Chapter 68 …
I decided to create a situation where I would reveal a secret first and see how Piwoo would react. After a brief hesitation, Piwoo nodded.
“How did you know?”
“I told you. At this level, it seemed impossible to do it alone. Considering your skills, and that someone like you wouldn’t join a guild, I thought maybe you had a sponsor.”
“I see.”
Seeing him so trusting that he didn’t even suspect me made me feel a little guilty. Isn’t he too innocent?
“…As expected, I can’t fool you. You’re right. I do have an organization that’s sponsoring me.”
“What kind of organization? And how did you meet them?”
“So… can you keep this a secret from now on?”
“What? Of course! Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone!”
Piwoo hesitated, unsure where to start, then slowly began to speak.
“This is a bit of a long story.”
From the moment Piwoo was born, he was surrounded by people.
“So you’re Director Pi’s son? Wow, you’re the spitting image of Senior Heeyeon.”
“Already a fully-formed little face. What will you have him do? He could be a kids’ model or a child actor.”
“What I think doesn’t matter. I just want him to do what he enjoys. …Ah, it’s us. Come say hello.”
“…Hello.”
His father was a famous film director, and his mother was an actress hailed as a genius.
Because of his unusual background, Piwoo was always the center of attention among celebrities.
Wherever he went, people mentioned that he was the son of Pi Naseon and Ju Heeyeon, and everyone looked at him with expectant eyes. From a very young age, Piwoo realized:
I’m supposed to become an actor.
People expect me to be an actor.
“Really? The director’s son can be this introverted?”
“Does he really have no interest? What a pity. If he inherited both parents’ talents fully, he would have been a national treasure-level actor.”
And Piwoo knew he could never meet those expectations.
Contrary to people’s hopes, he had neither interest nor talent in acting. Yet people approached him with their assumptions, only to turn away disappointed when he didn’t meet them. Piwoo couldn’t understand it.
I was just being myself. Why do they have expectations and then get disappointed?
‘Am I the weird one?’
Even though he tried to ignore such thoughts, Piwoo was too young to handle them.
He felt that if he didn’t become an actor, he was failing—and that being unlike his parents meant he was somehow wrong.
But the artistic talent that tormented him would eventually be discovered in an unexpected field a few years later.
“Sir, what if we send him to a specialized academy? Our institute has its limits in teaching… would you look at this?”
“Your son made all this?”
From drawings to sculpture, sewing, and mechanical assembly.
The couple’s artistic talents, combined with Piwoo’s introverted personality, manifested as genius in crafts. When they realized this, Piwoo felt his heart race.
‘I’m good at something too.’
When working on crafts, no one compared him to his parents. Most importantly, Piwoo genuinely enjoyed creating.
He wanted to keep doing this for life. In the small room provided by his parents, he would paint and carve until he fell asleep, never feeling tired. Everything was going well.
“This was made by Piwoo? Wow, it’s amazing.”
“Will he become a sculptor or something?”
“Can we come visit next time?”
“Hey, take me too! Piwoo, what do you like? I’ll bring something delicious.”
Of course, he remained introverted and spent most of his time focused on creating alone at school, yet many friends liked him.
“Oh no! Sorry! Uh… what do I do? This is milk, it won’t come off easily.”
“…You can wash it at home. Be careful next time.”
At that time, Piwoo was an ordinary child—just quieter and more sensitive than most.
A few days later, the first friends he invited came over. Piwoo showed them his room and the paintings he had drawn.
“Did you really make all this yourself? It’s huge.”
“Of course, he’s always been good at this. Haven’t you seen him make stuff at school?”
For the first time, showing his work to people outside his family, Piwoo felt happy.
After the friends left, he carefully stacked the gifts they brought in a corner of the room. For the first time, he felt recognized not as “Pi Naseon and Ju Heeyeon’s son,” but as himself.
The next day, that feeling lasted only until he heard his classmates’ voices in front of the classroom earlier than usual.
“Ugh… yesterday was almost unbearable. Folding paper like some girl.”
“Honestly, he’s kinda creepy, right?”
“Who doesn’t know that? If it weren’t for his parents, we wouldn’t even be friends.”
“Shut up, pretend to be friendly. I want Piwoo to audition for me!”
That day, Piwoo skipped school for the first time.
Instead of opening the classroom door, he quietly went home and threw all the gifts in the trash. Alone in the empty house while both parents were at work, he scrubbed the floors obsessively, muttering:
Dirty.
“…ugh…”
Just knowing they had touched the house made him feel sick. He felt like vomiting even imagining their hands brushing against anything. Disgusting and revolting.
“Piwoo! Why didn’t you come to school yesterday? Today, after class, you better—ah!!”
“Teacher! Piwoo hit Donggeon!!”
“No, it’s fine, teacher!! Now Piwoo’s getting hit!!”
After that day, Piwoo became isolated from his peers.
Even though his parents’ protection shielded him from direct harm, he felt ashamed simply to be part of that social collapse. Naturally, he withdrew into his home, immersing himself fully in crafts.
He developed obsessive-compulsive tendencies, but he was fine with that.
“Don’t bother with foolish kids.”
Spending time alone crafting was far more valuable than interacting with peers.
People are often inconsistent and hide their true selves, but objects are honest. Objects have a clear form. They can be seen and touched. What is visible and tangible is their essence.
And then, for the first time, a status window appeared before Piwoo’s eyes.
【Achievement Unlocked! <Craft First Equipment 1/1>】
Piwoo took it as fate.
‘…I wasn’t wrong.’
Awakening to the world of equipment crafting, Piwoo spent even more time in his workshop.
【Title <Hermit’s Workshop> unlocked!】
【Title <Flower Blooming in Shadows> unlocked!】
【Achievement Unlocked! <Craft 100+ Equipment 100/100>】
【Reward Trait: <Crow’s Nest> (B)
❙Collector of things that shine in the dark! Perhaps, you are really seeking the light?
(When crafting metal-type equipment, 3% increased chance to get rare options)】
The more he touched, hammered, and polished, the better the results.
Equipment was honest, perfect, and beautiful—more so than anything else.
By then, Piwoo’s crafting skills already surpassed many adult crafters, but no one recognized his talent. He cared only about crafting, not competitions or sponsors.
One day, he went to an open field to test a self-made protective device.
“….”
There, he met a young Cheon Gahyeon holding a broken mask.
Normally, he would have ignored it, but noticing that it was an item, not just a mask, sparked his curiosity.
“Do you want me to fix it?”
“Can you?”
The mask was black, covering the eyes. Its structure was unusual, but easy to fix.
Piwoo repaired it quickly, and the girl’s sad face lit up as she took it.
“Thank you. You are an excellent crafter.”
“It shouldn’t break again with normal impact. But what is the pattern inside the mask?”
“It’s a traditional pattern from a faraway country, wishing for victory.”
“Foreign?”
“Korean. I’ve traveled many countries since childhood: Japan, Africa, Kenya…”
After inspecting the mask briefly, she put it back on.
“I just returned to Korea. When I go back, my mother will be alone.”
“Mother?”
“Yes. Even if I don’t want to, I must go. But I just realized something.”
“…What?”
“I’ve never seen a crafter repair equipment this fast and flawlessly. If someone like you were with my mother, she could feel safe.”
“…Why would I—?”
Piwoo later realized that the mother she mentioned wasn’t the one she meant.
“Here we are. This is the place.”
Though he had resisted needing a sponsor, Piwoo couldn’t help but enter the house.
Inside, there were neat workbenches and shelves filled with equipment unlike anything he had seen before. Weapons and high-level gear, clearly made with care, all crafted by professional hands.
Through Cheon Gahyeon’s recommendation, Piwoo easily gained Cheon Ga’s sponsorship. But the surprises didn’t end there.
“Director? Actor? …Hmm, I’ve heard the name, but it’s not our area of interest.”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
Even after revealing his parents, Cheon Ga treated Piwoo the same.
They didn’t care about his background. They cared about one thing:
“You, and your equipment.”
It sounded harsh, but thanks to those words, Piwoo could exist as an equipment crafter, free from his parents’ shadow.
Cheon Gahyeon eventually went abroad, leaving Piwoo at Cheon Ga to continue crafting.
A closed, mysterious household that knew everything about outsiders yet paradoxically asked nothing.
Cheon Ga became Piwoo’s benefactor and the only place where he could truly be himself.
Through countless creations, he realized again:
‘This is where I belong.’
Here, crafting equipment until his last moment felt like destiny.
