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Chapter 103
The Terminal Baby Healer Doesn’t Hide Her Genius
The weather was cool. The breeze was gentle, and since it felt too warm to keep the baby inside, I carried her outside — before I knew it, night had fallen.
Truly, Biyu wouldn’t stop crying. As if her whole world had ended.
Heuk Birang couldn’t possibly understand her feelings. Who could, at this moment?
He could only imagine by comparing it to his own daughter.
If Ayan had been in the same situation and cried so sorrowfully —
his heart would have felt as if it were being torn into a thousand pieces.
And as he looked at his young niece, the feeling wasn’t all that different.
He already thought of this lovely child as his own daughter.
‘She’s finally stopped crying…’
That’s why the sudden arrival of an uninvited guest in the middle of the night was anything but welcome.
A silhouette stood in the yard.
Dark hair glistened in the moonlight, swaying in the cold wind.
The man with the crimson eyes — yes, it was his second brother, Heuk Bihu.
“Why did you come?”
“……”
The man gave no answer.
Heuk Birang’s lips twisted upward.
“Ah, of course. My cursed brother doesn’t even remember who I am, does he?”
He’d lost his memories again, apparently.
“How did you even find this place?”
“…I followed the child’s presence. Through the wind.”
A low, quiet voice.
From that alone, Heuk Birang could tell that the brother he had shared a carriage with just yesterday was no longer there.
All of it was because of the illness, yes — but if the one hurt by that illness was Biyu, then that was a different story.
Heuk Birang had a duty to protect the child. He held her tight, growling like a beast guarding its cub.
“Are you just going to stand there without saying a word?”
Heuk Bihu stared at him, confusion flickering across his face — he probably didn’t even understand his own emotions.
A moment ago, that gaze had been fixed on the child.
Heuk Birang looked at his pitiful brother, then sneered sharply.
“Unfortunately, there’s no longer a place for you here.”
If he couldn’t remember, then perhaps it was better to sever the bond entirely. His blue eyes gleamed with fierce anger.
“Get out.”
Three days passed.
I stretched with a long yawn.
‘Ugh… my body feels stiff…’
I rubbed my eyes. They were sore — probably from lack of sleep. I hadn’t slept properly in three days.
Ah, tears came out as I yawned, and just as I wiped them away, someone came rushing toward me.
“What is it? Why are you crying? What happened? Is it because of Uncle?!”
“Biyu? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
It was Brother Gyewon and Raon. Both looked pale, like frightened twins.
Their faces were still wet, as if they’d come straight from washing up together.
“You can’t be sick…” Raon said, looking like he was about to cry.
Gyewon quickly placed a hand on my forehead. “Raon might be right. Maybe she’s sick? No fever though…”
Gyewon’s damp hair clung to him like seaweed — his curls, just like Uncle’s, made it worse.
“No, I was just yawning…”
“What? Oh, yawning…”
My foolish cousin’s face made me burst out laughing.
As I was giggling behind my hand, a pair of strong arms lifted me right off the ground.
The owner of those arms — my Uncle.
“What’s so funny, hmm? Let your Uncle in on the joke too~”
I looked at his sharp jawline and handsome face, lost in thought for a moment.
That day I ran to Uncle Heuk Birang, I learned the exact name of my father’s illness from him.
And I also heard what my mother had told him.
‘…I think telling you is better than keeping it secret.’
Uncle had said it with a face full of guilt.
‘And… someone deliberately worsened your father’s illness. Your mother said it happened while both of them were staying with the Heuk family… so it’s likely someone from there.’
But now, that no longer mattered.
The next morning, Uncle and Gyewon came to me.
When Gyewon hugged me, I cried bitterly again.
They must have heard everything from Uncle since I hadn’t been able to explain.
When I finally woke up after crying myself to sleep, the look in their eyes had changed.
But pity or sympathy didn’t move me much anymore. Maybe I was just tired.
‘Even in my third life, I never felt this drained…’
Well, after living through three different lives, maybe fatigue was overdue.
Even as I cried, I quietly organized my thoughts — it was an old habit.
When you live for survival, worry, fear, even thinking — they become luxuries.
That reflex to collect myself never faded.
So now, three days later, I’d mostly settled down.
Gyewon still looked worried about my swollen eyes.
But Uncle…
‘I still don’t get this man.’
He must’ve heard everything — yet the only time he looked even remotely upset was for a second.
After that, he acted perfectly normal, as though nothing had happened.
I’d been staying with him again since yesterday — Uncle had fallen asleep again.
‘Your father came here. Two nights in a row.’
That’s what Uncle had said before going to sleep. It shook me at first.
‘But what’s the point of that now?’
I lifted my head.
Uncle was smiling down at me.
“My little chick, want to take a walk with your big uncle?”
He brought me to the garden nearby — where an old pavilion stood.
‘This place…’
It was where I’d first met him in this life. Not far from the shed where he had locked himself up during his madness.
Back then, Gyewon, Uncle, and I had all worked together to restrain him.
It wasn’t long ago — but it felt like a lifetime.
Uncle sat on the pavilion railing, still holding me.
The wind blew softly.
It should’ve felt refreshing, but I frowned.
I was starting to hate the wind now. It reminded me too much of my father — cold, sharp, distant.
“…Tsk, if you’re going to spy, you could at least show yourself.”
“Huh?”
I looked up, thinking he was talking to me, but he shook his head.
“No, nothing. Just cursing a pathetic man.”
“What are you talking ab— no, never mind.”
“Why? Don’t you have any questions for your big uncle now?”
At his teasing tone, I blinked and then smiled faintly.
“It’s not that…”
“So, what’s my little chick planning to do now?”
A direct hit. I had no choice but to look up at him again.
“Weren’t you here to comfort me?”
“Oh, correct~ Exactly right. But someone has to ask, don’t they? And who better than me?”
“……”
“Let your younger uncle and my son handle the comforting.”
He smiled brightly.
As always, he acted playful and silly, but I knew he wasn’t a fool.
I just shrugged instead of pouting.
He wasn’t wrong — I needed to start asking myself that question too.
“Well… I don’t know yet.”
My plans — the blueprint for this life — all included my father, my uncles, and even Gyewon, who would one day become a genius.
But one pillar was gone now. The structure had to change.
I couldn’t just wallow in grief.
Otherwise, I’d be consumed by the emotions I left behind in the past.
“Even if Dad’s gone… I wonder how far you and Uncle can help me.”
“Wow, you’re worried just because the second brother’s gone?!”
I jumped.
“I’ve never been so insulted! Refreshing!”
“……”
“My little chick, you’re so cold, you’re hurting your uncle’s left atrium~”
“…How do you even know that word?”
“My wife’s left atrium hurt a lot~”
“……”
I was speechless.
I didn’t know much about my aunt — Gyewon occasionally mentioned that she died while pregnant with their second child.
It seemed every brother in this family carried a tragedy of their own.
“If I seemed indifferent, I’m sorry.”
“No, no need to apologize. Not now, not ever.”
He patted my head gently — his hand was warm and kind.
I held it tightly. I wasn’t going to let my tears win anymore.
“Last night, a stranger called Heuk Bihu came here.”
“My father?”
“Not your father.”
Uncle chuckled.
“If he doesn’t even remember his own daughter, is he still a father? I don’t think so.”
“……”
“If Lady Baek Arin — your mother — saw that scene, she’d have said the same. We were actually quite close, you know.”
He spoke so lightly, yet his words carried a strange weight.
“Your big uncle lived without a father too. Guess you’ll do the same, huh?”
…What kind of twisted joke was that? My tears dried up instantly.
“But you still have two dads left — big uncle, little uncle?”
“That’s not a dad.”
“Fair enough.”
He tapped my forehead lightly and gave me that silly, lazy grin again.
“But still — when you look back someday, I hope you’ll think, ‘At least Uncle, Uncle Birang, and Gyewon are still here with me.’”
“……”
“No matter what you do, I’ll never betray or abandon you.”
“……”
He looked out into the garden — a mature, heavy gaze.
“Sometimes, it helps to have at least one person who pretends not to worry.”
Only then did I realize how comfortable I’d become with him — how easily I could talk, even complain.
“…Can I really do what I want?”
“You can do whatever you want.”
Because of everything that happened, I even postponed the head family’s summons. I simply wasn’t in the right state to go.
Fortunately, they seemed to understand, saying I was unwell after my long trip.
‘Alright. Still… I have to move forward.’
There were still things I had to do.
I couldn’t stay here forever.
I had to meet my father.
