Chapter 94
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 94
There’s a saying: life is a comedy when seen from a distance, and a tragedy up close. Dokyun found himself thinking that his current situation was a perfect example.
“Ugly! Sea cucumber! Sea anemone!”
“Idiot! Hag! Mutt!”
“Woof!”
No, Chun-shik… she’s not talking about you…
Reacting to the word “mutt,” Chun-shik began to bark, completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere.
Dokyun felt like he was about to lose his mind in the ensuing chaos.
He wished he could be as clueless as Chun-shik. He wanted no part in this war of nerves between two little kids.
The razor-sharp tension made the back of his neck ache. He knew he had to say something to mediate, but he had no idea how to even begin to break up their exchange.
As he clutched his spinning head, Yeon-ji launched her first attack.
“You’re an adult! Act your age!”
It was a sharp insight, unexpected from a child. As Dokyun registered a flicker of surprise, Eun-ji, who was on his back, flinched. She tightened her arms around his neck and shrieked.
“I’m a princess because I’m pretty, even if I’m an adult! You’re the ugly one, so you should be walking on all fours!”
The merciless personal attack continued, and tears began to well up in Yeon-ji’s eyes.
Dokyun’s breath caught in his throat. As he watched with a growing sense of dread, Yeon-ji let out a piercing scream.
“No…! Yeon-ji isn’t ugly!!!”
Her voice was thick with sorrow.
But tears couldn’t solve anything.
This was a battlefield, and crying was a fatal move that only served to boost the enemy’s morale.
Eun-ji’s gaze fixed on Yeon-ji.
Seeing her opponent start to whimper at the word “ugly,” Eun-ji seized the momentum. A vicious smile spread across her face as she delivered another blow.
“Yes, you are! You’re short and your face is ugly!”
“Kk-heu… heuu…”
Dokyun watched Yeon-ji’s face crumple, looking as if she would burst into tears at any moment.
No, Yeon-ji, don’t. If you cry now, you’re admitting it’s true. Please don’t cry!
He couldn’t bear for the situation to escalate any further, and he screamed the words in his mind. Did his plea somehow reach her? Yeon-ji quickly suppressed her tears, clenched her jaw, and shot back at Eun-ji with a venomous expression.
“You… you leg-cripple!”
Flinch.
Dokyun’s body shuddered.
Oh my god…!
Was this her version of an eye for an eye? Staring daggers at the cast on Eun-ji’s leg, Yeon-ji had shouted the insult. She had even stuttered, as if she’d had to steel herself to say it. However, it didn’t seem to do much damage to Eun-ji.
“Says the face-cripple!”
Another personal attack flew out. Having identified Yeon-ji’s weakness in the previous exchange, Eun-ji relentlessly targeted her face.
“Kk-heuuu…!”
Yeon-ji began to sob again.
As Dokyun stood there, completely at a loss, Yeon-ji finally burst into a full-blown wail.
“Hwaaaaaaah!!!”
And with that, the first-to-cry advantage went to Yeon-ji.
As is often the case in children’s fights, her tears were both an admission of defeat and a cry for help from an adult.
However, the only adult present, Dokyun, was currently being strangled by Eun-ji and was in no position to help.
Chun-shik was free, but…
“Hwaaaaaaah!!!”
“Woof! Woof!”
…that was too great a responsibility to ask of a mongrel with no pedigree.
Chun-shik just circled Yeon-ji, wagging his tail. It was a rather fitting ceremony to commemorate Eun-ji’s victory.
Just as the outcome seemed decided, the cornered Yeon-ji pulled out the secret weapon she had been saving.
“I’m gonna tell my moooom!!!”
The Mommy Trump Card.
It was the ultimate move in any kid’s fight.
To put it in perspective, it was like junior martial artists summoning their sect leaders over a petty squabble.
“Ugh…!”
The devastating blow made Eun-ji’s body tremble. A moment later, her lips quivered and a small mumble escaped.
“I… I have a m-mom, too…”
She tried to protest, but… that was right.
Eun-ji didn’t have a mother.
“Mommy…”
A hint of a sob crept into her muttering. The instant she heard it, Yeon-ji caught on. She stopped crying and a cruel smile spread across her face.
A swift reversal of fortune.
What followed was a crushing blow.
“What… you don’t have a mom? You’re a total orphan!”
Dokyun’s jaw dropped at her words.
Pushed into a corner, his own cousin had resorted to the dark arts.
In the final moments of the battle, Chae Yeon-ji (age 7) had class-changed into a Flaming Parent-Basher.
In that moment, Dokyun once again witnessed the reality of the theory of inherent evil.
“N-no, I’m not…”
The tables had turned in an instant. Feeling Eun-ji’s voice grow thick with tears, Dokyun knew that letting this continue would only lead to ruin. He forced his voice out.
“S-stop! That’s enough! If you fight, Santa Claus won’t come!”
Please. Please, just stop. Don’t put any more of a burden on me. He shouted with all his heart, but…
“Orphan, she’s an orphan~!”
“Heuuu… Mommy…”
“Woof! Woof!”
…the situation showed no signs of improving.
Ah, his own eyes were getting misty.
He just wanted to sit down and cry, too.
But Dokyun knew, with a certainty that chilled him to the bone, that the moment he did, everything would truly be over. He swallowed back his tears and forced his brain to work.
He needed a proper solution. He had to find one. Dokyun’s thoughts accelerated as he replayed the situation from the very beginning.
The source of the problem.
It was…
“I’ll carry you both, so stop!!!”
Thump—.
Everything stopped.
That was it. This whole thing had started because both kids wanted him to carry them. So, if he carried them both, the problem would be solved. Cursing his own stupidity for not realizing it sooner, Dokyun squeezed his eyes shut and yelled.
“You’re both princesses, so let’s get along and I’ll carry you both, okay?”
Please, no more.
“S-since big sister is on my back, Yeon-ji can be in the front.”
Wait, was that being carried or being held? He didn’t know. That wasn’t what was important right now.
Having made his decision, Dokyun bent down, lifted Yeon-ji into his arms, and spoke.
“Alright, Yeon-ji can be the front princess, and big sister can be the back princess.”
Hoping this would finally release him from his suffering, he lifted her. The two kids, now close enough for their noses to touch, glared at each other before whipping their heads away.
“Hmph!”
“Hmph!”
He felt that sharp pain in the back of his neck again. Dokyun gritted his teeth, got a grip on himself, and forced a smile as he spoke.
“Y-you have to get along…!”
His voice was practically a plea.
Seeing that neither would spare the other so much as a glance, Dokyun sighed and started walking.
Please, just stop fighting.
*
A little over an hour later, they were back home.
Dokyun stared with hollow eyes at the two little girls walking ahead, holding hands tightly.
“Shall we go, Princess?”
“Of course, Princess!”
They chattered away in a cheerful atmosphere, their laughter echoing as they walked away.
Suddenly, the events of the past hour flashed through Dokyun’s mind.
No matter how much he had tried to stop them, the kids hadn’t listened. But not even ten minutes into their walk, their moods had lifted. They started whispering to each other, and before he knew it, they had formed a blood pact.
The sight of their tightly clasped hands filled him with resentment.
What did I even…
Why had he suffered so much? What had caused him so much pain?
His stomach churned. The duel between the two kids had ended, leaving behind only the byproduct of Dokyun’s stress.
In the end, he was the only victim in this fight.
The old saying, “When whales fight, the shrimp’s back is broken,” fit the situation perfectly.
The bitterness made his eyes sting. A sense of injustice washed over him.
On days like this, he missed Eun-ah.
He wanted to be praised and comforted, too. He desperately needed a warm word of consolation to soothe his frayed nerves.
As he stood there, swallowing his sorrow, his mother spotted him and called out.
“Oh, you’re back, son?”
“Yes, I am. I have returned.”
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting now? Don’t just stand there, come and help your mother.”
Dokyun turned his head at his mother’s words.
She had already turned back to her frying, her attention off him.
Couldn’t she see the sorrow on her son’s desolate face? Couldn’t she pat him on the back and offer a word of comfort? As his thoughts trailed off, Dokyun let out a deep sigh and trudged over to sit beside his mother.
Right, as long as the result is good, that’s all that matters…
So what if he was a little stressed? Had there ever been a day he wasn’t? The outcome was good, and that was enough.
Dokyun tried to calm his churning stomach with that thought and began skewering the fried food.
*
More time passed. Having finished all the preparations for the ancestral rites, Dokyun tapped his aching back and headed to his room.
When he opened the door, the first thing he saw was the two little rascals, fast asleep on his bed, holding hands.
‘…’
A wave of annoyance made him narrow his eyes. After a moment, Dokyun shifted his gaze to Pporongi, who was lying on his desk, and sighed.
“Meeow-.”
A peaceful cry.
Dokyun let out a hollow laugh and reached out to stroke the cat’s head. Pporongi started purring and closed its eyes.
Watching the cat, Dokyun once again tried to calm himself.
Right, as long as the result was good, that’s all that mattered.
His biggest worry—Eun-ji causing a scene in front of his parents—hadn’t happened. And the fact that she had been playing with Yeon-ji had been seen by the adults as him being good with children, which was a positive outcome, wasn’t it?
That was enough.
The stress was his burden to bear.
Having settled his thoughts, Dokyun sat down in his desk chair. He was stroking Pporongi when he sensed movement from the bed and turned his head.
His eyes fell on Eun-ji, who was slowly sitting up.
A small smile escaped Dokyun’s lips, and he spoke to her in a playful tone.
“You awake?”
“…”
There was no reply.
She looked around, still dazed and half-asleep.
Dokyun chuckled softly at her blank expression. He was about to say something else when she spoke first.
“…What time is it?”
Flinch.
Dokyun’s body tensed at the sound of her voice.
That’s not Eun-ji’s tone.
He quickly studied her face.
Her expression was hazy, her gaze low and heavy.
“Eun-seol?”
“…Yes.”
A look of bright relief washed over Dokyun’s face at her reply.
Eun-seol was back.
Suddenly, a surge of emotion welled up inside him, and Dokyun let out all his pent-up resentment.
“I mean, where have you been? Do you have any idea how shocked I was when Eun-ji suddenly popped out?”
He spoke as if a great weight had been lifted from his chest. But Eun-seol seemed to let his words wash over her, her expression thoughtful as if she were pondering something. Then, she offered an apology.
“I’m sorry. I’ll be here from now on, so don’t worry.”
Her demeanor was different from usual. A flicker of doubt rose in Dokyun’s mind. He watched her for a moment before nodding.
“Right, well…”
Eun-seol didn’t look well. She rarely looked happy, but her expression now was even more subdued.
Did something happen? he wondered, but he figured she would have told him if it had. With that thought, Dokyun remained silent, just watching her.
“Meeow-.”
Seeing that Eun-seol was awake, Pporongi let out a cry and approached her.
The cat hopped onto the bed and rubbed its head against Eun-seol’s arm.
Gasp—.
Eun-seol flinched at the touch, then slowly placed her hand on Pporongi and began to stroke it as she continued speaking.
“Did anything else happen?”
“Well…”
Dokyun thought back on everything that had happened since Eun-ji appeared, then gave his answer.
“Everyone was happy… except for me.”
The memory made the back of his neck ache again. At his words, Eun-seol let out a small, wry smile and nodded.
“You went through a lot. It must have been quite a shock.”
“Don’t even get me started.”
He let out a deep sigh.
Finally able to breathe, Dokyun let a crooked smile slip out.