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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: 97화
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Soyak looked down at his small hands.
"If I die, Dad will be really sad, won't he? Because there won't be anyone to tell him 'I love you' every day. No one to hug him every day, and no child to give him toys for his birthday. I..."
Tears welled up in the child's eyes.
"I... I won't be able to stay by Dad's side..."
A stream of tears flowed down.
The child, who had resolved to be strong, quickly forgot her determination. Yet, she didn't burst into loud sobs.
As if it had been a habit for a long time, Soyak swallowed her cries, forcing them down.
"Be my sibling... I'll give you all of this."
Soyak pushed her bundle of treasures towards Hwarin.
Those were Soyak's cherished memories with his father. Soyak was ready to hand over everything to the one who would become his father's new child.
"Huh?"
Hwarin couldn't answer.
When Soyak bragged about his father, Hwarin was actually thinking of her own father, Namgung Cheongsan.
'My dad's like that too. Their dad's cool.'
She had been thinking such things, but then suddenly, she was asked to become someone else's father's daughter.
"Hwarin, just a moment."
Yugang stepped forward, gently tapping Hwarin, who was frozen in a daze, on the shoulder.
At his gentle smile, Hwarin felt relieved and stepped back.
Yugang plopped down in front of Soyak.
"Will you be my big brother?"
"No."
Soyak's face fell.
Yugang gently patted Soyak's head.
"That's amazing. To have such a thoughtful idea. Your father would be very pleased."
Yugang pushed the bundle back towards Soyak.
"But, I think it's better if you keep these. Your father gave them to you, didn't he?"
"But... I can't play with these anymore... And these are the best things I have."
The most precious treasures he could give to his new sibling. The greatest recompense a child could conceive.
"Your father probably chose those things thinking of you. If another child had them instead of you, he'd only feel sadder."
"...Do you think so?"
Yugang nodded.
"And family isn't something you can get by paying a price."
Among Soyak's treasures was a small wooden figurine, seemingly carved by hand. It looked like it had been received a very long time ago, as parts of the carving were smooth and worn.
Soyak picked up the figurine and held it carefully.
"Actually, I don't want to give it away either."
"That's right. It's yours."
It wasn't just the figurine that the child didn't want to lose.
Soyak rubbed his nose and continued in a stuffy voice.
"Does it show that I cried?"
"No? Not at all."
Yugang grinned and brushed away the dirt from around Soyak's eyes.
"You're strong, Soyak."
* * *
Evening, with lanterns flickering.
The door opened quietly.
Soyak, who had been watching the moon rise outside the window, beamed as he saw the person who entered.
"Dad!"
Maeng Deungho's lips also curved into a smile at his son's grin. He naturally sat down beside his son's bed.
He placed a rough hand on his son's forehead as the boy pulled up the blanket and lay down.
The child's lips formed an arc.
"What did you do today?"
"I played with my friends! I showed them around Surochae, we played hide-and-seek, and tag too."
"Friends?"
"They're kids who just arrived at Surochae today. There's an older brother, an older sister, and a girl my age."
Maeng Deungho recalled the three children he had seen earlier that day.
The Namgung Sega's young lady his subordinates had abducted, and the two new children who had just arrived.
'One of them had studied the martial arts of Hwasanpa.'
And the other one...
'Was she a girl?'
Unlike the boy, she didn't seem to have studied martial arts. Her presence was so faint that he barely remembered her. More importantly.
'I should check if the Namgung Sega's young lady is doing well.'
A while ago, the leader of Hyeolsachae, a force based in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, had proposed a deal.
It was a trade: he would tell him how to cure his son's Eumyangdaejeolmaek if Maeng Deungho brought him the Namgung Sega's young lady.
For Maeng Deungho, who had been searching for doctors everywhere to cure Soyak's Eumyangdaejeolmaek, it was an offer he couldn't refuse.
He didn't know if the Hyeolsachae leader truly had a cure for Eumyangdaejeolmaek, but if there was even a shred of possibility, he had no choice but to try.
"...That must have been fun."
"Yes! I'm going to play again tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'm thinking of trying to fish. I'm going to catch fish with the net Dad made for me. If I catch a lot, I'll give some to you too, Dad!"
"Alright."
Maeng Deungho's gaze, as he looked down at his son, was infinitely tender.
"I look forward to it."
* * *
After Soyak left, Seolhwa and her companions headed towards the barracks they had been assigned earlier that day.
Yugang carried the sleeping Hwarin on his back and walked ahead in silence.
After the incident with Soyak, Yugang's expression was unusually somber.
He seemed to be deep in thought, and his words had become few, not speaking a single word since Hwarin fell asleep.
Seolhwa also had much to think about after hearing Soyak's words, so the two headed for the barracks in silence.
Just as they were about to reach the barracks, Seolhwa stopped.
"He's the leader's son."
At Seolhwa's words, Yugang also stopped and turned to look at her.
"Jin Soyak. He's Maeng Deungho's son. His different surname is because he took his deceased mother's surname."
"I see."
He seemed to have roughly expected it, though.
After all, he had seen the bandits hovering around Jin Soyak all day, watching his every move.
"This is an opportunity."
At Seolhwa's words, Yugang slowly closed and opened his eyes.
"If we take Jin Soyak hostage, we can easily get out of here."
Under the moonlight, Yugang and Seolhwa gazed at each other with unwavering eyes.
After a long silence, Yugang spoke softly, his voice seeming to blend into the darkness.
"Why are you saying things you don't mean?"
"...What?"
"As you said, that method might be worth trying. But... you don't want to, do you?"
'You don't want to take Jin Soyak hostage.'
Seolhwa unconsciously clenched her fist slightly.
"...Why me? Why do you think that?"
Taking the weak as hostages is the easiest way to pressure an enemy.
Jin Soyak was clearly Maeng Deungho's son. Moreover, he hadn't suspected them in the slightest.
'It's a perfect opportunity, with the hostage coming to us on his own, and I don't want this opportunity?'
Ridiculous.
All the experiences of her previous life and her survival instincts were telling her: if she missed this chance, there wouldn't be another.
"I..."
"You."
"..."
"You look like you really want to cry right now. Do you know that?"
Her heart sank with a thud. Her mind felt muddled, as if her thoughts had stopped.
'I... want to cry...?'
Seolhwa placed her clenched fist over her chest.
Her heart was thumping, thumping, without her realizing it. It felt as if her heart was fiercely rejecting the judgment her mind had made.
'Rejecting...'
Why?
Clearly, there was such a straightforward method, yet why did she feel the urge to reject it?
'...Am I... pitying him...?'
Jin Soyak...?
She was confused. The unfamiliar emotional turmoil made her feel breathless.
As Seolhwa slowly regulated her breathing, Yugang's voice reached her ears.
"Let's observe a little longer. Fortunately, we're in a situation where we can look after Hwarin."
Seolhwa looked at Yugang.
Yugang smiled gently, as if to say it was alright.
"Don't be too hasty. It will be okay."
* * *
The next day.
Soyak came to find Seolhwa and her companions early in the morning.
At his suggestion to go fishing in the river, the three readily followed Soyak.
Yesterday, they had focused on the structure of Surochae and its fences, so today presented a good opportunity to check the riverside terrain and Surochae's boats.
"If you put bait in here and throw it in, you'll catch fish."
"Wow—"
"Should I throw it for you, big brother? Really far?"
Seolhwa sat beneath the shadow of a large boat, watching the three people huddled together by the riverbank, preparing to cast their net.
Seolhwa unconsciously sighed.
'Is it okay to be this relaxed?'
She didn't know. They had to get out of here as soon as possible.
'The Namgung Sega must be looking for us.'
Namgung Cheongun's distraught face came to mind.
She felt sorry for making him suffer the anguish of losing a daughter again, after he had already lost one once before.
'I guess I can't be a good daughter.'
Seolhwa's gaze, as she sighed softly, turned towards Jin Soyak, who was chattering excitedly.
'Maeng Deungho's son. Jin Soyak.'
Last night, when she heard Jin Soyak's story, she finally recalled a memory from her past life that she had forgotten.
It was a story about Maeng Deungho's son, one she had heard in passing and hadn't deeply committed to memory.
'He suffered from Eumyangdaejeolmaek when he was young, they said.'
