Chapter 159
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 159
The fragments were finding their place.
One by one, the pieces that had been neglected for so long began to force themselves back into their original positions.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, as if they had never left, Eun-sam’s memories seeped into Eun-ah.
There was a child, scribbling in a notebook, relying on the thin light of a desk lamp in a dark room.
There was a child, sitting at a laptop, typing blankly.
There was a child, who felt as if her breath was being choked off.
There was a child she had neglected, a child she had torn away from herself.
The child’s emotions seeped in.
They fell onto the lake in her heart with a soft plunk.
And from where they landed, ripples spread.
They were not large ripples, but they were ripples that would never cease.
Ripples that would be etched forever upon the lake of Eun-ah’s heart.
Eun-ah could finally recall those ripples, the sorrow of the child she would have to carry from now on.
A sense of pity arose. And with it, a sense of guilt.
But the reason she wasn’t simply weeping was because of the warm earth that lay at the edge of those ripples.
It was because of the vast earth that surrounded the lake.
The earth that had embraced her and embraced that child. The earth that had stopped the child, allowing her to finally stand still through the long winter, was there.
Eun-ah looked at Dokyun, savoring each of the memories that were slowly fitting together.
Ah.
It was Mr. Honeybee again.
The one who had recognized ‘me’ before I even did was Mr. Honeybee.
An overwhelming feeling washed over her.
Even before I knew you, you were saving me.
You were already my salvation back then.
At the end of her gaze, she saw a face on the verge of tears.
The image of Mr. Honeybee from her emerging memories—a side of him she had never known—superimposed itself over that face.
The Mr. Honeybee who showed a flash of temper she had never seen, who was gruff and prickly but always stayed by her side in the end, overlapped with the tear-streaked face before her.
Eun-ah gave a small smile at the sight and spoke.
“D-Don’t cry…”
“…Eun-ah.”
“I-It’s okay now. E-Eun-sam was happy… Sh-She was happy because you were there, Mr. Honeybee.”
The energy she left behind told her so. It was telling her that she had truly been happy.
“S-So, please smile…”
She wanted him to show a bright smile for the child who had finally fallen asleep after a long voyage.
As she managed to force out the words, her throat tight with emotion, Dokyun’s body suddenly trembled.
His Adam’s apple bobbed heavily, as if he were forcing himself to swallow something.
Only then did an answer emerge.
“Okay…”
Immediately after, Mr. Honeybee’s expression crumpled.
The corners of his eyes were forced into arcs. The tip of his nose twitched. The corners of his mouth quivered as they rose into a crooked line.
It was a truly ridiculous sight.
And it was the face that the now-sleeping child had loved most.
*
=
Jyusep gazed at the Dildort Empire, visible in the far distance.
The countless people he had saved were surely living their lives there today.
Suddenly, the many experiences he’d had flashed through Jyusep’s mind.
The day he was chosen by the Dick Sword and set off on his adventure.
The bloody battle against the Futa Heavenly Demon Amtakyeong, which took place after defeating all sorts of enemies and meeting countless people. And the empire, peaceful once more.
Jyusep thought of the many people he had saved and let out a faint smile before turning away.
Where should I go this time…
He’d saved the empire. Wasn’t it time to head out into the wider world?
Jyusep looked toward the massive mountain range visible at the northernmost edge of the continent.
That looks like a good place.
The Baekbo Mountains, where the legendary Permafrost Dildo was said to be hidden.
A smile formed on Jyusep’s lips. His steps were endlessly light.
He would go. To that distant, wider world.
My journey…!
The adventure continues.
-The End-
=
Dokyun stared at the scrollbar that would go no further and the Chinese character for “The End” written on the last line, and he burst out laughing.
It smells like balls to the very end.
Should he call it quintessentially Go Eun-sam, or should he say she showed no development?
Dokyun, who had been letting out little smirks at the thought, finally turned off his smartphone screen and leaned back against the sofa.
No matter how I look at it, this was not a novel for me.
He remembered what Eun-ah had said after Eun-sam was gone and she had received her memories.
That Eun-sam had written this novel as a gift for him.
How absurd had he found that?
The shock of it had been enough to make the tears and snot that had been streaming down his face just moments before stop instantly and suck right back in.
No matter how I look at it, this is filled with your tastes.
For starters, I had no desire to read a novel about guys fighting with their dicks.
If it had been a novel about women boxing with their breasts, it might have been tolerable.
Letting out a short laugh at the ridiculous thought, Dokyun closed his eyes, thinking of the frenemy he would never see again.
…Well, still.
It was fun.
…Of course, he would never be reading it again.
*
A week had passed since Eun-sam was gone.
Dokyun returned home from work and saw a figure standing in the middle of the living room, reading a book. For a moment, he thought, Has Eun-seol come out? But when the figure noticed him and shot to her feet, he realized it was Eun-ah.
“W-Welcome home…!”
Eun-ah approached with quick steps and nestled herself into Dokyun’s arms.
Dokyun watched Eun-ah grin and rub her head against his chest, a smile playing on his own lips as he hugged her back.
“What’s the occasion? Reading a book?”
It wasn’t a sarcastic remark, but a genuine question. Since he’d been brought here, this was the first time he’d seen Eun-ah read a book, so the question was only natural.
“Y-Yeah…! I-I just had to check something for a moment…”
“Check something?”
“Check if I forgot any parts…!”
When Dokyun tilted his head in confusion, Eun-ah finally pulled away from his embrace and thrust the book she was holding at him.
The book she held out was…
“This is…”
It was Dokyun’s first love. The book that had been his entire life in his youth, The Rusty Sword and the Hummingbird’s Tomb.
As Dokyun looked from the book to her with a shocked expression, Eun-ah grinned and added an explanation.
“Y-Yeah… I-I still haven’t written the last volume…”
“Does that mean…?”
“I-I’m going to write it…!”
The words were spoken.
And at that.
Thump-thump.
Dokyun’s heart began to pound. His mind, unable to keep up with the situation, went blank. His eyes were already wide enough to tear.
“E-Eun-sam entrusted it to me… s-so I want to finish it…”
Her voice sounded distant. His mind was filled with a single sentence.
So…
His first fantasy novel, the next chapter he thought he would never get to see.
It was returning after more than ten years.
Realizing this, Dokyun’s body swayed.
“Wh-Whoa…”
Eun-ah’s panicked voice followed, but before she could do anything, Dokyun’s knees hit the floor.
Thud.
Dokyun remained kneeling, staring blankly between Eun-ah and the book, before he prostrated himself, bowing his upper body to the floor as he spoke.
“Th-Thank…”
“Y-Yes…?”
“Thank you so much…!”
Dokyun uttered the words with the most intense emotion he had expressed in recent memory, then lifted his head.
He was about to bow again at the sight of Eun-ah holding The Rusty Sword and the Hummingbird’s Tomb, but then he stopped.
…Wait, bowing twice isn’t right.
Realizing that Eun-ah was a perfectly living person, Dokyun froze.
Eun-ah tilted her head at Dokyun, who had suddenly bowed and was now twitching, but then she nodded, thinking, Well, if it makes him happy, it’s all good.
“I-I’m not going to write it right away… I-I have something else I’m writing…”
“Huh? Oh, of course.”
Dokyun pushed himself up, a smile on his face as he continued.
“Take your time. I’ve waited for almost twenty years, what’s a little longer?”
Dokyun was aware that his expression was breaking free of his control and turning into a wide, beaming grin, but he made no effort to hide it.
Ah, how could he describe this feeling?
Wasn’t this the greatest achievement of his life as a Deep Sea Explorer? Hadn’t he revived his all-time favorite work?
Hadn’t he finally achieved his first love?
Feeling a sense of fulfillment welling up from deep inside at this unicorn-level righteous situation, Dokyun pulled Eun-ah into a tight hug.
“Heek…!”
“Thank you, really.”
“Y-You’re welcome…”
Seeing Dokyun hugging her with the most ecstatic expression she had seen on him in a long time, a thought flashed through Eun-ah’s mind.
Th-This might be good…?
The moment she said she would write this novel, he was the one to initiate skinship.
M-Maybe I should write it a little… more slowly?
Couldn’t she use this as leverage to satisfy her own desires for a while?
As the thought occurred to her, Eun-ah’s eyes narrowed.
Like a cat stalking its prey, she scanned the beaming Dokyun, and then, a sly smile spread across her lips as she made her decision.
J-Just a little more slowly…
It was quite unfortunate for Dokyun… but isn’t that just how people are?
Everyone’s own interests are what matter most.
*
A few more days passed. A cafe near Dokyun’s company.
Dokyun sipped his coffee, thinking that this must be what it feels like to sit on a bed of thorns.
The day Ji-woo and Eun-ah met and the incident occurred.
After that day, he had to meet her once more, so Dokyun had come out to the cafe.
Honestly, it was a day he had desperately hoped would never come.
And why wouldn’t it be? He didn’t regret his actions, but he had let personal feelings interfere with work to create that situation, so an awkwardness remained.
Because of that, he had spent a long time agonizing over what kind of face to make and how to navigate the situation when they met again, but no clear answer had come to him.
After all that, on this day that had finally arrived, Dokyun was faced with a real crisis that made all his previous worries seem like a ridiculous joke.
Dokyun slowly shifted his eyes to look at Ji-woo, sitting across from him, and the middle-aged man with a respectable air beside her.
“…Say hello. This is our Executive Director.”
At Ji-woo’s words, Dokyun’s head turned toward the middle-aged man next to her.
He was a man with an affable impression, neatly swept-back hair, and a sharp suit.
“A pleasure to meet you. I’m Seo Cheon-woo.”
“R-Right. Yes. I’m Chae Dokyun.”
Dokyun squeezed his eyes shut.
The situation Eun-seol had once warned him about.
Eun-ah’s uncle had appeared.