Chapter 56
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 56. Younger Sibling
Silence filled the living room.
Neither Hong Chae-yeon nor I could open our mouths.
It seemed our thought circuits had stopped at the hard-to-believe miracle that occurred right before our eyes.
Hong Chae-yeon's gaze slowly headed to her own right arm.
It was skin that had been hideously distorted just a moment ago.
She raised her trembling left hand and carefully stroked her right arm.
The touch reaching her fingertips was unfamiliar.
It wasn't the bumpy and rough feeling of a scar.
Smooth and soft flesh was felt at her fingertips.
Her touch traveled up her arm, past her shoulder, to the nape of her neck.
In that place she always had to cover thickly with makeup or hide behind a mask, there was nothing catching on the tips of her fingers.
Only the touch of a soft cheek was felt.
"Ah......."
An exclamation leaked through her lips.
As if she had to check something, she staggered and approached the full-length mirror next to the entryway.
The woman reflected in the mirror was facing her.
There stood Hong Chae-yeon with a clean and youthful face, which even she herself had hazy memories of before that accident 10 years ago.
She blankly looked at her face in the mirror.
As if unable to believe it, she pinched her cheek and turned her head this way and that.
It wasn't a dream.
The terrible nightmare had ended like a lie.
*—Plop.*
Thick tears fell from her large eyes and soaked the floor.
She slowly turned her head and looked at me.
Tens of thousands of emotions were swirling in her wet amber eyes.
"What on earth... is this...?"
Her voice trembled faintly.
At that gaze asking what happened, I had no choice but to shut my mouth.
To be honest, I was in the most awkward situation.
I screamed inwardly.
*'No, I told you to turn on the blinker before coming in!'*
Without warning, it sucked in the fire energy and even cured her.
Of course, the result was good, but the process was too omitted.
How am I supposed to explain this?
I ate a Legendary grade Sun Stone and Aura appeared in my body, and that guy thought your fire energy was food and ate it.
...If I said that, it was perfect to be treated as a crazy person.
Yet to say I cured her intentionally, even I couldn't hide my flustered expression.
"That is... So...."
It was when I was scratching my head and rolling my eyes to find a suitable excuse.
There was no time to think.
Hong Chae-yeon ran and hugged me in my embrace.
"Uh...?"
A warm and soft touch was felt.
She hugged my waist tightly and buried her face in my chest.
Her shoulders began to heave.
"Sniff... Sob...."
The crying she had held back burst out.
"Thank you... Thank you so much, Si-woo...."
Her voice was crushed, soaked in moisture.
But that sincerity alone was transmitted to the bone.
As if the reason didn't matter, as if the process didn't matter, she just held onto me and wailed.
Not knowing what to do with my hands held up awkwardly, I hovered them in the empty air.
My shirt became damp with her tears.
The head of a large guild who was always confident and relaxed.
But right now, the one held in my embrace was just a fragile woman who had lived trapped in terrible pain for 10 years.
Even if she was smiling on the outside, how much must she have festered and burst on the inside.
Her past days brushed past—unable to sleep every night due to burning pain, yet having to pretend to be strong and hold on in front of her younger sibling and guild members.
A corner of my chest ached tinglingly.
I carefully lowered my arms and wrapped her back.
And I slowly patted her back like soothing a child.
"......You've suffered a lot."
At my comfort, she sobbed even more sorrowfully.
Without a word, I just quietly stayed by her side until she poured out all her tears.
***
When the crying she poured out in my embrace for a long time subsided, Hong Chae-yeon sniffled and raised her head.
Bloodshot eyes and flushed cheeks.
It was an appearance far from her usual cool-headed Guild Master image, but she looked more comfortable than ever.
She looked up at me with wet eyes and asked.
"...Si-woo, what on earth happened here?"
At her question, I was at a loss for words.
I hesitated for a moment, then opened my mouth.
"That is... I think one of my abilities absorbed the fire energy in your body. I don't know the exact principle either... but anyway, yeah."
It was an overly vague explanation.
Even after I said it, it was so flimsy I wondered if it was words or a fart.
But she didn't ask anymore.
She just nodded and sent a gaze saying she trusted me.
"I see...."
She smiled faintly as if that was enough.
Hong Chae-yeon exhaled a deep breath as if to calm her mind.
And looking at me, she moved her lips.
I thought I knew what she was going to say.
The hope that if she was cured, wouldn't it be possible for her younger sibling too, and the fear of 'what if'.
I struck first before she brought it up.
"Let's go. To your sibling."
"......Huh?"
"We have to cure your sibling too. I couldn't get the Ice Crystal Flower, but with this method, it'll be possible."
At my words, Hong Chae-yeon's eyes widened again.
She bowed her head deeply with a touched expression.
"...Thank you. Thank you truly."
We left the penthouse without delay and headed to the hospital.
A private room in the ward where Hong Su-yeon was hospitalized.
As the door opened and we stepped inside, the smell of disinfectant along with a quiet air welcomed us.
A bed placed right in the middle of the spacious room.
On top of it lay a girl with a small build.
"......."
Seeing the figure on the bed, I stopped breathing for a moment.
Except for her right eye, her entire body was wrapped tightly in white bandages.
Here and there on the bandages, bloody water and pus seeping from wounds that hadn't healed properly had spread red.
At the sound of the door opening, Hong Su-yeon's only exposed right eyelid trembled and went up with difficulty.
Her unfocused pupil rolled this way and that, then curved with gladness upon discovering her older sister.
"U... Unni...?"
It was a voice mixed with a metallic sound.
Hong Chae-yeon urgently approached the bedside.
But Hong Su-yeon's gaze stayed on me, standing behind her sister.
A man who came together with her sister at this late hour.
Hong Su-yeon's eye grew round, then was dyed with playful shock.
"Bo... Boyfriend...?!"
Her voice was so small and cracked that to my ears it only sounded like mumbling.
But Hong Chae-yeon, who was close, heard those words clearly.
"I... It's not like that!!"
Hong Chae-yeon's face instantly heated up.
She waved her hands and checked my reaction.
Thinking the sisters were just catching up after meeting for a long time, I was waiting quietly from behind.
Then Hong Su-yeon's eye changed.
The playfulness disappeared, and a strange sense of heterogeneity filled its place.
Her gaze persistently scanned Hong Chae-yeon's face and arm.
The burn marks her sister always covered with a mask and hid with long sleeves.
They had disappeared like a lie.
It wasn't the appearance of the sister she knew.
"Unni... Your face...."
Hong Su-yeon muttered in a trembling voice.
Knowing her sister had noticed, Hong Chae-yeon cleared her throat and cleared her voice.
"Ahem. Su-yeon, say hello. This person is...."
Pointing at me, she said in a voice filled with conviction.
"He is the person who will cure your wounds."
I approached the front of the bed and gave a light nod.
"Nice to meet you. I am called Kim Si-woo."
Hong Su-yeon blankly looked up at me.
Her sister's clean face was the proof.
Does it mean if this man cured her sister, he can cure her too?
A faint ember of hope burned in her eye.
I sat on the chair next to the bed.
And making eye contact with Hong Chae-yeon and Hong Su-yeon in turn, I said calmly.
"Then I will begin."
I narrowed my eyes and examined Hong Su-yeon's body.
"Wow...."
A dark and giant red haze, incomparable to Hong Chae-yeon's, was covering Hong Su-yeon's entire body.
It was as if hungry flames were burning using her life force as firewood.
To think she endured this terrible fire energy for 10 years.
I carefully placed my hand on Hong Su-yeon's bandaged arm.
That moment.
*—Fwoosh!*
Through my palm, a hot heat incomparable to Hong Chae-yeon's struck in suddenly.
"Ugh...!"
A faint moan leaked from Hong Su-yeon's mouth.
Her body arched and convulsed.
Her body had become too weak from a long life of fighting illness.
If I absorbed it slowly like this, her body wouldn't seem to hold out.
*I have to finish it quickly.*
I made a decision.
I released the leash of the Aura crouching inside my dantian.
*'Eat.'*
As my will was transmitted, the golden Aura roared and rushed in.
The red fire energy wrapping Hong Su-yeon's body swirled and was sucked into my body.
Like a black hole swallowing light, the Aura ravenously devoured the fire energy.
Hong Su-yeon's body trembled faintly.
In just a few seconds, the giant red haze disappeared without a trace.
*—Ding!*
A notification sound rang, but I had no time to check it.
I took my hand off and checked Hong Su-yeon's condition.
*—Slip.*
The bandages wrapping her arm unraveled powerlessly and slipped down.
And the skin revealed underneath it, the hideous burn marks that had burned black and oozed pus were nowhere to be found.
Only pale and smooth inner flesh like a newborn baby was shining receiving the hospital room lighting.
"My word...."
Hong Chae-yeon covered her mouth.
But the emotion of witnessing a miracle was brief; Hong Su-yeon's head dropped powerlessly onto the pillow with a *plop*.
Her eyes were closed.
"Su-yeon!!"
Hong Chae-yeon screamed and rushed to her sister.
"Su-yeon! Snap out of it! Si-woo, why is she like this?!"
Turning pale, she grabbed me.
I calmly checked her condition.
"It's okay. It's probably because the fire energy deeply embedded in her body drained out all at once. Her energy is exhausted so she just fell asleep, so don't worry too much."
Despite my explanation, Hong Chae-yeon couldn't sit still.
With trembling hands, she pressed the emergency bell.
"Doctor! Over here! Hurry!"
It was obvious medical staff would storm in soon.
I didn't want my identity discovered right now.
Because if it gets known, it's obvious it will get bothersome.
I slyly stood up from my seat.
"Chae-yeon, I'll be going now. It'll be troublesome if people flock in."
"Ah... Sorry... I'm out of my mind right now so...."
I told her it's okay and left the hospital room.
Watching my retreating figure disappearing to the end of the hallway, Hong Chae-yeon didn't know what to do.
Coming outside the hospital, the cold air cooled the heat.
I put my hands in my pockets and walked the street leisurely.
A moment later, a vibration rang in my pocket.
[Hong Chae-yeon: Si-woo, thank you so much.... The doctor said Su-yeon's life is not in danger. She fainted because her energy was exhausted, so she just needs to sleep well and wake up. And... all her burns have disappeared. Now she just needs to receive rehabilitation treatment well and she can be discharged.... Really thank you so much, Si-woo... I will never forget this for my entire life.]
Beyond the text, her relief and gratitude were transmitted.
I chuckled and sent a reply.
[Me: That's a relief. Take good care of your sister. Buy me something delicious later.]
As I was about to put away my phone, the system window I hadn't checked earlier popped up.
*—Ding!*
[Absorbed old fire energy.]
[Special Stat 'Aura' reacts.]
[Converts the absorbed fire energy into energy.]
[Aura increases.]
[Aura +20]
[Total Aura has exceeded 30.]
[The level of 'Primeval Swordsmanship' increases.]
[The 2nd Form has been unlocked.]
[2nd Form: Sunrise]
I couldn't pull myself together at the continuous notification bombs.
I moved my steps as if possessed, fixing my gaze on the system window floating before my eyes.
It was the fleeting moment I was about to scroll down and read the skill description.
*—Thump!*
"Ah!"
Along with the sensation of bumping into someone, a short scream was heard.
Only then was I startled, closed the system window, and looked forward.
In front of me stood a girl with a small build.
Freckles were dotted on the bridge of her nose seen over her round glasses, and she was a girl with an extremely ordinary impression wearing a baggy hoodie.
But what entered my eyes right now was not the girl's face.
*—Splat.*
Something that slipped from the girl's hand fell onto the cold paving block.
It was a round chocolate(?) the size of a ping-pong ball.
Due to the impact, sticky and thick green contents poured out *gush* through the thin chocolate.
A sweet yet savory pistachio scent spread on the ground.
"Ah......!"
A sigh leaked from the girl's mouth.
She slumped down on the ground like a person who witnessed the world collapsing.
The girl's gaze was fixed on the crushed chocolate and the green cream that dirtied the floor.
Her pupils trembled faintly.
It was an expression that looked like she would burst into tears any moment.
I stood awkwardly and looked down at that sight.
It was clearly my fault for not looking ahead because I was looking at the information window.
I scratched the back of my head and apologized.
"Um... I'm sorry..."
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