyun trailed off.
“It’s that young lady, isn’t it?”
“…How did you know?”
“When it comes to my son, I can tell at a glance.”
…As expected, a mother’s intuition was terrifying.
“But what should we do? I’m not really connected to the hospital scene anymore…”
Suji’s expression darkened.
“Sorry. Do you maybe know anyone on that side?”
—
“I’m sorry, my son. Mommy can’t help you.”
Suji gave a sad smile and avoided Dohyun’s gaze.
Strangely, after his father’s death, his mother had quit the hospital she worked at and severed all ties with her former colleagues. Since it was her job, Dohyun had never pressed for the reason.
He had simply assumed that because it was the workplace she shared with his late father, seeing it constantly reminded her of him.
“Still, since I used to be a nurse, I can at least check simple things. Want me to take a quick look?”
At Suji’s offer, Dohyun didn’t answer right away. Instead, he looked at Noah, seeking permission.
“…”
Noah silently shook her head.
She still didn’t want to show her wounds to anyone other than Dohyun. Especially not to his mother. Not these filthy scars.
Dohyun quietly shook his head at Suji as well.
“I see. Then there’s nothing we can do.”
Suji let out a light sigh.
“Well, since Mommy got to see that her son is alive and well, I’ll be going now.”
“You’re leaving already? Can’t you stay a little longer?”
“Don’t say things you don’t mean. You think I don’t know? Your face looks like you just bit into shit because I ruined the nice mood.”
“That’s not true!”
“Sure, sure. If our son says so, then it must be true.”
Suji and Dohyun bickered back and forth like a comedy routine. Yet both of them had smiles tugging at their lips the entire time.
“…”
Noah couldn’t help but feel envious watching them.
…Back when my mother was still alive… and…
‘Dad.’
The father who had raped her. The father who used to be kind. The father she resented, hated, yet still loved—still loved even now. No matter how hard she tried to sort out her feelings, they refused to settle.
She knew she should hate him. It was only normal to hate him. But it wasn’t easy. How could someone turn on their own family overnight?
Just as Noah’s expression grew gloomy,
“See? The young lady’s face is saying ‘go away, go away quickly,’ isn’t it?”
Suji playfully teased Noah about her expression.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“I know, I know. Tsk tsk, kids these days already leaking honey everywhere…”
Suji nodded with exaggerated understanding, though it was unclear exactly what she thought she knew.
A little later,
“You’re really leaving already? At least have some coffee before you go.”
Dohyun gave a half-hearted farewell.
“Yes, yes, thank you even if it’s just words, my son~”
Suji replied in a heavily sarcastic tone, yet she was still laughing playfully as she slipped on her shoes.
“Goodbye…”
Noah bowed her head awkwardly.
At that moment,
“Miss.”
“…?”
Suji suddenly grabbed Noah’s wrist.
And then
“…”
she quietly stared at Noah’s forearm.
There,
“These are self-harm scars, aren’t they?”
“…”
Noah froze solid.
“Mom! Wait a second!”
A panicked Dohyun tried to intervene, but
—
“Son, stay out of this.”
“…”
At his mother’s firm command, he stopped dead in his tracks.
She might act like a fool most of the time, but when she got strict, she was truly terrifying. Arguing with her was impossible.
“Miss, tell me honestly.”
Suji looked up at Noah as she spoke. Not with a piercing glare, but simply by lifting her head. She kept her gaze from becoming too intimidating.
“…”
Suji herself was nearly 180 centimeters tall—an exceptionally tall woman. Yet there was still a massive difference between her and Noah.
Even so, the atmosphere made it clear that Suji held complete dominance.
“They are, aren’t they?”
“…Yes.”
Unable to withstand the pressure of those unblinking snake-like eyes, Noah answered in a completely deflated voice.
“And…”
Suji raised her other hand, tracing the scars as if measuring them.
“These aren’t just from self-harm, are they?”
The silent pressure that said ‘Speak.’
“…They are.”
“As I thought…”
‘Suicide attempt scars.’
Suji let out a deep sigh and shook her head.
“I’m sorry…”
Noah looked like she was about to cry at any moment.
“Mom, that’s enough.”
Dohyun finally mustered the courage to step in.
“…”
Suji simply looked back and forth between Dohyun and Noah for a moment, then let out another heavy sigh and smiled bitterly.
“Both your father and you… really.”
“The men in our family sure carry a lot of sin.”
Leaving behind those meaningful words, Suji looked at the two of them again.
“Since our son is an adult now, I won’t interfere with his love life.”
She placed a hand on Dohyun’s cheek.
“This child seems to carry many scars too. Take good care of her. And don’t make her cry, understand, my son?”
“Yeah…”
His mother’s palm was warm.
“Mommy’s going now. Oh, and when you two do it, make sure to use proper contraception. Even if you’re adults, you should only start a family after you can properly support—”
Once again, Suji’s ditzy rambling shattered the warm atmosphere.
Just like that, the storm passed through and left.
‘Ah, you know how to use condoms, right? If you don’t, just tell Mommy!♡ Mommy will teach you everything from the beginning…’
‘Just go already!!’
After leaving behind that ominous conversation,
“Let’s eat.”
“Okay…”
Even though Suji hadn’t stayed long, both Dohyun and Noah were completely drained.
“Ugh. I made them sunny-side up but the yolks all hardened.”
Not to mention the fried eggs that had solidified in the meantime.
And that night,
“Honey…”
After returning home, Suji sat on the sofa, staring at the memorial portrait on the table, and spoke to herself.
“Our son has really grown up a lot, hasn’t he?”
She laughed like a fool.
“You know? Our son is already living with a girl. And she’s even a demi-human like me.”
Alone in the quiet house, she continued her one-sided conversation with her husband.
“Seriously, do the men in our family have some kind of pheromone that attracts demi-humans? I just don’t get it…”
“…”
Of course, there was no reply.
The house was far too quiet.
Her heart felt unbearably empty.
“Honey…”
Tears welled up in the corners of Suji’s eyes. Then,
“…”
she slowly lifted the hem of her dress.
She wasn’t wearing any underwear. Her already wet folds were laid completely bare.
—
“I miss you, honey…”
With a sorrowful expression but a coquettish voice, Suji used one hand to gently tease her right nipple while the other softly rubbed her clitoris, hidden beneath its hood.
Soon,
“Ah…♡”
Her body trembled lightly. The clitoris that had been tucked away swelled up fully and peeked out from under its hood.
As if showing it off, she adjusted the position of the photo so that her late husband’s gaze in the portrait would be as close to it as possible.
…Not that he would ever come back.
Suji then adjusted the position of ‘another photo’ as well.
On the table sat her husband’s memorial portrait. Right beside it was
“…”
a photo of Dohyun.
Dohyun and his father looked shockingly alike.
How could she put it… The real reason she hadn’t stayed longer at her son’s house was that seeing his face after so long had made her body throb unbearably.
“I love you…”
This time, it was impossible to tell who those words of love were meant for.