It can’t be true.
Heavenly Killing Star looked at the man brazenly claiming to be Cheon So-hee’s brother right in front of him.
Just earlier, in the diary he’d seen, this man knew his past and even his name.
At first, Heavenly Killing Star was bewildered after reading the man’s diary, but as he calmed his mind, other possibilities began to surface.
Could it be that someone from Joseon remembers a child with black hair and red eyes?
In a certain village, a child with red eyes was born.
Her name was Cheon So-hee. It would be like remembering a rare white animal being born. Although white animals are considered omens of good fortune, her red eyes were considered an omen of misfortune.
All the villagers who lived with the child having red eyes died. Indeed, red eyes are a bad omen. This man, coincidentally remembering what he had heard.
Is it possible that such a man forged a diary to avoid being killed?
Heavenly Killing Star kept this possibility in mind as he woke the man.
‘You knew my true face.’
Upon waking the man, he discovered something even more astonishing.
It has already been over ten years since he left Joseon. There may be someone who knows that the village where the child with red eyes lived was wiped out ten years ago. But someone who remembers the child’s face from ten years ago—could they simply know it as a rumor?
That could be possible. He must not let doubts slip away.
Because it could mean death, he could have searched through his memories to remember what he heard about his appearance from someone else.
Calling himself a brother while knowing his true face! Right now, he was on the verge of being fooled by a conman. Cheon So-hee gathered her slightly shaken thoughts.
If she kept listening to the man’s words, she might find a flaw.
Then, she could cut him down.
Let’s listen just a bit more.
That was Heavenly Killing Star’s mistake.
‘It’s the older brother Kang Yoon-ho who played with me back in the day, not Cheon Yoon-ho.’
“There’s no way I could have had an older brother who played with me….”
A slight falter in her words. Could it be that she had an older brother who played with her when she was young? Could she say for sure that she did not?
Cheon So-hee was not certain. Memories from ten years ago were fragmented and consisted mainly of family-related ones.
‘Even though my brother was older, I always won at Jacks.’
The man gazed at Heavenly Killing Star with a nostalgic look. Don’t look at me with those eyes. Don’t look at someone who isn’t in my memories.
“I don’t remember anything like that.”
Heavenly Killing Star said with a gruff voice and was taken aback. What kind of voice was that?
“It could be that I’ve forgotten since it’s been so long. It’s been over ten years, after all.”
The man nodded as if he found that reasonable. What could possibly be so reasonable?
This man had played Jacks with her when they were young. A blank memory. Even if she tried to remember, it was only foggy memories. Heavenly Killing Star imagined herself playing Jacks in that fog.
She couldn’t recall anything. But she could not firmly deny it either. Those were memories that had already vanished, so it was impossible to tell if they were true or false.
In a moment of hope, Heavenly Killing Star envisioned the man’s childhood appearance alongside her own childhood image and tossed them into the haze of memories.
It would be fine to leave a hint in the vanished memories. If what the man said was true, it should suddenly resurface one day.
But indeed, the man’s words would not be true. There was a critical contradiction in his statements. There were no survivors from that village.
‘I was waiting for my father in a fishing village and used to play with you.’
The man’s words were logical. Such a person could indeed have existed. Heavenly Killing Star imagined a well-dressed boy staring blankly at the sea in the quiet fishing village.
If such a boy existed, wouldn’t her younger self have had some interest in him? If they had become friends, wouldn’t they have played Jacks and other games together?
‘Why are you in the Central Plains when I thought you died that day?’
Japanese pirates wielding swords. The burning village. The bodies of the villagers. Blood and corpses everywhere. Mom. Dad.
The horrific memories flashed through Heavenly Killing Star’s mind like a rapid slideshow. Memories she wished to forget. Her chest felt tight. A burning fire scorched her heart.
“I don’t want to talk about it…”
She barely spat out the words. If she hadn’t, she might have thrown up something else.
‘I’m sorry. The memory of that day must be too horrific for you. I was too insensitive.’
The man seemed to feel pity, as if he understood Heavenly Killing Star’s pain.
What do you know? You weren’t even there.
Who are you to pretend to understand?
Heavenly Killing Star found the man’s attitude rather annoying. The anger that arose from recalling that day directed towards Kang Yoon-ho. She threw away the somewhat trusting feeling she had towards the man.
“No. I get that you were in our village. And I understand that you were friends with my mom. But if we were that close, I would remember you.”
She remembered the village’s appearance; she remembered her father and mother, but couldn’t recall anyone else. However, there was no way she wouldn’t remember someone she was that close to.
Though she had lost most of her memories, the precious ones remained. That man wasn’t in those precious memories.
Heavenly Killing Star did not trust the man because of the anger towards him and the wounds of that day, along with her certainty about her own memories.
This man is a liar.
Just as Heavenly Killing Star was certain, an unimaginable bomb of words dropped.
*
The foundation of Heavenly Killing Star’s logic was her memory.
No matter how many times she says it, in the end, it gets deflected.
If it means she can believe me, then I must shatter the foundation of logic.
Using a twist that was present in the original work as a bomb.
“So-hee, do you remember when your mother made you a flower crown when you were young?”
“How do you know that?”
Heavenly Killing Star’s eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. In an instant, Cheon So-hee’s expression broke from its blankness.
This wasn’t the same expression she put on to suppress her feelings earlier. It was the most emotionally expressive face she had shown today. Good omen, huh?
How do I know?
Well, naturally, I know.
[Mom… I can’t go where mom is, right?]
Heavenly Killing Star had a long, unnecessary flashback scene when he died. As he died, he recalled his mother. In that scene, a young Heavenly Killing Star was smiling while looking at her mother with a flower crown on her head.
Even after losing her past memories, one happiness remained in her heart, supporting her through.
“We went to play together that day. Your mother made you a flower crown in the flower field. I remember it was made with white flowers. Do you remember?”
“I remember the white flowers.”
“I made you a ring out of yellow dandelions beside you. Don’t you remember that?”
“That was made by my mother, not you… was it?”
Heavenly Killing Star was questioned back. Cheon So-hee’s gaze was trembling.
A faint distant memory. Our memories from childhood were never that clear. Even a precious moment was rarely remembered completely.
Especially so for her, who had forgotten her past memories. Heavenly Killing Star breathed life into that scene, which existed only as a single fragment of memory.
Heavenly Killing Star had lost most of her memories, leaving only fragments.
Because they were lost, because they were fragmentary, they were precious. I am a new stranger who wasn’t in her memories. If I recklessly disturbed that memory, I could be doubted indefinitely. That’s why I prepared the bomb.
The memory that she believed she remembered perfectly.
A memory she recalled during tough times.
If even that memory becomes doubtful.
Could she truly question me as a fake brother?
“Right. Did we not climb the mountain together with you, your mother, and me? Your mother remembers, and the flower crown remembers, and the flower ring remembers, but how could you not remember the older brother who played with you? I’m feeling a bit hurt here.”
I let out a slight sigh of disappointment and turned my head sideways. I wanted to check her expression, but to keep the act from falling apart, I needed to immerse myself in it.
Doesn’t it feel real? Hurry and acknowledge me as your childhood friend.
With my statement hanging in the air, silence fell back into the room.
A short time, yet it felt like an eternity in silence.
I’m starting to feel anxious. Please just admit defeat already.
“Okay. I get it.”
“So-hee! Finally!”
It was tough. Now let’s shake hands and finish this.
Filled with joy, I turned to look at Heavenly Killing Star, but her atmosphere seemed off somehow. Her body was trembling slightly.
“I know you’re someone who was in our village. I get that you knew my mom. I understand we were friends. I understand it all, but… I don’t remember you.”
Cheon So-hee bit her lips on the right side.
Her face tried to maintain a blank expression, but it continued to tremble slightly. An expression trying to hold back something threatening to emerge.
But in the end, she couldn’t hold back.
A single tear rolled down Cheon So-hee’s left eye.
“So-hee.”
This doesn’t bode well.
“Who are you? Why don’t I know you? Why are you pretending to know me?”
You could feel the moisture in her words. The words carried a sense of frustration. The anger didn’t seem directed at me; it was like anger directed at herself.
“So-hee, it’s possible you don’t remember because it was a long time ago…”
Hey, don’t cry. What’s wrong?
“Shut up!”
For the first time today, Heavenly Killing Star raised her voice.
“……”
Yes. I will be quiet now.
“Your words might be true. My suspicions could be true. But I don’t know. I don’t understand. So, I will watch you.”
There was a resolve in her words and face. Cheon So-hee looked at me while wiping her tears.
“What do you mean?”
“I will stay by you until I regain my memories. Or until I find out that you’re lying. I’ll be right there beside you.”
Cheon So-hee put away her Hidden Knife and pointed at me with her hand. Her face no longer attempted to maintain a blank expression. Her face was filled with firm determination.
Of course, that determination was directed at me.
Ah… this could completely ruin me.
