Chapter 16 (1/2)

TL: pineapples

ED: sid

****

“You don’t want to be here do you? You want to leave like crazy but you are enduring it. You don’t even want to be the sogyoju. You want to live a simple life. Am I wrong?”

How did she know?

The secret that he dreamed everyday of popped out of the girl’s mouth.

Cheonma was acquainted with his father. Cheonma had occasionally visited his hiding father for a drink and then went back.

They didn’t talk much, but they didn’t seem to have a bad relationship. The atmosphere between them was calm and warm.

So he had never imagined that Cheonma would kill his parents to make him the sogyoju. The day his parents had died, Aku Ryun was sleeping.

It was the middle of the night when his mother suddenly woke him up and pushed him into the back of the kitchen. She told him not to make a noise.

Then, he heard a strange man’s ordering voice. The screams of people and the sound of breaking furniture was heard.

Something must have gone wrong.

Even though he wanted to run outside, he couldn’t. He knew he would die a dog’s death if he did so. If his parents were in trouble, it was on him to take revenge. If he died, there would be no one to avenge his parents.

The disturbance continued for a while.

Quietly, Aku Ryun only came out of the background cautiously. Then he opened the kitchen door a little and peeked into the yard.

There he was.

Cheonma. He was standing tall above his parents, who were on the ground in a miserable state.

With his teeth clenched, Aku Ryun even watched Cheonma put a sword into his father’s heart and hid in the background again. However, Cheonma eventually discovered him and made him sogyoju.

It was easy to pretend that he didn’t remember anything. He was a three year old child at that time. It would be even stranger for him to remember it. He had to become a sogyoju and undergo harsh training. But he could endure all of it.

He had to avenge his parents. With that goal, what could be difficult?

Giving the life-saving oil to the child made it that thousands of times more difficult. But he could handle it because it was his own choice.

But he couldn’t throw his dreams away. The desire to live a normal life did not disappear no matter how hard he tried.

But that child easily put his dream into motion. The dream that he had locked away in the deepest part of his heart because of the pain he had to endure.

When he had left the training area with the child, Aku Ryun thought he was dreaming.

It was ridiculous.

The child’s proposal was irresistibly sweet, even though he knew it was something he should never do.

Like the dried persimmon that the child once put in his mouth.

Aku Ryun clenched his fists.

Will he be able to avenge his parents even after owing that child? Would he be able to keep his oath of burning everything down to its roots?

Though he was hesitating, Aku Ryun took the bag that the child gave him. His legs moved automatically. As he went down the stairs, his steps got faster and faster.

If he just left here, he would be free. Finally. The freedom that he had hoped for was right in front of him.

Thump!

At the moment, he heard a small sound through the sound of the rain falling. Aku Ryun turned his head. Beyond the fog, he could see a gray figure lying on the floor.

“…!”

It was the child. The child had lost consciousness and collapsed on the floor. Only then he recalled the child’s abnormally cold body and blue lips.

At that moment, his desire for freedom disappeared without a trace.

“Young Miss!”

Aku Ryun ran up the stairs without any delay.

*  *  *  *

Seoyoung, who had returned to the room, opened her eyes widely.

The room was a mess as if someone had ransacked it in a hurry. The box that the child had cherished like a treasure was empty.

“What happened…?”

Seoyoung hurriedly put down the tray and searched the drawers.

“Nothing.”

She had put the bag that the child had asked her to bring a few days ago there, but it was gone.

Did she run away from home?

Though Young Miss was disappointed with the sogyoju’s situation, she didn’t think it was that big of an issue.

Magyo was such a place. Even if the Leader’s daughter was a weird child, she had to get used to the magyo’s rules.

But instead of adapting, she looks like she wanted to rebel. It was her fault for forgetting that the child was extraordinary. She should have persuaded her and explained.

In despair, she jumped up from her seat. It wasn’t the right time for her to be like this. She had been away for about an hour. She couldn’t have gone far.

If she moved quickly, she could catch the Young Miss before she arrived at the village. Seoyoung opened the door and stopped in her tracks. Right in front of the door was Aku Ryun holding the child in his arms.

“Young Miss!”