Chapter 223.1

Chapter 223.1

“Back then, Yuri neither smiled nor cried much.”

As Daria spoke slowly, Seoryeong thought to herself that it made sense why Lee Wooshin would hate birthdays.

Maxim Solzhenitsyn had clearly twisted something inside his grandson’s head. The boy had sat calmly across the table from the grandfather who’d killed his own father, sipping tea without flinching.

Hiding his true feelings must have been a skill he’d learned desperately in those perilous days. Only by concealing them could he breathe.

“Maxim always taught the same thing: if you want to survive, you have to be cunning.”

‘Maybe you lived wearing a mask far heavier than mine. I only had one, but you must have worn and discarded countless ones your whole life.’

‘You must have crouched beneath them, not even thinking of taking them off. In the end, you lost your real face, your real heart.’

‘Yes, you must have.’

‘And then, after all that, you became Kim Hyun and met me…’

“….”

As Daria retraced the past, Seoryeong’s face tightened and relaxed again, over and over.

How much effort did it take to shatter that mask? How afraid and uneasy were you? Even so, you accepted the discarded name Kim Hyun and revealed your true self, and that alone made her heart ache with gratitude.

She wanted to pull the weary Wooshin into her arms and press her lips to his wounded eye. She wanted to tell him, again and again, You’ve done well. You’re such a strong person. Righteous and kind.

At last, Daria finished her long, winding story like she was exhaling her final breath, and she fell asleep.

As Seoryeong digested the lonely life of that boy, a gentle breeze blew through the room. She laid Daria down without difficulty and rested her head briefly on the mattress.

***

‘Sonya, my daughter!’

The loud cry startled her.

Seoryeong was sure she’d been in an open space facing a vast sea, but when she blinked in confusion, snowflakes were falling thick outside the window.

And then a strange man suddenly appeared and rubbed his face all over her cheeks. Her expression froze.

Snow was piled on his head and shoulders, and his thick glasses were fogged white.

With small, chubby hands, she pushed the awkward stranger away. Wait, chubby hands?

A chill crept over her. She opened her palm again to find it ridiculously small and soft. Her entire body, her legs, her toes, all had shrunk.

Stunned, she could only gape as the man kept nuzzling her cheek, until a woman came in through the front door and grabbed him by the back of the neck.

‘Rigay, stop fussing and wipe those awful glasses.’

‘Come on, Zoya, I just missed our daughter after working late all week…’

‘Your hands are cold. Can’t you see she’s frowning? Enough. Wipe your glasses.’

‘Then warm my hands for me, Zoya.’

‘Before I raise my voice, go change your clothes!’

‘You already did… yes, ma’am.’

Speechless, Seoryeong just stared at them. Rigay’s eyes looked perfectly fine, and Joo Seolheon looked so young. She casually patted little Sonya’s head at the table, then followed her husband into the bedroom.

Was this a dream? It had to be.

Overcome by the strangeness of it all, Seoryeong climbed down from the chair and peeked through the crack in the door. The two were arguing quietly as they took off their coats, lowering their voices as if afraid of being overheard.

“They called from school today! She was the only one who got a zero on the math test!”

“Ah… mm…”

“I told you we needed to get her a tutor, didn’t I? This is what happens when we’re too busy to pay attention to her education. If she can’t keep up with basic arithmetic now, she’ll never catch up. What’s the point of you being a genius if our daughter’s getting zeros in math?”

“Calm down, Zoya. But our daughter’s athletic, right? How about ballet? Learning ballet in Moscow has all sorts of advantages.”

“No. Sonya’s already too pretty. Who knows what kind of bastard might notice her?”

“Zoya, shh, quiet!”

Rigay pressed a finger to his lips and glanced nervously toward the door.

“I don’t care. You’re the one who’s going to make sure she studies. That brain research you do all night long? It’s useless. Useless! Our daughter can’t even add and subtract, and you’re talking about research?”

Seoryeong felt strangely guilty, even though she wasn’t the one who’d failed the test.

Still, she hated studying. Sonya curled her tiny toes into little circles and turned her gaze back toward her parents, who were pressing their foreheads together, whispering gravely. Then she returned to the table.

The house was filled with green plants and cheerful family photos. Seoryeong looked around with an odd sense of unfamiliarity, when suddenly the couple came out, poking each other’s sides playfully, and approached Sonya.

Rigay was the first to notice the fairy tale book on the table.