The Hypothesis of the Root's King
After roughly finishing the cleanup, the living room carried the faint traces of my childhood. The familiar group sat huddled together in it.
When I lived alone I never noticed, but with three people sitting inside, the space felt cramped. The two women simply stared at me in silence.
“...”
“...”
They had said they had something to tell me, so we sat like this waiting for the conversation to begin. Yet why were we doing this? The room was narrow and stifling; I wanted to stand up as quickly as possible. Maybe I should just buy a table. No—since I had earned plenty of money, perhaps I could suggest moving once the contract ended.
“...Um.”
Feeling like I had to say something, I tried to steer the topic myself. But Chae-yun raised her hand, cutting me off.
“Oppa, I’m sorry to bring this up so suddenly, but what’s your family situation like?”
“Huh?”
“Just answer quickly. It’s nothing strange.”
What was this? Out of nowhere? The question felt completely out of place in the current atmosphere, yet both Chae-yun and Seo-hee leaned forward, bodies tense, waiting for my reply.
“...Well, mom, dad, one younger brother. What else? Should I mention the dog we raised too?”
“Mm, nothing unusual in your family history?”
“What? Does someone have to have gotten divorced and remarried? No—why are you two acting like this? Why do you both know something I don’t? Let me in on it already.”
The questions kept coming. They weren’t exactly malicious, but they were rude. I answered each one, but irritation finally got the better of me. I thrust my hand out toward them.
I had no idea what answer they were fishing for, or what they even gained from these questions. Frustrated, I pressed them, but Chae-yun rested her chin on her hand with a deeply contemplative expression while Seo-hee hovered beside her, pestering, “Why? Did you figure something out?”
Were they even listening to me?
“...Am I being ostracized here?”
“No, that’s not it…”
“I’m sorry. I was thinking about something. So there are no unusual family issues at all, right?”
Chae-yun smiled awkwardly, as if apologetic, and took my hand in a soothing gesture.
“None. Perfectly ordinary.”
“...Actually…”
Only then did Chae-yun begin to explain.
She told me about the changes happening to them and about the blue flower they had seen before. According to the two of them, an individual that successfully produced a Seed and reproduced would undergo a process called “evolution” to raise its survival rate for smoother propagation. In their case, the effects of that evolution had appeared at double strength. They believed the cause was me—that I might be the legendary figure passed down in their species’ fairy tales: the Root’s King.
That was why they had asked those questions.
“...Does that even make sense?”
“It doesn’t make sense, so that’s why we’re asking.”
“...Still, if it were something as simple as family relations, like unnie said, we would have found it long ago.”
“You were the one who suggested asking in the first place!”
I ignored Seo-hee as she shot to her feet in anger and remained seated, turning back to Chae-yun.
“Mm… Then is there anything from your childhood? Any special stories?”
“Childhood, huh. There is one thing.”
The warm word slipping from her lips pulled me unconsciously into old memories. I had always thought my early years were no different from anyone else’s, but if the story could help them… there was no harm in telling it.
“It’s really nothing special, but if you absolutely need to hear it, I’ll tell you.”
“Please do.”
Chae-yun looked at me with eyes full of expectation. Seo-hee, who had been shouting at her earlier, gave up with a sigh, flopped back down, and began listening to my story as well.
“It happened when I was born…”
I was born in the countryside, in a village close to the sea. At the time my grandmother was ill, so my father—her biological son—had to stay there for a while. But he couldn’t leave my mother, who was already heavily pregnant, behind by herself, so he brought her along. That was when I was born.
Unfortunately, the timing couldn’t have been worse. The moment I came into the world, my ailing grandmother passed away. Grandfather flew into a rage and went around the neighborhood screaming that I was the child of a demon.
Mother couldn’t attend the funeral because she was recovering from childbirth and stayed home. Father kept vigil at Grandmother’s funeral alone. Then, while he was gone, Grandfather snatched me from my mother and abandoned me on the mountain.
“Wait, you don’t think that’s a big deal? You almost died right after being born?”
“I’m alive now, so it can’t be that big a deal.”
“...”
“Just don’t interrupt.”
Father noticed I was missing and asked the villagers for help. They searched the mountain at dawn. Despite the scale of what had happened, I was found surprisingly quickly—sleeping peacefully between the trees without a single cry.
Father, who had barely managed to find me, couldn’t bring himself to report Grandfather to the police. He simply cut all ties and never saw him again. As soon as Mother regained her strength and Grandmother’s funeral ended, Father left for Seoul without a word to Grandfather and began a new life there.
“...Other than that, nothing else happened.”
“...After that incident, did you get sick or anything?”
“No. Actually, I was the healthiest one in the family.”
“That’s a relief. A real happy ending.”
Seo-hee clapped sarcastically. I glared at her. Even amid the noise, Chae-yun remained with her chin propped on her hand, lost in thought.
“Oppa, where exactly were you born? Which seaside village?”
Chae-yun spoke as if something had suddenly occurred to her.
“I don’t know.”
“Huh?”
“Father never told me anything else about it.”
“Can’t you ask him?”
“I did ask. He still wouldn’t tell me.”
Chae-yun slumped forward in an instant. The expectant light in her eyes died, turning to ash. Was this my fault?
“If we went there, we might learn something…”
“Why are you so disappointed? Even if I really am that—what was it—Root’s King? What changes? Is it that important?”
“If we confirm it, we can leave the information in the Root’s Memory. Our survival depends on that data, so anything we learn must be passed to the next generation. That’s our instinct.”
“...Yes. The fact that we evolved this quickly and this powerfully has no precedent in the information we possess. The Root’s King makes us even stronger… That’s the hypothesis I’ve built so far.”
Chae-yun looked utterly deflated. It must have been incredibly important to her.
“...Should I ask my father?”
I spoke out of pity for her withered appearance. She sprang up at once, energy flooding back into her.
“Yes! Please, I’m begging you!”
“...Are you acting right now?”
Chae-yun shrugged with an innocent smile, as if she had no idea what I meant. Seo-hee stayed exactly as she was, seated. I turned away from them, took out my phone, and sighed.
What should I even ask? Father never liked talking about Grandfather…
I was still thinking of a greeting for the first family call in a long time when the phone suddenly rang in my hand. Wondering who it was, I looked at the screen. An unexpected person was calling.
“Hello?”
‘Ah, you picked up right away. Father.’
It was Su-a. Hong Su-a.
“Don’t call me Father when other people might hear.”
‘Then what should I call you?’
“Just Chan-woo. So, what’s this about anyway?”
‘Ah, it’s because I want you to come over. If possible, with Chae-yun too.’
“...I can guess why, but I’ll ask out of courtesy. Why?”
‘Look at the photo♡’
I pulled the phone away from my ear and checked the message she had sent.
“...You really…”
‘It’s fine. I just have to clean up properly.’
The background of the photo she sent was the inside of a gym darkened by the setting sun. The two faces captured in it were all too familiar.
The director of the gym—Hong Su-a’s father. And her younger brother, Hong Su-ho, who was also Chae-yun’s ex-boyfriend.
“I don’t like expensive bars like this.”
“Pardon? Oh, I’m sorry. I thought a quiet place like this would be good for talking… Should we go somewhere else right now, sunbae?”
Soft, elegant light filled the room. Jazz played gently in the background. The refined interior made it obvious how expensive the place was, even without looking at the prices. I sat alone with Min-jeong.
“No need to go through the trouble. The one paying gets to decide. So what’s the matter? I still have a month before I return to the lab.”
“That’s…”
Min-jeong had called me while I was holed up at home and asked me to meet her here. Why would she call me out? Had something come up that I didn’t know about?
“Um, s-sunbae. Are you free tomorrow as well? If it’s okay… would you like to have a meal with me?”
“...Hahaha, all of a sudden?”
“...Y-yes…”
Was she embarrassed by her own words? Min-jeong gripped her glass tightly, head lowered, voice shrinking to a whisper.
“You could have just asked about today.”
“Ah! Uh… right…? Ha, haha…”
I never knew you had this side to you.
I swirled the ice in my glass. It couldn’t be. It shouldn’t be.
“...Then, are you free today…?”
“...You learn fast. Using it right away.”
Please don’t look at me with those eyes. Is that truly love? Please.
The person closest to perfection was becoming flawed. It wasn’t that I hated the emotion called love. What I hated was imperfect people.
Two people who truly loved each other get married and promise eternity, yet it never ends well for anyone. No, it can’t end well. If they truly loved each other, why do they fight? Why do they hurt one another? Why do they break up and part ways? Why do they wound other humans with their own feelings?
Love in its beginning cannot be entirely good. There is no guarantee that the feelings blooming inside you now will end well. And if they don’t… you will… you will…!
“...Is that not possible?”
“...Haha, I have nothing but time. Then, after you finish that drink, how about we go for round two?”
Min-jeong smiled brightly.
“Yes! I’d love that.”
She took a sip of her drink, cheeks flushed with shy relief.
“...Min-jeong. You are a good person.”
“Yes?”
You are a good person. A perfect person. I don’t want someone like you to end up living the ordinary life that anyone can have.
“Hehe, sunbae, why are you suddenly… saying that…? Uh…?”
Strength left her eyes. Her body swayed. Then she dropped her head onto the table and collapsed.
“...Even for a fast-acting formula, the effect is excellent.”
When she had lowered her head in embarrassment earlier, I had secretly slipped the fast-acting anesthetic into her drink. It had been the right choice.
Please understand my selfish desire to keep you perfect just as you are.
“I will definitely protect you.”