Chapter 114 – Truth (3)

[Today, I received a report on Kwang-Oh.]

As soon as she read the first line, her investigators sent her a message that Kim Hajin was admitted to an orphanage near the Kwang-Oh evacuation shelter. Yoo Yeonha felt sad she didn’t have any potato chips as she slowly turned the page. She could easily read the Hanja now, which her father often used to write in.

[The media reported last night’s incident as a djinn attack on the Kwang-Oh evacuation shelter. They said a single djinn massacred 9 heroes and all the civilians there, but I would never forget what happened in Kwang-Oh that day for the rest of my life.]

At first, it seemed like a simple recounting of the Kwang-Oh Evacuation Shelter Massacre. However, the tone of the writing began to change.

[President Kim Sukho declared Jin Younghwan, who troubled him, as a secret agent for djinns. However, I knew that Jin Younghwan was an honest man. His only flaw was that he was too honest. Perhaps Kim Sukho didn’t want his embarrassing secrets to leak. However, Chae Joochul agreed that Jin Younghwan was a djinn and also wished for his death. Jin Younghwan had many loyal subordinates. It would surely raise suspicions if he was assassinated alone. As such, Chae Joochul ordered a skilled assassin to massacre everyone and left me to oversee the plan.]

“…?”

Yoo Yeonha turned the page back and forth as she read it again, but couldn’t understand the contents. She even translated it with a smartwatch app thinking she had misinterpreted a few words. However, the contents remained the same. Yoo Yeonha read her father’s confession in a daze.

[On that day, I received a transmission from Jin Younghwan. It sounded urgent, but I had concocted that monster invasion. I told Jin Younghwan that saving civilians came first and drove them into a corner at the Kwang-Oh evacuation shelter. Jin Younghwan tried to protect the civilians there.]

Yoo Yeonha stared at the neat handwriting that she recognized and felt a strong headache. However, she didn’t stop reading.

[At 8 P.M. on November 8, Chae Joochul’s assassin murdered Jin Younghwan and all his subordinates in the evacuation shelter. I wanted to bury this incident in my heart, but received the assassin’s report the next day. It stated that one of Jin Younghwan’s subordinates was with his pregnant wife.]

Yoo Yeonha froze at the words, pregnant wife. Kim Hajin was admitted to an orphanage the day after the Kwang-Oh Incident.

[The report contained another interesting matter. The assassin had found an umbilical cord at the site. The mother had given birth even in the face of death. The baby’s corpse was never found.]

Yoo Yeonha realized what happened when she reached this part. Her heart ached despite the lack of evidence. She squeezed her chest and hoped the baby wasn’t Kim Hajin.

[This baby was fated to die. He would have no future even if he survived, so I set out to find him and kill him.]

She felt something inside her shatter as she read her father’s heartless declaration. Memories flashed in her mind.

— Don’t worry and go to sleep. It’ll be over by the time you wake up.

An image of a guy who fought an entire army of monsters to save her. He had risked his life for her. However, her father had led his parents to their deaths and even tried to kill him.

[However, I suddenly recalled my daughter’s birth on April 29. She couldn’t do anything by herself, but her existence alone brought me great joy. I called the assassin and asked what happened to the baby. The assassin had thrown the baby away without killing him.]

Yoo Yeonha dropped her head and clenched her trembling hands. A familiar voice suddenly rang in her head.

— Hey, don’t you think we can become good allies?

It was her own voice. For the first time in her life, she had asked someone to become her ally. It seemed insignificant, but that was her way of showing gratitude.

[In the end, I omitted information about that child from the report. However, I killed his parents and didn’t help him. He might be slowly dying at this very moment on the cold, hard ground. I have no intention of denying this.]

— Buddy means friend. Don’t you know?

He had also acknowledged her as an ally. His voice became a sharp blade that pierced her heart.

Yoo Yeonha shook and no longer dared to turn the page. Her heart violently beat as she felt an unknown emotion rising from the depths of her heart. Guilt, resentment, anguish… She couldn’t think, and no longer wanted to. Cold sweat formed on her forehead as her vision turned blurry and exhaustion engulfed her body.

[I’ve lived the life of a coward. It would make no difference if I further dirtied myself. I decided to forget for the sake of my daughter and my clan. However, I am leaving the truth behind in this diary. Am I just trying to appease my guilty conscience? Or is it to spite Chae Joochul? That, I don’t know.]

Kim Hajin’s face and her father’s confession formed a monster that she couldn’t withstand. Kim Hajin, Kim Hajin, Kim Hajin… His name flickered before her like an apparition. She choked and couldn’t bear the torrent of emotions.

***

[Seoho Memorial]

Tomer stood alone under the crescent moon that illuminated the night. She had dealt with all her personal affairs before coming here, and could no longer predict her future since she had lived for revenge, but now that was impossible. She briefly thought about tearing her father’s will apart and taking her own life.

Kiik— Tomer opened the door to the memorial and looked for the name, Agus Benjamin. She soon found it engraved on a cabinet that stood out from the rest.

[Agus Benjamin]

A cremation urn sat inside the small, square cabinet. It didn’t look so lonely with flowers surrounding it.

“What’s this?”

The number of flowers surprised her as she picked up one of the small cards.

[2024 April, Kim Hajin]

Tomer immediately checked the rest of the flowers.

[2024 August, Kim Hajin] [2025 April, Kim Hajin] [2025 August, Kim Hajin]

They all came from Kim Hajin. The flowers hadn’t wilted either since they all contained useless magic power.

“The hell.”

Tomer cursed and threw them aside. Then she found a yellow envelope inside the cabinet. She carefully held it up and read the Spanish on the cover, To my daughter. A sudden heat rose from her heart. She ripped open the envelope and began to read the letter inside. She was curious what excuse her damn father would cook up.

[Dear my beloved daughter,

I am wrought with complicated emotions as I write this letter. On one hand, I hope that you don’t read it. On the other, I hope that you do. I am also worried about how you will feel after…]

Tomer skimmed over the letter, partly because she hadn’t read any Spanish in a long time.

[Your mother could not withstand the temptation and sold her soul to a djinn.] [I couldn’t let anyone find out.] [It was the only way to save you from a society that executed the relatives of djinns.]

She couldn’t understand several sentences and found them harder to accept. Tomer felt rage rather than acceptance. As far as she was concerned, her father refused to repent and blamed her mother instead.

[I wanted you to go to Korea and live a better life in a better country. However, you disappeared when I arrived in Korea. I gave up everything and entrusted you to a friend, but I couldn’t contact him either. I thought about ending my worthless life as the world betrayed me…]

Tomer crumpled the letter without finishing it. She considered it a lie and almost tore it apart when two items fell out of the envelope onto the ground. A rusty brooch her father had given her for her birthday and a small watch she had given him after saving up her allowance.

Tomer stared at the two items in a daze. The foundation of her being shook as she leaned against the wall and opened up the crumpled letter. She collected her thoughts before reading the letter again, slowly and thoroughly.

***

I rented a room in the presidential suite of the Lotus Inn Hotel in Busan. I sipped on a glass of wine on the balcony of this 500 square meter room. A suite like this was usually hard to come by, but someone had canceled before I made a reservation. It still cost 8 million won a night, but my luck managed to snag it.

“What a beautiful view.”

I sat on the balcony and stared into the horizon. I could see the beach and the streets decorated with colorful lights the night before the festival. We arrived in Busan at 5 and enjoyed water gun fights, fireworks, and a 3-star Michelin restaurant until 9. I took pictures of Evandel and Hayang running around and having fun. My personal favorite was Evandel’s face as she tasted a 3-star Michelin dish for the first time. It felt like my first real vacation.

[Thanks.]

A message came from Tomer. This also made me happy. Our relationship as creditor and debtor still existed thanks to our magic contract. Now, Tomer should become my ally without any issues.

“Wow! Look at that, Hayang! We’re inside this paper!”

I could hear Evandel’s voice from the living room. She seemed fascinated by the pictures I printed. I couldn’t help but smile at her pure soul. I received another message as I took a sip of wine and enjoyed the fresh air.

[Um, Hajin, if possible… can you maybe teach me how to wield magic power?]

Rachel had sent more than one message.

[Honestly, I felt amazed when I saw the barrier you made in class. Recently, I’ve been feeling like I hit a wall… (ㅠ__ㅠ)]

I found her messages cute, but I couldn’t help her since I relied on stigma. Rather than that… a wall? Was the bracelet not working? I should’ve tested it before giving it to her.

[I can pay you lesson fees (★ω★)!]

The butterfly seedling’s dust should’ve helped her reach a new level already if it had worked as intended. It wouldn’t just simply awaken her potential since Rachel’s gift also involved elementals.

“Hmm…”

Rachel had a lot of pride. I knew since I created her. The fact that she asked for help meant she was that frustrated. I couldn’t blame her. She should’ve been enlightened at the end of the first semester, but it had been delayed for half a year now.

[See you Sunday night.]

I agreed in the end. I just needed to make the butterfly seedling’s dust seeped into her body from the bracelet.

“Ah, what a great breeze.”

I leaned against the handrail and looked down. The people below looked like ants from the presidential suite on the 60th floor. A certain man walking by a street caught my eye. He dressed very fancy and stood out from everyone else with black hair, a tall nose, and well-defined facial features. This handsome man resembled Legolas.

I felt an ominous sensation as I stared at him. The man looked up as though he felt my gaze. An ordinary person could never discover me from this distance, but I could tell he was looking straight at me. He almost smiled. I felt my heart tremble and returned a relaxed smile. Then the smile on his face grew thicker.

I felt like I knew him. My intuition as the original author screamed.

A man who came from another world like Kim Suho, but with a completely different personality. He despaired the loss of his world. A seeker of evil with twisted beliefs. The growth-type final boss that I designed, whose name I feared to utter.

I had no way of knowing what changes the co-author had made. Not to mention, I went on hiatus when the final boss began to make his move.

Hold on.

I suddenly had a strange thought. Did the final boss actually look like that? He did first appear at the Busan festival. However, his smile seemed strange. I didn’t recall writing anything about him smiling so often.

The man nudged his companion and gestured at me, as if to say, Look at that guy. Right, he had a companion who was a girl. They both looked up at me.

I made eye contact with the girl. The navy-haired beauty with a sharp expression resembled an elf. Her eyes coldly flickered and I could feel her killing intent. This crazy girl exuded killing intent just because we made eye contact.

“Wait a minute.”

I began to feel a sense of fear and unease. Could it be? The final boss represented the polar opposite of Kim Suho. Could he have become… a she?

It wouldn’t be impossible, but I hoped the co-author had enough common sense to not do that.