Ch.167Chapter 167. The Train Runs Even When Dogs Bark (2)

I received a text from Cuss.

Usually, this would be something to be extremely happy about.

It wasn’t common for Cuss to send me messages.

But today, I was terrified to open that message.

-Juliane. Something’s wrong with Jinsoo. He suddenly ran out barefoot like a madman.

I had an ominous feeling.

The worst possible scenario played out in my mind.

“Senior, I need to go now…”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“I’m sorry. I’ll explain later.”

“Juliane?”

I hurried toward home.

I sped like crazy, breaking traffic signals I had never violated in my life.

I needed to minimize the time they were alone together at home.

If my intuition was right, Jinsoo wouldn’t be in his right mind.

He could do anything.

Screech…!

I almost missed it.

After making an emergency stop and looking back, I saw the front door wide open.

No.

Please.

“Cuss!”

“Juliane…”

Ah. Thank goodness.

Cuss was safe, standing in the dark bedroom.

Then what about Jinsoo…?

I couldn’t see him. He wasn’t anywhere.

It seemed he hadn’t returned since leaving the house.

I immediately ran to the bedroom and hugged Cuss.

“Juliane. Unlock the computer password. Jinsoo became strange after looking at the computer.”

“H-how strange?”

“Jinsoo pushed my hand away and ran. He shouted not to come near him… His face looked terrified.”

My ominous feeling was becoming reality.

This shouldn’t be happening.

This really shouldn’t be happening.

“It was strange. Jinsoo is a subject with damage to the part of the brain responsible for fear. He came at me without fear even when I was a monster. What could possibly frighten someone like him? Do you know what it is, Juliane?”

“Wait, Cuss. Just wait… Close your eyes for a moment.”

I gently placed my hand over Cuss’s eyes.

Thankfully, Cuss didn’t push my hand away.

Then with my other hand, I entered the password into the computer and opened the screen.

“Hah…”

Just as I suspected.

Everything was exactly as I had feared.

The moment I saw that email list, my breath caught and my mind went blank.

I immediately turned off the screen so Cuss wouldn’t see it.

“What was it, Juliane?”

“It was nothing… His health checkup results came back, and apparently Jinsoo will go bald in the future. I think that’s why he was shocked.”

“Hmm. So that’s what it was. Jinsoo really has such weak mental fortitude.”

“Yeah…”

I couldn’t bring myself to tell the truth.

I couldn’t tell her that the body whose brain she had eaten was actually Marie’s clone.

I could never tell her that she, whom Jinsoo had regarded as his real daughter all this time, was actually in the body of his real daughter.

“Cuss. I have a question…”

“Yes?”

“About the owner of that body… Is there absolutely no chance, not even 1 percent, that the owner’s memories could return?”

“None. I’ve already broken down the brain with digestive enzymes and expelled it, so there’s no way memories stored through brain chemistry could be inherited.”

“I guess so…”

“Hmm?”

I hugged Cuss tightly.

I didn’t want to show her my face right now.

If the perceptive Cuss saw my expression, she might figure out the situation.

“Recently, I’ve come to understand what it means to be sorry. Before, I only learned that I should be sorry when Jinsoo got angry. But now, when I think about the owner of this body I devoured, my chest feels tingly and tight. This must be the feeling of being sorry.”

“Yeah…”

I felt like crying.

Why would God play such a cruel trick of fate?

It seemed like the world was revolving just to cause Jinsoo pain.

Is happiness simply not allowed in Jinsoo’s life?

“Cuss. When Jinsoo comes back…”

“Hmm.”

“Let’s not say anything, okay?”

“Understood. Jinsoo cares too much about appearances, so mentioning baldness too much would probably be bad for his mental health.”

“Yeah… Let’s just hug him without saying anything. Like we always do…”

Like we always do.

We’re going back to our daily routine.

Back to being a family of three—a clumsy wife, a caring husband, and a quirky daughter.

We’ll bury all of this in our hearts and go back to when we didn’t know, raising Cuss as if she were really our daughter…

“Ugh…”

“Juliane, are you crying?”

But how could we possibly do that?

***

My phone kept ringing.

It was Juliane.

I should answer.

I should, but…

What would I say?

What could I possibly say?

“Hehehe…”

Instead of words, only laughter came up.

My throat felt completely blocked.

I’d been swallowing my tears, and they seemed to be stuck there.

I turned off my phone and continued walking.

“That was quick.”

I arrived earlier than expected despite walking.

The lake park at the station.

Nature in the heart of the city.

It was a place I often came to when I needed to think.

I mindlessly walked toward the lake.

The grass crunching under my feet felt nice.

“How did it come to this?”

Suddenly, I thought it was strange.

I’m not an idiot.

I might be pathetic, but I’m not stupid.

Even as the lowest-ranked student at Caltech, I was still considered among the top minds in America.

So I thought I had been managing my stress intelligently.

Always anticipating the worst-case scenario and preparing for it—that was my method.

Thanks to that, I could avoid breaking down even when I hit rock bottom.

I didn’t go crazy when Marie died, and I maintained my sanity when Ellie died.

So what went wrong this time?

Could it be that I failed to anticipate the possibility that Marie’s corpse would be used by Allison Hospital to create a clone, and that clone would be sent to a crazy research team conducting human experiments in space, and by chance, an alien monster would invade their spaceship?

No. I would have anticipated that.

I knew but pretended not to know.

“Ah.”

Finally, something became clear.

I fucking knew everything all along.

No wonder I didn’t want to abandon her despite her terrible attitude.

No wonder I hit the brakes just before crossing the line when she wagged her tail asking me to take her.

No wonder I felt like I could put that damn girl in my eye and it wouldn’t hurt…

“Phew…”

I stopped in front of the lake.

When I lowered my head, I could see my reflection.

Crouching down to look more closely, I was a complete mess.

I looked like someone who had escaped from a mental institution pretending to be normal.

“Marie is dead, isn’t she?”

I decided to be more rational.

I was too caught up in my emotions.

Let’s take one step back and think again.

Marie is already dead.

She died long ago, and I knew that.

So what Cuss ate was Marie’s clone.

A replicated human with no connection to Marie.

Just someone who looked identical, genetically the same person but different…

“What? There’s no problem at all.”

Suddenly my mood improved dramatically.

A smiling face appeared on the water’s surface.

There was nothing to be concerned about.

What’s the problem with Cuss killing someone who has no connection to me?

I didn’t say anything even when she killed people on her way here.

So I shouldn’t feel anything about her killing Marie’s clone either.

“Ah… ahh… ahh…”

But why?

Why do I resent Cuss so much?

Why does my chest hurt so badly?

Why does my throat feel like it’s burning up?

“Jinsoo.”

“Ah.”

Something suddenly embraced me tightly from behind.

Then it pulled me backward and laid me down.

Soon, Juliane with her beautiful blonde hair was on top of me.

I tried to get up, but her powerful prosthetic arm and leg blocked my limbs’ movements.

“Don’t think foolish thoughts.”

“Did you know about this?”

“I… just found out too.”

“Really?”

“It’s true.”

“Juliane. What should I do now?”

“…”

I was terrified of seeing Cuss.

I was afraid I would see the features of that baby, whose memory was now fading, overlapping with her face.

I was terrified that I might unconsciously strangle her.

“I’ve prevented the worst of the worst.”

“What do you mean?”

“Cuss doesn’t know. She doesn’t know anything. If you leave, Cuss will be abandoned without knowing anything.”

“So what are you saying I should do?”

Blood trickled from Juliane’s lips as she looked down at me.

She had bitten them too hard and wounded herself.

As that drop of blood fell onto my lips, Juliane spoke again.

“Take responsibility. Take responsibility for your helpless and incompetent past.”

“…”

Her voice was firm.

And Juliane’s tears flowed down onto my cheeks.

She was crying while blaming me.

She was cursing the weak me who couldn’t do anything and lost my entire family.

I was so grateful for that.

Grateful that she didn’t tell me the choice was mine.

Because if she had, I would have truly run away from my responsibility.

.

.

.

The door opened with a creak.

Inside was quiet and dark.

As if no one was there.

But as soon as I saw a figure moving inside, my heart sank.

That cute and lovely child was hesitantly coming out of the room.

“Cuss. Come here?”

“Okay…”

Good girl.

Even though I had cursed and run away, Cuss approached me without saying anything.

With each step closer, my heart pounded harder.

An instinctive revulsion was attacking my inner self.

It was tearing my chest apart and making it hurt.

But it was okay.

I had decided to endure it.

“Dad…?”

“Yes. My daughter. Come here, my daughter. Come here and give Dad a hug.”

“Okay…”

I knelt on one knee and opened my arms.

Perhaps she noticed I was different from usual.

Cuss approached me slowly, looking a bit perplexed.

I embraced her as she opened her arms to me.

I felt her hair brushing against my ear, her gentle breathing, her cool skin, her small back.

“My daughter… My daughter… You’re my daughter… You’re my daughter. Uhuhuhu… Uhuk… huk…”

It didn’t matter what the outer shell was.

Cuss was undoubtedly the last chance and pain that heaven had given me.

She’s my daughter.

No matter what anyone says, Cuss is my only daughter.

No one can take my daughter away from me.

Not a second time.