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Chapter 106
The man’s eyes widened as if they might tear apart.
I didn’t know why I had said what I did.
Maybe it was the exhaustion — maybe I no longer cared whether he knew or not.
Or perhaps, deep down, I wanted him to know.
Or maybe I said it precisely because I knew that one day he’d forget again.
Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter.
“What… what do you mean by that?”
It wasn’t something anyone could understand right away.
Especially since, as far as I knew, no other person in this world possessed the ability to heal by exchanging their own lifespan — except for me.
“You use your lifespan to heal people? That’s… ridiculous.”
But the skeptical look twisting his face only annoyed me.
I knew it was hard to believe — but that didn’t mean he had to look at me like that.
No, I told myself. Ignore it.
“Believe it or not, that’s your problem. I told you the truth.”
The wind had weakened a little, so I turned to walk past him —
—or tried to.
Whooosh!
‘What the—! You stupid wind!’
I had only tried to take one step forward, but unbelievably, a gust pushed me back, refusing to let me move.
“…Didn’t you say your powers act on their own?”
The man had caught me before I could fall, his hand steady against my back. I let out an irritated hiss. Oh sure, stop me from leaving and then pretend to be concerned!
I glared up at him sharply.
To my surprise, he looked genuinely troubled.
“I didn’t mean to call you a liar or a fraud,” he said.
“…”
“I was just… surprised. I’ve never heard anything like that before.”
It almost sounded like an apology.
“To heal by using one’s lifespan — I’ve never even heard of such a method.”
“How would you know? You don’t even have your memories,” I shot back flatly.
The man’s lips curved faintly — a cold, distant smile.
“If such a method or such a healer really existed, my mother would’ve used it long ago.”
“…”
“To save the most useful and loyal dog in the world.”
That expression on his face — it was the same weary, cynical look he’d worn when I first met him.
“So… you do remember something? Like your mother’s face?”
“I remember the faces I’d rather forget,” he replied tonelessly.
“The good things always disappear first.”
I stared at him for a moment, then sighed quietly. He hesitated.
“Anyway, I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“You didn’t need to go out of your way to care that much. Weird,” I muttered.
“….”
It must’ve been because of that notebook. He had probably read everything inside. I still had it in my hands — almost forgot to take it back, honestly.
“Fine. I get it. You just blurted it out because you were shocked. But working with someone who says things without thinking… maybe I should reconsider.”
“…”
I held the notebook out to him. He looked startled but didn’t take it — instead tilting his head slightly, looking uneasy.
Seeing that face, I decided not to leave just yet.
“How about this, then?”
* * *
A short while later, I was standing — well, floating — in the yard of my uncle’s house.
“Everyone, say hello. This is my new partner and bodyguard… Mr. Heuk Bihoo.”
I glanced ahead.
“Oh wow, am I seeing things~?”
That was my uncle, arms crossed, face utterly blank.
“…I think my eyes are broken too, Father.”
That was my cousin, Gyewon, his mouth hanging open. Behind him, little Raon peeked out shyly.
My uncle’s blank expression was so rare that I couldn’t help staring at him.
After a long silence, he turned toward the man beside me and tilted his head.
“Uh… niece? I don’t see what’s changed here.”
He exaggerated his confusion.
“I don’t get it at all!”
The real meaning behind his words was obvious: Why is your father still your bodyguard when he’s lost his memory?
I answered firmly, “It’s completely different.”
“How so?”
“He’s a stranger now.”
I could understand their confusion, though. I nodded slightly as I floated in midair.
“Aha?”
My uncle clapped his hands — and then burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“Ahahahaha! Hahahahahah!”
He doubled over, clutching his stomach. Even Gyewon looked at his father as though the man had lost his mind.
“Oh, this is rich…”
Wiping his tears, my uncle straightened up. His expression had shifted.
“Alright then. So, I just get to sit back and watch this poor stranger suffer, right?”
He looked right at the man, each word deliberate and teasing.
…Stranger? Please, you’re an uncle too, you know.
“…Who’s suffering, exactly?”
The man spoke evenly, unbothered.
Gyewon nodded solemnly toward his former uncle. “Understood. From now on, I’ll call you Mr. Heuk Bihoo.”
Raon hesitated, then followed suit, “M-Mr. Heuk Bihoo!”
At least that was cute. Her fox ears twitched sleepily atop her head.
I tried crossing my arms but gave up halfway, resting my chubby arms on my hips instead.
‘What a mess.’
Just earlier at Dad’s house, the man and I had struck an agreement — or something close to one.
He had claimed that his wind wasn’t letting me go.
“…I’m trying to control it, but it’s not working well.”
“It’s your own power — how can you not control it?”
“I’m not sure either. This has never happened before.”
He’d waved his hand, and I’d seen it — the air shimmered faintly with color.
The new gust he created tried to push away the wind holding me, but it didn’t budge at all.
“That’s the situation.”
And that’s how I ended up floating helplessly here, pinned by his wind.
“This man’s power won’t let me go,” I explained.
“Want me to zap him with lightning a little?” my uncle offered.
“No murder charges, thanks.”
Even so, he hummed thoughtfully, unable to come up with another solution.
I glared resentfully at the invisible wind holding me.
‘What if he’s lying?’
Maybe he could control his powers and was just pretending. But no matter how I thought about it, it didn’t make sense — why would a man who’d lost all memory of me deliberately keep me close?
So I decided to accept this ridiculous situation — and use it.
‘I won’t get attached again.’
No matter what, I’d just focus on my goal.
“About the lifespan thing…”
“Sorry. I misspoke.”
That was how our earlier conversation had ended. I didn’t bother taking it back or pretending it was a lie.
“Anyway,” I said now, “since things turned out like this, can he stay here too, Uncle?”
I could feel the man’s gaze on me but ignored it.
My uncle glanced between us, then grinned — not a pleasant grin.
“Sure! If that’s what my dear niece wants, why not take in a guest?”
He stroked his chin.
“Might be fun, after all.”
* * *
The next morning.
“Hey! You—! What the hell!”
My other uncle, who’d been bedridden, woke up and immediately started yelling.
‘Why is he here? What? You’re living together now? Are you insane?!’
That was how the chaos began.
He’d shown up at my uncle’s house the moment he woke and spotted the man standing beside me. When I introduced the man as my new bodyguard, he’d nearly exploded.
“What’s changed, huh?! Did you forgive him?!”
He was practically dancing in rage.
To his credit, he had enough sense to cast a barrier of water around us to block sound.
I looked at the shimmering wall and replied flatly, “Who said anything about forgiveness?”
At that, he relaxed slightly — though still scowling as he listened to my explanation.
“What, his wind’s out of control? Yeah right. That’s the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard!”
He’d tried to interfere with the wind surrounding me, but nothing worked. Then his tactics… changed.
He hugged me tightly in front of the man — and then licked his tongue.
“…What are you doing?”
“Just trying to piss off that bastard brother of mine.”
Was he five years old?! Even Gyewon wouldn’t do something that childish — even Raon wouldn’t!
The watery sound barrier had already disappeared long ago.
I sighed. “Anyway, today I’m going to meet the clan head. So you’ll stay here and— Uncle? Are you listening?”
Today was the day I would finally meet the head of the family — the one who had set the date himself.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m listening.”
I frowned and looked up. My uncle, still holding me, was staring at something behind me — at him.
With exaggerated sweetness, my uncle patted my hair.
“Wow, our niece’s hair is so silky and soft, huh?”
“…Are you insane?”
Seriously, what was this? Acting like a brat saying ‘Bet you don’t have one of these at home!’?
“Heh, so I’m the only one who gets to hold her like this, huh? Come on, call me Daddy, just once.”
“Yup, definitely insane. Say one more word and I’m not making your medicine anymore.”
And of course, the man — the supposed father — stood there expressionless, unaffected, remembering nothing, while my uncle carried on like a lunatic.
“Oh, come on. Just once. Repeat after me: Da–ddy.”
“Ugh, stop it already.”
I sighed, about to tell him off —
Whoooosh!
A violent gust of wind tore through the courtyard.
I blinked. The uncle who’d been hugging me was suddenly gone.
I was left floating alone.
‘…What just happened?’
I slowly turned my head. My uncle was sprawled on the ground, clearly having been blown away by the wind.
“What the hell was that?!” he shouted furiously.
The culprit — the man — stood calmly, arms crossed.
“My apologies,” he said mildly.
“Seems I can’t quite control my strength these days.”
…Sure. Blame the wind.
