Kofi thanks to: Kiki
“Saturn, you come here.”
At Tae Cheonoh’s call, Muwon released his grip on the nape of Saturn’s neck as if to tell him to go. Saturn scrambled to his feet and ran to Tae Cheonoh.
“Bo- boss, listen. M- Muwon hyung-nim… th- the apothecary-”
Even though Tae Cheonoh had already seen the whole thing, Saturn obediently started snitching. Muwon threw the can of beer he’d just finished into the air and draped his arms over the back of the sofa.
“This is why Muwon likes to tease you. He was just kidding, so let the guys out and go find the apothecary.”
With that, Tae Cheonoh slapped him hard on the back and motioned for him to go out of the room. Tae Cheonoh glanced at Saturn as he ran off, then closed the iron door to the lounge.
“Why are you chasing him around like this?”
Tae Cheonoh asked, having followed him down to the 13th floor, saying it had been a while since he’d seen him in the boss’s room.
“It’s because you’re doing something you don’t do. Are you doing this because of the apothecary’s sake?”
Tae Cheonoh asked, much more seriously than before.
“The rumor that you’re looking for the Hwa family has spread everywhere, do you think the kid working at the pub doesn’t know about it?”
“That would make sense if that’s why he ran away. They’re the ones living in hiding.”
Tae Cheonoh nodded slowly.
“But, Muwon-ah, I wonder if he would act so obviously if he were from the Hwa clan. Though I trust your instincts, of course.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“It’s not a hunch this time.”
“Qtja?”
Llr ygluta sfiibk fsfr uilca klat lcafgfra.
“Rb bcf kbeiv tlgf atja yjrajgv ab yf atf ujgyjuf vewq mifjcfg.”
Ktlr kjr atf gfjrbc kts Zekbc tjv yffc tjculcu bea ja atf wjglalwf yelivlcu obg akb vjsr, ogbw sfrafgvjs ab abvjs.
***
Coafg Vjaegc’r nlrla sfrafgvjs, Jtfbcusfbc qjmxfv tlr yjmxqjmx lcrafjv bo ublcu ab atf gfji frajaf jufcms.
This was because he had an instinctive feeling that he shouldn’t sign a contract with the real estate agency. Now that he thought about it, Peira seemed to suspect that the dried Boksu flower and the Hwa clan were somehow connected. So supposedly, that was why they were trying to find the smuggler, and since the boss Tae Cheonoh was looking for the Hwa clan, it must go for Tae Muwon as well.
It was no wonder he was sounding him out.
Ever since they met at the dump, Tae Muwon had suspected him of being a Hwa. But wouldn’t it be impossible to be sure based on just anecdotal evidence without empirical evidence? Tae Muwon seemed fickle, so if he stayed hidden for a while, he might quickly lose interest in him, Cheongyeon thought.
Another problem was that he would need to procure dried Boksu flowers in the next three months.
Cheongyeon took a seat in the corner of the dusty room. The florist in the lowest part of District E had an attached room in the back of the shop, just like the apothecary. It was a strange yet familiar space, as it was where he had lived as a child.
Cheongyeon escaped the apothecary with only the money he had on hand, the clothes on his back, and his sleeping bag. He couldn’t even bring bags of herbs and dried flowers.
He planned to work as a labourer, travelling from place to place until he lost Tae Muwon’s attention. After a day or two at the flower shop, he would cross the bridge to the other area tomorrow.
He had deliberately left his bicycle behind, hoping that Peira and Muwon would think he had gone out for a short trip. He had left behind his entire collection of medicinal ingredients, so it wouldn’t be considered a complete disappearance. When Cheongyeon returned, there was a high possibility that all of the apothecary’s items had been taken away. The thought of it made him sick to his stomach, but his life was more important than money.
From a young age, Cheongyeon had been taught to value his life.
“There are bad people, but there are also many good people. We can’t turn our backs on the good people because of the bad people. Our lives are not ours alone.”
Thinking of his mother, whom he could barely remember, Cheongyeon curled up in his sleeping bag and closed his eyes. There was a sound of a cat meowing nearby.
This was the lowest area, and because of what had happened at the flower shop in the past, people didn’t want to live near it. Unlike the people who shied away from the lowlands for fear of being submerged, the animals found this place safe. This meant that Cheongyeon was also safe.
He turned and looked at the wall. Through the whitish dawn light, he could see the graffiti on the wall. A smiling flower was painted with colourful magic. It had been drawn by Cheongyeon as a child.
His mother was too weak to take care of her, so the owner of the flower shop became a nanny and raised his instead. The nanny was the only one who loved him as much as his mother.
‘I came here for nothing…’
He squeezed his eyes tightly shut again as the tears in his eyes grew hot. The sound of gunshots and screams from all directions assaulted his ears. The feeling of the warm warmth cooling off moment by moment still remained in his hands.
No matter how much he tried to distract himself, he couldn’t help but think of the day he lost his nanny.
It was the day he lost the most important person in the world.
***
About twenty years ago, the 11th Continent sank under water. Everyone who lived on the 11th Continent was thought to have died, but there were survivors in actuality.
Some of the survivors travelled by boat to Cheonghwa Town. On the second day of their arrival, young Cheongyeon was forced to face a horror he hated to think about in retrospect, while being in the arms of his nanny.
Every day, the nanny would take him to the mountains, not far from the flower shop, to gather herbs. No matter how early in the morning it was, little Cheongyeon would always follow her. The herbs he picked tasted so good that everyone around would often buy them.
Later on, Cheongyeon’s herbs became so famous that everyone changed the name of the flower shop to a herb shop. Occasionally, he would also find expensive medicinal herbs, which he could barely afford to put in his mouth.
And one day, as usual, the nanny carried little Cheongyeon on his back up the hill. From the hillside, where the most herbs grew, he had a clear view of Cheonghwa Town’s main wharf. Sitting on a large rock, Cheongyeon looked down at the wharf out of habit. In the early morning, the pier was lined with fishing boats with bundles of fish, but it was strangely silent.
“Nanny… There’s a crowd of people over there.”
Cheongyeon pointed to a spot with a fern-like hand. The nanny, who was about to pick up Cheongyeon who was on the rock, also looked at the pier with curious eyes. At that moment, her eyes caught sight of a small shipwrecked boat. It was smaller than a fishing boat, and it was barely visible in the corner of the pier.
Dozens of people were gathered on the land close to the wrecked ship, all with their backs to the sea. A group of men pointing guns and knives at them could be seen. The ankle-length black robes was recognizable as those of Aduran, the owner of Cheonghwa Town.
Bang! Suddenly, Aduran’s men opened fire. Cheongyeon’s eyes became as large as saucers and he was quickly scooped up by his nanny. One by one, the people with their arms raised in surrender fell to the ground. With ear-piercing screams resounding, people scattered in all directions, many of them already shot or stabbed. The quiet blue pier was stained red with blood.
“Cheongyeon-nim, don’t look.”
The nanny covered his eyes. The nanny always spoke politely to Cheongyeon. She was much older than him, but every time he asked her why, she just laughed.
“Nanny… Why- why are they hurting them?”
The nanny hugged him tightly, not wanting to lose sight of Cheongyeon, and hurried down the other side of the pier.
“They’re survivors from the 11th continent. They must have come to Cheonghwa Town yesterday… but it seems Aduran won’t accept their asylum.”
Catching her breath, the nanny slowly explained the difficult words to little Cheongyeon. She always wanted Cheongyeon to know everything that was happening in Cheonghwa Town.
The nanny moved quickly, but running away with a small child was not easy. To make matters worse, instead of dawn, the dark sky was filled with rain, and every time he heard a gunshot, Cheongyeon’s arms around the nanny twitched and trembled. As she frantically ran down the mountain, she paused to catch her breath.
“Nanny…”
“Shhh.”
The nanny scooped Cheongyeon up and patted him on the back. Droplets of water, whether rain or sweat, covered her face.
“There’s someone over there.”
Cheongyeon pointed to a round bush. The nanny turned her head sharply in surprise. Beyond the long, covered bush, she spotted a sunken den. It was probably the lair of a young wolf, but through the gaps in the bushes, he could see a human figure.
Two boys, clinging to each other like small animals. They were skinny as if they hadn’t even eaten a meal, and each held a blade in his hand.
“They must be survivors of the… 11th Continent.”
Thank you for the new chapters!
thank you for this update ☺️
whoaa i think those two boys are ML and his brother