Chapter 122

<Healer (3)>

***

When Son Yoo-jin was a baby, she would follow her dad to the study and read books. It’s accurate to say she listened to him read while sitting on his lap, but anyway.

She couldn’t understand it because it was difficult, but she vaguely remembers the content.

It was about how every human being is a universe in themselves.

It might have been part of philosophical thinking, but some agreed, others denied it, and some just didn’t understand. But how many people would care about such things? The book also added that most people don’t care about philosophy or the universe.

But many agreed on one thing.

‘Every baby is born as a universe.’

Over time, they lose the mystery and power of being a universe.

As they grow taller, gain weight, and their brains mature, they begin to think like humans, and humans define this as growth. But while the term “growth” might be correct from a human perspective, it’s wrong from the universe’s perspective. The moment they become aware of being human, they lose their qualification as a universe, so it’s more accurate to call it weakening or secularization rather than growth.

Six-year-old Son Yoo-jin, who woke up because a hungry baby was crying, is a living witness.

‘I didn’t sleep much.’

Son Yoo-jin’s memories were fading. Memories from when she was a baby, that is. Those memories included performing miracles as a universe. As a baby, she cured her mom’s illness, pushed out venom when bitten by a snake, and healed the wound. She even unconsciously restored her brother’s energy after he was exhausted from fighting a wild boar.

Out of affection, she desperately wished for these miracles to happen, but even Son Yoo-jin could only vaguely guess how she gained such divine abilities.

It was the day she came out of her mom’s womb. Her mom was losing her life force but came back to life. Someone placed their hand on her mom’s belly. Even as a fetus, Son Yoo-jin instinctively reached out. A refreshing yet warm, contradictory energy flowed in. It was the moment her weak heart started beating strongly and she began kicking.

Even though she was forgetting, the memories engraved in her body were stronger than her mind. That’s why she could heal the wounds of the persimmon and the baby’s illness yesterday and today. At least, she was grateful that her abilities remained strong enough to save the baby.

‘I should stop now.’

Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t do it anymore.

Because it wasn’t her own power.

Son Yoo-jin knew it wasn’t her own talent.

She borrowed her brother’s power to heal the baby. The strange incantation that slipped out of her lips was the same. It was like a witch’s spell hidden somewhere in her unreachable mind. She didn’t know how to use it; it just came out when the situation called for it.

The more she learned the words her mom and dad used, the faster she forgot her babyhood. She no longer sneaks into her brother’s room every night. Pushed by the flood of knowledge, her baby memories disappeared into a small secret room in her mind. Maybe because she was a smart kid, Son Yoo-jin’s forgetting speed was fast.

Gradually gaining humanity.

Son Yoo-jin’s childhood was coming to an end.

‘I think my brother is still asleep.’

The strange power that she thought only existed in her brother’s murmurs was scattered throughout his body, not just his heart. Especially in his lower abdomen and head, and when the power from his heart was drawn out, power flowed from his entire body to his heart.

‘Hehe-.’

I wish my brother could rest a bit at times like this.

He’s the first to wake up at home, and even after school, he’s busy with meetings with his uncles.

She saw her younger brother Jeong Won wriggling in their mom’s arms.

Heh-, she was so sleepy her eyes were half-closed like her brother’s, but Son Yoo-jin’s mouth smiled contentedly.

She felt a sense of accomplishment for protecting her younger brother as her brother had instructed. It was a greater thrill than when she brought warm water to her coughing mom and received praise.

Her dad, preparing breakfast, looked back at her mom sitting at the table.

“Is Jin Hyuk still sleeping?”

“Did he go to exercise?”

“Jang Gun and Hong Shi are in the yard.”

If their son had gone to exercise, his dog friends would have followed and been sprawled under the shade of the zelkova tree. His bike was also parked in its usual spot. So Jin Hyuk must be inside. It was a deduction anyone could make.

“Did he go to the gym?”

“He usually exercises outside when the weather’s nice. This is strange.”

Son Yoo-jin’s eyelids, which had been drooping, fluttered open at her parents’ conversation.

No way. My brother must be sleeping.

“Doesn’t our little son’s complexion look different?”

“Haha. You’re right. His pale face has turned rosy.”

Son Yoo-jin was happy at her parents’ reaction to her brother’s change.

Sitting on the sofa, she dozed off precariously but smiled smugly.

Now Jeong Won will grow up and eat dirt.

‘Mom and dad don’t give food to sleeping kids.’

That’s why she was trying to stay seated.

Sitting and resisting sleep made it hard to breathe. She puffed out her chest. Did she still have some of the power she took from her brother? Her heart was beating hard, sharing strength with her limbs. Her belly also bulged out, but unlike when she ate a lot, it was firm like when she needed to pee.

Gurgle-.

‘Give me some too. Beef seaweed soup.’

I need to take care of myself.

***

Jin Hyuk lay in bed, wiggling his hands and feet.

At first, it was hard to breathe as if his heart had shrunk, but now he could move his hands and feet and inflate his chest and lower abdomen at will.

‘Through the nose, to the brain. From the brain to the chest, from the chest to the dantian. When exhaling, reverse the order.’

Sssss- Hooo-.

Breathing, which usually happened automatically, now required conscious effort, as if he had a new body. It felt like setting up a machine for the first time.

His consciousness, skilled in image training, breathed life into his lifeless body. Gradually, his heart beat stronger. His hands and feet also gained more strength.

‘Not bad.’

Jin Hyuk, who had closed his eyes and massaged his arms, felt relieved.

It felt like all the moisture had left his body, turning him into a dried squid, but there was no change in his body.

It was a strange night.

He had just fallen asleep listening to Yoo-jin’s song, but it felt suffocating, like being crushed under a container. The pressure on his chest was incomparable to when he dived into a 5-meter pool during his military service.

‘I had a dream after a long time.’

Now that he could move his body, he could open his eyes, but he deliberately kept them closed. Dreams usually evaporate when you open your eyes, right? To remember the dream, he gently pressed his closed eyes. Feeling a current rise from his stomach to his cheeks, like gulping cold water, he retraced the dream.

– 【Do not struggle to wake. This is also for you.】

– ‘What?’

– 【Are you happy? Is the life of an ordinary human worth living?】

– ‘What are you talking about?’

– 【The world is overflowing with evil, like a cup filled with wine.】

– ‘No way-. There are many good people.’

– 【Trivial and trivial, short and short.】

– ‘Hey-.’

King Sejong said something like that.

The frequencies didn’t match, so I couldn’t communicate with that jerk at all.

‘He was like a city phone.’

No, a city phone allows two-way communication once connected, but that guy was like a radio, babbling alone and then disappearing. The era of multi-access is about to begin, but that guy seems to live in an outdated world.

It was the voice of a shadow I had heard several times.

At dawn, I couldn’t stand the suffocation and tried to wake up, but I couldn’t move, as if pinned down. I’ve never been pinned down, but there was no other phenomenon to compare it to.

I felt the strength leaving my body and tried to regain consciousness.

But the shadow stopped me.

– 【Do not struggle to move. What is emptied will be filled. Rest will restore your vitality.】

That shadow must not know about Korean schools.

If you’re late, they hit your butt with a mop handle or your palm with a bamboo root. Friends who’ve been hit say it hurts like hell. It must feel bad.

So.

‘I have to wake up.’

Anyway, the uneasy dream ended there. No matter how much I tried to recall more, only darkness like ink remained.

It didn’t take long to fully recover. Thanks to the meditation he practiced daily, Jin Hyuk quickly got up.

His clenched fist trembled, and his vision was clear.

Gurgle-.

“Mom-, Daaaaad-.”

He quickly changed the target.

Lately, Dad prepares breakfast, so you have to call the right person to avoid hurting their feelings.

He flung open the door, and the smell of doenjang jjigae vibrating through the house stabbed his stomach. The air was also filled with the tempting smell of beef seaweed soup, luring tired souls.

Without stepping on the stairs, he jumped straight into the living room and dashed to the table.

Yoo-jin, dozing off at the table, was startled. She looked like she had seen a ghost.

Son Kwang-yeon, who was scooping rice into the seaweed soup for Yoo-jin, was the same.

“Son? Weren’t you sleeping in?”

“I have to eat and go to school. Dad, can you give me a ride? I think I’m late.”

“What are you talking about? It’s Sunday today.”

Oh man.

······ Thank goodness.

***

TV news was buzzing with the news of the bomb terror at Mokpo Airport.

In an era where safety insensitivity is as common as air, I thought they’d just stumble over it and move on, but it was unexpected.

[Kim Yoo-deok at Mokpo Airport. The terrorist’s demands are not yet clear-.]

Let’s see, if it’s a terrorist······.

‘Is it me?’

Actually, Jin Hyuk had made several calls at set times.

He thought a proper investigation unit would be needed to track it down properly. So he called from school and home, mimicking a North Korean accent that didn’t stick.

He also mixed in some curses that didn’t stick.

– “Can you South Korean bastards find me? Demands? There’s no such thing. Go release your energy in the mountains and die-.”

Yikes. A bit embarrassing.

Jin Hyuk recalled his misdeeds and licked his lips.

“If it’s real, it’s a big deal. But can you really plant a bomb at an airport?”

“If someone’s determined, what’s impossible? It seems they infiltrated easily because it’s a small local airport with lax security.”

Ignoring his parents’ conversation, Jin Hyuk enjoyed a rare moment of leisure.

With Yoo-jin dozing off like a drugged chick, he held her and comforted her. Maybe because it had been a while since she was held by her brother, Yoo-jin hugged Jin Hyuk’s neck and snored softly.

“Jin Hyuk, your vacation starts this week, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then we should start tomorrow.”

“What?”

“They’re moving the water channels.”

It meant using pumps to move water from existing channels to new ones.

They had already filled the rice fields with water, and since they didn’t need to add more, it coincided with the summer vacation. They had to finish the work before it got hotter to start covering the old channels.

“What does that have to do with vacation?”

Worried Yoo-jin might wake up as she wriggled in her sleep, Jin Hyuk swayed like a rocking horse and asked.

“We’ll catch fish, and it’d be a shame if the students missed out.”

“Wow-.”

Sounds fun.

I think I did it once when I was nine.

When they drained the water for channel dredging, villagers rushed to catch carp and snakeheads after hearing the village hall broadcast.

‘It’s been so long it’s hazy, but I think it was fun.’

It feels like a past life memory from when I was nine. If I remembered it clearly, it’d be strange.

“Are they draining the water starting tomorrow?”

“They’ll have to. They’ll need pumps from every household and hoses too.”

It’s a village event that happens once every few years, a festival.

Everyone, kids and adults alike, rolls in the mud and has fun.

‘SSS would love it too.’

Men are happy with just a ball, so imagine how much they’d enjoy catching live fish in drained channels. Knowing how restless they are in peaceful rural life, it’s welcome news for Jin Hyuk.

Jang Jin-nam also cooks and then dashes out to punch and kick the air, while Moon Seok-il and Yang Gang-wook practically live in the gym. Even on their days off, agents come to teach swimming and practice breakfalls on mats. Thanks to them, the huge gym is never dull.

“Can’t we do it in early August?”

“Hmm. We can probably delay it by a week. But why?”

There’s something at the end of July, I need to check that first.

That’s not all.

The inexplicable anxiety lingering around my chest disappeared the moment I mentioned early August. My crown felt warm.

‘Maybe there’s a reason to delay it.’

It was a long-lost intuition.

You could call it an unconscious command, similar to when I went to Yook Seong-chan’s to buy octopus.

Son Kwang-yeon looked at Jin Hyuk with concern as he made a blank face. It’s not new for this kid to zone out during conversations, but it’s been happening more often lately, which is worrying.

“Son?”

“Just······.”

Instead of answering, Jin Hyuk quietly placed his hand on the phone in his pocket.

Even if I’m suspected as a terrorist, I hope it passes safely.

It wasn’t for anyone else.

‘Feels proud-.’

It felt like an old wound was healing.

I thought it was all about saving someone, but after going through prank calls, I realized it was all a journey to seek comfort for myself.

Of course, from a societal norms perspective, it’s not exactly a commendable deviation.

Hehe-. I tried to make a smile fitting for a deviation.

Now even a sly smile looks decent.

It probably started when I cursed Choi Mi-kyung’s teenage butt to get clogged. After a few prank calls, I’m awakening my middle school second-year sensibilities.

One more time. Hehe-.

Son Kwang-yeon frowned as he looked at his son.

“Jin Hyuk, are you feeling unwell?”

They say boys go crazy in middle school second year, and finally, it’s my son’s turn.