He cried his heart out.
Maybe because it had been so long since he last shed tears, the skin around his eyes felt hot and red.
His motherâs eyes, too, were swollen from crying.
He felt guilty, as if he had needlessly brought tears to his mother when she was already unwell.
His mother stroked Sangwooâs face with her hand.
“Where have you been, and how have you lived?”
Sangwoo couldnât very well say he had survived on a diet of steel in another world, so he gave a vague answer.
“I just did some labor here and there.”
“Youâre not sick or anything, are you? Why do you sound like that?”
“Well, since I lived abroad for so long⊔
“Your intonation really is different.”
It wasnât only pronunciation that was the problem. Because his intonation was off, he must have sounded like a foreigner speaking Korean.
He really needed to fix this issue with his pronunciation.
Still, thanks to spending the whole day imitating what he heard on TV, it was at least this much. If not, he definitely would have worried her even more.
“How much hardship did you go through to end up like this?”
His mother clasped Sangwooâs hands with both of hers.
The way she stroked the back of his hand felt like she was patting his back in comfort.
Sangwoo also gripped his motherâs hands tightly.
Then quietly, he let his aura flow into her.
‘Her bodyâs condition is a mess.’
Old age brought illness and made the body suffer.
Aura couldnât cure it all in an instant.
But if he steadily infused her with this energy, he could at least eliminate the minor ailments.
Even just expelling the stagnant qi from her body might gradually help her recover enough strength to walk again.
Once she regained some health, her digestion would improve, and sheâd be able to eat more, too.
Even that alone would be a great help to her.
‘Itâs late, but Iâll make sure you live long and free of illness.’
Sangwoo made this vow as he looked at his mother.
For now, she had to remain in the nursing hospital.
But later, once she recovered her health, he planned to bring her back home.
He wanted to make up for all the filial duty he hadnât been able to do.
The twenty years that had slipped away could not be brought back.
But at least now that he could see her again, he wanted to be by her side as much as possible.
It was already too late for his father, but it wasnât too late for his mother.
“Mom. Whereâs your bed?”
“Why?”
“Why else? I want to give you a massage.”
“Oh, no need. I exercise plenty here. The staff treat me really well.”
“Do their hands feel the same as your sonâs? I want to do it for you. It reminds me of the old days too.”
“Is that so? Then maybe Iâll try it once.”
They entered the room where his mother stayed.
It must have been a three-person ward, because the other ladies welcomed her back.
“Oh my, so many visitors today? I saw your daughter last time, and this time is it the son-in-law?”
His sisterâs face twisted in disgust behind him.
“Heâs not the son-in-law, heâs my younger brother.”
“Heâs not the son-in-law, heâs my son.”
Sangwoo felt goosebumps and rubbed his arm.
Even for a Sword Master, being linked romantically with his sister was a poison he could never tolerate.
Of course he was grateful to her, but that was something he could never accept.
“What do you mean, how can your son look so young? Is he the youngest?”
His mother just laughed.
“He takes after me, thatâs why he looks young.”
“Ah, he really does resemble his mother. He looks reliable.”
Sangwoo wondered why people never seemed to say the expected “handsome” line.
Still, he was relieved that at least they didnât call him ugly.
“Haha, hello. Please take good care of me from now on.”
“Sure, sure. Welcome.”
“Haha, thank you.”
Sangwoo looked at his mother.
“Mom, let me lay you down here.”
“Hm?”
He lifted his mother from the wheelchair.
Her feather-light body weight made his chest ache all over again.
Maybe because he was forty now, he seemed to cry more easily.
Holding back the lump in his throat, he carefully laid his mother on the bed.
“My son, youâre strong.”
“I did a lot of labor, so at least my strength is top-notch.”
“Thatâs all the marks of hard work, isnât it?”
“Haha, but thanks to that, I can give you a massage that feels good, right?”
“Thatâs true⊔
Sangwoo began kneading his motherâs legs with great care.
The reason for giving her a massage was not only because he wanted to, but also to try to expel the impurities in her body.
He had to do it gradually so it wouldnât strain her body, which made his touch especially gentle.
“Oh, this feels so good. Ohhh~”
His mother kept letting out exclamations of relief at how good it felt.
The other ladies in the room watched with envy.
“I wish my son would do that for me too.”
“How good must it be, for her expression to melt away like that?”
At those words, Sangwoo smiled.
A surge of pride welled up in his chest.
Becoming a Sword Master had been the right choice after all.
“Mom, feels good, right?”
“Yes, it feels wonderful.”
“Iâll do this for you every day from now on.”
“Every day?”
“I want to make up for all the times I couldnât.”
“I like it, but your hands will hurt. Thatâs enough.”
“It doesnât hurt at all when I do it for you, Mom.”
“Listen to this boy, the way he talks.”
Truthfully, for Sangwoo, this much wasnât painful at all.
Would he be a Sword Master for nothing?
Of course, that was something he couldnât say out loud, so he kept it to himself.
                                           ***
One way or another, the dayâs schedule came to an end.
His sister collapsed onto the sofa as soon as they got home.
Falling asleep the moment her head touched a pillowâwas that something she inherited from their father?
Watching her quietly drift off, he gently brought a blanket and covered her.
When they were children, he never found his sisterâs sleeping face pitiful.
But now, somehow, it did look pitiful.
Back then, it had just been taking an afternoon nap.
Now, it was collapsing into sleep because her body was so exhausted and worn out.
‘Should I put some energy into her before my niece comes home?’
He hesitated, worried that massaging her might wake her.
Instead, he decided to gently infuse her body with energy.
That would at least ease her fatigue.
“Sis, youâve gone through a lot.”
Everyone went through hardships, but that didnât mean they should be taken for granted.
Thatâs why he kept worrying about her.
“Rest a bit easier today.”
Sangwoo placed two fingers on his sisterâs forehead.
He carefully sent his energy in, letting it spread out.
From her face, the warmth began to flow downward, gently rippling through her whole body.
He could tell just how much fatigue had built up inside her.
At that momentâ
Beep. Beep.
Click.
The door opened and Yewon came inside.
‘Already time for her to be back? Sis will wake up.’
Sangwoo quickly looked back and forth between the door and his sister.
His judgment was swift.
He withdrew the aura and vanished from his spot in an instant.
Then he reappeared right in front of Yewon.
“Iâm baâ⊔
Yewonâs eyes went wide at her uncle suddenly appearing, and she was about to scream.
“Kyaaâmmph!”
He covered her mouth.
Sangwoo turned his head toward his sister.
She was frowning in her sleep, but thankfully, she hadnât woken up.
‘Phew.’
Breathing a sigh of relief, he looked at Yewon.
Annoyed that her mouth was covered, she pounded at him with both little fists.
It didnât hurt at all.
He simply raised a finger to his lips.
“Shh, be quiet. Your momâs sleeping.”
“Mmph mmph.”
“Are you going to be quiet?”
Yewon glared sharply at Sangwoo.
At that moment, he suddenly felt a mushy sensation on his hand.
Yewon had licked his hand.
‘This brat!’
“Ugh. Gross.”
Sangwoo pulled his hand away.
Yewon spat twice onto the shoe cabinet.
“Uncleâs hand is dirty.”
Still, she must have heard what he said, because she lowered her voice as she spoke.
“Be quiet and come inside. Your mom just fell asleep.”
“Tch. She promised to play with me today.”
“Let her sleep a bit and then we’ll wake her. Until then, Uncle will play with you, niece.”
“Iâm not niece, Iâm Yewon.”
“Right. Niece.”
Yewon shot him another sharp glare, then finally took off her shoes and came inside.
She went straight to the bathroom to wash her hands.
Sangwoo also went into the bathroom, uncomfortable with his hand covered in spit.
“Youâre not gonna move aside?”
Yewon responded with a sly grin.
Her face said: What are you going to do about it?
‘Ha! Unbelievable.’
Sangwoo was dumbfounded.
So this was her idea of revenge for having her mouth covered?
A kid really was just a kid.
The very idea that she could block him with something like this was laughable.
But adults could think far beyond what children could.
“If you donât move, youâll regret it.”
“Nope.”
“Really?”
“Nope.”
Sangwoo twisted his lips into a wicked grin.
He went straight for punishment.
He rubbed his spit-covered hand all over Yewonâs face.
“Itâs your spit.”
“Ugh, what?!”
“Hehe.”
“âŠGross.”
Apparently aware that her own spit was disgusting, his niece scrubbed her face roughly with water.
“If you donât move aside, Iâll keep smearing it on you.”
“Tsk.”
Yewon reluctantly stepped aside, wiping her face with a towel before running away.
Watching her retreating back, Sangwoo let out a victorious grin.
“See? You shouldâve just moved in the first place.”
He washed his spit-covered hand.
After shaking it dry and coming back out, he noticed Yewonâs door was shut.
“Sheâs holed up in there again?”
Sangwoo glanced at his sister.
Since she had worked so hard, he needed to play with his niece so her mom could rest without being woken up.
He wanted to let her sleep at least an hour or twoâthat much would let her wake up more refreshed.
“What are you doing?”
Sangwoo opened the door.
Yewon glared sharply at him.
“Whyâd you open it without knocking? Donât you even know how to knock?”
“I didnât, in case knocking woke your mom. So what?”
He decided to brazen it out.
With his sister around, it was a good excuse anyway.
“Then you couldâve knocked softly.”
“Iâll do it next time, alright?”
“Hmph!”
Yewon, annoyed but unable to argue back, whipped her head to the side.
Sangwoo laughed inwardly.
For this little brat to beat him, sheâd have to grow up a lot more first.
“So what are you doing then?”
“Iâm reading a book. When I finish this, Iâm going to ask Mom to play with me.”
Sangwoo looked at the book.
It was thin.
It looked like something she could finish in less than five minutes.
‘She doesnât actually think reading that will take a lot of time, does she?’
For a child, even five minutes might feel like a long time.
Their sense of time was different.
“Uncle will play with you.”
“No.”
“What do you like?”
“No.”
“You like saying no? Thatâs kind of fascinating.”
“Sigh.”
Yewon set the book down.
For the record, the book was upside down in her hands.
She clearly didnât like reading.
“Fine, I guess Iâll have to. Youâre really that bored? Iâll specially play with you, then.”
At those words, a vein popped on his forehead, but he held it in.
At least for an hour or two, he had to watch the kid so his sister could rest.
“Alright, alright. What should we play?”
“Iâm the one playing with you, so you have to say what you like. What do you like playing?”
“You bratâŠ!”
“Iâm not a brat.”
“You are a brat. Youâre tiny, too.”
“Eek!”
Sangwoo scratched his head.
Instead of playing with her, he just kept teasing her.
At this rate, maybe he could just keep teasing her for an hour or two.
‘That way the little brat will sulk and stop talking to me, right?’
He remembered how sheâd stayed sulky all morning.
In the end, he decided he had to at least humor her a little.
“Uncle likes playing dead.”
“Playing dead?”
“Yeah. Playing dead. Krrrk! Got me!”
Sangwoo clutched his chest and collapsed.
This game was perfect for doing nothing and just letting time pass.
But then he felt a gaze looking down at him.
Peeking his eyes open, he saw Yewon staring at him with a look of pity.
“Haah! Guess I have no choice.”
As if she truly had no choice, Yewon joined in the playing-dead game.
“Ugh, this game is so boring, my heart⊔
Yewon clutched her chest and fell over.
“Ugh, mid.”
Sangwoo didnât know what the word “mid” meant, but he could tell it was something unpleasant.
Above all, calling the game boring hurt his pride.
‘Haah, should I show her something really fun?’
It was the moment he resolved to show her a truly realistic version of playing dead.
