Chapter 2

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Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“Good grief, why’s the weather so hot-”

That day.

Astie, no, Tie, was lying flat on the floor while receiving a breeze from the fan that Grandma in unit 107 was waving for her.

She was pulling her eyes inward and watching her bangs flutter when the lady from unit 203 came in after opening the front door.

“Uh, unni. I think something terrible may have happened……”

Usually, that lady would have first scooped Tie into her arms, saying how pretty their Tie was.

When that same lady quickly withdrew her gaze from her, Tie tilted her head.

“What is it? Did somebody get in trouble or something.”

“It’s just that……”

There it was again. The lady glanced at Tie once more, then averted her eyes.

Tie’s eyes naturally moved to the envelope the lady was holding.

The lady from unit 203 was clutching the crumpled paper envelope as tightly as if it were a puppy leash she absolutely could not let go of.

“You better not be making a fuss over nothing again. You scare the child every time……”

But when the envelope was opened, Grandma in unit 107 went quiet.

Sweat slowly formed on Tie’s forehead as the fanning stopped.

Silence settled over the one-room apartment, and only the sound of cicadas could be heard, when at last.

“……What are we gonna do.”

The grandmother, who had turned around, suddenly pulled Tie tightly into her arms.

“What are we gonna do! What are we supposed to do!”

Then she began to cry loudly.

Held in the grandmother’s arms, Tie only blinked her eyes.

The lady from unit 203 was sniffling too.

She was bewildered, but Tie quickly realized that something had gone wrong.

[Pursuant to Article 12, Paragraph 1 of the Act on Funeral Services, the body of an unclaimed deceased person has been handled, and notice is hereby given as follows, so relatives are requested to retrieve the enshrined remains.]

Because that day was the tenth day since Daddy had not come home.

* * *

“Funeral……?”

What was that.

After the grandmother and the lady hurried out and left her alone, Tie looked at the paper again and again.

The paper was full of difficult words.

Even so, there was exactly one word Tie knew.

“……’The deceased’ means a dead person.”

Suddenly frightened, Tie quietly set the paper down.

As she fiddled with her fingers, the Tanipang sticker book Seulhee had given her at kindergarten caught her eye.

Seulhee had already used almost all the stickers, but the Ttonapang sticker, Tie’s favorite, was still left.

“Show me a shining magic~ Catch catch……”

Humming the Tanipang theme song, Tie carefully peeled off the Ttonapang sticker.

Then she left unit 107, went into unit 106, and brought back the flyers Daddy had collected.

Tie first carefully wrote in marker on the blank back of one flyer.

[Please let Daddy come home.]

There was no one in the Quail Class who wrote letters as well as Tie did.

She also did not forget to press the Ttonapang sticker firmly after the period.

“Daddy……”

Daddy, who said strange things every day.

Daddy, who believed that she had come from an empire called Talochium and that Tie’s hometown was there too.

Daddy said that in that world he had been an incredibly strong holy knight.

He said he scolded bad monsters and villains every day, and that he had been the strongest hero whom everyone respected.

Tie shook her head side to side.

Of course, Tie had believed her too until she was about three.

Daddy had been so cool that her heart had pounded, and there had even been times she could not sleep until after nine o’clock because of it.

But Tie was four years old now.

That meant she was old enough to know everything, a fully grown age.

‘The strongest holy knight everybody likes would definitely be rich.’

Daddy and Tie were not rich.

If anything, they were on the poor side.

You could tell because the kindergarten kids went on trips every summer, but Tie and Daddy had never once gone anywhere.

And Daddy hardly ever had days off.

He worked on weekends, Children’s Day, Hangeul Day, and Christmas too.

When Tie asked why Daddy worked so much, the adults in Gold Villa said it was because Daddy’s job “didn’t make much money compared to how hard it was.”

It was a difficult thing to say, but Tie vaguely understood.

No matter how hard Daddy worked, she could not make enough money to buy Tie a new Tanipang sticker book.

Of course, even so, Tie was fine.

Because Daddy was a hundred times, no, a thousand times more precious than a Tanipang sticker book.

Tie always thought Daddy, who worked hard all the time, was cool and something to be thankful for.

‘Everybody has their own circumstances.’

‘Exactly, just look at the man in 106. Why else would a young guy with a face like that be living in such misery? It’s because of the kid, because she’s afraid she’ll be taken away.’

‘But that’s weird. Even if he’s an illegal immigrant, shouldn’t he just be able to get some kind of visa or whatever? Tie’s already four, so they should be doing the birth registration soon……’

‘I’m telling you, Tie can’t even be birth-registered in the first place. And if he suddenly tries to register her now, like the district office would just let it slide! An illegal immigrant, huh? Do you know how big the fine is the moment he gets caught? And then our Tie could end up being deported back to her country. The young man in 106 would have to serve prison time here. What kind of heartbreaking separation would that be.’

‘Forget that, I was just thinking again about the kindergarten director downstairs. Thank goodness she’s a good person. If she’d kept insisting she wouldn’t take Tie, the child would’ve turned into a fool in no time.’

‘Tie would’ve been fine anyway because she’s sharp by nature. I’ve never seen a kid like her in my life. She practically learned to write on her own! By the way, has that young man in 106 still not said what country he’s from?’

She had found out many things from the neighbors’ chatter she heard while half-asleep, but Tie was happy living with Daddy.

“……Sniff.”

When a drop of snot fell onto the scrap paper, Tie held her breath.

Without even realizing it, tears had started trickling out.

“Sniff.”

Feeling downcast, Tie buried her face in both hands.

Daddy needed to come home quickly.

“Daddyyy……”

The word deceased kept drifting around in her head.

Tie curled herself into a ball and squeezed her eyes shut.

Telling herself that it couldn’t be, that the word deceased could not have been referring to Daddy.

It seemed she must have fallen asleep like that.

When she woke up, it was dark all around.

Grandma in unit 107 did not return until late in the evening, and she was soaked by the rain.

In the grandmother’s hand was a paper box marked here and there with water stains.

When Tie opened the box, she stared blankly with her mouth open.

‘Tie and I are going to live together for a very long time. Someday we’ll definitely go back home, and in a much bigger, cleaner house, I’ll make our Tie smile.’

‘I even used a Ttonapang sticker.’

What had arrived was not Daddy.

Tie stared for a long time only at the three words written on it: “box of belongings.”

She knew what that meant.

Because it was a word that had appeared in a drama once.

So that meant…… without living a long time, without going back home, without making Tie smile.

Daddy had left, leaving only Tie behind.

In the end.

* * *

Late at night.

Leaving behind the sound of Grandma in unit 107 snoring, Tie came out of the room.

She secretly went into unit 106 two steps away, the room where she had lived with Daddy.

She saw the box of belongings the grandmother had placed on top of the innermost drawer.

Tie climbed onto the drawer and opened the lid of the box.

“……”

Inside were only Daddy’s hat that he always wore, a few keys, and his wallet.

As she tilted the box to get a better look, something made a clatter and fell out.

At the very bottom of the box was a necklace with its string broken.

‘Daddy’s……’

Without realizing it, Tie picked up the necklace.

It was a necklace she had never once gotten to look at because Daddy always kept it in his inner pocket every day.

When she removed the snapped string and held the stone hanging in the middle in her hand, her throat tightened.

It felt as if Daddy’s warmth remained in the stone.

The moment tears welled in Tie’s eyes.

Thud-

The ceiling suddenly shook.

Startled, she lifted her head, and this time she felt a vivid vibration running through the floor.

Thud-!

As she staggered backward, a bright light spread before her eyes.

[Why are you crying?]

Tie blinked and opened her mouth.

The stone that had slipped from her hand was floating in the air.

Giving off a bright light from around its edges.

“Th-the stone is talking……”

At that moment, boing, something rose up on top of the stone.

It was a small black head no bigger than an adult’s fist.

Tie stared with her mouth hanging open as ruby-like eyes, a nose, a mouth, and ears formed on the stone.

[Why are you crying?]

When the second question followed, she hurriedly came to her senses.

Then, after hesitating warily, she barely managed to speak.

“Ti-Tie’s daddy……”

[I understand.]

At that moment, the stone, now having grown arms, legs, a tail, and even wings, cut Tie off.

The stone licked its tiny front paw a few times and said,

[That man died, didn’t she?]

Tie’s eyes shook.

“……Dad, Daddy……”

[Shall I bring him back to life?]

That was before she heard the stone’s next words.

The stone, staring straight at Tie, shook its head lightly and spoke again.

[I asked whether, if I bring your daddy back to life, you won’t cry.]