Chapter 40
Chapter 40
“Did you dress well?”
Jimin asked the question as she looked all over s.h.i.+nhae to check her clothes . If she saw a single mote of dust, she picked it off with her hand . If she saw a small crease, she used her hand to press down and eliminate the crease from her clothes . It seemed s.h.i.+nhae was annoyed by it . She frowned as she tried to move away from Jimin . However, she couldn’t escape Jimin’s grasp . In the end, s.h.i.+nhae frowned in frustration . She had to remain in place as Jimin worked on her .
“Mmm . I think this is good enough . ”
Jimin took a step away from s.h.i.+nhae . She looked at s.h.i.+nhae as if she was appraising a high quality art piece . But it seemed that s.h.i.+nhae was sulking . Her cheeks were puffed, and she refused to look at Jimin . She looked so cute that Jimin kept smiling .
After the night when the thunderstorm had caused a ruckus, Jimin had continued to visit Sungyoon’s house . s.h.i.+nhae reminded Jimin of herself when she was young . She couldn’t leave someone like that alone . Of course, s.h.i.+nhae had also welcomed her visits with open arms . Jimin visited Sungyoon’s house every evening, and she watched her fall asleep . Only after that did she sleep in the living room . She woke s.h.i.+nhae every morning and sent her off to kindergarten . She went to work only after she did all that . Jimin knew that she had completely taken on the role of the child’s mother . However, she didn’t find such a life to be bad .
However, this would be the last day she would be doing this . s.h.i.+nhae’s real father would be coming home .
“Shall we go see your father?”
“Yes!”
s.h.i.+nhae, who had been miffed, let out a big laughter . She responded in a loud voice . She had missed her father, and the word ‘father’ had made her respond at an instinctual level . However, she suddenly gasped as she turned her head away . She remembered that was supposed to be miffed at Jimin . She clearly wanted to show that she was in her ‘angry’ state .
“Then let’s go”
Jimin laughed as she extended her hand . s.h.i.+nhae discreetly glanced at the hand . She wanted to continue to express her anger, so she didn’t look up at Jimin .
Jimin looked at s.h.i.+nhae with soft eyes as she led the child out the door .
* * *
Dul-kuhng!
The seat, which he was sitting on, shook a little bit, and vibration traveled up his body . Sungyoon looked out the window .
He saw the blue sky . He saw the blue ocean . He saw the thick foliage . When he looked up, down, and sideways in the bleak city of Armstrong, he could only see the artificial gray color of concrete . Earth was completely different .
‘I’m back . ’
At that moment, Sungyoon felt a bit emotional . He had left the gray moon to return to the blue cradle of humankind . His emotional state was understandable .
However, Sungyoon remained in his feelings only for a brief moment . Earth was like a blue gem, and the sight of it was enough to lift his spirits . However, what he wanted to see the most right now wasn’t the blue earth . He wanted to see his precious daughter .
He exited the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p . Unlike the air on the moon, fresh air washed over him . It was completely different in quality . Sungyoon took a deep breath even though he didn’t need to breathe . It was a case where he wanted to feel the sensation of taking a deep breath . Several other people around Sungyoon did the same thing . It seemed most of them were beginner Connectors like Sungyoon . The ones, who were used to this way of life, silently went on their own way .
Sungyoon followed behind them .
After he went through a simple procedure of checking in, he quickly walked forward with his luggage in tow . His steps were getting faster .
He opened the gla.s.s door, and he moved towards the waiting room .
Sungyoon was able to find her there . Other people were hugging and laughing with their friends and family, celebrating the reunion . However, these people meant nothing to Sungyoon . At that moment, his eyes didn’t even pick up their presence . He was looking at only one child .
“Dad!”
It seemed s.h.i.+nhae had also caught sight of Sungyoon . s.h.i.+nhae screamed out loud as she ran towards Sungyoon . Sungyoon threw his luggage to the floor . Every possession he carried up to the moon was in there alongside the moonstones . He had put his life on the line to gather these moonstones, but at that moment, they were worthless to him .
He lowered himself by getting on one knee . He opened both arms, and a bright smile had already appeared on his face .
“Daaaaaaad!”
s.h.i.+nhae jumped into Sungyoon’s arms . Her cute little hands clung to Sungyoon’s back . It was as if she was determined to never let go .
“Dad! Dad!”
s.h.i.+nhae let out a small sob as she called out to him once again . Sungyoon’s eyes had also turned red . He just hugged his child closer to his body .
“Yes, s.h.i.+nhae . Your dad is here . ”
His throat was constricted, so he was barely able to speak . It felt like forever since he had hugged his daughter . At some point, tears started flowing out of his eyes .
“Dad, you stink . ”
s.h.i.+nhae’s face was a mess from her tears . She looked up at him . Of course, he stunk, since he hadn’t been able to wash himself properly for the past two weeks . Still, he had done his best to wear his cleanest clothes . Sungyoon’s expression turned a bit bashful .
“Do you want to let go?”
“No!”
As she gave her answer, s.h.i.+nhae once again moved deeper into Sungyoon’s arms . She kept saying, ‘You are stinky . ’, yet she didn’t move away from him . Sungyoon laughed once more as he hugged her tighter . He could feel the warmth that was unique to a small child . s.h.i.+nhae wriggled in his arms .
Jimin slowly approached the father and daughter . However, she didn’t immediately make herself known . She stood a distance away as she watched the reunion between the father and daughter . Her eyes were far away .
‘I was like that . ’
On the days when her father would return to earth, her young heart would be nervous as she waited for him in this exact place . During those times, she didn’t want tasty foods or pretty clothes . She paced back and forth, while she waited for her father . Her father would come through the waiting room door just like Sungyoon . She would loudly call out after her father like s.h.i.+nhae . She would run into his arms, and her father’s large body would catch her .
That day would never come again . Those days were like dreams to her now .
“President . ”
Jimin came to her senses . It seemed the touching reunion between the father and daughter had ended . Sungyoon held s.h.i.+nhae’s hand tightly as he looked at her . It seemed she had been lost in her own thoughts for a while .
“Unni, are you sick?”
Until a moment ago, s.h.i.+nhae had been sulking in front of Jimin . She had acted coy and a bit combative . However, she was looking at Jimin with worry on her face now . Jimin let out a bright smile .
“No . I’m fine . ”
Then she turned her gaze towards Sungyoon, and her face instantly turned back to her cold expression . Sungyoon’s smiling face, which he had shown towards s.h.i.+nhae, was also nowhere to be seen . He looked at her with a blank face .
“Welcome back . ”
“I"m back . ”
In some ways, it looked insincere as the two of them gave a simple greeting .
“How was it? How was the labyrinth?”
“It was hard . ”
He gave a single sentence answer . However, this single sentence held the whirlwind of emotions that he had felt on the moon .
“It is to be expected . Still, you did a good job . Please go home and rest . I’ll hear the specifics at a later time . ”
“Understood . ”
Sungyoon pushed a large bag towards Jimin .
“This is the harvest . ”
The bag contained all the moonstones he had acquired .
“Please hand it over to me a little later . ”
“Understood . ”
Sungyoon took back the luggage .
“Shall we start moving?”
After she spoke those words, Jimin took the lead . Sungyoon still held s.h.i.+nhae’s hand tightly, and they followed after Jimin . It had been awhile since s.h.i.+nhae had met her father, so she walked next to him with excitement in each step . She maintained a tight grip as she tried to swing his arm . Then she tried to grab his large and powerful hand with both hands . Unlike his normal self, he laughed as he accepted s.h.i.+nhae’s playfulness .
“Let’s store your Device and Gems .
When they arrived at a specific counter, Jimin spoke .
Due to government policy, Connectors weren’t allowed to carry their Devices and Gems on earth . Sungyoon did as he was asked . He turned in his Devices and Gems .
“…you have more than before . ”
Jimin looked a bit surprised as she spoke . Sungyoon had turned in more Devices and Gems compared to what she had given him .
“You were able to acquire more in just 2 weeks?”
“That’s a long story . ”
“Alright . I’ll hear the story from you next time . ”
The fact that he was able to increase the number of Devices and Gems wasn"t a bad thing . Jimin moved on without making a fuss . She once again started to move .
The three of them arrived at the parking lot .
This time Jimin had brought an ordinary car . Her favorite car was an imported red sports car that seated only two people, and the three of them wouldn’t be able to ride it . Sungyoon placed his luggage in the trunk, and the trio got into the car .
Jimin drove the car . Sungyoon felt uncomfortable letting the president drive the car, but Jimin didn"t mind . For the past two weeks, he had placed his life on the line to explore the labyrinth . He had gone through much hards.h.i.+p . She couldn’t let someone who had arrived from s.p.a.ce to drive . Above all else, Sungyoon didn’t have any car insurance .
Jimin’s car started smoothly . Sungyoon and s.h.i.+nhae got in the back .
“Ooh! mmm- . ”
s.h.i.+nhae was glued to Sungyoon, and her eyes were starting to close . It was to be expected . They had to leave the house early, because the s.p.a.ceport was located in Jeolla-nam-do Province . s.h.i.+nhae was determined to see her father, so she hadn’t complained at all . s.h.i.+nhae had gotten up as soon as Jimin woke her up, but she had already reached her limit .
Tap!
s.h.i.+nhae’s head fell onto Sungyoon’s arm . s.h.i.+nhae breathed softly as she fell asleep . However, s.h.i.+nhae’s cute little hands were holding tightly onto Sungyoon’s sleeve .
Sungyoon carefully stroked s.h.i.+nhae’s hair .
s.h.i.+nhae turned in her sleep a little bit, but it seemed she liked the gesture . A small smile appeared on her face
“Thank you for bringing s.h.i.+nhae here . ”
In truth, he had been surprised when he saw s.h.i.+nhae at the s.p.a.ceport . He never expected s.h.i.+nhae to travel so far from her home .
“It’s fine . I’ve become really close to s.h.i.+nhae while Mr . Sungyoon was gone . ”
“Is that so?”
“Yes . ”
Silence descended once again . Sungyoon and Jimin didn’t feel the need to talk about each other’s affairs . However, Jimin broke the silence soon .
“Why don’t you sleep too? You should be really tired . ”
“I’m not that tired . ”
After awakening as a Connector, he rarely felt tired . This was true even when he was killing monsters in the labyrinth . It was true that he became mentally fatigued, but his body was never tired .
“I see . ”
That was it . Jimin didn’t speak any more on the subject . Silence returned to the car once again . The silence wasn’t broken until they arrived at Sungyoon’s house .