Chapter 44 …
The day his mother abandoned him and left.
That day too, San waited foolishly, as usual.
She didn’t come.
In the small, worn kitchen, he clumsily prepared a meal and waited.
But still, his mother did not come.
Until all the food had gone bad.
“I… have been abandoned.”
It was only when he looked at the food that the boy realized the truth.
And the moment he understood, the whole world suddenly felt unbearably silent.
The stillness pressed down on his shoulders.
The house had always been quiet, but now, realizing he was completely alone, it felt suffocating.
On that moonless night,
San left the house without direction and descended the mountain.
He wanted to go anywhere—anywhere to escape the silence. Somewhere with people…
And so, he wandered for a long time.
“Yes! You must have your own life plans too.”
A clear, ringing voice echoed in his mind.
“No, I never had any plans.”
San had no luxury for that.
He had simply run wherever the path appeared in each moment.
Where his eyes led, whatever seemed possible, in the face of danger, without thinking ahead.
Without knowing where he was going.
Not with careful plans or decisions, but trusting life to instincts and running moment by moment.
“Do you want to come to the North with me?”
…Until he heard those words.
Creak—
The door opened.
San looked toward the sound.
The owner of the clear voice entered, smiling at him.
Now, for the first time in his life, he had a choice before him.
“What do you think? Have you thought it through?”
The girl looked at him, seemingly more nervous than he was.
“…Yes.”
San nodded.
Then the girl’s face lit up, and she approached him.
Why?
It felt as if every path he had run until now existed only to bring him here.
“Really?!”
Feeling that strange, unfamiliar sensation, San slowly spoke.
The next day.
“Hum hum.”
“Please lift your arms, miss.”
“Okay!”
I hummed a tune and lifted my arms as Hanbi instructed.
Then Hanbi helped me into a skirt and jeogori that fit perfectly.
“You look really happy today, don’t you?”
“Hmph, really? You can tell?”
“Yes! Your smile has been up all morning. You’re humming too.”
“Did I?”
“Yes, really. Humming like this all the time, humhum~”
Hanbi imitated my mood, humming as she smiled.
After she finished dressing me and adjusted my hair, I waved my fingers in thanks.
“What’s going on?”
“Hmph.”
Because yesterday…
“Are you going to the North with me?”
“Yes. I want to go.”
San had decided to go North!
‘Ah, I was so worried, but now I can finally relax!’
It might seem trivial, but secretly, I felt proud.
“All done, Hanbi?”
“Ah, just a moment. Almost done!”
And today was finally the day we returned North.
‘Close call, but goal achieved!’
“All done. Want to see?”
“Yes, thanks!”
I looked in the mirror Hanbi held up and turned my head, giving her a thumbs-up.
“Hanbi, you’re the best!”
The Northern girl was the best at hair styling too!
‘Now…’
Shall we go!
“…It has come to this.”
Doha’s subordinate, Tae-woo, heard the words and felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
The explanation was half-hearted, coming from his superior, and he and…
Even the child standing beside him.
“This situation feels familiar.”
“Please take care of me, Uncle Tae-woo!”
A small face popped out from behind Doha.
“Hehe.”
The child’s bright laughter reached him.
‘Still the same.’
Nothing had changed.
The only difference was the appearance of a new child.
Tae-woo glanced at the boy standing awkwardly next to Nanyeong.
“…Hello.”
“Oh, hi.”
The short-haired, handsome boy greeted awkwardly.
‘So this is the boy our little lady rescued.’
Doha gave Tae-woo a brief explanation.
“We’ll take him as an apprentice of the Jeomyeoldaeh. Get him ready with clothes and weapons.”
“Yes, understood.”
He nodded and gestured to the boy.
“Follow me.”
Judging by the boy as they walked, he seemed a good choice for an apprentice.
‘A physique suited for martial arts.’
Indeed.
Someone of this caliber, even I could recognize immediately, and my superior surely did too.
“Have you learned martial arts before?”
“No, never.”
Truly born for it.
“What’s your name? I’m Tae-woo.”
“San.”
“What’s your family name?”
“I don’t have one.”
Ah, right.
He had lost his parents as a child.
Tae-woo nodded and asked another question.
“Unique name. What does it mean?”
“I’m not sure.”
San thought for a moment and said,
“I just lived on a mountain, so that’s what I was called.”
“What?”
“No special reason.”
“…I see.”
Tae-woo sighed internally. Kids coming here always tug at the heartstrings…
“Well, you can think about it.”
The boy tilted his head.
“You mean the meaning of the name? If it doesn’t exist, just make one up, right?”
“…Yes.”
San quietly nodded.
“In any case, welcome to the North.”
Tae-woo greeted lightly, with no hidden meaning.
The boy seemed somehow surprised by the ordinary words.
After organizing San’s affiliation,
Doha met with the Dan family head one last time before leaving the South.
“Hmm…”
The Dan family head had been exhausted from handling the aftermath of several events, including the <Youth Swordsmanship Tournament>.
“You look tired under your eyes.”
“Ah, don’t say that, my brother. Oh, heavens! Why do you give me such trials…”
Counting on his fingers, the Dan head continued to lament.
“Investigating the cause of the monster attack disaster, estimating the damages including the participants, and at the same time, subduing the monster den on the hill… work, work never ends…”
“Oh, how pitiful.”
“I just want to live inventing in my warehouse!”
Eventually, he buried his face in the desk and cried loudly.
“I prepared so diligently for this tournament… yet it became the most pathetic martial arts tournament in history.”
The Dan head’s mouth curved bitterly.
“Alright, that’s enough of the lamenting.”
“Let’s hear the main point. How about those guys?”
Doha got straight to the point.
“Those guys…?”
“The mercenaries.”
Doha sipped tea and continued.
“The child abductors. Anything more on them?”
The Dan head suddenly sprang from his chair as if remembering.
“Ah! That incident.”
Apparently.
Doha’s eyes darkened.
“Who am I? My brother, I got confessions from some of them. Oh, by the way, the confession chair created by this genius brother here was a big help!”
The Dan head nodded and continued.
“Exactly as the little lady said! They abducted unconscious children in the alleys. As we heard, the children had no guardians.”
He added playfully.
“So, you have another child to look after?”
Hmm.
Somehow, I’m getting fully into the role of guardian I never had.
Doha just raised an eyebrow. Not unpleasant.
“I see.”
“But after further investigation… seems some of them have done this before.”
“…What do you mean?”
Doha’s eyes sharpened.
Leaning slightly forward, he pressed for an answer.
“Explain in more detail.”
“A few years ago…”
After hearing the Dan head’s explanation, Doha had a strong instinct.
“If that’s true…”
Maybe…
‘Evidence to catch that Baekri official.’
He thought he might have found a lead.
“If anything else comes up, inform me immediately.”
“I will, my brother.”
…Suddenly, he remembered Nanyeong’s face explaining the situation.
‘This is all thanks to that girl.’
Could she have noticed even this far?
If true,
Doha’s face grew serious.
‘Is our kid a real genius…?’
Thinking that, his heart swelled with pride.
As Doha was thinking seriously, “Can I handle such a rare genius?” the Dan head spoke.
“The little lady really did a great job again, right?”
Indeed.
It wasn’t just his thought.
Doha nodded.
They say geniuses recognize other geniuses. So this odd one must be a genius too.
“You think so too?”
“….”
“Ha, really. Whose kid is this.”
“….”
“Goodness. At this point, it’s scary.”
“…Are you happy?”
The Dan head was speechless at Doha’s continued admiration.
“…In many ways, I worry. About this chaotic country…”
‘And my absent-minded brother…’
He swallowed the rest inwardly.
After that, they discussed the incident.
Fortunately, the initial suppression was effective, so casualties were minimal, but the aftermath would be significant.
For most civilians, the human-monster battles were just myth.
But now, many had directly felt the monster threat.
“The public will panic.”
They predicted serious unease would sweep the country.
Until they could see the situation unfold over time.
