Chapter 59: Blood Line (2)

Former novelist and current game industry CEO Kang Bada. He said,

"...It seems Chae-yeon really didn't tell you anything. It feels a bit off for me to tell you what your mom didn't... I thought you were Harry Potter, but now I see you're Luke."

"What's Luke?"

"You don't know this? Do kids these days not watch movies because they're too busy studying?"

"This is why I don't like adults. You could just tell me, but you always have to beat around the bush."

I've grown stronger through all sorts of experiences. I didn't want to be played by cryptic wordplay anymore.

Soon, Mr. Kang Bada laughed loudly. He laughed so much that the few students in the library started giving him looks.

"Right. Adults are cowards. I used to think that too. Especially doctors. I wondered if they really needed to use such difficult technical terms to obscure things from patients."

Swish-

Mr. Kang Bada put his hand on my shoulder.

"Then, Young-won. Let's make a deal."

Now that I looked, Mr. Kang Bada had a ring on his left ring finger, but it looked very cheap. I thought it might be a wedding ring, but what puzzled me was that it looked like plastic, like a children's toy.

"You know your friend Yoo Dahee? Find out some things about her. What she likes to eat, who she's close with. What her favorite animal is, and the things she dislikes too. No, just try to find out as much information as you can."

Mr. Kang Bada's eyes were glinting with a strange emotion. He seemed like a total pervert.

A scruffy, bearded man trying to buy information about a high school girl.

I felt very uncomfortable and disgusted. But since this man clearly knew something, I decided to agree to the deal.

"Okay. But couldn't you just ask her directly? Yoo Dahee will be coming here soon."

"I've been marked by the Cheon family. If I approach Yoo Dahee directly, it'll probably cause a commotion. But let me tell you one thing, I'm on your side. I could jump into fire for the woman I love. In that sense, you and I are alike. You... Are you really not my son? You seem to resemble me. If I calculate the dates correctly..."

"Ugh...!? Damn, what are you saying? Now?"

"Hahaha. I'm joking. It's fun to tease you. You get bullied at school, right? Seeing how fun it is to tease you, I can see why kids would like bullying you."

"......"

"Chae-yeon and I were really nothing. Unfortunately. I couldn't even hold her hand. Your mom was so aloof... She made many men cry."

This man wasn't telling me anything I really wanted to know, just babbling about things I didn't particularly want to hear. What a weirdo.

Soon, Kang Bada put on a serious expression.

"You don't resemble me at all. But you're the spitting image of that guy. I know him well. Your dad, I mean. I know you don't like talking about your dad. But still, he's your father."

"......"

"Can't you forgive him now? Being sick like this only hurts your own soul. I know well."

"Forgiveness, who should forgive whom?"

I spoke sharply, like an angry bee stinging. Mr. Kang Bada scratched the back of his head as if a bit embarrassed.

"Well, I guess meddling too much doesn't suit my personality either. Then I'll go. Give my regards to your mom. Tell her I love her. Tell her I'm free tonight."

"I don't want to."

"Kid. You’re so quick to temper. Just like your old man."

Kang Bada disappeared while chuckling. Right after, as if passing a baton, Yoo Dahee appeared.

Dahee asked,

"Young-won. Who was that man just now? I was waiting because it looked like you were talking."

"A potential sex offender. Don't pay attention to him. It's better to be careful."

"...?"

Yoo Dahee tilted her head as if she couldn't understand.

We have more important things now than an old man trying to dig up information about a high school girl. I sat quietly at the desk and asked,

"Dahee, I have a lot of questions for you. I'd like you to answer as honestly as possible. I found your cat for you, after all."

"Hmm. Okay."

"Can you tell me everything you remember about the housekeeper who worked at your house?"

Yoo Dahee frowned at my question. Then she puffed her cheeks slightly and spoke grumpily,

"Tch. Is that what you're curious about? I was expecting something different. Like asking about my favorite music or my ideal type."

I was curious about those things too, but right now there were priorities. Finally, Yoo Dahee nodded.

"Fine. A promise is a promise. I met the housekeeper about 10 years ago. I was still in the facility then. I met her at the facility... and we went to the mansion together."

"Wait. You were in a facility?"

"Huh? Didn't I mention this? I lived in an orphanage until I was 5 due to circumstances. It was called Osung Orphanage. I think it's closed now... Then my grandfather found me and I went to live in the mansion."

This was another fact I was hearing for the first time. So Yoo Dahee is from an orphanage.

"...What about your mother and father?"

"Mom... I heard she passed away when I was very young. So I don't know much. Dad... Grandfather doesn't like talking about my dad, so I don't know much either. But I was told it was my dad who put me in the orphanage."

Everyone has their own painful circumstances.

Even Yoo Dahee, who seemed like a rich young lady, had a more complicated family history than I thought.

Should I ask more? It felt like I was digging into someone's wounds.

But... if I think coldly, I'm in no position to be picky. It meant I wasn't in a position to be choosy or judgmental.

"So you lived with the housekeeper you met at the orphanage for 10 years in the mansion?"

"Yes. The housekeeper was a good person. Almost like how I imagine my mom would have been if she were alive. The housekeeper treated me like her own daughter. Actually, I heard she had a son she had been separated from long ago."

"A son?"

"I don't... remember well. But she said she couldn't meet him due to circumstances... But she said if she waited just a few more days, she could go see him... Then she quit her job saying she was going to meet her son. That's right."

I thought it was impossible, but I imagined that the housekeeper who worked at Yoo Dahee's house for 10 years was my mom. Of course, my mom had always been with me for the past 10 years.

But. Wasn't there just one time recently when mom was separated from me?

It was when mom entered the elevator and went missing. As far as I knew, that elevator was connected to the "orphanage".

What if mom met Yoo Dahee... at that orphanage?

"Dahee. The orphanage you lived in. Where is it now?"

"It doesn't exist anymore. There was a big fire about 10 years ago, and it burned down."

There's a cause and effect for everything. Everything has an essence. I tried to piece together the puzzle in my head.

The orphanage that disappeared 10 years ago, and Mom who vanished into the elevator and reappeared. When Mom came back, I could sense something was different about her.

Even her latest model phone's battery drained as if it was old...

"No way..."

Even I knew it was impossible. I wondered if such a thing could happen.

Could it be that after Mom disappeared into the elevator, she escaped to the past, 10 years ago...?

Could Mom have gone to the past and stayed at Yoo Dahee's mansion for 10 years? I couldn't understand why.

Maybe Mom, who had escaped to the past, thought she shouldn't reveal her identity because she existed simultaneously with the past Mom who was with me, Ha Young-won.

Then-

Mom remembered the day she went missing in the elevator, waited for that day, quit her job at the mansion, and returned to me. As if nothing had happened.

"Dahee. Do you remember the housekeeper's face?"

"...No. I don't remember well. It's strange. We were together just a month ago."

Yoo Dahee couldn't remember the housekeeper's face. It didn't seem like she was lying. My mom also couldn't remember anything that happened during the time she was missing.

Something had clearly messed with their 'memories'. I decided to think that way.

***

"Mom's being discharged soon. And look at this. The ladies in the next room gave it to me. They said I should try knitting."

I headed to the hospital where Mom was enjoying herself while knitting. I looked at Mom carefully again. She was thirty-four years old.

She was often told she looked very young, and people always said they couldn't believe she had a high school son. Even now, at a glance, she looked that young.

At first glance, she might look like a woman in her early thirties.

But as her son, I could see the faint wrinkles that had appeared on Mom's face and the increased white hairs. It was a gap of 10 years.

"Oh my. What's wrong with you? Suddenly hugging Mom like this."

"......"

At this moment, I made a vow. I wouldn't forgive whoever or whatever was making us go through this. And Mom might remember.

"Mom. I'm sorry for asking again, but do you really not remember anything from when you were missing?"

"I don't... remember well. But thinking about it again... I think I missed you terribly. My only son. And... if I think hard..."

"If you think hard?"

"I think I thought it would have been nice to have a daughter. I wonder why."

"......"

"Maybe Mom wants a daughter-in-law already. So how far have you gone with Juhee?! Huh? You're not going to suddenly make me a grandmother, are you? Raising a child in high school is hard. Mom knows well."

My mom seemed to like Yang Juhee a lot, maybe because she reminded her of her own high school days. Mom couldn't finish high school properly because of me.

As I was feeling a bit awkward, Mom said,

"And... I think I talked with your dad while I was missing."

"...With Dad?"

"I know. It's impossible. Your dad is in a place where we can't meet him even if we want to. I think I just had a dream like that. When I first woke up, it seemed like a scary dream. But thinking about it again, it might have been a pretty interesting dream..."

I see. It was quite a relief that it was an interesting dream.

I took out my Yeongji High entrance ceremony photo from my pocket and handed it to Mom. Mom was delighted.

"Oh. I lost that after putting it in my wallet. Where did you find it?"

"Adam Smith gave it to me."

"What Smith? A foreigner?"

Our mom didn't know Adam Smith. It was because she had no interest in studying.

It couldn't be helped.

***

In a dark, gloomy room, there was a man. Someone spoke to him as he was facing the wall.

"1101. You have a visitor."

A visitor.

The man's senses awakened at those words. He walked along a narrow, long path and made eye contact with a man through a transparent glass window.

"Hey. Don't look so openly disappointed."

"What? Is it Aquaman?"

"I met Chae-yeon. She seems to be doing well. There seem to be some issues, but overall, she looked very healthy."

"That's good."

"And I met your son too. Ha Young-won. He looks just like you. He looks like he'll do all the things you shouldn't do. I guess blood really doesn't lie."

"Ha Young-won?"

"Well. These days, kids sometimes take their mother's surname, right? By the way, it seems Cheon Dae-gon met your son. Will that be okay?"

"......"

The man fell into deep thought. Kang Bada spoke to the man,

"Well, I've seen your face, so I'll go now. And from now on, call me Professor Snape, not Aquaman."