I’ll Retire After Saving the World Chapter 97: Snowball (2)

TL: SHW

The small back stiffened with tension upon hearing footsteps.

eting my younger self is not sothing that happens easily. If I were a more optimistic person, I might have been excited about it.

But I am not such a hopeful person.

Originally, Hong Seok-young should have been standing here. Not .

While scratching his head and offering an awkward greeting, he would have bent his knees to match my eye level and extend his hand.

'You’ve grown a lot, haven’t you? Do you rember ?'

I stared blankly at that hand before turning away. Even though he might think he was being ignored, Hong Seok-young persistently extended his hand toward .

In the end, I took his hand. Hong Seok-young smiled brightly.

'Back then, uncle didn’t get to hear your na.'

'No. 12.'

Why did I respond like that?

I don’t really rember.

'Really? But I don’t want to call you that. What would you like to call you?'

Looking back now, that was the pivotal mont. The mont that would determine what kind of life I would live.

I didn’t hesitate back then.

'…Woo Hwijae.'

'Hwijae? That’s a beautiful na.'

Tired of holding, I just shrugged my shoulders.

Hong Seok-young, undeterred by my lukewarm reaction, continued to shake the hand he was holding.

'Hwijae. Don’t think of it as sothing weird.'

'It’s already weird.'

'Would you like to co with ?'

'Should I report you to the police?'

'No, I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t….'

Hong Seok-young laughed sheepishly and said,

'What do you think about becoming uncle's son?'

'I don’t want to.'

Of course, I rejected him. How could I trust such a suspicious man and agree to beco his son?

Still, Hong Seok-young was persistent. As if he wasn't busy at all, he diligently kept showing up, even giving a presentation about all the benefits of becoming his son. In the end, I was the one who surrendered first.

'Ah, fine! I'll be your son!'

And so, Woo Hwijae beca Hong Seok-young’s son.

For so reason, that made Hong Seok-young smile like he had just gained the whole world.

After the decision to adopt was finalized, I didn’t have much to do. Hong Seok-young, on the other hand, was busy with paperwork.

At one point, he asked a question.

'Hwijae. We can change your surna too. To mine. What do you think?'

'No.'

'No?'

''Hong Hwijae’ sounds weird.'

That wasn’t the only reason.

Even so, Hong Seok-young didn’t argue and accepted my decision.

Hong Seok-young’s son, Woo Hwijae.

Now I'll never be called that again.

It’s almost laughable now to think that child could be adopted by the old man.

The child glaring at with a deep frown is young Woo Hwijae, or rather, not even Woo Hwijae. Anyway, that child was adopted by Hong Seok-young… and beca happy. So happy that he could scoff at those dreadful days in the research lab as if they were nothing.

I took away that childhood from him.

The sweet ti that I know about because I experienced it. All the things my father did for .

No, my father himself.

I took him away.

That child will never know what it feels like to have a father again. Because I eliminated the possibility of knowing that warm feeling with my own hands.

“Who are you?”

The child, wary of a stranger’s presence, stood stiffly like a wild cat, rubbing his feet against the ground as if ready to run away at any mont.

Our eyes t.

Even though that child was , the universe didn't collapse or anything. The sumr day was peaceful, and cicadas were chirping.

It was an ordinary day. Finding my younger self could happen as ordinarily as this.

Just let it go.

Why am I being so stubborn after coming all this way?

If the universe had exploded, I could have used that as an excuse, but it didn’t. So, I have no choice but to accept it.

Anyway, Hong Seok-young and Lee Mi-seon are waiting for . Running away was never an option to begin with….

Now, I don’t know anymore.

I slowly bent my knees. Just as my father had done for once, to et the child at eye level. Dirt staining my knees didn’t matter at all.

Though I took away his father, I could still be his older brother.

Once again, I decided how I would live from now on. With this, Hong Seok-young’s son, Woo Hwijae, disappears forever.

“Irok.”

The child’s eyes widened.

“It’s .”

“…….”

“I was too late, wasn’t I? Did you wait a long ti?”

I mimicked a voice I could barely rember anymore.

I prayed that he wouldn’t rember his face. It had been much longer since he last saw his face than since he heard his voice. Surely, it had been a long ti for him as well….

“…Hyung?”

He couldn’t possibly recognize .

I smiled gently and spread my arms wide.

“Yes, who else but ?”

The child’s wariness quickly faded.

Tears welled up in his eyes. His shoulders trembled, and the feet that had seed ready to flee now moved toward .

Tap, tap.

Soon, I heard the light footsteps characteristic of a child. A warm, soft little body threw itself into my arms.

“Hwijae hyung!!”

I hugged the child tightly.

For a mont, I even thought about killing the child while he was in my arms. But reason stopped , knowing I couldn’t possibly kill a child.

It was a relief that the child, busy sobbing and clinging to my neck, couldn’t see my face. I was sure it wasn’t a face worth showing.

But at least my voice was kind. Just like my father had spoken to . Like my older brother had comforted .

“Hyung said he’d co to get you, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, yeah. Hyung, I, I…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

I picked up the child, who was crying so hard he couldn’t finish his sentences. Young clung to like a koala.

I whispered in his ear.

“Then let’s go with hyung.”

“Yeah!”

The kidnapping was too easy.

***

I can’t be sure about my earliest mory.

Dim lighting and voices whispering about do co to mind. A small warmth felt beside . Brushing fingers. The whimpering cries of babies.

Suddenly, I realized one of those cries was coming from .

The second mory is clearer than that.

The car window was pitch black. Part of it was because it was dark outside. I clung to the window, trying to look outside under the streetlights. That brief mont was the only ti I could glimpse the outside world.

A soft laugh ca from the driver’s seat.

'You should sit properly.'

From that mory onward, things are clearer.

A kind hand pulling my shoulder closer.

A warm embrace holding .

A low voice laughing near my ear.

'Shh. Let’s take a short break here.'

'Really? Is that okay?'

'Well, why not? It’ll be our little secret.'

Hyung laughed playfully. Whenever there was a need to transfer between research labs, hyung always took out with him. It was one of the few tis we could be alone together. It was also the only ti I could freely look at his face, as he didn’t wear his mask then.

Hyung, sitting in the driver’s seat, turned to look back at .

The image distorts, full of static.

A crow mask with a long beak cos into view.

While driving outside, hyung never wore his mask.

Though the mask disappeared, the static remained.

'Let’s rest for just 10 minutes.'

Hyung stopped the car. Ours was the only car driving through the mountain road. He opened the door and lifted in his arms.

The wind brushed against my bare feet. The sensation was so new to that I laughed for a long ti. The idea that a space without walls existed was fascinating. And there were so many trees! Even my hair getting ssy in the wind was nothing but amusing.

Hyung laughed.

But I couldn’t see his face.

The image almost cos into focus but blurs again. It has been more than twenty years since I last saw Hyung’s face. Rembering it until now would be the strange thing.

Even when I left the research lab, his face was already a faint mory. When did he stop taking off his mask in front of ? It must have been after he was caught by Mom and Dad for showing his unmasked face.

'Hyung.'

'Yeah?'

'I want to see your face.'

I reached out toward him and grabbed the long protruding beak of the mask, shaking it.

When I acted stubborn like this, Hyung would smile helplessly, as if he had no choice, take off the mask, and show his face. But after being called in by Mom and Dad, he never took off his mask again.

'I can’t…. I can’t show you my face anymore.'

'Why not?'

'Because Mom and Dad scolded a lot.'

'Still! Can’t you just take it off for a mont and then put it back on?'

'I’m sorry.'

Although his voice was full of apology, there was a firmness in it. It ant that this ti, Hyung wouldn’t give in to my stubbornness.

Even knowing that, I shook the mask a few more tis. Hyung hugged tightly.

'Then, instead.'

'Instead?'

'Call my na.'

'…….'

The arms holding tightened.

There were caras in the room, but they didn’t record sound. Even so, Hyung whispered in a voice so quiet it was barely audible, just for to hear.

'I-rok.'

'Yes.'

'I-rok.'

'Yes.'

'I-rok.'

Hearing Hyung call my na over and over made happy right away.

'Can I call your na too?'

'Yeah. But, you know, right?'

'I won’t tell anyone!'

'That’s right. Our nas are our little secret.'

'Since you gave my na, only you can call it.'

'Well…. Hyung actually hopes other people call your na too.'

'But it’s a secret, so how?'

'…That’s true. Then let’s stick to just calling it.'

Because of the mask, I couldn’t see what kind of expression Hyung made when he said that.

I was just excited to keep calling him.

'Hyung. Hwijae Hyung.'

'I-rok.'

'Hwijae Hyung.'

'I-rok, my little brother.'

'Hwijae Hyung.'

We were the only ones who called each other by our nas.

Everyone else called 'No. 12.' It was the na given to by Mom and Dad.

When I told Hyung that the first ti, he got angry. It must have been not long after I t him.

'That’s not a na.'

I couldn’t understand why Hyung was angry.

'Not a na? But everyone calls that.'

'It’s not… Hyung will give you one.'

'Really?'

'Yeah. But you can’t tell Mom and Dad.'

'It’s a secret?'

'Yeah, it’s a secret.'

The next day, when Hyung ca, he told my na.

'I-rok. It’s I-rok. What do you think?'

'What does it an?'

'Hmm… 'I' (이) ans joy, and 'Rok' (록) ans green. You like green, don’t you?'

'I do! Then what’s your na, Hyung?'

“My na?”

Ah. Co to think of it, I don’t think Hyung was wearing a mask at this point. The crow mask had disappeared, replaced by a faint face.

'My na is… Hwijae. Hwijae. Woo Hwijae.'

'Woo?'

'That’s Dad’s surna. You’re Woo I-rok too.'

Woo I-rok

My na.

My real na.

'See? The ‘Hwi’ in my na also ans joy, right? Just like in your na.'

'Because we’re brothers?'

'Yeah. Because we’re brothers.'

That reason was enough for to accept my na.

So, as I nestled into Hyung’s arms, I called him.

'Hwijae Hyung.'

'Yeah.'

'You have to call my na too!'

'Oh, Ah, okay. I-rok.'

'Hwijae Hyung.'

'I-rok.'

We must have done that for a good hour.

When we called each other by our nas, I was no longer 'No. 12' or 'Crow Kid'.

Because of that.

Perhaps that's why... that's what happened.

Hyung disappeared more than a year before I was rescued from the research lab. He left only with the promise that he would be back soon.

'Goodbye, kids.'

I was rescued by my father and transported to the hospital in an ambulance. At the hospital, there were police officers.

'What’s your na? I’ll help you et your mom and dad.'

Mom and Dad had been dead for a long ti. Even if they were alive, I wouldn’t have wanted to et them.

Where could Hyung be? If he wasn’t at the lab, it would be hard for him to find . I’d written it down in my diary, but would Hyung be able to see it?

The other kids who were rescued with eagerly shouted their nas. Those who rembered their parents’ nas also ntioned them, and there were quite a few kids who still rembered their ho addresses or their parents’ phone numbers.

Whenever a police officer got close to , I pushed another kid forward.

My na? My na?

My na was a secret between and Hyung. I didn’t want to tell it to anyone else. But for Hyung to find , I had to give a na he could recognize. Hyung would definitely co to find . He said he’d be back soon, that we could live together outside. He said he found soone who could help us.

'Hey, can you tell your na?'

That child couldn’t think too deeply and...

'…Hwijae. Woo Hwijae.'

Spoke his brother's na.