episode_0033

The room where Ran and I sleep is smaller than the other rooms in this house.

If you put one bed and one desk, you can’t put any other furniture.

For that reason, when I was selecting people to sleep with me, Sujin, who was relatively large, was immediately filtered out.

“Isn’t this place too narrow?”

Doridori.

When I asked Ran, who was sitting on her lap on the bed, she slowly shook her head.

Ran, who was drinking warm cocoa, seemed to be in a very good mood.

Perhaps because I had directly told Ran in front of school that I had no reason to hate you, she didn’t seem to be avoiding me like she did yesterday.

The current time is 11:30 in the middle of the night when everyone is asleep.

Originally, the plan was to stop at a cafe while bringing Ran home, but it was canceled due to Ran’s refusal.

It seems like it was a sensitive topic for him, so he wanted to talk calmly in a place where no one was around.

Thanks to this, I was able to see Han Chae-yeon’s reaction, who was puzzled that he arrived earlier than expected.

“Are you ready to hear the story?”

Nod.

When I noticed that the small head in front of me was moving up and down slightly, I began to speak slowly to make it as easy as possible for Ran to understand.

“First of all, where should I start talking? There’s an old man I met at the amusement park yesterday, right? Actually, that person is Ran’s grandfather…”

I took my time and unraveled what happened today.

Instead, from what I heard from the chairman, I deliberately left out anything that would not help Ran’s emotions.

For example, information that is easy for Ran to understand even if she doesn’t know it, such as the fact that Ran’s father is currently in prison for drugs.

“So, the grandfather is an amazing person, and he wants to take Ran in and raise him.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Ran quickly shook her head.

And that too several times.

“…I don’t like it?”

“…”

Ran’s face was frowning as he turned his gaze in my direction.

There was also a look of resentment in his eyes, as if asking why he was talking to me like that.

[I don’t like it!]

As if that wasn’t enough, I even used the tablet I had already placed next to me.

Well, I expected it to be like this.

For Ran, who is only 10 years old, it would be difficult for her to understand what a large company is like and how she will be treated later in society.

I was a little happy to see Ran immediately saying no.

But that doesn’t mean we can leave it to the temporary emotions of a child to decide the future.

“ran may not know it yet, but this world looks bad on children without parents. No matter where you go, you will hear bad things, and maybe your classmates will use that as an excuse to bully Ran?”

[are you okay!]

“Also, instead of going to a special class like now, you can go to a regular school and become friends with other kids like normal people. After school, don’t you want to go to karaoke together, go to cafes, things like that?”

[at all!]

Looking at his tightly closed lips, it seemed like he had no intention of breaking his stubbornness.

However, there were still more benefits she could gain if she became that person’s granddaughter.

“Maybe a famous teacher will take a look at Ran? Then you will soon be able to say what you say wrong now? Isn’t it frustrating for Ran to talk using a tablet like this?”

“…”

The tablet screen, which was updating immediately, stopped.

Does this really work?

No matter how young she is, she probably understands the inconvenience of living without being able to speak.

In fact, she was having quite a bit of trouble communicating with other family members except me.

That was a big reason why Ran’s dependence on me increased.

“And above all…”

I paused for a moment.

This was the biggest reason why I was so persistent in persuading Ran.

“Ran can read other people’s minds, right?”

…Nod.

This time the response came a little late.

As expected, I think it was just as I thought.

“ As you know, ordinary people don’t like having their true feelings revealed. To be honest, it would be okay to say that I am scared. But if Ran reads his mind, everyone wouldn’t want to be with him, right? Among them, a person with a rough temper might do something mean to Ran.”

“…”

“That’s why I’m saying this. Because it would be safer to be the daughter of the chairman of a large company than to be an orphan and have no special background. Also, you don’t have to force yourself to keep it a secret like you do now.”

You can meet people of your choice.

Does this child know how much of an advantage this is to the current Ran?

People are ugly.

Even people who think they are good have ugly feelings deep down that they are not even aware of.

Society and the world are places where such an unspecified number of people gather.

One day, when Ran grew up and was thrown into such a world.

Is it really possible to live sanely amidst the evil that one can directly experience with one’s body?

What if you can’t even speak properly due to aphasia?

It’s not strange if you suffer a huge heartache and can’t get up.

I could see his eyes shaking with anxiety.

I don’t necessarily want to force Ran to go there.

I just wanted her to really understand the whole situation and choose where she really wanted to be. So that you don’t regret your current choice later.

If she wants to stay here, I will welcome her with joy, and if she wants to go to the chairman’s side, I may feel a little regretful, but I will not stop her.

And since this is a section where minds can be read, my current feelings must have been conveyed as well.

All that remained was Ran’s choice.

Ran’s big eyes began to get moist.

This is a very cruel situation for a child who is only 10 years old.

It’s possible to become separated from the people you’ve lived with.

“I’m not saying you have to decide right away.”

“…”

“Anyway, I didn’t promise to give you an answer by a certain amount of time, so I hope you calmly think about it and find out what Ran really wants.”

Ran put down the tablet she was holding.

“Shall we call it a day and sleep? Because it’s late.”

I thought that action was Ran’s expression that he didn’t want to talk anymore.

but…

“I can talk…”

What is “…?”

A really faint and delicate voice.

It was so small and delicate that for a moment I thought I heard it wrong.

“…So I want to be with you.”

The voice became a little clearer than before.

The main character with a more attractive tone than any other voice I have ever heard was none other than Ran.

“…Could you tell?”

Nod.

A clear drop of water fell down Ran’s pure white cheek.

“Yes. I felt sorry for my brother. Was it hard?”

I carefully hugged Ran and wiped away her tears.

Then Ran buried her face in my chest with a cry.

“..Ugh!”

The voice I hear for the first time since meeting her.

Actually, I didn’t feel comfortable hearing that.

By the time Ran stopped crying, my jacket was already soaked with tears.

How sad was it?

“Have you calmed down?”

Ran, with red, swollen eyes, nodded.

“When did you become able to speak?”

“…”

“From the beginning?”

Nod.

A positive reply came back.

“Is there any reason?”

“…Because my mom died because of me.”

Ran, who was making a hissing noise as if she hadn’t completely stopped crying, opened her mouth in a shaky voice.

“Why was it because of Ran that my mother died?”

“Yeah, but I could have stopped it, but I couldn’t.”

With a faint cry, Ran told me a story about her past.

She said she lived alone with her mother, having never seen her father’s face since she was born. Until then, she had been happy too. Although I wasn’t rich, I was able to be with my kind mother.

However, she said that strangers came and harassed her mother periodically for a while.

The lives of the mother and daughter, who were faced with an IOU and various court documents that they had never borrowed, gradually became impoverished.

Given the circumstances, Choi Sang-hyeon, who is Ran’s father, probably planned it by ordering his subordinates to do it.

From his perspective, who had to hide the fact that he had a child, Ran and her mother must have been very intrusive.

I couldn’t find a proper job because they came to every place I worked and made a fuss, and I had to quickly quit the job I had worked so hard to find.

It didn’t take that long before I was kicked out of my small apartment, into a studio apartment, and into a semi-basement.

Her mother, pushed to her limits both mentally and physically, attempted suicide with a lightning bolt, as I know, and died on the spot. Only Ran survived safely.

“…If I had known in advance, my mom wouldn’t have died like that.”

A voice full of regret.

Ran’s tears, which flowed drop by drop throughout the story, soaked the bed sheets.

Ran said she couldn’t read other people’s minds, but she could hear them.

The voice is heard as vividly as if you actually heard it with your own ears.

So, it had a mechanism where you couldn’t hear it properly if it was drowned out by other loud sounds.

One cold winter day.

Because we couldn’t pay the heating bill properly, the basement room where the boiler was cut off was very cold.

Ran clung to her mother’s side and chattered about what happened at kindergarten and the fun times she played with her friends.

I lit a lightning bomb in a corner of a small room and stayed up all night.

“…I could tell.”

Ran repeated similar words several times during the story.

Perhaps that was why she had not spoken until now.

“…I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Ran apologized repeatedly.

I cried, my voice hoarse, and all the while until I collapsed from exhaustion and fell asleep.

“…”

I quietly covered Ran, who was sleeping, with a blanket and left the room.

“This is me. Ran’s older brother.”

[I know what time it is…!]

I glanced at the time when I heard a sound coming from the receiver.

4:30 in the morning.

It was a time when ordinary people were deep asleep.

So what.

All I could think about was how small and fragile Ran cried for five hours straight.

“Chairman. Why don’t you make a bet with me? Ran’s future plans are at stake.”