145 – The Sugar of the Tang Clan #5
“Nobody came.”
I felt extremely disappointed looking at the empty birthday party table.
Despite my hard work on the invitations, no one had shown up for Xiao Xiao’s birthday.
The homemade sweet potato noodles and the takeout chicken and pizza made by Aunt Tang were growing cold, and even to my eyes, it was heartbreaking.
The game console connected to the TV only emitted a hollow beeping sound, and the ticking of the clock was the only loud noise in the room.
Xiao Xiao’s letters written for her friends were awkwardly piled up, making me feel uneasy, so I spoke up.
“Was the invitation not that great?”
I felt like it was my fault that no guests had come.
What if I had made a more impressive invitation?
“I’m happy just that you came. Honestly, I don’t need any other friends.”
Xiao Xiao said.
She was probably trying to tell me it wasn’t my fault.
“Let’s go out and play.”
After eating my fill of chicken and pizza, I went outside to play with Xiao Xiao.
That day, I saved up my allowance to give Xiao Xiao a lollipop as a birthday gift, and I recalled her clumsily saying in Korean, “This is my first birthday present,” and how happy she was.
With a smile, Xiao Xiao reached out her hand to me.
I took her hand, and we were walking around the neighborhood when we ran into a group of girls and boys, including the popular girl of our class, Gong Joo-young, coming out of a café.
“Hey! They’re holding hands!”
“How cute!”
“Why are you two hanging out together? Are you getting married?”
The kids teased us endlessly.
I was in the third grade of elementary school at the time, and it was the first time I realized that holding hands with girls wasn’t an ordinary thing.
For some reason, I got incredibly embarrassed, and while I listened to the kids teasing us, saying things like “They’re getting married!” or “They’re dating!” I couldn’t help but feel ticklish all over.
At that moment—
Bam!
I ran away.
That was the first time I ever ran away in my life.
The next day, I noticed Gong Joo-young’s face was covered in bruises at school, and the teacher told us, “Xiao Xiao transferred to another school. I’ll pass on the letters she wrote you for her birthday.”
It was a shock in many ways.
I felt like her transferring was somehow my fault.
That was perhaps the memory of my first failure, and as time passed, it slowly faded and disappeared from my mind.
Maybe I didn’t want to bring it up.
Ever since I first fled back then, I always ran away when I was cornered.
“Is there a whiff of past recollection in the air…! I’m going to hit you until you stop…! That Illinois can’t suppress past memories…!”
Thud thud thud thud thud thud.
I felt someone hitting me.
It didn’t hurt at all, but for some reason, it snapped me awake.
# # #
“Hey! Illinois! How can you hit a patient like that! If you keep doing this, your allowance will be cut in half! You spend more money than I do…! Buying some weird Nymph coin or whatever…!”
“Yikes…! The Nymph coin keeps going down…! It’s supposed to be a Nymph-friendly coin! Why is the price falling…? It’s a big short…!”
As I opened my eyes, I saw Seo Ye-rim holding onto Illinois and talking to him.
I was lying in an Eastern-style bedroom, feeling like the protagonist of a martial arts novel.
“What is this place?”
“Haildo! You’re awake! You’re awake!”
Seo Ye-rim’s eyes widened.
Soon, Inoi, who had been sleeping beside my bed, suddenly popped awake, bursting a balloon that had formed at his nose.
“Ah! The owner of the house has finally come to!!! Even though the owner has been unconscious for 50 years, he has finally woken up!”
“I was unconscious for 50 years?!”
I felt very tense.
So what year is it now?
As I was flustered, Inoi spoke up.
“Actually, I’m lying! But it really felt like 5 days…!”
According to Inoi, I had been unconscious for 5 days.
Feeling the commotion, Tang So-hae, who had been bringing a tray with medicine, was greatly startled.
“Haildo! You’re awake! I thought it would take at least another week!”
They told me my body was in terrible shape due to a lot of poison, but compared to that, my condition was so good I’d call it perfect.
Especially my hands and legs, which had come into direct contact with the poison, felt as light as feathers.
But why was my whole body covered in drool?
As I was wiping off the drool and saliva all over my body, Tang So-hae explained.
“Your body has regenerated on its own because the blocked energy from the extreme poison was released. My father said there’s never been anyone with spiritual strength like yours. It seems taking preventive medicine had something to do with it.”
“Hehe, don’t forget that Illinois and the Nymph Sisters beat me up every day to purify my body…!”
The Nymphs had been beating me up until I woke up.
In fact, it was Illinois’s beating that helped wake me.
How strange.
Soon, Tairrenol, who had been shy in the corner, chimed in.
“But to think it actually detoxifies Hydra’s poison…! I’ve never heard of something like that…! If it’s possible, then there’s only been one Nymph like that in history…!”
While the Nymphs were chattering, I got up.
I felt well enough to stand up.
“Hey! You need to rest!”
Seo Ye-rim said anxiously, but my body felt lighter than usual.
The air was especially fresh, and my back tingled as if a ghost spider was clinging to it. After not moving my body for several days, it must have been longing for some active movement!
Meowww…!
I stepped outside, holding the Bang Bang and Miong who were stuck to my back in my palms.
Then I saw Xiao Xiao sitting on the stairs leading to the garden.
“Haildo. You’re awake.”
“Yeah. And I just thought of something to tell you. Xiao Xiao, Aunt Tang wants you to come back to Korea. Let’s go back together.”
Xiao Xiao silently handed me a lollipop instead of responding.
“Do you remember this?”
“Yeah. It’s from the day I ran away.”
I felt slightly embarrassed.
However, Xiao Xiao’s attitude was quite composed.
“That day, I decided to become stronger than anyone else. I came to China because I wanted to be strong. I’m not being forced to be here. I’m here by my own will.”
Could that mean Xiao Xiao wouldn’t return to Korea?
At that moment, Xiao Xiao added.
“But someone did push me to follow my will. The reason I came to China was that I heard about the ‘Rimbu’ living here from ‘someone.’ Haildo, do you know about witches?”
“Witches?”
“The underground laboratory situation was serious. Even the machines designed to withstand any circumstances were breaking down. But the only ones who came out unscathed were you and this…”
Xiao Xiao pulled out something from a small, transparent envelope.
It looked like hair.
Honey-colored hair.
“Isn’t it strange? To find unscathed hair in poison that was melting everything. But I remember that honey color. I once met a Nymph with honey-colored hair a long time ago.”
# # #
Xiao Xiao fought with the kids.
Her hair was pulled and her clothes were torn, yet she managed to chase them away thanks to a flock of crows that suddenly came to attack the children.
“Run away!”
“What’s with all these crows!”
The kids fled in a panic, leaving only Xiao Xiao behind.
The memory of that day was still vivid in her mind.
Hehe—.
At that moment, laughter could be heard from somewhere.
It was a beautiful sound, and when she turned her head, she found a gorgeous woman, more beautiful than anyone she’d ever seen, standing in the dark alley.
What was strange was that flames, ice, and lightning seemed to be flickering and dancing on her hands.
“At that time, I thought it was some kind of magic. But it wasn’t. It was like the psychic powers I had only heard about. I realized right away that she was the one controlling the crows.”
The honey-haired woman promised to let Xiao Xiao wield mysterious powers like her.
Saying that she only needed to go to the Rimbu forest in Sichuan to meet the Rimbu.
“So that’s why I came to Sichuan. Luckily, my cousins were at the Tang clan in Sichuan. Maybe that woman knew that and sent me to Sichuan.”
Xiao Xiao was treated poorly in Sichuan.
She was the daughter of Aunt Tang, who had betrayed her family and run away with a stolen manual.
The more she faced that discrimination, the more dedicated Xiao Xiao became to finding the Rimbu in the Rimbu forest, and she eventually discovered Tairrenol, who had been sealed by the Communists, and freed him.
After meeting Tairrenol, Xiao Xiao learned from the Nymphs of the Tang clan, gained traction, defeated the favored Tang So-hae, and finally became the Xiao Xiao of today.
“I also think it’s no coincidence that I started studying fractures. If I ask Tairrenol, I might learn a thing or two, but he hardly ever wants to talk. It seems quite frightening.”
Xiao Xiao shared various stories.
Seeing her so lively made Haildo curious.
“So, are you really not going back to Korea?”
“I will go back someday. But not now. You see, I’m called an S-Class Awakened here in China. There are many people who trust me and feel safe because I’m here.”
Xiao Xiao.
She didn’t seem to mind that she was an S-Class Awakened.
She had gone through various experiences just to gain enough power so people wouldn’t look down on her, and that’s how she ended up being called an S-Class Awakened.
However—
Watching Haildo leap into danger despite being weaker than her made Xiao Xiao reflect on herself.
Strength only holds meaning when used correctly for the right purposes.
‘Now that I think about it, this guy always enjoyed fighting opponents larger than himself. Even when he became distant from everyone in class for being friends with me, he didn’t mind.’
In Xiao Xiao’s heart, Haildo was a memory that was solid yet had a sweet side, like candy.
So Xiao Xiao said to Haildo.
“Haildo, will you stay here with me in China? There are many undiscovered mysteries in China. If you can experience them with your body, you’ll surely become even stronger.”
Xiao Xiao reached out her hand to Haildo just like she did back in the day.
“…I think I could get better if you’re with me.”
Xiao Xiao thought Haildo was a man who was soft-hearted toward kindness.
If he showed his weak side, would he stay by her side?
