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Chapter 331: Preparations to Leave (3)

No, its alright. Oh Kang-Woo shook his head and flashed a smile.

Although he was smiling, his eyes were pointed at the abomination on the dining table.

Thats supposed to be kimchi stew?

Why was it black?

How could she do such a thing to kimchi stew?

It was worse than sacrilege. Kang-Woo wanted to flip the table, but he couldnt bring himself to in front of Si-Huns mother.

I-Ill whip something up right away! the mother exclaimed.

Please dont.

Just by looking at the state of her kimchi stew, Kang-Woo could not expect anything from her other dishes.

No, its okay. I dont have an appetite.

Oh Is that so?

Yes, so theres no need for you to worry about it. More importantly Kang-Woo slurred as he looked toward Si-Hun, gesturing him to hurry up and introduce him to the mother.

Si-Hun got back to his senses and walked toward the two of them.

This is my mother, he introduced.

My name is Jeong Seo-Ha.

Mother, this is

Yeah. Ive heard a lot about Kang-Woo. Seo-Ha grabbed Kang-Woos hands while smiling brightly. Thank you for taking care of my son.

Not at all. I simply did my duty as his hyung, Kang-Woo replied.

Seo-Has expression froze from the mention of hyung. She then sent Si-Hun a gaze filled with guilt. Why dont we have something to eat first?

I-Im fine. Like I mentioned before, I dont really have an appetite

Oh, thats right. I heard you love kimchi stew. What a shame, Seo-Ha said while staring at the black kimchi stew in disappointment. She then turned to Si-Hun after a short moment of silence. Si-Hun, could you give us a moment? I have something I need to talk with Kang-Woo about in private.

Huh? Si-Hun looked at her in confusion.

Its nothing serious, so dont make that kind of face.

No, but

Please, for me.

Si-Hun reluctantly nodded and went up to the second floor. Kang-Woo stared at Si-Hun climbing up the stairs, and then used the Authority of Silence to block all sound from escaping the living room. Si-Huns superhuman senses would allow him to hear a conversation in the living room from the second floor with ease.

What could she have to say to me?

He had no idea, but since Si-Huns mother wanted to talk in private, Kang-Woo felt like he shouldnt let Si-Hun hear.

What did you want to talk about? Kang-Woo asked.

Oh. Seo-Ha, who had been thinking about something absorbedly, turned around. Let me make you a cup of coffee first.

Oh, thank you very much.

Kang-Woo nodded softly, unable to refuse a cup of coffee on top of kimchi stew. Seo-Ha headed to the kitchen. Click, clack. The fragrance of coffee flowed all the way to the living room. As Seo-Ha was making coffee, Kang-Woo slowly took a look around the living room again.

Its a nice place.

He was not talking about extravagance nor that it looked pricey. Despite Seo-Ha mostly living by herself in this home, the place was very clean and tidy. No, clean was not the right word to describe it.

It feels homely.

The feeling of coziness coming from the entire home felt quite nice.

Clack.

Here you go, Seo-Ha said.

Thank you very much.

Kang-Woo sipped the coffee that she had made; it tasted normal, unlike her kimchi stew.

All hail instant coffee.

The guaranteed sweetness enveloped his tongue.

First of all Seo-Ha stood up and politely bowed toward Kang-Woo. Thank you very much.

...

If it hadnt been for you, Si-Hun and I would have never dreamed of having such a life.

Si-Hun has great talent as a Player. Even if it hadnt been for me, he would have been able to earn enough for the hospital bills and this house all on his ow

No, thats not what I meant. Seo-Ha smiled faintly. If it hadnt been for you Si-Hun never would have been able to smile like that.

Kang-Woo remained silent, thinking about what he should say. Seo-Ha bowed toward Kang-Woo again.

Thank you so very much.

Kang-Woo could hear how heartfelt she was. In the end, he said the same thing that he had said earlier.

I simply did my duty as his hyung.

Hohoho, Seo-Ha giggled. Im relieved to see that you truly care for Si-Hun.

But of course. Although were not related by blood, I consider him to be family.

Seo-Ha stared intently at Kang-Woo, and then sighed in relief. She continued, To be honest, I was very worried. You didnt build your friendship with Si-Hun through normal means, did you? I was worried because of that, but those worries have faded now.

... I beg your pardon? Kang-Woo froze. Her words had been branded on his brain. What do you

Im not sure if its hypnosis or some other kind of magic, but you used some sort of coercive method to win Si-Hun over, didnt you?

...! Chills ran down his back. Kang-Woo glared at Seo-Ha. Im not quite sure what you mean.

Hohoho. Its okay. I wont tell Si-Hun.

She was talking as if she knew everything. Kang-Woos mind was in jumbles.

She knows.

She knew that Kang-Woo had attacked Si-Hun and made Si-Hun into his Familiar.

But how?

Questions kept leading to other questions. The truth that he had kept secret all this time and thought would never be revealed, had been found out so easily.

... How long have you known? asked Kang-Woo.

I had an inkling ever since Si-Hun told me about you. Seo-Ha put the cup of coffee down on the table and continued, That boy never refers to anyone as hyung, especially someone that he has only met recently.

Kang-Woo swept back his hair.

I didnt expect this.

No, there was no way he could have, since there had been no way for him to know back when he made Si-Hun into his Familiar, the trauma that Si-Hun possessed, as well as how well Si-Huns mother knew Si-Hun.

Heavy silence fell. Kang-Woo downed the cup of coffee, thinking up dozens of possible excuses he could make. If he wanted to, he was confident that he could use whatever reason to satisfy Seo-Ha. He could even argue that she couldnt base anything off just from the fact that Si-Hun addressed him as hyung. However

Clack. Kang-Woo laid the cup down on the table.

Why didnt you say anything despite knowing that?

Kang-Woo did not make any excuses nor try to call it out as a lie; he had a feeling that he shouldnt, at least to Seo-Ha of all people.

Seo-Ha remained silent, and then opened her mouth while staring into empty space. I committed an unforgivable sin to that boy.

Kang-Woo could feel the voidness in her voice. He could easily tell what the sin that she was referring to was.

Si-Huns trauma.

The words that his own birth mother had said to him, Im sorry for giving birth to you, had been engraved in Si-Huns soul.

Kang-Woo had no idea how painful hearing those words were, since he had no memory of his parents.

Back then I was so tired, and felt so sorry for Si-Hun that I ended up saying those words that I should have never said Transparent tears flowed down Seo-Has cheeks. I should have never said those words to him of all people

Her words were filled with sorrow. Kang-Woo did not say a word; no, he couldnt. He could not understand, sympathize, nor console her in any way, so he remained silent.

Thats why When I saw that boy smiling so brightly I couldnt say a word. Even if it was a lie I just wanted my son to be happy.

Kang-Woo remained silent.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Seo-Ha said while bowing repeatedly.

She continued to thank Kang-Woo for making her son happy. Again, and again, and again.

***

Kang-Woo walked home after separating from Si-Hun.

His mind was in shambles. All kinds of thoughts tangled with one another. He frowned while recalling Seo-Ha, weeping while thanking him.

Why was I so happy?

He couldnt understand why he had been so happy to be thanked for making Si-Hun happy, even if it had been built on a lie.

Kang-Woo was unable to decipher his own emotions. No, he had a guess why; he just didnt want to admit it.

I felt like I was being pardoned for my sin.

He couldnt help but laugh from the shallow thought. He was trying to lessen his guilt by thinking that although he had forcibly turned Si-Hun into his Familiar, it was okay since he treasured him.

Despite the person in question knowing absolutely nothing about it.

Kang-Woo smiled bitterly.

... Goddammit.

He clicked his tongue and sat down on a bench in front of the apartment complex before heading inside.

Tomorrow

They would be leaving Earth. Although they were not leaving forever, he was sure that it would be a long journey.

Fuck.

Unnecessary emotions filled Kang-Woo. He looked up at the night sky.

Ah

He thought about all that he had been through since coming back to Earth. He met Han Seol-Ah, Kim Si-Hun, Cha Yeon-Joo, Echidna, Kang Tae-Soo He had met so many people and made just as many connections. Even his connection with Balrog and Lilith remained even after coming back to Earth.

It might not have been the best start; the first step might have been askew, leading to his connections to others being tangled messily. Despite that, he considered such connections to be precious.

Bzzt.

Kang-Woos vision became blurry. He was shown a plain filled with corpses, and himself collapsing to his knees and crying there.

It might sound funny, but he also had things that he had treasured back in Hell; he had the same tangled connections there.

Theyre all dead, though.

He had new connections now, ones that he had been unable to protect in the past.

This time

It would be different. He would make sure that it was.

Fucking hell. Ive become such a goddamn softie. Why the fuck am I shooting a drama all by myself in the middle of the night?

Kang-Woo frowned. He stood up, and walked.

... Lets go.

He set out, like he had always done. Forward.

[Part One - END]