Chapter 41: Starry Night
In my past life in the Gangho, long ago, I had a younger sister. Her na was Dang Seon-a. A beautiful na aning ‘child of the stars’. The age gap between us was six years.
She was an incredibly pretty and adorable child.
Even my Golden the Poison, upon seeing my younger sister, would roll over and make a fuss to have his belly rubbed.
But she died young. My younger sister was four years old at the ti. She had gone out to the market, and in just a mont of inattention, she was struck by a carriage. She beca a star in the sky far too young, but at tis I thought perhaps it was a blessing. Because she was spared from witnessing what happened one year after her death— The annihilation of our family.
***
"Tae-yang. Take this over to Bo-reum."
Mother gave an errand to run. Bo-reum was Kim Tae-yang's younger sister. Nad so because she was as pretty as a full moon, they said. I was the Sun, and my sister was the Full Moon. A cosmic pair of siblings.
"I'll just call a courier."
"Don't do that, go take it yourself. It's been a while since you've seen Bo-reum."
"I'd have to take the bus for ages."
"It's not like you're busy. The business trip is over too. Go and show her your face while you're at it. Listen to your mother."
The ‘business trip’ was the excuse given for my days spent at the Tower. No helping it. I put on my clothes and headed outside, when—
Clatter.
A car key fell to the floor. The Porsche key that had been in my coat pocket.
Ah. Right, I have a Porsche. I got my driver's license just a few days ago too. Should I take it for a drive?
"I wonder if the battery's dead?"
Beep! 0%
"Oh, it works?"
Beep!
"Oh, it works?"
I got into the Porsche parked in the public parking lot. Ah, that luxurious leather scent. The white Porsche the Choi brothers had given .
[Senior, we've placed a pre-order for a brand-new Porsche for you. Until then, please drive mine. The insurance has been set up so you can drive it right away.]
The brothers' words ca back to . Co to think of it, this reminded of my horse Black King, whom I rode in my past life in the Gangho. Before the final battle, I had set him free, telling him to live as he pleased. Not wanting to leave , he had followed for a long while, crying out.
Black King, how are you faring? It crossed my mind that perhaps he was sowhere in the Murim Tower too.
Vroom! I started the engine. My destination: the university dormitory where she lived.
Driving was no different from the exam—it wasn't difficult at all. If anything, it was sothing to enjoy. I parked the Porsche in front of the dormitory, stepped out of the car, and gave her a call.
"Oppa?"
"Yeah. Co on out."
"You ca yourself?"
"What do you an, you—"
"Ugh, drop dead!"
What's this. She's angry right off the bat? It seed Kim Tae-yang and his younger sister did not get along.
I leaned against the car and enjoyed the full warmth of the spring sunshine. And then—
"Oh my, look at that guy."
"He's incredibly handso."
"And he drives a Porsche."
"Should I ask for his number?"
Female university students passing by kept sneaking glances at . That's right. This is it. This is the kind of life I should have been living in the Gangho in my past life. The life where I beca the Poison Demon and was pointed at for my hideous appearance.
The Alliance Leader, the Sect Leader, the Heavenly Demon…… The mont my enemies from that life ca to mind, my mood soured completely.
"Excuse ."
"Yes?"
One of the female students approached . A pretty young woman. She was hugging a textbook to her chest.
"Excuse , what departnt are you in?"
"I don't attend this school."
"Then where do you go?"
"I'm not a student."
"Then…… Are you a working professional?"
"I run a small venture business."
"Oh my! What kind of business?"
"Food."
"Ooh!"
Bungeoppang street food.
"I also manage a smart farm."
Herb garden. Her eyes went wide. She tucked her hair behind her ear and asked,
"Um, I'm also studying in the food field—do you happen to have so ti?"
"I don't."
"Oh! Then could I at least get your—"
Quite a bold young woman.
"I have a wife."
"……Pardon?"
"Two kids as well."
"Ah……"
The girl's mouth fell open. No romance—declined. Pfft, rci.
Just then, Bo-reum approached.
"What are you doing? Standing in front of soone else's car."
"Hm?"
Bo-reum stared at . She looked exactly as she did in the photos at ho and in Kim Tae-yang's mories. But—that look of contempt in her eyes.
……What's with that look?
"No, this is my car—"
"Get your back off it already! Do you know how expensive this car is?!"
Bo-reum grabbed my arm and tugged. Good grief.
"There are people watching, are you going to cause another scene?"
"That's not what I'm—"
She cut off and thrust out her hand.
"Just hand over the docunts! The ones Mom sent."
Then, the female student who had just asked for my number turned to Bo-reum.
"Bo-reum. Do you know this person?"
"No, this is my oppa."
"Oh! Your older brother? Nice to et you. I'm Bo-reum's friend."
"Ah, yes."
What terrible luck—they knew each other. She said to Bo-reum,
"You never told you had such a handso oppa. Didn't you say you were an only child?"
"Oh, about that……"
"It sounds like your oppa got married young. He has two kids, so you have nieces or nephews too—that must be cute."
"What are you talking about? Kids?"
"He said he was married and had children……"
"Ya! Kim Tae-yang!"
Bo-reum yelled.
"You have kids?!"
Aah…… So it ends up like this again.
"Are you insane?! Are you actually insane?! How on earth do you have kids?! Soone who can't even afford to feed himself!"
Smack! Smack!
Bo-reum started hitting .
"Leeching off Mom like a parasite! Holed up in that room cursing the world, and now he has kids?! Two of them?!"
"Ow! Why are you hitting !"
Whoooosh—!
When my energy involuntarily surged out from my body, the trees in front of the dormitory shuddered.
"Wh, what was that?!"
I pressed forward toward the startled Bo-reum.
"No kids! Excuse , Bo-reum's friend. That was a joke earlier. I'm sorry. Study hard."
"Wh, what just……?"
"I ca all this way to see you after so long, and you just erupt at ? You couldn't even be bothered to visit ho once."
"……"
"Just take the docunts and get out of here!"
Count yourself lucky. If you weren't my little sister, you'd be dead.
"Where are the docunts?"
"In the car."
"The car?"
How are you getting on, my sister asked.
Beep! The Porsche answered on my behalf.
***
Click. I took the docunts out of the white Porsche and handed them to Bo-reum, and she suddenly froze as if she had turned to stone.
"What are you doing? Take them."
"Th, that……"
Yeah. It's a Porsche.
"Did you rent it?"
"……Hm?"
Smack! Smack!
"Are you completely out of your mind?! Do you know how much it costs to rent that for a single day?!"
"No—"
"Mom and Dad are working themselves to the bone, and why have you always been like this?!"
Thwack! Thwack!
Grab. I caught her hands.
"Bo-reum. There seems to be a misunderstanding—this car is——"
"I can't live like this!"
Bo-reum walked away in a huff.
"Haaah……"
I let out a long sigh. Bo-reum, I am not the miserable Kim Tae-yang you think you know.
【Kim Tae-yang feels happy. 1 Happiness】
***
I was dragged, against my will, to the campus café. It was a prestigious private university, so it was quite spacious—I had suggested we take the car, but Bo-reum wouldn't let anyone lay a finger on the Porsche.
"Leave it right there and give it back. You scratch it and you're dead!"
"It's my car, I keep telling you!"
"Stop lying or I'll break your wrist! Goodness…… I understood that you were hurting inside, but now you're having delusions too. I'm going to lose my mind, I really am."
She wouldn't listen to a word I said. I was the one about to lose my mind.
Kim Tae-yang. Just what kind of life were you living.
"Sit down."
"I'm already sitting."
"What do you want to drink?"
She asked.
"Sothing sweet."
"One iced Aricano and one caral macchiato, please."
"I'll pay."
"Just sit there. Since when do you have money."
Bo-reum ca back and sat down with two cups of coffee. So this is a caral macchiato?
Sluurp—
In the midst of the coffee's aroma spreading like a deep morning mist, I felt a shock, as if I had been struck. The first impression: sweet. And then, lurking behind the sweetness, a slightly bitter edge slowly drifted across the tip of my tongue. Like honey concealing poison.
I stared at the coffee cup in astonishnt. In my mouth, bitterness and sweetness were engaged in a sparring match. A miniature Murim! What more could be said of the warmth as it slipped down my throat and filled my chest with joy? The tip of my tongue delights, and my chest is ward—truly a singular taste.
She stared at intently.
"Are you alright?"
"No. It hurts."
"Are you still taking your dication?"
"dication?"
"Your prescription! The panic disorder and antidepressants you've always taken!"
There was such a thing?
"I don't take them anymore."
"I'm going to lose my mind. So that's why you're like this! Goodness…… how upsetting. I'm calling Mom right now."
She called our mother. Her battered old phone was cracked in multiple places with the coating peeling off.
Words alone won't work. The only option is to overwhelm with authority. I held my phone out to her.
"Look at this first."
"What?"
"It's a news article."
She glanced at the phone I offered and reacted with visible shock.
"What? It's brand new! Latest model!"
"I said look at the article first."
"Do you have any idea how much this cost?!"
After a back-and-forth over the phone, Bo-reum suddenly shouted.
"Get your head on straight, Oppa! Are you set on sucking Mom and Dad dry?!"
"Why are you yelling like that. Everyone's staring."
"Oppa, you're Kim Tae-yang! Samcheolli's Kim Tae-yang!"
Samcheolli……! Suddenly my head throbbed.
【mory synchronization in progress. 76%…… 77%…… 78%.】
The biggest loser in all of Korea— Kim Tae-yang.
It ca back to . In an instant, my heart pounded and my chest felt as though a boulder weighing a thousand pounds had been placed on it. This isn't . It was Kim Tae-yang reacting.
As my expression stiffened, Bo-reum apologized.
"S, sorry."
"……"
"There was no need to say that. I'm sorry, Oppa."
As my mories were restored, the pain Bo-reum had endured ca back to as well. My beautiful younger sister. The suffering she had gone through because of …… Her bag getting torn, her skirt pulled up, and worse humiliations than that. Bo-reum had endured that kind of violence for no other reason than being the sister of Samcheolli.
I had quit school and retreated to my room, but she had endured. Three school transfers in high school alone. Knowing all of this, and yet unable to say a single word.
You went through so much, Bo-reum. If it weren't for the transfers. She was gifted enough to get into any sky-high university.
"……It's fine."
"I'm sorry…… it slipped out. Do you want sothing else to drink?"
"No."
She bit her lip, clearly genuinely sorry. I held out my phone to her again.
"Read the article. Then we'll talk."
Bo-reum looked at the article with composed eyes, and then—
Her eyes went wide.
"Wh, what is this?"
[Young Hero Plays Major Role In Dismantling Criminal Organization!]
It was the article that had co out after I took down Kang I-deuk of Jeoksapa.
"Wh…… what?"
"See it? That's the mayor and the police chief right next to ."
"……"
"That's . Not the you knew."
Bo-reum stared at with an utterly baffled expression.
"Listen closely."
I explained everything from the beginning. That I had t a grandmother, learned how to make Bungeoppang, and made sothing of myself. I also showed her my street food video from SNS, which had gotten quite a few views, and shared the news of my store opening in Baekgyeong Departnt Store.
Her expression changed.
"What is all this, all of a sudden?"
"What do you an."
"Dad and Mom haven't said anything, so I only know bits and pieces. I know, vaguely. Oppa, did you make so bad choice?"
Ah, right. So was it because she hadn't heard about it that she didn't co to visit in the hospital?
"You don't need to know about that."
"Oppa, you're strange. You've definitely changed."
You've changed.
"It's almost like…… You're not the person I used to know. You seem completely different. Sohow you even look taller."
That part was right too. My height hadn't actually grown. But after continuously training in the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic, my hunched back and shoulders had straightened, and my forward head posture was being corrected. Where my eyes once looked like a corpse's, a fla-like confidence now burned. Where my rotten mind once was, a clear and brilliant intensity had taken up residence.
Heh. Once the full transformation is complete, her eyes are really going to go wide. But I couldn't say that I was actually the Poison Demon.
"I'm the sa. Aside from going through sothing terrible, pulling myself together, and starting to live in the world again."
"……"
"Oh, being rich now, I should add."
"……"
"Also getting better-looking."
"Hah…… Really."
I grabbed her hand and pulled her along.
"Let's go."
"Where?"
"I'll buy you a new phone. The latest model."
Despite her persistent refusals, I got her phone swapped out. The best one available.
【Kim Tae-yang is delighted. 100 Happiness】
And then I dragged her to the departnt store. Baekgyeong Departnt Store. I had wanted to take her to the branch where my Bungeoppang shop was under construction if possible, but— It was too far, so I skipped it.
"Pick out whatever clothes you like."
"Th, this is an incredibly expensive brand."
"Never mind that and just pick."
"Oppa!"
"Looking at your friend earlier, her clothes were nice. What's this you're wearing for a female university student?"
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?!"
"If you don't choose, I'll choose. That floral one over there and the one with the cute character print—can we get those? Actually, give us everything from here to here."
"Aaaak!"
【Kim Tae-yang is delighted. 100 Happiness】
"I'll buy you a bag too."
"What would I need a bag for?!"
"Really? I saw online that it's every woman's dream. A luxury handbag."
"I'm fine."
She pressed her lips together and said quietly.
"What you've given today is already more than enough."
The backseat was piled high with shopping bags. I felt good. Won's shopping is truly sothing else. We went in during the afternoon and ca out at night.
We got back in the Porsche and returned to the dormitory. She sat in the passenger seat.
"Wh, what? Why are you looking at like that?"
"Just."
After all, the Poison Demon's looks are near identical to Kim Tae-yang's. If our Seon-a had grown up, she'd probably look sothing like this.
Jewel-like dots of light glittered in the sky. Seon-a. My young little sister, who beca a star just as her na said. She seed to be smiling at .
"Bo-reum."
"Yeah?"
"Want to go look at stars?"
Smack, smack!
"Are you completely out of your mind?!"
"Ow! Why?!"
This girl—her hitting hand is definitely inherited from Mother!
"Do you know what that ans?!"
"What?!"
"That's what people say when they're confessing! Say it to your girlfriend!"
"Oh, honestly."
The language of the MZ generation.
Vroom—
The Porsche drove along the riverside.
"Wooow, it's beautiful."
"The river?"
"The river is beautiful, and all these luxury apartnts along the riverside are beautiful too."
The luxury apartnt her eyes had landed on. The 15-billion Cheongdam property. My soon-to-be ho.
"Bo-reum."
"Yeah?"
"You're moving back ho and commuting from there from now on."
"Why? My dorm is free. Ho is too far from school."
"It'll be closer soon."
"What are you talking about?"
That place over there is mine now.
***
Click. Thud. She went into the dormitory.
I sat in the car watching her for a long while, and then finally sent a ssage.
—Thank you, Bo-reum. For being the family's hope while I was unwell.
Ding-dong! A reply ca.
—What are you on about, you idiot.
Grr! Rage welled up inside . I was about to fling open the car door and storm the dormitory when—
Ding-dong! One more ssage ca right after.
—Thank you. Oppa. For holding on.
……Pfft.
Tonight's sky—
The stars were truly beautiful.
Weren't they, Seon-a?
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