Chapter 94

〈 Episode 94 〉OMAKE #013, A Snowy Night (4)

Heo Yoon-hwan despaired. Rusalka somehow managed to suppress the dark energy surging through her body.

As Rusalka’s mutated hand—twisted like an insect’s joint—reached toward the newborn baby, Heo Yoon-hwan instinctively grabbed the sword leaning against the wall and raised it to protect the child.

Rusalka smiled faintly at Yoon-hwan’s action before using her remaining Magic Power to freeze him solid.

“Is she really trying to kill me?” Despair filled Yoon-hwan’s eyes, then turned into resignation. Since their first meeting in Sokcho, Rusalka could’ve killed him anytime she wanted.

“I’ve been happy for a year. I’d gladly die for you anytime.” With that thought, Heo Yoon-hwan closed his eyes.

“Marriage is about being one heart, they say. Unfortunately, back then, we both shared the same thoughts.”

Rusalka’s left hand pushed down on Yoon-hwan’s iron blade as she gritted her teeth and stood face-to-face with him.

Yoon-hwan screamed internally: *Please don’t do this! Kill me instead, just let you live!*

“If I were still a Dark Legion officer, I might have accepted your offer. But as a lover and as a mother, Rusalka wished to die.”

*Plop.* Rusalka stepped closer, driving Yoon-hwan’s iron blade deeper into her chest.

Still frozen, Yoon-hwan couldn’t move. Step by step, Rusalka approached him.

“Stop… stop!”

Even Seok Harang’s desperate plea didn’t halt what was happening. Every time Rusalka moved closer to Yoon-hwan, the blade pierced deeper into her heart, making Yoon-hwan sob uncontrollably.

“STOP IT!!”

Seok Harang shouted. The abandoned baby wailed loudly, adding chaos to the scene. As Rusalka reached the hilt of the sword, she embraced Yoon-hwan tightly.

– “I’ll die now. Please, take care of Harang for me. There are six others who can help you. Check the diary in the drawer…”

Rusalka plunged her hand into her own chest, pulling out a tiny glass orb no bigger than a candy ball—her Core—and drove it straight into Yoon-hwan’s heart.

– “With this power, please protect Harang. I beg you.”

With those words, Rusalka lowered her head.

“It wasn’t such a bad choice—to commit suicide with Yoon-hwan’s blade before losing control and becoming a Monster. However…”

Rusalka’s body began to crumble. Her hand caressing Yoon-hwan’s cheek dissolved into snow-like powder. The monstrous armor covering her collapsed like fractured ice.

“I didn’t know… If I died, my organs would remain intact. And worse, they could end up inside you.”

The ice imprisoning Yoon-hwan shattered, and the iron blade clattered onto the floor. Snow-like powder gently covered the ground where butterfly droppings once lay. Yoon-hwan knelt in agony from the Core embedded in his chest.

Instinctively, he realized the Core had driven Rusalka insane and now sought to corrupt him too.

“Neither Rusalka nor Yoon-hwan had enough information to make the right decision. Rusalka only cared about saving them both, and so did Yoon-hwan.”

Crawling on all fours, Yoon-hwan picked up the iron blade again. His eyes glowed purple as he aimed the sword at their newborn child.

“Just don’t let the Core reach the baby. That was the only thought in my mind. It became the catalyst for my awakening.”

As Yoon-hwan swung the blade, golden light erupted from his eyes, expelling the foreign organ. Empowered beyond his previous limits through Rusalka’s Core, he regained consciousness and dropped the blade.

Regaining his senses, Heo Yoon-hwan gathered the baby and diary, set fire to the house, and fled toward Busan. Along the way, he abandoned the baby by the roadside.

The baby cried in pain while the father wept in sorrow. Clutching the iron blade, Yoon-hwan hesitated but eventually threw it away, collapsing into bitter sobs.

A day later, Yoon-hwan placed the baby in a crib outside an orphanage and ran away, ashamed of almost killing his own daughter. He left behind only the name “Harang,” given to her by Rusalka.

And so the flashback ended.

“What is this…?”

Seok Harang was crying.

“So this is why I was born? What sin did I commit…?”

“That’s not true. The real sinner is Seongju. None of this would’ve happened without him.”

“…If only I’d known this earlier, I should’ve beaten him even harder when I smashed his pot.”

Seok Harang wiped her tears with a bittersweet smile.

“So is this the end? Is there more?”

“The Cube’s memory playback ends here. Since you’ve seen everything, this world will collapse in about five minutes. But…”

Chang-yeom pointed toward the garden beyond the grave.

“At least we have some time left to talk. Though brief, let’s use it to resolve any lingering regrets.”

Chang-yeom snapped her fingers, summoning flames that revealed the silhouette of the man Seok Harang had longed for—and resented—for over a year.

“What… is this?”

“When space-time distorts and timelines tremble, things like this can happen. In short…”

Chang-yeom smirked slightly for the first time.

“This is my personal service time, offered to the hero who saved the World. Enjoy.”

Burning herself out, Chang-yeom disappeared. Simultaneously, the Cube in Harang’s hand crumbled into dust.

*Clink, clink.*

Harang took shaky steps toward the man. Silent, he stared at the sea until turning around.

“…So this happens after death.”

The man chuckled nervously, scratching his head as he cautiously approached Harang. About five paces apart—the exact distance they maintained during training sessions.

“…Teacher, you look younger after dying. Like, five years at least.”

“You seem to have grown quite a bit during that time.”

They exchanged smiles, each feeling a familiar shyness inherited from their ancestors. Neither dared speak further, though the World continued crumbling around them.

“Father.”

Harang finally spoke, widening Yoon-hwan’s glowing Light Blade eyes.

“I won’t ask why you abandoned me or why you didn’t search for me for twelve years after leaving me at the orphanage. Instead, I’ll ask just one thing.”

Yoon-hwan remained silent, waiting patiently for her question.

“Did you love Mom and find happiness with her?”

“…Yes.”

Yoon-hwan nodded, his voice trembling uncharacteristically.

“I was happy meeting Rusalka. Two best decisions I ever made: One was taking that midnight stroll along the Sokcho beach.”

“And the other?”

Yoon-hwan took a deep breath.

“…That day I went to the orphanage to find you. The day I decided not to turn back and found you.”

“Your footsteps shouldn’t have taken twelve years, right?”

“Yeah… Harang.”

Normally, he called her by name, but Harang detected multiple meanings in his tone this time.

“Be happy. That’s all I can tell you.”

“Of course. I’ll be happy. Happier than you and Mom ever were. We’ll travel the world together, buy a seaside house, go camping…”

The World shattered. Five minutes passed like a fleeting dream.

“…Father, forgiving you doesn’t mean I actually forgive you.”

“Understood. I get it.”

“So don’t you dare say anything about forgiveness either.”

“…Why would I?”

Harang grinned mischievously, her slanted eyes resembling Rusalka’s. Yun-hwan noticed this resemblance fondly.

“I’m gonna…”

The World broke apart.

—

“Welcome back.”

The man greeted Harang anxiously. She rubbed her eyes and punched his shoulder.

“Hey, did you know what was gonna happen?”

“…No?”

The man turned away. Harang grabbed his collar and shook him.

“You should’ve at least warned me what was coming! This isn’t fair, dammit!!!”

“No, I swear, I didn’t see it! Honest!!”

“Don’t lie! I saw something weird… three times…”

Harang blushed furiously. The man quietly released her grip and created some distance.

“Something happen? Three times?”

“…Don’t push it!”

It wasn’t exactly that. The man tilted his head but suppressed further questions to preserve Harang’s dignity. Calming down, Harang continued.

“…Anyway! I’m not coming back to Busan anymore. I’ll live in Seoul with you.”

“Suddenly interested in Seoul?”

“Shut up.”

“Yes sir.”

Sea breezes tousled their hair against their cheeks. Harang smoothed her hair and spoke.

“I learned what I needed to know, so that’s enough. I’ll visit on anniversaries occasionally—it’s the same date as her birthday, easy to remember. Tch.”

“…So you two made peace?”

At the man’s words, Harang lightly punched his chest.

“Peace? We never fought in the first place. I was just throwing tantrums alone. Everyone already knows why you acted the way you did; how could I stay mad when the whole world understands? I’d just end up being the unreasonable one.”

“Huh, you do understand.”

“You’re awfully cocky today.”

The man chuckled softly. Harang pondered ways to ruin his smug expression, then decided to adopt a serious tone.

“Do you know why I came today?”

“…Hmm? Did Yuna convince you? Or maybe our Harang was so moved by my birthday present?”

His teasing demeanor cracked under Harang’s stare.

“Because I finally understood things from a parent’s perspective, even though I didn’t get it before.”

The man’s curiosity peaked. Harang pulled something from her inner pocket and smiled.

“You gave me such a big gift for my birthday, so I figured I should return the favor, right?”

The item in her hand erased all traces of expression from the man’s face. Harang held out a long pink object.

“Aren’t you worried? You always hated kids because you feared becoming like your father.”

“That’s true. We’ve always used protection. But… hey…”

The man vigorously nodded. Harang pointed to the two distinct lines clearly visible on the pregnancy test stick.

“Sleep tight tonight. Don’t drink too much water—you might not wake up if someone carries you off.”

Harang formed an O with her thumb and forefinger, then inserted and withdrew her middle finger playfully.

“Congratulations. You’re officially a dad now.”