Chapter 53 – Flashback (3)
What did you call your mother’s brother?
He had never learned a title for such a relative, so he called him uncle.
He didn’t even bother with the name.
It was just that he seemed curious about me calling him uncle.
It was a carriage ride, but it took quite a long time.
No words were spoken during the trip.
I don’t know if it was because he was considerate of me or if he wasn’t the type to talk too much, but he was in the carriage where there was only silence.
The carriage slowed down and then stopped.
The door opened from outside and he started to get out first.
“Let’s go.”
The first thing I saw as soon as I got off the carriage was the mansion.
It was a decent sized mansion.
However, its appearance seemed to have a deep history.
“Are you here?”
A man who appeared to be the butler came to confront him.
“Did anything go wrong?”
“There was nothing unusual… But that child behind…?”
It seemed to be aware of my presence.
“It’s my brother’s child.”
The butler didn’t say much about whether he knew my mother.
I don’t know if he doesn’t say much because he’s just working under him, or he doesn’t say much because he knows everything about the situation.
At the time, I wasn’t really interested.
I was just staring blankly at where I should live in the future.
As the two went into the mansion, I unconsciously started walking after them.
“Were there any empty rooms in the mansion?”
“There’s one left, but…It’s the room he used.”
“I can’t help it. Give it that way.”
Unknown information is heard in my ears.
“I’ll take you this way.”
As I was thinking about those things, the butler spoke up.
“Yes.”
I’m not a member of this family, so why am I being treated with respect?
At some point, I arrived in front of a certain room.
“It can be a little messy because it hasn’t been organized yet. Please excuse me for today.”
And only me was left in the room.
I put the only thing left of me on the dusty desk and lay down on the bed.
I thought I should get some sleep.
It’s been a long day.
###
Excluding the people who worked in this house, there were four people I would call family.
My maternal uncle who brought me.
His wife.
And still a baby.
Did she say it was a girl?
My uncle brought me here, but I instinctively felt something.
The fact that I am a complete stranger in this house.
So I decided to shut up.
However, I made a request that all I needed was this.
Then I will live like a rat in this house.
He looked at me sadly as I said this.
Maybe it’s self-reproach that somehow a 12-year-old is saying this?
But I didn’t know why he was thinking that way.
He wouldn’t be criticized if he just brought a child who didn’t care what happened.
It was good.
Because I had work to do.
The moment I saw the papers, which could be the only link with my parents, my goal was to complete them.
To do that, I needed to go to the academy.
Even if the street banquet talks about it for a hundred days, people regard it as a passing word and do not pay attention.
To do that, I had to go to the academy.
From that day on, I lived only holding on to books.
He said he would take the exam when he was old enough to go to the academy.
The travel expenses to Jeju Island and other additional items he gave without saying anything.
He arrived at the academy, which was the exam hall, and sat down.
I looked around and saw a girl with blue hair sitting in the seat in front of me.
My impression was that it was a strangely colored hair.
I’ve never seen blue hair in my life.
I had nothing to do until after the test and the appointment time, so I was staring at the sky.
Someone talked to me
“Isn’t the test difficult?”
It was the blue-haired girl I saw earlier.
I don’t think it was that difficult, but I just said it was because I was afraid I’d be seen as conceited.
“The test is over, but what are you doing here?”
I wondered why she was so interested in others, but when I looked around her, she was in a similar situation to me.
“I’m waiting for you.”
“Really? Parents usually come and wait.”
“You do?”
“My parents don’t like me taking exams.”
“I came here to take a test because I didn’t want to have an engagement ceremony soon.”
In fact, if I had been asked to do something similar where I am now, I would have followed it without saying anything.
Should I say I’m glad I didn’t?
Or should I offer words of comfort to the girl in front of me in such a situation?
“I see.”
An awkward silence prevailed.
Just as I was hoping that someone would resolve this situation, the person I had promised was looking for me from far away.
“I have to go.”
“I hope you pass.”
A relationship had started anew at that time.
###
After a while, the result was brought home, and the result was passed as the second seat.
I didn’t really care much about rankings.
Whatever it was, I just had to go in.
My uncle showed only a fragmentary response, but I could feel Daegyeon’s emotion in the hand he placed on my shoulder.
I worked even harder because this was the only reward I could give.
They said they would pay the tuition, but it wasn’t a light amount, so I studied enough to receive a three-year scholarship.
I felt a little more at ease.
Because I can return the favor I received until now.
It was sad that this was the only thing I could do for her maternal uncle who silently looked after the child who would have been okay even if she pretended not to know.
So, I studied more intensely and studied desperately.
I met new friends and got to know a different life than mine.
Three years passed just like that.
Of the three close friends, one went back to his hometown and one went to college together.
Although the place I belonged to changed from an academy to a university, my life did not change much.
Study every day
Eat rice
After sleeping
I had no time to rest because I was thinking that it was after I had done what I was supposed to be comfortable with.
I somehow solved the murderous amount of classes and split my sleeping time to study the legacy left by my parents.
At first I didn’t even understand.
Because it was a completely different point of view than what I saw in the book.
I tried to understand it by cutting it out one by one.
I lived with the mindset that I would find out what I didn’t know, even if I was stuck in the library for several days.
After spending two years of college life like that, the frame was roughly set.
In return, my personal relationships were destroyed.
The only people I interact with are the professors and friends I’ve seen since my academy days.
I lived by wrapping myself up as an unavoidable price.
Then, when halfway through my third year, a letter came from home.
###
Unbeknownst to me, at one point I was calling the mansion home.
Was it because I was able to put my heart on it for a little while?
It seemed that the psychological boundaries had been alleviated to some extent.
That day, like any other day, was a day when I was changing my life in the library.
On my way home from drinking, there was a letter at the door.
Looking at the seal, it seemed that my uncle had sent it.
I opened the letter with the thought of why the person I hadn’t been in contact with contacted me for some reason.
I read the contents and dropped the letter as it was.
I had to go back right away.
But it was late, and the carriage to the house had long since stopped.
I couldn’t sleep.
It was because I couldn’t sleep because I was so full of thoughts that I had to get back in the first car.
When the sun rose again and arrived at the house, the atmosphere in the house was taking the floor.
I was guided by the housekeeper and headed to the room where my uncle was lying.
There, her maternal aunt was watching over her maternal uncle.
“Have you come?”
The voice was very dead.
To the extent that anyone can tell that it will not pass today.
I started to look for possibilities while holding my head that was not going back in a sudden situation.
“Stop it.”
If you read my thoughts, her maternal uncle said so.
“I’m glad I got to see you one last time.”
The intersection of gazes without dialogue.
Did they know what each other was thinking right now?
He took one deep breath and
“You look like your mother.”
There was no word after that.
There was no slight movement.
A complete stop to everything.
It was what we call death.
“Uncle…?”
There was no answer coming back.
I could hear people running in the distance.
The last time I saw my uncle’s face was clearly smiling.
###
The person who approached me while I was sitting blankly after sending my uncle away was the butler.
“It’s what the head of the family left behind.”
It was a letter.
It was a letter in a simple package with nothing stamped on it.
Then he left. It was probably busy for a while.
I opened the letter.
Handwritten letters were listed.
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To Edward.
It’s been 10 years since we met.
When I first met you, you weren’t like a 12-year-old.
You want to ask about your body, but to put it simply, I had a disease.
They said there was no way because it had already been done for a long time.
I decided not to tell you.
I didn’t want to interfere with what you were doing.
There are still a lot of things I haven’t told you, and I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you that directly.
You asked why I brought you before.
I probably won’t remember.
It was because I was asking with my eyes, not with words.
As you know, your mother ran out of this house a long time ago.
After that, I really cut ties.
Then, about 10 years ago, I got a call.
I wondered.
Why did you suddenly get in touch, what are you trying to say?
The letter from your mother said to take care of you if anything happened to them.
You won’t understand if you explain.
It was a very complicated thing. That’s why it was brought
It seems that the miscellaneous story has become long.
Although he wasn’t his own child, he tried to raise him like his own.
So if there’s anything you want, I tried to listen as much as possible.
But you only looked at one study.
I was both proud and saddened. Maybe you, too, are following the path of your parents.
You said you didn’t want to be a burden and solved the scholarship with tuition.
I didn’t say it separately, but I thought I knew your heart roughly.
Seeing you grow up to be proud of yourself, I never regretted bringing you here.
Looks like I’ll have to finish it soon. My body is in a state where I can’t even write.
Thank you for growing up well.
Son
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