Chapter 13
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What bothered him most was her limping leg.
He had found her sprawled on the ground earlier.
Worried that she might have been through something terrible in the short time she was gone, Do-gyeong gently brushed the dust off Arin’s clothes.
At that moment, Arin came to her senses and began to struggle in his arms.
"P-please, spare me! I don't taste good!"
"You little thing, who do you think I am, a cannibal?"
"Waaaaah!"
He had only meant to give her a light warning, but Arin burst into tears.
Just yesterday, even though she had been wary, she hadn't been afraid of him like this...
Flustered, Do-gyeong roughly wiped the child’s tears with his sleeve.
"N-no, why are you crying so pitifully?"
At the sudden touch, Arin resisted violently.
"Hwaaaa, don't!"
She followed up by hitting Do-gyeong repeatedly with her tiny fists.
In truth, the sorrow that had been building up since A-hyeon shielded So-so had finally exploded at Do-gyeong.
"Well, look at this?"
Do-gyeong let out a dry laugh at her cotton-soft punches that didn't even hurt.
He intended to watch until she was done, but Arin was soon panting for breath.
When she started whimpering, clutching her hand as if her fist hurt, Do-gyeong found it hard to hold back his laughter.
"Hah, huuu."
Arin’s face, flushed with indignation, was a mess of tears and snot.
Do-gyeong wiped her face with his sleeve, more carefully than before, and asked.
"Are you done?"
"Huuu-ung. I don't taste good..."
"Right. You don't look like you'd taste good."
"Th-then, you won't eat me?"
"Just who on earth told you such nonsense?"
At Do-gyeong’s sigh-like words, Arin blinked.
"So-so said..."
"Who?"
"So-so said... that the son of the Golden Tiger Family is sick and needs a fresh Spirit Core..."
"Ha, what kind of ridiculous..."
Do-gyeong realized belatedly how Arin had come to such a misunderstanding and let out a dry laugh.
It seemed the fake daughter had lied to drive the child away.
Do-gyeong summoned all his patience and spoke with the most harmless expression he could muster.
"Listen carefully, little one. My sons are all healthy. Even now, one is probably staring at a book, and the other is likely hopping around in the yard."
"Then you don't need my Spirit Core?"
"If I said I did, would you let me take it?"
"H-hu-ung. No!"
When Arin denied it vigorously, Do-gyeong clicked his tongue.
Taking the Spirit Core of a living person was illegal and an act of murder.
If the Spirit Core were taken, one’s energy would wither and they would die.
It was common knowledge, though perhaps not for a young child.
Do-gyeong cleared his throat and added an explanation.
"Do you really think it makes sense to cure an illness with a Spirit Core? Is a Spirit Core some kind of cure-all? You don't just give that away, little one."
At Do-gyeong’s grumbling, Arin just opened and closed her mouth.
Now that he mentioned it, he didn't seem interested in her Spirit Core at all.
Furthermore, seeing him affectionately call her "little one," Arin finally regained her senses.
A moment later, realizing she had made a huge misunderstanding, Arin’s face turned bright red.
"Oh, what do I do..."
He was the man who had given her Yakgwa, provided a place to sleep, and even given her chicken porridge and rock candy.
Feeling ashamed of herself for running away in fear after listening only to So-so, she felt a wave of embarrassment.
Having grasped the situation, Arin became quiet.
"I-I'm sorry..."
At the distinctly changed atmosphere, a smile of relief touched the corners of Do-gyeong’s mouth.
"Right. You should be sorry. You threw away the traditional hair ribbon I gave you and ran off."
Do-gyeong took the traditional hair ribbon from his pocket and tied it around Arin’s scraped palm.
Arin looked down at the ribbon in silence.
The ribbon she had agonized over whether to take with her or not had returned to her.
"H-how did you get this..."
"I gave it to you as a gift, and you just threw it away?"
"I-I'm sorry..."
Arin bowed her head with a tearful face.
It was too precious an item to take with her.
She hadn't dared to bring it, fearing she might get into trouble on the streets.
She didn't want to have her things taken away anymore.
It seemed that her decision to leave it behind, thinking it would hurt less, had been a wound to him.
As Arin watched him cautiously, he muttered lightly.
"I’ve retrieved it, so don't ever let it be taken from you again."
His words sounded as if he knew exactly what was in her heart.
At those kind words, Arin stared blankly at the yellow ribbon and felt tears welling up again.
In truth, she had liked the ribbon very much.
As he returned it to her himself, a lump formed deep in her chest.
"...Huuu-ung. I'm really, *sob*, sorry... Hwaaang."
Because the warmth in his arms was so comforting and his touch was so gentle.
Arin sobbed in Do-gyeong’s arms, feeling both sorry and grateful.
"Wait, why again..."
Meanwhile, Do-gyeong looked at Arin, who had started crying again, in bewilderment.
He didn't think he had said anything mean this time.
They say girls are different from boys in every single way.
She was already thin and frail, so he was careful, afraid she might break if he touched her.
"*Sob*... Huu."
When the child finally clung to his neck and started to cry, Do-gyeong looked up at the sky and muttered.
"This is truly different from my sons."
He then began to awkwardly pat her back.
"You’re quite the crybaby."
Unlike his blunt words, his touch was infinitely gentle as he comforted Arin.
Thanks to that, after some time had passed and Arin had calmed down, Do-gyeong looked down at her and asked tentatively.
"So, what is your answer?"
"...Yes?"
"Don't tell me you haven't even thought about it?"
When Do-gyeong asked back as if it were absurd, Arin tilted her head.
At those innocent eyes, Do-gyeong let out a dry laugh.
"Ha, have you forgotten everything I said after feeding you so well? I clearly asked you last night if you would come with me."
"Ah."
Only then did Arin remember Do-gyeong asking her to come with him.
At the time, she had been so shocked by the fact that he was from the Golden Tiger Family that she hadn't been able to think deeply about it.
Hesitating, Arin spoke up tentatively.
"...C-can I really go?"
At her cautious question, Do-gyeong frowned.
"Why? Do you want to stay here?"
Did she still like her family even after being treated so cruelly?
But Arin shook her head vigorously.
Relieved, Do-gyeong smiled faintly and asked once more.
"Then will you come with me?"
The Arin of the past might have hesitated.
But when A-hyeon had shielded So-so and pushed her aside right in front of her eyes.
Arin had realized that the Red Snake Family was no longer a place for her.
And then, a hand had reached out to her.
To her, who had lost her way, his offer felt like salvation.
"Can I really go?"
Suppressing the urge to nod immediately, she asked again, and Do-gyeong replied playfully.
"If you allow it. I will protect your Spirit Core no matter what happens, so don't worry."
Arin stared at Do-gyeong, then smiled brightly and nodded vigorously.
"Yes, I'll go! I want to go, with you, sir!"
She looked so adorable.
Watching the child’s beaming face, Do-gyeong’s hand moved gently to Arin’s cheek.
"It’s hard to hear those words from that small mouth."
"Hehe."
"Don't laugh. If you laugh while crying, you'll grow horns on your bottom."
"Really?"
"Do you think it's real?"
"Hehe."
"You’re funny."
Do-gyeong glanced at Arin, who was laughing foolishly, and pulled up the corners of his own mouth as well.
Then, after clearing his throat once, Do-gyeong said politely.
"Now that I think of it, I haven't heard your name. I am Geum Do-gyeong, the Family Head of the Golden Tiger Family. What is your name, little one?"
Arin hesitated for a moment before whispering softly.
"I am... Arin."
Since she had been abandoned by her parents, she had no surname to speak of.
With that in mind, she only mentioned her name.
"That is a beautiful name."
Do-gyeong was pleased that Arin did not mention a surname.
It would be better to use the Golden Tiger Family’s surname than to use the surname of such people.
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