## Chapter 59 – Childhood
We sat huddled together in the living room, which felt smaller with the familiar group assembled after I had mostly cleaned up. I hadn’t noticed it when I lived alone, but with three people, the living room felt cramped. The two women were silently staring at me.
“…”
“…”
They said they had something to say, so we were sitting here waiting for them to start talking. What’s with this? It’s cramped and stuffy, and I want to get up already.
Should I just buy a table? No, I’ve made a lot of money, so maybe I should suggest moving once the lease is up.
“…Um.”
I felt like I should say something to start the conversation myself. But Chaeyun raised her hand, cutting me off.
“Oppa, I’m sorry to ask this out of the blue, but…
What’s your family situation like?”
“Huh?”
“Just tell me quickly, it’s nothing weird.”
What’s with this all of a sudden? Chaeyun and Seohee were asking questions that didn’t fit the mood at all. The two women leaned forward, waiting for my answer.
“…Um, Mom, Dad, a younger brother.
And what? Should I mention the dog we have?”
“Um, is there anything special about your family history?”
“What? Does someone have to be divorced and remarried?
No, seriously, why are you guys doing this? You’re the only ones who know what’s going on! Let me in on it too.”
The rude questions, which didn’t seem to have any malice behind them, continued. I answered them one by one, but I started to get annoyed and held out my hand to stop them.
I didn’t know what they wanted to hear or what they were trying to get out of these questions. Frustrated, I questioned them, but Chaeyun was resting her chin on her hand, looking like she was deep in thought, and Seohee was next to her, pestering her, saying, “Why? Did you figure something out?”
Are you even listening to me?
“…Am I being excluded?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“I’m sorry. I was just thinking about something.
So, there’s nothing special about your family history?”
Chaeyun smiled awkwardly, as if she was sorry, and took my hand, trying to soothe me.
“No. It’s normal.”
“…Actually…”
Chaeyun finally started to explain to me.
The changes that were happening to them, and the blue flower they had seen before.
According to their story, the individuals who successfully reproduced by creating seeds went through a process of ‘evolution’ to increase their survival rate, and they were experiencing the effects of ‘evolution’ twofold.
And maybe the reason was me,
that I might be the ‘Root King,’ a being that was passed down in their race’s folktales.
That’s why they were asking those questions, they said.
“…Does that even make sense?”
“We’re asking because it doesn’t make sense.”
“…Well, if it was a simple problem that could be figured out by looking at family relationships, we would have found it a long time ago, like Unni said.”
“You were the one who wanted to ask too?!”
Seohee, who was getting angry and standing up, was ignored as Chaeyun stayed seated and spoke to me.
“Um… then, do you have any stories from your childhood,
or anything special like that?”
“Childhood, huh. I do have one.”
The familiar word that came out of her mouth made me unconsciously sink into old memories.
I thought my childhood was no different from other people’s, but
if this kind of story could help…
I didn’t think it would hurt to tell it.
“Well, I’ll tell you if you really want to hear it. But it’s nothing special, okay?”
“It’s okay, please tell us.”
Chaeyun was looking at me with expectant eyes.
Seohee, who had been yelling, gave up and slumped back down, starting to listen to my story with her.
“Um, this happened when I was born…”
I was born in the countryside.
A countryside close to the sea, even in the countryside.
At that time, my grandmother was ill, so my father, her son, had to stay there for a while, but
my father couldn’t leave my mother, who was already heavily pregnant, alone, so he took her with him.
That’s when I was born.
But the time I was born wasn’t very good.
My grandmother, who had been ill, passed away at the same time as her grandson was born,
and because of that, my grandfather got angry and went around shouting that I was the child of the devil.
My mother couldn’t go to my grandmother’s funeral because she was recovering from childbirth and had to stay home,
and my father kept watch over my grandmother’s mortuary alone.
But in the meantime, my grandfather took me from my mother, who was alone, and abandoned me in the mountains.
“Wait, you’re saying that’s not a big deal?
You almost died when you were just a few days old?”
“It’s not a big deal if I’m still alive like this, right?”
“…”
“Anyway, don’t interrupt.”
My father, noticing that I had disappeared, asked the villagers to help him search the mountains in the early morning.
Despite the scale of what had happened,
I was found really quickly.
I was sleeping among the trees without crying.
My father, who barely found me, couldn’t bring himself to report my grandfather to the police, so he cut ties and never saw him again.
As soon as my mother recovered and my grandmother’s funeral was over, my father returned to Seoul without saying a word to my grandfather and started living there.
“…There wasn’t anything else special besides that.”
“…Did you get sick or anything after that?”
“No, I was the healthiest.”
“That’s a relief, it’s a very happy ending.”
I glared at Seohee, who was clapping sarcastically.
Even in the midst of this noise, Chaeyun was resting her chin on her hand, deep in thought again.
“Where were you born, Oppa?
What neighborhood by the sea?”
Chaeyun said as if she had thought of something.
“I don’t know either.”
“Huh?”
“My father didn’t tell me anything else.”
“Can’t you ask him?”
“He didn’t tell me even when I asked.”
Chaeyun collapsed in an instant.
The expectant look in her eyes died, turning gray.
Is this my fault?
“Maybe we can find something out if we go there…”
“Why are you so disappointed? In the first place, what difference does it make if I’m that, what was it,
the ‘Root King’? Is it that important?”
“If we know that, we can leave information in the ‘Root’s Memory.’
Our survival depends on that information, so we pass on anything we find out to future generations.
That’s our instinct.”
“…Yes, there’s no information on why we evolved so quickly,
and so strongly.
The Root King makes us stronger…
That’s the hypothesis I’ve come up with…”
Chaeyun looked incredibly dejected.
It must have been very important…
“…Should I ask my father?”
I said it because I felt sorry for her dejected look, but
she jumped up and quickly regained her energy.
“Yes! Please do!”
“…Are you acting?”
Chaeyun shrugged and smiled as if she didn’t know what I was talking about, and Seohee was still sitting there.
Leaving them behind, I turned around, took out my phone, and sighed.
What should I ask?
My father doesn’t like talking about my grandfather…
I was thinking about what to say for my greeting when I called my family after a long time.
Suddenly, my phone started ringing in my hand.
I looked at the screen to see who it was,
and it was a call from an unexpected person.
“Hello?”
‘Ah, you answered right away. Father.’
It was Sua. Hong Sua.
“Don’t call me Father when other people can hear.”
‘Then what should I call you?’
“Just call me Chanwoo.
So, what’s going on anyway?”
‘Ah, there’s something I wanted Chanwoo to come for.
If possible, with Chaeyun too.’
“…I think I know why,
but I’ll ask out of courtesy. Why?”
‘Look at the picture ♡’
Sua, who seemed excited about something, said in a very excited voice,
so I took the phone away from my ear and checked the message she sent.
“…You, really.”
‘It’s okay. We just need to clean up well.’
The background in the picture she sent was inside a gym that had darkened as the sun had set,
and the faces of the two people in the picture were very familiar.
Sua’s family, the gym’s owner.
And her younger brother, Chaeyun’s ex-boyfriend, Hong Suho.
————————
“I don’t like these expensive bars.”
“Huh? Oh, I’m sorry. I thought this would be a good place to talk quietly…
Should we move now? Senior?”
A brilliant light filled the room.
Softly playing jazz, luxurious interior.
I could tell this bar was expensive even without looking at the price tag. Me and Ms. Minjung.
Sitting alone.
“What’s with the trouble. It’s the thought that counts.
So, what’s going on? I still have a month before I have to return to the lab.”
“That’s…”
Ms. Minjung, who had called me while I was holed up at home, had called me out here.
What’s going on that she called me?
Did something happen that she doesn’t know about?
“Um, Se, Senior. Do you happen to be free tomorrow too?
If, if you’re okay with it, would you like to have, have a meal with me?”
“…Hahahaha, all of a sudden?”
“…Yeeee…”
Was she embarrassed by what she said?
Ms. Minjung gripped her glass tightly, lowered her head, and answered in a barely audible voice.
“You could have just asked me to eat today, right?”
“Ah! Uh… Th, that’s right…? Ha, haha…”
I didn’t know you had this side of you.
I rattled the ice in my glass.
It can’t be, it wouldn’t be.
“…Then, are you free today…?”
“…You’re learning fast, aren’t you?
Using it right away.”
Don’t look at me with those eyes.
Is that real love? Please.
The closest person to perfection is becoming imperfect.
It’s not that I hate the feeling of love.
It’s the imperfect person. That’s what I hate.
Two men and women who truly love each other get married and promise eternity, but
not everyone has a good ending. No, it can’t be good.
If they really liked each other, why do they fight?
Why do they hurt each other?
Why do they break up and separate?
Why do they hurt other people with their feelings?
Starting love. Everything can’t be good.
The feelings that are blooming in you right now are not guaranteed to end well either.
If that happens, you will… you will….!
“…Is it not possible?”
“…Haha, I have all the time in the world?
Then, how about we go for a second round after you finish that?”
Ms. Minjung smiled brightly.
“Yes! I’d love to.”
And then, as if relieved, she blushed shyly and sipped her drink.
“…Ms. Minjung. You’re a good person.”
“Yes?”
You’re a good person.
A perfect person.
I don’t want such a person to become such an ordinary life that can be seen everywhere.
“Hehehe, Senior, why all of a sudden… Wh…?”
Her eyes lost focus and her body swayed.
And soon, she dropped her head onto the table and collapsed.
“…Even if it’s fast-acting, the effect is too good.”
When she lowered her head shyly earlier.
I secretly put in a fast-acting anesthetic, and it was the right answer.
Please understand my selfish desire for you to remain perfect.
“I will definitely protect you.”
