Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Three Lives
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Nothing came to mind except the deafening roar from the moment of the accident.
Would it feel like this to huddle in pitch-black darkness without a sliver of light for decades? His eyes were thoroughly covered by blackout curtains, and his body couldn't move. Like a shrimp trapped in an invisible net, like a fetus in the womb. Jin-hyuk simply burrowed into himself like that.
There had been days spent curled up in the dark attic, enduring by thinking of a family he could never meet. The ten years of his childhood when he castrated his own emotions. It felt like he'd slept for a time far exceeding that distant period.
The memory of the roar slamming into his eardrums at the moment of the accident, the mad rush every day. Did they all erode helplessly before the sharp teeth of time?
Just as he was about to forget even who he was, Jin-hyuk finally regained his senses.
Stinging sunlight scraped his cheek, and a cool breeze made his neck shrink.
Finally.
He thought his mind was coming back.
*
As sensation returned, memories flickered back to life bit by bit.
Sararak-sararak-haljjak-haljjak-.
What sound was this?
Something coarse and wet soothing the heat on his sun-warmed cheek.
'No way... is Executive Director Hong licking me while I'm in a vegetative state?'
He knew she liked him, but not to this extent...
Who knew a human tongue could be this rough? Did it have bristles?
Heokheokheok-.
And what was this sound?
They say only a widow knows a widower's feelings, but this excitement seemed excessive.
He barely pried open his heavy eyelids.
Light slowly seeped in, filling his blurry vision with hazy surroundings.
Focus gradually sharpened, and the first thing that came into view was...
'What the...'
A moist, glistening object emitting a musky smell, boasting a dizzying curve.
And two holes piercing through that object.
'This is...'
Dog nostrils.
And...
The dog tongue that must have licked him raw waiting for him to wake.
As his vision cleared, he recognized the dog.
The scruffy mutt sticking its tongue out in the photo he looked at every day.
"General?"
Woof-!
It sounded like agreement.
He had every reason to be shocked. Seeing General, he thought it was simply reuniting after death.
But...
'Why is my body like this?'
His voice and body were far too young.
He checked his hands and body. Adorably small. His fingers were short and chubby, his limbs—exaggerating a bit—only a bit longer than a dog's.
He hurriedly unfolded the newspaper neatly folded on the edge of the porch.
"Election age 20, candidates by number and seat order, 8-party talks agreement"
Why write something so obvious...
"Presidential election regional sentiments concern... 66%. Headquarters, Hankook Gallup joint poll"
"U.S. carries out retaliatory strikes against Iran. Hits two platforms in Persian Gulf oil fields"
"1986 settlement preliminary review. National Assembly opens 13 top ones"
1986 settlement?
Ah, should have checked the date first.
"October 1987 ..."
A detached laugh escaped the child's mouth.
"Heh heh heut."
I really am dead after all.
Did Chairman Hong Gi-jun die too?
He hadn't checked the details of the accident while tending to the old man.
Not that he could figure out the situation in that brief moment anyway.
"Still, good to see you, General."
He was the friend who stayed by his side during lonely times after his parents passed. They lived together until Jin-hyuk turned ten, when General was dragged away by someone who claimed to be his mom's stepsister. He bit the pant legs of the people forcibly taking Jin-hyuk, then was yanked hard by a man called uncle-in-law and staggered. That was the last sight of General alive.
Jin-hyuk hid in the attic for days, then sneaked out at night. Following his sense of direction down dark roads, he ran over 10km back home, where under the dim moonlight, he found General dead. He wept silently without a big fuss and buried him next to his parents' graves.
"You were in a lot of pain back then, weren't you, our General?"
Kkiing-kkiing-.
Seemed like it.
He hugged General tightly, sharing the joy of reunion.
How long did he rub his face into the mutt's fur?
"...Hyuk-ah."
Decades.
No, subjectively several times that.
"Jin-hyuk-ah."
The voice from the dark attic of the town teahouse, hugging his knees trying to recall memories. Only one person called him so tenderly with such a beautiful voice.
The affectionate smile sought Jin-hyuk again.
"My crybaby... Won't our Jin-hyuk turn pitch black if he stays too long in the autumn sun?"
Tears welled up before he could peek at the face peeking from beyond the gate. So he couldn't properly see the owner of the voice.
Before the hot tears poured out, Mom approached and warmly embraced him.
Mom. The gentle voice and speech, the hand softly stroking his cheek. Warm body heat he hadn't felt anywhere in ages. The scent of fire clinging to her from stoking the kitchen hearth while cooking dinner revived memories of happy old times.
"Why is my son crying? Did you have a scary dream?"
His cheeks, held in Mom's hands, tilted upward. Determined to see her, he squeezed his eyes shut to shake off the tears. Finally, a clear white face came into view.
'Who is this girl...'
She resembled the photo, but in person, she looked so different. After thirty, pushing forty, the faces of his parents he'd memorized visually had blurred. So it wasn't strange to feel unfamiliar.
At least his soul recognized her.
"Mom?"
Are you really my mom?
His mouth wouldn't move. He hated speaking beyond work necessities, keeping backtalk inside. Even in death, that hadn't changed.
"Yes, it's Mom. Oh dear, my baby, why are you crying?"
Han Yu-young stroked her son's head to soothe him until his sobs stopped.
All Jin-hyuk could do was nuzzle his face into Mom's chest to express affection.
'I died and reunited with Mom and General.'
Seeing his young body and awkward movements convinced him he was dead. But if this was death, what was there to regret?
He'd finally met Mom.
Calming his chest, Jin-hyuk looked around.
His childhood home in his hometown, vast fields and paddies, a stream sparkling blindingly in the sunlight, the distant sea, even the mountains ablaze in autumn colors.
He slowly nodded.
'As expected, no other people.'
But...
"Where's Dad?"
Did he fall to hell alone?
Dad was a good guy...
***
"Hahaha! My son! Nine years old and still crying from a scary dream?"
Dad laughed heartily over dinner. He'd come from harvesting beans in the field. Come to think of it, Dad did all the work himself to spare Mom the hard labor. Even in heaven, he had to work—must be tough on Dad.
Dad Son Gwang-yeon was also mid-thirties. Ten years younger than Jin-hyuk's past self.
Jin-hyuk shoveled down the rice Mom made for the first time in decades. He never knew rice cooked in a cauldron was this delicious. Even with a gas stove, Mom insisted on it. Said it was healthier.
He hadn't known the beans in bean rice were this nutty, that a table of soybean paste stew, kimchi, greens, and pickles was this magnificent.
His parents smiled fondly watching him wolf it down.
'Mom, Dad. Dad, Mom.'
They're young. They must have been happiest when living with me. They waited a long time here. Heaven recreates your happiest times.
But it's odd. They don't ask how I'd been or if I married after so long. Maybe they know I lived unhappily and alone, so they don't ask. Of course, they wouldn't want to dwell on their child's misfortunes.
Better not volunteer it before they ask.
As night deepened, he lay down using Mom's arm as a pillow.
A smile played on Mom's lips as she gently caressed his cheek. Gazing at her jewel-like sparkling eyes, he drifted off.
'My mom was really beautiful.'
This really is heaven.
But couldn't they make the house nicer?
This rundown old place feels too real.
There's even a spider on the ceiling.
***
Are dreams replays of memories, reflections of the unconscious?
Or prophecies of the future? The dreams Jin-hyuk had were pitch black like his previous life's future. Murmurs in the darkness, and one voice came through quite clearly.
Even trying to remember, pre-accident memories were hazy. Like his soul was shattered, his chest ached and eyes welled up. As he flailed to grasp elusive memories, Mom woke him.
"My crybaby... Our Jin-hyuk has to eat breakfast and go to school?"
Thank goodness Mom was still there.
But school? Even in heaven?
Isn't this more like hell?
He ran the 3km to school on short kid legs. A rectangular cartoon character backpack half-covering his back swung side to side. Amazing—even the backpack was restored from that time.
He saw adults working in the fields and paddies. Those folks passed on too. Past bumpy field paths and winding dirt bus roads without stopping, he arrived at school.
'As expected, I'm the only one at school.'
He washed hands and face at the faucet by the playground edge, catching his breath calmly.
'Ran like that and not tired at all!'
Heaven lives up to its name.
Then chirps came from the school gate.
Kids coming to school.
'Ah, my poor friends... so many...'
They must have been happy around this age too.
***
A full day. Only after spending it whole did he admit it wasn't heaven but the past. His speech and actions differed from other kids. No matter how he looked, no friend had an adult soul like him. Just kids.
And with the whole class present, calling them all dead was a stretch. Same for field folks. It was a remote village where people were scarce anyway. Plus harvest season ending, fewer people around.
'Memories are getting clearer.'
Even distant previous life memories approached. But adapting to small body and young age was still an issue. In his past life, he shot up in high school. Now at nine, he was small to the point of puny. Past childhood memories weren't sharp either.
'Memories I'd rather forget.'
Longing for parents, sorrow of freeloading. Growth filled with fear of verbal and physical abuse. But the more you want to forget, the deeper they etch into the heart, right? Hard to blame it all on deliberate forgetting making them hazy.
Decades. Physical distance made more sense for the blur.
'Wish someone would explain.'
How he returned by some mechanism. But no devil appeared as darkness fell despite looking around, no voice sounded.
***
"Hey, General. Isn't this a bit much?"
Hehehek-.
After a bewildering school day, he went to the porch in the yard. No one to vent to, so lucky General was there. In a child's voice, Jin-hyuk grumbled.
"You know, I was about to marry the chairman's daughter and inherit the group? Then the accident happened."
Not lingering on marriage or power since he planned retirement. Pure curiosity about what happened after. Humans need to see the ending of novels or movies, let alone their own life.
A sigh escaped naturally.
General sighed deeply following him.
"You know web novels? As soon as they go back, memories from all directions whoosh in. Sigh... Can't even remember yesterday, let alone whoosh... Web novel authors are all lying scammers."
Particularly chatty with General, but General just tilted his head staring at Jin-hyuk.
"Return point too—usually twenties or prime, but I'm nine..."
Jin-hyuk's grumbling ended there.
'Ah, right.'
Back to when Mom and Dad were alive—what mattered?
His earnest wish to live with parents granted.
But Jin-hyuk's face suddenly hardened.
'How did they die?'
Even their death anniversaries he'd marked, causes—blacked out like magic marker. Like amnesia from an accident?
"This sucks. Ah, no cigarettes either."
Who to vent this frustration to?
Pockets yielded no cigarettes—of course—and kid-appropriate items: two acorns.
Sigh, I was a normal rascal kid. Jin-hyuk exhaled emptily.
"General, let's be blood brothers."
Clink.
One acorn fell into the dog bowl under the porch.
"One for Mom."
Jin-hyuk headed home to find Mom.
Behind him, General barked madly.