Epilogue (8)
“You worked hard today too, Myungwoo.”
Myungwoo nodded, looking worn out. They could not directly harm him, but they were still transcendents. Simply talking to them was exhausting. It was worse if the transcendent in question did not have the consideration to keep their presence suppressed. If Myungwoo had not been protected as a system creator, the gap between them would have been so vast that meeting their eyes properly would have been difficult.
“Sit down, Dad!”
Haneul quickly tugged Myungwoo over to the couch. Then he said he would bring him something to drink and hurried into the kitchen. Even if he had lost his memories of the past, maybe something still remained buried deep inside him. Haneul had a tendency to fuss over Myungwoo and me a little too much, always trying to be useful somehow.
He would probably get better with time. Myungwoo was not the kind of guy who easily threw away someone he had once brought inside his circle. Once Haneul understood that for certain, he would learn to act spoiled too.
‘This makes me think of Gyeol.’
Over the past few months, I had actually been more worried about Gyeol than about Seol and Byeol, even though they were younger. I figured Seol would be fine as long as he had Byeol, and Byeol seemed like she would manage to be cheerful no matter where she was or what happened. Gyeol, on the other hand, kept making me think, I should be there with him.
‘It would’ve been better if Seong Hyunjae had at least been there.’
Gyeol tended to be especially honest about his feelings in front of Seong Hyunjae. Right now, without even seeing him, I knew he was probably holding it all in because his uncle and aunt would worry, because he was the oldest. But if he wanted to cry, it would be fine to cry. If he wanted to whine, he could whine. If he wanted to get angry, get annoyed, feel sad, whatever it was, it was all fine.
‘Expecting that from Yuhyun is… honestly asking too much.’
Yuhyun would be really good at taking care of the kids’ physical health, no question. But when it came to the emotional stuff, he was bound to fall short. I was so relieved Yerim was there. Hyunah and Soyeong would definitely try to help too. If they had not been there, I probably would have spent the entire three months so anxious I could barely sleep.
“To be honest, I thought it was still too early for you to go back.”
When I went into the living room with Bin in my arms after he finished eating, Myungwoo was drinking the juice Haneul had brought him.
“More people have started forgetting about your death, but it still isn’t enough. Like I told you before, the more intelligent beings in our world strongly believe that Han Yujin is dead, the harder it becomes for you to go back.”
“And as they gradually forget, the resistance against a living Han Yujin weakens.”
Everyone in our world had recognized that Han Yujin was dead. But it was not as though people lived every day constantly thinking, Han Yujin is dead. The death of someone who was neither family nor friend soon blurred beneath the passage of time. Even with someone close, most people gradually moved out of their grief, and the moments when they thought of that loved one’s death became shorter.
So as time passed, the worldwide force of recognition that Han Yujin was dead would naturally fade.
“You saw it yourself, Yujin. Just yesterday, the footage from your funeral came up again on the news about the Awakener education facility.”
“Uh… yeah. It did.”
The system connection to our world had been severed, but Myungwoo had linked the system through himself as a conduit. In other words, it was a private line exclusively for Myungwoo that transcendents could not use. Thanks to that, starting about a month ago, we had become able to watch TV and connect to the internet.
“…When I get back, the first thing I’m doing is blowing up that damn statue.”
My face burned just thinking about it. Even if Mr. Shishio had pushed hard for it, seriously, did no one try to stop him? Even if I had really died, I would have gone insane, then shot straight up out of my grave. Its existence alone was humiliating enough, but it kept showing up as file footage on every kind of broadcast! Just use my funeral portrait instead! Why are you airing videos of the statue? It had reached the point where I could not watch TV with my eyes open.
“Other countries still bring you up here and there too, but Korea does it especially often. Dodam and Haeyeon keep getting mentioned together with you.”
“Yeah… I guess they would.”
The funeral footage suddenly came to mind. I knew better than anyone that I was alive, and yet I had nearly cried while watching it. Yuhyun, probably because of the title, looked more like he was lonely without me than anything else. But Yerim and Gyeol were truly grieving. Peace, sitting quietly with his body a little larger than before… he must have really believed I was dead. As for Shishio, part of me wondered what was wrong with him, but he cried so much that I ended up feeling sorry.
“The best timing would be when the school has already been built, the whole thing has become part of daily life, and the noise has died down. At least a year from now.”
“Three months already feels long!”
“For safety, three years.”
“Three years away from the kids? My brother will get tired of waiting and come find me!”
Three years from now, not only Gyeol and Seol, but even Byeol would be in elementary school. That would mean their birthdays passing three whole times, and I would not have been there for even one of them… I could not do that.
“Honestly, if I went by what I wanted, I’d forcibly keep you here. But.”
Myungwoo let out a long sigh.
“Now it’s dangerous for you to stay here too.”
“The other transcendents have found out that the fifth Origin has completely stopped consuming.”
Haneul added an explanation to Myungwoo’s words.
“And they suspect us as the cause.”
“Several transcendents died, and then a special case like me appeared. There was also the Pseudo–Origin. Every transcendent who’s come by recently has tried to fish for information about that incident.”
Myungwoo looked at me and Yubin with worry in his eyes.
“The official story is that Crescent Moon, who tried to create the Pseudo–Origin, was dealt with by Young Chaos with the help of the early system creators, and that the Pseudo–Origin is now under his protection. But if even a sliver of the truth leaks out, you’ll be targeted, and so will Yubin.”
“All of them will. The Unfilial Children, the Filial Duty Addicts, even the neutral transcendents.”
My mouth went dry, and I swallowed. I remembered the transcendents who had lunged at Seong Hyunjae, trying to get their hands on him. And Yubin was the Origin itself. One day, he would possess the full power of the Origin. For now, however, he was still a fragile infant. If anything, the danger would be worse than it had been then, not better.
“At least with Yubin, a significant number of transcendents may try to protect him. The Origin must not disappear, and a creator who does not consume would be a welcome existence. But you’re different, Yujin. There are still four consuming Origins left.”
“…Right.”
Only one of the five Origins had been born through the power of a nurturer and stopped consuming. In other words, the other four remained the same as ever.
“It’s obvious what they’d do. They’d try to force you by saying that all worlds could be saved if only you stepped forward, Yujin. They’d try to bury you in guilt too, asking whether you really intended to just stand by when you possessed the ability to save the world.”
A sigh slipped out of me. Of course they would. That was why we had hidden the truth about Yubin even from Tree, who was helping us. We had told the Elder, who was watching the Origins, and Seong Hyunjae, who was assisting him, about the Origin’s true identity.
“It’s not like I can just walk up to the other Origins and say, Hi, I’m the Origin’s nurturer, please be born anew! I doubt that’d work. Yubin is a special case. Not that they’d listen even if I said that.”
It was not as though everything would be easy just because I had the title. But the transcendents were not going to nod and say, Ah, I see, then give up obediently.
“And anyway, what am I supposed to do if I just make them be born without a plan? It isn’t one or two. It’s four. Five if you include Bin. Even ordinary children would be hard to raise alone in those numbers, but these are children of the Origin. I’m the only one with the title, and I’m the one who has to raise them. What if I can’t take proper care of them and one of them goes off the rails? An S–rank going off the rails would already be a disaster, and these are gods.”
“They’d become terrifying evil gods!”
Haneul flattened his ears in fright. And then what? The whole world would be doomed.
“I don’t even know whether my title’s power can raise all five at the same time. The title is a god’s nurturer, not gods’ nurturer, so there’s a higher chance it’s meant for one. I want to save the world too if I can, but I can’t do that right now. Just the kids waiting for me already make three, so with Bin, that’s four. Add another four to that and it’s eight…”
On top of that, the children of the Origin would be newborns. I had two arms, and even if I carried them front and back and slung them wherever I could, four was the limit. Just imagining it made my vision go dark. I liked kids, sure, but… three kindergarten–age children and five newborns… no. Absolutely not. That was not happening.
“…For the sake of the future, maybe after Yubin at least graduates elementary school, I could handle them one by one…”
…Then how many decades was I supposed to spend on that? Even if I counted ten years per child, that was fifty years. Was I supposed to dedicate fifty years of my life to childcare in order to save every world? I would be over sixty and still carrying a newborn around…
“Yeah, no. I’m definitely not raising each and every one of them myself. I might be able to help with my title, but we need to find some other method. How am I supposed to handle all of that alone?”
“It was never something you needed to take responsibility for in the first place.”
“…It’s hard not to care at all. The people in those worlds are people too, and depending on how you look at it, those Origins are basically Yubin’s younger siblings.”
So I wanted all of them to be born safely, but directly helping them was still difficult. It would be nice if the Elder and Seong Hyunjae could find another way. Please, I beg you, free me from childcare. I would at least like to retire before I hit sixty.
“Anyway, that’s why I’m trying to send you back early. Right now, our world is the safest place for you.”
Myungwoo looked worried.
“I think we could still hide you for another half a year, though…”
“I’ll be fine. I’ll be careful.”
“It’s not as if hurrying will let you go straight home. Yujin, you’re still being accepted as a dead person. People can’t recognize you as you.”
Even if I safely entered our world, that would not be the end of it. In that world, the living Han Yujin still could not exist.
“You belong to our world, but you’re going to enter as someone other than Han Yujin. Your appearance, your name, your abilities, everything will be the same as before, but no one will recognize you as Han Yujin as long as you’re alive.”
“Yeah, you’ve explained it to me several times.”
“…If we waited about three years, I’d be able to let you go straight home. Once people’s recognition has faded completely and the system continuously corrects the information, you’ll be able to go home right away without suffering through all this trouble.”
“That’s right, Honey. Maybe it’ll be okay if you hide well. Or you could at least hold out as long as possible, then go when it looks like you’re about to be discovered.”
I smiled at the two of them and shook my head slightly.
“Thanks for worrying. But I’m telling you, I’ll really be fine. I just need the people in our world to newly recognize my existence, right? I’ll be home within the year.”
How was I supposed to wait three years? I had to be home before Yuhyun’s birthday. Myungwoo clicked his tongue as if there was nothing he could do.
“What worries me is that you’re obviously going to cause trouble to get that recognition.”
“I have Bin with me. I’m going to keep my head down. Seriously.”
That look said he did not believe me at all. But what kind of major trouble would I cause with a newborn in tow? This time, truly, genuinely, I was going to live quietly.
“Fine. I’ll finish the work within the month, so pack your things.”
“Thanks, Myungwoo.”
“Honeyyy. I’m going to miss you.”
“I’ll come visit often.”
I patted Haneul, but now that I could finally think, I’m going back, the corners of my mouth lifted on their own. Even if I could not go straight home, my heart began to pound.
And then, on the day of my return, just before June.
“Han Yujin of our world is a dead existence.”
Myungwoo warned me sternly. How many times had I heard this now?
“In other words, before you establish yourself anew, if you’re recognized as Han Yujin, your life will be in danger. Your world will try to turn you into a dead existence.”
“Anyway, the people from our neighborhood won’t be able to recognize me as me, right?”
“Normally, yes. But you never know, so be careful. Especially with your brother. Your brother probably won’t recognize you either, but avoid running into him as much as possible.”
“If we happen to run into each other by chance, I can at least say hello as a fan—”
“No.”
“…I’ll just watch him from a distance.”
I had thought that if I lingered around Haeyeon, I might be able to exchange a word or two with him.
“And you’re not allowed to get a job at Dodam’s breeding facility.”
“No, that place is perfect for me!”
“No. You’re also not allowed to get a job at the Awakener education facility.”
“But!”
“You don’t have any certifications anyway.”
“I could be a kitchen assistant or at least a driver!”
“You don’t have a driver’s license either.”
…I was going to get one as soon as I arrived, okay. I would be treated as F–rank now, so I needed to get it right away. I had thought that if I got a job at the breeding facility, I could secretly look after the kids too. In that case.
“Dodam Café is also off–limits.”
Before I could even bring it up, Myungwoo cut me off cleanly.
“…That’s harsh. Come on, at least let me work part–time at the café.”
“You’d be better off trying the broadcasting industry.”
“Why broadcasting all of a sudden?”
“You need to expose your current self to as many people as possible. Broadcasting is the best for that. These days, a lot of people do individual broadcasts too.”
According to Myungwoo, for me to be accepted as the living Han Yujin, I had to come into contact with as many intelligent beings in our world as possible as the living me. Even if they saw me as someone else, I was still Han Yujin. Once people recognized “me” as a living existence, and the quantity of that recognition surpassed Han Yujin’s death, “I” would be reflected as Han Yujin again.
In other words, if I became world–famous, I could go home as Han Yujin that very day.
“It would also be fine to steadily increase the number of people who know you in a safer way. After about a year or two, there will be very few people left who actively recall your death, so being a local celebrity in one neighborhood should be enough.”
“…That’s shorter than three years.”
Should I really try something like a personal broadcast? A childcare broadcast was… I did not want to expose Yubin. Should I put Chirp forward? Or should I go with Hunter–related content after all?
“Still, having any way back at all is a relief. When I got blocked at the dream world and couldn’t get in, I seriously almost cried.”
“You didn’t almost cry. You were crying.”
“No, well, that was! Honestly, it was understandable!”
I had thought I might never be able to go back. Even now, thinking about it sent a chill through me. Nowhere to go, barely any time left on Final Recompense… everything had gone dark in front of me.
“Honey! We’re going to the dream world soon! You didn’t forget anything, right?”
“Yeah. I packed everything.”
Even if I could not go straight home, I could at least see the kids from afar now. Not through a TV, but in person. If I was lucky, maybe I could even say a word to them.
I checked the baby carrier again and stepped through the door Haneul opened for me. A warm breeze blew over me, and a voice I had not heard in a long time, which felt reasonably welcome now, greeted me.
– Yujin hyuuuuung! I missed you!
Yeah, yeah. Been doing all right?
–TL Notes–
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