Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Daddy's Scary Dream
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"Yeah, of course I'm fine. I've just been hanging out at Ik-seon's place the whole time."
I was startled, but I acted calm, pretending I'd simply been staying over at Ik-seon's house.
But Daddy's face was grave as he cupped my cheeks with his large hands and examined me closely.
'He looks so serious... He must have noticed something. But where could the leak have come from?'
No matter how I thought about it, there was no way Daddy could know I'd gone to the Heavenly Demon Cult!
I'd prepared so meticulously!
I'd rushed back at full speed just to return before he did.
He hadn't brought up the Heavenly Demon Cult yet, so I'd play dumb to the end.
"Ha... What a relief."
After thoroughly checking my face, Daddy let out a sigh of relief and hugged me again.
"Daddy, what's wrong? You ran all the way here without even changing your clothes. Did something happen?"
I fiddled innocently with the hem of his robe.
"It seems Daddy had a scary dream."
'A scary dream?'
Thank goodness.
He hadn't found out I'd gone to the Heavenly Demon Cult!
Feeling relieved for entirely different reasons than Daddy, I could finally relax and focus on him.
"Daddy has scary dreams too?"
'I thought the Heavenly Demon wasn't afraid of anything. But for him to come find me in his robe, it must have been some nightmare.'
Daddy nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"I do."
"What was it? A ghost?"
"Ghosts don't scare me."
'Well, any ghost that saw Daddy would probably hightail it out of there.'
"Then what kind of dream?"
Getting impatient, I pressed him for an answer. Daddy released me from his embrace and lowered himself to my eye level.
"A dream where our Star was suffering."
"Me?"
"Yeah. You were in so much pain, like you were enduring something underwater, but holding it in for Daddy's sake."
The moment I heard his dream, I suddenly recalled swallowing the Golden Immortal Lotus seed.
'The Golden Immortal Lotus definitely hid the seed's power inside me. So Daddy shouldn't be able to sense it.'
Then how could he dream something so similar to the agony of swallowing that seed?
'There's no such thing as precognition for the Heavenly Demon.'
"It was just a dream. Why's that scary?"
As I asked, Daddy brushed back my messy hair, which was poking out from a sloppy tie.
"Nothing scares Daddy more than seeing you hurt, sad, or in pain."
"But it's me who's hurting, sad, or in pain. Why are you scared?"
'If it's worry, I get that.'
Having lived mostly alone in my previous life, I couldn't quite grasp Daddy's feelings.
"Because you're so precious to me. Your unhappiness terrifies me more than my own. I can't hurt in your place."
'He's scared because he can't take my unhappiness for me?'
How much did Daddy love me?
'I thought I loved him too, but his love always feels so much deeper, making mine seem insignificant.'
Yet feeling how much he cherished me made me feel like I could do anything.
"I'm strong, Star! Misfortune doesn't scare me! I've got Daddy!"
I shouted spiritedly and hugged his weary-looking shoulders as hard as I could.
"Our Star's all grown up, knowing how to comfort Daddy."
He seemed startled by my sudden affection but soon gently patted my back.
'On the inside, I'm totally grown up!'
"Aww, what a touching father-daughter reunion. Anyone would think you hadn't seen each other in decades!"
Ik-seon's mom, who'd been watching our heartfelt reunion, chimed in with a mix of envy.
"Mom, find me a handsome daddy like Star's!"
Ik-seon, who'd been watching too, started begging her mom, who sighed deeply.
"Sigh~ For your mom to snag a hunk like Star's daddy? Not in this lifetime. Give up."
"Why not?"
"Look at your dad."
At Ik-seon's mom's words, Ik-seon's gaze turned to her father, who was hauling firewood at just that moment.
"What about me?"
Ik-seon's dad, clueless, got the cold shoulder from his wife and daughter.
'Even with jokes like that, they're such a close family.'
"Star, shall we head home now?"
"Yeah! We were gonna cook carrots, remember? We'll pull the ones from the yard!"
"Sure, sure. Let's do whatever our Star wants."
Daddy scooped me up lightly, bid farewell to Ik-seon's family, and headed to our home, listening attentively to my chatter.
"How could this happen?"
The moment we got home, despair washed over me as I looked at the yard.
"We must've been away from home too long."
"They were growing big and sturdy just before we left... For them all to rot like this."
Without care for a week, every vegetable in the yard had withered or rotted away.
"Should Daddy go buy some carrots?"
Daddy, watching my crestfallen face, looked ready to dash to the market right then.
"No! It won't count if it's not the ones we grew together!"
I grabbed his collar in a panic.
'I nurtured those carrots so carefully while waiting for the day to sneak off to the Heavenly Demon Cult... I planned to pull them as a celebration when I got back. What a shame, but oh well.'
I decided to be content with surviving the Heavenly Demon Cult and making it home.
"Then how about Daddy cleans up the garden nice and tidy, and we plant new seeds together to grow more?"
"Yes!"
I beamed in agreement, and a faint smile appeared on Daddy's face.
'We're home, checked the garden... Time to rest now?'
My legs ached from rushing back without a break.
'That spot. My rest haven!'
I dashed to the veranda right in front of me and plopped down on my butt.
'Ah, sitting feels so good. No more playing servant to the Young Cult Leader for a few days. Whoever said leaving home means hardship deserves an award. Total wisdom! Pure gold!'
Just thinking about being free from the Young Cult Leader made me happy, and I kicked my feet in the air out of habit.
Daddy, watching fondly, suddenly fixed his gaze on one spot.
"Star."
"Yes?"
"Your flower shoes are pretty worn out since I last saw you."
My eyes darted downward.
Sure enough, the flower shoes I'd bought not long ago were caked in mud and ruined.
'I climbed those hills to fetch spring water wearing these, so of course they'd get wrecked.'
Daddy was sharp as ever.
He noticed even the tiniest changes in me.
"Oh, Ik-seon and I went out to play in the rain, and we had so much fun I didn't realize they got ruined."
Daddy, who seemed lost in thought for a moment, approached and crouched down.
'He hasn't noticed, has he?'
Thump thump thump thump.
My heart pounded like drums in my ears, terrified he'd uncover everything.
"We'll buy new ones at the market next time, so change into something else for now."
Thankfully, he said nothing more and carefully removed my shoes, slipping on clean ones.
'Phew, close call. Two lies already—I'll drop dead before my time.'
"Thanks, Daddy."
"Daddy'll change clothes and be right out."
"Okay!"
Only after tending to me did he realize he was still in his robe and headed inside to change.
I looked at the shoes he'd put on me.
'Next time, I'll buy separate sturdy shoes for the Heavenly Demon Cult.'
I resolved with a new plan.
"Red Cloud."
Dang Hwi entered his room without changing out of his robe and summoned Red Cloud.
"Yes, Heavenly Demon."
The moment he called, Red Cloud appeared through the sheer white fabric.
A breeze from the window fluttered the white cloth like waves.
Dang Hwi drew his sword smoothly from its scabbard in the corner of the room.
The curved, razor-sharp blade danced perilously, slicing only the thin white veil around Red Cloud.
"From now on, you will answer my words without a single lie."
In that wind, Red Cloud's red eyes met Dang Hwi's black ones, evoking a dense ink painting.
Dang Hwi's chilling gaze, sharp as the blade's curve, pierced straight into Red Cloud.
"Unless you want to be a snack for my sword."