Translator: Wan ED/PR: Solarin
40. Meaning of blessing (1) [1]
Eungwang Brilliant Light[2] Children’s Home located in Eungwang District.
At the time when Han Yi was admitted to this place, the name of it was Eungwang Brilliant Light Orphanage[3].
The one that discovered Han Yi, lying unconscious at the doorsteps of the orphanage, was Gong Cheonghwon, a highschool student, who donated his talents to the children’s home and acted as a volunteer.
The children’s home which took in, Han Yi, whose name and age wasn’t known, tried hard to find out about her past, but the result was futile.
Finally, with the cooperation of the public health center at the children’s home’s side, Han Yi’s physical development was examined, and it was decided she was about five years old, and they made Han Yi her own family register.
Though it was impossible for her to hear, even when borrowing the power of science or certain superpowers, Han Yi spare no effort to learn about the world and how to communicate.
As the result of that effort, at the end of the competition with the geniuses and talents of the whole country, she was proudly admitted to Korea’s best supernatural prestigious highschool with amazing grades.
‘I guess no one is here today.’
Han Yi, who crossed the entrance to the children’s home and checked the shoe rack, hid her disappointed expression and maintained her usual expressionless face.
The shoe rack for guests and outside visitors was only full of house shoes.
It meant that even today, no one came as a volunteer or helper to receive an orientation.
“Han Yi unnie!”
“Noona….!”
Han Yi, who felt a presence, looked towards the playroom.
The children stopped what they were doing and ran to her.
Han Yi confirmed the movement of the children’s mouths one after one and returned their greetings.
About the time when she finished greeting all the children, the children teacher and director, who were wearing rubber gloves and cleaning, appeared.
“Han Yi came?”
“Phew, Han Yi is such a good kid, so she came again. And what did you buy them?”
The children teacher looked at the children, each holding ice cream distributed by Han Yi, and smiled warily.
Han Yi couldn’t take her eyes off the old rubber gloves the two people were wearing.
Feeling Han Yi’s gaze, the director spoke as if making an excuse.
“These days it’s hard to gather active volunteers, huh? … Usually there were quite a few students coming to fill up volunteer activity hours during the summer break. This year is quite unusual.”
Han Yi tightly pressed her lips.
These days there were people, who were pulling strange tricks to put pressure on the children’s home’s director.
A new housing representative was elected in the apartment complex nearby and the newly chosen representative was causing wicked incidents to make them move, saying that the existence of the children’s home lowers the apartment prices.
As not only the representative, but also the service group employed by the neighborhood representative council was loitering around the children’s home, the children teachers and volunteers were scared and quit, and the donations were gradually cut off.
However, the children’s home was still doing well.
At least financially, there were no problems.
“There are a lot of donations coming down, so why You won’t buy an automatic cleaning machine?”
“I can’t use it so rashly! I may use it for something in the future.”
At the children teacher’s words, the director smiled and spoke.
Not a long time after Han Yi was admitted to school, the Hwang Myeong Foundation donated a sum that was twice the cumulative amount of all donations the children’s home received since its opening.
The Brilliant Light Children’s Home’s director was petrified by the extremely large amount of money, but Gong Cheonghwon stepped forward and guaranteed there was no problem with the donations, so only then they were able to breathe with relief.
The director didn’t randomly spend that enormous donation, and gathered it little by little to use it as scholarships for the children’s home’s children.
“It should be fine if I just work a bit harder. What kind of machine would we need?”
“Then what will we do if you get hurt somewhere?”
Han Yi observed the two people’s conversation with an expressionless face, and then turned around as she felt a presence behind her.
A child of the same age as Han Yi entered her vision.
“Sir-niiiiim[4]! I’m here! Did Cheonghwon oppa come today? He said He is coming!”
She couldn’t hear the voice of a child, who overflowed with charm, but just by reading her lips, Han Yi got goosebumps.
A girl with bleached hair of gradient mix between ash pink and cherry pink, and a sweet and refreshing smile.
A king who grabbed the collars and beat up boys and girls alike from a young age, and since graduating from elementary school, didn’t yield her place in the alleys.
As those two appearances overlapped, Han Yi made a disgusted expression.
“Does she come to the nursery house often?”
“Only when Cheonghwon is here. She keeps asking him to come to some kind of audition as she wants to sing as a duet, huh?”
She was bothering teacher Gong Cheonghwon in the places she couldn’t see again, huh?
Han Yi’s disgusted expression became even more stiff.
“How often does she come here?”
“Two to three times a week during this semester? These days it was a bit more infrequent, because she said she is some kind of trainee or something…”
“She doesn’t come to school, so what is she doing?”
At Han Yi’s words, the nursery teacher and director made surprised faces.
“You’re saying that this child doesn’t go to school?”
“Yes. This is the first time I seen her this year.”
“No, it’s July now, so…”
The director spoke with a shocked voice.
“How did you not see each other even once, when you’re in the same class?”
***
The day after we made a hospital visit, the youth training camp incident turned into headlines.
Otherworld outbreak without warning phenomena.
Suspicious weather phenomena at the time, enormous tsunamis.
Communication failure for unknown reasons.
Calm evacuation shown by residents.
Corruption and money embezzlement of the youth training instructors, which came into light thanks to Ham Geun-hyeong and Mun Saeron.
Escape of the instructors, who stood in the center of all of it.
All of them were worthy of becoming hot topics, but two drew the most attention.
The first hot topic was Ju Su-hyeok and An Dain performance.
[In the darkness, on the brink of otherworldzation, the performance of such geniuses shines]
[Eungwang School’s two 1st year 1st places take the place of the biggest contributors in the otherworld conquest]
Even though it was the first time since they were born for the title hero and heroine to participate in the otherworld conquest as an attack team, they safely succeeded.
Ju Su-hyeok was the biggest contributor of the first otherworld on the Sangju Mountain, and An Dain became the biggest contributor of the second otherworld on the Sangju Mountain and of the otherworld on the Gijang Island.
‘It probably turned out like this, because An Dain, who joined later, had relatively more energy. When taking into account their part as a defense team, the two preformed similarly.’
Ju Su-hyeok and An Dain’s first performance was wonderful, but there was something which drew more attention than the two of them.
[Blue Violinist preforms miracle once again]
[Who is the collaborator in the hot video that broke through ten million views?]
The video published by Mun Saeron became a hot topic of the whole world.
The power of performance displayed by one of the world’s best violinist in the dramatic situation was enormous.
The views on the video were rising at a frightening speed with each minute, and the request to publish the improvised song, which Kwon Jane preformed when using her Gwangrim ‘Humming Surface’, as an official record didn’t end.
‘The doubts about the Ung tribe’s raid were completely buried.’
Hong Gyubin sent dying sounds in the messages a few times, but it was the result of the Association’s PR and media 1st team putting their time and effort into it.
‘Should I reply to that at least?’
I don’t know where he learned that, but Hong Gyubin was very stubbornly asking about the Newspaper Club’s overseas news-gathering trip schedule.
I didn’t ask why he was asking about it, but I could clearly see the reason.
‘Hong Gyubin wants to somehow go on the vacation with Jegal Jaegeol, right? He is like this because he wants to disguise it as a coincidence and go on the overseas trip together, huh?’
In the meantime, every time Hong Gyubin asked about the schedule, I changed the subject and asked about the situation with settling this incident.
As if Hong Gyubin judged I meant that as ‘If you want to know about Jegal Jaegeol’s schedule, bring results’, he made dying sounds while complaining about how hard he was working.
‘The results are very good, so it seems it would be good to throw him a carrot.’
I came to such a conclusion and wrote a message.
[Me] Team leader Hong Gyubin-nim, hello. I saw the articles. You’ve worked hard.
[Hong Gyubin] Hi, Uisin. ^^!
[Hong Gyubin] You have a summer break now, so you should have time, right? It’s been a long time since I saw you, so I want to talk with you, buy you a meal and things like that! ^^!
Extremely opaque.
He was probably like this because he thought it would be better to put pressure by meeting and asking in person.
Hong Gyubin was very sincere about digging the Newspaper Club’s schedule.
‘… Should I inform him that he will probably have to work overtime soon?’
The technical incorporation of the To tribe’s Moon Palace Guide technique and the Association’s satellite technology was undergoing a chaotic period.
And they recently made a new breakthrough.
The very satellite maniac, Song Daeseok.
It was said that thanks to the algorithm developed by him, they discovered a clue about how to connect the two technologies.
Even the Ho tribe member, who played the role of the intermediary in the technology exchange, expressed delight.
Hwang Jiho’s review was as follows:
— In addition to being the grandson of the great hero who saved the Korean Peninsula, besides his family, painter Hong Gyeongbok and Min Geurin, he has zero interpersonal relationships. There are no security problems at all. That’s perfect.
Anyway, the moment Song Daeseok is discharged from the hospital, the Association will have a load of work.
In the situation where Song Daeseok will have to participate in the project in secret, when the satellite observation and calculations values are open to the public, the work the 1st Media Team will have to do won’t be small.
It wouldn’t be easy for the team leader, Hong Gyubin, to go on a leisure vacation.
‘Even so, if he is lucky, they may be able to meet overseas, right?’
I took trouble not to mention that fact.
And sent a ‘Newspaper Club summer break overseas news-gathering plan’ which was sent to my device by the Newspaper Club’s president to Hong Gyubin.
[Hong Gyubin] Thanks, Uisin! ^^!
[Hong Gyubin] Then I’m going to make a vacation plan. If there is something you want to have or eat, tell me anytime! Truly, thank you! ^^!!!
Seeing him so happy, I felt a bit sorry, but I just left a reply ‘Yes, see You later.’ and closed the screen.
Beeep!
Opportunely, the air taxi arrived at its destination.
Through the window, I saw Gong-dong neighborhood park, which I visited at the dawn of 1st of January and Sawol Seeum, waiting for me with a nervous face.
“Ah, hello!”
As he was unknowingly using a Flight skill when he was anxious, Sawol Seeum hovered a bit in the air.
Floating, Sawol Seeum pointed at the side of the park.
“It’s very hot, correct? I’ll guide You! You have to only step on the places where I stepped, uh?”
Sawol Seeum, who realized he was floating, hastily stopped using the skill and smiled in embarrassment as he landed on the ground.
I started walking following Sawol Seeum on the park side road.
‘We won’t be noticed if we move like this?’
Unlike when we rode Hongryong and saw Sawol Seeum off, the day was still bright and there were many people moving around.
I was worried like this, but it ended up being meaningless.
Paaaaaa…
With each step Sawol Seeum took, a faint superpower wave spread out.
Each step, the tiny amounts of the superpower wave piled up one at a time, and the space changed.
‘Is it a special barrier? It’s the first time I saw one like this.’
The moist and heat of the ardent July day gradually disappeared from the air, while the scenery changed.
Like the scenery changing little by little when the winds blew and shook off the leaves and petals, the things flashing in my vision changed.
After we crossed about a hundred steps, the surroundings chilled completely and the scene became quiet and isolated.
‘It feels as if I entered a different era.’
Since ancient times, the pine trees were regarded by kings as baekmok[5].
As if they were adhering to the pine tree protection enacted by the last dynasty, the Sawol family’s ground was thickly covered by the pine tree forest.
Between pine trees, I saw dozens of tile-roofed houses and pavilions and an enormous pond.
“The adults decided to welcome You during dinner. Let’s go to my room first!”
Sawol Seeum said brightly and took the lead.
When we followed the road through the low mud wall.
Between the pine trees[6], I saw a man and a woman facing each other.
“Ack! Hide!”
Suddenly Sawol Seeum hid behind the wall.
Why the hell we have to hide?
I had such doubts, but as my Playable Character told me to hide, I hid without questioning it.
Soon I heard the two people’s voices conversing.
“Hyejeong-ssi, today the family’s benefactor is visiting. You should return to the ordinary world. If it’s the benefactor, we can trust Him and leave You to Him…”
“I hate it. I’ll stay together with Semin-ssi.”
Unintentionally, I ended up witnessing a lovers’ fight.
*~*~*
[1] Meaning of blessing — Hm… Blessing (가호 gaho) can be also understood as protecting*, when not referred to a ‘higher being’. And it also means house register. In Northern Korean, it means a person who writes and sings songs very well. And an old term for ‘+’.
* I feel like I should note down that I’m always translating 가호 (gaho) as blessing, it’s different from the other word ‘수호 (suho)’ which I translate as protection. Both appear as a type of ‘blessing’ related to gods, but I’ve yet to figure out if they’re different or not.
[2] Brilliant Light — ‘한빛 (han-bit)’ is a pure Korean word that means a bright/clear light that illuminates the world.
[3] Orphanage — Mm, so we have two words used here. The Children’s Home, which in previous chapters I have always translated as orphanage is 보육원 (boyukwon), which literally means a place where children are taken care of. The word which is translated in this chapter as orphanage, and which I’ll always translate this word as orphanage in the future, is ‘고아원 (goawon)’ which literally means the ‘place with orphans’.
[4] Sir-niiiiim — literally ‘teacher-niiiiiim!’, but ‘teacher’ can be also used as an honorific to any person of higher status, so it could also be ‘sir/ma’am’. This translator isn’t exactly sure what should be used here.
[5] baekmok — in my rough understanding, it means a ‘tree of hundreds of lumber pieces’. Pine trees were a highly valued timber resource in Korea, and their usage was so overwhelming the kings of Korea very early on enacted a law to protect them. Cutting down a pine tree without permission was heavily punishable (one could be leashed 100 times if caught cutting even one tree under some rulers).
[6] pine trees — a different word for a pine tree, 춘양목 (chunyang-mok) is used here. It means… uh. I would translate it to ‘To always look like in the spring’.
Translator’s note: Oh Han Yi… To start this chapter with you and her is so…
Did you see a mistake? 🐞
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