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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: A Mother's Plea
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As Kang-jun gave his confirmation, Seol-i’s face lit up.
“Aunty, Papa’s gonna help!”
She then examined Yun Hui-su’s face from one side to the other and asked in a concerned tone.
“So you have to stop crying now, okay?”
To that, Yun Hui-su mumbled in a barely audible voice, “Right, right…” for a moment.
“I have to stop…”
Her voice trailing off, Yun Hui-su roughly wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand and forced a bright smile.
“Oh, you’re so sweet…”
Seol-i gently patted Yun Hui-su’s shoulder, then tilted her head and asked again in a soft, hushed voice.
“Hmm, but why were you crying?”
Yun Hui-su pondered for a moment how to answer, then began to explain the situation as simply as she could for Seol-i to understand.
“Well, Aunty has a daughter who’s about the same age as our Seol-i. But she’s very far away right now, so I can’t see her.”
Seol-i replied, “Seol-i gets it,” then asked again with a tone full of conviction.
“Aunty, you were crying ’cause you miss her, right?”
Seol-i naturally climbed onto Yun Hui-su’s lap.
She brought her lips close to her ear and whispered as quietly as possible.
“How do I know? It’s a secret, but last night before I went sleepy-bye, Seol-i cried and cried ’cause I missed Papa so much…”
Though she tried to speak quietly enough for only Yun Hui-su to hear, children Seol-i’s age are often clumsy with modulating the intonation and volume of their speech.
Thanks to that, Kang-jun, who was sitting at the same table, couldn’t help but unintentionally overhear the secret his daughter had shared…
He unknowingly clutched his chest tightly and muttered to himself in a low voice, “So, so cute…”
“That’s right. I was crying because I miss her.”
As Yun Hui-su gently stroked Seol-i’s hair, Seol-i hugged her tightly and said in a warm voice.
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Seol-i then looked up at Yun Hui-su’s face with her sparkling eyes and continued.
“Papa said he’ll help, so you can see her.”
Then she looked at Kang-jun and asked.
“Right?”
Without a hint of hesitation, Kang-jun replied, “Of course.”
He patted his chest and added with a triumphant air.
“I swear on my very being that I will make your meeting happen, so do not worry.”
At his words, Yun Hui-su began to bow her head repeatedly to Kang-jun, expressing her gratitude.
“Thank you, truly, thank you so much…”
Kang-jun’s reply came in a tone that was chillingly cold, a stark contrast to how he spoke with Seol-i.
“That’s enough of your useless pleasantries. I didn’t promise to help you for your gratitude anyway.”
Just as Yun Hui-su was about to reply with a meek “Yes…”
Seol-i, sitting primly on her lap, whipped her head around to face Kang-jun and scolded him.
“You have to speak nicely!”
Kang-jun let out a groan, “…Ugh.”
He then fixed his gaze on Yun Hui-su with the most awkward smile in the world.
“Is there anything else I can help you with?”
His question was delivered in a monotone voice, as flat as a machine’s. At a loss for words, Yun Hui-su simply nodded and replied.
“Huh? Ah, yes…”
After that, Seol-i continued to pepper Yun Hui-su with one question after another.
“What’s Seol-i’s friend’s name?”
“Hyesu.”
“Then is this Hyesu’s, too?”
Seol-i asked, pulling out the figurine she had tucked away in her bag.
“Yes, Hyesu used to play with that toy.”
At that, Seol-i replied.
“Seol-i wants to give Hyesu a toy, too…”
“Seol-i wants to give something to Hyesu?”
“Aunty, does Hyesu have lots of toys?”
Yun Hui-su hummed for a moment, “Hmm…”
A bitter smile touched her lips as she answered, her voice laced with a sliver of sadness.
“Well, not a whole lot…”
She had kept every single item related to her daughter, Hyesu, unable to throw anything away.
“But they’re all toys she’s played with since she was a baby, so I’m not sure if she’d still find them fun to play with now…”
Seol-i replied.
“Seol-i will share her new toys!”
“Huh?”
“Seol-i has lots and lots of toys!”
She then looked at Kang-jun and asked.
“Right, Papa?”
Just then, Bong-gu leaned in and whispered into Yun Hui-su’s ear.
“Do you happen to know the large, permanent toy store in the Yeoksam-dong shopping district called ‘Toy Land’?”
When Yun Hui-su answered, “Yes, I’ve been there a few times…,” Bong-gu nodded once and casually added.
“Seol-i is actually the real owner of that building.”
“What…?”
“And she receives toys every month instead of rent.”
Yun Hui-su blinked, as if disbelieving her own ears…
“One moment.”
Kang-jun beckoned over the goblin in charge of the play facility’s safety management with a flick of his finger and spoke with great solemnity.
“Write all of this down.”
Seol-i then continued speaking.
“A car toy, an airplane toy, a princess doll, and a teddy bear doll, and a magic wand, and…”
As Seol-i rattled off the names of all the toys she could think of, and the goblin diligently wrote down every single item, Kang-jun spoke.
“While we’re at it, I think it would be best to depart ‘tonight’.”
“Tonight?”
“It is a request from the Princess. There is no reason to delay.”
At his words, Yun Hui-su bowed her head once more, repeatedly expressing her gratitude.
“Thank you so much…”
This time, Kang-jun replied in a serious tone.
“You might not be so thankful.”
He then added.
“I made a promise to the Princess, so I will ensure you meet your daughter, no matter what it takes…”
A heavy silence descended.
“But she might not be in the state you wish for.”
“I see…”
“You might regret the reunion.”
At his words, she asked.
“You said it was a lie, didn’t you?”
“Hmm?”
“The words about burying her in your heart.”
She immediately continued.
“It is a lie.”
Yun Hui-su began to fidget with her fingers, her voice carrying a damp, tearful quality as she went on.
“Everyone tells me to bury her in my heart, but I don’t know how. I might be able to bury everything else, but how can I bury my child in my heart…”
She looked at Kang-jun.
“I don’t know if my heart is too small to bury Hyesu, or if she’s just too vast…”
She began to break down again.
“No matter how many layers of time I pile on top, she keeps popping out. It’s like I can hear her whimpering voice calling for me, ‘Mommy, Mommy’…”
She took a deep breath to compose herself.
Then she asked cautiously.
“Do you know what they call someone who has lost their husband?”
“A widow?”
“What about a child who has lost both parents?”
“An orphan?”
“Then what do you call a parent who has lost a child?”
Kang-jun muttered softly, “That’s…”
A bitter smile played on Yun Hui-su’s lips as she continued in a soft voice.
“There’s no word for a parent who has lost a child. They say it’s because there’s no way to contain that sorrow in a single word.”
At that, Kang-jun’s gaze shifted to Seol-i’s face, who was still preoccupied with listing the names of toys.
“Yes, I suppose so…”
Yun Hui-su looked at Seol-i as well.
“She was a child who got scared at night, just like Seol-i.”
“A child so timid she couldn’t even sleep without me…”
She fought back the tears that threatened to spill, forcing herself to speak in a clear, steady voice.
“I don’t care what she looks like.”
It was the truth.
“I just want to hold her one more time.”
She bit her lip, then managed to add with difficulty.
“My poor Hyesu, how scared she must have been all alone…”
“I’m sorry, please wait, Mommy will be there soon…”
Tears welled in her eyes again.
“I just want to comfort her one last time…”
It was a silent sob.
And…
It was a sorrow that was contagious.
A child sat on a bank by a river.
Ripples shimmered across the reddish water.
“It’s pretty…”
The child knew the river had many names.
Some called it the River of Three Crossings, others called it the Yellow Springs.
There were more difficult names, but she couldn't remember them.
Her grandmother and grandfather said a name is just what you call something.
They also said it was now time for her to cross that river.
“But I can’t…”
The child looked behind her.
There was only deep darkness.
“I have to wait longer…”
Lately, she found it hard to remember things she once knew.
It felt as if someone were erasing her memories with an eraser.
As if they were scrubbing them away with all their might.
“I am…”
Not long ago, she had cried and cried because she had forgotten her own name.
Her grandmother and grandfather had said it was normal and that it was okay.
But there were some things she could never forget.
“The dress Mommy bought me…”
The child looked down at her dress, stained crimson with blood.
“The shoes Mommy bought me…”
The child looked down at the single shoe that remained.
The heel was worn down, and the strap was torn and dangling.
“The headband Mommy bought me…”
The child fiddled with the headband on her disheveled hair.
“But Mommy is…”
She could no longer picture her mother.
Not her face, not her voice…
Nothing came to mind.
“You stubborn little thing.”
Hearing someone call her, the child broke into a wide smile.
“Grandma!”
An old woman in a neat hanbok pulled the child into a tight embrace and said gently.
“You’re still holding on, aren’t you…”
“Yes, I waited today, too.”
“What lingering regrets are keeping you here…”
The child replied.
“Mommy said…”
But she kept getting confused.
What was it that Mommy had said?
Just then, the old woman spoke again.
“My child, let’s cross over now…”
“But I can’t…”
“I can’t let you wait any longer…”
The child stared blankly at the river for a moment, then turned to the old woman and asked again.
“Grandma, who was I waiting for?”
The old woman patted the child’s bottom and said.
“Yes, it seems it’s finally time for you to cross…”
The child looked behind her again.
It was a space of nothingness.
Only darkness teemed there.
“Let’s go…”
Her feet felt heavy, unwilling to move.
“I’ll go…”
She forced herself to take a step.
