Chapter 24: Mother
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 24: Mother
10
This happened when Ha Si-ho was fifteen, a second-year in middle school.
A pretty face and a small frame.
She was a lovely girl who had always been adored by those around her.
It was common for boys her age to confess their feelings to her.
Even the other girls liked her, calling her cute.
At fifteen, Si-ho’s life was a happy one.
Perhaps that was why Si-ho didn't quite understand how precious that happiness was.
That day was no different from any other.
“Si-ho, are you ready?”
Hearing her mother’s voice from outside her room, Si-ho just kept rolling around on her bed, playing on her phone.
Her face was a mask of annoyance.
It was the weekend, a rare chance to relax.
And her mom wanted to go camping in the mountains.
Her mother had absolutely no consideration for a second-year middle schooler going through puberty.
“Ha Si-ho, are you not going to answer your mother?!”
“Ah, Mom! I was changing!”
Just then, the door flew open because she had taken too long to answer.
Si-ho protested, but her mother simply scoffed.
“Lying on your bed? Don't make me laugh! Just hurry up and come out!”
“Don’t you have any respect for your daughter? Si-ho might get her feelings hurt.”
“When is this child going to stop referring to herself by her own name? And she's a second-year in middle school.”
“Mom’s daughter is pretty because she takes after her mom, so it’s fine.”
As Si-ho squished her own cheeks with her hands, calling it her “pretty face,” her mother let out a deep sigh.
Still, she didn't look displeased.
No mother could win against her own daughter.
“The things you say.”
Si-ho’s mother, Kim Ji-seon.
Mrs. Kim was always like that.
Ever since Si-ho’s father, a firefighter, had died in an accident on the job, she had raised her son and daughter alone, developing the personality of a formidable woman.
But perhaps because she felt an underlying guilt for raising them without a father, she always became endlessly soft in front of Si-ho and Seo-ho.
‘Should I scold them a little?’
But she couldn’t bring herself to. Her son and daughter had grown up so well.
So well, in fact, that she could proudly puff out her chest, reminded of her husband whenever she saw them.
And so, once again, she couldn’t bring herself to point out Si-ho’s behavior and just let it slide.
“What about Ha Seo-ho?”
“Si-ho, my daughter, you shouldn’t call your older brother by his name.”
“He should act like an older brother then.”
“Before he’s your brother, he’s my son. Show some respect. He had hunter work today, so he left this morning.”
Hearing that, Si-ho scowled.
That jerk ran off by himself.
Ever since awakening as a hunter right after becoming an adult, her older brother, Seo-ho, was out doing hunter work every day.
She’d heard he had S-rank potential and was a once-in-a-generation talent, but to Si-ho, it was all just hype.
She couldn’t understand the fuss online, people calling her brother the “Snow Mountain Wolf” and fawning over how handsome he was.
Come to think of it, her friends were always asking her to introduce them to him. It felt like the whole world was playing a hidden camera prank on her.
“I wish he wouldn’t push himself so hard.”
And their mother, Kim Ji-seon, worried about Seo-ho like this every single day.
After all, being a hunter was a life-saving profession even more dangerous than being a firefighter.
Having lost her husband in a firefighting accident, her heart was never at ease.
That’s why, before her mom could start worrying about her brother again, Si-ho quickly wrapped her arms around her.
Honestly, Ha Seo-ho was no help at all.
“Ms. Kim, you should be thinking about your pretty daughter right next to you, not Ha Seo-ho. Si-ho is getting jealous.”
“Oh, you… Just grab your things and come down. Let’s go grill some meat.”
Seemingly cheered up by Si-ho’s cute antics, Kim Ji-seon stroked her hair and left the room.
Following her mother, Si-ho grabbed the bag she had packed, went outside, and got in the car.
“How far are we going?”
“We’re going to Yangpyeong.”
“That’s so far. Ugh, if Ha Seo-ho had a spatial ability or something, we could get there in an instant. Why can he only use ice? It’s useless for anything other than making shaved ice.”
“You ask for so much. Do you have any idea how successful your brother is?”
“What good is that? He doesn’t even give me an allowance. See, Mom? Raising a son is pointless.”
Si-ho grumbled as she fastened her seatbelt.
Kim Ji-seon smiled at her daughter and started driving toward Yangpyeong.
At that moment, the two were simply enjoying their time, heading off on a camping trip.
But misfortune has a way of appearing suddenly.
As she was belting out a song from a YouTube video to pass the time while her mom drove, Si-ho happened to glance out the window.
A pitch-black dot was rushing straight toward them.
“Huh?”
The moment Si-ho made a sound, the dot began to grow larger.
Teeth the size of a person jutted out from its mouth.
Two eyes glowed a sickly yellow in the light.
A monster, nearly twice the size of a large truck, was charging toward them, destroying everything in its path.
It was the appearance of a large-scale dimensional entity.
A rapid gate phenomenon had begun in a natural underground cave beneath the river.
It had manifested under such adverse conditions that even the nation’s sensory-type ability users had failed to detect it.
And so, in the worst possible situation with not a single hunter on standby, the dimensional entities moved solely to satisfy their own desires.
On a highway where cars were traveling at 100 km/h.
The massive dimensional entity was now in the opposite lane, so close it was clearly visible to the naked eye.
Staring blankly at it, it was only when the beast slammed into a car in the opposite lane that Si-ho let out a bloodcurdling scream.
“Moooom!!!!!”
“Si-ho, hold on to your seatbelt, tight!”
As Si-ho’s fading scream filled the air, Kim Ji-seon slammed the accelerator to the floor, speeding up.
In that instant, the massive dimensional entity crashed through the highway just behind them.
The thought that they would have been crushed to death if they had been even a second slower sent an unprecedented chill down Si-ho’s spine.
Her teeth chattered uncontrollably.
She had thought they were just going on a normal outing. What in the world was happening?
But Kim Ji-seon’s mind was just as chaotic.
If she had been alone, it would have been fine, but Si-ho was next to her.
She had to get them out of here, no matter what.
“Aaaah!”
“Help me!”
But their problems didn't end there.
Up ahead, the road was blocked, and chaos had erupted.
Following the large entity, smaller dimensional entities had blocked the highway. They were smashing the windows of the trapped cars and dragging people out.
Blood splattered, and flesh flew through the air.
The scene had instantly transformed into a living hell as the smaller entities hunted people indiscriminately.
While Si-ho was lost in a daze at the surreal situation, Kim Ji-seon slammed on the brakes.
It was an act driven purely by survival instinct.
Screeeech!
“Si-ho, unbuckle your seatbelt! We have to get out now!”
She quickly unfastened the seatbelt of the frozen Si-ho and pulled her out, dashing across the highway.
Since it wasn't an urban area, there were no walls, so Kim Ji-seon started running with Si-ho toward the mountain right beside them.
“Mom.”
“It’s okay. Mom’s here. Our Si-ho doesn’t need to be scared.”
Clutching the hand of her daughter, who was calling out to her with chattering teeth, Kim Ji-seon climbed the mountain.
If they stayed there, they would die the moment the large or small entities decided to crush the car.
They had to escape, even if it meant climbing this mountain.
‘It’s okay. It’s okay! Kim Ji-seon, you can’t panic or be scared. Si-ho is right next to you.’
But faced with a sudden threat to her life, Kim Ji-seon was also feeling extreme terror.
She was only human.
If a dimensional entity pierced or bit her, she would die.
That was an undeniable fact, even for her.
In the face of death’s terror, anyone is just an ordinary citizen.
That was why her legs felt like they would give out at any moment, and she nearly collapsed several times.
But with sheer force of will, she desperately suppressed her fear.
She had her one and only daughter with her.
Her daughter, only a second-year in middle school, was so paralyzed by the fear of death that she couldn’t even open her mouth.
She was a mother.
She had to save her daughter, no matter what. That meant she had to overcome her fear, think clearly, and act.
‘Don’t panic. It’s okay. There were a lot of people back there. The dimensional entities’ attention will be focused there for a while.’
Besides, in a situation like this, hunters would arrive soon.
If she called for rescue and they managed to hold out in the mountains, she could protect Si-ho.
With that, she quickly turned on her GPS and called her son.
Seo-ho didn’t answer, likely in the middle of work.
The fact stung her terribly, but Kim Ji-seon suppressed her emotions and left Seo-ho a text.
She told him she had turned on her GPS and to follow it to save Si-ho.
After sending the text, she switched her phone to vibrate.
She was even considering the possibility that a dimensional entity might be nearby and could be alerted by the sound of a call or text.
“Si-ho. Hold this. Your brother will call. And turn on the GPS on your phone, too.”
She even entrusted her own phone to Si-ho.
This was to ensure that even if one phone broke, Si-ho would absolutely be rescued.
Rustle—
Just then, a chilling sound echoed around them.
Far away, at the edge of the forest, she spotted something moving.
Kim Ji-seon took Si-ho and pushed desperately through the woods.
But the sound showed no signs of fading.
I’m scared.
She felt like the fear would devour her whole.
She kept thinking of her husband, who had passed on before her.
But the feeling of the small hand in hers made her grit her teeth and force her mind to work.
This can’t go on.
The sound of the wind was mixed in, but the pursuing sound was clearly singular. If it’s just one…
“Si-ho. From now on, run straight down this path.”
She spoke, staring straight ahead as if she had made a decision.
There wasn't a single tremor in her voice.
“What are you talking about? What about you, Mom?!”
Si-ho, finally snapping out of her daze, looked at her with a startled expression.
But Kim Ji-seon only repeated the same words.
“I’m going to take a different path. Let’s meet up after we get out of the mountain. Okay?”
“Why?! Let’s go together. Mom! Please.”
Hearing her mother’s words, Si-ho began to feel an intense sense of dread.
Because even at her young age, she had a feeling she knew what her mother, who wouldn’t look back at her, was about to do.
“Ha Si-ho!”
And for the first time, Kim Ji-seon yelled at Si-ho with true force.
The face she tried to hide from Si-ho was trembling pitifully.
But she was clearly smiling.
So that her terrified daughter could feel even a little bit of reassurance.
It was a smile only a mother could make.
“My daughter is a good girl, right? Please, do this one thing for your mom.”
Si-ho’s face was already a sea of tears.
But Kim Ji-seon wiped them away with her sleeve and soothed her.
Her mother’s eyes were so serious that Si-ho found it impossible to refuse her.
Just as no mother can win against her daughter, no daughter can win against her mother.
In that moment, Kim Ji-seon was the strongest woman in the world.
“Now, hurry. Don’t you dare lose the phones.”
She pushed Si-ho’s back.
“Go! Quickly!”
Si-ho desperately didn’t want to go, but unable to resist her mother’s urging, she finally started running down the mountain again.
Watching Si-ho gradually grow distant, she picked up a tree branch from the ground and quietly held her breath.
Cold sweat and tears streamed down her face, unable to overcome her terror.
But for her daughter, she let go of everything.
That’s what a mother was.
A being who would…
“Over here! I’m over here!”
…even give her own life for her child.
Kim Ji-seon screamed and waved the branch wildly.
She was desperate to draw its attention away from Si-ho.
As if her wish had been heard.
Rustle.
With the sound of rustling leaves, a wolf-like dimensional entity covered in pitch-black fur appeared from between the trees.
Her body trembled as she met its crimson eyes.
Her survival instinct flared up on its own, and her legs screamed at her to run.
But a very brief flash of her life passed before her eyes.
Marrying her kind husband.
Giving birth to Seo-ho, and then Si-ho. Those days…
Her two children were lovely, and her husband had always treated her well.
She had been happy.
Even though her husband had left first in an accident.
Her life had been one filled with happiness.
Seo-ho was an adult now, living his own life.
Her only worry was Si-ho, who was still so young.
A child of only fifteen.
One day, she would get a boyfriend, and like her, she would get married.
She would have a child, bring her cute grandchild to be held in her arms, and complain about how hard being a mother was.
Yes, that was her only regret.
Not being able to see her children grow up without trouble and build happy families of their own.
To see Si-ho and Seo-ho live happily, just as she had.
She was sorry for making them grow up without a father.
And sorry for not being able to do more for them.
But just seeing her sweet children smile happily was enough to make her life one without regrets.
She tightened her grip on the branch.
My child.
I had to protect my Si-ho.
‘Honey, I’m sorry. I couldn’t take care of our Si-ho and Seo-ho until the very end. But please, I’m asking you this.’
Please watch over our beautiful Si-ho.
Hoping her one and only wish would be heard.
As she watched the dimensional entity leap toward her neck, Kim Ji-seon replayed the last image of Si-ho’s face in her mind.
I hope my soft-hearted Si-ho doesn’t cry too much….