episode_0063

Was it to mend the torn and tattered body? Or perhaps it was just time for the worn-out soul to be filled again?

Or maybe he just wanted to fall asleep and die.

Sihyuk, who had fallen asleep early in the morning, could not wake up until the afternoon of the next day.

“… … .”

He woke up after sleeping for a whole day, but the harsh reality was still there. It was still there, laughing at him for being so miserable.

Shihyuk got up from his seat and carefully looked around the basement.

The blacksmith shop was left as it was after its heavy workload. The interior, which had always been neat, was now a complete mess.

Materials were scattered here and there on the open, slightly dusty mana stove and shelves. The walls and floor were all covered in the blood he had spilled, and they were dirty.

Fortunately, there haven’t been any visible problems yet, but if left alone, things will get quite bad.

It was a space prepared for him by his master. He couldn’t leave it like that.

“… I guess I should clean it up.”

Shihyuk went out as if possessed and came back with cleaning tools.

I started to calmly organize my surroundings. I put the scattered items in order, dusted them, and rubbed them.

When the hardened blood clumped up and stuck to the rag, I washed it once in hot water and brought it back to wipe it.

The series of overly stiff movements seemed more mechanical than regular, and the expressionless, cold face seemed empty of emotion and somewhat alien.

The long cleaning job didn’t end until almost midnight.

The rags, buckets, and cleaned up blood clots that were now completely useless were all thrown into a garbage bag without any distinction. They would be burned later with their own fire.

He finished cleaning by wiping away the moisture with a dry towel.

Sniff, Sihyuk wrinkled his nose. He could smell something musty and musty coming from his body.

He left the neat and tidy forge, crossed the messy house and headed straight for the bathroom.

The clothes that had been soaked in blood had become sticky as they dried, becoming one with him. Instead of taking them off, they had to be torn off.

Sihyuk gathered the rags that had been his clothes into a corner and poured hot water on his naked body.

Water seeped into the cracks in my torn flesh and it stung. My whole body rustled.

He absentmindedly inserted his fingers into the wounds on his side, shoulder, and thigh, pulling out the small pieces of dirt and stones that had been lodged in them. There was a rattling sound of stones rolling out of the drain.

After roughly shaking off the water and coming out, Sihyuk went into his room and opened his closet. The only clothes left in the corner of the house that lacked humanity, like him, were underwear, work clothes, and a few coats.

I didn’t care about my damp body, which wasn’t even completely dry, so I put on some clothes. The damp soles of my feet grazed the floor and clung to it.

What should I do next? Since I’ve cleaned up the forge, I think it would be a good idea to clean up the house. While I’m at it, I might as well clean up the yard. After that, I’ll make some equipment for the first time in a while. I’ll light the stove and start hammering-

“… … .”

embrace.

That wouldn’t change anything. Shihyuk knew. Even now, he was running away.

In fact, cleaning was a secondary issue. I just wanted to turn my attention elsewhere.

Perhaps what he was wiping away was not the hardened blood, but the emotions that had turned black and rotten. Perhaps what he was washing away was not his wounded body, but his heart.

Shihyuk threw himself on the sofa.

When we chatted, the old man would sometimes hum a melodic tune when he was in a good mood. It was sometimes an old pop song with no lyrics, and sometimes an old military song.

Shihyuk loved listening to that old humming.

The old man surprisingly liked snacks. He didn’t eat expensive snacks, but whenever the neighborhood rice cake shop brought him freshly made white rice cakes or black sesame rice cakes in the morning, he would always share them with him.

Shihyuk sometimes liked the snacks the old man offered him.

There were often times when the old man would play cheerful trot music from the old radio he always carried around. Sometimes, the old man would get excited and start shaking his body to the beat of the trot music. Eunha, who was listening next to him, would also jump to the beat and dance along with the old man.

Shihyuk liked to watch it from afar.

When he served a meal to an old man, the old man would bring another glass and invite him to join him. Shihyuk did not refuse. He was not drunk, but he was always intoxicated by the atmosphere.

In his memory, he was feeling a little bit drowsy, and was looking at the old man looking at the red sunset. The back of the man smiling faintly was large, and the shadow was growing longer beyond it.

Shihyuk liked to sit shoulder to shoulder and watch the sunset together.

And, and, and….

It was a very ordinary and unremarkable day. But everyone was warm and friendly.

The old man became a good mentor to Shihyuk, replacing his lost teacher, and became a good friend.

It had been about a year and a half since they had met, and although the time they spent together was shorter and they felt a bit more special, Si-hyuk thought those days were precious.

At first, he may have been finding comfort in doing things with the old man that he could not do with his teacher.

But such shallow intentions did not last long. The old man gradually became absorbed into his daily life.

Shihyuk, really.

I was happy to spend time with my elders and sometimes my sisters, seeing their faces from time to time.

So much so that I wish days like this could continue forever.

But life is cruel,

In an instant, something that you think is precious and like a treasure is taken away. No matter how hard you struggle, you can never get what was taken away back.

The feeling of the small happiness that I had barely managed to obtain disappearing like a bubble, the feeling of it dissipating like a mirage.

It was miserable.

And then the next day, the sun pops its head out again.

I felt nauseous.

It’s painful, but the world is fine. Even though it’s so hard, time passes calmly as if nothing happened.

Time is so cruel, as time goes by, these strong feelings will gradually fade away.

The gentle consideration he had for the elderly, and the gratitude he showed in return for that consideration.

This pain of losing an old person, and the sadness of an empty and hollow heart.

Even the memories I had with him will one day fade and be buried in a corner of his memory.

Shihyuk didn’t like that. He was angry. He couldn’t stand it.

The memories we shared together, even this pain. They were all his, and were meant for the old man. Isn’t it too shameless to try to take even this for yourself? Isn’t it vicious?

I don’t want to lose anything. I don’t want to forget anything. No, it would have been better if I had never given it to you in the first place. Then I wouldn’t have known this feeling. I wouldn’t have felt this emotion again.

I feel like the purest thing I ever had has been defiled.

The feeling of having lost something precious.

It feels like everything has hit rock bottom.

If you do that, you will inadvertently start to think like this.

In this world,

It would be okay if it were to break.

For a long time, Shihyuk stared blankly at the ceiling with his mouth shut.

-.-.-

I couldn’t sleep. Of course, I had been sleeping for nearly ten days since I built the equipment. It was my mind that was tired, but my body could handle the fatigue.

He stayed up all night playing with his cell phone.

Finding out about this wasn’t difficult at all.

As soon as you turn on the Internet, a special memorial page the size of a door is opened right on the start screen. Underneath it, news headlines are boldly posted.

The development of media meant that Sihyuk could access all the information and circumstances disclosed to society from his seat.

Where the incident occurred. How dangerous it was. How many people were killed or injured. How it unfolded according to the past date and time.

And who solved it?

[For the hero who sacrificed himself for everyone until the end, [Admiral Yi Sun-sin].]

Of course, it also applies to the elderly.

The news column was long and almost praising [Chungmugong] for his life, his accomplishments, and his noble life. Thousands of comments were reminiscing about [Chungmugong] and praising him. However… .

Well, it didn’t really hit me. It didn’t really give me any particular inspiration.

It’s not that I’m belittling his achievements. I’ve had a feeling since long ago that he would be a great person. Even that was a person whose abilities were difficult to estimate. Just looking at his years of experience and knowledge, I couldn’t take him lightly.

[… So, if you look at the last photo he left behind…]

Indeed, Shihyuk was surprised when he saw a photo taken 30 years ago of his teacher, an old man, and a woman, but that was all.

The teacher and the elder knew each other. Their families and acquaintances happened to know each other. That was about it. My impressions ended there.

Because, because.

Just as Baekhyun was the only [Greatest] and [Greatest Blacksmith] to Shihyuk, he was a respected teacher and father.

Because the old man was not a hero [Admiral Yi Sun-sin], but a human being, ‘Mr. Gong.’

The column was informative. But it didn’t tell the story of Gong, a man who loved music, snacks, played with girls, and sometimes had a quirky side.

That was a little… sad.

With his eyes sunken low, Sihyuk looked at the next article.

[[Union], we will track down all those involved in this incident without exception and punish them severely together with the people.]

[There are also concerns in some parts of the United States that the interference is excessive.]

[What all Koreans are hoping for. Each side of the world will acknowledge [Union’s] actions in consideration of the sentiments of the Korean people… However, this incident is an exceptional case. There will be no next time.]

[66 high-ranking public officials linked to the mastermind Maeng Ki-hwan. What conspiracy did they commit in relation to this incident?]

I read the news. On the screen, there were haggard-faced lynxes with their heads bowed down.

There they were, burying their heads in the sides of precious beings, devouring their entrails and scraping at their pale ribs with their dirty teeth.

“… … .”

Shihyuk turned off his phone and got up from his seat. He walked down the stairs that still had faint blood stains on them and headed to the underground blacksmith shop.

I light a fire in the brazier. It wasn’t the five-colored flames I always used when making equipment.

It’s black.

A black flame arose. The pitch-black flame was burning in the basement, where the lights were on, emitting darkness instead of light. Sihyuk, who had been watching silently, put the magic stone in.

Kik, gagagagak, shihahahak, kkiaaak, the magic stone placed inside the furnace began to distort with a strange sound.

The sound of the metallic substance inside twisting and crumpling along with the mana sounded like the scream of some being falling and falling endlessly.

Something evil was dancing and laughing in ecstasy.

Before long, something dull and black emerged from the brazier.

It was not even a mana crystal, but it was bubbling inside. It was sticky like a red bean porridge with little moisture, and it made you shiver with disgust when you touched it.

On the surface, black iron powder like coal ash was scattered, lingering in the air and then disappearing.

There was a deep, putrid stench that could not be eliminated even by the large air purifiers and ventilators installed in the blacksmith shop.

“… … .”

Shihyuk reached out for the hammer.