WeTried Translations
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Editor: Abstract
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Episode 52: Final Chapter
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“Son.”
“Mom.”
“My son.”
“Hehe.”
Mumu smiled softly as his mother stroked his head.
He had grown up loved by his adoptive father, Yu Yeop-kyung, and had thought it was all right not to have his biological parents. Yet the ties of family were immensely powerful.
Just one touch from his mother made his heart feel warm and safe.
Was this what happiness felt like?
‘My baby. I'll make up for everything I couldn't do for you.’
Hae Ha-rang was just as happy as she stroked Mumu's head.
She would give him all the love she had been unable to give him until now.
Then someone cautiously called out to Mumu.
“Um... Brother.”
“Hm?”
It was Mu-a.
Though learning the whole truth had left him confused, Mu-a was kind and upright by nature. Before long, he accepted everything.
He was also grateful to the aunt who had endured so much hardship while raising him.
Hae Ha-rang had asked Mu-a to remain her son, and Mu-a had accepted.
“Oh my. Mu-a, are you all right?”
Hae Ha-rang frowned at the sight of Mu-a, drenched in sweat.
Mu-a paid it no mind and spoke to Mumu.
“I'm fine, Mother. More importantly, Brother, I completed the three hundred horse-stance squats and three hundred push-ups you assigned me.”
“Huh? Already?”
Mu-a showed off his biceps and answered confidently.
“This is easy. Uncle Hwa-yun gave me basic external energy training, after all. What should I do next? I want to become strong like you as soon as possible.”
Mu-a still could not forget Mumu's single punch.
The Fist Wind had torn through layers of air and blasted straight through the clouds.
The moment he saw it, he could not hide his shock.
Until then, Mu-a had believed Hong Hwa-yun, one of the Four Immortal Masters, stood at the peak of the martial world. Yet his older cousin was truly the greatest under heaven.
No, Mumu was an invincible being.
That was why Mu-a had asked Mumu to take him as a disciple.
Becoming like Mumu had become Mu-a's goal.
“What should I do next?”
Mumu answered him.
“Uh... I don't think you're done yet.”
“Pardon?”
“You need to slowly do three hundred horse-stance squats five times, and three hundred push-ups five times too.”
Mumu held up five fingers.
Mu-a's expression stiffened.
“Ah, was that what you meant when you held up your fingers earlier?”
“Yeah.”
“...”
Mu-a had thought he could easily manage this much without using internal energy.
But doing everything he had just done five more times was a completely different matter.
Even now, his body was screaming in protest.
“Is it hard?”
“N-no, Brother. If it will make me strong like you, then of course I should do it.”
For a moment, Mu-a nearly lost his motivation, but his fighting spirit flared again.
If he could become as strong as Mumu, what could he not endure?
Hae Ha-rang shook her head helplessly as she watched Mu-a rush off to train again.
“Won't that child ruin his health like that?”
“From that much?”
“...”
Hae Ha-rang frowned at Mumu's unexpectedly high standards.
Then she thought, ‘It isn't as though Mumu would torment his younger brother for no reason,’ and accepted it.
Besides, Mu-a was not being forced to do it.
Changing the subject, Hae Ha-rang said, “We should choose a day and go meet your adoptive parents.”
“My adoptive parents?”
“Yes. They raised you so wonderfully. I should thank them.”
Mumu had told her about Yu Yeop-kyung and his family.
She sincerely wanted to thank him.
“Should we go now, then?” Mumu asked.
“Hm?”
“Yes. We can go now.”
Hae Ha-rang looked troubled.
“They say to strike while the iron is hot, but we can't leave this very moment. It will take more than half a month to reach Kaifeng...”
“We'll get there quickly.”
“Quickly?”
“Yes. Want to go?”
Hae Ha-rang stared at her son.
Her son was so lovable, but she had no idea what he was talking about.
At that moment, Mumu lifted his mother into his arms.
“Hold on tight.”
“What?”
-Kwaaaang! Paaaaang!
“Kyaaaaaah!”
He shot into the sky at such incredible speed that it felt as though her face would turn inside out.
* * *
It was a truly unusual experience.
Had she been younger, Hae Ha-rang might have enjoyed it.
“Bleurgh!”
After escaping Mumu's arms, Hae Ha-rang vomited onto the ground, her face pale with motion sickness.
Who could have expected Mumu to fly them all the way there?
Yu Yeop-kyung and Madam Jang rushed over after hearing the thunderous noise, then stared at them blankly.
“M-Mumu?”
“Father!”
“Where in the world did you come from?”
Mumu and Hae Ha-rang were standing right in front of the gate.
It did not look as though Mumu had climbed over the wall, while the ground around him had sunk nearly a jang deep. It looked as if he had fallen from the sky.
Madam Jang also looked puzzled as she asked, “Mumu, who is this?”
At her words, Hae Ha-rang hurriedly wiped her mouth and fixed her hair and clothing, pretending nothing had happened.
Mumu grinned brightly.
“She is my mother. My biological mother.”
“What?”
Yu Yeop-kyung stared at Hae Ha-rang in surprise.
He had wondered who she was, but Mumu's biological mother?
Her hair had gone completely gray, and her appearance bore the marks of great hardship. For a moment, he did not know what to say.
Hae Ha-rang ran over, bowed her head, and greeted him.
“Thank you. I heard you raised Mumu until now.”
“No, I...”
“If it had not been for your grace, I would not have lived to meet my son again. Thank you so much.”
“...”
Tears welled in her eyes.
Yu Yeop-kyung could only fall silent. He could see that she was sincerely grateful and truly loved Mumu.
At the same time, a strange feeling rose within him.
‘...He found his biological mother.’
Mumu was the adopted son he had raised through countless hardships, believing the boy to be an orphan with no one in the world.
Their father-son relationship was far from ordinary.
They had relied on each other to survive in the place of exile.
He was happy that Mumu had found his biological mother, but what would happen to the bond between Mumu and himself now?
Would it naturally fade away?
The sudden situation left Yu Yeop-kyung feeling strangely unsettled.
Perhaps Mumu had read his heart.
Smiling, Mumu said, “Are you disappointed because I came with my mother? Even so, Father will always be my father.”
‘You...’
Yu Yeop-kyung's eyes grew moist.
They had spent seventeen years together, and Mumu had seen through his feelings too easily.
Mumu teased him when he saw it.
“Father, you're not crying, are you? Didn't you say a gentleman shouldn't shed tears so easily?”
“S-shut up, brat. When did your father ever cry?”
Madam Jang and Hae Ha-rang laughed brightly at Yu Yeop-kyung's reaction.
Though Mumu and Yu Yeop-kyung were not connected by blood, their bond was too strong to be broken.
It was a bond formed by their hearts.
* * *
The dormitory grounds of Changcheon Martial Academy.
Three people were walking through the garden behind Northern Heaven Residence.
They were Yu Jin-hyeok, Mo Il-hwa, and Hae Ryang.
Their classes were over, and they were spending their days as usual, but an unspoken emptiness lingered around them.
Mo Il-hwa looked at Hae Ryang.
“Looks like you can get around now?”
“Yes. Thanks to your concern, I have recovered a great deal.”
Hae Ryang had been so severely injured that he could not regain consciousness until half a month ago.
Fortunately, he had awakened.
He had spent nearly a month bedridden because of his injuries, and walking had been difficult. After rehabilitation, he could finally walk naturally again.
“That's a relief. He would have been happy to see you recovered.”
“Ah...”
A quiet sigh escaped Hae Ryang's lips at Mo Il-hwa's words.
After waking up and finding Mumu gone, he had heard about everything that had happened.
So much had occurred.
Yet the academy was now so quiet that it was hard to believe any of it had happened at all.
Hae Ryang gave a bitter smile.
“It's strange. When Young Master Mumu was here, I worried every day about what kind of trouble would break out next. But now that he isn't here, it feels...”
He could not finish the sentence, but they all understood.
Without Mumu, there was an emptiness.
The days repeated in quiet routine, just as they had before.
Mo Il-hwa suddenly snapped, as though emotion had surged within her.
“Seriously. He talked as if he would be back soon, so where did he disappear to? He said he would come back to the academy, but has he decided he doesn't want to return because he keeps wandering around outside?”
Jin-hyeok awkwardly tried to calm her.
“Young lady, he may have caused plenty of trouble, but he has never broken a promise. He will return.”
“...He will, right?”
“If nothing else, he cares deeply for his family and friends.”
“That's true.”
Mo Il-hwa gave a faint smile at Jin-hyeok's words.
They all liked that side of Mumu, if nothing else.
“I hope he comes back soon.”
As she said that, Mo Il-hwa subtly placed her hand over the back of Jin-hyeok's hand.
As if used to it, Jin-hyeok placed his other hand over hers and held it tightly.
The two gazed at each other with affectionate expressions.
Hae Ryang watched them with obvious displeasure.
‘Excuse me... Am I just a third wheel here?’
Whether he was present or not, the two of them subtly showed affection for each other.
No, could this even be called subtle anymore? It was blatant.
It was strange.
They had insisted there was nothing between them, yet somehow they had become incredibly close.
‘I feel so lonely.’
Hae Ryang, whose eyes were already narrow, squinted even more as he stared at them.
Wouldn't staring at them this much make them tone it down?
Then something seemed to fall behind them.
-Thud!
‘?!’
Yu Jin-hyeok, Mo Il-hwa, and Hae Ryang looked at one another with trembling eyes.
Then they all turned at once and shouted.
“Mumu!”
On the day they were all together again, the sunlight felt especially warm.
Footnotes:
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