The Strange Intent (2)
“Ne?”
The words she couldn’t understand made Su-ah tilt her head in confusion. Yet the old man in front of her pressed his hand to his forehead and let out a long sigh, as if everything that had unfolded before her eyes had gone far from the path he had planned.
“No… ha… those kids got away… No, no. That’s not for you, little one. More importantly, where is that guy?”
Even though Su-ah was older than most, she was far from the age where an old man calling her “little one” felt natural. Well, perhaps a parent could do that, but it was rare for someone to address a mother of grown children that way. Especially Su-ah, who had been a company president for over ten years, found the title rather unpleasant.
Still, the words coming from this particular old man made her feel closer than unwelcome.
“Um… who exactly are you referring to…?”
“That guy! I gave him the medicine, yet he can’t even tell heaven from earth!”
“Huh…?”
“What? Did Kim Se-hyun not tell you? The guy was hiding it from you the whole time? Tsk tsk… That’s why everything ended up like this…”
“Excuse me, grandpa. What exactly are you—”
Before Su-ah could finish, a breeze carrying peach-blossom petals swirled around the old man, enveloping him instantly.
“…!”
The flower-laden wind that had just been arguing with the bent-shouldered, wrinkled old man’s body transformed him in a single breath into a tall, white-haired young man.
“Hoo… Damn it. I never thought I’d have to play guard duty on my own fortune.”
“Eh, eh, eh…”
The old man fussed with his robe sleeves while muttering. Su-ah, unable to grasp the situation before her, looked around in bewilderment, but the space where she had been standing moments ago had vanished, leaving her in an entirely different location.
“What…?”
“Hmm? No, no. It’s just a ghost thing. Don’t worry too much.”
Though his face looked young, his speech still carried the old man’s tone. If it hadn’t, Su-ah might have believed she was hallucinating. And in truth, she still had that thought. But the reason she didn’t accept it as fact was the abnormal changes she had endured since meeting Se-hyun.
“Um… old man, who exactly are you…?”
“Ugh…”
He sighed tiredly at her question and scratched his head in response.
“Me? Well… as you see. A ghost, you might say. Nothing special, so no need to worry.”
“But why here…?”
“Ugh… Aigoo, my back. Let’s sit for a moment and talk, little one.”
He snapped his fingers once, and two wooden chairs without backs rose from the ground.
“Sitting now. Hmph…”
Even though he was only twenty years old, the scene of an old man behaving so clumsily left Su-ah stunned. Following his guidance, she sat in the chair and cautiously asked.
“…What mistake did that man make with you, teacher?”
“Hmm? Well… in the end, that’s what happened. Though I didn’t know what I was doing, I suppose I was wrong… Tsk, old woman. That’s why I wanted to do it quickly.”
The old man muttered incomprehensible words for a while, scratched his head, and finally let out a long sigh before beginning his story.
“Little one, I have many apologies to make to you.”
“Um… what do you mean…?”
“Yes, over there… well. I’m the one who connects fates. A ghost who meddles with connections, you could say.”
He spoke in a warm voice.
“Originally, the children we were meant to be tightly bound to should have been— I had specially tied the thread. But because a problem arose on the other side, our timings went out of sync.”
He might have been saying that from the perspective of the side that caused the clash, but what he said now was only his own viewpoint.
“Th-that… what…?”
“Su-ah.”
“…”
Seeing that this old man knew her name was no longer shocking, but hearing it spoken aloud hit her with an overwhelming impact. The shock unfolding before her eyes was exactly that.
Su-ah listened without noticing her mouth had fallen open.
“Se-hyun is a good person— take good care of him… Because he’s foolish, he’ll wound your heart a lot…”
“Um… old man…”
“Don’t forget. The thread is tied to you. It won’t change. So… so please remember this. I’m begging you.”
When the plea, desperate and heartbreaking, left her overwhelmed and speechless, a bright red thread appeared in the air, following his right index finger.
“Those kids who messed with my work have burdened you greatly. Now even I can’t undo it. But… I can still do this much.”
He tied the long red thread that stretched somewhere to Su-ah’s left hand.
“The other threads are too thin and split, but the thickest, firmest one, the original stem, is tied here. So… don’t forget.”
He stroked her head again, and his kind grandfatherly face transformed as he said to Su-ah as if she were his granddaughter.
“Please look after Se-hyun, the guy.”
“Um… old man…!”
Once more, the wind roared. The fierce gust obscured her vision, forcing Su-ah to close her eyes and bow her head. Between the howling wind, the thin red thread on her left hand slowly faded, yet it still carried the meaning of the old man’s words even in its final moments.
The thread that had once been pitch black now had half its strands turned a vivid blue.
“…?”
Su-ah instinctively knew what lay at the end of that thread. The man she had allowed to embrace other women out of longing and desire, yet whose presence inevitably stirred even a sliver of jealousy deep inside her, was tied there.
— Swoosh.
The wind gradually died down. Scattered fallen leaves swirled back to the ground. Su-ah gazed at the deepening night sky, quietly catching her breath. She tried not to forget the surreal scenes that had just unfolded, nor the moments she had secretly soothed the anxiety and jealousy hidden in her heart.
“Hoo.”
After clearing her mind, Su-ah stood up from her seat and headed straight toward Se-hyun, as if she knew exactly where he was and what he was doing.
She had no intention of forbidding him from hugging other women now or in the future. Already there were other women in his arms, and she knew others would feel the same way she did.
So Su-ah decided to be a little more selfish.
She believed this much would be acceptable as a wife’s coquettish behavior and moved forward with complete confidence, guided by her intuition.
And precisely at that moment.
[System Error]
Inside the phone Se-hyun carried while returning to his room with Ji-ye’s leash wrapped around his neck, chaos erupted that he could not notice. The screen flashed madly, preventing him from sending messages, until the images settled and several notifications appeared.
[Canon: ‘Kim Se-hyun’’s trait ‘Spring Wind’ awakens.]
[Canon: ‘Han Su-ah’’s trait ‘Red Thread’ awakens.]
[Canon: ‘Kim Se-hyun’ acquires the special title ‘The Old Man’s Twisted Successor.’ All abilities of instructor ‘Kim Se-hyun’ are recalibrated.]
[System: ‘Kim Se-hyun’ acquires the special title ‘Professional Problem Solver.’]
The final message trembled weakly, yet it rose with a touch of despair, as if this one must be protected no matter what.
Meanwhile, at a small bones-broth restaurant tucked in a quiet alley, an elderly woman clicked her tongue while watching television. Beside her, a young couple ate haejangguk and laughed softly, oblivious to the time.
“Hehe… sorry, dear. Our youngest is such a troublemaker that he only wants this at this weird time…”
The beautiful woman with long, flowing brown hair beamed with her unadorned, radiant beauty. Across from her, the handsome man gently placed kimchi on her spoon, his face full of delight.
“It’s fine, honey. If you want it, eat it. And the house isn’t far.”
“Hehe…”
Watching them munch on the spoon, the old woman smiled warmly. Perhaps she felt that the fifth child growing inside their belly would surely live a happy life.
The moment the couple finished their bowls, the door slammed open with a loud bang.
“Halmae!”
The person barging in wore the uniform of a security guard. The couple jumped in surprise, but the old woman clicked her tongue and hurled a roll of toilet paper at them.
“Quiet, you brat! A security guard? Halmae? There’s a pregnant woman here— lower your voice!”
“Eh…! Aigoo, ma’am. Sorry. I was just chatting with this old woman…”
The old man apologizing right after mentioning the pregnant woman was unusual, but the next words from the master continued smoothly.
“Boss Yoo, you’ve all eaten, right? The jjigae and muknamul are already wrapped at the counter. Take them and eat. And give the ones that puffed up inside. I need the table today because of this old man.”
At those words, the woman who appeared to be his wife carefully stood up and said.
“Thank you for the meal, halmae.”
“Yes. Yoo-hyeon, take good care of your wife. Don’t get careless just because it’s your fifth child?”
“Ahaha… don’t worry. Honey, hold my arm… carefully…”
The man called Yoo-hyeon smiled brightly, bowed deeply, and carried the food from the counter.
“Then we’ll be going, halmae!”
“Go ahead~ Come again when there’s no old man around. Until my Yoo-hyeon gets his fifth child, I’ll keep sending the jjigae.”
— Jingle.
The warm atmosphere vanished the instant the shop door closed.
‘Kim Se-hyun’ acquires the special title ‘The Old Man’s Twisted Successor.’ All abilities of instructor ‘Kim Se-hyun’ are recalibrated.
‘Kim Se-hyun’ acquires the special title ‘Professional Problem Solver.’