LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 189
TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 189
A lot has happened.
Mikhail, who had his entire begging tin stolen by a thief, sat on the ground and cried his eyes out.
-Sniff… Ahem…
-Why are you crying?
-I collected so much today… I was going to boast about it… I was going to buy a cream bun for you today…!
-Well, I’m fine. They stole yours instead of mine, so there’s no loss.
-It’s not fine at all!
-You earn more than me if you work for just an hour.
-…
When the begging was over, we would lie beneath the bridge and watch the falling meteors.
-Wow… So many are falling.
-Yeah, there are a lot.
-Let’s make a wish! Mom said if you wish upon a meteor, it’ll come true.
-It doesn’t come true. Do you know how many times I’ve wished?
-…
As I watched the falling meteors, I corrected Mikhail’s misconceptions. If you grow up with wrong ideas, you might end up with misguided beliefs.
-Did you know?
-What?
-Those are all rocks. Really big rocks.
-…
-Wishing on those won’t make anything come true. It’s more meaningful to pray to a statue resembling a grandfather… Ow! Why’d you hit me?
-You’re no fun.
There were many small but memorable events.
Like the time Mikhail was almost sold off to some delinquents.
Or when I comforted Mikhail after he mistook a stranger for his mom and followed her.
-Hey! That person isn’t your mom!
-…She’s not our mom?
-Ha… Damn. What do I do with you?
-She seemed like Mom… She smelled like Mom.
-What are you, a dog? Finding people by their scent.
During that time, Mikhail ventured outside the bridge and made friends in the slum.
Of course, Mikhail, being cautious, didn’t make many friends, but his world began to expand.
If I had to pick the most memorable event, it would probably be that one.
On a rainy day, getting beaten so badly that dust seemed to fly off me. It was such a striking event that I couldn’t forget it.
It was a trivial matter.
Something so trivial that others would laugh at it.
When Mikhail’s ever-present teddy bear was snatched away by delinquents, it became the defining memory of his childhood.
-Waaah! Give it back! I said give it back!
-Puhaha! Hey, he’s crying.
-Give it back! My mom gave it to me!
-Mom? What mom? You don’t even have one, you orphan bastard.
-Give it baaaack!
It was a disaster that young Mikhail couldn’t handle on his own. Most incidents in the slum were like that.
In a place where no one helps and everyone only looks out for themselves, you just had to endure.
As I was returning from begging a young lady, I heard Mikhail’s sorrowful crying at the entrance of an alleyway.
-It’s mine… It’s mine… Please give it back.
-Puhaha! Hey, watch this. I’m going to cook your teddy bear.
-Don’t! Please don’t…!
Riiip…!
-Aaaah! I said don’t!
“What the hell?”
The moment I saw Mikhail’s torn teddy bear, I think it was the first time I felt killing intent.
Mikhail, crouched on the ground, was picking up the scattered stuffing, while the delinquents laughed as if it were amusing.
I didn’t like any of it.
“Ah… They’re really testing my patience.”
Like a person who had lost a screw, I swung a wooden sword.
“If you don’t want to meet your ancestors in heaven, stop. Though you’ll probably meet them today anyway….”
I think I beat them until they were half-dead that day.
Despite my dramatic entrance, the difference in weight class was obvious, so I couldn’t stand a chance.
It would be more accurate to say I fought like a dog with just a crude wooden stick.
Since I was already a nuisance in the slum, I caught their attention and ended up getting beaten even more.
-Hey! Beat this bastard down!
-Die! Die!
-F*ck, this nobody thinks he’s something. Acting all high and mighty!
Unable to do anything, I clung tightly to Mikhail’s teddy bear. The kicks hurt, but I had already struck a pose, so getting beaten again would’ve been embarrassing.
I figured crouching and taking the hits would be less humiliating, so I just stayed put.
After taking a beating for a while and pretending to be dead, the delinquents ran off. I decided I’d gift their frontal lobes a brick this evening, then got up nonchalantly and said,
“Let’s go.”
“Huh…?”
“You’re hungry, right?”
Mikhail, who had stopped crying, was staring at my injured body. I held his hand, smiled brightly, and led him back underneath the bridge.
Mikhail’s fingers kept fidgeting. It was kind of cute.
Once we were back under the bridge, I began sewing Mikhail’s teddy bear with practiced skill.
In my previous life, I had sewn a lot of clothes, so I was used to it. This much I could do with my eyes closed.
“Sniff… Are you okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“You got beaten up so badly.”
“I didn’t get hit even once. Didn’t you see me dodge with a shoulder feint? I was really fast.”
“Liar. You got hit everywhere.”
“I didn’t.”
“You got hit because of me.”
“…It doesn’t hurt.”
“You got hit here.”
Poke.
‘Is this an assassination attempt?’
“Ow!”
“See? It hurts.”
“It doesn’t hurt.”
Mikhail apologized to me, saying he felt like his existence was a burden.
“I’m sorry. For being abandoned here…”
“Don’t even joke about that. It’s not your fault, so why are you saying that?”
Honestly, it wasn’t Mikhail’s fault, so blaming someone would’ve been strange. I nodded as I accepted Mikhail’s apology.
“Um….”
Mikhail glanced at me nervously, fidgeting with his fingers.
After taking a deep breath, Mikhail spoke in a trembling voice.
“Why did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Why did you take the hits for me?”
“Because you’re weak.”
Mikhail shook his head as he replied.
“I’m not weak.”
“Is that so?”
At that moment, I was stitching up a teddy bear, so I couldn’t see Mikhail’s expression, but I imagined he might have been moved.
Because even I thought my words sounded cool.
If Mikhail were a woman, I thought she would have fallen for me already. Hiding the smile creeping onto my lips, I spoke as if it was no big deal.
“You’re weak, so I protect you.”
“But why…?”
“Just because. I feel like it.”
“What if I become stronger?”
“That’s never going to happen, not even if I die.”
‘Or is it?’
“If you ever become stronger than me, then you can protect me. Right?”
“I’ll protect you?”
“Yeah.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
I spoke with a small smile.
“Until then, I’ll protect you.”
My face was so swollen that smiling was difficult, but I smiled anyway, hoping it would lift Mikhail’s gloomy mood, even just a little.
“I promise, really.”
Mikhail stared at me for a long time before his eyes lit up, and he spoke.
“Hey…”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve been thinking.”
“Oh, thinking about what? That you should be filial to me?”
“No. I want to be someone who protects weak people like you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Like! When I see bad people like the ones you face, I’ll swing a sword and coolly say, ‘Go away.'”
“Did I do that?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s… quite a bit distorted.”
Mikhail’s words about wanting to resemble someone who got beaten up were so funny that I couldn’t help but smile a little as I played along with him.
“Sure.”
I told Mikhail.
“If it’s you, I think you can do it.”
As someone who knows the story.
And as someone who witnessed Mikhail’s life in the slums, I spoke to him with confidence in his success.
“I’ll cheer you on.”
“Cheer…?”
“Yeah, cheer.”
That day, for the first time, Mikhail asked me this question.
“What’s your ideal type?”
“Not you, Lee Minhyuk.”
“Eeeek Minhyuk?”
“…”
“Eeeek Minhyuk?”
“Don’t turn a perfectly fine person into a nuclear weapon.”
I clenched my fist and chuckled softly as I watched Mikhail struggle to pronounce my name. It seemed my name was difficult for others to say.
Patting Mikhail’s head as he tried hard, I said.
“Enough. I’d rather it be you than a nuclear weapon.”
“In… Min…”
“Stop. It’s only getting worse.”
Mikhail muttered in disappointment, saying, “I feel like I’m so close to getting it.”
I looked at Mikhail with a small smile.
“Why do you ask about my ideal type? Are you planning to introduce someone to me?”
“No!”
“Then why?”
“Just… curious.”
Seeing Mikhail fidgeting shyly with his fingers, I clenched my fist internally. I thought maybe, just maybe, he could introduce me to a stunning beauty someday.
Smiling, I answered Mikhail’s question.
“Listen carefully, I’ll only say it once.”
“Okay…!”
“Kind.”
“Okay.”
“Pretty.”
“Okay…”
What was so important that he was even writing it down on paper? He really was a good friend.
Imagining my ideal type in my mind, I continued.
“And if possible, I’d like her hair to be unique.”
“Hair?”
“Yeah.”
Mikhail flinched and buried his face in his notebook, unable to lift his head.
Was it because my demands were too picky? Mikhail seemed to be deep in thought.
It bothered me, but I couldn’t help it. Choosing a life partner was no small matter, so I hoped he’d understand my picky standards.
Having gone through so much to brighten Mikhail’s childhood, I figured I could afford to impose a little. With a bitter smile, I decided to warn Mikhail about the dangers of being too generous.
“Lastly, she should have a good figure.”
“…”
Mikhail suddenly fell silent.
He had been diligently jotting down my words in his notebook but stopped his pen mid-motion, his ears turning red.
“Why…?”
Had I asked for too much?
Just as I thought I should lower the bar, Mikhail mumbled softly, almost inaudibly.
“Mom’s tall too… so I…”
I couldn’t catch what he said, but Mikhail soon regained his energy, lifted his head, and gave me a bright smile.
“Is that all?”
“Huh?”
“If that’s all, can I be your bride?”
“Uh… maybe? But I have big dreams, so I plan to have many wives.”
I should have said this earlier.
If Mikhail grew up and saw my shameless married life, he might draw his sword. I thought it would be better to educate him early for the sake of my life as a possessor.
Sure enough, Mikhail puffed out his cheeks and called me shameless.
“Shameless.”
“I can’t help it. I’m just too amazing.”
“Annoying.”
“…”
Mikhail laughed brightly and said.
“But I’ll allow it.”
“As long as you like your main wife the most.”
For some reason, it felt like things ended well, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Anyway, thanks.”
It was indeed better to face the scolding early.
*
And so, a long time passed.
By the time Mikhail’s pain over his mother had somewhat faded.
It rained.
Yes, rain.
A very sorrowful rain fell.