Chapter 65
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 65
“Pyaa!”
So-ya spread her wings wide and fluttered toward Ga-hyeon.
“It’s late, So-ya. Why aren’t you sleeping?”
Ga-hyeon asked in a gentle voice, hiding the prickly, sensitive temperament he had been displaying until just a moment ago.
“Pwee, pwee!”
“You want to go see Mt. Horim covered in snow? But it’s so dark out.”
“Ppiya, pya!”
“What? Yul said such useless things…? Ah, sorry, So-ya. I take back the ‘useless’ part. Then come, go with your brother.”
Ga-hyeon gave a small smile at the baby bird’s grumbling and stepped onto the window frame.
He tucked So-ya into his arms and leapt down to the ground.
Poof!
The moment he landed, he transformed into a massive tiger.
With So-ya perched on his back, Ga-hyeon bounded toward Mt. Horim. As a White Tiger beastkin whose physical abilities far surpassed those of ordinary beastkin, he reached the mountainside in a mere three strides.
“Brother, look over there! Mt. Horim really is sparkling!”
Having released her beast transformation at some point to return to her young girl form, So-ya shouted as she looked down from his back.
“Did you want to see this that badly?”
“Yes! Brother Yul told me that once the snow piles up, you absolutely have to see Mt. Horim at night!”
Once, Yul had told So-ya that Mt. Horim on a snowy night was as beautiful and sparkling as if it had been sprinkled with sugar.
They had promised to go see the mountain together when the first snow fell, but So-ya had caught a cold that day, and afterward, Yul had been unable to come because of his growing pains.
“I was sad because I thought I wouldn't see it before the snow melted, so thank you so much for bringing me here.”
Thanks to the pure white snow reflecting the moonlight, the entire mountain glittered like a jewel. The mountain scenery on this snowy night was so beautiful and mysterious that So-ya felt as if she had stepped into the Heavenly Realm she had heard about in old stories.
Ga-hyeon let out a chuckle at the sight of So-ya, who had fallen silent as if enchanted by the view.
“If it’s what you want, I’ll come with you anytime. More importantly, aren’t you dressed too lightly? It’s cold.”
“No, I’m dressed very warmly. When I caught a cold last time, Lady Yeon-jeong got me a blanket made from the fur of a flame mole.”
So-ya replied, pulling the blanket draped over her shoulders tighter.
“Then shall we go a little higher to look around?”
“Yes!”
Ga-hyeon leaped toward the mountain peak. So-ya’s heart swelled along with the rapidly increasing altitude.
Ga-hyeon intentionally walked along a forest path lined with white birches for So-ya’s sake. The snow resting on every bare, white branch was exquisite.
“The white snow reminds me of you, So-ya.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. It’s white and pure, just like you.”
“I was thinking it looked like you, Brother.”
So-ya giggled, covering her mouth with both hands, finding it funny that they had shared the same thought.
Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch…
The sound of treading on snow harmonized with the quiet forest path.
“You know, Brother. I used to hate being white.”
So-ya, who had been quietly soaking in the night atmosphere from atop Ga-hyeon’s back, suddenly began to tell her story.
“I hated my white hair, and I hated my white down feathers. But now, I love them so much.”
Her soft, quiet voice brushed through the night air, echoing through the snow-covered birch forest.
“Because I’m white like Father and my brothers, I feel like other people will see us as a real family.”
“You were thinking about that?”
Ga-hyeon asked back in surprise, then soon spoke in a tender tone.
“I like that you’re the same white as me too, So-ya. But regardless of that, we are family.”
“That’s right. You told me that here during the Mountain Lord Festival.”
So-ya nodded with a serene smile. The words Ga-hyeon had said to her at this very spot during the festival last autumn had left a profound resonance within her.
[A real family doesn’t abandon each other over something like that.]
[I want to be a real family with you, So-ya. A real family that protects and cherishes one another regardless of what we look like, whether we’re birds or beasts.]
Until then, So-ya had always considered herself a child abandoned by her family. But Ga-hyeon’s words had transformed her from an ‘abandoned child’ into a ‘child who found her real family.’
He had taught her that those people were a fake family from the start, and therefore, she hadn't been abandoned.
That was why So-ya thought:
Ga-hyeon, who had taught her that important truth, now considered himself ‘abandoned’ by Cheong-ha…
Was it because he thought of Lady Cheong-ha as ‘real family’?
“Brother, you see… I haven’t had a mother since the moment I was born.”
Ga-hyeon faltered at So-ya’s sudden confession.
“Still, there was someone I thought was my mother. But I eventually found out that she wasn’t my real mother.”
“…”
Ga-hyeon’s pace slowed.
“Since I never had a mother to begin with, I might not understand exactly how you feel, but…”
“…”
“Since you had a mother and then she was gone, I think you must be even sadder than me.”
“…”
“Because when I was very little, I had a father and brothers too, but they were gone in an instant. I was so sad, upset, and it was so hard.”
“…”
“Even more than when I found out I didn't have a mother.”
“So-ya.”
Ga-hyeon stopped walking. So-ya hopped down from his back and met his eyes.
“I’m not upset anymore because of the wounds those people gave me. Because you told me, Brother. You told me they were ‘fakes.’”
So-ya spoke as she looked into Ga-hyeon’s trembling blue eyes.
“But isn’t the reason you keep Lady Cheong-ha in your heart because she isn’t a ‘fake’ to you, Brother?”
“I’ve never kept that woman in my—”
“Liar.”
So-ya cut Ga-hyeon off. It was the first time she had ever interrupted him.
“I saw everything. Yesterday, when Lady Cheong-ha was in the garden, you were watching her from the window, weren't you? And today too. During mealtime, you came all the way to the front of the dining hall, but after seeing Lady Cheong-ha, you just stared for a long time before turning away.”
“…”
Poof!
Ga-hyeon released his beast transformation and returned to his human form.
“…Why are you saying things like that, So-ya?”
He asked in a voice that sounded like he couldn't understand.
“You’re my sister. You should be on my side, not that woman’s. So why do you speak as if you’re on her side?”
“I’m not taking Lady Cheong-ha’s side. If I had to choose between the two, of course I’m on your side, Brother.”
So-ya answered him in a slightly upset voice.
“That’s why I’m saying this. Because I don’t want you to be in pain. That’s all.”
* * *
After taking So-ya back to her room, Ga-hyeon headed toward his own.
In truth, he knew as well—why his mother had to make that choice. He, too, had been raised learning about the duties of the direct lineage.
And in truth. In the very, very depths of the truth…
He paused.
Ga-hyeon’s expression instantly hardened.
“Hyeon.”
That woman was waiting for him in front of his room.
“…”
Ga-hyeon tried to walk past her as if he hadn't seen her.
“I’m sorry.”
A single thread of a thin voice made Ga-hyeon stop in his tracks.
“Actually, I should have said this first. I couldn't because I was a cowardly, pathetic mother.”
“…”
“I’m sorry, Hyeon. For leaving you behind when you held onto me crying that day. For saying I’d be back soon and then failing to return.”
“…”
“I’m so sorry.”
“What good is an apology like that now…!”
It was just as Ga-hyeon turned back in a fit of pique.
His heart sank.
Upon seeing Cheong-ha’s face, looking as if she were about to crumble into tears, Ga-hyeon froze right where he stood.
Ga-hyeon had seen that expression on her before.
That day.
The night his mother had left him behind.
As she held him in her arms, his mother had shed tears with that exact same expression.