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Chapter 101
Thud!
Something fell.
But I couldn’t tell what it was.
Thud, thud!
Ah, right. I haven’t eaten yet.
Maybe my brain isn’t working because I’m hungry?
Thud…!
But in the end, I couldn’t ignore the sound and bit my lips.
This wasn’t something falling.
It was the sound of a heart beating.
…And the sound of a heart breaking.
I opened my mouth several times.
I needed to say something — to answer — but no voice would come out.
“Heuk Biyu, what are you doing right now?”
It felt like someone whispered inside me.
“Did you really not know? That it would come to this?”
I…
“Pretty child.”
Suddenly, my father — the man who had been my father until yesterday — stepped closer.
Until yesterday, he was my dad.
Now, the man knelt on one knee before me and stared straight into my eyes.
“This place is hidden away. It’s not somewhere a child should come to…”
His voice was gentle, his face mild.
That’s when I realized.
This wasn’t the cold, stern man I had first met.
Had I been too arrogant?
Believing there was no illness I couldn’t cure — that I even understood his disease perfectly.
“Who are you? Why are you here?”
At that same question again, I couldn’t hold back and burst into tears.
“Oh… Did I make you cry?”
What hurt even more was realizing — there was nothing left of the father I remembered.
His gaze was soft, his tone kind… but how could I not know?
“My daughter, I love you.”
“That was what your mother always said. I feel the same.”
I had seen the real one yesterday. I couldn’t mistake it.
The eyes, the gaze, the lips, even the tone of voice — the warmth in his eyes might’ve been similar, but everything else was different.
The real and the fake were completely different.
That’s what made it even crueler.
“Pretty child.”
“Pretty little one.”
“Who are you? Why are you here?”
“I asked who you were.”
Even that stern expression he once wore when scolding me — this man didn’t have it.
His forced gentleness only hurt me more.
Because it meant there was nothing left of the man I used to remember.
“Hh… huhh… sniff…”
I thought I had shed the last of my tears yesterday.
But, Biyu… did you really not know?
Yesterday, you deliberately shut off your senses as a physician.
Even though you knew — this was a disease you had to spend your own lifespan to heal.
Did you think it would be easy?
The “me” from my first life, second life, third life — who had tasted nothing but misery — laughed at me bitterly.
Did you think you alone would live well?
The disease wasn’t cured.
Which meant… it could get worse.
It could even mean forgetting everything — as soon as tomorrow.
I had known from the beginning.
Known it, yet ignored it — both yesterday and before.
Ah…
Father.
No — Sir.
“When you think of me someday, call me Father.”
You really…
“I—I’m sorry… sniff… I came in by mistake…”
Really…
“I’m sorry… I’ll… I’ll go now. Mister.”
You’re a bad father.
Truly.
You’re someone who doesn’t deserve to be called a father.
* * *
“……”
Tap tap tap.
The man, Heuk Bihu, stared blankly at the tiny figure running away.
Such a small child.
Why was there a child in a place like this…?
He tilted his head.
Truth be told, he hated people entering his residence.
No — he absolutely despised it.
He avoided all contact, regardless of age.
So he had intended to scold the child.
Maybe he didn’t because she started crying first… or perhaps…
He looked down at his own hand.
“I—I’m sorry… sniff… I came in by mistake…”
Wait.
Why had he instinctively reached out his hand toward that child?
It wasn’t with any intention to harm her.
Even he found it strange.
And stranger still — he couldn’t stop himself from worrying as she ran away.
If she tripped, it would hurt…
That thought itself felt alien to him.
My head…
His mind went blank again.
It wasn’t unusual for him.
Every time he lost memories, other ones came back.
“Do you understand? You must never leave your home. Your residence. That’s the condition. You’ll likely forget this, but… try to remember anyway.”
The sound of rain poured down — shhhhh — in the vision that surfaced.
He was kneeling like a sinner at the bottom of a staircase in the main building.
And at the top stood his sister, Heuk Haran, sneering down at him.
“…If you want to save her.”
Who had he wanted to save?
What had he endured humiliation and chosen submission for?
And then…
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Really. I’ll make everything okay. I’ll cure everything.”
Who had said that?
A crying face smiling through tears flashed before him — a woman whose features and name he could no longer recall.
And even as all of this flickered through his mind,
Heuk Bihu couldn’t pull his senses away from the child’s fading presence.
His chest trembled faintly.
* * *
“Ah… I’m sleepy…”
Heuk Birang yawned lazily in his quarters.
It was about time for him to sleep again.
“I’ve held out long enough.”
Moments like this reminded him that he still wasn’t fully healed.
Still, thanks to his niece’s perfect medicine, he had lived like a normal person for quite a while.
He was content… yet a bit greedy.
‘It’s okay! For a patient to have hope — that’s a very good thing, Uncle!’
Birang chuckled softly.
His older brother, Biyon, had lately been doing his best just to hear Biyu call him “Big Uncle.”
Birang suddenly thought he wanted to be called “Little Uncle” himself.
In truth, that thought had lingered for a long time.
He wanted to get better — truly better — so he could go visit Ayan.
Every time his adorable niece came to mind, he also remembered his daughter, who lived far away.
Weren’t Ayan and Biyu only a year apart?
He wanted to give Ayan a sister. They would surely get along beautifully.
If anyone who knew Birang saw his gentle, beautiful smile now, they’d be stunned.
Just thinking about it made him so happy.
“I’ll have to keep doing my best.”
After all, Biyu had already contained and cured a major epidemic with her incredible ability.
She’d soon meet the family head again… everything would surely go well.
Birang smiled again.
Then—
Tap tap tap!
Footsteps.
Light, familiar ones — Biyu’s.
Those small, quick steps could only belong to his beloved niece.
But as the sound drew nearer, Birang’s smile faded.
He suddenly stood up — or tried to.
“Un—Uncle…!”
If the child hadn’t leapt straight into his chest.
Birang froze, holding her in his arms.
“Uwaaaah! Uncle—hic—hic—Uncle! Uwaaaah—I—I…”
“Wh-what? What’s wrong? Hey, are you hurt? What happened?”
Birang’s hands trembled as he held her. He was utterly shocked.
This child hardly ever cried, not even the first time he met her.
And she had never cried like this before.
Not even when her father had collapsed!
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?”
“N-no… hic… Uncle… Uncle… I—I…”
“Tell me. I’m listening. Sorry for shouting… You can tell me, okay?”
“I…”
Through her sobs, the little girl finally reached out and grabbed Birang’s finger.
A small, desperate gesture.
“I… I want to live here… sniff… hic… I want to live here… I mean, it’s okay if Physician Oppa stays too…”
“……”
“I don’t wanna live with… that man anymore…! I don’t wanna…!”
What on earth was she saying?
Until just yesterday, they had been an inseparable father and daughter.
Sure, they’d seemed a little distant lately, hadn’t talked much…
But to Birang, it hadn’t seemed like a bad sign.
So what was this?
“Uncle… Uncle… D-dad… sniff… he forgot… everything.”
After some time, once her sobs had calmed a little, the truth spilled out from her trembling lips.
“He looked at me and… asked who I was…”
Her eyes were empty.
Birang knew what that look meant — the look of someone who’d been crushed by despair in an instant.
He’d seen it once before — in the mirror, when he’d learned he was terminally ill.
“…He was getting better. So why? Sniff… he was getting better… Uwaaaah!”
As Biyu burst into tears again, Birang held back the tide of emotions swelling in his chest.
“So… it came to this after all.”
Anger, disgust, pity toward his brother — and finally,
anger and sorrow toward himself.
“…Cry all you want.”
He gathered the child into his arms again.
With her face buried in his chest, she wailed and sobbed until her voice broke.
Birang gently patted her back, closing his eyes tightly in pain.
“I think… I know why your father became like that.”
