Chapter 133: This Much Is Fine.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 133: This Much Is Fine.
It has been a little over a year since I transmigrated into this child’s body.
A lot has happened in this new life.
Once I developed enough muscle strength to at least stand, I practiced walking. When my tongue started moving properly, I practiced speaking.
At the very least, I no longer pronounce “Fuck” as “F-f-fuh,” and I can now walk, even if it’s a waddle that naturally invites “aww”s from everyone watching.
The problem was the family’s reaction to it.
“Our baby must be a genius…!!!”
I’m not a genius; I’m a transmigrator.
Kang Hyun-woo, who had been bragging quite fussily, picked up the phone and spent a long time boasting to someone.
“Mr. Cheon! Your son hasn’t started walking yet, has he? My son was early to talk, and now he’s early to walk, too!”
I couldn’t hear what the person on the other end was saying, but judging by my father’s expression, it probably wasn’t anything pleasant.
“Yeah, that’s just a pathetic excuse! Haha! Thanks for the congratulations, but I have to go talk to my son now!”
Is he really tea-bagging over something like this…?
Yu Ha-na was even more extreme.
“So-hyun! You’re good at talking now! Say ‘Mom’ again! Hmm? Ma-ma! Mom!”
“M-mummy.”
“Oh, honestly. Thank goodness. I never get tired of hearing it! You were saying ‘Dad’ and ‘Noona’ but wouldn’t say ‘Mom,’ so do you have any idea how worried I was~?”
I had decided to start calling her “Mom” a while ago.
Well, there wasn’t some grand reason for it.
I still felt a strange hesitation to call her that, but it was simply weird for a child to keep refusing to say “Mom.” I realized that refusing to call her that just because of a vague discomfort was actually proof that I still had lingering attachments to my past family.
Furthermore, while it could never serve as an apology for stealing this woman’s real son, I felt I should at least do what a son is supposed to do.
It started with that level of thought.
“My sweet son~”
Is it really something to be this happy about?
I did it without much thought, but seeing her smiling face made my heart feel ticklish for some reason.
Perhaps because of this young body, there were times I wanted to act spoiled or just approach her for no reason at all.
Of course, every time I felt that way, the fact that I wasn’t their real family and the knowledge that she was a character destined to die weighed on my mind, stopping me.
Time flowed quickly while I harbored those lukewarm feelings.
“Mom needs to get healthy soon.”
Contrary to the words she said like a habit, her health declined day by day after giving birth to Kang So-hyun.
And perhaps because she looked so pitiful, I found myself trying harder and harder to act like a “good son.”
“Mommy~ why are you sick~?”
It’s embarrassing to act like this at my age. But hey, what’s a little embarrassment? She’s someone who’s going to die soon. I can at least do this much for her, right?
Even if I’m not her real son, I felt it was okay to give her the memory of being loved by her son before she passed away. That way, I wouldn’t have to feel so guilty.
Yes, this much is fine.
Occasionally, when I made things like flower crowns or rings and gave them to her, she would cherish them as if she had received a great treasure.
“Thanks to So-hyun, Mom feels like she’ll get healthy in no time!”
Of course, she was only happy; she never actually got healthy.
Because of that, Father… that is, Kang Hyun-woo, also began to grow darker.
Was it too hard for him to endure the fact that the woman he loved was wasting away?
He bought all sorts of spirit medicines and invited almost every famous doctor, but the effects were always temporary. She remained frail.
As a result, by the time I turned four, the person I spent the most time with was my Noona.
Noona, who was already an Awakened superhuman at the young age of an elementary schooler, strangely resented me because of our mother’s worsening health. Unlike before, she didn’t seem to enjoy playing with me very much.
“<Fly.>”
Maybe she just needed someone to take her frustration out on.
…If I had been an actual four-year-old, I would have been wailing and throwing a fit, but I could manage to endure it for now.
The sensation of being tossed into the air by mana wasn’t exactly pleasant for a child, but I could tolerate it by thinking of it as something like a roller coaster at an amusement park.
Wait, I’ve never ridden a roller coaster before. This is child abuse.
Anyway, I smiled even when treated like that.
I wanted to maintain a smooth relationship with her.
Unlike Mom, who was expected to die of illness, Noona was a character who at least survived in the original story.
…If she was the type to turn dark just because Kang So-hyun died, it meant she didn’t truly hate me. And since I had no intention of dying, she wouldn’t turn into a villain either.
If she was someone I’d be seeing for a long time, it was better to be on good terms.
“…Tch.”
However, the more I did that, the rougher Noona treated me.
Well, if you asked if she was extremely rough, that wasn’t quite it.
She took care of everything I needed and often shared her favorite snacks with me.
Her rejection and bullying only happened when I tried to approach her first or on days when Mom was severely ill.
Rather than simple bullying, it felt more like a spoiled tantrum.
I suspected she had some sort of internal criteria for it, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.
Time passes. Yu Ha-na grows weaker, and Kang Hyun-woo grows more tormented.
Living like that, on the day of my fourth birthday, I had a rather strange experience.
I found her in the kitchen, cooking.
Mom—Yu Ha-na—was clumsily cutting soaked seaweed, glancing back and forth between the recipe and the pot.
“I wonder if our So-hyun will like it~? Hmm, the taste seems a bit off.”
…What is a sick person doing right now?
If she had time for this, she should have been resting instead.
“…Ah, I was supposed to stir-fry the beef before putting it in, but I just threw it in. It should be fine, right?”
…She doesn’t need to work this hard for someone who isn’t even her real son.
“Mom, what are you doing?”
So, I tried to stop her.
“Oh, Mom’s here! So-hyun, why are you up so early? Ah, were you excited because it’s your birthday?”
No, I just woke up early because I’ve had a strange fever since this morning and felt weird.
“I wanted to keep it a secret, but of all people, So-hyun caught me.”
Her playful smile looked mischievous, but she couldn’t hide how much she was struggling.
Her lips were strangely blue, and her complexion was pale.
No doubt she had snuck out of bed.
“…I’m telling Dad.”
When I said that, she began to panic visibly.
“Huh?! So-hyun, wait! Please! Just until I finish cooking!”
“No.”
“I just have to make the galbi-jjim, japchae, and seaweed soup now~!”
…That means you haven’t done anything except the rice.
Then again, it was obvious she wasn’t used to cooking.
“Rest if you’re sick.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t move. Rest.”
I wasn’t even trying to talk like a child, but those words just slipped out naturally.
Had I really become a child because of the body’s influence?
“…Are you worried about Mom?”
…Am I?
Maybe I am.
Even though I always treated her as someone who would die soon in my mind, I strangely felt like I didn’t want to see her in pain. You hypocritical bastard.
“Oh my, what am I going to do with our So-hyun? You’re so cute!”
The sick woman exaggeratedly stroked my head without being careful.
“But So-hyun, Mom is really okay. I used to cook for Na-hyun every year on her birthday. But So-hyun, you’ve never had anything like this because Mom was sick, right?”
I haven’t.
Even thinking back to before I transmigrated, I had absolutely no memory of ever receiving homemade seaweed soup.
I knew that people ate seaweed soup on their birthdays, but I never felt the need to do so since it wasn’t particularly delicious, and while there were people who looked after me on my birthdays, none of them cared about that sort of thing.
It was a type of touched emotion I was experiencing for the first time.
“These little things become memories later on, and Mom’s heart would break if only So-hyun didn’t get to have them~ So please, let it slide just this once!”
She spoke to me playfully and tried to continue cooking.
“No. I’m telling.”
Of course, that doesn’t mean I just let her do it.
“Wait! So-hyun, hold on! Mom is really fine today!?”
Being touched is one thing, but a patient needs to rest.
“…You’re mean. This is a betrayal. Mom’s feelings are hurt. I’m going to sulk if you don’t give me a kiss.”
In the end, she had to be escorted back to bed by Kang Hyun-woo, who came running at my call.
…I ignored her whining and headed to the kitchen.
While Kang Hyun-woo was scolding Yu Ha-na, I took a spoonful of the beef seaweed soup she had boiled without even seasoning it properly.
“It really tastes bad.”
It had a ridiculous flavor, as if she had used salt instead of soup soy sauce.
Yes, it definitely tasted bad, but I forced myself to take a few more spoonfuls anyway.
Every time I ate, something lukewarm and unpleasant welled up in my chest, but I silently finished the tasteless seaweed soup while complaining in my head.
* * *
That day, after a small family birthday party, I was wandering around because I couldn’t sleep due to my body still feeling hot. That’s when I found Kang Hyun-woo drinking liquor alone.
As I approached, he looked startled for a brief moment, but he quickly cleared away the glass and looked at me, trying his best to stay calm.
Even so, his eyes wavered. Was it guilt toward me, or was it resentment?
“…Son, can’t you sleep? Neither can I.”
That’s right. For some reason, my body felt strangely hot today, and sleep wouldn’t come.
“So-hyun, you hate that Mom is sick too, don’t you?”
I shook my head.
In the first place, family wasn’t something I had high expectations for, and besides, I felt I had no right to harbor such feelings since they weren’t my real family.
“It’s okay to be honest. I hate that Mom is sick. I hate it because it feels like it’s because of my greed, and I hate it because I wonder if it was all for nothing.”
I see. You regret having Kang So-hyun.
You wanted a child, but you didn’t want your wife to become that weak.
At this moment, I actually feel glad that you, the real So-hyun, aren’t here to hear this.
I know this feeling well, as a child who was born without being wanted.
Even these people, even this once-cheerful family, ultimately look for the cause of their unhappiness in you.
It’s not like you asked to be born.
They harbor resentment toward a child who can’t even resist their emotions.
Well, I’m actually more used to this side of things…
“And I hate that I’d probably make the same choice even if I went back to the past.”
…What?
“…What would have been the right answer? Why do I have to weigh my son and my wife against each other? I can’t imagine a life without you or Na-hyun anymore. But I hate that Ha-na is in more pain, so I keep thinking and regretting. It feels like it’s all my fault. It’s because I’m inadequate.”
…He doesn’t resent me?
He must know that her health declined because I was born, so why is he trying to take the long way around instead of the easy path?
Actually, it’s only natural.
I knew intellectually that there aren’t many parents who resent their children.
Even so, I was flustered.
“…I’m drunk. Sorry, son. I said something I shouldn’t have. Were you scared?”
His hand stroked my head.
At first, I was scared of the approaching hand.
In my previous life, my drunken father often threw liquor bottles.
— Do you think I want to live like this?!
…This kind of gentle touch is the touch of a drunk person?
The family in my childhood memories and the family before my eyes were so different that it felt alien.
As he picked me up to take me to my room, I felt an unfamiliar warmth in his drunken embrace.
Being held like that for a while, a certain thought occurred to me.
Does she really have to die?
Since an irregular like me has intervened, it’s only natural for the story to change a bit.
Right? I’m not a hero, and I’m not a character who will have a huge impact.
Wouldn’t it be okay to save just one person?
If I use the information from the original work in this world to steal a fortuitous encounter that won’t cause a major shift, would anything big really happen just by saving one person?
I feel sorry for the original So-hyun, but if it’s to protect the laughter of this cheerful family…
Maybe it’s okay to twist the story just a little bit.
And the moment that thought took root, an anomaly occurred.
— The Lord of Myriad Worlds apologizes to you.
What?
— I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen, but I’ve been caught.
What are you talking about, you bastard? Why are you suddenly apologizing and making me anxious after being quiet for the last three years?
The fever that had been bothering me suddenly intensified.
My heart pounded, and it felt like my vision was twisting.
“So-hyun…?”
— By the Authority of the Creator, the timing of your Talent Awakening is moved forward.
…What? Authority of the Creator? What is that?
— The talent assigned to your physical body is A-rank Reinforcement. Additionally, by the Authority of the Creator, ??? awakens as an additional talent from your soul.
The moment the talent awakened, my body emitted an intense light, and I was swept away by a sensation as if the blood vessels throughout my entire body had been set on fire.
— Also, there is a message from the Creator.
— Hey, you little jerk. Did you think I wouldn’t be able to follow you if you did that? You stay right there.
…What? What’s going on?
— The Witch of the Time Flower watches you with interest.
…And who is this now?
Judging by the name, is she a friend of the Lord of Myriad Worlds or something?
“…Is this perhaps a Talent Awakening? He’s only four years old?”
There was a slight commotion due to Kang Hyun-woo’s surprised voice and the light that illuminated the mansion in the middle of the night.
— I’m really sorry. I didn’t do it on purpose, but she somehow found out.
— Don’t do anything stupid and just wait. If you do anything weird before I get there, you’re dead!
— The Witch of the Time Flower waves her hand. she expresses goodwill toward you.
I couldn’t understand exactly what had happened, but I felt I knew one thing for sure.
The Creator of this world.
In other words, it seemed my friend had followed me and entered the novel.