TMKG 3

Chapter 3. Beyond the Bloodline (3)

A few years later.

Myeongin safely turned 18, which, by school year, would make him a second-year high school student.

Through several years of experience, this world was no longer unfamiliar to Myeongin.

Of course, Muwol’s efforts had played a part in making that happen. Because people could not feel Myeongin’s presence, Muwol was always with Myeongin.

Myeongin also enjoyed being with her. Rather, Myeongin always wanted to be together with Muwol.

Even now, when they had come to the movie theater together.

“I’m sorry I keep asking you to watch things with me.”

“It’s fine.”

Muwol also knew very well why Myeongin kept asking her to come out with him.

‘He has the kind of face that receives love and makes that love the reason for living, so it must be hard for him to endure people not looking at him…’

Even now, while tightly holding Muwol’s hand, he was busy making eye contact with the people passing by.

Muwol smiled as she watched Myeongin like that. Because it was a movie theater inside a department store, there were quite a lot of people, and for Myeongin, it was the best place.

As if having people look at him was such a joyful thing, his face was full of a bright smile. With a sunlit expression, like someone on an election campaign, he was making eye contact with every single person without missing anyone.

What was fascinating was that perhaps because his face was so strongly one that received love, the people whose eyes met Myeongin’s all smiled and returned his greeting.

Myeongin’s smile grew even deeper. He looked like a big dog that was terribly excited.

“You like it that much?”

“Yes!”

Myeongin liked movies for the same reason. Born with a face that received people’s love, he seemed to be drawn toward that kind of field without even realizing it. It seemed certain that, as long as he got past his coming-of-age years safely, he would set foot in the entertainment industry.

“Myeongin. What did Mom say you have to do in order to receive love?”

“You said I have to prepare myself to be loved.”

“That’s right. To receive love, you have to be ready. You can’t just try to receive love blindly.”

“Yes!”

There was a reason Muwol gave Myeongin this kind of advice. Because, with a face that loved people as much as it was loved, he had begun to develop admiration, with a young heart, while watching fan meetings, stage greetings, and award ceremonies.

Of course, even if she left him alone, he had a face that would receive plenty of love, but by logic, there was no way everyone in the world could truly like him.

Muwol wanted Myeongin to work hard, achieve his dream, become someone who could stand proudly before people, and become someone who knew how to be grateful for that love.

“There has to be a process for there to be a result. Understand?”

“Yes!”

Myeongin continued speaking with his usual pretty smile.

“So I exercise every day, and I’m also diligently watching the online acting lessons you signed me up for, Mom!”

“Hehe, good.”

Strangely enough, even on the internet, Myeongin had no presence.

Even though he was leaving an enormous number of comments, there was no response to him at all. Because of that, Muwol had to register for various classes or lessons under her own name.

There was no helping it if he had to submit assignments and the like.

Muwol also felt more at ease that way.

There was also a reason for that.

Myeongin inevitably had to be homeschooled through his middle school curriculum. Because no one could recognize the child.

To do that, they had to have an interview with an employee from the office of education, and fortunately, at the time, the academic achievement evaluation had been abolished, so it was possible.

However, Myeongin could not do this alone either, so Muwol had to be with him. In order to explain why she had to be with him, Muwol had no choice but to say that Myeongin had psychological issues.

By putting forward emotional instability, separation anxiety, and such, she had been able to stay with him, but the fact that she had to do that always remained in Muwol’s heart as something she felt sorry for.

“Yesterday, I learned how to analyze scripts, and I got praised.”

“You did?”

“Yes! They said I was really meticulous. They praised me and said my thoughts were free.”

“You really did well!”

As if asking to be praised even more, Myeongin stuck even closer to her.

The child, who had grown much taller, expressed his joy with an arm around her shoulders instead, in case his mom might find it uncomfortable to hold hands. He was overflowing with consideration even in the smallest parts.

While doing so, he secretly checked Muwol’s complexion.

“Mom, aren’t you tired?”

“Tired? I’m happy to be out with Myeongin.”

Grin.

Muwol, who had been watching that terribly lovable smile with satisfaction, suddenly stopped walking.

“Myeongin, wait a moment. Mom needs to go to the restroom.”

“Huh! Are you all right? Are you sick? Should we go home?”

“No. It’s not that. I’m just going to stop by the restroom before we watch the movie. Wait just a little.”

“Ah! Yes! Please be careful.”

Muwol headed to the restroom as if nothing were wrong, and the moment she entered, she covered her mouth.

Then she quickly went into a bathroom stall.

“Ugh… Bleegh. Hoo… Hoo…”

Muwol looked at the toilet water that had been dyed red.

She had vomited quite a lot of blood, but she did not despair. Rather, her face looked as if she were steadying her heart.

Muwol calmly flushed the toilet, came out to the sink, and quietly stared into the mirror. Her hollowed cheeks. The hat she wore to hide the fact that not a single strand of hair remained.

A face that would not look strange even if she died soon.

“Just a little more… Just a little more…”

She had never once directly told Myeongin the reason she was sick, but as a bright child, he seemed to know what kind of situation it was. So Myeongin, who loved going out so much, had become quieter and quieter, and recently, he had not asked to go out even once.

Today, too, it was Muwol who had suggested they go out first after almost a month.

Muwol nodded as if telling herself to find strength.

After wiping away the blood and tidying herself up, she came outside, and Myeongin was visible, waiting at a stall.

He seemed to be trying to buy something, but it was a picture where the owner could not recognize Myeongin.

Muwol approached Myeongin’s side, where he was quietly waiting with a crestfallen face as if the whole world had collapsed, and quietly held his hand.

“Welcome!”

Then Myeongin, as if he had never been crestfallen, held out the item he had already chosen with an excited face like a puppy that had received a snack.

“Please give me this!”

The employee, who had not been able to see Myeongin, now smiled with the greatest kindness and put the product into a shopping bag.

“The place where our Myeongin is becomes bright.”

“Oh my, he must be your son!”

“Yes, he’s my son.”

“I see. Your son smiles so prettily that even I feel better.”

After buying the item like that, Myeongin handed the shopping bag to Muwol.

“Mom, it’s a present. I wanted to give you a surprise present, but I couldn’t…”

“You bought something for Mom?”

“Yes! It doesn’t have a brand name, but they said it’s a hat knitted from cashmere. The weather is getting colder and colder, so please wear this. Hehe.”

As Myeongin blinked his gentle eyes and looked at her, Muwol unknowingly stroked Myeongin’s head and smiled.

“Thank you.”

“Ah, for reference, I didn’t buy it with the allowance you gave me, Mom. I bought it with the allowance Uncle Chang-su gave me last time.”

Muwol also knew that Chang-su had given him allowance.

Chang-su, too, could still see Myeongin only when he was with her. However, perhaps thanks to the talisman she had given him, unlike other people who treated Myeongin as if they were seeing him for the first time every time they saw him, Chang-su remembered his conversations with Myeongin.

Even though the hat shop employee right now would forget Myeongin and remember only Muwol, and on top of that, even have her memory corrected so that she would remember that Muwol had bought the hat.

Because of that, Myeongin also enjoyed talking with Chang-su.

By now, there was almost nothing Chang-su did not know about Myeongin either.

“What does it matter what you bought it with? I’m grateful for all of it. Should Mom try it on now?”

“No. Wear it later. There are lots of people, so… Uh!”

Myeongin was startled by the words he himself had spoken and hurriedly continued.

“It’s not because I’m embarrassed by your appearance, Mom, but because I was worried you might wear it to make me feel good even though you’re bothered by people’s eyes! I’m not embarrassed at all. Saying it with emphasis might make it sound like a misunderstanding, but it’s true!”

“Pfft, okay, okay.”

“It’s because of me… I shouldn’t do that.”

Though she had never mentioned it even once and had never shown it, Myeongin was quick-witted.

That was why she could not show any weakness in front of Myeongin even more.

“Mom being sick is not because of Myeongin. Don’t say things like that. More than that, I keep receiving presents all the time?”

“I’ll give you something even better later!”

“Really?”

“Yes!”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Muwol gave a light laugh as she looked at Myeongin, whose eyes had become sparkling again, and headed toward the theater. However, contrary to her heart, her legs would not move.

“Huh, Mom? What’s wrong! Mom!”

In that state, Muwol sank down onto the floor.

With eyes full of worry.

* * *

A few days later, Chang-su, who had served as Muwol’s attendant, came to Muwol’s house.

“You’re here?”

“Ah…”

Chang-su let out a sigh as he saw Muwol, who looked like she was dying.

From the time Muwol had begun to fall ill, he had taken her to the hospital, but the hospital had not discovered any illness. From the perspective of modern medicine, Muwol’s condition was full of mysteries.

Without any illness, her hair had fallen out, she was coughing up blood, and she had lost so much weight that her bones were exposed, like a corpse. It was punishment for cutting off her bond with the god.

“Are you all right…?”

“No.”

“Ah…”

Muwol looked in the direction where Chang-su was with unfocused eyes. It seemed she could no longer see properly either.

“I have a favor to ask.”

“Yes, please tell me!”

“Our Myeongin…”

“Don’t worry about Myeongin! I’ll take good care of him! Thanks to you, Teacher, I’m living a life I could never have imagined, so of course I have to look after him.”

“Thank you…”

Muwol struggled to raise her body, then crawled toward the drawer.

Then she took out something wrapped in rainbow-striped silk from the drawer and held it out.

“You’ll probably need this to see Myeongin. Please always carry it with you…”

“Is it a talisman?”

“Yes. It’s the talisman I wrote when I gave Myeongin his name.”

“Ha… Then you made that choice while knowing you could die? Just what kind of heart did you have when you even prepared something like this…”

It was a talisman she had written before severing her bond with the god. Looking at something like this, she had expected from the beginning that she might die due to divine punishment.

“Today will be my last day.”

“Hah…”

“Please look after Myeongin at least until he reaches adulthood. It will help you too, Chang-su. After that, people will gather around him on their own…”

“Hoo…”

“He’s a bright child, so you don’t need to help with anything else. I’ve already taught him everything else… Just contact him and meet him so he won’t be lonely, and occasionally take him somewhere with lots of people.”

Seeing Muwol full of worry even as she was dying, Chang-su could not say anything else.

“You should say goodbye to Myeongin too…”

“I did… He’s a smart child, so he’ll get through it well.”

“Hoo…”

“Then please… I’m asking you.”

Muwol, who made her request until the very end, lay down.

Then she closed her eyes, and before long, even her breathing stopped.

She had been making a request just moments ago.

“Teacher… Teacher… You left just like this…? Hoo…”

Chang-su could only stare blankly at Muwol, whose breath had stopped.

“Was it so you could ask me to look after Myeongin… that you helped me so much for all these years…”

Whether it was money or connections.

Thanks to Muwol, only a few years had passed, and yet he was now even a director at a famous agency.

“Haa… Teacher. Please rest in peace…”

Before sorting out this situation, telling Myeongin came first, so Chang-su slowly opened the door.

Then he saw Myeongin in front of the door, his head lowered deeply.

“Did Teacher… tell you anything…?”

“Yes…”

“I see… She’s gone…”

“Hic, yes… Hng…”

Myeongin’s shoulders were trembling badly, but he was somehow trying to hold back his tears.

“You can cry.”

“I can’t… Hic. I promised I would absolutely not cry… Hic.”

“Hoo…”

“She said if I wail, the ghosts will know… Hup. She said that was what she was most worried about… So I absolutely can’t cry, sob. I can’t. Sob.”

Seeing Myeongin trying desperately to keep Muwol’s words with his reddened face, even Chang-su’s eyes reddened. Even while swallowing his sobs to the point that his breathing seemed short, Myeongin rummaged through the things Muwol had prepared while she was alive.

The things she had left behind, showing just how much she had worried about Myeongin, were a huge amount even at a glance. Most of them were clearly about what Myeongin should do going forward.

Myeongin took one of them out and held it out to Chang-su. Still holding back his tears.

“Report it to the police… and there’s no funeral…”

Because there were many ghosts at funeral halls, Chang-su immediately understood that she had told him not to hold one.

“Okay… I’ll do everything… Let’s say goodbye…”

Myeongin entered the room while holding his breath tightly, as if absolutely refusing to cry.

Then, with his lips bitten hard, he simply hugged Muwol, who was lying neatly, tightly.

With eyes that looked like they would spill tears at any moment.

“Hup. Hngh…”

As Chang-su watched the mother and son, tears streamed down from his eyes instead.

‘What kind of fate is this…?’

* * *

A month later, Chang-su, who had gone to see Myeongin, stared intently at Myeongin’s face. Thanks to the talisman, he could definitely feel Myeongin’s presence.

“Are you eating properly?”

“Yes!”

“But why do you look even thinner than two days ago?”

“No, I don’t. I eat well. I made kimchi stew. If you haven’t eaten, should I set the table for you?”

“Myeongin. It’s only been two days since we saw each other, but if I can notice you got thinner, I think it’s serious.”

“No, it’s not. I really eat well!”

“When I checked your delivery app account, there was nothing you ordered either.”

“That’s because I’m making food and eating it myself!”

Seeing him answer so brightly with sparkling eyes, Chang-su laughed. No matter when he saw him, he was a child who made people feel good to a fascinating degree.

He felt like he understood a little why Muwol had treasured him so dearly. On top of that, looking at how he was living, just as Muwol had said, he was taking care of himself well enough on his own.

“But where did you buy the ingredients? Do people see you?”

“I can go to the mart and use the self-checkout.”

“Really?”

“There are also lots of places that use kiosks to order these days, so it’s fine even if people can’t see me.”

At those clear eyes that seemed to be asking for praise, Chang-su could only smile.

“That’s a relief. Anyway, sorry I came late today.”

“No, it’s all right! You’re busy.”

“Want to go out now and take a simple walk at least?”

“Really? I want to go for a walk!”

Chang-su grinned as he watched Myeongin delight in it like a dog going out for a walk.

“I almost patted your head just now.”

Myeongin, who finished getting ready to go out in an instant, opened Muwol’s room and greeted it as if Muwol were there.

“Mom! I’ll be back from my walk!”

Chang-su also knew that Myeongin was overcoming his sadness in that kind of way.

“Are you that excited? Do you like seeing people that much?”

“Yes! It’s fun!”

“You’re amazing. What Teacher said was exactly right.”

Chang-su looked at Myeongin, whose very steps seemed to bounce, then opened his mouth as if a good idea had come to him.

“Myeongin. Then do you want to come out tomorrow too?”

“Yes!”

“Hey, you brat, you should ask where before answering. Want to go to a filming set tomorrow? You said you wanted to become an actor.”

“Really? What time tomorrow?”

“Let’s go in the morning tomorrow. Among the actors at our company, you know Kang Juwon, right?”

“Yes! He’s the actor who signed a new contract with you this time.”

“That’s right, he’s filming a drama. Tomorrow, let’s go to cheer him on and watch. Well.”

“Really? Wow!”

Seeing Myeongin so happy, Chang-su laughed.

“You like walks, you like people… Hey, do you happen to have a tail?”

“Woof woof!”

“You’re incredible. You actually played along with that.”

Myeongin merely stuck close to Chang-su’s side as if excited and began exchanging glances with the people passing by.