Chapter 84 - Chapter 81: Episode 79 - Lee Ye-na
A young child collapsed to the ground with a dull thud.
Seeing the child stumble and fall, Yu-ra snapped out of her shock.
'She looked exactly like Seon-ah...'
She figured the monster must have used a mental attack to overlay the image of Seon-ah—who had been on her mind just moments ago—onto its own form.
However, the child lay face down, her cheek pressed against the dirt.
The thought crossed her mind again that what she'd seen might have just been an illusion.
Though a warning bell rang in her head, telling her not to approach, her heart urged her to satisfy her burning curiosity.
She couldn't stop her feet from moving on their own.
In the end, Yu-ra had no choice but to verify the child's appearance.
When she grabbed the child and pulled her up, she was staring at the face of a five-year-old Seon-ah.
From her closed eyes and faint, rhythmic breathing, she could tell the child had lost consciousness.
Wondering if it was just a magical illusion, she touched the child's face thoroughly, but it wasn't a disguise.
It was undeniably a young child with the exact features of Seon-ah's childhood.
Along with the joy of finding a clue about Seon-ah, a whirlwind of confusion filled her head.
Realizing the Gate hadn't closed yet, she picked up the child and moved to seal it.
There were no signs of other monsters emerging, but she acted quickly, wary of when they might strike if the portal remained open.
With a flick of Yu-ra's hand, the Gate slammed shut.
As the ominous blue waves of the Gate vanished, the surrounding fog began to lift.
She looked down at the child in her arms.
Now that the fog had cleared, she could see the girl was drenched in sweat.
It looked as if she had scrambled through the Gate in a desperate hurry.
The child's mouth parted, and she let out a faint, broken sound.
"Da... ddy...."
Who was this child, who looked just like Seon-ah, calling for?
Seon-ah's father, Hyeon-tae?
That couldn't be it.
Perhaps this child's father was...
'Ah....'
As Yu-ra let her imagination run wild, the puzzle pieces in her head finally clicked into place.
Since it was impossible for Seon-ah to have regressed to this age, the father of this child was undoubtedly Seon-ah himself.
Seon-ah, whose life had been ruined because of this daughter.
The joy of finding a lead on Seon-ah surged through her chest.
She wanted to wake the child up immediately and ask about Seon-ah and Min-ah, but Yu-ra had to hold back.
The child's condition was poor.
She was still breaking out in cold sweats, and her complexion was deathly pale.
There didn't seem to be any physical wounds, though.
Yu-ra considered taking her to a hospital, but she stopped herself.
If Seon-ah was the father, then who was the mother?
The thought occurred to her that the mother might not be human.
Yu-ra reached that conclusion easily, knowing exactly what happened to men dragged into the Gate.
Knowing they were treated as breeding slaves, she realized this child was both a product of the suffering Seon-ah had endured and a vital clue to his whereabouts.
Her initial joy soured, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.
There was a high probability that this child was a monster.
Deciding against a hospital, Yu-ra carried the child to her car and headed home.
On the way, Yu-ra couldn't settle her conflicted heart, torn between the fact that the child might be a monster and the undeniable truth that she was Seon-ah's daughter.
Yu-ra felt exhausted, having driven slowly to ensure the child wasn't jostled, constantly checking her complexion.
She had to keep the speed down, worried by the child's constant, whimpering sounds.
Bringing her home to Yu-rin could be dangerous, but lately, Yu-rin only cared about finding drugs and sleeping.
There was no chance she would be awake at this hour.
After parking in the garage, Yu-ra unbuckled the child, carried her inside, and headed to the master bedroom.
She stripped off the sweat-soaked clothes and changed her into something more comfortable.
And when she saw the child's naked body, she realized.
Despite the face that looked just like Seon-ah's, this child was a girl.
Since Seon-ah's own face was so pretty, it had been difficult to distinguish between male and female features.
It made sense, given she was a child who took after her beautiful father.
She brought a towel and a basin of warm water from the bathroom.
Even if she was a monster, it was hard to watch her struggle.
Yu-ra tended to the child, who kept groaning in pain, until she finally fell asleep beside her, exhausted by the ordeal.
Yu-ra woke up, startled by a sudden, seizure-like sound.
"Daddy! Daddy!... I don't want to... I'm alone.... Ah...."
The voice trailed off, and realizing it was just a dream, the child seemed to be trying to process her surroundings with her small head.
She seemed to be trying to identify the bedroom and figure out who I was, sleeping beside her.
'Ah...'
Thinking of Seon-ah's childhood, I was surprised at myself for expecting this child to act just like him.
I had been projecting Seon-ah's sharp, precocious demeanor onto another child.
I needed to introduce myself before the confused child could ask.
"Hello, little one. My name is Yu-ra. What's yours?"
"I was told not to follow strangers... Oh... by any chance, is your name Park Yu-ra?"
The child spoke as if she knew me.
How could she?
Hiding my surprise, I answered.
"That's right. My name is Park Yu-ra. Would you like to keep talking?"
The child didn't trust me completely, but she continued, perhaps finding credibility in the name I'd mentioned.
"Daddy said... if I go to Earth... no... if I come to Korea, I should go to the police station, say your name, and go to your house..."
She spoke with a tone that tried to hide the fact that she'd come from another world, thinking she hadn't been caught crossing the Gate.
She didn't seem to know we had encountered each other right before she fainted.
She must have lost consciousness right after I arrived.
I decided not to bring that up, fearing she would become guarded.
If this child who resembled Seon-ah disappeared, it would be a massive loss for me.
Then, a sudden, obvious fact occurred to me.
"Oh. Come to think of it, I still haven't heard your name. What is it?"
I hadn't heard her name yet.
It was uncomfortable to keep calling her "little one," so I asked to make the conversation easier.
"Ah... come to think of it, I haven't said my name yet. I'm sorry. My name is Lee Yena."
As the rambling disappeared, I heard a sharp, articulate sentence.
It was as if Seon-ah's adult-like nature from his childhood was manifesting in Yena's actions.
As I momentarily recalled memories of Seon-ah and stayed silent, Yena spoke cautiously to break the tension.
"Where... is this?"
I felt a little sorry for getting lost in thought while someone was right in front of me.
I paused to organize my thoughts before answering.
"This is my house. But what is Yena's daddy's name?"
"Ah... I came just like Daddy said... If I wait here... Daddy will..."
She began to sob as she spoke.
Yena's eyes welled up.
Hiding her tears with her sleeves, Yena tried to answer my question.
"Da... Daddy's name... Huh?.... High-capacity seed... sower?... Sperm dispenser?..."
Yena muttered to herself, trying to recall her father's title as if she were confused.
"No... Ah... Seon-ah.... that's what he said. Among the things Mom said, the one that could be called a real name... was that."
High-capacity seed sower?... Sperm dispenser?...
Ah... Seon-ah....
Hearing Yena's words, Yu-ra barely managed to hold onto her fading sanity.
She pictured poor Seon-ah, suffering the same fate after being dragged into the Demon World because of the terrible things Yu-rin had done to him.
Hearing that, she was convinced this child's mother was definitely a monster.
Though she did wonder if monsters would even use such words.
The most important thing was finding out what Yena knew about Seon-ah.
There hadn't been room for an expedition team to be formed for years, but it was a personal desire to at least know Seon-ah's final moments.
Only then would her heart feel at ease.
"Yena... Seon-ah... no... why did Daddy tell you to come to my house?"
"Daddy said... if I asked for help from you, you would listen. And... he promised... that Daddy would also come to this house to pick me up."
Ah... is Seon-ah able to return?
Seeing that Yena had come from beyond the Gate, it didn't seem impossible.
However, she couldn't understand how Yena, a monster, had managed to cross over to Earth.
Also, if Yena could get out, couldn't Seon-ah have come with her when he sent her through?
'Why did he promise for later?'
Yena couldn't answer any of the questions she had raised.
It was certain that no one could resolve this curiosity other than Seon-ah himself.