Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: A Father's Dream
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Biyu rubbed her reddened eyes furiously. Heuk Birang’s face crumpled.
Heuk Birang felt anger surge within him.
“…Hey! Didn’t you say you were going to sleep?!”
“I slep.”
Biyu let out a big yaaawn.
At her nonchalant expression, Heuk Birang’s face clouded over while Heuk Biwon’s smile deepened.
*'What is this little pipsqueak talking about? She barely fell asleep at dawn.'*
Heuk Birang huffed as he recalled the previous evening.
*'Brother, when is she coming?'*
*'Brother, when is she coming?'*
*'I don't know~ We can't eat until the head of the house gets here~'*
*'I don't know~ We can't eat until the head of the house gets here~'*
*'Ah, but I'm hungry.'*
*'Ah, but I'm hungry.'*
*'And yet, you're waiting for our youngest uncle too, aren't you? I can see you shaking your leg.'*
*'And yet, you're waiting for our youngest uncle too, aren't you? I can see you shaking your leg.'*
*'N-No, I'm not?!'*
*'N-No, I'm not?!'*
The day before, the two of them, along with Gyewon, had been in the middle of a late dinner.
They had planned to eat once Biyu arrived, but when she didn’t show, they ended up starting without her…
*'Eldest Unca! Eldest Unca! Unca!! Is anyone there? Haa, hu-heong, help me…!!'*
*'Eldest Unca! Eldest Unca! Unca!! Is anyone there? Haa, hu-heong, help me…!!'*
*'W-What the?!'*
*'W-What the?!'*
Heuk Biyu had come running, crying. Moreover, her clothes were covered in dirt.
She was always telling them to take care of themselves, yet she had come running while neglecting her own body like this.
*'Has she been crying?'*
On top of that, her face, body, and hair were soaked. A mess of water and sweat.
Comforting Biyu in his arms, he went to Heuk Bihu's residence, only to find Heuk Bihu submerged in water.
To bring down his fever, she had said.
By then, a calmer Biyu had asked for their help.
‘…This place is too messy for a patient.’
‘…This place is too messy for a patient.’
At her words, even Heuk Birang was mobilized to fix up the house.
A whole day flew by in the process.
They could have just taken the sick Heuk Bihu to Heuk Biwon’s house, but,
*'That damn brother of mine will just return to his house like a salmon swimming upstream the moment he regains consciousness.'*
The two brothers knew Heuk Bihu all too well; he would go right back to his own house the moment he opened his eyes.
Recalling all this, Heuk Birang clicked his tongue.
He knew why Heuk Bihu, who seemed to have no lingering attachment to life, so persistently clung to his house and the large tree in front of it.
Baek Arin.
He couldn't even remember those two simple words, yet the obsession and attachment remained.
*'He can't even remember his own daughter.'*
Heuk Birang pouted.
For better or worse, he was his brother, so he couldn't help but feel a pang of pity.
But…
“*Sniffle.*”
“Hey, what’s this, are you crying?!”
“Who's cwyin? I’m just a wittle cold.”
Heuk Biwon quickly jumped in for Heuk Birang, making a fuss.
“Oh dear, our little head of the house says she's cold! Eldest Uncle will go get Brother Gyewon and bring back some firewood right away!”
“Eldest Unca do it, Eldest Unca!”
“Eeeh, Eldest Uncle is tiiired. I've already moved around a loooot.”
What was it about this little kid crying…? Seeing the child who had been a mess of tears yesterday, Heuk Birang felt his heart drop.
It was a relief his brother had jumped in at the right moment. Otherwise, he felt he might have berated her.
*Why should you have to suffer because of a father like that?* A feeling of resentment welled up.
It was heartbreaking.
*What has your dad ever done for you? What's so great about him that you're treating him?*
*'Not that I, who does nothing but sleep all day, have any room to talk.'*
Heuk Birang grumbled.
“Hey, pipsqueak. Forget your father who just sleeps all day and take care of me instead. I'm more… Agh!”
“What kind of garbage are you spouting, little brother?”
“Ow, why'd you hit me? It was a joke!”
Heuk Bihu needed to realize how blessed he was!
His daughter was cute and pretty, a genius to boot! And she thought the world of her father.
She was even nursing him without getting any sleep herself.
Plus, her stubborn streak was just like her late sister-in-law's.
*'His wife was a genius too. Are all geniuses this stubborn?'*
Look at her now, told to go to sleep, but she came toddling out instead.
*'That second brother of mine deserves a beating.'*
As if feeling similarly, his older brother Heuk Biwon’s expression was also grim.
Watching his brother, Heuk Biwon, who was smiling but quietly building up his anger, Heuk Birang thought it served Bihu right.
*That bastard Heuk Bihu, I hope he gets struck by lightning.*
*…And I hope it shocks his memory back.*
***
Heuk Bihu opened his eyes in pitch-black darkness. He looked around, but it was a place of nothingness.
*'Just like the inside of my head.'*
*Yes, this must be what my stupid, empty head, which can't remember a thing, looks like.*
He folded his arms and pondered.
This wasn't the first time he'd had such a dream. Therefore, he remained composed.
If he just waited, he would wake up. Just as he had for a very long time.
Yes, that should have been the case…
He narrowed his eyes.
Something was forming before him.
When he closed his eyes and opened them again, a scene had unfolded.
“Father! Look, my cough, my cough is gone!”
Ah, this was the father and son he had seen today, Tak Minjae and Tak Woonduk.
A scene of overwhelming emotion now that the child was healed.
It was a miracle Biyu had performed.
“My legs hurt less too…! Father, can I finally run? And the wind…!”
“Minjae… *hic*, your father can finally see you… smile with such relief…”
Watching Tak Woonduk, his eyes welling with tears, Heuk Bihu felt a strange sensation.
*Can someone be that happy? Why? Because it concerns their child?*
He knew. He hadn't lost his emotions, but his memories.
But people often overlooked something.
That emotions were an interconnected chain, born from a sequence of memories.
Though he considered it none of his business, he couldn't tear his eyes away from Tak Woonduk's face.
His head ached, and he pressed his temples.
He happened to glance down at his daughter, and her expression was odd.
*'…As if she were envious.'*
*Why is she looking like that? Because I'm a father who's not even a father?* That, he had to admit.
*But, this child must have had a mother, right?*
He knew he had a wife. He also knew she was dead. Though it didn't feel real.
*Seeing as she's alive and well, her mother must have raised her for a while.*
Tak Woonduk bowed deeply.
“Thank you, thank you so much… For this child, I would have given my own life…”
Heuk Bihu was purely curious.
*What kind of feeling makes one willing to give up their life? What does that even mean?*
*Isn't one's own life the most important thing in human existence?*
He wished someone would tell him.
*What does it feel like for something to be so precious you'd bet your life on it?*
Only one thing was certain.
Biyu's expression as she watched Tak Woonduk was bittersweet, and this twisted something inside Heuk Bihu, just a little.
*'Why is she making a face like that?'*
*From any angle, don't I have more to offer than Tak Woonduk?*
*For one, I'm younger. I'm stronger. As for money… if I search the house, I'm sure some valuables will turn up.*
His mood soured, Heuk Bihu clicked his tongue.
Soon after, he turned his head.
The scene before him went black before transporting him somewhere else. A new scene unfolded.
“Waaah! Waaah!”
“It's a girl! It's a girl, Lord Bihu!”
He slowly widened his eyes.
…A daughter?
A wrinkled baby was nestled in his arms. She was red and ugly. But she was the most beautiful thing in the world.
…When did I ever experience this?
His heart felt full, yet it also ached as if it were being torn apart.
“…See? I told you it would be a girl.”
And the moment he heard that weak voice, for some reason, he felt tears streaming down his cheeks.
He didn't know why.
Before long, the clamorous voices around him faded, and the baby in his arms vanished.
He struggled desperately to hold onto the baby, but he couldn't. She just crumbled away like sand.
He felt a sense of emptiness and disappointment.
*'Back to reality…'*
He wished desperately. He wanted to return without forgetting any of this.
*'I've proven my ability, haven't I?'*
*'I've proven my ability, haven't I?'*
And he thought that maybe, just maybe, it would be possible this time.
That he wouldn't let the void snatch away the fragments that had just begun to surface.
*'Enough to bet your life on.'*
He thought of Tak Woonduk again. His reddened eyes, his expression filled with desperation and gratitude.
Once more, he wondered.
*What kind of feeling is that?*
Heuk Bihu slowly closed his eyes.
And after Heuk Bihu had completely vanished from the black space.
The space moved on its own.
As if it knew its master was no longer there.
It mockingly generated a single scene.
*Whoooosh—.*
Rain poured down as if a hole had been torn in the sky.
In front of a grand, traditional estate, on the wide stone ground, someone was kneeling neatly.
The rain beat down fiercely on Heuk Bihu.
The man silently, stoically accepting the humiliation, bowed his head low.
His red eyes were hidden behind his lids, shut tight.
“…Please, just spare the child.”
A woman holding a large umbrella stood at the top of the stairs.
Beneath the umbrella, the woman, only the corners of her mouth visible, gave a vicious, amused smile.
“What will you bet?”
The man said calmly.
“I will bet… my life.”
***
A day later, my father opened his eyes.
Whether it was thanks to my devoted nursing or the improved environment,
his face was much cleaner than before.