ยฉNovel Buddy
After Ten Millennia in Hell-Chapter 331 - Preparations to Leave (3)
This chapt๐ฎr is updat๐d by ๐๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ท๐ค๐๐๐ก.๐๐ค๐
Chapter 331 - Preparations to Leave (3)
โI-I-I-I-I-Iโm so sorry! I thought having just kimchi stew by itself would make the dining table a bit empty, so I went to the market to buy some more ingredients and lost track of time!โ
A middle-aged woman with short light brown hair, beautiful enough to be worthy of being Kim Si-Hunโs mother, lowered her head. She was likely at least in her forties considering Si-Hunโs age, but she could even be mistaken to be in her thirties, to the point that no one would use the term middle-aged to describe her if they did not know any better.
โNo, itโs alright.โ 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.
โThatโs supposed to be kimchi stew?โ
Why was it black?
โHow could she do such a thing to kimchi stew...?โ
It was worse than sacrilege. Kang-Woo wanted to flip the table, but he couldnโt bring himself to in front of Si-Hunโs mother.
โI-Iโll whip something up right away!โ the mother exclaimed.
โPlease donโt.โ
Just by looking at the state of her kimchi stew, Kang-Woo could not expect anything from her other dishes.
โNo, itโs okay. I donโt have an appetite.โ
โOh... Is that so?โ
โYes, so there's no need for you to worry about it. More importantly...โ 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.
โThis is my mother,โ he introduced. (f)reenovelkiss
โMy name is Jeong Seo-Ha.โ
โMother, this isโโ
โYeah. Iโve heard a lot about Kang-Woo.โ Seo-Ha grabbed Kang-Wooโs hands while smiling brightly. โThank you for taking care of my son.โ
โNot at all. I simply did my duty as his hyung,โ Kang-Woo replied.
Seo-Haโs expression froze from the mention of hyung. She then sent Si-Hun a gaze filled with guilt. โWhy donโt we have something to eat first?โ
โI-Iโm fine. Like I mentioned before, I donโt really have an appetite...โ
โOh, thatโs right. I heard you love kimchi stew. What a shame,โ Seo-Ha said while staring at the black kimchi stew in disappointment. She then turned to Si-Hun after a short moment of silence. โSi-Hun, could you give us a moment? I... have something I need to talk with Kang-Woo about in private.โ
โHuh?โ Si-Hun looked at her in confusion.
โItโs nothing serious, so donโt make that kind of face.โ ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ค๐๐ฎ๐.๐ฌ๐ค๐
โNo, but...โ
โPlease, for me.โ
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-Hunโs superhuman senses would allow him to hear a conversation in the living room from the second floor with ease.
โWhat could she have to say to me?โ
He had no idea, but since Si-Hunโs mother wanted to talk in private, Kang-Woo felt like he shouldnโt let Si-Hun hear.
โWhat did you want to talk about?โ Kang-Woo asked.
โOh.โ Seo-Ha, who had been thinking about something absorbedly, turned around. โLet me make you a cup of coffee first.โ
โOh, thank you very much.โ
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.
โItโs a nice place.โ
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.
โIt feels homely.โ
The feeling of coziness coming from the entire home felt quite nice.
Clack.
โHere you go,โ Seo-Ha said.
โThank you very much.โ
Kang-Woo sipped the coffee that she had made; it tasted normal, unlike her kimchi stew.
โAll hail instant coffee.โ
The guaranteed sweetness enveloped his tongue.
โFirst of all...โ Seo-Ha stood up and politely bowed toward Kang-Woo. โThank you very much.โ
โ...โ
โIf it hadnโt been for you, Si-Hun and I... would have never dreamed of having such a life.โ
โSi-Hun has great talent as a Player. Even if it hadnโt been for me, he would have been able to earn enough for the hospital bills and this house all on his owโโ
โNo, thatโs not what I meant.โ Seo-Ha smiled faintly. โIf it hadnโt been for you... Si-Hun never would have been able to smile like that.โ
Kang-Woo remained silent, thinking about what he should say. Seo-Ha bowed toward Kang-Woo again.
โThank you... so very much.โ
Kang-Woo could hear how heartfelt she was. In the end, he said the same thing that he had said earlier.
โI simply did my duty as his hyung.โ
โHohoho,โ Seo-Ha giggled. โIโm relieved to see that you truly care for Si-Hun.โ
โBut of course. Although weโre not related by blood, I consider him to be family.โ
Seo-Ha stared intently at Kang-Woo, and then sighed in relief. She continued, โTo be honest, I was very worried. You didnโt build your friendship with Si-Hun through normal means, did you? I was worried because of that, but those worries have faded now.โ
โ... I beg your pardon?โ Kang-Woo froze. Her words had been branded on his brain. โWhat do you...โ
โIโm not sure if itโs hypnosis or some other kind of magic, but... you used some sort of coercive method to win Si-Hun over, didnโt you?โ
โ...!โ Chills ran down his back. Kang-Woo glared at Seo-Ha. โIโm not quite sure what you mean.โ
โHohoho. Itโs okay. I wonโt tell Si-Hun.โ
She was talking as if she knew everything. Kang-Wooโs mind was in jumbles.
โShe knows.โ
She knew that Kang-Woo had attacked Si-Hun and made Si-Hun into his Familiar.
โBut how?โ
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.
โ... How long have you known?โ asked Kang-Woo.
โI had an inkling... ever since Si-Hun told me about you.โ Seo-Ha put the cup of coffee down on the table and continued, โThat boy never refers to anyone as hyung, especially someone that he has only met recently.โ
Kang-Woo swept back his hair.
โI didnโt expect this.โ
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-Hunโs 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 couldnโt 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.
โWhy didnโt you say anything despite knowing that?โ
Kang-Woo did not make any excuses nor try to call it out as a lie; he had a feeling that he shouldnโt, at least to Seo-Ha of all people.
Seo-Ha remained silent, and then opened her mouth while staring into empty space. โI... committed an unforgivable sin to that boy.โ
Kang-Woo could feel the voidness in her voice. He could easily tell what the sin that she was referring to was.
โSi-Hunโs trauma.โ
The words that his own birth mother had said to him, โIโm sorry for giving birth to youโ, had been engraved in Si-Hunโs soul.
Kang-Woo had no idea how painful hearing those words were, since he had no memory of his parents.
โBack 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...โ Transparent tears flowed down Seo-Haโs cheeks. โI should have... never said those words to him of all people...โ
Her words were filled with sorrow. Kang-Woo did not say a word; no, he couldnโt. He could not understand, sympathize, nor console her in any way, so he remained silent.
โThatโs why... When I saw that boy smiling so brightly... I couldnโt say a word. Even if it was a lie... I just wanted my son to be happy.โ
Kang-Woo remained silent.
โThank you. Thank you... so much,โ 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.
โWhy... was I... so happy?โ
He couldnโt 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 didnโt want to admit it.
โI felt like I was being pardoned for my sin.โ
He couldnโt 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.
โDespite the person in question knowing absolutely nothing about it.โ
Kang-Woo smiled bitterly.
โ... Goddammit.โ
He clicked his tongue and sat down on a bench in front of the apartment complex before heading inside.
โTomorrow...โ
They would be leaving Earth. Although they were not leaving forever, he was sure that it would be a long journey.
โFuck.โ
Unnecessary emotions filled Kang-Woo. He looked up at the night sky.
โAh...โ
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-Wooโs 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.
โTheyโre all dead, though.โ
He had new connections now, ones that he had been unable to protect in the past.
โThis time...โ
It would be different. He would make sure that it was.
โFucking hell. Iโve become such a goddamn softie. Why the fuck am I shooting a drama all by myself in the middle of the night?โ
Kang-Woo frowned. He stood up, and walked.
โ... Letโs go.โ
He set out, like he had always done. Forward.
[Part One - END]