Chapter 238

Chapter 238. Second Trial (4)

If I had actively sought it, it wouldn’t have been impossible.

Most of my mother’s acquaintances worked in the legal field, and she had many friends among the police officers.

Moreover, I was born in a time when the internet culture connected the world.

If I had set out to find him, there would have been a chance.

But I did not.

“I just reported him, that’s all.”

A warrant was issued for Kang Wonho, but I did not make any separate efforts to find him.

It was not out of some misguided arrogance, avoiding something because it seemed too dirty.

“The money and time it would take to find him weren’t worth it.”

There was no guarantee that the man I found again would have my parents’ inheritance intact.

What I learned after Kang Wonho fled with the fortune was that he was a gambling addict and had accumulated significant gambling debts.

If I went through the trouble and expense of finding him only for him to be empty-handed?

“That would have been an even greater failure.”

So I decided to use all my time and the money I earned on my younger siblings.

“That was the best decision I could make back then.”

Instead, I buried the grudge deep within my heart.

In case I ever met him again, I planned to repay the betrayal of that day.

I occasionally recalled his face, remembered his voice, and reminded myself of his habits.

Just in case I randomly encountered him one day, somewhere.

“In the 8 years that have passed.”

On Earth, it must be the peak of July’s summer now.

In about a month, it would mark the 8th anniversary of my parents’ passing.

Even after such a long time, I remembered Kang Wonho vividly.

Likewise, I did not forget the grudge he left behind.

This is why, even though I knew it was an illusion, the intent to kill, honed through years of continued slaughter, flowed out freely.

What kind of feeling would it be if I broke that neck right away?

“Hyunwoo, don’t worry too much.”

Kang Wonho, who was merely a figment of my imagination, was acting as a kind uncle, displaying hypocrisy.

“I’m here, aren’t I? In time, everything will be fine.”

Each time his words continued, my fingertips twitched involuntarily.

My eyes turned cold as I looked at the hand placed on my shoulder.

“Should I just break it?”

I felt as if watching that man scream in pain as I snapped his fingers would lighten my mood.

Despite the many impulses tormenting me, I did not extend my hand in the end.

Neither did I strangle Kang Wonho.

Because I clearly remembered the sentence I saw before my vision blurred.

“Confront your errors.”

There was no indication in that short phrase to contain or correct the mistake.

So I focused on literally confronting it.

If I couldn’t endure past regrets and acted differently from before.

‘The trial could end in failure.’

I could not let my past mistakes ruin my future.

I suppressed the boiling intent to kill, allowing every situation to pass as it was.

‘It’s not pleasant.’

I revisited the times when I couldn’t enter the house full of my parents’ remnants after the funeral, thus neglecting the twins.

The times when a void, as if the world had collapsed, engulfed me.

The time spent lost in reality, only witnessing everything.

At the end of all piled mistakes, finally.

“You just need to sign here.”

When the hypocrite handed over the papers, and the barren moment of signing them arrived.

I didn’t close my eyes or turn my head away.

I stared at the signature completed by my hand with bitter sentiment.

‘If it weren’t for this, maybe things wouldn’t have gotten that bad.’

After my parents died, the first right to inheritance belonged to me and the twins.

Even though Kang Wonho had become the legal guardian due to familial ties.

He couldn’t convert or dispose of the inheritance passed on to us siblings based on his own will.

That should have been normal, but…

‘I messed everything up.’

By signing the power of attorney Kang Wonho presented.

”It was granting him full authority over all financial transactions.’

Kang Wonho persuaded me by saying we had to quickly manage debts, taxes, and medical bills from my parents, else it would cause trouble later.

Thinking anything related to my parents was too hard to handle, I left it to him and signed away, as per his guidance.

“Even though as a minor then, the signature should have been invalid.”

Unfortunately, the bank staff and lawyer joined in on asset seizure, thus the power of attorney was used as intended.

‘Greed over that much money was inevitable, but I was naive.’

The inheritance left to me and the twins then wasn’t small.

Since I was of an age capable of discernment, I clearly remembered how affluent our household was.

‘The land from our maternal grandparents was substantial, too.’

Our maternal family had been long-time residents and prominent figures in Jeju.

Both my maternal grandfather and mother were only children, leading the land passed onto us being far from small.

With my father’s personal assets and various real estates and liquid assets across the regions, it totaled in the billions.

‘It must’ve been enough for Kang Wonho to convince his accomplices.’

Thus, actions that should have been legally impossible were secretly conducted.

Since it was illegal asset seizure, he fled overseas instead of engaging in a legal battle in Korea.

And as all of this unfolded, I wandered unknowingly.

Then, about a month later, a call came from Jinwoo.

Initially, I planned to ignore it.

But Jiing, jiing, jiiing.

After over ten missed calls accumulated, I suspected something was wrong.

With a nervous heart, I answered the call, only to hear a sobbing voice.

『Hyung, hyung, strange people came to the house… they yelled, trying to chase us out… I’m scared.』

When I wasn’t going to school and barely returned home, feeling estranged from my siblings.

Being asked to come home because Jinwoo was scared jolted me to my senses.

When I rushed over, an unbelievable scene unfolded.

“How can you still be here?”

“We’ve transferred the full payment already!”

“We don’t know your situation, just vacate the house immediately!”

There could have been excuses.

I was just eighteen then, dealing with the shock of losing my parents.

Even for the twins, I wasn’t strong enough then.

The sky that protected me, legally and economically, had disappeared.

I literally had no room to think about money, assets, or future.

‘But it’s just an excuse.’

It was the most terrible failure of my life.

‘Even seeing it again, it’s pathetic.’

Fortunately, we had people willing to help.

My parents’ friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and even school alumni.

Many offered help which allowed us to settle the debts from urgent medical procedures needed for my parents.

‘I nearly had a stroke when they called saying the hospital bills weren’t sorted.’

If we had to pay off the hospital bills, life would have been multiple times harder.

Thankfully, that worst-case scenario was avoided with surrounding help.

‘But that was it.’

They weren’t our family, nor were they responsible for my siblings or me.

Therefore, they had no obligation to raise us.

That’s what being strangers entailed ultimately.

With the energy they had, they had to care for their own children, which was understandable.

Among them, the only one who reached out a hand was Jonghun.

Suddenly left on the streets, we could stay at his house.

“Just focus on finishing school. You need to go to college. Have you given up on your dream of becoming a prosecutor?”

Jonghun sincerely welcomed and tried to protect us siblings.

But we couldn’t stay there long.

‘Because I discovered his wife was abusing the twins.’

At some point, I trembled seeing Yeonwoo’s thighs covered with dark bruises.

“I understand.”

Yes, logically thinking now, I could understand.

“I mean, burdening someone with not one but three children suddenly must have been overwhelming.”

I was a high schooler often out of the house, but the twins were different.

They were home more often than not, which must have stressed her.

However, understanding logically and emotionally is different.

My mind felt like it was burning white.

“I’m not hurt, it’ll heal soon! And the lady… uh, uh… It was because I made a mistake first….”

Seeing Yeonwoo, unable to complain about pain, blaming herself, I couldn’t lift my head.

Because I felt too miserable and pathetic.

On top of it, whenever fights broke out between Jonghun and his wife because of us, it felt like the ground was collapsing beneath my feet.

Everything began with me and my mistakes.

The experiences then made me more cautious, always suspecting, and guarded.

From then, I promised myself never to tolerate failure again.

Also, I vowed to do anything for my siblings.

Somehow, even if at my expense, I planned to compensate.

It was my sense of duty, guilt, and compulsion.

I regretted the foolishness and wandering of that day to the point I couldn’t forget Kang Wonho.

‘If this is all the second trial entails, it’s rather anticlimactic.’

For my regrets weren’t enough to crush me again.

‘Hmph.’

I smugly watched the streaming of past events.

In many ways, I had changed since then.

I didn’t avert from despair but fell and rose again.

‘I’ve built things anew upon rising.’

It’s not logical for me to crumble over the same thing again.

‘Though it’s unpleasant.’

Knowing time can’t reverse, I didn’t despair further.

‘I’d better spend it preparing tuition for the kids.’

For me, worse than the current situation was having to make tragic choices to save my precious ones.

The most challenging part of the second trial was suppressing the intent to kill Kang Wonho.

Moreover, with time, guilt surpassed my resentment.

Staying longer at Jonghun’s house seemed to threaten his family.

It was then I realized I had to stand independently.

“Worried about growing distant from Jaehyuk as well.”

With money Jonghun had arranged, I found a small rented place.

From there, I methodically raised my siblings with my own efforts.

Upon achieving independence, the surroundings turned vividly white.

Returning to the space where Palao’s sanctuary lay.

“Is it over…?”

Is this the end? With bitter expression, I surveyed the space.

Golden eyes, familiar yet never acquainted.

“Palao…”

Even at a quiet call, Palao’s gaze remained fixed on me, unyielding.

Seemingly wanting to say something, or perhaps seeking something in me.

“What on earth is it you want from me? Could you please express your intentions more clearly?”

Frustration launched my words, but, as always, there was no response.

After some time exposed to its indecipherable stares…

Flicker.

As if the light of a bulb switched off, the golden eyes watching me disappeared.

「The successor candidate has confronted their errors.」

「The trial concludes.」

「The ability limit of the successor candidate will be lifted.」

Messages appeared in succession.

My eyebrows drew upward, sketching discontent.

“Is it truly over?”

Dumbfounded and suspicious, it felt like leaving work incomplete.

「Would you like to inherit the divinity left by Palao? (Y/N)」

Nonetheless, a system window appeared clearly in front of me.

“Well then, yes.”

Taking a breath, worried it might hurt dirty again, I pressed the button.

Thankfully, no pain followed this time.

The overwhelming divinity entering my body was slightly taxing.

“Phew…”

An oppressive feeling inside, packed and solid.

Yet, over the discomfort, I focused all nerves understanding foreign information imprinted into memory.

In the beginning, it was conversations never before shared.

– I see potential, and you see probabilities.

– By seeing together, we might find hope.

In the end, seeing an unfamiliar person in my vision.

Long black hair down to her ankles.

Eyes bright like leaving trails as she moved.

And the divine aura emanating from the unfamiliar existence.

“…… Meferoseta?”

As soon as I realized the identity of the person before me, the memory abruptly cut off.

Damn System