The Bet (5): A Lonely Home
"Ah... thank goodness."
Seeing just how desperately relieved she was as Min Soyeon let out a heavy sigh, a chuckle slipped out of me before I could stop it.
"You worked hard, Soyeon."
Still catching her breath, she glanced at me, her expression turning suspicious.
"...You didn't go easy on me, did you?"
"Go easy? Why would I do that? Are you teasing me now that you've won?"
"Ah, if that's not it, then never mind..."
Having double-checked her victory, she broke into a satisfied smile and began stretching her limbs.
In truth, I had held back, but there was no reason to tell her that.
Both Min Soyeon and I were soaked in sweat after moving around so much. It was still March, and the air was quite cold; staying like this might actually make us sick.
When I suggested we head back, her face brightened.
"...Really? I was feeling gross from all the sweat anyway... Let's go."
She gave a casual goodbye and turned away as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Caught off guard by how curtly she spun on her heel, I hurriedly caught her arm.
"W-wait!"
She looked back at me with a clear why are you stopping me? written on her face.
"I'll walk you home."
"...What?"
"I can't let you walk alone this late."
"...No, it's fine."
She tried to refuse, insisting it was okay, but I couldn't possibly send her off by herself. No matter how good public safety was supposed to be, in this brutal world, a girl walking alone at night was simply unacceptable.
"I just... want to talk a little more. It's fine if you only let me go halfway. Let me walk you."
"...Huh? With me?"
I ignored Min Soyeon's strangely flustered reaction and gently tugged her along.
"Let's hurry before we catch a cold. Which way?"
"Ah, no... I-it's really fine..."
After pressing her just a little more firmly, I managed to escort Min Soyeon home.
On the way to her house, I was in the middle of giving her a lecture.
"Mana is the sound, and you're the instrument. Think of it like singing a song..."
"...I don't understand a single word."
"Um... So, like breathing out thinly and gently..."
"...I'll just figure it out myself."
Min Soyeon wore a sour, uncomprehending expression. Was it too abstract?
While we walked and I continued spouting such trivial advice, Min Soyeon pointed toward a certain alley.
"My house is right up ahead. You can go back now."
Looking at the alley she'd indicated, a faint doubt rose in my mind.
This was a typical residential area full of middle-class families. Thinking back to where I'd lived in my previous life, it wasn't the kind of neighborhood my wife would have chosen.
Had they remodeled something?
"...I'll walk you the rest of the way. Is it down that alley?"
Min Soyeon hesitated several times, as if she wanted to say something, before finally sighing and leading me forward.
Step. Step.
The closer we drew to the alley, the larger my doubts grew.
My wife hated being disturbed by others and preferred quiet neighborhoods. With our wealth, housing had never been an issue before, yet no matter how I looked at it, this area felt completely unlike her taste.
Then one possibility flashed through my mind. Could she have moved closer so Min Soyeon could walk to the Academy more easily?
It was the most plausible explanation. The Academy really was close enough to reach on foot from here, while the house I'd lived in before had been farther away.
My wife had always been a little insensitive about such practical matters, but it seemed that after my death, things had changed.
While I was lost in speculation, Min Soyeon stopped in front of a particular house.
"...This is our house."
I stared at the building behind her and froze in shock. It was a noticeably neat two-story structure, perhaps recently remodeled, but it was still far from my wife's usual preferences.
"...It's a nice place."
At my offhand comment, she answered indifferently.
"It's too big for one person."
...What?
"Anyway, I'm going in."
"Y-yeah... see you tomorrow..."
Min Soyeon gave a half-hearted wave and disappeared inside.
Clank.
After the door shut, I stood alone on the street, staring blankly up at her house.
Min Soyeon lives alone?
My mind fell into complete chaos.
Burdened by that massive question, I returned home and immediately began scouring the internet for information on my wife. The name Sword Empress carried so much weight that even with no recent activity, countless articles had piled up.
I held my breath as I read the article, only to be disappointed.
"I figured..."
After my wife retired, her whereabouts had been a complete mystery. This piece was nothing more than a report that some citizen claimed to have seen someone who resembled her. The credibility was low, however, since the person in question had long hair when my wife had always kept hers short.
I scrolled on apathetically until another article caught my eye.
Finally, something useful. The article stated that roughly a year ago, a building had been purchased under my wife's name and subsequently remodeled. It was probably the house Min Soyeon had just entered.
The reporter had stayed nearby hoping to catch a glimpse of Ju Yeonhee, but she never appeared, not even once, until the remodeling was complete. The journalist speculated that an S-rank Hunter of her caliber wouldn't buy property for speculation; it was likely for personal residence or because of the local school district.
That last part raised another question in my mind. If my wife had bought the house to match Min Soyeon's Academy enrollment, why was the girl living there alone?
She had been a woman who loved her daughter more than anything. It made no sense that she would leave her child to live by herself.
No matter how grown Min Soyeon seemed, she was still a child. This was the age when she needed someone watching over her the most...
"Ah."
Suddenly, the pieces clicked together like a puzzle in my head.
From the fact that Min Soyeon had been smoking to the revelation that she lived alone, every detail I had previously dismissed now pointed to one conclusion: something had gone wrong with her.
"Ah..."
A heavy sigh escaped from deep in my chest.
Until now, I hadn't realized that Min Soyeon was struggling. I'd been too focused on closing the distance between us and helping her grow stronger to see what was truly important.
There were only two main reasons a teenager went astray: parental problems or external ones.
Ever since she was little, Min Soyeon had grown up under the heavy label of daughter of the Sword Empress. She never showed it, but the pressure must have been enormous. Thanks to that, she drew massive attention at the Academy, and when it came time to choose partners, someone like Jang Suwon had appeared, clearly aiming to exploit her name.
From her perspective, I might have looked like just another person in that same category.
"..."
But what if the problem wasn't external, but parental?
The person who should have been supporting her, me, had died. For some unknown reason, my wife had left Min Soyeon to live alone. With both parents gone, it was more than enough reason for problems to arise.
Of course, all of this could be nothing but my own delusion.
...I hoped it was.
"...Sigh."
Feeling strangely drained, I forced myself up and headed for the bathroom. The sweat had already cooled, but sleeping like this felt disgusting.
I stripped and immediately twisted the shower valve.
Whoosh—
The moment the water hit my body—
"Ugh!!"
I jumped back in shock. I'd clearly turned on the hot water, yet what came out was ice-cold.
Wondering if I'd turned the wrong knob, I checked again. It was definitely set to hot.
"Why is this happening..."
I waited a long time, thinking the water might just need time to heat up, but only cold water continued to flow. Something was clearly broken.
Just as I was about to contact the landlady, I noticed a missed call and a message already waiting. The hot water pipe had burst.
"...Ha, haha..."
A hollow laugh burst out. The only good thing about this cramped place had been the reliable hot water, and now even that was gone.
I quietly set my phone down and returned to the bathroom. It was pointless, but I cranked the hot water valve all the way and took a deep breath before throwing myself under the freezing stream.
"Ugh, it's cold..."
Cursing under my breath, I lathered up with soap, but the freezing water made it nearly impossible to work up a lather. Even the soap was giving me trouble now.
"This fucking life..."
After finishing the miserable shower, I threw myself onto the bedding I'd laid out earlier and immediately fell asleep.
My eyes fluttered open at the sound of the alarm.
The familiar sight of my small room greeted me. For some reason, I felt slightly relieved.
I stretched and sat up. It felt like I'd had a terrible dream, but I couldn't remember any of it.
...It was probably just a random nightmare.