Ch#212
* * *
Tie blinked his round eyes.
In front of him, Chae Bok-su was busily moving her spoon.
"......You boiled it amazingly well."
She scooped a spoonful of rice into the miso soup.
Then quickly stirred it before taking a big bite into her mouth.
Since Tie came to Korea, she had always eaten her rice halfheartedly.
Yet now, she was finally having a proper meal.
Jeong Myung-ja was equally surprised.
"Sister?"
Jeong Myung-ja called out to Chae Bok-su.
Instead of replying, Chae Bok-su simply stared at Jeong Myung-ja.
She was too focused on chewing her food.
Chae Bok-su then reached for the meat Tese tan had placed on her plate with her chopsticks.
As she put a piece of juicy meat into her mouth, the long-remembered taste enveloped her tongue.
The miso soup had a salty, hearty flavor.
The well-cooked pork belly brought a clean umami.
"How long has it been since I've had this......"
Chae Bok-su's eyes reddened.
Tese tan, with a faint smile, added a few more pieces of meat to Chae Bok-su's plate.
"Please have more."
Forgetting all about decorum, Chae Bok-su kept putting meat into her mouth.
The simple act of moving her jaw to chew.
The joy of savoring food and swallowing it down her throat.
"......Cough!"
Choking from eating too hastily, she pounded her chest.
But as soon as the coughing subsided, she took another spoonful of rice mixed with miso soup.
She recalled the past few weeks when even porridge had been hard to swallow.
Not having an appetite.
Not getting hungry easily—it had been so frustrating and exhausting.
"Something this delicious."
Tears finally streamed from the corners of her eyes.
The more she chewed, the fuller she felt, confirming that what she'd thought impossible was truly real.
"Grandma, is it tasty?"
Tie tilted his head.
Chae Bok-su smiled faintly, her chest overflowing.
"Yes. So delicious it's bringing tears to my eyes."
Tie's eyes widened.
Even in this moment, Chae Bok-su attuned herself to her changing physical state.
'Just from what I can see.'
It was certain.
Color had returned to the tips of her hands holding the utensils.
They say nothing is scarier than human senses.
She could instinctively feel her broken body being repaired piece by piece.
'The bruise is gone too.'
The large bruise on the back of her hand from moving flower pots a few days ago had vanished overnight.
Chae Bok-su shifted her gaze.
The day Jeong Myung-ja's husband had caused a scene.
She suddenly remembered the large wound on Jeong Myung-ja's palm.
That day, the cut from the broken flower pot shard had looked like it needed several stitches.
But then Tie had done something strange,
"......"
and Jeong Myung-ja's wound had completely disappeared.
Jeong Myung-ja, who had quietly followed Chae Bok-su's gaze, parted her lips.
"Sister, by any chance."
"......"
"By any chance, is your stomach okay?"
On the surface, it was a simple question.
But Chae Bok-su knew.
It carried a wealth of meaning.
After hesitating, Chae Bok-su nodded.
"Oh my god, oh my god......"
As if finally understanding.
Jeong Myung-ja's fingertips trembled.
In the moment when the two struggled to continue speaking.
"Grandma, eat this too."
Imitating his dad, Tie placed something on Chae Bok-su's plate.
It was the stir-fried fish cake she had made that morning.
"It's twice as tasty with meat!"
The sesame-sprinkled stir-fried fish cake had always been Tie's favorite side dish.
A smile formed on Chae Bok-su's lips.
She nodded, holding back another wave of tears.
Chae Bok-su ate the stir-fried fish cake Tie offered her three, four times over.
Her heart and stomach.
A morning brimming with pleasant fullness passed by.
* * *
The next day.
Tie slept in late for the first time in ages.
He had stayed up late the previous evening talking with Grandma and Aunt.
Tie had told them everything about what happened in Talochioum.
How he became the Necromancer King.
The current situation of hiding his identity because he was 'power-shrunk'.
And how terrifying and prickly his amnesiac dad had been.
Grandma clicked her tongue each time that came up and shot dad a glare.
Aunt 203, rather than blame dad, kept stroking Tie's head and back pityingly.
Releasing the 203-room uncle from Subspace happened at midnight that night.
But strangely, the man who emerged was half out of his mind.
"Sp-spare me! I'll do anything, please!"
He prostrated himself flat before Tie the moment he came out.
His scattered underlings behind him were all giggling wickedly.
Tie realized instinctively.
'I see!'
While trapped in Subspace, the 203-room uncle must have had an unforgettable time with the underlings.
'Was it that scary after all?'
The underlings Tie summoned with mana fundamentally enjoyed bewitching and tormenting people.
Of course, he felt no pity for the uncle.
'He harassed Aunt, so that's what he gets.'
The adults had said.
Bad deeds always come back around.
So even for a single day, live kindly and honestly.
"Say something, you! Huh?!"
Yet the uncle remained a bad person even after emerging from Subspace.
He trembled in fear before Tie, but switched attitudes the instant he saw Aunt.
"Why drag outsiders into our business and cause this mess?!"
Tie was speechless.
But there was no need for Tie to intervene directly.
"You still haven't come to your senses."
Dad, who had been watching from inside the room, stepped forward first.
The dad whose memories had merged had changed greatly in a short time.
His speech was now much like the dad Tie remembered, and his demeanor toward others had softened.
Dad liked 107-room Grandma and 203-room Aunt.
Just from regaining his memories, his care for them showed in his actions.
"One day wasn't enough after all."
Dad, scooping Tie into his arms, gazed down steadily at the 203-room uncle.
"Now that I think about it, locking you away for a few years might be right."
The uncle's face drained of color.
"Don't celebrate being out. I can send you back anytime I feel like it."
"What?! Why would I, go back there......!"
"Nothing's impossible. Our daughter really likes Aunt, but you keep harassing her."
The uncle turned trembling eyes toward 203-room Aunt.
That was when.
'Kuk-'
A small giggling sound came from behind.
Chills crawled up the man's spine.
'Too bad. It was better inside.'
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead too.
A eerie voice whispered in his ear.
'Should we drag him back?'
'No. We need master's permission.'
"U, uwaaak-!"
The man shook his head violently and curled up.
But the voices didn't fade.
'Let's play with him. Play. Play.'
'Toy. Toy. Toy.'
Strength drained from his body as his vision blurred.
A realization from his time trapped in that horrific space resurfaced.
These ghosts called the downstairs kid 'master' and obeyed him devotedly.
The one who opened that bizarre space and locked him away for two full days was the kid from downstairs right before him!
"Damn...... damn......"
Clenching his fists in frustration, a voice spoke from behind.
'Should we just kill him?'
His heart plummeted, and the man jerked his head up.
With eyes devoid of will, he asked Tese tan.
"Wh-what do you want......!"
Tese tan crookedly lifted one corner of his mouth.
"Now you're finally making sense."
He turned his gaze to Tie.
Then instantly switched to a deeply affectionate, tender expression and said.
"Daughter, the uncle says he'll do whatever you tell him to."
"Yeah!"
"What should we make him do first? Anything you've thought of?"