NOVEL NEXT Chapter 144: You have one job
Around 11 PM, Kim Taeho and Kang Si An arrive at Kyuri's place. She's already waiting for them in front of her house. She didn't expect that Kang Si An would talk to Kim Taeho this soon.
Kim Taeho has already asked his mother to stay with the children until he comes back. He heard that Yoon Miran has locked herself inside the office for work.
"So, you can read minds and travel in time." Kim Taeho eyes her. "Why would I believe your nonsense?"
Kang Si An told him a bit about Kyuri, the timekeeper, and him. He didn't divulge the past or the time-turn.
"Yes." Kyuri is prepared. "I killed Jae Kyung. I already told it to Yoon Miran. When I met her, I found out that she has Kwak In-Sik's soul inside her. They are nearly one, but she's resisting unknowingly because of you. We have to save her as soon as possible. As for why you should believe me..."
She walks to the tree and touches it. Last time, she didn't think of this when Young Hwa asked her to show. She's been thinking. Plants have minds too. A poor tree will die, but it's for the greater good.
Kim Taeho sees the tree become dry in front of him. In less than a minute, the tree is dead. All the leaves are black as the night.
"Is that enough?" She asks, raising her brow.
"What do you know about Kwak In-Sik?" Kim Taeho doesn't show much on his face. A healthy tree can't just die. His instincts are telling him that these two won't be playing with him. He will listen more before he decides.
"Actually, I only knew what I have heard in the news before I met Yoon Miran." Kyuri tells him honestly, "When I met her for the first time, I felt the second presence inside her. I told her that I had no interest in her secrets. But now, it's about me and Kang Si An. I can't let my daughter become both fatherless and motherless. Kwak In-Sik's soul wasn't supposed to live inside Yoon Miran. We have to remove it. She won't have a normal life if that thing doesn't leave her body."
Kwak In-Sik inside Yoon Miran? Kim Taeho thinks about the time when he heard her talking to herself. She seemed pretty harmless. But it's hard to believe that that a**hole's soul is inside Yoon Miran.
"I can't do anything else to make you believe." Kyuri scowls at him. "We didn't even need to tell you. With my ability, I could take care of Kwak In-Sik without your awareness. But Kang Si An and I thought that you needed to know. Yoon Miran would need you the most after we remove Kwak In-Sik. You don't have much time either. In 1 month, you have to make sure that she's sound-minded when you are gone. Even one second is valuable for you."
"What if you fail?" Kim Taeho asks solemnly.
"She and I will die. Yoon Miran might die or she might become one with Kwak In-Sik. We can't tell what would happen. We know that she would merge with Kwak In-Sik after you are gone." Kang Si An puts his hands in his pockets. "Kim Taeho, I am a father too. Do you think that I would joke about this? If anything wrong goes, both of us will lose something precious. My Little Hae might lose her parents. You might lose Yoon Miran forever even if you take away the children from her."
If what they are saying is the truth, they didn't have to tell him everything. He scans their faces. They don't seem like they are lying.
Kim Taeho suddenly remembers something that his daughter used to call Yoon Miran her father when she was younger. It was before her second birthday.
When he asked why she called Yoon Miran her father, she told him,
'Mother is Father. Father is Mother.'
He asked with a deep frown, 'Who I am, Ha-Neul?'
She gave him a toothy smile and said, 'You are also Father.'
He didn't think much of it back then.
"I will call you tomorrow." Kim Taeho turns around and leaves.
"So hard-headed." Kyuri feels tired. "I want to have one good night sleep before the chaos breaks out."
Kang Si An pinches her cheeks when she yawns. "It's late. Go back inside."
"Oi!" She smacks his hand away. "What are you doing?"
"Ah..." He realizes his mistake. "But friends can do it. It's not like I kissed you."
"You are still hung on the Keeper's action." She frowns at him. "He suddenly did it. Besides, it's your body. Have I not tasted those lips yet?"
Kang Si An looks away in embarrassment, though he can't guess why he's embarrassed. He realizes that they didn't kiss normally in this lifetime. For Kyuri, it might be same. But he... when he kissed those lips last time, it was not consensual from her side.
"I am sorry," He says again, regretting. No matter what, he can't change the past. He has to live with the weight of that night for the rest of his life and maybe, even the next.
"What are you sorry about?" Kyuri comes closer to him. "If it's about what happened 3 years ago, I have already forgiven you. You have also punished yourself enough. You are a good father to Little Hae. If you continue to stay as her ideal father, I will not hate you again."
"Really?" But he can't forgive himself.
"Truly." She smiles at him kindly. "Past is past. A lot of horrible things have happened. You and I both have made mistakes. I don't want those mistakes to define our present. Both of us must work hard to become better people for our daughter."
Kang Si An watches her under the moonlight. For the thousand years, this face hasn't changed once for him. She and Little Hae are the reasons for his living. He sleeps thinking about them and wakes up with their thoughts first.
"Kyuri, between me and the timekeeper, who do you prefer more?"
Kang Si An asks with a casual voice, not matching the seriousness of the words.
"Huh?" She is surprised by that weird question.
"If you had to choose one..."
"Why do you say such strange things?" She shakes her head. "Of course, I would choose you. You still jealous about the kiss, aren't you?"
He purses his lips. How can he not be jealous? But he can't voice out his thoughts.
"If you like it, I don't care. I will let the timekeeper use my body as long as he likes."
Actually, he's been thinking. The timekeeper can protect Kyuri better than he can. But he doesn't want to stop meeting Little Hae and Kyuri either.
"Oh, please don't." Kyuri flicks his forehead. "Your body is yours. You are Little Hae's father. What will happen when she calls you and the timekeeper picks up? You have one job. That is, you must be there as her father. She loves you more than she loves me. Do you get it?"
"What about you?" He blurts out.
She chuckles. "Obviously, I want what Little Hae wants. Kang Si An should be Kang Si An. The 100 minutes per day are more than enough for the timekeeper. He can probably dominate the world in those 100 minutes. Don't underestimate him."
He exhales. That's true. Last time, the keeper had 100 minutes for more than 1000 years and he did cause big chaos in their lives. If he gives up all the rights of his body, there's no telling what the Keeper might do.
"I am sleepy." She yawns again. "Are you leaving or staying over?"
He is surprised to hear that. "Can I stay over?"
"You are basically living at my home." She grumbles and rolls her eyes. "Sleep at my brother's room. It's empty since he moved out."
She turns around and walks lazily toward the house.
Kang Si An is still stumped. He can stay over.
"Are you coming or not? I will lock you out if you don't come," She yells before going inside the house.
"I am coming." He runs into her house in excitement, not daring to think anything deep about it.