episode_0020

“Excuse me.”

Woo-joo, who quietly bowed his head to Shi-hyeok and entered the room, seemed to have sorted out his complicated thoughts, and his face looked much calmer than when he had seen him in the car or in the motel lobby.

In the small room, Sihyuk looked at the universe before his eyes.

Woo-joo, with her face cleansed of makeup, wearing a T-shirt with a stretched neck and a pair of athletic shorts, was dressed simply and without any decoration.

One, its appearance had not lost its luster at all.

Rather, Shi-hyuk thought that Woo-joo suited him better now. When they first met at the cafe – she was wearing heavy makeup and a slightly exaggerated spring outfit that seemed self-conscious of other people’s eyes – she looked much more comfortable and natural now.

Woo-joo, who had been staring at Si-hyuk with bleary eyes, soon placed both hands on his knees and leaned deeply toward him.

“I’m sorry.”

The apologetic voice sank heavily like an anchor falling to the bottom of the sea.

I could feel intense self-loathing and guilt from Woo-joo, who bowed his head so low that the back of his head was clearly visible as he apologized.

I felt a bitter and somewhat painful emotion.

“Raise your head.”

At Shihyuk’s words, Woojoo hesitated like a rusty pulley and carefully raised her head. Her long, curly hair, which had been spilling forward, touched her collarbone beyond her shirt and tangled here and there.

The universe looked up at Shihyuk without even being able to organize its head, waiting for his anger to explode.

“I’m fine. So, there’s no need to apologize.”

But the words that followed were plain words of forgiveness.

It was never an empty promise.

Shihyuk had suffered countless instances of bullying worse than what she had suffered over the past 20 years, as if it were nothing more than eating rice.

Now, his heart, already tattered and worn out from being hurt by her rudeness, misunderstandings, and irritation, had no place left to be stabbed.

Rather, Sihyuk was a little grateful to the universe.

It was because, rather than the harsh words she spat out, seeing her care for Eunha made me think about my teacher.

Regardless of age, personality, or appearance, Shi-hyuk could always think of and recall the shadow he longed for from other people, even genders, so he was a little happy about it, but he was not sad or angry.

“Are you okay, Mr. Space?”

That’s why Sihyuk was so happy to send such greetings.

“Yeah… .”

“That’s fortunate.”

Shihyuk smiled faintly. He knew that Woojoo was not a bad person, just different from Eunha. And Woojoo. He sincerely hoped that this sister would not be destroyed by someone like Kim Jinhyung.

“Sorry, ugh… . I’m sorry… ! Ugh, I’m really sorry… !!”

The dam of emotions that the universe had been suppressing came crashing down at that barely visible smile.

The universe knew better than anyone how dirty, petty and reckless it was.

I misunderstood on my own, so I raised my voice and pushed Si-hyuk away. I made a wild guess and thought of him as a villain, so I committed an outrageous rudeness. But today, how many times have I received help from him?

I didn’t dare to think about asking for forgiveness. I just wanted to apologize.

If there was just one shameless wish, it would be that you could hate the universe as much as you want, but please don’t hate the cute little sister, Galaxy, who follows him so well.

But he didn’t blame the universe.

As if nothing happened, he so easily extended a hand of forgiveness. Instead, he asked if Woo-joo was okay, checked on her, and smiled, saying that it was fortunate.

I feel ashamed that I misunderstood such a kind person, sorry for my actions, and grateful for the help.

And although she had a younger sibling to look after, she didn’t remember anyone taking care of her, so the consideration he gave her was warm.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry… ! I’m really sorry… !!”

“… … .”

Shi-hyuk didn’t bother to open his mouth as he watched Woo-joo apologizing over and over again, tears streaming down his face.

He was a foolish man and did not know what to say, what comfort to give, or how to soothe others who were overcome with emotion.

However, he always remembered what his teacher did for him when he was young and crying.

He reached out to the universe.

He placed his hand on the little girl’s head and patted her gently, only her body growing.

“Have you calmed down a little?”

“Yeah… .”

Woo-joo, who had been crying for a long time, blew her nose on the tissue he handed her and smiled bashfully. She probably would have a hard time getting the puffy eyes to go away the next day, but she looked relieved, as if a toothache had fallen out.

“Thank you, you looked ugly.”

“No.”

With her venom gone and her misunderstandings cleared up, she was a more vulnerable person than she had thought. She had been crying for almost an hour, shedding tears and snot, and now she was laughing without any sense of caution, forgetting that she was in a stranger’s room.

Sihyuk, who had been staring blankly into space, sat up.

“Please wait a moment.”

Shihyuk, who had gone out, appeared shortly afterwards with an ice pack and a bag of sports drinks in his hands. It seemed like he had been to that short-lived new convenience store.

The universe opened its eyes wide.

A sports drink to help rehydrate her and an ice pack to help reduce puffiness under her eyes. Anyone who saw her was clearly tired from crying, so they bought it for her.

The man named Shihyuk had a dry and gloomy expression on his face, as if he had no interest in anything in the world, but he was strangely kind.

The universe felt a little ticklish at the unexpected consideration. In reality, Si-hyuk simply imitated the teacher who had taken care of him when he was young without much thought.

Woojoo shut his mouth, fondling the ice pack he had handed him, while Shihyuk drank his share of the drink.

A long silence flowed between them.

Unlike before, it wasn’t such an uncomfortable silence.

“Aren’t you curious about what happened, what’s going on between me and Eunha?”

The universe was in trouble. In the meantime, Si-hyuk, who had finished a can of soda, answered by crumpling up the bottle and throwing it in the trash can.

“I am curious. I am also somewhat related to Kim Jin-hyung. However, I do not intend to ask until you tell me.”

“Why?”

“Because I can wait.”

Shihyuk is a blacksmith, not a psychologist. He is not good with words, so he doesn’t have the confidence to persuade people with words.

However, Shihyuk was persistent. Hard work and perseverance were the things he had always done while working with iron. He didn’t care how long it took to wait for the universe to tell him about his sister’s situation.

The universe was grateful for his consideration. It seemed to understand a little why the galaxy had taken such a liking to the man it had just met.

Their gazes crossed.

Woojoo put the ice pack he had been fiddling with on the floor and sat down on the bed.

“You sit down too. If I keep standing and talking, the story will be a bit long. Let me tell you our story.”

Shihyuk did not decline.

-.-.-

“Our galaxy, our universe.”

“… .”

“My name is Eunha. Isn’t it a unique surname? It’s probably a double surname I’ve never heard of.”

“I see.”

“I made it. To be exact, my childhood self.”

Woo-joo took a sip of his drink and continued talking.

The Second Dimensional Crack Incident in South Korea is also known as the Daejeon Recapture Operation or the 1,000-Day Blood War.

The Great Crack incident was resolved, the collapsed facilities were restored, the country was stabilized, and everyone was returning to their daily lives. Who would have expected that a gate the size of Daejeon Yuseong-gu, swallowing up the entire World Cup Stadium, would suddenly appear?

A large number of monsters burst out of the gate and attacked people. Many citizens suffered. The government, which realized the situation late, quickly dispatched the military and several Awakened people.

They were all killed.

… It wasn’t just regular monsters that came out of the gate.

Korea’s first SA-class boss series, commonly known as [Du-eok-sini], appeared beyond the gate.

The damage gradually grew out of control. Not only Daejeon, but also Sejong City, Gyeryong City, Geumsan County, and parts of Gongju City were reduced to ashes.

The government, in a desperate situation, organized a [Suicide Squad] comprised of high-ranking Awakened people from all over the country and with assistance from some countries.

Previously, Baekhyun was the only repairman and engineer in the Daejeon recapture operation unit.

After two and a half years of hard work and struggle, South Korea finally conquered [Du-eok-sini].

It was around this time that three-year-old Si-hyuk met Baek Hyun-man, and it was also around this time that a girl who lost her parents immediately after birth entered an orphanage.

The girl had no name. The orphanage director would call her by various titles, such as “hey”, “you”, “there”, and “bitch”.

The children at the orphanage called the director ‘the devil hag.’

The witch hag was a bad person.

The reason the old woman founded the orphanage was not because she felt sorry for the children who had lost their parents, but rather as a business tactic to make money by using government subsidies and the sympathy and empathy of the upper class.

But the old woman was not so lucky.

The Second Dimensional Rift incident happened right after the orphanage was established. The country was busy rebuilding its infrastructure, and the transportation network in the central cities was in shambles, causing prices to skyrocket.

With so many people dead, there is a temporary labor shortage and the KOSPI is plunging.

In a situation where everyone was tightening their belts, saying that the people were coming from the granary, there was no one, whether rich or middle class, to support the orphanage.

Even without that, the city near the central region that she founded had already lost both the rich and the poor equally.

Government subsidies? They are overflowing, they are orphans, they were refugees.

There wasn’t just one orphanage run by an old woman in the entire country, and the state invested a lot of tax money into repairing already dilapidated buildings and roads and implementing special relief policies to appease the public and get things under control.

The support the witch could get from running the orphanage was meager.

Despite investing a lot, the old woman, who was suffering from a huge deficit, became very hysterical and violent. The children, who were no more than fifteen, had to become leather bags for the old woman to relieve stress by constantly being beaten.

The old woman, who had lost her sense of reason, did not hesitate to extract labor from children who had only just learned to control their bowels and urine.

In the morning, the children were made to go outside and work as sledgehammers or collect cans, scrap metal, and scrap paper, and if they did not work, they did not eat.

Sleep meant knitting scarves and mittens of a certain size and bearing the premium label “Made by poor children who have lost their parents” to be sold in stores.

The girl was no exception.