Chapter 32
Chapter 32
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: A Father's Forgotten Smile
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“…Am I sposed to say fank you?”
“This would have been resolved even if you hadn’t stepped in.”
So he was scolding me for getting involved anyway. Biyu understood, in her own way.
But Heuk Bihu wasn’t finished.
“It means you don’t trust others easily, and you have no memory of ever being helped.”
He was the same.
Every day he woke up, his memories were gone.
The warmth of others, the possibility that he might have been helped and trusted someone one day—even those memories vanished.
He couldn't trust anything.
“You call me ‘Dada’ because you want me to take responsibility.”
No matter how much he thought about it, Heuk Bihu had no memory of a daughter.
“To act like a father.”
For Biyu, he wasn’t wrong. Except for the part where she had no great expectations of her father.
“…”
“But I can’t take responsibility. Not in this state.”
The child stared at him blankly. Her face was serene, as if she wasn’t shocked at all.
“It’s otay. Evwyone has a hawrd time at first.”
“…”
“I didn’t ask you to be a weal Dada either.”
Biyu said, enunciating each word.
“You just have to pwotect me when I’m having a hawrd time. Like now.”
The child’s cheeks flushed faintly. As if she was pleased.
“Be on my side. That’s enough.”
Biyu’s smiling eyes turned to her father. They were peaceful and calm.
They were truly eyes without a hint of greed.
“I was happy that you and Eldest Uncle pwotected me. Keep tweating me as your top pwiowity. I need pwotection.”
With just that protection, she could become a greater physician than anyone in the world.
“Alright.”
Heuk Bihu nodded.
“You said you could treat me. Can you give me a chance to heal on my own?”
“Heal on your own?”
The child had returned a portion of his lost memories. She had said she would heal him completely if he listened well.
Perhaps that meant she could treat him in a way that would allow him to recall his memories himself.
“I mean I want to remember you on my own.”
The child fiddled with her fingers. It wasn’t just idle fidgeting; she was calculating.
‘How much of my lifespan will this cost?’
After a moment of hesitation, the child looked up.
“You can’t do it?”
“…Uhm. I can do it.”
The child grinned.
“But, you pay upfwont.”
“Upfront.”
“Uh-huh. Fwom now on, you can’t ever go against what I say, otay? You have to do whatevwer I ask.”
Biyu held out her pinky finger.
It was accompanied by a smile brighter and clearer than any before.
Heuk Bihu stared at the proffered finger for a moment before smirking. He then hooked his own pinky, more than twice the size of the child’s, around hers.
“As you command.”
Heuk Bihu could ask for such a thing because he didn't know the price. He couldn't have known just how much he was asking for.
* * *
‘I’m back here again.’
I looked at the clear pond and took a deep breath.
I was currently at the place where I first met my father. The place with the large tree and the pond.
‘Alright, let’s do this!’
I was about to jump right in.
“Hweh?”
I was left dangling in mid-air. I could see my father holding me up by my clothes.
“What, why’d you gwab me?”
You’re the one who asked me to improve your condition.
When my father had requested the treatment, I had actually hesitated quite a bit.
‘It’s possible to the extent he wants.’
But it was sure to cost a fair amount of my lifespan.
However, after seeing my father’s full cooperation without any betrayal, and his abilities, which were more competent than I expected, I changed my mind.
‘Let’s think of it as an investment.’
A powerful wind mage. His uses were endless.
I’ll help the heroine become the family head faster and achieve my goal.
That’s why I came to the pond, so why did he stop me?
“Does the situation just need to be the same as last time?”
“Huh? Uh-huh.”
“Then there’s no need to jump in so recklessly.”
My father took action.
Splash!
He lifted me into his arms and jumped straight into the water.
As if that wasn't enough, he held me up by my armpits with both hands and dipped just my feet into the water.
‘Like shabu-shabu…?’
For some reason, the expression on his face as he looked at me seemed faintly proud. It must be my imagination, right?
“Preparations are complete. I did it exactly the same.”
“Ah, okay.”
I clasped my hands as if in prayer.
This treatment was going to be pretty tough, so I had to brace myself. A look of concentration crossed my face.
As the water’s surface began to ripple, my father spoke quietly.
“Am I the only one receiving this kind of treatment?”
“Uhm…”
That’s right, isn’t it? Eldest Uncle and my other uncle could be treated with medicine.
Although that medicine was ridiculously tricky, took an incredibly long time, was expensive… and had a ton of other difficulties.
I grinned.
“That’s wight. It’s speshul tweetment. Cuz you’re my Dada.”
I lifted just my index finger from my clasped hands and made a ‘shhh’ gesture.
This was a good opportunity.
I should score some points and make sure he keeps his mouth shut(?).
It would be a headache if Eldest Uncle, who was particularly sharp and persistent, found out I was using my lifespan to heal them.
“This is a secwet fwom Eldest Uncle and Uncle, otay? They might feel left out.”
“…They don’t seem like the type to feel left out. But I understand.”
My father had a strange expression for some reason.
“…Special treatment. I’ll remember that.”
Hmm? Nothing to remember, really.
‘And can’t he just forget this moment too?’
I tilted my head, but his face was rather serious, so I nodded obediently.
“Well then, here I go?”
The water’s surface rippled, and waves began to form. Just like before, they enveloped both me and my father.
When I opened my eyes, I was underwater.
I turned my head this way and that in the space that felt as comfortable as a bed.
‘This space itself has a really comforting feel.’
I suddenly recalled the time I used this ability in my third life.
‘Hey.’
‘Hey.’
A gruff but gentle voice.
It was probably the sweetest anyone would ever call my name in my entire life. It always made my ears tingle.
He was a man I had believed to be my friend.
Through his red hair, I could see his sharp and beautiful, yet worried expression.
‘You, promise me.’
‘You, promise me.’
‘…’
‘…’
‘Next time… you won’t use this, even if I’m dying.’
‘Next time… you won’t use this, even if I’m dying.’
In that strange atmosphere, I helplessly offered my cheek.
‘How does it feel when you treat someone like this? Does it hurt?’
‘How does it feel when you treat someone like this? Does it hurt?’
‘Not at all.’
‘Not at all.’
‘You’re pretty even when you’re crying.’
‘You’re pretty even when you’re crying.’
Back then, I trusted him, so it felt like my world was collapsing. I just didn’t want him to die.
‘When I’m all better, I have something to tell you. Ugh, this is so embarrassing! Anyway, you have to listen, okay?’
‘When I’m all better, I have something to tell you. Ugh, this is so embarrassing! Anyway, you have to listen, okay?’
I didn’t know that was him foreshadowing his betrayal.
I shook my head, pushing away the memory of the man, his face flushed red as he gently stroked my cheek.
‘I should just focus on the treatment.’
Let’s see, how much will it cost to improve his condition?
When I opened my eyes, a large tree was before me.
A tree only I could see.
The moment I decided to improve my father’s condition, leaves began to fall from the tree like rain.
‘Oh no, my tree is going to go bald.’
When I eased the conditions a bit, only some of the leaves fell.
‘This should be fine.’
Returning to the underwater space, I faced my father, who had his eyes closed. I carefully took his large hand.
‘I’m not used to people taking my side.’
I thought about the times Eldest Uncle and my father had stepped forward for me.
A part of my chest tingled.
I want you all to live as healthy people in this life, not as patients.
I mean that sincerely.
And I want to finally go home.
The water, imbued with my will, rippled and enveloped my father.
A bright light burst forth. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, an unfamiliar scene appeared, just like last time.
‘Where am I?’
It was a quiet pavilion. Seeing the green trees outside, it looked like summer, or perhaps early spring.
‘Where’s my father? I thought we saw the memory together last time.’
He was nowhere to be seen.
*Swoosh.* A breeze blew by. A soft hum was mixed in with the wind.
“My Biyu. Are you feeling better now?”
I flinched in surprise.
‘Ah, you scared me.’
I don’t know how I hadn’t noticed her, but I saw a woman sitting in the pavilion right nearby.
She had the same color eyes as me. A pure-hearted beauty, she was clearly my ‘mother’.
And the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes in my mother’s arms was…
‘That’s me. So cute, right?’
My admiration was short-lived. *Whoosh!* A strong wind blew.
Someone appeared with the wind, landing lightly on the edge of the pavilion.
His long hair swayed in the breeze.
“Sorry I’m late.”
I got goosebumps.
The voice was familiar, but I wondered if it was really the same person.
“Baek-ah.”
My father, looking a little younger than he did now, smiled radiantly.
“I’m here.”
“Yes, you’re here?”
His voice was incredibly gentle and affectionate.
“You’re beautiful today, too. My dear wife.”
This version of my father, acting like an endlessly gentle puppy with all his claws hidden, felt utterly unfamiliar.
“The most beautiful in the world.”