Hello ya’ll! This is Hyacinthus I will be taking over the translation from volume 3 and 4 as I was told that YengLi is having 3 days off.
Chapter 3 (2)
A wiretap…? Why on earth? Who would put a wiretap inside a brooch?
“Was the brooch already attached to the clothes when you first found them?” Woojin asked.
“The clothes? Yes… When I took them out of my luggage, the brooch was already attached…”
I answered blankly while naturally recalling where the clothes had come from.
“Woojin-ssi, then this must be from my in-laws…”
“It’s too early to jump to conclusions.”
Baek Woojin explained with a serious expression.
“Someone could have put it in your luggage during transport… It’s better to keep all possibilities open. Still, it’s most likely someone from the Gwak family who would do something like this.”
His suggestion to keep all possibilities open made sense, but I couldn’t help but lean toward suspecting the Gwak family.
“So it’s my mother-in-law after all…? But I also wonder if she really needed to go this far…”
I recalled my mother-in-law whom I had seen at the expo recently. She had shown a rather friendly attitude, unlike other days… Was it all just an act?
With a gloomy feeling, I looked at Hyeol who was playing across from me, comparing his height with a sunflower.
Maybe, whatever the reason, my mother-in-law wanted to take Hyeol away from me…
“Don’t think too deeply about it.”
Seeing me lost in complicated thoughts, Baek Woojin placed his hand over mine to reassure me.
“I’ll take care of this.”
Baek Woojin took out a handkerchief, wrapped up the broken brooch and wiretap, and put them in his pocket.
“Dad, what’s wrong?”
By then, Hyeol had approached and asked me. I forced a bitter smile and stroked Hyeol’s head, pretending nothing was wrong.
“Hyeol, isn’t there a ride you want to go on?”
“Not really.”
“Wasn’t anything fun?”
“…”
Since this was supposedly his first time at an amusement park, I wanted to let him ride everything he liked today… But judging by his response, he didn’t seem to be enjoying it at all.
Perhaps reading my expression, Hyeol hesitated for a moment before suddenly hugging my waist.
“I just like being with Dad…”
“Hyeol…”
My nose stung with emotion. I didn’t want to lose this lovable child to the Gwak family, not ever.
According to Eunseong-ssi, I should have priority for custody, so there was no need to worry… Wait, could they be trying to find some kind of weakness through these strange methods to make me give up custody?
With these complicated thoughts, I pulled Hyeol tightly into my arms. I made a promise. No matter what happens, I would never let anyone take Hyeol away. I was certain that Chae Seungyeon, the original owner of this body, would feel the same way.
“Chae Seungyeon-ssi.”
Just then, Baek Woojin called me. When I looked up, he was holding Kkotsu’s hand with a slightly troubled expression.
“Te-teacher… Are we… going h-home…?”
“Huh?”
Kkotsu, who seemed to have noticed the tense atmosphere, asked with a worried face.
“Oh, Kkotsu. No. Shall we go ride some attractions now?”
“Kko-Kkotsu wants to… g-go there…”
“Which one…?”
The place Kkotsu pointed to with his tiny finger was a haunted house with a pointed roof and an eerie atmosphere.
*
Though the haunted house had an age restriction due to its level of horror, children six years and older could enter without much trouble if accompanied by a parent.
“Kkotsu, are you sure you’ll be okay? Aren’t you scared?”
“I… I don’t know if… it’s s-scary… I want to… g-go in and see…”
When I asked out of concern for Kkotsu, who seemed the most fragile among us, he appeared eager to experience it firsthand.
“What about Hyeol?”
“…Let’s go in.”
Hyeol simply pulled my hand without saying much, as usual. Well, I probably didn’t need to worry about Hyeol. After all, he would grow up to be an obsessive madman…
“Whew, this is a bit creepy…”
“I’ll follow right behind you, Chae Seungyeon-ssi, so don’t worry.”
“Ah, yes…”
Baek Woojin had an interested look in his eyes, showing no signs of concern.
What’s this? Am I the only one who’s scared? I shouldn’t embarrass myself in front of the kids…
I swallowed hard and stepped into the eerie haunted house.
“HUERK! AHIK…! WUAHAK!”
And not long after entering, horrific screams erupted from my mouth. Well, I couldn’t help it with skeletons suddenly jumping out without warning and explosive sounds bursting all around.
“Haah… I’m dying… Did I scare you, Teacher? I’m sorry… Are you okay? Not scared?”
When I checked on the children out of concern, Kkotsu, who was beside me, giggled with delight.
“Yes, yes! Te-teacher is fu-funny!”
“Hahaha… Was I… funny?”
Embarrassed by Kkotsu’s reaction, I laughed awkwardly and turned to look at Baek Woojin. He was examining the bizarrely decorated interior mechanisms here and there with the same expression he had when concentrating on his studies.
“What about Hyeol? Dad was so scared… Are you okay? Weren’t you scared?”
“…”
Hyeol had been silently wrapping his arms tightly around my waist since earlier.
“Hyeol, what’s wrong? Are you scared?”
“…Let’s go, quickly.”
Hyeol whispered in a small voice and moved like a crab walking. It was an unexpected discovery—a cute side of Hyeol, who usually seemed indifferent and stoic about most things.
“That looks like the exit over there…!”
After enduring about 10 minutes of terrifying experiences, a bright light seeped through the dark walls.
“This is the exit, did you enjoy your thrilling experience? Thank you! Please visit ‘Ghost Hunter’ again!”
The staff member who greeted us mentioned that they give special lollipops to crying children, and handed me one while also giving one to the cheerful-looking Kkotsu, saying he was cute.
Kkotsu, who immediately started sucking on the lollipop, kept peering around the haunted house with a silly grin. He seemed to want to go in again.
“Dad, water…”
“Oh, are you thirsty?”
Meanwhile, Hyeol asked for water instead of the lollipop I gave him. He must have been very thirsty. As soon as I handed him the water bottle, he gulped it down.
Was he more scared than I thought?
“…Hyeol, were you very scared?”
I carefully asked once Hyeol’s condition seemed to have improved after finishing the water.
“No.”
Despite his pale face, Hyeol immediately denied it.
“Come on, really? Weren’t you hugging Dad’s waist the whole time because you were scared?”
“No, I wasn’t.”
Even when I teased him, Hyeol continued to pretend he wasn’t scared.
“Re-really…! It was… f-fun…!”
Kkotsu, who had received another lollipop from the staff guarding the haunted house exit, came running over and exclaimed. His pronunciation was slurred, suggesting he was quite excited.
“Kkotsu. Give one lollipop to Dad. You shouldn’t eat too many at once.”
“Y-yes…!”
After giving the lollipop to Baek Woojin, Kkotsu continued to be excited with a flushed face.
“Kkotsu is really amazing…”
As I had often felt while living with him, Kkotsu seemed to have a strong heart despite his fragile appearance.
“Woojin-ssi, please give me the lollipop. I’ll put it in my bag.”
I took the lollipop from Baek Woojin and put it in my bag.
“Oh, were you okay, Woojin-ssi? I was so busy looking after Hyeol…”
At my question, Baek Woojin’s eyes lit up as if he had been waiting for this.
“It was very interesting. The ghost at the corner of the wall in the first room and the staff dressed as a spider in the third room with the mist special effects were quite surprising. Also, the different sound effects from strategically placed speakers in the last room were excellent. It seems they put a lot of effort into it.”
“Ah… yes…”
Looking at Baek Woojin speaking like a professional analyst, I thought Kkotsu’s brave heart must be genetic.
“D-Dad…”
It was then. While we were all sitting on a bench taking a short break, Hyeol called for me with a pale complexion.
“Hyeol, what’s wrong? Do you feel sick?”
“I need the bathroom…”
“Oh no…!”
I quickly carried Hyeol on my back and ran to the bathroom. As soon as we entered, Hyeol grabbed the toilet and vomited once.
“Hyeol, are you okay? Should we go to the infirmary?”
After washing his hands and face at the sink, I asked, but Hyeol weakly shook his head.
“I’m fine…”
My heart ached hearing the child’s dejected voice. If I had known he would be this unwell, we wouldn’t have entered the haunted house…
I felt terrible for failing to properly look after the child’s condition as a father.
“Let’s go home right away and take some medicine to rest.”
“No, don’t do that just because of me.”
“Hyeol…”
I left the bathroom with Hyeol, holding back tears.
*Bump.*
“Oh…?”
Just then, a person wearing a rabbit costume suddenly appeared and pushed me with their bulging behind.
“Wh-what is this?”
When I turned around in surprise, the rabbit with a round mask made an apologetic gesture. They gave me one of the yellow balloons they were holding as an apology.
“Be careful.”
I gave the balloon to Hyeol and started walking away when Hyeol tugged at my hand.
“Dad.”
“Yes? Hyeol.”
“That rabbit from earlier, I think it’s following us…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
