LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 160
TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 160
Mikhail was a child born in an unplanned moment.
Born to a mother who was a famous dancer in the Empire and a second son from a family that strictly adhered to social status, Mikhail came into the world at a time when no one wanted him.
The man failed to secure his place within his household, and the woman conceived the child while still in love with her career as a dancer.
Mikhail’s mother began to struggle with her dancing career due to her swelling belly.
Pregnancy was like poison to a profession that showcased beautiful dance movements. Wanting to preserve her honor as a dancer, the woman chose to retire, and Mikhail’s father abandoned the dancer and disappeared.
As a commoner, the dancer had no options available to her.
Even if she bore an unwanted fruit, the world was not kind enough to listen to the story of a mere commoner.
Although their relationship began with love, the conclusion of their story was a bitter wound filled only with resentment and hatred. For Mikhail, who hadn’t even seen the light of the world, what awaited him was nothing but blame and hatred.
The woman despised the child in her womb.
She believed that her life was ruined because of this child.
The person she loved had run away.
She had lost her job as a dancer.
Convinced that the reason for her miserable, ruined life was the child in her belly, Mikhail’s mother hated him even before he was born.
-Waaah… Waaah…
-Shut up.
-Waaah… Waaah…
-I said shut up! Stop crying all the time and just shut up…!
By the time Mikhail’s ears opened, the first words he heard were his mother’s harsh curses.
He learned the vulgar words telling him to keep his mouth shut faster than the word “Mom.”
-Daktcho…
-…What?
-Daktcho!
-What did you just say?!
Until the age of two, Mikhail thought his name was “Shut up.”
Whenever he called his mother because he was hungry, she always said that.
Even so, Mikhail liked his mother.
Despite her constant anger and irritation, she was the only person in the world who was on his side. He waited for his mother, who would come home after drinking.
Though he had never stepped out of the tightly locked room, to him, his entire world was his mother, so Mikhail liked her.
And he liked the mother who came home after drinking.
On the days she returned drunk, she would hug him tightly and say, “I’m sorry, my baby.”
Perhaps four years passed like that.
Mikhail’s world began to expand beyond what it had been.
His mother started talking to him.
She began holding his hand and taking him on walks.
The walk route with his mother was always the same.
They would buy candy from a store they frequented and then stand blankly, staring at an empty alleyway.
-Mom, why do you always look at this place?
-…
-Mom?
Holding his hand tightly as he ate candy, his mother would sigh deeply and then turn back.
Though the routine was repetitive, Mikhail enjoyed the moments when he went outside with his mother.
Truly, he did.
His mother started working.
No longer as a dancer performing in front of high-status people, but as a waitress serving food at an adventurer’s tavern.
She started drinking more frequently.
There were many nights when she didn’t come home, drunk.
Every time she returned home, she would look at him sleeping and let out a deep sigh.
“I should stop hating him…” she would mutter to herself, words Mikhail could never forget.
Then one day.
A man he didn’t know came to their house.
The man, who introduced himself as his father, looked about five years older than his mother.
His mother seemed pleased as she looked at the man who told Mikhail to call him “Dad.”
The man bought him toys.
Mikhail liked the moments when his mother laughed and chatted with the man. Of course, he knew the man wasn’t his real father.
He could tell instantly that this man wasn’t his father.
Call it a hunch.
It just felt that way.
Three years passed like that.
By the time the number of men telling him to call them “Dad” exceeded ten.
His mother returned home with a stern expression.
-Welcome home, Mom!
-…
-Mom?
-Oh… Yes?
With a face deep in thought, his mother smiled brightly when she saw him.
Though she used to hate him a lot, now she only hated him a little.
Mikhail smiled along with his mother’s smile.
-You’ve worked hard!
-Yes.
His mother sat facing him without even removing her makeup. There was no smell of alcohol, yet she was being so kind. Curious, Mikhail asked her.
-Did you drink a lot?
-No. I didn’t drink.
-Wow…!
Sitting across from him, his mother stroked his head and pulled him into a hug. Feeling the warmth of her embrace, Mikhail widened his eyes and looked at her.
Blink, blink.
Stroking his head, his mother whispered in a soft voice.
-Baby.
-Yes!
-Do you like Mom?
-Yes!
-I see… Then, would you like it if Mom were happy?
-Yes! If Mom is happy, I’m happy too.
-I see…
For the first time, his mother bought him a doll.
Not while drunk, but sober, she bought him a large teddy bear.
It wasn’t a toy brought by one of the men, but a gift from his mother—a teddy bear she had bought herself. Mikhail loved it.
-Wowww!
-It’s a birthday gift.
-Really?!
-Yes.
Every time she saw how happy he was, his mother gave a bitter smile. Back then, Mikhail didn’t understand his mother’s smile.
The deep thoughts weighing on her mind.
At night, he would hug the teddy bear tightly as he fell asleep. The strong perfume scent on the bear made him feel as though his mother was hugging him.
One day.
Two days.
A week passed.
His mother took his hand and went out for a walk.
Farther than they usually went.
As if heading to a place they could never return from, she simply stroked his head and smiled silently.
-Mom, where are we going?
-…
-Are we going on a trip?
-Yes.
-Wow! Are we going to see the ocean?
-The ocean… Yes.
Without a word, my mother stroked my head as the carriage rolled on, its wheels never stopping over the long distance.
The closer we got to our destination, the more excited I became, sniffling with anticipation. My heart raced at the thought of seeing the ocean I had only read about in books.
-Mom, have you ever been to the ocean?
-No.
-Oh…
But as we approached the ocean, my mother’s expression grew more rigid.
-Screech.
The carriage stopped at a place I had never seen before. There was no trace of the blue ocean I had imagined from fairy tales.
Instead, there was a single bridge with dirty water flowing beneath it, and beyond the bridge stood a cluster of houses that looked like they might collapse at any moment.
Hugging my teddy bear tightly, I looked up at my mother.
Because I was scared.
I was frightened by the stares of the children glancing at me from across the bridge, by the mice scurrying past, and by the ominous feeling that I might never see my mother again.
Clutching my teddy bear even tighter, I held onto it as if it could protect me.
My mother crouched down and looked at me.
She gently stroked my tear-streaked cheek with a kind smile and said,
-Sweetheart, I have an errand to run. Can you wait here for a little while?
I shook my head.
Sniffling, without even wiping my runny nose, I just kept shaking my head and clung to her, refusing to let go.
My mother held my hand tightly and said,
-I promise I’ll come back.
-…
-I swear, I’ll keep my promise.
-Promise?
-Yes.
-You’ll come back in thirteen days?
-Yes. I’ll bring your real dad with me. Just wait for a little while, okay?
I held out my pinky finger to her.
-Promise…!
She hooked her pinky finger with mine and smiled.
-I promise.
I ran toward my mother as she walked away. There was one last thing I wanted to ask.
-Mom!
In my haste, I tripped and fell, scraping my nose and causing it to bleed. But I brushed myself off bravely because I knew my mother didn’t like it when I cried.
Since she had promised, since she said she would come back, I didn’t even wipe the blood from my nose as I grabbed the hem of her clothes and said,
-Mom.
When she turned around, my mother was crying.
For the first time, she was shedding tears in front of me.
Looking at her, I said,
-Why are you crying? You said you wouldn’t give me a gift if you cried.
-No, I’m not crying. But why did you come after me? I told you I’d be back soon.
-It’s just…!
Fidgeting with my fingers, I looked up at her and asked,
-What’s my name?
-…
-You called me, but what if you don’t even know my name?
Biting her lip, my mother lowered her head.
-Now that I think about it, I never gave you a name….
She stopped for a moment and, with a voice tinged with moisture, said,
-Misa.
-…Huh?
-Misa. That’s your name.
-Misa!
-Yes, Misa.
Hearing my name, I smiled and let go of the hem of her clothes.
I waved my hand enthusiastically.
-Come back soon!
-…
-Mom! Come back soon!
-…
But my mother never returned.
I waited for her.
Counting on my fingers, “One day, two days, three days,” I endured the endless nightmares.
Underneath the bridge where I had promised to wait, I perked up my ears and waited endlessly for my mother, but she never came.
Strangers reached out to help me, but I bit their hands and ran away, hiding over and over again.
One day passed.
Two days passed.
By the third day, when the dark thoughts in my heart solidified into certainty,
I cried myself to sleep.
Thinking, “When I wake up, Mom will be here.”
That day, it rained heavily.
It was cold.
It was dark.
I hated how my teddy bear was soaked from the rain.
Though my body was cold, my forehead burned as I slowly began to open my heavy eyelids.
“Mom…”
“…”
“Mom…”
“I’m not your mom.”
In front of me stood a child holding a cardboard box.
The child, with a dirty face, poked my cheek and said,
“It’s real….”
“…”
“This must be a fortuitous encounter, right?”
“…Mom?”
“I’m not your mom, nor your dad, for that matter. Hmm.”
The child smiled and said,
“Then, am I your brother?”
Raindrops slid off the child’s red hair, following his smile before falling to the ground.
“Nice to meet you.”
“…”
“My name is Lee Minhyuk.”
That was the first meeting between Mikhail and the red-haired boy.