Chapter 168
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 168
On the day Eun-seol left and Eun-chae arrived, the first thing Dokyun did upon waking was always the same.
“Eun-chae, let’s have some porridge.”
“Okay…”
It was to make porridge for Eun-chae, to soothe her stomach after a hangover.
At the end of Dokyun’s gaze, Eun-chae, who had been lying on the sofa, unsteadily pushed herself up and came to sit at the dining table.
She looked so pitiful, unable to even hold herself steady from the hangover. Dokyun shook his head as he watched the half-dead girl pick up her spoon.
“Is it meat porridge?”
“Yep, meat porridge.”
Eun-chae nodded. She dipped her spoon into the bowl and began to stir, meticulously picking out only the pieces of meat.
Dokyun gave her a troubled look and chided her.
“You have to eat the porridge, too. You’ll get constipated otherwise.”
“The porridge is for Eun-ah.”
Had she lost all sense of shame? Dokyun let out a dry laugh at the sight of Eun-chae, who said this with a brazen face before resuming her meat-picking.
How can I fix her picky eating?
The thought crossed his mind, but he quickly shook his head, dismissing it.
No, why should I force her to do something she doesn't want to?
He felt it was his duty to feed her only the things she liked; there was no need to force something she hated upon her.
When it came to Eun-chae, Dokyun was infinitely soft.
His gaze returned to her. The way she focused all her nerves on picking out the meat, even while stumbling from her hangover, was like watching a master chick sexer, swiftly distinguishing males from females amidst a flood of chirping chicks.
In other words, he could see the spirit of an artisan in her work.
With that kind of concentration, wouldn't she succeed at anything she tried?
Dokyun chuckled at the thought and watched her for a long while. Soon, Eun-chae finished her meal, patted her full stomach, and leaned back in her chair.
“All done?”
“Yes, it was yummy.”
Dokyun’s eyes fell on her bowl.
The amount of porridge hadn’t decreased in the slightest; only the meat on top had vanished.
Well, if she says she’s full…
Once again, being hopelessly soft on her, Dokyun couldn’t bring himself to scold her and simply began to clear the table.
After throwing away the leftovers, finishing the dishes, and wiping the table clean.
Now, time to get her washed up.
With that thought, Dokyun led Eun-chae to the bathroom.
She was still clumsy at washing herself and needed a lot of help, but since she was so well-behaved, it wasn’t particularly difficult.
Besides, hadn’t she learned to brush her teeth by herself now?
Dokyun watched Eun-chae spit a mouthful of toothpaste into the sink with a ‘ptooey’ and turn to look at him. He beamed and stroked her head.
“Good job.”
“Yep, Eun-chae did a good job.”
A giggle escaped his lips.
“Now it’s time to wash your face and hair, right?”
“Okay.”
Nodding at his words, Eun-chae rinsed her mouth and headed for the shower.
Dokyun watched her small back as she walked away briskly, feeling a surge of emotion at the thought of how much she had grown into such a sharp, capable child. He followed her.
* * *
In the bright afternoon sun, Eun-chae was sitting on the living room floor, staring into the aquarium with her mouth agape, when she felt something stirring inside her.
She tilted her head. What is this? Closing her eyes, she began to focus all her attention on that stirring sensation.
It wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling. It was something she had felt before, and relatively recently at that.
After a moment of thought, Eun-chae’s body jolted as she realized it was the same feeling she’d had while drawing the other day.
The other child she had tormented.
This was the feeling she got when those children spoke to her.
Eun-chae looked into her stirring insides and spoke.
…Hello.
As she spoke, the stirring thing jolted greatly and answered her.
Hello!
A voice came to her. It wasn't a voice that entered through her ears, but one that echoed in her mind.
Eun-chae listened more closely to the voice and this time, she asked a question.
Who are you?
We are us. You’re one of us, too!
I’m Eun-chae.
Eun-chae is one of us, too.
No, I’m Eun-chae, and you are ‘us’.
A brief battle of wills ensued. Eun-chae squeezed her eyes shut, furrowed her brow, and hammered her point home once more.
Eun-chae is Eun-chae. Not ‘us’.
She knew she had to apologize to this child, but she wanted to make this one thing clear. Because she was the world’s happiest Honeybee’s Eun-chae. She wasn’t ‘us’.
The child, ‘us’, stirred blankly at Eun-chae’s firm stance before conveying its agreement.
…Okay, you are Eun-chae.
A smile touched Eun-chae’s lips.
Yep, Eun-chae is Eun-chae. What does ‘us’ want to do?
Just like the child she had met before, ‘us’ must have something it wanted to do. When Eun-chae posed the question, ‘us’ seemed to ponder for a moment with a ‘hmmm’ before speaking.
I want to go play with Dad!
Dad?
Yep!
Eun-chae doesn’t have a dad.
Eun-chae wasn’t a fool. She knew. She didn’t have a mom, and she didn’t have a dad.
In response to her thought.
But there’s something similar, isn’t there?
That was the reply from ‘us’.
Eun-chae mulled over the words for a moment, then cast her gaze toward Dokyun.
He was sitting on the sofa, looking at his smartphone.
Honeybee?
Yep! We have to play all day!
Are Honeybee and a dad similar? Eun-chae tilted her head, pondering the thought, before finally nodding.
She didn’t know what a dad was, but since ‘us’ said they were similar, maybe Honeybee was something like a dad.
Having made up her mind, Eun-chae got up and said to ‘us’.
Okay, I’ll play all day long.
Eun-chae was confident when it came to playing. ‘Us’ giggled at her words, and then the stirring stopped.
Her insides grew calm again.
Feeling this, Eun-chae toddled over to Dokyun and threw herself into his arms.
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“We have to go play.”
“Huh?”
“Today is a play-all-day day.”
Dokyun tilted his head at her words.
So suddenly?
That was the reason for his confusion.
Seeing his tilted head, Eun-chae asserted her opinion again with a forceful voice.
“‘Us’ said we have to play. Today is a play-with-Honeybee-all-day day.”
‘Us’.
Dokyun wondered who that could be, but he soon realized Eun-chae was talking about the other personality that had now disappeared. He looked down at her.
Her eyes were sparkling.
Maybe it’s not ‘us’ but Eun-chae who wants to play. With that thought, Dokyun asked her a more detailed question.
“What did ‘us’ say?”
“They said they want to play with Dad. But Eun-chae doesn’t have a dad, so I’m going to play with Honeybee.”
A flinch.
Dokyun shuddered at how casually she’d just made a dark joke about her own family, but the words that followed made his heart ache for some reason. His face filled with emotion as he asked her a question.
“Alright, then. What should we play?”
At his question, Eun-chae thought deeply for a moment, then tilted her head and answered.
“Fish?”
“Huh?”
He asked back. Eun-chae squeezed her eyes shut and continued to think.
Fish. Play. Fish play. What Eun-chae liked was eating.
A series of simple thoughts connected. At the end of that chain, Eun-chae came up with a brilliant game.
Her eyes snapped open.
“A fish-eating game.”
She had combined something fun with something else fun, so it had to be an even more fun game. That was the logic behind her words, but to Dokyun, they were meaningless.
He gave a troubled smile at Eun-chae, who was waiting for his answer with sparkling eyes, and began to think.
What on earth is a fish-eating game?
What kind of game is it?
Dokyun wracked his brain, mobilizing all his knowledge to figure out the identity of this game.
He pondered for a long time, and just as his head was beginning to throb…
A single game flashed through his mind.
“Fishing?”
Fishing. An activity where you see, catch, and eat fish. Since it was a hobby, it could also be called a ‘game’.
Having thought of it, Dokyun looked at Eun-chae, who tilted her head.
“Fishing?”
Ah, does she not know what fishing is?
Dokyun chuckled at the puzzled expression on her face and continued.
“Fishing is a game where you catch fish and eat them.”
“Eat them?”
“Yep.”
Sparkle, sparkle. Eun-chae’s eyes lit up.
“Fish are yummy.”
It was a sparkle born of anticipation.
Dokyun felt another smile creep onto his lips as he continued his thoughts.
Today is Saturday, so…
It wasn’t impossible.
Tomorrow was a day off too, so it would be fine to go out for just one day.
Having made up his mind, Dokyun nodded in agreement, then stood up abruptly with Eun-chae still in his arms and spoke.
“Shall we go?”
“Yep.”
Nod. Eun-chae’s head bobbed up and down.
A deep smile spread across Dokyun’s face at the sight.
* * *
At a fishing spot near Seoul. Looking at the wide-open artificial lake, Dokyun felt a refreshing sense of release.
It’s nice that it’s close.
Since the goal was fishing, there was no need to go all the way to the distant sea. He had searched for a place nearby and found a fishing spot that was surprisingly close.
Looking at the calm, still lake, he thought, We can relax and have a good time here. He then turned his head to check Eun-chae’s expression.
Her eyes were sparkling as she looked at the lake; she seemed to be having a great time.
Dokyun looked at her and spoke.
“Should we go rent a fishing rod first?”
“Fishing rod.”
“That’s right, a fishing rod.”
Eun-chae nodded. Dokyun took her hand, and they went to the fishing supply rental shop right next to the lake. They rented a lure fishing rod and some bait, then headed to a spot in a corner of the lake.
As he settled down and adjusted the rod, Dokyun suddenly felt a wave of nostalgia.
It’s been a really long time.
When he had first started his job, he had briefly learned to fish, thinking he should pick up some kind of hobby.
Of course, he had quickly grown tired of it, hating the effort of going outside and the feeling of being under the sun, but now, holding a fishing rod again, the memories came flooding back.
It’s been so long, I wonder if I’ll even catch anything.
A glance. Dokyun’s eyes shifted to Eun-chae. Her mouth was agape as she stared at the bait on the hook.
“This isn’t for eating.”
“It’s not?”
“Nope. This is for the fish to eat.”
Again, Eun-chae’s gaze returned to the bait.
“Fish are yummy,” she mumbled.
Dokyun chuckled at her dazed expression, then stood up and cast the line.
The bait flew through the air with a whoosh, plopped into the lake, and then floated to the surface, held up by the bobber.
“Alright, now we wait for a fish to bite the bait like this.”
As Dokyun pointed to the bobber floating on the lake’s surface, Eun-chae’s gaze became fixed on it.
“Waiting for fish,” she said, her face a mask of concentration.
Another laugh burst from Dokyun’s lips.