Chapter 411

In the end, it is said that retribution and the natural order of things are undeniable.

The karmic consequences of 17-year-old Cheon Byungho, who lived with a defiant mindset, were passed on to 57-year-old Cheon Kyujin after 40 years.

Bang bang bang bang!

“Open the door, Saetbyeol! I’m giving you 5 seconds, hurry up.”

“No! If I open it, you’ll hit me, won’t you?”

In his 20s, when he burned through the essence of life, in his 30s, where he lost everything, and in his 40s, where he worked obsessively.

The word that summed up the 50s of Cheon Kyujin was ‘bleakness.’

Colleagues and graduate students engaged only in superficial conversations, fulfilling the roles defined by society, but genuine human relationships were lacking.

When he came home from work and opened the entrance door,

Cheon Kyujin could not stand the dark shadows that filled the floor.

No matter how much he turned up the boiler, it could not replace the warmth of a person.

“You just made me lose an entire page! Do you have any idea how long it will take to redraw this circuit?”

“Why are you blaming me for that? You should have saved it properly every time!”

Living a monotonous life, dutifully consuming nutrients and repeating commutes had worn him out.

He profoundly resonated with the saying that life is lived without dying.

However, after meeting NaeMe, Cheon Kyujin’s life changed 180 degrees.

When he returned home, there was a child who greeted him brightly.

The mundane aspects of life gained significance thanks to her presence.

Since Saetbyeol joined the family, the house began to come alive.

“Open up!”

“No!”

It was hard to believe that such a house used to be as silent as a grave.

The fierce noises generated by the girls still echoed in his ears.

He had prided himself on having two bundles of overflowing happiness, yet for some reason, Cheon Kyujin’s head throbbed with pain.

Crack-!

As the doorknob of Saetbyeol’s room broke, NaeMe’s body was flung backward.

NaeMe, who had fallen on her butt, glared with eyes sharp as a tiger.

Seeing the struggle from the living room, Professor Cheon eventually shut his eyes tightly.

The door, which had been firmly shut, creaked open.

Peeking through the gap, Saetbyeol made a baffled expression.

“How did you break through a locked door? This isn’t right…!”

“You just wait right there!”

“Ahhhh! Save me, Saetbyeol! I’m NaeMe’s Daddy!”

In a house that wasn’t very big, NaeMe dashed at full speed.

Thump thump thump thump—

There was no one living in the apartment below, but the vibrations could easily disturb the neighbors upstairs and next door.

A door without a lock was useless in front of NaeMe.

The sounds of things falling, glass breaking, and the sounds of chaos combined into a trio.

Unable to stand the tyranny any longer, Professor Cheon called out to his daughters in a serious voice.

“Saetbyeol, No Name. Stop fighting and come here.”

Finally, NaeMe came dragging Saetbyeol by her neck.

Cheon Kyujin’s headache grew worse.

“NaeMe, what is that on your face…?”

Upon seeing the scribbles on NaeMe’s face, Professor Cheon asked.

Three black lines were drawn on each of her cheeks, resembling cat whiskers.

On her forehead, the word ‘Demon Lord’ was written in neat script in Hangul.

“I was tired and fell asleep, and while I was out, Saetbyeol scribbled on my face.”

NaeMe puffed out her cheeks, pouring out her complaints.

“So, Dad, you have to keep her out of my room.”

“She could have easily erased it with magic, couldn’t she? Was it really worth breaking my doorknob to chase after you?”

“You pulled the cord out recklessly, and that made one page of my thesis vanish.”

“That wasn’t intentional. I just wanted to use the curling iron in her room. I even apologized!”

“If apologies could solve problems, why do we have laws and fists?”

“Both of you, stop it!”

“Hmph.”

“…”

This wasn’t the first time something like this happened.

As the two girls spent more time together, the frequency of their spats had doubled.

Familiar with the routine, NaeMe and Saetbyeol kneeled and raised their hands.

“Oh dear…”

In the meantime, Professor Cheon was picking up the fragments of the doorknob scattered on the living room floor.

He placed what was once ‘a doorknob’ down and stood before the girls.

Suddenly, he bowed deeply.

“Daddy!”

“Father!”

“I’m really sorry. Do I have to formally request this for you two to stop fighting?”

““We’re sorry…””

When the commotion settled, Professor Cheon took charge of the situation.

“Saetbyeol, why have you been so eager to annoy NaeMe lately? She’s been quite bothered by it, you know.”

“I just want to play together more… I’m sorry. I won’t play around anymore.”

“NaeMe, even if you’re angry, isn’t it appropriate to throw a punch first? Didn’t I always tell you to solve things verbally?”

“You did.”

“Then what’s this about?”

“I have no excuse. I’m sorry.”

Parenting in his late 50s had added more lines to Professor Cheon’s forehead.

Yet he absolutely did not miss his previous life.

But sometimes, very occasionally, he would crave peaceful and quiet times.

With his hands behind his back, the father of two girls solemnly walked toward his study.

* * *

Since revealing my past life, Saetbyeol had become unabated in her mischief.

I nestled into Saetbyeol’s arms and began writing my thesis on my laptop.

It was a reasonable compromise made with the promise that she wouldn’t prank me anymore today.

Instead, Saetbyeol would play with my hair or occasionally pinch my ears but never crossed the line further.

Squish squish—

“Sister, it seems like Father is really mad.”

“Yeah.”

“Shouldn’t we do something for him? I have a great idea—”

“Just let me finish this.”

“Wow, you’re a devoted daughter even in the heat of the moment. It seems like the thesis has your full attention.”

Who caused this mess in the first place?

I almost slapped Saetbyeol’s annoyingly thigh but stopped myself, remembering Dad’s warning.

Tap—

My lost hands barely brushed against the flesh of her thighs.

“Hmm?”

“But Saetbyeol, I’m curious about one thing.”

“Yeah?”

“Aren’t you afraid of me?”

Thinking back on my past life wasn’t particularly pleasant,

So I didn’t go into detail about the life I’d lived.

I just shared the bigger stories, like being persecuted in the palace, being framed for a coup, exile, disasters, and wars, just a bit in passing.

Today, she seemed particularly fixated on the theme of the Demon Lord and was teasing me relentlessly.

An answer never came back.

‘Perhaps she secretly thinks I’m complicated… That’s natural, I suppose.’

Maybe she was just trying to joke with me to get along despite the awkwardness.

When I lifted my head to check her expression.

“Pffft…!”

“Huh?”

Saetbyeol had puffed her cheeks out to the limit, desperately trying to hold in her laughter.

“Ahhahaha! This is too funny! Ugh, you’re trying to make me laugh to death, aren’t you?!”

“Drool’s flying… No, this is quite offensive.”

“Think of my log-like physique. I bet no one is scared of me.”

“What do you mean no one? Even now, everyone at school is probably pointing fingers at me after seeing that video.”

“Yeah, it’s not that no one thinks so, but it’s not as drastic as you think. Don’t worry too much!”

Saetbyeol smiled brightly.

Now that the mood had lightened, should I bring it up?

Cautiously entwining my fingers with Saetbyeol’s, I spoke.

“I killed someone.”

Saetbyeol’s face, which had been smiling broadly, lost all mirth in an instant.

“In my past life, I killed someone. Not just one, but several. Most of them probably had families to return to—parents, wives, children…”

“I don’t care. If they were people, I’ve killed them too.”

“That was just NPCs from a game! People don’t turn into light or dust when stabbed!”

“It’s just several.”

“It’s not just several.”

“Are there a hundred?”

“Definitely over a hundred.”

“A thousand?”

“Probably… I think I’ve gone over that.”

We sat in silence for a while, not saying a word.

Saetbyeol suddenly tightened her grip on our linked fingers.

With a face on the verge of tears, she asked,

“Was there anyone among them who tried to kill you?”

Each word she struggled to form was laden with a sadness I couldn’t quite understand.

I shook my head.

“Not a single one. Yeah. That’s how it was…”

“See! I told you NaeMe isn’t that kind of person! Stop scaring people, okay?!”

“Are you crying? Why?”

I asked genuinely not understanding why.

“I don’t know! You’ve kept talking about serious stuff and ruined the mood!”

This sensitive little cat sniffled while wiping the tears flowing down my sleeves.

She really is a strange kid.

Regardless, a warm sense of relief filled my heart.

I closed the laptop and, like an excited child, waved my hands and said,

“Let’s discuss how to make Dad feel better.”

* * *

Contrary to my boldly declared intentions, I had little confidence in Saetbyeol’s plan.

“I can’t dance. Can I back out now?”

“Pfft! It makes no sense that you can dance awkwardly and not do this. Just shut up and follow along.”

Saetbyeol had brought in some silly, polka-dotted pants.

I was already uncomfortable with the ridiculous costume, then she told me to wear a weird pair of glasses too.

“Okay, sister, pick between these pixel sunglasses and the alien glasses.”

Both seemed utterly absurd. Why do cool kids buy stuff like this? Why do they even sell it?

I couldn’t comprehend either the suppliers or the consumers with my mind.

“Pixel sunglasses—”

“No, you’re wearing the green alien glasses! Wow, you look great in those! Make sure to pull your pants up to your waist. Did you bring the money shooter too? Let’s go!”

[Vtube Playlist: Funkytown]

We entered the study, playing a song that was released before my father was born.

According to Saetbyeol, this song had been globally popular in the 2020s.

Dad was taken aback upon seeing us.

There couldn’t be more humiliation than this.

“Remember, after the accompaniment ends and the second verse starts, you shoot the money gun, right?”

“I can hear you…!”

“What does it matter, haha.”

Professor Cheon pushed his chair forward and put on the glasses.

“Wow, what is this, kids?”

He seemed to have a rough idea of what we were attempting.

Each time I became conscious of his gaze, waves of embarrassment crashed over me.

I swayed my neck to the throbbing disco punk beat, preparing to dance.

[Thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump~]

The dance was just shaking my hands and moving my hips from side to side.

Even the simplest sword style of the Imperial Palace Sword Method would be harder than this.

When the first verse passed, my face was nearly about to explode.

[Thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump~]

What felt like an endless instrumental finally ended and the second verse began.

As promised to Saetbyeol, we showered Professor Cheon with stacks of 50,000 and 100,000 won bills.

“Whoa! It’s money! Daddy, we love you so much!”

“Dad, I love… you.”

“Dad says he can’t hear you clearly!”

“I love you, Dad!”

How could saying ‘I love you’ be so embarrassing?

It’s a truth I would never understand, even after living multiple lives.

After the song ended, Dad smiled broadly and patted our heads.

“I love you too. And I’m sorry for scolding you earlier, NaeMe.”

“It’s okay. I know I did make a mistake.”

“I was more at fault here. How could I let our NaeMe sleep while scribbling on her face.”

“Y-Yes? That was Saetbyeol…”

I turned my head towards Saetbyeol.

She shook her head vigorously, affirming she hadn’t done it.

For the record, Saetbyeol had terrible handwriting.

‘No way, could that neat and orderly script be…?’

Professor Cheon’s last words sealed the deal.

“But still, can you forgive me since I apologized to NaeMe early on?”

[I’m sorry. Do I have to formally request this for you two to stop fighting?]

The two scenes overlapped, and I felt a profound sense of betrayal.

When he bowed to us, he had genuinely offered me an apology.

Doesn’t this event mean it was a scheme concocted with Saetbyeol?

The two of them were laughing while pointing at the hidden camera that had been stashed away in the bookshelf.

“Our NaeMe wants to be a Demon Lord when she grows up!”

“It’s good to dream big. Dad will always cheer for you, NaeMe.”

Saetbyeol shouted teasingly, while Dad grinned broadly.

No, he wasn’t Dad anymore. I downgraded him back to Professor Cheon Kyujin.

“Thank you for raising me, Professor Cheon Kyujin.”

Without looking back, I fled to the bathroom.

“NaeMe! No! Don’t, NaeMe!”

Still… I should say ‘I love you’ more often in the future.

The resonance of the word ‘love’ lingered gently on my lips.