Chapter 40
Translator: uly
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: The Black-Haired Schemer - 4
That can't be.
The Heavenly Killing Star stared at the man who had shamelessly claimed to be Cheon So-hee's brother right in front of her.
From the diary she had just read, this man knew about her past and knew her name.
The Heavenly Killing Star was initially flustered after reading the man's diary, but after calming her mind, another possibility occurred to her.
Perhaps he wasn't someone who remembered a black-haired child with red eyes among the Joseon people.
A child with red eyes was born in some village.
The name was Cheon So-hee. Just as people remember when a rare white animal is born. Unlike white animals being considered auspicious, her red eyes were considered ominous—that was the difference.
All the villagers where the red-eyed child lived died. Indeed, red eyes are an ill omen. A man who happened to remember hearing such a thing.
Couldn't such a man have forged a diary to avoid being killed?
The Heavenly Killing Star had kept that possibility in mind when she woke the man.
‘He knew my original face.’
Upon waking the man, she learned an even more astonishing fact.
It had already been over ten years since she left Joseon. There might be people who know that the village where the red-eyed child lived was wiped out ten years ago. But a person who remembers the child's face from ten years ago. Could such a person simply be someone who only knows rumors?
It's possible. She shouldn't let her guard down.
Because he could die, he might have scoured his memories and recalled her appearance heard from someone.
Calling himself her brother just because he knows her original face. She had almost been fooled by a swindler. Cheon So-hee steadied her slightly shaken heart.
If she keeps listening to the man's words, she'll be able to find a flaw.
Then she can cut him down.
Let's listen a little more.
That was The Heavenly Killing Star's mistake.
-----
‘The Kang Yun-ho oppa I used to play with long ago. Not Cheon Yun-ho oppa.’
"An oppa who played with me... There's no way I could have one."
A slightly faltering statement. Could she have had an oppa she played with as a child? Could she say with certainty that she didn't?
The Heavenly Killing Star wasn't sure. Memories from over ten years ago remained only in fragments, and even those were only memories related to family.
‘Even though oppa was older, So-hee always won at hackysack.’
The man looked at The Heavenly Killing Star with a distant gaze. Don't look at me like that. Don't look at a me that doesn't exist in my memory.
"I don't remember that."
The Heavenly Killing Star spoke in a sullen voice and was surprised at herself. That such a voice came out.
"It's understandable if it's been too long. It's been over ten years, so it's possible."
The man smiled and nodded as if convinced. What is so convincing about that?
She played hackysack with this man when they were young. A blank memory. Even when trying to remember, only fog. The Heavenly Killing Star imagined herself playing hackysack within that fog.
She couldn't recall. But she couldn't flatly deny it either. Since they were memories that had already vanished, she couldn't know if they were true or false.
With a 'what if' feeling, The Heavenly Killing Star imagined the man's childhood appearance and her own childhood appearance and threw them into the fog of her memory.
It should be okay to leave a clue in the lost memories. If the man's words were true, they would suddenly come back to her someday.
But still, the man's words probably weren't true. There was a fatal contradiction in his words. There were no survivors from that village.
‘I used to wait for my father in the fishing village and play with you.’
The man's words were logical. Certainly, such a person could have existed. The Heavenly Killing Star imagined a well-dressed boy in a quiet fishing village gazing blankly at the sea.
If there had been such a boy, wouldn't her younger self have been interested in him? If they had become close, wouldn't they have played hackysack, jacks, and house together?
‘I thought you died that day, so why are you in the Central Plains?’
Wokou with swords. A burning village. The corpses of villagers. Stench of blood and corpses. Mom. Dad.
The horrific memory flashed through The Heavenly Killing Star's mind like a flashback. A memory she didn't want to recall. Her chest felt tight. A hot fire in her chest burned The Heavenly Killing Star's heart.
"I don't want... to talk about it."
She barely managed to spit out the words. If she hadn't spat out words, she might have spat out something else.
‘I'm sorry. The memory of that day must have been too horrific for you. I was too thoughtless.’
The man apologized as if understanding The Heavenly Killing Star's anguish.
What do you know. You weren't even there.
What do you know to dare pretend to understand.
The Heavenly Killing Star didn't like the man's attitude. The anger born from recalling that day turned toward Kang Yun-ho. She threw away the slight trust she had in him.
"No. I get that you stayed in our village. But if you were someone that close to me, you would have been in my memory."
She didn't remember the village's appearance, anything beyond her father and mother. But she couldn't have forgotten someone that close.
Although she lost most of her memories, only precious ones remained. That man wasn't in those precious memories.
Because of her anger toward the man, the wound from that day, and her confidence in her own memory, The Heavenly Killing Star didn't trust him.
This man is a liar.
In front of the confident The Heavenly Killing Star, a bomb of unimaginable words dropped.
*******
The foundation of The Heavenly Killing Star's logic was her own memory.
No matter what I say, it eventually bounces off.
If I have to shatter the foundation of her logic for her to believe me, then I'll shatter it.
Using a reversal element that existed in the original story as a bomb.
"So-hee. Then do you remember when your mother made you a flower crown when you were little?"
"How do you know that?"
The Heavenly Killing Star's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. In an instant, Cheon So-hee's expressionless face shattered.
It wasn't the expression she wore earlier to suppress her emotions. It was the most emotionally expressive face she had shown today. A good sign.
How do I know?
Of course I know.
[Mom... I can't go where you are, can I?]
When The Heavenly Killing Star dies, the flashback scene is unnecessarily long, you see. The Heavenly Killing Star recalls her mother as she dies. In that scene, young The Heavenly Killing Star was smiling at her mother with a flower crown on her head.
Even though she lost her past memories, one happy memory was supporting her from within her heart.
"We went out to play together that day, remember? The flower crown your mother made for you in the flower field. In my memory, she made it with white flowers. Do you remember?"
"White flowers. I remember."
"I made you a ring with yellow dandelions next to you. Don't you remember that?"
"That... that was also... Mom made it for me, didn't she?"
The Heavenly Killing Star asked me back. Cheon So-hee's pupils were shaking.
Faint, distant memories. Our childhood memories aren't that complete. Even for a precious memory scene, it's not common to perfectly remember the context.
Especially for her, who lost her past memories. I instill the setting of that scene into The Heavenly Killing Star, who only remembers one scene.
The Heavenly Killing Star lost most of her memories, leaving only fragments.
Because they're lost, because they're fragments, they're precious. I am a new stranger not in her memory. If I recklessly sow confusion in that memory, she could keep doubting. That's why I prepared a bomb.
The memory she believes she remembers perfectly.
The memory she recalls whenever things are hard.
If I make her doubt even that memory.
Could she really suspect me of being a fake oppa?
"Right. Didn't we climb the mountain together with your mother, you, and me? You remember your mother, you remember the flower crown, you remember the flower ring, but how come you don't remember the oppa you played with? Oppa is a little hurt."
I let out a slight sigh of disappointment and turned my head to the side. I wanted to turn my gaze to check her expression, but if I want my acting not to be discovered, I need to stay immersed.
Seems real, right? Quickly acknowledge me as your childhood friend.
With my last words, silence flowed through the room again.
A short time, yet a silence that felt like an eternity passed.
I'm getting a little impatient. Please, just admit defeat now.
"Alright. I get it."
"So-hee! Finally!"
It was tough. Now let's really shake hands and finish this.
Turning my head happily to look at The Heavenly Killing Star, her atmosphere seemed off somehow. Her body was trembling slightly too.
"I get that you were someone from our village. I get that you knew my mom. I get that you were close to me. I get it all, I get it all... but I don't know you."
Cheon So-hee bit the right corner of her own lip.
A face trying its utmost to remain expressionless. But her face trembled minutely continuously. An expression trying to hold back something trying to come out.
But ultimately, she couldn't hold it back.
A single tear streamed down Cheon So-hee's left eye.
"So-hee."
This doesn't look like a good sign.
"Who are you. Why don't I know you. Why are you pretending to know me."
Moisture could be felt in her words. Resentment could be felt in her words. Anger that seemed directed not at me but at herself.
"So-hee. Since it was childhood, you might not remember..."
Hey. Don't cry. Why are you like this.
"Shut up!"
For the first time today, The Heavenly Killing Star's voice tone grew loud.
"......"
Yes. I'll be quiet.
"What you say could be true. My suspicion could be true. But I don't know that. I don't know. So I'll watch."
A certain resolve could be felt in her words and face. Cheon So-hee wiped her tears and looked at me.
"Watch what?"
"You. Until my memories come back. Or until I find out you're lying. I'll stay by your side."
The Heavenly Killing Star sheathed her blade and pointed at me with her hand. Her face no longer tried to maintain an expressionless look. Her face was already etched with firm determination.
Of course, the object of that determination was me.
Ah... This is a complete failure.