I Became A Married Man in Another World
Chapter 19
019 A Child’s First Hero Is Always Her Dad
Lij’s eyes went wide.
Her husband had come rushing in, and the man who had been holding her collapsed, bleeding. It happened in the blink of an eye. The man fell like a withered leaf caught in a sudden gust of wind.
She was startled. Rather than being afraid, she was simply stunned.
She hadn’t known there was a person in this world who could lift such a large man so easily. She had never seen anyone like that before.
It was also her first time seeing a person fly through the air. He hadn’t even looked like he was struggling. With a casual swing of his arm, as if tossing a light piece of wood, the man had been sent flying.
When Juhwan swung his fists, it looked as if the men he hit were being driven into the ground. Watching a person’s face flatten made her mouth hang open, unable to close. It felt like she was watching a dream rather than reality.
She realized that this man, who had seemed so gentle as if he didn’t know how to get angry, could also possess such terrifying rage. If she had to speak of fear, being dragged away by those men earlier had been much, much more frightening. Seeing Juhwan beat them had only left her in a state of shock.
However, there was exactly one moment when she felt a flicker of fear toward Juhwan. It was the moment he turned to look at her—right before their eyes met. Having just finished beating and throwing those men aside, he turned toward her, and for a split second, she feared she might be struck like that too.
The memory of her late husband’s face had already grown faint. She had only known him for about an hour, and she had spent that time being beaten by him, so she could hardly remember his features now.
Dorothy might look a little like him. But even as she looked at the child’s face, her husband’s face didn’t come to mind at all. Dorothy likely took after her biological mother. That seemed more plausible.
But the memory of being beaten remained vivid. The fists and feet that had battered her face and body—those memories overlapped with the current situation, causing her body to freeze for a very brief moment. Yes, for that one single moment when Juhwan turned around, she was a little afraid.
But looking into Juhwan’s eyes, she knew. This man was different. He was nothing like the husband who had beaten her, or the village men who had tried to drag her away. His eyes were different, his face was different, and the way he touched her was different.
‘This man is protecting me…’
That was her first thought when she saw Juhwan’s eyes. So there was no reason to be afraid.
However, she realized Juhwan thought otherwise. It wasn’t a logical conclusion she reached; she just knew. She could tell he thought she was afraid of him. Even though that wasn’t the case at all.
The eyes of her husband, who had ruthlessly beaten those rough men, shrank back when they looked at Lij. Why would he be so afraid of the reaction of a mere, insignificant wife like her? Yet, Juhwan’s large frame seemed to shrivel up because of her. She couldn’t see it physically, but she could feel it.
Excuse me, Husband. Please don’t make such a wounded expression. I’m not afraid of you at all.
It would be easy to say if they shared a language, but they didn’t.
Lij tried to move toward Juhwan, but her feet wouldn’t budge.
She realized then that her entire body was trembling uncontrollably.
It was strange. The scary part was all over and there was nothing left to fear, so why was she shaking like this? Was this why Juhwan thought she was afraid?
The thought startled her. That wasn’t it. In truth, she felt relieved that her husband had rushed to her like the wind to save her, but that feeling wasn’t reaching him at all.
Lij raised her trembling arms and reached out toward her husband.
“Juhwan!”
When she called his name, Juhwan looked slightly surprised and approached her hesitantly. Standing right in front of her, her husband tentatively took her hand. Very lightly, carefully, as if he were touching a snowflake that might melt at his touch.
She squeezed Juhwan’s hand tight. Her husband’s hand was so large that even with her small hand inside it, there was plenty of room to spare. This massive hand had protected her. As his warmth seeped into her, her mind and body finally felt at ease. She felt as if she were wrapped in a blanket of warm air.
Ah, I am safe by this man’s side. No one can hit me.
The tears she had been holding back suddenly came pouring out. With his hand still held by her, Juhwan looked flustered, his eyes darting back and forth.
“Thank you.”
She spoke the words and lowered her head to press her lips to Juhwan’s hand. Her heart was overflowing. She was so glad she had met this man. She was so relieved that this man was her husband. Like a spring bubbling up from deep within, Lij’s heart kept flowing toward this man through their joined hands.
He seemed surprised that she was crying. Juhwan’s body suddenly went stiff. He remained frozen for a moment before gently pulling his hand back to pull Lij into an embrace. Her husband patted her back softly.
“Lij, thank you.”
The short words he had learned recently flowed quietly from Juhwan’s mouth.
What could he possibly be thankful for? She was the one who was grateful.
As Lij thought this, she let out a small breath. Suddenly, she snapped back to her senses. She had forgotten about Dorothy for a moment. The child must have been so frightened.
She lifted her head toward the house and saw Dorothy’s face peeking through the window. Only the eyes of her small face were visible. Those large eyes were brimming with tears and fear.
Lij gently pulled away from Juhwan’s embrace. When she pointed toward Dorothy, Juhwan understood immediately and nodded. Her husband looked toward Dorothy with a trace of worry.
Lij hurried inside the house. Dorothy, standing by the window, turned only her head to look at Lij. Her eyes were red from crying so much.
Noticing that the girl’s stillness was a bit strange, Lij looked down and saw a small puddle on the floor. It seemed she had wet herself out of sheer terror.
It was Dorothy herself who had called for help in her heart, but now that he was actually here, Juhwan was scary. Every time Juhwan’s large fists swung back and forth, someone’s face turned into a bloody mess right before Dorothy’s eyes.
The face of her swollen stepmother came to mind. By the time she died, her face had become so distorted that Dorothy couldn’t even remember what she had originally looked like.
Lij’s face had been like that too. She was pretty now, but on the first day she came to the house and was beaten by Dorothy’s father, she had looked just like the dead stepmother. Red, blue, and yellow.
Thinking that her own face might end up like that one day made her so scared that she peed. Her clothes were damp and cold, and she was terrified.
Her crying had stopped abruptly. If you cry, you get hit more. Her father’s terrifying shouts, her stepmother’s screams, and the sound of Lij’s muffled sobbing all echoed in her head at once.
Mustn’t cry. If you make a sound, you get hit. Even if there were moments when she couldn’t help but let out a sob, she thought she had to stay silent no matter what.
She felt a little relieved when Lij saw her and came inside. Lij didn’t hit people. Earlier, Lij had acted like Dorothy wasn’t there, just like her stepmother used to do, but now she was looking at her again. Dorothy became a person who existed once more.
Dorothy spoke quickly.
“Lij, I’m sorry. Sorry for hiding. Sorry for not helping. Please don’t act like you don’t know me. I was wrong.”
She had to apologize quickly. She had to say it while Lij was looking at her. Before she became a ghost again, she had to speak fast, fast.
“Oh my goodness!”
Lij’s eyes went wide as she rushed over. Even though Dorothy was damp and dirty from the urine, Lij knelt on the floor and pulled her into a tight hug. Lij, there’s pee on the floor, your clothes will get wet. She tried to say it, but Lij spoke first.
“Dorothy, what are you talking about? When our eyes met earlier, I only pretended not to know you because I was afraid those men would find you. There’s nothing for you to be sorry for. Nothing at all.”
Lij hugged Dorothy even tighter, sobbing as she spoke.
She was a grown-up, but she cried like a child. It felt a bit strange.
“I’m sorry, Dorothy. You were scared, weren’t you? But it’s okay now. Because Daddy is here.”
“…?”
Lij said something strange. Daddy?
“Father… is dead.”
When Dorothy said that, Lij pulled back slightly to look her in the eye.
Lij’s face was messy with tears. Even though she was a grown-up, she looked messier than Dorothy.
“Dorothy, don’t you know who Juhwan is?”
“Juhwan.”
Juhwan was Juhwan. And Lij’s husband. She knew that. Lij smiled tentatively, her face still streaked with grime.
“Juhwan is my husband. So that makes him Dorothy’s daddy.”
“Huh?”
“Yes?”
“Daddy?”
Lij made a puzzled face. But Dorothy was even more confused.
Why would Lij’s husband be Dorothy’s daddy?
Lij tilted her head, made a face, then tilted her head again.
“I’m Dorothy’s new mommy, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then Dorothy is my daughter.”
“Huh?”
Really? Dorothy was Lij’s daughter? Dorothy was the stepmother’s daughter?
When Dorothy’s eyes went wide, Lij spoke as if surprised herself.
“Dorothy, did you really not know until now?”
“Uh? Uh?”
No one had ever told her. She knew she was a stepmother, but no one had told her that meant she was Dorothy’s mother. She had never seen her real mother because she was already dead, so Dorothy thought she just didn’t have a mother. She really hadn’t known that the stepmother was her mother.
Lij’s words raced through her head. Then, a realization suddenly struck her.
“No way!”
The loud shout escaped her before she could help it.
Lij gave a small laugh.
“Since Dorothy is my daughter, when I get a husband, that person becomes Dorothy’s daddy.”
“Daddy?”
Then did Dorothy have two fathers? Startled, Dorothy looked out the window at Juhwan. Juhwan was her daddy? Could such a thing even happen?
Dorothy looked back and forth between Lij’s and Juhwan’s faces, then shouted again without thinking.
“Is he Daddy?”
Lij nodded.
“Juhwan is different from the father you had before. He will never hit us. He’s the person who protects us.”
Suddenly, she remembered the sight of Lij being dragged away by those men. Both Lij and Dorothy had been crying. When Dorothy had prayed in her heart for help, Juhwan had suddenly appeared—bam! The scary men were knocked away and fell to the ground. They went limp like dead wolves.
Was that because he was Dorothy’s daddy? Because Dorothy was his daughter, and Dorothy had asked for help?
Her mind was busy. Daddy, daddy, daddy… The word “daddy” spun around in her head. He was completely different from her father. Juhwan had never hit Dorothy once.
“Daddy!”
Dorothy looked out the window and shouted toward the face she saw. Beyond the wooden window frame, she could see Juhwan’s massive form. His face, his body, his hands, and his feet were all big. That giant of a man was Dorothy’s daddy. He was incredibly strong, and he was her daddy. He was the person who protected Dorothy and Lij. He had swung his fists and sent those bad men flying.
Dorothy broke away from Lij and started to run.
Dorothy had gained an incredibly strong daddy. He didn’t hit her. He smiled at her. At night, he held her close and slept with her, gave her meat, and gave her a name. A person who gave her a name was her daddy—how wonderful.
Splat, splat. Her urine-soaked feet felt heavy. Her clothes hung damply, and drops of urine splattered every time she ran. But she couldn’t stay still. Dorothy ran out of the house toward Juhwan.
“Daddy!”
When she shouted at the top of her lungs, Juhwan blinked and looked at Dorothy.
“Daddy!”
Dorothy ran toward Juhwan with all her might. Now, no one could hit them. No one could take their things, and no one could drag Lij away. Because Daddy was here. Because an incredibly strong daddy was protecting them. Dorothy had a daddy now.
With the woman, it was fine because they could communicate somewhat. Eventually, she would realize he wasn’t a bad person, and sometimes there were even those who came to like him.
But children were different. Dorothy was unique. She was the first child he’d met who had smiled and clung to him like that so soon after meeting.
Even so, he thought it was over now. Because he had shown her something terrifying.
The sight of a person’s facial bones being crushed and arms being broken was not something a child should see. Since she had witnessed that, he naturally thought Dorothy would be afraid of him now…
But the face running toward him was like a bright, shining sun. Her face was so radiant it was as if she hadn’t been crying just moments ago. Her eyes were sparkling, shining like stars.
“##!”
She kept shouting a word he didn’t understand yet. But he could tell what it meant even without being taught. It was likely “Daddy.”
He didn’t know how or what Lij had said to make the terrified Dorothy change so suddenly, but he had been accepted by this child.
Juhwan swept the running child up into his arms. Dorothy wrapped her short arms around Juhwan’s thick neck. Like a child who had just learned her first word, Dorothy kept shouting “Daddy” over and over. It looked as if stardust were fluttering off the child, scattering in every direction.
