Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: A Fool in Love
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‘…Could he have a split personality?’
Seeing the man, who was already the most handsome in the empire, smile felt like a hundred lanterns had been lit all around.
‘So he was someone who could smile like that.’
“You're back earlier than planned.”
“Yes. Of course. My wife is waiting…!”
Dad stumbled as he rushed over, nearly twisting his ankle.
Good grief, is this really the same person?
His words, too.
‘His foolishness is off the charts…’
Mom burst out laughing.
“Slow down. What's the rush?”
But she didn't forget a light scolding.
“It's moments like these when I remember you're younger than me.”
“…That's cruel, Arin. Must you bring up the one flaw I'll never overcome?”
“It's not a flaw.”
The laugh of a beautiful woman seemed to brighten the entire world around her.
Dad closed the distance in a single stride, crouching before Mom and gently resting his head on her lap.
Mom chuckled, placing a hand on Dad's cheek.
“You're like a puppy.”
Dad closed his eyes and smiled.
“…Yeah. Raise me.”
“With lots of love and affection?”
A blush crept up Dad's cheeks.
All the way to his ears and neck.
“…When you say things like that, I don't know how to react.”
“Because you like it so much?”
“Yeah…”
He was clearly flustered.
His face flushed like an autumn leaf, Dad murmured shyly.
“…Why are you so beautiful again today?”
“And you're as foolish as ever. Who would ever believe you're Heuk Bihu, the most cold-headed man in the Heuk family?”
I agree, Mom.
I'd believe you if you told me he was an identical twin who just shared the same face.
Dad pouted.
“I don't care what other people think. I just need to be a good person to you.”
“The best husband, then.”
Pleased, Dad placed his hand over hers.
“Thank you for running away with me.”
Huh? My eyes widened. What was that all about?
Did these two have a love for the ages?
“Don't worry. I'll get Mother's permission, no matter what. And it doesn't matter if my eldest sister objects or not.”
“…Haha, remember to breathe when you talk, dear.”
Mom smiled gently and shifted her position.
“Stop staring at my face and look here, too. Our daughter has finally opened her eyes.”
“Ah…”
Dad looked down at me, wrapped in my swaddling clothes, with a dazed expression.
“Hurry and hold her.”
“W-wait a second!”
Then Mom forced me into Dad's arms.
Unlike the demure, shy man from moments ago, he was now stiff and awkward, like a wooden doll.
‘…He seems much more human now.’
The way he held the baby was… how should I put it? It was like he was holding a giant hot dog.
“Oh my, look at her staring with her eyes wide open. She must find her daddy fascinating. Your dad is handsome, isn't he?”
“Ooo-eh-ooo!”
“Bihu, our daughter smiled. She must have an eye for handsome men. I'm looking forward to her future. I wonder what kind of son-in-law she'll bring home.”
“…What? I'm not letting her go.”
“Hmm?”
“I'm going to keep her with me forever.”
My heart throbbed.
The stinging in my eyes was because I'd just witnessed something so strange.
It was a fresh reminder that, before you lost your memories, you looked at me with such affection…
‘You cruel man.’
I bit my lip hard.
For a moment, I thought I met Mom's gaze. I flinched.
Mom's bright smile faltered. She had a bewildered look on her face.
I thought she had seen me, but that wasn't it. Her gaze was fixed on Dad.
“…”
Holding me, Dad was staring down blankly, as if this were the first time he'd ever done such a thing.
And then.
“…I'm so happy.”
Tears fell, drop by drop, from Dad's eyes. Mom laughed as if to say he was hopeless.
“You're such a fool, really.”
I felt a strange mix of emotions.
‘Isn't this… just too different?’
While my heart still ached, I also felt a sense of pity.
Doesn't this mean that he lost these memories, one by one, and became the father he is today?
‘And…’
The father holding me, shedding beautiful tears, and the lovely mother with her picturesque smile, both began to grow distant and fade away.
‘…So I had a mom and a dad, too.’
Leaving me with an unforgettable feeling, I felt myself returning to reality.
A version of me with parents, something I'd never experienced even in Korea.
A version of me that was loved.
‘I'm supposed to be treating Dad, but I'm the one who's feeling satisfied…’
I slowly opened my eyes.
Drip, drip.
Just like before, water droplets were falling.
Last time, Dad had looked shocked when a piece of his memory returned. What about this time?
A fragment of Mom and Dad's story from his memories.
A happy family. What on earth happened to them?
A foolish, affectionate father, completely different from the man he is now.
My heart trembling for no reason, I looked up. But a moment later, I froze.
My eyes went wide.
“Da…ddy…?”
His hair was soaked. Dad was crying silently.
It was different from the foolish man in the memory, who had let his tears fall freely.
He looked sorrowful, resigned, and yet also a little pained.
Dad lifted me up.
“You must be so sad.”
His soaked body was cold.
Unable to even ask a question, I could only stare at him, bewildered.
Dad was smiling, but it wasn't a real smile.
“To have a moron like me for a father.”
His hand clumsily stroked my head.
“What I remembered this time was a vision of you, but as expected, I felt no sense of you being my daughter.”
“…”
“And for the first time, I felt sorry about that.”
“…”
“A father who has forgotten even his child's birth.”
he said, gazing at me intently.
It seemed Dad didn't even realize he was crying.
He just said that when he opened his eyes, his chest hurt as if it were being torn apart.
“Meeting you might be the last stroke of luck in my life. If it weren't for you, I would never have been given the chance to regain my memories.”
Dad murmured.
“…You were right. You are a genius.”
The hand stroking my head was wet.
My hair became soaked as well.
“In the past, I abandoned and neglected you, yet you came to find me.”
I only did it for my own ulterior motives.
That's all it was… but my heart churned restlessly, as if there were waves inside my chest.
“I'll try to remember. Thank you.”
As if making a vow, Dad murmured once more.
“I will try to remember.”
Then he lowered his head to meet my eyes.
“On the day I finally remember you.”
It wasn't the gentle, warm expression from the memory, like a spring sunbeam.
But his face had softened slightly.
“Call me 'Father'.”
Those words stirred something within my heart. I bit my lip hard.
I was already calling him ‘Daddy’, so he couldn't have been asking me to call him that again.
“…Say that after you wemember evewything.”
I suddenly wondered.
What did Dad think after seeing that memory of a much younger me and Mom?
‘How ridiculous. To think I'm now tempted to blame all the misfortunes of my past life for this.’
Don't you forget again, Dad.
* * *
“You don't wemember?”
A short while later, Dad and I were back in his quarters, towels draped over our heads.
“That's right.”
Having just washed up, Dad answered leisurely while ruffling his hair dry.
“It's different from last time. Back then, the memory came back clearly.”
Dad glanced down at his hands, his brow furrowing slightly.
“This time, I remember seeing something, but it's faint. No, it's more like… limited.”
“What do you mean?”
Dad explained briefly.
“Hmm… so somebody was holdin' a wittle baby, and that baby was me? And the voices faded in and out?”
“Yes.”
For a moment, a pained expression crossed Dad's face, as if he were recalling something.
“…I saw myself, though.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And I thought, 'Who is that moron?'”
“*Cough!*”