Chapter 234
Chapter 234
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 234
Chapter Title: Daeun, Who is Daeun?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I turned around, but there was nothing there.
It had definitely sounded like Hyorin's voice.
Was it just my imagination?
No, it was too vivid to dismiss as imagination.
The blowing wind, the familiar scenery.
And the voice of Hyorin I'd just heard—it was clearly the story she told me the first time we came here.
Was it really just my imagination...?
Lost in those thoughts as I kept staring at the dangshan tree, Daeun, who had gone ahead, called out to me.
"Daddy! Hurry up!"
"Uh, yeah. O-okay. Coming right now."
With a lingering uneasy feeling, I slowly made my way up into the village.
Following the winding alley behind the Chairman, an old, shabby house came into view.
"This is Hyorin's house."
"Mommy's house!"
This was Hyorin's home.
If her parents had still been alive, Hyorin would have grown up here.
Happily, without ever losing her memories.
"If only I'd known a little sooner... I feel like I have to atone to Hyorin for the rest of my life..."
"No, that's not true. Hyorin would never think that way."
At that moment.
"Ah! Daddy! Did Mommy live here too?"
"Yeah, she did."
"Yeah! 'Cause you said so, Daddy! Mommy's always in Daeun's heart! So she's here! For sure!"
Hearing Daeun's words, I looked around what had been Hyorin's house and suddenly remembered a place I wanted to visit.
"Chairman. There's a place I'd like to see. Do you think you could make it?"
"A place you want to go?"
"Yes, but it's pretty rough terrain, so I don't think we can take the wheelchair..."
Then An Eunju, who had been pushing the wheelchair, spoke up.
"I'll carry the Chairman."
She said it was fine, but it was a steep mountain path.
I wondered if she really could, but An Eunju effortlessly hoisted the Chairman onto her back.
Then, with a perfectly composed expression, she said,
"Shall we go?"
She was stronger than she looked.
Carrying the Chairman, she didn't show the slightest sign of strain.
Seeing An Eunju like that, I smiled and said,
"But Daddy! Where are we going?"
Answering her question, I gazed toward the mountain ridge and replied,
"To a place where Mommy might be."
I planned to go to Hyorin's favorite spot.
The place depicted in the painting hanging on the wall of the university studio.
We climbed the mountain.
And arrived at the place full of memories.
The moment we got there, a certain phrase naturally came to mind.
Just like the first time I'd come here.
*The view of our beloved village at a glance from the back mountain.*
It was beautiful.
Exactly like the scene in my memory.
I had finally reached the very spot where Hyorin and I first made memories together.
Upon arrival, the Chairman, who had been carried by An Eunju, spoke.
"You didn't learn about this place from Hyorin too, did you?"
"Yes, she said it was her favorite spot."
The Chairman took in the view of the village and smiled.
"I can see why. It's truly a stunningly beautiful place."
Did Hyorin know?
That the first memory we made would lead us all the way here.
I felt a profound happiness.
As if Hyorin were right there with us.
That your daughter Daeun and I would be seeing this scene together with you.
Hyorin, even though you're not here in this moment, I'll always love you.
No matter how many eons pass.
At that moment, Hyorin's voice echoed again.
"So, do you think you could capture these feelings in a painting?"
Again...
Maybe because this was a space of our memories, but it felt like Hyorin's voice kept coming back.
But surprisingly.
"Yeah, I know!"
Daeun answered.
"Daddy! Daeun wants to draw a picture!"
She wanted to paint.
Before I could even respond to Daeun's sudden declaration, she set down the bag she was carrying.
Ziiip!
She opened it, pulled out the sketchbook she always carried, spread it out, and began sketching the village landscape before us.
There was no time to stop her.
Daeun's actions were so natural, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Scribble-scribble-!
The pencil drawing.
In an instant, she captured the village scene on the page.
Watching her, I...
Experienced something completely unexpected.
"Kanghyeok Lee! Hey! Snap out of it!"
Whoosh!
My vision brightened...
"What?"
And Hyorin appeared.
"What are you doing all of a sudden?"
"...H-Hyorin, why are you..."
"What do you mean? I've been here the whole time. What about you? You were painting and then suddenly dropped everything—what's that about? You scared me."
I couldn't make sense of it at all.
I'd definitely been with Daeun just moments ago.
I'd only been watching her draw.
Then suddenly a bright light filled my vision, and Hyorin appeared.
The image of Hyorin from our first-year days, which I could barely recall even if I tried.
"Am I dreaming?"
"What are you talking about, dreaming? We were just painting—why say something like that out of nowhere?"
At Hyorin's words, I looked at the easel in front of me.
And there was a half-finished painting on it.
*How is this even possible...*
My mind was a blur, but it didn't matter.
I didn't know what was happening, but the Hyorin I'd dreamed of was standing right there in front of me.
Thud.
I shot up from my seat and pulled Hyorin into a tight embrace.
Stunned by my sudden action, Hyorin froze and stammered,
"W-What are you d-doing all of a s-sudden?"
"...I missed you. I missed you so much..."
Trembling as I spoke, Hyorin panicked.
"C-Calm down a bit, and first, this..."
She tried to pry me off, but I only hugged her tighter.
How could I let this chance slip away?
I knew it was a dream, but unlike last time, I didn't want to just let it pass.
"Appear more often..."
"What are you talking about...? We were just painting together."
"Even if it's a dream, just show up more often..."
"What on earth is wrong with you?"
Whoosh!
Then Hyorin roughly pushed me away and said something incomprehensible.
"You're not going to do the assignment the professor gave us?"
"That's not important right now."
"You're doing it again, aren't you? The professor said to put emotion into the painting."
"The professor?"
"Yeah! You acted like you'd do well, and now this?"
Hyorin glared at me with fierce eyes.
A chill ran down my spine, so to speak.
Then, hands on her hips, Hyorin said,
"Stop stalling with weird talk and finish the painting already. After all I've done for you."
At her words, I began to take in my surroundings again.
The blowing wind.
The scenery visible below the mountain.
And the half-finished painting.
It had only been a brief moment, but these feelings I was having didn't feel like a dream at all.
They felt utterly real...
Caught up in those emotions, I asked Hyorin,
"Hyorin."
"What."
"You said this village was in your memories, right?"
"Yeah. So what?"
"You know, this really is your hometown."
"What?"
"Chairman Kim Sun-bae—your aunt—told me."
"What are you saying? I told you I'm an orphan."
"The Chairman said that when you were little, your parents died in an accident, and you were sent to an orphanage. But the orphanage shut down, and they lost track of you."
"What...?"
"And later, when they found you..."
Then Hyorin asked me with a grave expression.
"What are you doing? Are you messing with me right now?"
"Why would I joke about something like this?"
Her expression grew deadly serious.
As if confronting an unbelievable truth.
Seeing that look on Hyorin's face, a sudden thought struck me.
What if this wasn't a dream?
What if I'd really gone back to the past.
No, even if it was a dream, it didn't matter...
I had to tell her.
"Listen carefully, Hyorin. The year Daeun turns five—absolutely! You have to be careful with cars! Got it? Always check your surroundings! Be cau—"
Whoosh!
At that moment, a bright light flooded my vision again.
And my sight shifted.
Daeun was asking me,
Holding up the painting of the village landscape.
"Daddy! Did Daeun draw it good?"
Ah...
So it really had been a dream after all.
An incredibly vivid dream.
But was it truly a dream to begin with?
It was too real—Hyorin's appearance, everything about it.
That only made my head spin even more.
*What's really going on here?*
Hyorin's voice I'd heard in front of the dangshan tree.
And everything that had just happened.
None of it made sense from start to finish, but it didn't feel like mere imagination.
*It can't be imagination.*
The sensation of holding Hyorin in my arms still lingered.
What I'd seen was definitely not an illusion or a dream.
So, had I really gone back in time to the past?
If so, then Hyorin should still be alive.
Because I'd warned her about the year Daeun turned five.
But Hyorin wasn't here now.
There was no way to verify if what I'd said was true.
The only evidence was that memory...
*Memory.*
Hyorin's behavior when she'd seen the painting back then.
That action filled with some unspeakable embarrassment came to mind.
I'd always thought it was just because of the emotions in my painting.
But what if it wasn't...?
The thought led me to one overwhelming realization.
"Ch-Chairman."
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry, but would you like to see the school Hyorin attended too?"
"The school?"
"Yes. There's a painting she did with me from back when we came here. I thought it might be nice to take a look."
All I could think about was going to the school.
The university studio, the painting on the wall.
It felt like there was an answer waiting there.
"I'd love to see the school Hyorin went to."
"Wow! Daeun wants to go again too! Wanna see Daddy's painting!"
The Chairman and Daeun both wanted to go, so I quickly packed up Daeun's drawing and said,
"Let's head there right away."
If what I'd seen wasn't a dream.
There had to be some answer in that painting.
I knew it sounded ridiculous.
But my instincts were telling me.
That confirming the painting in the school studio would give me some certainty.
And so we quickly left the village and headed to the school.
Four hours later.
"Hey, what are you all doing here?"
Minji, who was in the studio, greeted us warmly. I gave her a quick hello and went straight to the wall, taking down the old painting I'd made.
Click.
I opened the back panel and pulled out the canvas inside to check.
It always looked the same.
But when I saw Hyorin's handwriting on the back of the painting, I was certain.
[Daeun? Who is Daeun?]
That I could bring Hyorin back to life.