The Original's Childhood Friend Heroine 2
The truth about her parents.
At those words, Han Se-hee's small hands clenched tight.
"Yes."
She wanted to know the truth about her father and mother. Even if it turned out to be something cruel, she wanted to know what had really happened to them.
"Your parents were murdered. By a colleague."
And the truth she heard was a cruel one: her parents had been killed not by monsters, but by one of their own.
Han Se-hee still looked like a child. She was only eleven, so that was only natural—she had a small frame and a cute face, but it was hard to imagine the pure, heart-stirring beauty the original novel had described, the kind of face that moved countless people. She hadn't even begun to physically mature as a woman yet, so of course she wouldn't look like that.
Even if she was the childhood friend and official-wife heroine of the original, right now she was just a little girl.
Among the heroines, the only ones whose parents were still alive and well were Moriya Yuka and Lee Ha-yeon.
The incident three years ago, when she lost her parents, was something I hadn't been able to prevent. I'd been inside the Dimensional Rift at the time, and I hadn't been as strong as I was now.
The only kindness I could offer Han Se-hee now was to tell her who had killed her parents.
"Your parents were murdered. By a colleague."
"...Is that really true?"
Han Se-hee's hands trembled at my words.
"What he says is the truth."
The one who vouched for me was Choi Kang-in. I'd already shown the old man a reconstructed video of that day's events, so he made an excellent witness. In South Korea, the name of Choi Kang-in, guild leader of the Kangin Guild, was synonymous with trust itself. And for Han Se-hee, who was growing up at the Kangin Orphanage, his word would carry even more weight.
Proof of that came when her small hands clenched tight after hearing Choi Kang-in's confirmation.
"Who did it?"
"A man named Pi Woo-jae."
"Uncle Woo-jae..."
It seemed Han Se-hee already knew who Pi Woo-jae was. That was only natural. Pi Woo-jae had been a colleague of her parents, Han Yeon-woo and Jin So-yeon. Of course she would have known his face. And that was why the betrayal cut so deep.
I could see her face coloring with rage and hatred.
In the original, she was just kind and gentle.
Even now, her temperament still had that quiet, docile quality—but her grudge against her parents' killer ran deep enough to make even a girl like her burn with fury. Looking at her, I found myself wondering what I would do if I were in her position.
Hmm. If someone killed Baek Hyeong-won and Kim Yu-jeong, I'd be pissed. I'd be the one who was supposed to take revenge, and they'd have stolen it from me.
Besides, those two were far too devoted to their own hides to ever set foot in a dangerous dungeon together. Unlike Han Yeon-woo and Jin So-yeon, Baek Hyeong-won ran the Baekho Guild. Even when he entered a dungeon, he'd always have an escape plan ready the moment things got dangerous.
"Thank you... for telling me."
Han Se-hee bowed her head to me with impeccable manners. Her voice trembled as if she could barely keep her emotions in check, but the child showed a maturity beyond her years. Even with the Kangin Orphanage taking such good care of her, she would have longed for her parents' embrace all the more. It was only natural that she would grow up too soon.
Her personality could easily have turned dark, and yet in the original she'd been a healing-type heroine. That was only possible because kindness was simply in her nature.
"What kind of punishment do you want for Pi Woo-jae, the man who killed your parents?"
I asked her in a gentle voice. Han Se-hee looked startled by the sudden choice she'd been given, then asked me carefully.
"I... am I allowed to choose?"
"Yes. I can even kill him for you."
In my previous life, saying something like that in front of a child might have been called too harsh. But in this world, where death was always close at hand thanks to villains and monsters, that kind of shielding was more likely to be seen as overprotection.
"I... I don't know."
But what came out of Han Se-hee's mouth wasn't a request to kill him.
"I really hate him... I can't forgive him... I want him to die..."
She was so confused she didn't know what to say. I stopped her. Tears were already welling in her eyes, and if I left her like this she was going to burst into full-blown sobs. Comforting a crying child was not my specialty. I'd even left Lamia behind for a while, since I thought Han Se-hee might be frightened of her.
"That's enough. You don't have to say it."
I understood why she was like this.
She's scared of having him killed.
The idea of someone dying was still frightening to her. Even if it was an enemy she wanted dead, she couldn't bring herself to accept that someone would die because she asked for it.
"Then I'll make sure he pays the price he originally deserved. If you asked for leniency, that could change things—but this is just him receiving the punishment the law already demands. That's all right, isn't it?"
"Yes... I'm sorry. And thank you."
Han Se-hee pressed her hands together and bowed her head. Even at her young age, her long pink hair spilled softly downward as she did. I watched her with a faint sense of pity—and then I found Choi Kang-in's meaningful smile as he looked at me rather unpleasant.
"Old man, don't smile like that. It's giving me the creeps."
"Haha! This old man has been rude."
Choi Kang-in looked thoroughly pleased watching me take care of Han Se-hee's situation. It seemed his resolve to make me the successor of the Kangin Guild had only grown firmer. Confirming that I wasn't someone indifferent to others was, right now, the biggest harvest he could have asked for.
"Um, could you tell me your name, Oppa? A-and I'm sorry I didn't greet you properly."
Han Se-hee asked me carefully, then bowed her head toward both me and Choi Kang-in. Ordinarily she would have greeted Choi Kang-in the moment she saw him, but the sudden change in her surroundings and the revelation about her parents had completely occupied her mind. That was why the greeting came so late.
"Haha, it's quite all right. Anyone would be like that, hearing something about their parents. If anything, this old man should be the one apologizing to our little lady for failing to uncover the truth sooner."
Choi Kang-in didn't get angry at Han Se-hee's lapse. He just laughed.
"My name, huh."
Since Han Se-hee had asked for my name, I considered giving her the alias Kim Ho-jun. But I changed my mind and asked her instead.
"I can call you Se-hee, right?"
"Huh? Yes, please do."
"Then, Se-hee. Can you make me one promise? Until I give you permission, you won't tell anyone that you saw me, or anything about me, or anything related to me."
Han Se-hee looked puzzled, but she seemed to think it wasn't a difficult request. She nodded quickly.
"Yes, I promise."
"Thank you. Then I'll tell you my name too."
And I released the disguise I'd been wearing as Kim Ho-jun, letting her see my true appearance.
"Huh? Your hair color..."
Han Se-hee was startled as my hair and eye color changed, then realized that this was my real face.
"This is... your real appearance?"
"That's right. My name is Baek Seo-jun. I'm fifteen. Publicly, I operate under the alias Kim Ho-jun."
After telling her my real name, I made her promise once more.
"Keep everything about me a secret."
"Yes, I promise!"
Han Se-hee promised me again.
"All right. As for Pi Woo-jae's punishment... you'll be seeing it on the news soon enough."
"Yes! Thank you... really, thank you so much. Hic!"
In the end, Han Se-hee's tears broke free. Feeling awkward, I gave her back a light pat. And ten minutes later, after she'd stopped crying, I brought her back to the orphanage. Then I collected Lamia and headed straight home.
To Han Se-hee, the person named Baek Seo-jun was a mysterious figure. Not only was he acquainted with Choi Kang-in, the guild leader of the Kangin Guild, but he had suddenly sought her out and told her the truth about her parents' deaths. He had also promised to punish Pi Woo-jae, the man who had murdered her parents, and she found herself eagerly waiting for that news to break.
But the next day, she received a visit she never could have expected.
"So you're Se-hee. How lovely to meet you. My name is Kim Yu-jeong. My husband is the guild leader of the Baekho Guild."
"I'm Han Se-hee."
"My, what a well-mannered child already! You see, our Seo-jin is such a kind boy that he has trouble getting along with children his age... Perhaps our clever little Se-hee could help him?"
There was no way a child from an orphanage could refuse. Led by Kim Yu-jeong all the way to the Baekho Guild, Han Se-hee met a boy named Baek Seo-jin.
"So you're Se-hee! Nice to meet you!"
Han Se-hee watched the boy named Baek Seo-jin smile brightly at her.
"Yeah. Nice to meet you too."
But her voice was more lifeless than usual. Normally she would have smiled back and said she hoped they could be friends. Right now, she couldn't.
"Ah! You've already met our young master. Good to see you, Se-hee!"
Because she could see Pi Woo-jae walking toward her with a smile on his face, as if nothing at all had happened—the same man who had murdered her parents.