Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: The Guardian Tree's Legend
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The happy family painting featuring me, Hyorin, and Daeun.
It couldn't be that she drew this picture thinking Daeun and I would come to see it someday.
But how did she draw exactly this kind of picture and bury it away?
'This is the feeling Hyorin left behind.'
Ten years later now, having confirmed the feelings Hyorin left behind, I missed her all over again.
It was originally a picture I should have received from Hyorin ten years ago, but after twists and turns, I got it now.
I would have been overjoyed to receive it back then, but getting it now didn't feel bad either.
Swish.
"This is Mommy's picture..."
Through the painting, Daeun was peering into Hyorin's feelings from ten years ago.
And having confirmed those feelings, Daeun...
Grinned.
"Mommy drew this thinking of Daeun."
"Really?"
"Yeah. She drew it thinking of Daeun. This one."
Coincidence or not, the family portrait drawn ten years ago also featured a daughter.
That made Daeun even more convinced the child in the picture was her.
"Mommy must've wanted to meet Daeun since way back."
"Yeah. Daeun really wanted to meet Mommy too."
Me too.
Right now, in this moment, I really missed Hyorin too.
What would it have been like if Hyorin were here with us?
She would've been embarrassed, but if it were Hyorin...
Suddenly, I grew curious about what Hyorin must have been thinking while waiting for me there.
As if Hyorin herself were speaking to me.
Because of that, I turned to Daeun and asked.
"Daeun, shall we head back to the guardian tree?"
"Yeah, that place from earlier?"
"Yeah. I wanna see what kind of feelings Mommy had when she buried this. Wanna come too, Daeun?"
Daeun pondered for a moment at my question, then grinned and replied.
"Yeah! Daeun wants to go to the guardian tree too!"
Just for a brief moment.
A thought suddenly struck me: maybe what Hyorin left here wasn't the picture at all.
Maybe the true feelings she left behind were the ones she held while handing over the letter and waiting for me with this picture in hand.
Swish.
At Daeun's response, I asked permission from the village folks who had been watching us.
"Would it be okay if we went to see the guardian tree?"
All three of them smiled warmly, as if they'd rehearsed it, and replied.
"Of course."
"Sure thing."
"The view from the guardian tree is pretty spectacular."
Grin.
And with that, we headed back toward the hill where the guardian tree stood.
Crunch.
"But Daddy."
As we trudged diligently toward the guardian tree, Daeun spoke up.
"Yeah? What's up?"
"Uncle's face is gonna burst. Is Uncle sick?"
It was understandable from a little kid like Daeun's perspective. His face had been flushed the whole time.
Hmm. Come to think of it, yeah, I do feel kinda sick. Heart-sick.
Right now, the most important thing to Jungeun probably wasn't me, or Daeun, or even Hyorin—it was Gong Minji.
"Hmm. Uncle's working hard to get better right now."
"To get better, does that mean Uncle's going to the hospital?"
He'd gone off saying he had something to discuss privately with Gong Minji, and she said hospital...
No, maybe hospital really is right.
Nod.
I nodded and replied.
"Let's just play along and pretend we don't know. Uncle might get embarrassed."
Daeun adorably scrunched up her face, tilting her head like she had no clue what I meant, but there was no need for a detailed explanation, so I just smiled and changed the subject.
"Almost there."
"Wow! It's the guardian tree!"
The moment we reached the tree, Daeun gazed out at the scenery unfolding just like in the picture and grinned happily.
"Daddy!"
"Yeah?"
"Mommy must've seen this too!"
Was Daeun talking about the scenery?
If so...
Nod.
"Probably. Mommy loves scenery like this."
"Really? Mommy really, really likes this?"
"Yeah, for real. Maybe 'cause it's kinda like the neighborhood where Mommy grew up."
Not exactly the same, but the vibe was similar somehow.
When I'd taken her to the neighborhood from her childhood memories, we'd climbed to a high spot like this and looked down over the village.
That same feeling lingered a little.
If even I was thinking along those lines, Hyorin must've felt it too.
'Man, it'd be great to bring Daeun to the neighborhood where Hyorin grew up someday.'
Extra special since it's the village from Mommy's memories.
No clue when, but someday we'll make it there together.
As those thoughts swirled...
"Daeun's gonna draw a picture now!"
"Huh? Suddenly?"
"Yeah! Gonna draw scenery Mommy likes!"
Then she turned to me.
With those big, round, adorable eyes.
Stare!
An intense gaze, like she was demanding paper and a pen to draw with.
Staring like that wouldn't conjure paper and pens out of thin air, but...
"Gimme!"
Looks like she'd spotted me packing the sketchbook and colored pencils before we left.
'When'd she even see that?'
With that in mind, I pulled the sketchbook and colored pencils from my bag and handed them over.
"Here you go. You saw Daddy pack these, huh?"
Daeun shook her head back and forth at my question.
"Nope! Daddy's got everything!"
"Yeah?"
She figured I'd have it since I always do...
"Daddy's got everything Daeun needs!"
Well, not wrong, but it kinda felt like I'd turned into Daeun's personal superstore.
"Spot on."
"Yeah! Exactly!"
I smiled and asked her.
"So, you gonna draw the scenery?"
"Yeah! Just like Mommy did! Gonna draw Mommy and Daddy and Daeun—all of us!"
With that, Daeun plopped down under the guardian tree, flipped open the sketchbook, and dove right into drawing the scenery.
Scratch, scratch!
Watching her, a sudden thought hit me.
'We should come out like this to draw more often.'
Sure, with Daeun's perfect memory ability, she wouldn't even need to go outside.
But working in a closed-off space was tough even for adults.
For a kid like Daeun, it'd be even harder.
Out here in the open air, though, her face lit up so brightly.
Sure, the "Mommy" factor was a big motivator, but you couldn't totally discount her habit of always drawing outdoors.
Swish.
'Hmm. Suddenly got nothing to do.'
Daeun sitting there drawing left me with idle hands.
Not like I'd come here planning to do anything specific.
Rustle.
I sat down beside her workstation and quietly gazed down at the village.
A quiet, serene village.
The picturesque scenery soothed my heart effortlessly, bringing a smile to my face unbidden.
In that moment, Hyorin's feelings while waiting for me came into focus naturally.
'The feeling of gazing at the scenery while waiting for the person you love.'
Was this how Hyorin felt too, right now?
Far from the hardship I'd imagined, it felt like a pleasant heart-flutter instead.
Grin.
'Good thing it wasn't tough for her.'
A gentle breeze from the mountains carried the rich scent of grass. Mild weather kept things refreshingly cool.
Scratch, scratch!
Daeun's sketching sounds filled the air as I let my eyes drift shut, and a cascade of emotions began to melt away.
Nice.
Happy.
My thoughts sorted themselves out naturally.
What feelings Hyorin must've had while waiting for me.
And exactly what I needed to do here and now—I knew for sure.
Memories from ten years ago, on that MT trip to this very place.
'Yeah. I've made up my mind.'
I decided.
I'd take Hyorin's painting with me.
"All done!"
Swish.
Daeun's triumphant shout snapped my eyes open.
She grinned and asked.
"Daddy was sleeping?"
"Nah, just closed 'em for a sec."
As I said that, I looked at the picture she'd drawn and asked.
"Daeun finish?"
"Yeah! Wanna see, Daddy!"
Swish.
She showed it to me, and damn, it was an amazing picture.
"Wow! You drew this so well."
"Really?"
"Yeah, incredibly well."
I wasn't just saying it.
I couldn't read the emotions poured into a painting like Daeun could, but I could sense what was in this one.
Three people gazing at a beautiful village landscape beneath a blue sky.
Me, Hyorin, and Daeun locked in a tight embrace, taking in the village—it was the kind of picture that drew out an involuntary gasp.
Impossible to believe it was done with colored pencils; it was that masterfully rendered.
"Hehe!"
Daeun looked thrilled at my reaction.
Then she asked me.
"Mommy'll like it too?"
"Mommy?"
"Yeah! Daeun wants to show this picture to Mommy!"
At that, I shared the thoughts I'd had while she drew.
"Hey, Daeun."
"Yeah!"
"How about we swap this picture?"
"Yeah! Swap with who?"
"With Mommy's picture."
Her eyes sparkled at "Mommy's picture."
"That one from before?"
Nod.
"Yeah. You take Mommy's picture, and we bury this one here so Mommy can see it someday."
I'd have to check with the village head, but if not here, somewhere else.
Like a time capsule.
So when Daeun's older, all grown up, we can come back and check it out.
"What do you think?"
Her eyes lit up even more, and she yelled.
"Yeah! Daeun wants to swap with Mommy's picture!"
Knew she'd say that.
I set her picture aside for a moment and handed her Hyorin's.
"Here, this is your picture now."
Then I slipped the one from Daeun back into the transparent vinyl.
All that was left was to bury it—right then.
"You guys were up here. I figured you'd gone down already."
The two who'd gone off to "talk privately" with Gong Minji were climbing back up, looking bright and cheerful.
Trailing behind them was the village head's wife, the kindly auntie.
"How was it? Enjoy the views?"
Perfect timing.
I'd been just about to ask about burying the picture.
Swish.
I explained the situation to the approaching auntie.
After hearing the whole story, she smiled and said.
"Hmm. If that's the case, go ahead and bury it."
"Yes... no need to check with the others?"
Nod.
"Nope. My husband's got no interest in this stuff anyway, and nobody manages the place but me."
"You handle this spot yourself?"
"Yep. Probably why you folks ran into that friend of yours back then too."
Had no idea.
Never imagined the auntie had been maintaining the place all this time.
"Then..."
"Bury it. And make a wish while you're at it."
"A wish?"
"Our village's guardian deity, the Village Guardian Tree, has this legend. Once in a lifetime, if you pray to it with all your heart, it'll grant you one wish."
A legend like that existed?
Once in a lifetime, pray earnestly to the Village Guardian Tree.
It grants one wish.
"Believe it or not, that's up to you. Costs nothing to try, so why not? Who knows—the tree might take pity and make it happen."
Clutching Daeun's picture tight, I looked up at the guardian tree.
The legend of granting one lifetime wish.
Of course, I knew it was just a story.
'Nothing ventured, nothing gained.'
"Daeun, wanna make a wish together?"
No matter the wish, I had one burning in my heart.
And I was certain it matched Daeun's.
She nodded at my words.
"Yeah. Let's pray."
And so, as we buried Daeun's picture, we made our wish to the tree.
A wish that could never possibly come true.
"Take care! Come visit again!"
Everyone headed down from the village to go home.
Kang Myeongsuk watched them go, a warm smile spreading across her face.
"Young folks really are something."
She'd had days like that once too.
Watching their vibrant youth now only made her regret how swiftly her own had passed.
Still, no regrets.
She'd burned bright in her time too.
Lost in those thoughts, she turned away.
Flutter~!
A butterfly drifted in and alighted gently on the neatly mounded earth.
"Well, hello there."
Kang Myeongsuk chuckled and spoke to it.
"Curious about that little girl's picture, were you?"
As if chatting with a living person.
Grin.
"Wanted to ask her myself, but now I'm wondering if that wish came true."
The butterfly on the mound flapped its wings as if in reply, lifting off into the air.
It circled Kang Myeongsuk playfully.
Beam!
Watching it, she gazed toward the alley now vanished from sight and murmured.
"No idea what wish that adorable father and daughter made... but I hope it comes true."
Rustle—!
At her words, the guardian tree trembled.
Without a whisper of wind.
Mysteriously.
Swish.
"Yes."
The journey to find Hyorin's heart came to an end just like that.