Chapter 43
"Wow!"
At my words, morning glories sprouted from beneath Baek Hamin's feet and burst open with a pop! like firecrackers.
"Really?!"
While Baek Hamin stomped his feet and ran around wildly, the house was turning into a mess—no, a flower bed. I watched the morning glory vines climbing all the way to the ceiling before calling out to Asil.
It seemed like Baek Hamin would remain in an excited state for a while, so I planned to look around the house with Asil's guidance until he calmed down. The moment I took a step, Baek Hamin, who had been running around screaming with petals covering his entire body, rushed over and grabbed my calf with a thud.
"Uncle! Live on the 1st floor with me!"
Grabbing my hand and dragging me along, Baek Hamin showed me his room decorated with Pani, then opened the door across the hallway.
"Are you going to live here, Uncle? No! I'll show you other rooms too!"
"Baek Hamin, calm down."
I must have said the words 'calm down' about a hundred times, but Baek Hamin, without calming down at all, hopped around introducing the house. I couldn't see anything because of the petals flying everywhere, but thanks to Asil, I was able to learn the house's layout like a minimap.
Baek Eunseong's room was on the 2nd floor, Baek Hamin's room on the 1st floor, kitchen on the left, entrance on the right.
"Which room do you like?!"
"The 2nd floor is quiet and gets good morning sunlight."
At Baek Eunseong's voice coming from above, I glanced toward the stairs, and Baek Hamin stared at Baek Eunseong. What, does he want to live on the 2nd floor too? While I was wondering, suddenly there was a thud! as a door opened.
"Hehe. Uncle Dohyun likes it up there too, right?"
In an instant, Baek Hamin extended thick vines and opened the room across from his, then grabbed my hand and scampered over flutteringly. I looked up at the 2nd floor for a moment before quickly turning my gaze away. The 1st floor is more comfortable anyway. Going up and down stairs is a hassle.
While Baek Hamin came into the room and pointed at the window, bragging about how well the sunlight came in, I set down my meager belongings. My so-called belongings were just the contract Baek Eunseong had prepared. My other things were probably buried under the building's rubble.
Thinking about it again made me angry. My resolve to get revenge on that bastard Baek Jiseong no matter what surged up again.
While I was suppressing my boiling rage, Yang Jihwan suddenly popped in.
"Hamin. This is my room."
"Hm? What do you mean? This is Uncle's room?"
"Haha... I sometimes sleep here, you know."
"But Uncle doesn't live here."
Baek Hamin tilted his head side to side as he answered, and Yang Jihwan seemed at a loss for words, only letting out hollow laughs before turning to look at Baek Eunseong, who was inspecting what would become my room.
"...Eunseong, can we talk for a moment?"
"Now? Can't it be later?"
"It's because of Hamin's medication."
At the mention of medication, Baek Eunseong immediately nodded and went back up to the 2nd floor with Yang Jihwan. Watching their backs, I grabbed Baek Hamin, who was bouncing around like a monkey, and told him to clean up his room that had turned into a jungle.
While Baek Hamin, nodding obediently, organized the flowers, I headed to the kitchen for a glass of water. Before I knew it, Baek Kyeongmin and a gray-haired boy had entered the house and approached me.
"Who are you to just walk around as you please? This is Baek Hamin's house."
"Yeah. It's my house too from today."
"Huh? Only the Baek family can live here."
"Yeah. From today, the Seong family can live here too."
"Is your family name Seong?"
"No, Seong Dohyun. And you?"
"Why are you asking?"
The gray-haired boy demanded sharply without hiding his wariness toward me and pressed close to Baek Kyeongmin's side. Judging from his attitude toward me, I could tell who he was without asking. Yang Jihwan's younger brother.
When I entered the kitchen, Choi Jaegeun asked if I needed anything. After asking for water, I asked Baek Kyeongmin.
"Do you guys live in this house too?"
"I live in the main house, and Jiyul lives in the dorm. We came to play with Hamin right now."
Baek Kyeongmin, who answered calmly, glanced at the plastic bag on the dining table. Yang Jiyul, hiding behind him, did the same. I downed the lemon water Choi Jaegeun had prepared in one go and went out of the room to catch Baek Hamin running toward me.
"I told you not to run in the house."
"Yeah! But Uncle, you know—"
Baek Hamin, twisting his body this way and that with his hands clasped together, pointed at the plastic bag on the dining table.
"What's that?"
Even though the transparent bag clearly showed what was inside, it was obvious he was asking on purpose.
I didn't answer because his behavior was funny, and Baek Hamin stomped his feet and clung to me.
"What do you think it is?"
"It looks like... gummy worms..."
Trailing off at the end, Baek Hamin studied my expression. He clearly wanted to tear open the bag and eat the gummies right away, but holding back and waiting for my permission was quite cute.
"Go eat them. I bought them for you."
"Kyaaah!"
Then he screamed in happiness and immediately pulled out the gummy bag from the bag on the table and tore it open. Baek Kyeongmin and Yang Jiyul also sidled up to Baek Hamin and craned their necks.
"Agh! What is this?"
"What are you eating right now?"
The two, initially horrified watching Baek Hamin eat the gummy worms, soon started swallowing at the sweet and fresh scent.
Baek Kyeongmin said he was four years younger than Baek Hamin, so he must be 11 now? He might be a hunter, but he's still only in 4th grade. The perfect age to love snacks and games.
"Uncle bought them for me to eat..."
Perhaps feeling burdened by the two staring intently, Baek Hamin gripped the gummy bag even tighter. At his mumbling, clearly showing he didn't want to share, the two little kids looked at me.
"I gave them to you, so figure it out yourselves."
They'd figure out how to share well enough. Leaving the kids behind, I went into my room and checked the contract once more. Then, at a short vibration, I pulled out my phone and confirmed the deposit minus taxes before opening a used marketplace app.
[WTB] Wings of Mosland
[WTB] Salamander's Egg
I had posted the listings at higher than average prices wanting to buy them as quickly as possible, but no one was contacting me. Right, it'd be weird to get contacted right away. Let's wait a bit.
Sighing, I looked around the empty room.
"First... I need to get to work."
The room had nothing but a bed. While organizing what I needed to buy in my head, I looked down at the contract I had tossed aside earlier that was now getting underfoot.
Come to think of it, Baek Jiseong's words earlier were a bit strange...
'Just keep pestering Eunseong and getting on his nerves like you are now.'
Was there any connection between Baek Jiseong and Seong Dohyun in the original work? I racked my brain, but nothing came to mind. Seong Dohyun's childhood memories were completely gone, and I could only recall memories up to the point I possessed this body.
"Tsk."
I should have looked into my surrounding relationships as soon as I possessed this body. Back then, I still had some vague memories. It was a moment of resenting my past self who had just run wild in excitement over gaining powers.
"Waaaah!"
At the sudden crying, I ran out of the room to find Baek Hamin sobbing and Yang Jiyul looking at me with a panicked face. When I gave a look to Baek Kyeongmin, who seemed troubled standing between them, Baek Hamin wailed and stretched both arms toward me.
"What's all this commotion?"
As I picked up Baek Hamin and asked, Baek Kyeongmin approached as if to explain.
"Hamin said—"
"Don't eat the gummies, Jiyul hyung!"
At the ear-piercing shriek, I covered one ear and looked at Yang Jiyul, who was clutching the gummy worms with both hands and a sulky expression.
"I don't want to! I'm eating them!"
"Don't eat them!"
"Why can Kyeongmin eat them but I can't?!"
At Yang Jiyul's somewhat desperate shout, Baek Hamin responded even louder.
"Uncle Hwan called me a fake!"
Baek Hamin squeezed my neck tighter and burst into tears. I patted his warm back and sighed.
Being kidnapped was already a huge incident, but experiencing rejection from someone close to him wouldn't be easy to forget. Even if he was pretending to smile, it was clear it had left an emotional trauma.
I alternated between looking at Baek Kyeongmin, who was at a loss and glancing around nervously, and Yang Jiyul, who was completely deflated without understanding why, before waving my hand to tell them it was fine and to go.
Thinking I needed to talk to Baek Eunseong, I turned toward the stairs when I sensed something ominous.
"Hamin."
It was Baek Eunseong.
Without making a sound, he descended the stairs step by step, black energy swirling around him. I looked at Yang Jihwan, who was trembling and unable to even come down the stairs behind him, and clicked my tongue inwardly.
To think he still hadn't confessed.
When the truth came out, it would be a situation where even begging for forgiveness wouldn't be enough, but it seemed he had tried to hush it up and sweep it under the rug, pretending it never happened. Baek Eunseong might be a vice guild master in name, but it seems he lacks the authority befitting his position. No wonder his subordinates conspired together like that.
It seemed my assumption was correct—both a tense flow and a calm flow were emanating from Yang Jihwan simultaneously. It was the flow of someone confident they could wrap up this situation well.
"Who said what?"
"When— when I was kidnapped— Uncle Dohyun brought me here— and Uncle Hwan called me a fake!"
Baek Eunseong looked at me as I nodded to confirm Baek Hamin's words were true, then turned his gaze to Yang Jihwan. With a crack, a crack instantly spread across one of the walls.