WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 327: Return (10)
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Gyeoul read the old woman’s writing several times. If he was going to pass it on, he needed more than simple 「Memorization」, and parts of it resonated with him as well. In a world fond of taking and stingy with giving, life meant losing things in order to gain. Then what was truly worth having? Gyeoul had wrestled with similar questions before.
「I will take my leave now.」
Kang Yeong-sun left her farewell in elegant handwriting. Gyeoul opened the door for her. Song Ye-kyung, who had been sitting on the hallway bench, started to rise, then hesitated. It lasted only a moment. Soon she bowed to Gyeoul and the old woman in turn. Her jet-black hair spilled over her shoulders. Soap or shampoo, whichever it was, she smelled faintly of artificial lavender.
‘She’s changed so much I almost wouldn’t recognize her.’
Was it because Charm was a tool for relationships? She had clearly taken care with her makeup as well. Her complexion was healthy, she wore a clean beige shirt, and the trench coat open at the collar had a white Snowflake knot decorating the breast pocket. Nothing remained of the shabby, gaunt first impression she had given as the very image of a refugee. If anything, she was strikingly neat even within the refugee district, which had improved considerably from before. As a central figure in one Faction, she was in a position where she could not afford to be looked down on.
Of course, there must also have been a defiant urge to show off to the husband who had left her. Look how well I’m doing.
Gyeoul gestured inward with his hand.
“Please come in.”
“Excuse me.”
Ye-kyung entered carefully and waited for Gyeoul to sit before taking her own seat. The modest way she clasped her hands did not make her look like someone consumed by revenge, but judging by her actions, the inside was not the same as the outside. She was simply wary that her own sharp edges might ruin the task at hand. Gyeoul was good at recognizing people with stones lodged in their hearts.
Since both of them knew what this was about, Song Ye-kyung began with an apology.
“First, I’m sorry for troubling you over something so minor. I have no face before Little Captain or anyone else. It would have been fine if my turn had come much later...”
Gyeoul answered calmly.
“No. It was a promise either way, and even if it hadn’t been, I wanted to speak with you at least once.”
Then he asked.
“Did you leave the baby with someone?”
“Yes. I thought about bringing the child because I wanted to show you, but I couldn’t bring myself to wake a sleeping baby... And if the baby had started crying, the time you went to such trouble to make for me would have gone to waste. Fortunately, there are people I’ve always exchanged help with, so I was able to leave without worrying.”
The background was faintly implied. According to Jang Yeon-cheol, the first people she had begun gathering were parents in difficult circumstances. Especially those who had lost their partners to disease, accidents, or the struggle for survival among refugees. Sometimes their spouses had run away, as in Song Ye-kyung’s case. They had banded together through the shared bond of having young children.
After gathering people and gaining a voice, she drew in even more. She offered help and represented their many collective wishes. Even if it was goodwill with a strong agenda behind it, it was still hypocrisy put into action. To the marginalized, that was better than goodness that did nothing.
Min Wan-ki had once said this: when three people gather, politics begins.
In that sense, Song Ye-kyung had become a politician.
Gyeoul looked directly into her eyes.
“First, this... Committee Member Song. Did you hear my position from Department Head Jang? A few months ago.”
Ye-kyung grew even more cautious.
“Yes. You said you could not become the child’s godfather.”
“When I returned to base, I found that the meaning of godfather had changed quite a lot. That alone is a heavy obligation, and if there’s another purpose attached, it becomes even harder to accept. I don’t mean to dismiss it as a small promise, but what I said I would give was only a name. People still seem to be badly mistaken about that. I heard you bear some responsibility for that, Committee Member Song.”
“...”
“Of course, becoming a potential guardian to one child is a good thing. If someone has enough ability, the guardian’s age isn’t especially important. Depending on how you look at it, it can even be an honor. But my position is what it is. Trying to use that was a serious mistake. For me, and for the child.”
As Ye-kyung gained influence, interest in the nameless baby also grew. It was only natural that more and more meaning had been attached to the wait.
She had listened like a still life, but now she sighed and slowly opened her mouth.
“You’re right. I grew too greedy and caused you trouble. By the time I tried to fix it, it was already too late. To be honest, I came prepared to have nothing to say even if you were angry with me. Once again, I apologize.”
There was no sign of a lie. Gyeoul asked.
“Even so, do you still want me to name the baby?”
“...Yes.”
“Why?”
Ye-kyung lowered her gaze for a moment, then asked quietly.
“Did Elder Kang Yeong-sun perhaps say anything about me?”
“Why do you think that?”
“Usually... No, I just had a feeling she might have.”
It seemed something had come to mind, but it was too personal to explain. There must have been a deep friendship between the advocate for the disabled and the representative of the Third Party.
Gyeoul did not deny it. It would have been difficult to recast the advice as entirely his own anyway. It was enough to say he felt the same.
As she listened to the advice and concern steeped in years, Ye-kyung once again became a still life with her eyes closed.
When Gyeoul finished speaking, she opened her eyes and admitted her own confusion.
“Yes. I suspected it too. That there might be that kind of conflict inside me... That whenever I dwelled on my hatred for that man, I might be shaving away my feelings for my child... I can’t think of a more accurate way to put it. Elder Kang is truly a good person.”
“Then wouldn’t it be better for you to name the child yourself after all?”
“No.”
Song Ye-kyung shook her head with a bitter expression.
“Even if I tell everyone else the name is one I chose, I want to be able to tell only my child that Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul gave the name. And I want that to be true.”
“I’d like to know why.”
“...For the child’s sake. You don’t have to become the child’s godfather. Just knowing that the name came from someone as admirable as you will be a small comfort to a child without a father. The child will probably come to respect you especially, too.”
She meant that even if he was not the godfather in name, he would become the psychological equivalent. A deep shadow crossed Ye-kyung’s face as she continued.
“I thought that even if I couldn’t give enough love as a mother, if the child had a role model like you, then maybe the chance of growing up twisted would be just a little lower... That was what I was thinking.”
This time, it was Gyeoul’s turn to sigh.
“You’re saying you’re not confident you can love the child?”
There was no affectation in the sigh. Not with the background he had grown up in.
Ye-kyung answered.
“I do love my child, but it’s hard. This is my child, and at the same time, my ex-husband’s blood. If I start seeing things that resemble him as the child grows... when that time comes, will I really be able to love the child the same way...? Even now, that man’s face overlaps in flashes...”
Perhaps that was why she had wanted Gyeoul as godfather even more. Because she had no confidence in her future self, she needed Gyeoul as a watcher she could never ignore, no matter what happened to her own position.
Her confession continued.
“This is half the reason I want revenge on that man. Once I completely ruin him, maybe then I’ll finally feel that this child is mine alone. I have that hope.”
“Committee Member Song.”
Troubled, Gyeoul adjusted his posture.
“When I become base commander, I’ll make sure to deal with the people who have committed wrongs in the past. That includes your ex-husband. For the child’s sake too, can’t you settle your hatred with that?”
Ye-kyung asked back in pain.
“What price is there for breaking a family besides alimony and child support?”
“...”
“That feels far too light as punishment for a person who abandoned his wife and child at the hardest time. He left us in danger of dying. If you hadn’t been here, there’s a high chance we really would have died... I’ll drive that man into such a corner that he’d rather die. Using legal means, of course.”
“What if something goes wrong with you while you’re doing that? Bluntly, he might lose his mind and start swinging a knife. What did the child do wrong?”
“That’s...”
“Can’t you let go of the hatred and start over? I kept the promise I made when the alliance was formed. Now that you’ve been given a chance, there’s no need for both you and the child to become unhappy because of that one man.”
By age alone, Song Ye-kyung was not very different from Yura. His persuasion was deeply sincere, but after a pause, Ye-kyung finally gave him a fierce yet sorrowful smile.
“Little Captain. I know that in my head too. Of course I do. But there are grudges you simply can’t do anything about.”
Then she spoke about human limits.
“I’m even sorrier because I think there are many people like me. No matter how hard you try to create a good community to live in, there will be emotions there that have built up from long ago. That’s what people are. If you want new wine in new wineskins... you’d be better off cutting out foolish people like me early. At least I wouldn’t resent you if you did.”
In truth, this was why Gyeoul had wanted to speak with Song Ye-kyung. He remembered his conversation with Star Child. The child had carried anger before it became anger, sorrow before it became sorrow.
‘Right. In the end, there are no fish here that can swim out of the water either.’
It seemed the dream had been too difficult, even as something to dream after death.
The strength left Gyeoul’s shoulders.
“I understand. I won’t say any more. Still, please don’t forget this conversation.”
It was the same request he had made to the child.
“Yes...”
Ye-kyung quietly lowered her gaze. Gyeoul said,
“I’ll decide the child’s name. Would you prefer an American-style name or a Korean-style one?”
Either had pros and cons, and he had prepared names for both. In truth, Gyeoul had not come up with them himself. Jang Yeon-cheol had sought advice and gathered options, and Gyeoul had chosen the ones that felt right from among them. In any case, what Song Ye-kyung wanted was the fact that Gyeoul had given the name.
She answered surprisingly quickly.
“A Korean-style name, please.”
At that, Gyeoul showed her two names written in Chinese characters. One had a meaning he liked, and the other would be easier for Americans to pronounce. But Ye-kyung left the choice to Gyeoul here too.
“I would be grateful if you chose, Lieutenant Colonel.”
“Then Gyuhyun.”
After reading the meaning, the mother smiled warmly.
“A star shines... That’s a wonderful name.”
After putting away the paper with the name written on it, she rose from her seat and bowed even more politely than she had at first.
“I have been terribly rude. At least in other matters... I will never, ever trouble you, Lieutenant Colonel. If there’s anything you need, please tell me.”
In other words, it was a promise that she would actively cooperate in all matters as the leader of one Faction. Given the number of people gathered around Ye-kyung, it carried real meaning.
Although he had refused the role of the child’s godfather, she also seemed to hope that if she devoted herself in the usual ways, he would not look away if something happened to her. Even so, she was a mother.
After seeing her off, Gyeoul handled a few more visits.
Then, after ending the last visit a little early, he took the wheel of a Humvee. There was somewhere he needed to go before dinner. Although he had no license and this violated passenger regulations too, there was no one left on base who would stop Gyeoul now by questioning his qualifications. He also had plenty of driving experience.
His drive was stopped at a checkpoint. The military police officer wearing opaque security glasses addressed him with a polite but firm manner.
“I’m sorry, but this settlement zone cannot be entered without the base commander’s permission.”
Gyeoul tilted his head.
“Even though I’m currently serving as acting commander, and I’ll be inaugurated as commander soon?”
“That is... correct. Regulations are regulations.”
The military police officer did not waver even before the subtly opened 「Threat Level」. It could be called an admirable commitment to principle, but Gyeoul focused on the dissonance between his rank and this location.
‘There’s no need for a Lieutenant to be permanently stationed somewhere like this.’
This was none other than the autonomous zone of the Full Gospel Saints Church. They said autonomy had been permitted for religious reasons, to prevent the spread of improper ideology, due to concerns about riots, and because the refugees had requested it. But when examined closely, that explanation had awkward points as well.
Even when he listened carefully, he heard no sound from inside the barbed wire. Considering that Gyeoul’s hearing received enhanced correction, the atmosphere was more than a little strange.
“Fine. If that’s the regulation.”
After checking the layout of the guard post, Gyeoul withdrew. The military police Lieutenant relaxed.
“Thank you for understanding. I have always respected you.”
“...Keep up the work.”
Gyeoul turned the vehicle around, tapping at his smartphone keyboard with one hand. He was about to pass the request he had made to Kang Yeong-sun on to several other people.
Footnotes:
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