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Chapter 2
I half-opened my eyes in a daze and looked at the person holding me in their arms.
“Are you alright? Are you very cold?”
That familiar warmth.
“I called the Head of Medicine Hall. Just endure a little longer.”
That gentle voice.
The moment I realized all of this, my eyes flew open as though I’d been burned.
“F-Father?”
The person holding me was none other than my father!
The moment I realized that, my whole body stiffened as though struck by lightning.
How can Father be alive?
Father had died, poisoned by my uncle. In my arms.
I had seen with my own eyes that Father’s breath had stopped just before I lost consciousness.
And yet—
“Didn’t I tell you not to go so close to the pond?”
Father scolded me as he took off his robe and draped it over me, clearly alive.
With trembling hands, I grabbed his hand.
From that touch, I felt the undeniable warmth of a living person.
“…Bi-ya?”
“Father…”
Father was alive.
I didn’t know how, but he was alive.
Right before my eyes—neither poisoned nor collapsed.
The moment I realized that, tears poured out uncontrollably.
Without hesitation, I threw myself into his arms, clinging to his broad chest and sobbing.
“F-Father! Uwaaaah…!”
“Bi, Bi-ya? What’s wrong, hm? Was it because I scolded you too harshly? I was only worried about you…”
Father, flustered, patted my back and wiped my face with his sleeve.
I buried my head deep in his clothes and cried and cried.
The image of my father, dying from poison right before my eyes, rose vividly in my mind.
If I closed my eyes, I could still clearly remember the sight of the corpse puppets and Dang Pae-jin approaching to kill me.
The helplessness of being unable to do anything as Father lay dying,
the betrayal of being murdered by someone I had considered family.
Those horrifying memories flashed through my mind all at once.
I sobbed as though trying to wash away every trace of those moments with my tears.
Father never let go of me from his arms and spoke in a gentle voice.
“Were you very scared? It’s alright now. Father is here. I’ll have the pond filled in.”
The pond didn’t matter to me at all, but I nodded quickly anyway.
Then suddenly—
…The pond?
Through my tear-blurred vision, I caught sight of a small pond.
If my memory was right, Father had filled in that pond completely after the accident I had at eight years old.
But it’s still here…?
Almost in a trance, I loosened my tight grip on Father’s robe and stumbled toward the pond.
I leaned over it with both hands pressed against the ground and looked into the clear water.
Ripple—
In the wavering surface reflected a young child’s face.
A little kid who looked no older than seven or eight.
“Dang Bi! You might fall in again!”
At that moment, Father rushed over and scooped me up in his arms.
“I’ll fill the pond soon. The carp will be moved elsewhere.”
Tears long gone, I stared blankly at the pond from Father’s embrace.
The pond still unfilled.
My father, standing perfectly healthy before me, not poisoned at all.
And…
Hands and feet far too small for a fifteen-year-old. A childish face.
I looked down at my tiny hands in a daze and muttered.
Could it be…
…Have I returned?
To before my uncle betrayed us and murdered both Father and me?
Impossible.
To return to the past? I’d never even heard of such a great art.
Then could this be—
Regression…?
At that moment—
Huh?
My vision spun.
Before I could think of anything else, everything went black.
“Dang Bi!”
I fainted on the spot.
I stuck my wrist out from under the blanket while being examined.
The man who checked me over carefully gave a soft smile.
“Biya will be fine.”
“Truly?”
“Yes, she only fainted for a short while from the shock of falling into the water.”
Father let out a relieved sigh.
But my gaze wasn’t on him—it was fixed on the man who had just examined me.
I knew this man.
This man is the Head of the Medicine Hall, Dang Sa-yuk.
He was my uncle-in-law, who had been expelled from the Tang Clan along with my aunt when I was ten.
And yet, he was standing right before my eyes.
So it’s true. I really did return to the past.
Then Dang Sa-yuk gently tucked my hand back under the blanket and said,
“You’re certainly better than before, aren’t you? I’ll prepare a tonic to ease your headache and warm your body. You’ll feel much better once you drink it.”
I nodded.
“Yes, Uncle. Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. It’s only my duty. Now rest well.”
With that, Dang Sa-yuk stood and left. From beneath the blanket, I blinked and watched him go.
Then suddenly, Father’s face appeared in my view.
“You really are fine, right? You must have been terribly frightened.”
His large hand covered my forehead. What had felt warm earlier now seemed cool.
I nuzzled my cheek against his refreshing hand and answered,
“Yes, I’m really fine. I don’t hurt at all.”
It wasn’t a lie. I truly didn’t hurt.
Father sighed in relief.
“Good. Soon, the disciples of the Medicine Hall will bring the tonic. You must drink it all without leaving a drop.”
He looked at me with feigned sternness. I obediently nodded and met his gaze.
I had returned to the past.
That meant I had more time to spend with Father.
And also… another chance to save him.
At that moment, Dang Pae-jin’s words flashed through my mind like lightning.
“Took you long enough, you stubborn bastard… The poison was administered ten years ago, and yet you clung to life for a whole decade.”
Ten years!
Dang Pae-jin had said it had been ten years since Father was poisoned.
And since I fell into the pond when I was eight… that means right now I must be eight years old.
If his words were true, then Father was already poisoned, even now.
“Child, are you uncomfortable anywhere?”
But Father looked perfectly healthy.
His complexion was normal, his eyes clear, his back straight.
Who would ever think him a poisoned man on the brink of death?
But no, he must already be poisoned.
Dang Pae-jin wouldn’t have lied to someone on the verge of death.
If anything, he probably thought the truth useless to the dying.
That must mean—
The poison in Father’s body won’t take effect until I turn fifteen.
Until then, Father won’t die.
I looked up at him again, his face still filled with concern for me.
Since I was eight now, that gave me seven years.
Carefully, I touched my rounded belly.
The very spot where Uncle’s hand had pierced through.
Nothing, of course.
No scar, no wound. My body and heart were both young again, so it made sense.
Even if I pulled up my clothes, there wouldn’t be a mark, not even a scratch.
But just because the wound was gone didn’t mean the memory of being murdered by my uncle was gone.
If I closed my eyes, I could still feel it clearly.
I snapped my head up and stared at Father again.
And I vowed:
This time, I won’t let it happen.
This was the second chance Heaven had given me. I wouldn’t let myself be helplessly murdered again.
I would protect Father. I would survive. I wouldn’t let Dang Pae-jin bring corpse puppets into the Tang Clan again!
But to do that, there was something I needed to know first.
I don’t think it’s the case, but still…
I took a deep breath, looked at Father, and asked clearly,
“Father.”
“Yes?”
“Am I… a body immune to all poisons…?”
“…What?”
