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His heart was caught once, but Kim Shinrok was no longer shaken.
He took a deep breath, clearing his voice to continue speaking.
“I became a torture master for the Tiger Clan. I do not intend to torture my fellow tigers for my own personal reasons.”
“…Even if those tigers permit you to do so?”
“Yes. There’s no reason to torture the both of you.”
Kim Shinrok clearly drew the line, saying that he had no intention of torturing anyone for personal reasons — and even the justification that the couple tried to push on him was not a reason in itself.
Despite the couple’s provocation, no anger or hatred was laced in Kim Shinrok’s words and attitude.
He spoke again, his voice more stable this time.
“My childhood wasn’t unhappy either. Because I had great teachers.”
Kim Shinrok’s teachers — Baekho-gun and Cheongho.
He learned wushu from Baekho-gun, and reversal techniques from Cheongho.
“I’d be lying if I said I don’t have any regretful or painful memories. Because of me, Jeokho-nim had to go through a harder path. However, I cannot blame that on anyone but myself.”
The more Kim Shinrok spoke, the steadier he became.
His cracking voice returned to normal, and his pale face began to glow again.
It was impressive, to say the least, to see him regain stability by shouldering the blame that the couple tried to take for their own.
He reminded me of my playable characters who became his students.
‘So he’s the kind of teacher Sung Gukeon and Ahn Dain respect.’
Although I often meet Kim Shinrok at the mansion, I didn’t have many opportunities to hear his thoughts.
He doesn’t often speak about himself.
It could be because of Jeokho, but it was obvious that he was trying to hide something else.
Perhaps that’s why Yong Jegun bothers him whenever he has the chance.
‘I knew Kim Shinrok was a good teacher from the beginning.’
When I first came to this world, Kim Shinrok was the supervisor who appeared in a state of confusion.
Instead of using all his remaining strength to run away, he shouted to us, kids who he had never met, telling us to run away.
It might be an instinct that teachers have for their students, but there aren’t so many people who would do that when their own life is on the line.
‘…Isn’t this enough?’
Kim Shinrok made it clear that he wouldn’t change his mind even if the couple pushed him further.
They stared at Kim Shinrok, listening to him in silence.
“…You call your father Jeokho-nim.”
“…”
“I don’t think it’s because you don’t recognize him as your father.”
Perhaps it is not Jeokho that he can’t forgive, but himself.
That’s why Kim Shinrok doesn’t call him “father” but “Jeokho-nim”.
‘When I used the Replay function on him, he called for Jeokho every time. Except he almost called him father.’
I’m sure Jeokho is not happy with it, but what a shame.
Even if he brags about his son a lot, I don’t think he’d personally ask Kim Shinrok to address him as “father”.
“We met when you were young. Do you remember that?”
When he was young…
Does that mean when Kim Shinrok was still small and immature?
But Kim Shinrok acted as if they had never met before.
Perhaps they met when Kim Shinrok was very young, or perhaps the couple saw Kim Shinrok but he didn’t see them.
Looking at the couple’s demeanor though, I don’t think that was the case.
“…I’m sorry, I don’t remember very well.”
Kim Shinrok bowed his head in shame, but the couple only nodded as if they knew it.
“After my wife had a miscarriage, we have been absent for years. And then you came to see us.”
“…I visited you?”
“Yes, I’m sure the place where we stayed was protected from anyone entering but… You ignored the words of the other tigers and destroyed all the boundaries we have set into place to come visit us.”
Everyone who spoke of Kim Shinrok’s childhood described him as an eventful child, and it seems like he did cause a lot of incidents.
Kim Shinrok was puzzled at first when he heard the couple’s words, but then a tint of pink appeared on his cheeks.
He must’ve remembered something.
“So you were the ones who were wearing cotton yarns back then…?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t forget about the couple, he just didn’t recognize them.
Now that the atmosphere was more relaxed, Hwang Jiho spoke after a long time.
He seemed to be in a conflicted mood.
“This is the first I’m hearing this as well.”
Hwang Jiho said, pressing his temples.
He doesn’t seem to have a complete list of all the things that young Kim Shinrok did.
“We didn’t report it to you, Hwangho-nim. You were very busy.”
“It happened only once. It wasn’t really something to report.”
“What happened? Explain it as far as you can remember.”
Hwang Jiho asked and the couple began to narrate what happened when they met Kim Shinrok.
Kim Shinrok seemed to want to stop the two, but he couldn’t actualize it.
“This is the story after we got our first residence separate from the Tiger Clan thanks to Hwangho-nim’s kindness.”
After the couple lost their child to the bears, for several years, they have been cooped up in one corner of the Tiger Clan’s territory to mourn their child.
Since their child was gone without ever seeing the light of the world, their funeral wasn’t held properly, and their unpromised remembrance continued.
Then one day, a young Kim Shinrok, who was interested in the Tiger Clan’s territories that wasn’t protected by Hwang Jiho’s boundary skill, appeared in front of their door.
I guess he was incredibly curious about the strong boundary and the place where the other tigers tell him not to go to.
“Kim Shinrok…”
“…”
When Hwang Jiho uttered his name, Kim Shinrok bowed his head, his face completely red.
He looked sorry and ashamed.
That tiger couple may not have the same level of power as Hwang Jiho, but they lived in mythical times, yet Kim Shinrok, who was very young, managed to trespass their boundary.
Indeed, Jeokho was right for being overly proud of his son.
“We couldn’t believe it when we saw the boundary disappear without a trace. If we hadn’t seen him in person, we wouldn’t have known that we were infiltrated.”
“…”
The couple seemed to want to praise him, but Kim Shinrok couldn’t raise his head.
According to the couple, Kim Shinrok greeted them casually when he saw them.
The young Kim Shinrok seemed to not have a lot of fear.
“When we saw the young descendant with red hair, we immediately knew that you were Jeokho’s son.”
The feeling of embarrassment when they first set eyes on Kim Shinrok turned into dark thoughts.
Why did their child die but the son of their clan’s traitor with a bear survived?
If their child had been born safely, they would’ve grown up to be a talented and playful child like Jeokho’s son.
Furious, they thought about hurting Kim Shinrok.
After all, Kim Shinrok stepped into their territory of his own will.
As the couple’s minds moved into a difficult direction, the young Kim Shinrok talked to them.
— Why do you cover your face with cotton yarn?
— Because we cannot show our face to our child.
— You have a child? Where? Can I play with them?
— …
Kim Shinrok asked the couple innocently.
The young Kim Shinrok really seemed to know nothing.
The couple felt angry at the thoughtless words caused by the child’s ignorance, but they couldn’t say anything when they heard the innocent voice of Kim Shinrok who was excited to have someone to play with.
In the first place, Kim Shinrok might’ve come to their place because he had no one else to play with.
— You cannot meet our child because we did something wrong.
— Can you forgive a parent for doing something very wrong?
The couple asked a mischievous question, recalling Jeokho and Ungnyeo.
Kim Shinrok, disappointed to hear that he couldn’t meet their child, thought for a while.
— I don’t know. I don’t have parents. They say royal lineages are born without parents though. They say those with parents are rarely royal lineages.
A royal lineage — someone born from myths, legends, and natural phenomena.
Kim Shinrok’s knowledge was not wrong, but he was a descendant, not a royal lineage.
He did not even know that his parents were Jeokho and Ungnyeo, and he seemed to think of himself as a royal lineage.
The couple gradually felt sorry for him.
When the thought of hurting Kim Shinrok completely disappeared, the young child spoke again.
— But if it were me, I’d want to see my parent’s faces. So you two should show your face to your child.
Kim Shinrok’s face showed deep loneliness and concern for the couple.
And so, the couple reportedly sent him back quietly.
Kim Shinrok did not make any noise about the trouble he made, so Hwang Jiho did not know of this encounter.
“…I’m sorry I did not recognize you right away. I’m sorry for coming there without permission.”
Kim Shinrok apologized immediately without making excuses considering that he could have a lot to make.
It was already a long time ago, and no one explained to him who the couple was, and the couple’s faces were covered at that time.
The couple waved, stopping Kim Shinrok from apologizing further.
“We are sorry for testing you. I remember you as a good child, but we needed to confirm.”
“We remember very well how the bears changed their attitude… but you seem to have grown up very well.”
The couple reached out their hands and patted Kim Shinrok’s head.
It seemed unreal considering that they were provoking him to torture them just a few minutes ago.
Kim Shinrok accepted the gesture blankly.
“We will leave that bear to this child, Hwangho-nim.”
“Alright. I understand.”
Hwang Jiho, who had been watching all along, immediately confirmed.
He looked very bright, perhaps because his anxiety was relieved.
And maybe he was feeling too good, the old man added some useless words.
“Does your choice have anything to do with Jo Euishin?”
Kim Shinrok, who had his head lowered a little, looked at me.
I don’t know why this old man said such a thing in front of Kim Shinrok.
“The favor from the benefactor triggered it. But all that we said and did afterward was out of our own will.”
“A favor…”
The masked couple looked at me, seemingly asking for permission if they can speak about the favor.
I nodded, thinking that I cannot hide it anyway.
“The benefactor contacted us yesterday. He said he wanted to see us and talk in person.”
“It was a request difficult to accept, but it was from the benefactor. And then…”
The tigers’ attention turned toward me.
“How can we refuse a child who has eyes similar to us?”
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