A Secretly Capable Child Is Seeking For Her Dad - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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A Powerful Child Searches for Dad Episode 2

“Aigoo- why is it so hot today.”

That day.

Astie, no, Tie was lying flat on the floor, enjoying the breeze from the fan that 107 Grandmother was waving for her.

She was crossing her eyes to watch her bangs flutter when 203 Aunt opened the front door and came in.

“Oh, sister. I think something terrible has happened…”

Normally, this aunt would have hugged her first, saying how pretty our Tie was.

When that same aunt quickly looked away from her, Tie tilted her head in confusion.

“What is it? Did someone cause trouble?”

“It’s not that…”

Again. The aunt glanced at Tie again and then avoided her gaze.

Tie’s eyes naturally turned to the bag the aunt was holding.

203 Aunt was gripping a crumpled paper bag as if it were a puppy leash she couldn’t afford to drop.

“You better not be making a fuss over nothing again. Always startling the child with your dramatics…”

However, when the bag was opened, 107 Grandmother fell silent.

Without the fanning, beads of sweat formed on Tie’s forehead.

Silence filled the small room, and just as only the sound of cicadas could be heard.

“…What should we do.”

Grandmother suddenly turned around and pulled Tie into her arms.

“What should we do! What can we do!”

Then she began to cry bitterly.

Tie just blinked while being held by Grandmother.

203 Aunt was also sniffling.

Though confused, Tie quickly realized something was wrong.

[In accordance with Article 12, Paragraph 1 of the Funeral Services Act, we have processed the body of an unclaimed deceased person and hereby announce as follows. Related parties are requested to claim the interred remains.]

That day was the tenth day since Father hadn’t come home.

“Funeral…?”

What’s that.

After Grandmother and Aunt hurriedly left her alone, Tie looked at the paper again and again.

The paper was full of difficult words.

Still, there was exactly one word that Tie knew.

“…Deceased means dead person.”

Suddenly frightened, Tie quietly put the paper down.

As she fidgeted with her fingers, she noticed the Tanifang sticker book that Seulhee had given her at preschool.

Though Seulhee had used almost all the stickers, Tie’s favorite Ttonafang sticker remained.

“Show us shining magic~ Catch catch…”

Tie hummed the Tanifang theme song while carefully peeling off the Ttonafang sticker.

Then she left Apartment 107, went into 106, and brought the flyers that Father had collected.

Tie first wrote carefully with a marker on the back of a blank flyer.

[Please let Father come home.]

No one in the Quail Class could write as well as Tie.

She didn’t forget to press the Ttonafang sticker firmly after the period.

“Father…”

Father who always told strange stories.

Father who believed he came from an empire called Talochium, and that Tie’s hometown was there too.

Father said he was an incredibly strong holy knight in that world.

Every day he punished bad monsters and villains, and was the strongest hero everyone respected.

Tie shook her head.

Of course, Tie had believed those words until she was about three.

Father was so cool that her heart would pound, and she sometimes couldn’t sleep past nine o’clock because of it.

But Tie was four years old now.

That meant she was old enough to know everything there was to know.

‘The strongest holy knight that everyone loves would definitely be rich.’

Father and Tie weren’t rich.

They were rather poor.

You could tell because while her preschool friends went on vacation every summer, Tie and Father had never gone on a trip even once.

Also, Father hardly had any days off.

He worked on weekends, Children’s Day, Hangul Day, and even Christmas.

When she asked why Father worked so much, the Gold Apartment Elders said.

It was because Father’s work ‘didn’t pay well compared to the effort.’

It was difficult words, but Tie vaguely understood.

No matter how hard Father worked, he couldn’t earn enough money to buy Tie a new Tanifang sticker book.

Of course, Tie was still okay with that.

Because Father was a hundred times, no, a thousand times more precious than Tanifang sticker books.

Tie always thought Father, who worked so hard, was cool and she was grateful.

‘Everyone has their circumstances.’

‘I mean, look at the guy in 106. With that handsome face at such a young age, why would he be struggling? It’s for the child’s sake, afraid someone might take the kid away.’

‘But it’s strange. Even illegal residents just need to get a visa or something, right? Tie is four now, so we should start the birth registration…’

‘Tie can’t even get birth registration in the first place, you know? And if he tries to register the birth now, like hell the District Office will just let it slide! An illegal resident, huh? The moment he gets caught, the fine alone is huge. And then our Tie might get deported to her own country. The 106 Youth would have to serve prison time here. What kind of separation in life is that.’

‘Anyway, I saw that Kindergarten Principal from downstairs again. Thank goodness she’s a good person, but imagine if she had stubbornly refused to accept Tie till the end, the child would have become stupid in no time.’

‘Tie was originally sharp so she would have been fine, right? I’ve never seen a kid like that in my life. She learned to read almost entirely by herself! By the way, has the 106 Youth still not said which country he came from?’

Though she had learned many things from the neighbors’ chatter she heard in her sleep, Tie was happy living with Father.

“…Sniff.”

A drop of snot fell on the scrap paper, so Tie held her breath.

Without realizing it, tears were trickling down.

“Sniffle.”

Feeling dejected, Tie buried her face in both hands.

Father needed to come home quickly.

“Father…”

The word ‘deceased’ kept floating around in her head.

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

Telling herself it couldn’t be true, that the word ‘deceased’ couldn’t be referring to Father.

She seemed to have dozed off then.

When she woke up, it was pitch dark all around.

107 Grandmother returned only late in the evening, soaked from the rain.

In Grandmother’s hands was a paper box with water stains here and there.

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

‘Father will live with Tie for a long, long time. Someday we’ll definitely return to our hometown, and I’ll make our Tie smile in a much bigger and cleaner house.’

‘I even used the Ttonafang sticker.’

What arrived wasn’t Father.

Tie just stared at the three characters that read ‘belongings box’ for a long time.

She knows what that means.

It’s a word that appeared in dramas before.

So… without living long, without returning home, without being able to make Tie smile.

Father had left, abandoning only Tie behind.

In the end.

Late dawn.

Tie left the room, leaving behind 107 Grandmother’s snoring sounds.

She secretly entered Apartment 106, two steps away, the room where she and Father had lived together.

She could see the belongings box that Grandmother had placed on top of the drawer at the very back of the room.

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

“….”

Inside were Father’s hat that he always wore, a few keys, and a wallet sitting there alone.

As she tilted the box to look more closely, something made a rattling sound as it fell.

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

‘Father’s….’

Tie unconsciously picked up the necklace.

It was a necklace she had never seen before because Father always kept it in his inner pocket every day.

When she removed the broken chain and held the stone attached in the center in her hand, her throat felt tight.

It seemed like she could feel Father’s warmth from the stone.

The moment tears welled up in Tie’s eyes.

Thud-

Suddenly the ceiling vibrated.

Startled, she looked up and this time felt a vivid tremor traveling through the floor.

Thud-!

As she stepped backward, a bright light fell before her eyes.

[Why are you crying?]

Tie blinked and opened her mouth.

The pebble that had slipped from her hand was floating in mid-air.

Emitting bright light around its edges.

“The, the pebble is talking….”

At that moment, something popped up above the pebble with a poof.

It was a small, black head about the size of an adult’s fist.

Tie watched with her mouth hanging open as ruby-like eyes, nose, mouth, and ears formed on the pebble.

[Why are you crying?]

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

After being wary, she finally gathered courage and opened her mouth.

“Ti, Tie’s father….”

[I see.]

At that moment, the pebble, which had grown arms, legs, a tail, and even wings, cut off Tie’s words.

The pebble licked its tiny front paws a few times and said.

[That man died, didn’t he?]

Tie’s pupils shook.

“…Father, Father is….”

[Should I bring him back to life?]

Until she heard the pebble’s following words.

The pebble that had been staring intently at Tie shook its head with a flutter, then spoke again.

[I asked if you wouldn’t cry if I brought your father back to life.]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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