Chapter 102. Jia's Parents.
Chapter 102. Jia's Parents.
"Ugh... how much farther is it?"
The Commander, walking beside me, heard my muttered complaint as I stretched and answered with a slight smile.
"Heh heh, at the very worst, two more days should be plenty."
"Come to think of it, Commander, you must've been on a lot of ships."
"I did often in the past, but I barely had reason to after I put on my stars. By that point, you're spending nearly all your time in the command building."
"So even being in the Navy doesn't mean you ride ships to the very end."
I was so bored at the thought of being stuck on the ship until we arrived that I wandered here and there to kill time.
Before I knew it, the tedious hours had passed, and an announcement echoed through the cabin speakers.
"We will be docking at Incheon Port shortly."
Except for the personnel staying behind for ship maintenance and repairs, we boarded the helicopters that had been waiting for us at Incheon Port ever since they received our earlier communication. It hadn't been that long since I'd left the village, but I'd apparently grown attached to it. We talked about all sorts of things on the flight back.
"Now that I think of it, Representative, what do you most want to do once we reach the village?"
"I'd just like to rest comfortably. The peace of mind your own home gives you is different from being out in the world."
"Your own home... that sounds nice."
Soon enough, the helicopter passed over Gimpo and arrived at our village, touching down. A fairly large crowd was there to welcome us. The people of the 1st Fleet, who weren't used to such sights, seemed moved, their expressions softening a little.
"It's only after the world fell apart that I've come to realize how wonderful it is... to be welcomed by someone."
"There will be plenty of moments like this in the future. You'll get used to it."
"I suppose I'll have to..."
We had arrived well into the afternoon, so we decided to return to our respective homes and spend the time at our leisure. Of course, I didn't forget to assign housing for the 1st Fleet personnel who were formally joining us this time.
The moment we got home, we took a shower. The feeling of having showered with desalinated water had left me feeling thoroughly unpleasant. It wasn't as if it would actually damage your skin or anything—it was just a matter of mood. We all finished washing up, then sat down on the living room sofa in comfortable clothes and talked.
"Sihu, you know that Park Ji-yeon woman..."
"The one from Jung-gu Office?"
"Yeah."
"What about her?"
"I just... the idea of a husband and wife making it through together in this kind of world—it's a bit remarkable, and kind of incredible..."
I stroked Chaeyeon's hair while she was lost in those thoughts, and I continued.
"What's gotten into our Chaeyeon all of a sudden? Where's all the sentimentality coming from?"
"..."
While I'd been stroking Jia's hair, she'd also been lost in her own thoughts without a word, so I pulled her in and held her in my arms as well. Come to think of it, Jia's expression had been full of worry these past few days on the ship.
"And what's with our Jia? What's put that look on your face, full of so much worry?"
"It's nothing... I'm just..."
It was a very different side of Jia from usual. Normally, if I asked her something like that, she would have giggled right away and acted like nothing was wrong, or changed the subject. Seeing her like this, Chaeyeon's expression grew a little worried, too. Chaeyeon stood up, pulled Jia into her chest, and asked gently.
"You've got your unnie and Sihu here. What's made our little sister so down?"
"H-hic..."
Out of nowhere, Jia buried her face in Chaeyeon's embrace and began to cry, sniffling. For a moment, Chaeyeon and I were flustered, our eyes meeting. Soon after, Chaeyeon patted Jia's back and calmed her down.
Once Jia had stopped crying a little and was just hiccuping quietly, Chaeyeon carefully asked her.
"Did something bad happen?"
"Hic... The truth is..."
She said that seeing the couple who had survived together in the Jung-gu Office had kept making her think of her parents back at her family home. A part of her had wanted so badly for her parents to have made it, just the two of them, like that couple had. But the fear that something might have gone wrong had made her miserable.
No matter how well a father-in-law and mother-in-law treat you like their own daughter, it can never truly compare to your real parents—that was certain. And when I thought about it, in a world like this, the probability that a household had come through unscathed was astoundingly low. That was why I'd felt too sorry to even bring it up, and hadn't been able to ask her separately.
'I'll have to ask her about it this time...'
"Your pretty face is all ruined. Sihu, I'm going to take Jia to the bathroom for a moment."
For about ten minutes, I could hear the sound of water running and the two of them quietly murmuring to each other. Then, when they came out of the bathroom, I asked Jia.
"Jia, where did your parents live?"
"Sniffle... they lived in Seongnam..."
Seongnam wasn't far from here. It's in Gyeonggi-do—a place you could actually reach in under an hour. The thought of finding her parents must have always been in the back of her mind, and she could have asked at least once. The reason she hadn't was most likely because she thought she'd be a burden.
"Let's go."
"What...?"
"I can leave right this moment if I want. I'll search every corner of Seongnam and find them for you."
"But, is it really okay for me to ask something like this? It's too..."
"You can ask as much as you like. Especially the two of you."
I looked at the two of them with warm eyes and smiled softly. At that, tears immediately began welling up again in that pretty face, which had barely finished washing up and wiping the tears away.
"I'm curious—what kind of people were Jia's parents?"
Jia told us about them: they'd lived in Seongnam, her mother looking after the home, her father working at a solid IT company. Since Seongnam was too far to commute to her university in Seoul, she'd stayed in a dormitory. They'd treasured their only daughter above all else, raising her like a precious gem. When the zombie crisis broke out, the electricity was cut and the cell towers went down, and she'd lost contact with them after that.
It was a heartbreaking possibility, but if her parents had passed away, would Jia be able to accept it? I knew I had to tell Jia, "Your parents may have passed away," but the words simply wouldn't leave my mouth. I'd felt that same emotion when Arwen's lifespan ended and she returned to the World Tree's side, so I couldn't bring myself to say it carelessly.
But, making my hesitation pale in comparison, Jia spoke first with a resolute expression.
"Oppa, just being able to confirm whether they've passed away... I'll be okay with that."
"..."
"Rather than living on not knowing whether they're alive or dead, I want to put my heart at ease, even if it means accepting that."
Seeing her forcing a smile at me changed my mind yet again. Whether her parents had passed away or were still alive, I'd use any means necessary to find them.
'I'll find them even if I have to search the entire Republic of Korea.'
* * * * * * * *
Once that heavy-hearted situation had passed, since we'd returned to our nest after some time away, we decided to all eat together in the assembly hall. Actually, calling it "some time" was a stretch—unless something unusual was going on, we ate together most of the time. Maybe because Jia was embarrassed after crying so much, a slightly awkward air hung around the three of us.
"Son-in-law, did you two have a fight?"
When my mother-in-law suddenly asked that out of the blue during the meal, Chaeyeon and I put on baffled expressions, and Jia hung her head. My mother-in-law had asked with a worried tone, and my father-in-law, as if displeased that I might have fought with his daughters, got angry.
"What?! Why, you scoundrel...!"
"Mom, what are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"Jia's been spilling her rice while she eats."
Seeing a kid who would ordinarily be giggling and smiling with her eyes spilling her food, my mother-in-law seemed a little flustered herself, and after saying that in a vague way, went back to eating.
"No, why would we ever fight..."
"Well, I guess there's no one quite as happy as you three~"
We glossed over it, and the awkward meal came to a close. After dinner was over, while we were drinking tea and chatting, I drew everyone's attention and spoke.
"We're thinking of going to Seongnam."
People expressed their confusion at the sudden announcement of a trip to Seongnam.
"Representative, what business do you have all of a sudden in Seongnam...?"
At everyone's questioning, Jia was fidgeting nervously. I gently placed my hands over hers and said.
"I intend to leave right away tomorrow to look for Jia's parents. Even if we can't find them, I plan to stay there until we can at least confirm whether they're alive or dead."
At the startling statement that I "would stay there until I saw it through to the very end no matter what," my group was struck dumb, unable to say a word, like mutes who'd eaten honey.
"This is my own unilateral decision. No matter what any of you say, there's no chance my mind will be changed."
My group, which had been flustered for a moment, quickly had their expressions ease. And the President answered with a benevolent smile.
"No matter who looks at it, the Representative of this place is you. We have simply been living, leaning on your support. When the Representative, of all people, says he's going to look for his family, the thought of stopping you is unconscionable. It shouldn't even exist."
"..."
"At the very least, just tell us what time you'll be departing. The most we can do for you is to make sure your luggage is well-packed."
The President remarked, "We'll have to make sure we don't forget a single thing," and, tactfully reading the mood, took everyone except my father-in-law and mother-in-law and vacated the room.
For a while, they said nothing, and then my mother-in-law cautiously opened her mouth. Without any flowery words, she simply gave us her straightforward support.
"So that's why that happened earlier... I truly hope there's good news... And, you are always my daughter, too."
My mother-in-law spoke warmly and hugged Jia. My father-in-law, too, only told us to go and come back safely, but his face was full of worry. Both of them said only that and then went outside.
— trud... trud...
Terion, who had been waiting outside and watching for the right timing, came inside. He'd returned to his main body for the first time in a while.
"Though it's been a long time since I became undead, living among humans like this, I've been learning emotion all over again. Even so, I, too, have had to see my parents off."
As he said that, he rummaged inside his clothes with hands that were now little more than bone and pulled out a small pouch.
"It's an item I'd originally meant to give a bit later..."
Inside the pouch was a stone that looked a little larger than a 500-won coin, its surface intricately inscribed all over with a magic circle. And he explained what it was used for.
"If you infuse this with mana, it can teleport the 'Calamity' to wherever you are. This, too, was made using the Origin Essence I obtained by asking the 'Calamity' for a favor, but since the 'Calamity's' Divine Authority is of that magnitude, it can only be used once. So please make sure to use it with great care."
Terion took the two stones from the pouch and, with his cold, bony fingers, handed one each to Chaeyeon and Jia.
"Since you are not always at the 'Calamity's' side, and one never knows what might happen, I prepared them."
"Terion, thank you..."
"Thank you..."
"Thank you..."
"Enough of that. I'll be off to finish up my experiments. Take care, and go and come back safely."