Looking for the Runaway Heavenly Maiden - Chapter 58

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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58.

Somewhere between sweet and bittersweet lay the school commute of Jiho and Cheonhaerang. That time came to an end the moment we arrived at school.
Even as Jiho and Cheonhaerang rounded the corner of the school fence, they kept their hands tightly clasped together.
The children who knew Cheonhaerang stole glances at Jiho and Cheonhaerang, who radiated an unmistakably rosy atmosphere.
He was definitely the top student in the entire school who had supposedly emigrated abroad due to family circumstances. Yet he’d returned not long after.
Could it be that he came back because of the girl beside him?
A large question mark hung in the children’s minds, but none of them possessed the courage to approach the two. It was because Cheonhaerang’s eyes, glimpsed in passing, gleamed with considerable intensity.
Jiho, who had been walking without noticing the whispers and gazes around her, faltered at the voice that pierced her ears.

“Jiho!”

It was a voice far from unfamiliar. Kim Seulgi. I hadn’t expected our schedules to overlap like this.
In an instant, my mind went completely blank. It would have been fine if I were alone, but Cheonhaerang was beside me right now.
I quickly turned my head to gauge Cheonhaerang’s reaction. His gaze had already shifted to Kim Seulgi, who had come to my side.

“Hey! Did you take the bus okay? I could’ve taken it with you too. Oh? But who’s next to you…?”

Kim Seulgi’s chatter was interrupted as her gaze met Cheonhaerang’s. Kim Seulgi smiled at him as if she knew nothing.

“Hi! So you’re Cheonhaerang. Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Seulgi.”

The moment Cheonhaerang saw her, he sensed the energy emanating from Kim Seulgi. It was the same as Yueul’s.
Kim Seulgi was of the Heavenly Realm.
Why was a being from the Heavenly Realm with Jiho? And so close at that?
Cheonhaerang turned his gaze to Jiho. She was utterly incapable of lying; it showed all over her face.
So that awkward evasion from before was because of this.
His buoyant mood deflated instantly. Cheonhaerang looked away from the flustered Jiho and turned to Kim Seulgi.
Then he smiled as if he knew nothing.

“Hey, Seulgi. Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

On the surface, the atmosphere seemed warm and friendly, but all three of them sensed the reality beneath.
Especially Jiho felt it. She gauged Cheonhaerang’s reaction. His demeanor had definitely shifted subtly.
If I’d known it would come to this, I should have told him beforehand. But would it have made any difference if I had?

“Then, Jiho, I’ll go ahead and check inside. I need to see the Board of Directors.”

With those words, Cheonhaerang released my hand. I tried to grasp his retreating hand, but I couldn’t reach it.
I understood. Cheonhaerang was angry right now.

“Jiho? What’s wrong?”

At Kim Seulgi’s call, I bit my lip hard before shaking my head.

“…It’s nothing. Let’s just go.”

I walked ahead. Kim Seulgi hurried to follow me.
Kim Seulgi’s eyes remained fixed on Cheonhaerang walking in the distance.

* * *

“Cheonhaerang!”
Yeonhwa embraced him tightly, her face as if she might cry at any moment.
The warmth she felt proved that he was alive.
She’d thought it would take much longer. Just like before, she’d expected not to see her child for a long time.
But he’d awakened faster than anticipated. She’d always thought of him as just a child.
Yet he’d overcome it. The child was growing so rapidly.
Yeonhwa’s trembling hands clenched. As if to comfort his sister, her younger brother’s large hand patted her back gently.
This wasn’t right. No matter what, she couldn’t burden such a young sibling like this.
Perhaps he’d been holding it in all this time.
Yeonhwa bit her lip hard. Otherwise, something would burst out of her.
But in the end, she couldn’t hold back.

“I’m sorry, sister. For making things so difficult for you.”

Indescribable emotions flooded through her. Her brother’s apology was like a detonator for her.
Yeonhwa finally broke down in tears. It had been a very long time since she’d cried like such a small child.
The quiet room was filled only with her sobs.

How much time had passed like that?
Finally ceasing her tears, she withdrew from his embrace with a sniffle.
Her younger brother’s neat school uniform was damp with the tears she’d shed. Noticing this, Yeonhwa let out an embarrassed cough and led Cheonhaerang away.

“Would you mind sitting on the sofa for a moment? I need to freshen up, and about your school uniform….”
“I’m fine, Yeonhwa. Besides, we have so much to talk about. Shouldn’t we talk first?”

Yeonhwa met Cheonhaerang’s gaze. He was smiling warmly. She nodded.

“…All right then. But let’s sit down and talk.”

Cheonhaerang obediently sat on the sofa. Yeonhwa, after wiping away the tears from her face, sat beside him.
She looked at Cheonhaerang again. Her eyes felt hot once more.
The child who had once been so small had grown so dignified—the realization moved her deeply.

“How are you feeling? Are you all right?”
“Yes. I’m fine. How about you? Are you all right?”

What did he mean by that question? Yeonhwa couldn’t be certain, but regardless, there was only one answer that would reassure him.

“Of course. I’m always fine.”

Though she couldn’t remember ever truly being fine, Yeonhwa swallowed the words she couldn’t speak to him.
But the grown child seemed to see right through her.

“That’s a lie.”
“What?”
“You’ve never been fine, Yeonhwa. Because of me.”
“What are you talking about, Cheonhaerang?”
“Yeonhwa. Do you know why I’m trying to capture Gihyeongrang?”

She didn’t know. She hadn’t heard. She could only speculate.
That it was because of the marriage with Jiho. That he was trying to make a deal with the Patriarch.
But was that not it?

“I’m going to place you on the throne.”
“…What?”

Yeonhwa’s pupils trembled violently at words she could never have anticipated.

“What are you saying right now?”
“So I was planning to capture Gihyeongrang and make a deal with the Patriarch.”
“You—when exactly did you start thinking like this?”
“It’s because of me that my sister can’t become the Supreme Deity. In the end, everything is because of me. My sister not becoming the Supreme Deity, Jiho choosing a dangerous path—it’s all my fault.”

A dangerous path.
A terrible suspicion flashed through Yeonhwa’s mind.
The original plan had been to approach the Heavenly Realm before Cheonhaerang awakened and eliminate it.
That’s why Jiho was in contact with the Heavenly Realm. This was something Cheonhaerang didn’t know about.
I thought there would be time before encountering Kim Seulgi. But it seems that wasn’t the case.

“Cheonhaerang, that’s—”

Yeonhwa opened her mouth urgently. But Cheonhaerang was faster.

“I hate myself, sister. I hate myself so much.”
“….”
“I hate myself so much….”

Yeonhwa couldn’t say anything. The child was crumbling under helplessness.
That helplessness was something she had once felt herself.
Since when had Cheonhaerang harbored such thoughts? Yeonhwa felt as though her breath was being choked off.
The world this young child had experienced was far too cruel.
Her mother couldn’t give love, and the one she trusted betrayed her and nearly died.
Hidden truths shook heaven and earth, and someone precious was walking down a perilous path.
Ah. Yeonhwa let out a quiet sigh. Perhaps the child, like herself, had simply been enduring it all.
Yeonhwa rose from her seat and sat beside Cheonhaerang. Then she pulled the child into a tight embrace.
She patted the child’s back and whispered.

“No, Cheonhaerang. It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.”

She could say it with absolute certainty. It was never Cheonhaerang’s fault.
It was only born from a foolish man who fell into a foolish love.
And thus, fate became twisted in this way.
Though a twisted fate cannot be undone, it can be severed and we can move forward.

“So don’t think like that. It makes my heart ache. You don’t know how happy I was when you were born.”

Helplessness and betrayal. Joy found amidst disappointment and pain.
So there was no resentment. Only a heart full of cherishing him.
I had never once thought that I couldn’t ascend to the throne because of Cheonhaerang.

“Jiho’s choice is Jiho’s own. Not because of you, but for you. So talk to Jiho about it, understood?”

Yeonhwa spoke to him as if coaxing a child. There was no answer from Cheonhaerang, but she knew he would be.
He wasn’t crying now. But perhaps he truly would cry before Jiho.

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