Chapter 110 - Chapter 107: Episode 105 - To Earth
Deep in the dense forest.
The sky was completely obscured by thick, sprawling branches that reached out in every direction.
The forest was so dark it was impossible to tell if it was day or night, though a faint sliver of light filtered down, as if insisting it was morning.
Suddenly, a Gate with swirling blue waves tore open in the gloom, and three figures stepped through.
There was a woman with her face hidden by a hood, and a man and a woman with black hair who looked like siblings to anyone watching.
The woman among them immediately destroyed the Gate, clearing the mist.
"Until Seon-ah comes to his senses... no... until he chooses to return to the Demon World on his own, I don't think we'll be going back. That's fine with you, right, Miel?"
The black-haired woman, Sophia, repeated what she had told Miel before they crossed through the Gate.
"As I said before, I'm fine with it, Demon King-nim."
"It would be better to call me Min-ah-ssi now, not Demon King-nim. I intend to live as the person whose body I've taken..."
"Yes, Min-ah-nim... no, Min-ah-ssi..."
'It feels a bit awkward, but if I keep repeating it, this title will eventually roll off my tongue,' Miel thought.
Miel figured she was likely the only living demon who would dare address the Demon King as 'ssi' rather than 'Your Majesty' or 'Demon King-nim.'
That was how legendary a being the Demon King was in the Demon World.
To the demons, the Demon King was an immortal who had reigned at the very pinnacle of power for thousands of years—a being no one dared approach.
That was why being here with her felt so incredibly awkward and uncomfortable.
However, she decided that as long as she was following Seon-ah, she could endure the discomfort.
Once the mist cleared, another problem arose for Miel.
Her body was growing heavier in this environment, which was completely different from the Demon World.
It was fortunate she had lived on Earth once before, so she could manage, but she could never quite get used to that heavy, sluggish feeling.
"Where are we... If I at least had a smartphone, I could figure out our location..."
Since they had come to Earth by opening a Gate from the Royal Capital, it wasn't easy to pinpoint exactly where they had landed.
"For now... let's get out of this forest. If we find a road, we might be able to figure out where we are by checking the signs."
Escaping this untouched wilderness was the priority.
And so, the three of them started walking.
After two hours, Seon-ah started rubbing his legs frequently.
Perhaps because he'd been cooped up in a room for so long, his muscles had weakened, and he complained that they hurt.
"Seon-ah... can you hold on a little longer? Or... how about you let Mom carry you on her back?"
"Can't we just... rest for a bit? My legs hurt so much..."
Seon-ah hadn't built up any real leg strength because he had been healing himself with his Recovery Ability whenever he moved.
But now, with the mind of a young child, he seemed unable to access that power.
If he could have used it, he surely would have healed himself instead of just rubbing his aching legs.
The two women felt a pang of guilt, realizing his condition only now.
It was pitiful—not only had his mind regressed, but he couldn't even use his abilities anymore.
He kept rubbing his legs, oblivious to the reason, and eventually sat down on a rock.
Looking at his thin legs, it was impressive he'd managed to keep up with Sophia and Miel's fast pace for two hours without resting.
Honestly, when they first started, Seon-ah had followed along happily, as if he were out for a stroll after being trapped inside for so long, so he hadn't uttered a single word of complaint.
"Then let's rest for a bit..."
Sophia, wanting to give him a break, decided the whole group would stop.
However, perhaps lacking social awareness, Miel looked toward the asphalt road in the distance and suggested:
"Ah... I see a road over there... How about we rest after going a little further? If a car passes by, we might be able to ask for a ride. Wouldn't that be more comfortable for Seon-ah?"
"Seon-ah's condition comes first, Miel. We agreed to follow my lead, so we act accordingly."
Even though they had only been on Earth for two hours, the two women were already clashing.
It was bound to happen; even if they were on the same side and wanted what was best for Seon-ah, their values were fundamentally different.
However, because both were products of the Demon World's hierarchical society, Miel, the subordinate, deferred to Sophia, the Demon King.
"I'm sorry... I think I was being impulsive."
"You don't have to be so sorry... Just treat Seon-ah the way I say... Because Seon-ah is my husband..."
Hearing that, Miel had her own thoughts.
'I was Seon-ah's mate first...'
Thinking of the Yin Mark carved on his abdomen, she felt annoyed that Sophia kept claiming him as her husband, even though she had been his mate first.
"Yes... I understand."
Still, Miel had no choice but to submit to power and back down.
In fact, she realized that since Sophia had shown great restraint—when she could have easily blown Miel's head off the moment they met—yielding didn't really hurt her pride.
An awkward atmosphere and a strange tension were already flowing between them.
Seon-ah, however, remained oblivious, still rubbing his calves.
He didn't even notice those two jealous gazes crossing over him.
.
.
.
After resting and setting off again, the group learned they were in a remote area of Gangwon-do.
Sophia was heading toward the house from her memories.
It was the home where Min-ah and Hyeon-tae had lived, and where Seon-ah had grown up until he turned twenty and left for university.
They had bought it with money saved during her rookie year at the Hwaryong Guild, combined with a loan, and it had finally become their own property by the time Seon-ah entered high school.
Since they had been missing for over five years, they were almost certainly legally declared dead.
'That house must have gone to auction. Still, let's check... Maybe it hasn't been sold yet, or maybe Yu-ra delayed the death processing because of the disappearance.'
She would have to get the house back after filing a correction report for their status.
Since Hyeon-tae and she were orphans with no relatives, it was highly likely the property had reverted to the state and been auctioned off.
Sophia prayed that the house had at least been sold to a private owner.
If the building had been demolished for government offices or state institutions, those memories would be gone forever.
It held deep meaning, not just for her, but because it was where Seon-ah's most precious memories resided.
She wondered if that was why Seon-ah, having regressed to his childhood, had asked her to go back home.
As they walked further, a bus stop came into view.
Since they were in Sokcho, she figured they could just take a bus to Seoul from the Sokcho Express Bus Terminal.
As she thought this, only one feeling consumed her while looking at Seon-ah.
A desperate need to beg for forgiveness—for herself and Miel—for stealing Seon-ah's ordinary life.
That was all.
Considering they had spent more time tormenting Seon-ah than even Yu-rin, who had been the first to plunge him into hell, she knew full well it was an unforgivable sin.
'We'll be able to return to that house today... Seon-ah... I'm sorry for stealing your mother... This is the only memory I can give you now...'
It was doubtful whether Seon-ah would be happy even if they returned.
The father he missed so much was no longer of this world.
And she was just an empty shell, merely imitating his mother.
The bus approached in the distance, and she nearly missed it, lost in her thoughts.
Miel wore a bitter expression, likely lost in similar reflections.
Not long after returning to Earth, her chest was already starting to feel heavy.
Except for Seon-ah, who was smiling brightly at the bus, the group was already filled with dread.
It was becoming terrifying to think about what Seon-ah would think of them once he finally came to his senses.
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.
.
That woman who comes to the front of the house without fail every day.
Now, fortunately, she just rings the doorbell once and stands there for an hour or two before leaving.
Even so, it had been a week since she'd been able to step outside because of that woman.
There were even times she'd disappear for an hour, only to suddenly reappear.
If she were to go out and run into her, it would be nothing but an uncomfortable mess.
"Ha... I have no idea what's going on, or why she's so obsessed with this house... Maybe she's actually crazy. Is this supposed to be her lover's house or something? I don't know how many more times she's going to show up..."
She wondered if there was some bizarre tradition on Earth where you had to pay several times the price to buy a house that already had an owner.
"Ha... it's no use today either... I'm exhausted after binge-watching almost every movie and drama that's come out... I'll just play a game now..."
There were dark circles under Bianca's eyes.
For the past week, except for two or three hours of sleep, she had spent all her time watching movies and dramas that had been considered masterpieces while she was away.
Having picked and chosen only what suited her taste, she had already finished binge-watching almost everything.
Now, she wanted to try doing something herself.
She felt stiff from not being able to move her body much, so she chose a computer game to pass the time.
Three hours later, Bianca was pounding on the keyboard as if trying to break it.
Her stress was mounting due to her fifth consecutive loss.
At first, she had just been tapping the desk, but now she was slamming the keys.
"No, what is the jungle doing! Top is like this again, ha... seriously, why are these kids so incapable of doing anything..."
Bianca's score while complaining was 0/7/4.
All four games she had played before that had similar scores.
Bianca, having lost five games in a row over three hours, didn't think there was any problem with her own play.
After gaming for so long, she felt thirsty and annoyed.
To cool off, she opened the refrigerator, put a cola to her lips, and drank it in long gulps.
"Ha... Earth drinks really do taste good... Demon World ones rarely have this kind of fizz..."
Just then, the doorbell started ringing again.
Bianca's annoyance flared up even worse, coming right on the heels of her losing streak.
"Ha... seriously, that woman still hasn't left... I can't take it anymore. I'm going to shout at her once and for all. I'm absolutely not selling it..."
With that, she stomped over and threw the front door open.
She began speaking, her voice dripping with irritation.
"Please, I'm not selling it, so just go away. This house is mine now. It's a house I can buy and sell as I please."
As she opened the door to the dark house, she couldn't properly identify the person standing there, blinded by the evening sunset. When she delivered those words—a line from an internet meme—in her annoyed voice, she didn't expect the response she got.
The voice that answered wasn't the woman she'd been dealing with all week.
"You don't have to sell it. Instead, don't hold a grudge if I blow your head off and take it..."
The face of the woman she was staring at was...
Min-ah, Seon-ah's mother.