The Beloved Baby Deer of the Hwangryong Family - Chapter 130

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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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“Why, why are you crying? Are you hurt somewhere?”

Seo-yu, who had finally opened her eyes, asked in surprise.

The Qilin Family Head was crying. And with a face that didn’t even realize he was crying.

Just like water that fills a well without notice and eventually overflows, tears streamed down from his eyes that had always seemed calm.

“No. The wind must have blown dust into my eyes.”

Gi Tae-ha, who had finally noticed his condition, shook his head while hiding his tears. He had no intention of startling the child, but it was a mistake.

“Then I’ll blow it away for you!”

Seo-yu puffed up her cheeks and blew air toward Gi Tae-ha’s eyes with a “whoosh—”.

Gi Tae-ha, stunned by the unexpected reaction, closed and opened his eyes. Perhaps from embarrassment, his tears stopped abruptly.

“See, now you’re not crying anymore, right?”

A proud smile appeared on Seo-yu’s face.

“…How did you know such a method?”

“In winter, I had a snowball fight with Sister Yi-ryeong and Brother Li-gon. Ah! A snowball fight is when you pack snow and throw it.”

Seo-yu quickly explained in case the Family Head didn’t know. Even Seo-yu herself had no idea such a game existed before.

It happened last winter. On a day when snow had piled up softly in the courtyard, Seo-yu experienced a snowball fight for the first time in her life.

Seo-yu learned for the first time then that she could have such fun playing with snow, which had always made her hands cold when gathering medicinal herbs.

“But something got in my eye and it stung. So I kept rubbing my eyes, but Young Master Li-han said I shouldn’t do that and blew air on my eyes. Then it got better.”

It was so much fun!

Rolling around in the snow field and making snowmen too. That day, she only had memories of laughing all day long. As Seo-yu giggled while recalling the pleasant memories—

“…Wasn’t living difficult for you?”

Gi Tae-ha, who had been quietly watching Seo-yu, carefully opened his mouth.

“I heard about what you experienced in your previous family. What kind of… treatment you received.”

Seeing his somehow sad-looking face, Seo-yu also felt upset.

‘He must feel sorry for me because of Miss Su-jeong’s matter.’

Even though it wasn’t the Family Head’s fault at all, seeing him worry about her like this showed he was truly a good person. So Seo-yu decided to speak her heart honestly.

“When I was young…”

Her lips that had moved briefly opened again.

“When I was young, it was a little difficult. I wanted to try hard, but things didn’t go well. Um… no matter what I said, they wouldn’t really listen.”

Gi Tae-ha’s golden eyes wavered painfully. But Seo-yu continued speaking cheerfully.

“But you know, even so, every single day wasn’t sad!”

“…It wasn’t sad?”

“I learned about medicinal herbs while watching the Medical Hall Physicians, and I made squirrel friends on the mountain. There’s a friend called Blackie, who brought me berries so I wouldn’t be hungry. It’s this small of a friend.”

Seo-yu moved her hands enthusiastically, trying to show him about Blackie. Gi Tae-ha’s gaze quietly followed the child’s movements.

And then.

“Of course, it would be a lie if I said I never thought it would be nice to have parents.”

“…”

The moment she said that, the surroundings became quiet.

Seo-yu, who had been looking down as if lost in thought for a while, smiled brightly the next moment.

“But you know, Family Head. I love living. It’s so, so interesting. So I’m grateful to my parents who brought me into this world too!”

Gi Tae-ha’s eyes widened at her face that smiled as clearly as a flower bud bursting open.

“Thanks to that, I got to meet my parents now. And my elder brothers and sister, and Master too.”

Seo-yu smiled cheerfully. She couldn’t say that all the days she had lived were purely joyful. Even so, Seo-yu always looked forward to tomorrow.

Hoping that a day would come when she would be hated a little less, that tomorrow would bring at least one moment of laughter.

By waiting for tomorrow every day like that, such a happy moment had finally arrived.

“…”

Gi Tae-ha, who had remained silent for a long time, spoke like a sigh.

“…They gave you the gift of a new life.”

“That’s right! Really!”

Seo-yu nodded her head earnestly. Gi Tae-ha, who had been quietly gazing at the child’s face full of laughter, asked casually.

“Seo-yu. Your name. Would you tell me what it means?”

“M-my name?”

Seo-yu blinked her eyes and answered somewhat bashfully.

“The meaning… I don’t really know. I don’t even know who gave it to me.”

“I see, of course…”

With that incomprehensible murmur, Gi Tae-ha was the first to stand up. He immediately extended his hand to Seo-yu.

“If it’s alright with you, shall we explore the forest a bit more?”

“I’d love to!”

Seo-yu joyfully took his hand and stood up from her spot.

* * *

From that day on, Seo-yu visited the Heavenly Medicine Forest with the Family Head every morning.

“When communing, you don’t necessarily need to be touching nature with your hands.”

“Um… like how we don’t have to hold hands when we’re talking like this?”

“You understand well. That way you can commune more freely. However, feeling through touch is helpful at first, so practice slowly.”

They walked through the vast forest, examining medicinal herbs and learning methods of communion.

It felt exactly like practical training, so Seo-yu found this time with the Family Head truly beneficial and enjoyable.

Also, in the evenings, she could read books in Gi Tae-ha’s study. The study filled with countless medical books and herbal medicine texts was like a dream space for Seo-yu.

Moreover, Gi Tae-ha also allowed Seo-yu to read the ancestral records.

“Transparent leaves and rainbow colors… Family Head, it really says something about Snow Scale Flowers here! They discovered it by chance on a snow-covered mountain.”

“Yes. I too first learned of the Snow Scale Flower’s existence from reading that diary.”

While Seo-yu eagerly examined the diary, Gi Tae-ha quietly read his book beside her and answered her questions diligently.

It was quite some time later when Seo-yu raised her head.

‘Hm? He’s looking at a dictionary?’

Seo-yu, who had been blinking her dry eyes, suddenly became puzzled seeing the book Gi Tae-ha was reading.

He was so focused that the Family Head continued staring at the dictionary without changing his posture even once.

‘That’s a book for children though…’

Though it was called a dictionary, it was actually a kind basic text that explained the meaning of each character separately for people learning to read for the first time.

It wasn’t really a book that the Qilin Family Head, an excellent physician and scholar, would need to read.

‘Could he be studying everything from the beginning again?’

Master said so. That fundamentals are the most important thing in everything. Seeing the Qilin Family Head, it really seemed to be true.

Seo-yu quietly glanced at the books stacked on the desk. They were all thick medical books without exception.

‘How embarrassing!’

Even someone as brilliant as the Qilin Family Head was studying from basic vocabulary, so was it really okay for her to be reading such difficult books?

As she rolled her eyes in embarrassment, Gi Tae-ha seemed to notice her gaze and slowly raised his head to speak.

“Don’t mind it. I just have something to look up.”

“Ah, yes!”

Hearing those words put her at ease, and Seo-yu turned her attention back to her book.

The two of them became absorbed in reading again. The time spent buried in the familiar scent of books was incredibly comfortable.

Like that, one day, two days… time passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was the day before Seo-yu would return to the Household.

In the afternoon as the sun was setting, Seo-yu visited the study as usual. As expected, Gi Tae-ha was already there waiting.

‘Since I’m leaving tomorrow, I should give my greetings in advance today.’

With that thought, Seo-yu was about to open her mouth.

“Could you spare me a moment of your time?”

“Huh? Yes! Of course.”

It was an unexpected request, but there was no reason to refuse. Gi Tae-ha led Seo-yu to his office.

As if he had prepared in advance, tea to drink, simple refreshments, and a single book were placed on the low table.

“Please sit.”

Gi Tae-ha gestured to the seat across from him. Though Seo-yu was puzzled, she sat down as instructed.

‘What could this book be?’

Since she loved books so much, her gaze naturally went there. Noticing her eyes glancing downward, Gi Tae-ha gestured as if to say it was fine to look.

Seo-yu quickly picked up the book. The thin book without even a title gave off a faint scent of ink.

‘I’ve never seen a book like this in the study.’

Tilting her head curiously, Seo-yu opened the book and casually began to read the first word aloud.

“Seo…”

Then she closed her mouth. As she read down through the text written in the book, her large pupils trembled slightly.

「Wise Seo (㥠): To be wise.

— I heard you are diligent in learning the Medical Arts and your achievements are outstanding.

Together Seo : Together, with, skilled person.

— A life of living together with others suits you, so this meaning would be good too.

Auspicious Seo : Blessed and fortunate.

— Your existence brings blessings to This Land, so it seems fitting and I chose it.

.

.

.

Gentle Yu : Gentle, mild, to love.

— Your nature is gentle and mild, so everyone will love you.

Beautiful jade Yu : Beautiful jade, the radiance of jade

— They say this character is mainly used for lovely young women.

Clear Yu : Clear and bright, lucid.

“— Your laughter is so clear, this would suit you quite well.”

The book contained countless characters that could mean her name. Each one included detailed explanations and reasons for selection.

Suddenly, the image of the Family Head clutching the dictionary for the past few days flashed through her mind.

“Family Head, this is…”

“You said you didn’t know the meaning of your name. I hope there’s a meaning among them that appeals to you.”

Seo-yu looked down at the book, feeling overwhelmed.

Though thin, it was undeniably a book. The process of transcribing every character that could be used for a name couldn’t have been easy.

“…They say if you have a good name, you live peacefully.”

As always calm and composed, yet somehow stirring her heart, his voice quietly concluded.

“I wanted to give you a beautiful name.”

The words that followed slowly were even quieter.

A word written in the book caught Seo-yu’s eye.

“Yu meaning joy: to be happy, to rejoice.

— Hoping that your future life will always be filled with happiness.”

“I like it.”

Seo-yu gently pressed her suddenly heated eyes with both hands, then looked at the book again. She didn’t want to miss a single character.

Then she put strength in her voice and spoke clearly.

“…I, I really do.”

“Is that so?”

Only then did Gi Tae-ha smile. Peace settled in his gently curved lips.

“That’s a relief.”

Invisible love spread slowly like the green that colored the Heavenly Medicine Forest.

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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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