As Jianne stepped into the entrance, the door closed behind her with a sound.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared blankly at the sneakers that she and her dad had worn as a couple. Her vision blurred, and tears fell onto the tiled floor.
Sitting down on the floor, Jianne embraced the sneakers lying there.
The heavy words that couldn’t be expressed spilled out from between her lips.
“…Dad. I was wrong. I was wrong. I’m sorry.”
The lump of sadness that had been coiled up in her chest began to burst out uncontrollably. As she tightly embraced the sneakers, her tears turned into sobs.
Dad, who had returned to Korea after finishing the world tour with Genesis after eight months, was standing there.
Dad’s worn-out dress shoes, asking me to sign the book I translated a year ago, were still shabby. A year ago and much earlier, Dad’s shoes must have always been worn out.
“Dad! Let’s wear couple sneakers too.”
“Sneakers?”
“I have a pair set aside for us to wear as a couple.”
On that day, I lied that there were couple sneakers I wanted to wear together from Dad’s shoes that never lost their luster.
“Do you remember? You wore pink shoes until I was nine. Even when we went on a field trip, the sneakers I made you buy had to be worn carefully. Now, our daughter insists on wearing couple sneakers. She’s really impressive.”
The voice of Dad, who used to walk side by side, praising her for being impressive, echoed vividly in her mind.
What’s so impressive about it? Dad didn’t know he was sick.
Jianne sobbed as she stared blankly at the dark house. Her body, wrapped in grief, trembled relentlessly to the point where breathing was difficult.
“Genesis had more schedules than last year, so it was a bit tough. I’ll get better if I rest.”
Even looking at Dad’s exhausted face, she believed those words without question.
If only I had forced him to go to the hospital that day when I insisted we go together, at least Dad wouldn’t have been alone.
How good would it have been if she had helped with Genesis’s schedule as usual every year?
Regret for leaving on a trip to Jeju Island without hesitation at the word “parasite,” without caring about the world, came back as remorse.
Jianne, who had been crying less, started to cry again as memories resurfaced.
“Sorry. Dad… I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
Crying to the point where breathing was difficult, Jianne, with a heavy consciousness, longed for just one thing in her mind.
Dad.
If only she could hold Dad’s hand and hear his voice. If she could do that, the world could abandon her, and whatever happened to her body wouldn’t matter.
Eunji’s words, saying she didn’t deserve to cry, came to mind, and Jianne bit her lips and choked back her sobs.
Yes, I don’t have the right to cry aloud.
But the tears burst out again. She didn’t know how long she cried, but the choking sobs scratched her throat, and her mouth dried up rapidly.
Gradually, her heart beat irregularly, and the swollen scenery before her eyes became dizzying.
I was actually scared that I wouldn’t be able to cry.
Dad passed away, and I’m the one who should be the saddest. I should cry so much that I can’t even breathe, like Genesis. I don’t know how much I’ve beaten my heart that can’t cry.
When the tears burst, this time they flowed endlessly. They surged, frighteningly flowed, and surged again.
“Sorry. Dad. …I’m sorry for behaving badly.”
Jianne hugged the sneakers, resented her insufficient self, and shed tears.
Before having breakfast, someone called Janggu, who had just returned after stopping by the strawberry house. It was the neighbor living two houses away.
“I saw a taxi coming in last night, and it seemed like Jaeyoon was standing in front of the house. Take a look inside.”
“Who could have come that night? I have to stay for a few more days to settle the portrait exhibition. …I’ll go take a look.”
Janggu, who was about to go straight home, turned around and headed to Jaeyoon’s house.
Although it was early and there was some suspicion since he had just finished the portrait, he thought that Jaeyoon’s house, where he lived until the end, would be visited by family soon.
Beep beep beep. Beep.
Janggu unlocked the door and pulled the doorknob, but he was surprised and stepped back.
“Oh, who is this?”
He called out her name, realizing that the woman collapsed in the entrance was Jianne.
“Jianne.”
“…Uncle.”
“Hey, sweetheart. Are you awake?”
When Jianne, who had opened her eyes for a moment, lost consciousness again, Janggu took out his phone.
He called his wife, Juyeon, who was busy with morning preparations. As the call disconnected, Juyeon’s voice came from the other end.
I’ve already prepared breakfast, and you’re not coming, and what’s with the call?
“Here, it’s Jaeyoon’s house. You should come and see.”
What’s going on?
“Last night, I saw a taxi come in, and it looked like Jaeyoon’s daughter was in front of the house. She’s collapsed in the entrance. She’s conscious, but …you should come first.”
The Villainous Demon Lord Laid an Egg for Her (Female-Dominated)
Several months after transmigrating into a book, Yu Wu found herself facing the demon lord Li You, who could no longer conceal his dragon horns. With one hand on her aching waist and the other gripping a sharp sword, she stared at him.
The demon lord’s eyes were red with fury:
“This is all your doing! Today, I won’t rest until I kill you!”
Yu Wu rubbed her temples. Putting aside the taboo against bloodshed during pregnancy, wasn’t it this very man who willingly walked into her trap that day?!
Warnings:
- Male pregnancy.
- Height ratios are set to mirror typical male-female height proportions.
- Characters include a foot-loving demon lord and an eldest daughter from an immortal family’s concubine lineage.
