Chapter: 08
“Grandpa! What are you going to buy me for my birthday?”
“Hahaha, you little rascal. What do you want?”
“I want a robot! Buy me a robot toy!!”
A dark, freezing semi-basement room.
A tiny window that could only barely be reached by standing on tiptoe after climbing onto a desk and then a box placed on top of it.
The countless large and small feet passing by beyond that window…
That was the entirety of the world Yeonwoo could see.
“Of course, of course. If my grandson wants one, then Grandpa will buy it! Come on! Let’s go pick out a toy!”
“Yay! Grandpa’s the best!!”
A toy…
Yeonwoo didn’t know what a robot was.
But judging by how happy the child looked, he thought it must be something incredibly, unbelievably delicious.
Grrr…
It had been fifteen days since his mother left home.
Yeonwoo was still too young to cook for himself or unlock the door and leave the house.
I’m hungry.
I want to eat a toy too.
If I had a grandpa, could I eat one?
Would it taste good?
Grrr…
Mom…
When are you coming back…?
The smell of food drifting in from the street beyond the window was all Yeonwoo was allowed to enjoy.
So every day, he clung to that window.
It was the only thing little Yeonwoo could do.
Flash!
Evening had fallen, and darkness blanketed the land.
After sleeping the entire day, Yeonwoo opened his eyes.
For a few moments, his round eyes stared blankly at the ceiling before he suddenly shot upright.
His nostrils twitched.
Sniff… sniff…
Thud, thud!
Bang!
The door burst open.
“Meat!”
Fresh bird meat!
And there were two of them!?
As he dashed outside, Yeonwoo’s eyes immediately found meat roasting deliciously over the campfire.
It was pheasant.
His favorite.
Saliva instantly filled his mouth.
Ah!
As if remembering something, Yeonwoo hurriedly looked around the yard.
A moment later, rustling came from behind the house, and Woonhyun appeared carrying an armful of straw.
“Grandpa!”
“You’re awake?”
Woonhyun greeted him with a smile.
Yeonwoo’s eyes sparkled brightly.
His cheeks nearly caved in from the huge grin spreading across his face as he nodded.
“Yeah!”
“The meat has just about finished cooking. Come over.”
Patter!
“You should put your shoes on.”
Pat…
“…”
Patter, patter, patter!
After hurriedly putting on his shoes, Yeonwoo ran over and sat beside Woonhyun.
While feeding straw into the fire, Woonhyun picked up a well-roasted pheasant leg and handed it to Yeonwoo.
“It’s hot, so don’t rush.”
“Okay!”
The meat had only just been taken off the fire.
It was piping hot.
Holding both ends of the skewer, Yeonwoo carefully cooled it.
Woonhyun then placed the remaining three pheasant legs in front of him.
Crackle… crackle…
Squatting before the blazing campfire, blowing gently to cool his food…
The child looked tiny.
Far too tiny.
To have been thrown into such a cruel and merciless place, he was nothing more than a little boy.
“Yeonwoo.”
“Hm?”
Yeonwoo answered while blowing on the meat.
“Would you like to learn martial arts?”
“Hm?”
He turned to look at Woonhyun.
His eyes were filled with confusion, as if asking what he was talking about.
“I saw the books in your room. Aren’t they martial arts manuals?”
“They are.”
“Doesn’t that mean you’re interested in martial arts?”
“No.”
Yeonwoo took a huge bite of the meat.
“It’s hoooot!!”
White puffs of breath burst from his mouth as he tried to cool the burning heat.
“I told you to eat slowly! Water! Drink some water!”
“Hoo, hoo!”
After pouring cold water into his mouth to cool it, Yeonwoo happily chewed and swallowed before continuing.
“Mister hired a teacher for me, but I said it was boring and I didn’t want to learn. So he told me I had to at least read those books and gave them to me.”
“By ‘Mister’… you mean the man who bought you?”
“Yeah.”
Woonhyun let out a low hum.
If the man had tried to teach the child martial arts, then at the very least, he wanted the boy to survive.
He had bought the child to preserve his bloodline, yet perhaps he hadn’t completely abandoned his humanity.
“Then why won’t you learn? You know the place you’re destined to go is dangerous, don’t you?”
“I still don’t want to learn martial arts. I’m already full, and I’m having fun. I’ll just live like this until I die.”
“Die…! Don’t speak so lightly of death. If you learn martial arts, then maybe you won’t have to…”
“I don’t mind dying.”
The detached answer, spoken without understanding its weight, squeezed Woonhyun’s heart.
Unable to hold himself back, he shouted.
“You’ve only lived for a little over ten years! How can you speak so casually about death? Is your life so worthless to you?! Aren’t you afraid of dying?!”
At Woonhyun’s raised voice, Yeonwoo’s eyes widened.
Then, stubborn defiance appeared in them.
“No! I’m not scared at all!”
Yeonwoo raised his voice too.
Whether he thought he was being scolded or believed they were arguing, he forgot all about the meat in his hands and shouted back.
“When you’re dead, you won’t be hungry anymore, and you won’t hurt anymore! Why would I be scared? Being hungry is a hundred times, a thousand times scarier!”
“How can you say such a thing?! Have you ever died before? Hunger is something you can endure for a while! But once you die, everything ends!”
“It doesn’t end! Grandpa doesn’t know anything!”
“I’ve seen far more of this world than you have! Look! If you die, you won’t even be able to eat the food you love so much ever again…”
You won’t ever be able to eat it again.
But Woonhyun couldn’t finish his sentence.
The child’s tiny lips trembled.
His round eyes had already filled with clear tears.
Ah…
Only then did Woonhyun realize he had raised his voice.
This wasn’t how he had wanted to handle things.
“Yeon…”
“Grandpa’s an idiot!”
Yeonwoo suddenly jumped to his feet and ran outside.
Clutched tightly in his hands were all four pheasant legs, somehow gathered up while he moved.
“Yeonwoo!”
Woonhyun hurried after him.
It was already deep into the night, and the child was still so young.
The Dark Shadow Demon Lord had promised to eliminate the assassins, but there was no knowing when another threat might target the boy.
Woonhyun quickly followed.
But before he could even step out the door, he came to a stop.
“…”
Perhaps the child had realized it was dangerous.
Though he had run away as if fleeing, he hadn’t gone far.
He was just beyond the wall.
Suppressing his presence, Woonhyun quietly peeked over.
Yeonwoo was squatting beneath the wall, angrily tearing into the meat.
Every now and then he could faintly hear him mutter,
“I hate Grandpa…”
Ha…
Letting out a sigh of relief, Woonhyun leaned against the opposite side of the wall.
He looked up at the dark night sky.
Silver stars glittered brilliantly overhead, completely unaware of the feelings in his heart.
Bitterness filled Woonhyun’s gaze as he stared at them.
“Starting today, please bring the child slightly less food than the usual portion for breakfast and dinner.”
Early the next morning.
Woonhyun spoke to the servant delivering the meals.
The servant always came before Yeonwoo woke up, and Woonhyun had deliberately waited for him.
“Y-Yes? What do you mean…?”
The servant looked bewildered.
He came here every day, so he knew the child had been living with a mysterious man.
He had already reported it to the family head, but his master had simply said that it was the child’s life and not to interfere.
So he had pretended not to notice and continued bringing meals as usual.
“You’re saying… prepare less food?”
“That’s right.”
Woonhyun nodded.
“Reduce the snacks as well. No… don’t bring snacks anymore.”
“But the child always asks for—”
“Tell your master this: if he truly wants the child to survive, then he should do as I say.”
“To… save the child?”
The servant glanced toward the room where Yeonwoo was still asleep.
He knew why the main family cared so much about that child.
In five years, the boy would enter the Demon Dragon Hall.
In place of the young master.
That was why orders had been given to provide him with whatever he wanted to eat, wear, or have until the day he entered the Demon Dragon Hall.
The family head truly valued the child.
They even tried to teach him martial arts.
Though the plan had fallen apart because the child stubbornly refused.
The servant discreetly looked at Woonhyun.
Standing with his hands clasped behind his back, the old man exuded an indescribable aura of authority.
The servant knew nothing about where he had come from or what background he possessed.
Yet, for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to treat the man carelessly.
There was something suspicious about him, but in the end, the servant bowed.
“I’ll relay your words to the family head.”
“Thank you. I’ll take the meal to the child myself today.”
After handing over the food, the servant departed.
Once he had disappeared completely from sight, Woonhyun carried the tray inside, placed it on the wooden floor, and sat beside it.
Some time passed.
Rustling came from inside the room.
Click.
Soon, Yeonwoo stumbled out, rubbing his eyes, his hair sticking up in every direction.
He shuffled over and sat in front of the meal.
Though he was barely awake, he immediately picked up his spoon and scooped up some rice.
As always, Woonhyun placed a little side dish on top of each spoonful.
Lately, this had become the way the two of them started every morning.
“Yeonwoo… I’m sorry about yesterday.”
Chewing on a mouthful of rice, Yeonwoo looked at Woonhyun.
His eyes were still half-closed with sleep.
“I shouldn’t have spoken to you so harshly. I went too far. Will you accept my apology?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Yeonwoo nodded.
His casual reaction made it seem as though he had already forgotten everything that had happened the night before.
Smiling gently, Woonhyun placed another side dish onto Yeonwoo’s spoon.
“Then today, let’s have your favorite—pork. When I checked the trap yesterday, I found that a rather large one had been caught.”
“Really?!”
Yeonwoo’s eyes lit up.
“Really. After breakfast, shall we go see it together?”
“Yeah! I’d love to!!”
Immediately brightening, Yeonwoo hummed happily as he ate.
The way he kept wriggling in place made it obvious he wanted to run outside that very instant.
Seeing that, Woonhyun felt just a little guilty.
