—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Yang Chun Gak was busy as usual. Since Koo Sang-ok quit deliveries yesterday, Lim So-young had to apologize for every delivery call that came in.
“I’m sorry, we don’t have a delivery person right now…”
Click.
Lim So-young sighed, and Yoo Soon-tae came out of the kitchen with an apologetic look.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have told that guy to quit.”
Lim So-young shook her head at his words.
“No, you did the right thing. It was something that had to be decided eventually, and yesterday was the day. We’ll find a better delivery person than him.”
“Are you trying to comfort me?”
“Yes.”
Lim So-young smiled faintly.
“Then I’ll go upstairs and do some cleaning and laundry.”
Lim So-young went up to the second floor and came back down a couple of hours later, ready to go out.
“I’ll take Ha-young to the dentist.”
“Be careful.”
Their only daughter, Yoo Ha-young, was five years old this year. Despite diligently brushing her teeth morning and night, she had complained of a toothache since last night, perhaps due to a cavity. So, they had made a dentist appointment for today.
Lim So-young headed to Ha-young’s kindergarten.
“Ha-young’s mother, you’re here.”
“Yes, teacher. Thank you for your hard work today.”
Lim So-young greeted the kindergarten teacher.
“Please wait a moment.”
The teacher went inside and came back out with Ha-young.
“Mommy!”
Ha-young ran and clung to Lim So-young’s leg.
“Did my little girl study hard today?”
“Yes! I learned how to say fruit names in English today! The teacher praised me!”
The kindergarten teacher said, “Ha-young has a good memory and is very smart. She memorizes things other children can’t and answers correctly.”
No parent dislikes hearing their child praised. Naturally, Lim So-young was pleased.
“Hohoho, it’s because you’re such a good teacher. Then we’ll be going now. See you tomorrow.”
“Yes, take care.”
“Goodbye, teacher.”
Ha-young bowed energetically, and the teacher waved back at her.
“Alright, then.”
Lim So-young said to Ha-young, “Let’s go to the dentist.”
At those words, Ha-young’s face immediately fell.
“No, if we go to the dentist today, Mommy and Daddy will cry…”
Lim So-young tilted her head at those words.
“Mommy and Daddy will cry?”
Ha-young nodded.
“Yes. They cried a lot at the hospital.”
Ha-young had been good at predicting the weather since she was little. Even on a sunny day, if she said it would rain, it would rain. But Yoo Soon-tae and Lim So-young thought it was just a child’s sensitive intuition. They thought she was just making an excuse to avoid going to the dentist.
“Mommy and Daddy might cry a lot if Ha-young doesn’t go to the dentist and all her teeth rot away.”
“But… I don’t want to go…”
Lim So-young sighed. She had no choice but to offer a bribe.
“If you go to the dentist today, I’ll buy you the hat you wanted.”
“Hat?”
“The pink hat with the floppy bunny ears, right?”
It was a newly released pink hat with a brim, and the bunny ears on top moved freely thanks to an F-rank monster stone. F-rank monster stones were actually remnants from processing higher-ranked stones, previously discarded. But with recent advancements in monster stone processing technology, they were used as cheap and efficient batteries.
“Bunny hat!”
Ha-young, who had been hesitant, finally took the bait.
“Okay! Ha-young will go to the dentist!”
A little while later, Lim So-young and Ha-young came out of the dentist’s office. Dental treatment these days was different from the past. Although they used all sorts of scary-looking tools for children, healers could restore teeth to their perfect state on the spot, painlessly.
As promised, Lim So-young bought Ha-young the bunny hat. Lim So-young smiled contentedly, watching Ha-young happily jumping around wearing the hat.
A young man was watching the mother and daughter. With disheveled hair, no shoes, and clothes that were practically rags, he didn’t smell bad but rather emitted a refreshing scent. His name was Gang-so. He, who had somehow ended up in Korea, was still wandering around Seoul. Unable to find a way back to his world, he wandered around and ended up in an alleyway in a residential area off the main street. The alley was quieter than the area around the Silver Tower. Naturally. The area around the Silver Tower was Korea’s hottest spot.
Just then, Gang-so saw a little girl wearing a pink hat with bunny ears and a woman who looked like her mother. Their affectionate appearance made him smile unconsciously.
‘A mother…’
For Gang-so, the existence of a mother, no, parents, was more than just affectionate.
‘I sense something different from internal energy in that child.’
As he wandered around, he often saw people with an energy similar to the energy he felt from the girl. ‘Do they cultivate this energy instead of internal energy in this place?’ Soon, these thoughts faded away. Looking at the little girl, her cute appearance overlapped with the childhood appearance of another girl he knew. At the same time, he began to feel a longing for that girl.
‘I must find a way back quickly…’
Just then.
Whoosh-!
A sudden gust of wind blew.
“My hat!”
The child, Ha-young, startled by her hat flying away in the wind, instinctively ran to pick it up. Every time she went to kindergarten, she listened with envy as her friends bragged about having bunny hats at home. Ha-young also wanted to ask her parents to buy her one, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask her busy parents. And now she finally had her own bunny hat! The thought of losing it blinded her.
“H-Ha-young!” Lim So-young shouted, surprised by Ha-young’s sudden action. “Don’t run so suddenly…”
Honk-! Honk, honk-!
Lim So-young was speechless. The hat had fallen onto the road, and a truck was heading straight for Ha-young, who had run into the street to retrieve it.
“Huh?” Ha-young, relieved after picking up her bunny hat, froze in place, shocked to see the truck rushing towards her. “Ha-young!” Lim So-young’s scream echoed in the air. The truck was already right in front of Ha-young.
In urgent situations, ordinary people freeze, their minds going blank. However, Gang-so, who was watching, was no ordinary person.
Thud-!
Gang-so moved instantly. He reached Ha-young in the blink of an eye, grabbed her, and leaped to the other side of the road. It all happened in a split second.
Screech-!
The truck slammed on the brakes and stopped. The driver opened the window and yelled at Ha-young, who was in Gang-so’s arms.
“Hey! You! Do you want to die?! How dare you run into the road like that?!”
The truck sped off. Ha-young, still shocked from nearly being hit, was too stunned to respond to the driver’s outburst, remaining silently in Gang-so’s arms. He channeled a bit of energy into Ha-young to calm her down. Her energy was quite erratic, and she might have a seizure otherwise. Meanwhile, Lim So-young ran across the street.
“Ha-young!”
“Mommy!” Finally relieved, Ha-young burst into tears in her mother’s arms. “Are you okay?” “Yes. Sniff, I’m okay.” “What did Mommy tell you? Hold Mommy’s hand tightly when we’re outside! You’ll be in big trouble if you do that again!” “I’m sorry! Waaaaah!”
Lim So-young’s eyes welled up with tears as she scolded her daughter. The thought of almost losing her daughter right before her eyes made her dizzy, and the relief that she was safe brought tears to her eyes. Lim So-young quickly bowed to Gang-so, who had saved Ha-young.
“Thank you so much! I don’t know how to repay you…”
“I’m glad the child is safe.”
Although he looked like a beggar, he was the benefactor who saved her daughter’s life, something irreplaceable. To not recognize that grace would be no different from a beast, no, a monster. That’s when it happened.
Growl-!
A rumbling sound like thunder came from somewhere. Ha-young realized what the sound was. It was coming from Gang-so’s stomach. “Huh? Are you hungry? Is your tummy rumbling?”
At Ha-young’s question, Gang-so felt strangely embarrassed. Now that he thought about it, the last time he ate was… ‘The dumpling I had before coming here was my last meal. Sigh! I’ve become complacent! I used to be able to go without food for seven days and nights while on missions, and now my stomach’s rumbling after just three days of fasting!’
Ha-young tugged on Gang-so’s sleeve and said, “My daddy is a chef. Let’s go eat!”
“Huh?”
Lim So-young spoke to Gang-so, who looked perplexed. “As Ha-young said, please join us for a meal. You saved my daughter’s life. I can’t just let you go without offering you a meal.” “Oh, i-it’s okay…”
Growl.
His stomach signaled its hunger again. His stomach had no sense of timing. “Hahaha.” Gang-so had no choice but to follow Lim So-young and Ha-young. After walking for about ten minutes, Ha-young pointed to a red sign.
“That’s our house!”
The red sign had the words Yang Chun Gak written in yellow.
‘House of Warm Spring…’ Gang-so felt a strange connection. The first place he met the girl he cared for was also a teahouse called Yang Chun Gak. Lim So-young opened the restaurant door and said, “We run a small Chinese restaurant.”
Clink.
The bell attached to the door chimed cheerfully, and Yoo Soon-tae came out from inside.
“You’re back.”
“Why are you so late? I was worried because you were later than expected.”
At Yoo Soon-tae’s words, Lim So-young’s eyes welled up again.
“W-What’s wrong? What happened?” Yoo Soon-tae asked in surprise, and Lim So-young cautiously replied, “Well, Ha-young almost got hit by a car.”
“What?!” Startled, Yoo Soon-tae quickly looked at Ha-young. “Is Ha-young alright?” “She’s safe thanks to this gentleman. He saved her.”
He looked at Gang-so, whom Lim So-young had brought along. His long hair was disheveled, and grime streaked his face. His clothes, picked up from who knows where, were covered in dust, making their original color indistinguishable. He wasn’t wearing any shoes, leaving his feet bare, despite the cold February weather. Strangely, he didn’t smell bad, but he looked like the epitome of a beggar. However, Lim So-young, oblivious to his appearance, was deeply grateful.
“So, I wanted to treat him to a meal and brought him here.”
“I see! Good job! Of course, you should!” Yoo Soon-tae’s eyes, devoid of any hesitation, were filled with gratitude. He took Gang-so’s dirty hand and said, “Thank you so much for saving my daughter.” Gang-so smiled. ‘He’s a good person!’ He couldn’t cause any harm to such a kind person. Gang-so, well aware of his own appearance, made a troubled expression. “I apologize for entering such a hygienic establishment in these ragged clothes.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
[Your Text Here]
