A Father's Hidden Worries
Partner (4)
We went through a few more combinations before finally wrapping up the self-directed training. Once it was over, Min Soyeon—who had belatedly realized she’d been tricked—shot me a fierce glare before vanishing. She might have developed some resentment toward me, but today’s results were worth that much.
The difference between my wife Ju Yeonhee’s talent and Min Soyeon’s. It wasn’t that one was lacking; it was that they were simply different. That was what mattered. Ju Yeonhee, now retired but once called the Sword Empress, possessed literally overwhelming talent. Her ability to wield a sword, especially, was on another level.
From the very first time she picked up a blade, she had created a technique that perfectly returned her opponent’s attacks. She claimed she’d copied it from a martial arts movie she saw as a child. No matter how I thought about it, it made no sense. Against another person or even another hunter, maybe—but her opponents as an S-rank hunter were the beasts pouring out of Gates. Landing counters on monsters that were practically natural disasters? That was an incredible feat.
And then there was Min Soyeon, who had inherited every bit of that talent. Even without any formal training, her swordsmanship was astonishingly refined. Yet the aura it gave off felt completely different from Ju Yeonhee’s. If Ju Yeonhee’s swordplay was art, then Min Soyeon’s was a stunt. A stunt designed for victory.
In general, combat could be compared to a game. When your turn ends, it becomes the opponent’s; when theirs ends, it returns to you. That wasn’t entirely wrong. But Min Soyeon was different. Through instantaneous movement, she seized another turn for herself. She never gave her opponent the chance to act. Being able to take the initiative no matter the situation was an enormous advantage.
She was only just beginning, so there were still many shortcomings, but with a little polishing, she would grow rapidly.
“···.”
When I first saw the message telling me to make Min Soyeon the strongest in the world, I thought it was an absurd goal. I knew better than anyone what kind of effort Ju Yeonhee had poured in to reach the peak. But after clashing with her directly, my thoughts had changed. Maybe it would be easier than I expected.
A talent granted by the heavens and an environment so blessed it felt like destiny. I could confidently say there were no better conditions than this.
World destruction? Nonsense. I had already saved the world, for all intents and purposes.
*
The joint training session continued.
“···Huh?”
I was so flustered by Min Soyeon’s words that I let out a dumb sound.
“I’m leaving early.”
Suddenly leaving early—what the…
Startled, I hurriedly spoke to her.
“···Are you feeling sick? Or maybe… did I push you too hard earlier—”
But before I could even finish, she abandoned me and strode away.
···.
As I watched Min Soyeon leave, all sorts of thoughts flooded my head. During the joint training time meant to be spent with a partner, there was nothing for me to do alone. I could only sit gloomily in the corner and watch the other students train.
“···.”
In the meantime, I could already see some students beginning to stand out.
···Though of course, none of them were on our Soyeon’s level.
I don’t know how long I spent in that lonely state, but before I knew it, class had ended and it was time to head home. I quietly finished preparing to leave and was about to step out of the classroom when—
“J-Jihwan! See you tomorrow…!”
A female student greeted me. It was the girl who had given me muffins before, saying she was cheering me on. When I returned the greeting with a small nod, she looked incredibly happy.
···On the way home.
···Ah.
While walking absentmindedly, I suddenly remembered I needed to buy groceries. The only ingredient at home was rice. Since I wouldn’t be going out again, we might end up eating plain rice for dinner at this rate.
···I should stop by the mart.
I immediately changed direction and headed toward the supermarket. When living alone, food was the most important thing. Since I had to prepare everything myself, I often skipped meals for trivial reasons, and when I did cook, most of it was unhealthy. Of course, I made sure to eat properly. Maybe because I’d always done housework in my previous life, my studio was quite neat. I never imagined that attending cooking classes to help my wife, who was terrible at cooking, would come in handy like this.
···Really, you never know what life will bring.
I never imagined I would end up cooking solely for myself instead of for the wife who used to make a fuss about how my cooking was the most delicious in the world, or the daughter who declared that Dad’s food was the best.
A heavy sigh escaped me as old memories quietly surfaced.
“···Haa···.”
Having thought such gloomy things, I felt strangely deflated.
···I should eat something delicious today. Since I’m treating myself, a little luxury should be fine, right?
With those thoughts swirling in my head, I walked slowly and soon arrived at the mart.
“···.”
I casually picked up one of the plastic baskets by the entrance and stepped inside. There weren’t too many people, so I figured I could browse at my leisure. I naturally made my way to the fresh produce section and carefully checked the small price tags.
···Brutal.
Normally I would have picked the cheapest bean sprouts or mushrooms, but today I wanted fresh vegetables. After much deliberation on the way here, I had decided on pork for dinner. Since it was a rare day of indulgence, of course I needed matching vegetables. But… when I actually faced the price tags, I lost the courage to pick vegetables that cost over three thousand won per pack.
···One pack of that could buy six meals’ worth of bean sprouts···.
I stood there for a long time, staring at the vegetables that seemed to defy the heavens, before finally grabbing a large amount of bean sprouts and mushrooms and fleeing. The cost of living in Seoul was simply too powerful to fight against with only my allowance as a lifeline.
···I still have to survive this month···. No choice···.
It was an honorable defeat.
After tasting that bitter loss in the fresh produce section, I decided to vent my frustration at the meat counter. Today, the pigs were all going to die. I arrived at the butcher section huffing and puffing, and savored a sweet victory by picking out a large amount of hind leg meat. As if the heavens took pity on me, they were running a pork discount right then. Despite my lighter wallet, the heavier basket gave me a strange sense of satisfaction.
With lighter steps, I passed the meat counter and headed straight for the processed foods section. Since I had some breathing room left in today’s budget, a sweet snack or two should be fine.
After passing the instant food and seasoning aisles, I finally reached the snack section. Colorful, brightly packaged candies and desserts greeted me.
“···.”
Since I had to choose within my budget, I naturally began a staring contest with the price tags. This one was expensive for the amount, that one had a lot but didn’t taste good… I was carefully examining the price-per-weight on the tags when—
“···Excuse me, can I get through?”
The sudden voice from behind made me quickly stand up.
“···Ah, I’m sor—”
I turned around to apologize quickly, and then—
“···Huh?”
I was slightly startled.
“Ah.”
Min Soyeon—the one who had ditched me and left school early—was standing right in front of me.
···Why is she here?
Min Soyeon’s house wasn’t in this neighborhood. There was no reason for her to be at a mart in such a remote place. At that moment, she subtly avoided my gaze and pretended not to know me. My eyes naturally drifted to her hands, and the items overflowing in her shopping basket made me doubt what I was seeing.
All sorts of instant foods, carbonated drinks, and a mountain of ramen… Every single item was terrible for your health.
Min Soyeon stubbornly continued pretending she didn’t know me, picked up a pack of snacks, and tried to leave.
···Wait, what?
Flustered, I quickly grabbed her and spoke.
“···W-wait… are you feeling okay?”
She looked at me as if I were annoying.
“I’m worried. Will you be able to come to school tomorrow?”
She stared at me blankly for a moment, let out a short sigh, then lightly shook off my arm and said she was fine. No matter how much she claimed she was okay, I couldn’t help but worry. I subtly followed after her as she started to walk away and spoke carefully.
“···Soyeon. If you’re not feeling well, you can rest until tomorrow, so take it easy and come the day after—”
At that, she suddenly stopped in her tracks, glanced back at me with a glare, and said,
“···Stop nagging and just get lost.”
N-nagging…?
I was greatly shocked by her words. I had spoken out of concern, yet she saw it as nagging… What hurt more than being told to get lost was that she had called my worry “nagging.”
When she saw the shock on my face, she seemed to regret it. She bit her lip hard and quickly walked away.
···.
Watching her head toward a distant checkout counter as if avoiding me made my heart sink heavily. When Soyeon was little, whenever she got sick, I would nurse her together with my wife. Even if it was just a cold, I would make a fuss about needing to use an elixir right away. Looking back now, those were all memories the three of us shared.
If Min Soyeon was really unwell, her mother would take good care of her. Since she had retired, she had plenty of time, and money certainly wasn’t an issue. Although she had no talent for housework, she had been an absolutely terrible daughter-obsessed fool…
I knew all of that better than anyone, yet the fact that I couldn’t take care of her with my own hands was unbearably painful.
···.
After finishing my shopping with that uncomfortable feeling, I headed straight home. Walking unconsciously while feeling the weight of the plastic bags in my hands, I soon arrived. I lightly kicked open the loosely closed green gate. The rusty hinges creaked in greeting. I nudged the gate shut with my foot and began climbing the stairs with missing chunks here and there.
Thud. Thud. Feeling strangely exhausted, I dragged my feet slowly upward. The plastic bags in my hands felt heavier than usual today. It wasn’t like I’d bought that much.
After struggling up each step, I reached the second floor. The crimson light spilling over the railing lower than my knees stung my eyes.
“···.”
The sun was already setting. Pretending not to see the sunset disappearing beyond the forest of high-rise buildings, I rummaged through my jacket pocket for the key.
A key in an era where electricity was generated from mana stones? Even if I had moved in because the rent was cheap, not even installing a door lock was too much. I set the plastic bags down, pushed the front door slightly, and inserted the key.
Clack— The old lock screamed as it opened. With slow movements, I retrieved the key and bags and stepped inside.
“···I’m home.”
The only thing that greeted my empty greeting was the chill brushing against my feet. After suddenly going from living with three people to living alone, I had developed the habit of talking to myself. That lonely habit felt a little more miserable today.
“···.”
I neatly set my school uniform aside and began organizing the groceries one by one. As I mindlessly picked up items and stacked them in the fridge, a heavy sigh escaped from deep inside.
“···Haa···.”
I felt utterly pathetic for getting depressed over old memories. Where had the resolve to live as Yu Jihwan, not Min Sungjae, gone? Once again I was weighing the past against the present and making myself miserable.
This wouldn’t do. Today was supposed to be a day for me—that was why I had indulged, wasn’t it? If you dig into the ground, all you see is dirt. I shook off the gloomy thoughts, finished organizing the fridge in one go, and immediately started preparing dinner.
···Eating something delicious should improve my mood a bit.
Tonight’s menu was stir-fried pork and bean sprouts. It was similar to bean sprout bulgogi, except it barely had any meat. There wasn’t much to prepare, and the recipe was simple, so I was able to set the table quickly. I unfolded the small table that had been stored in the corner of the room and brought out the side dishes and rice the landlord had given me.
Whoa… this is actually quite generous?
Once it was all laid out, it looked like a proper feast.
“···Thank you for the meal.”
The words came out of habit as I put some bean sprouts and a piece of meat in my mouth and chewed.
“···.”
It really was delicious. Impossibly so.