Chapter 02
“Oh my—why is it so hot today?”
That day.
Asteia—no, Tia—was lying flat on the floor, enjoying the breeze from the fan waved by Grandma from Unit 107.
She was crossing her eyes, watching her bangs flutter, when the aunt from Unit 203 opened the front door and came in.
“Oh, sis. I think something serious has happened…”
Normally, this aunt would have scooped Tia into her arms, saying how pretty she was.
But as the aunt quickly averted her gaze from Tia, Tia tilted her head.
“What is it? Did someone cause an accident or something?”
“It’s not that…”
Again. The aunt glanced at Tia and looked away.
Tia’s eyes naturally turned toward the envelope the aunt was holding.
Auntie from Unit 203 was clutching the crumpled paper envelope as if it were a puppy leash she couldn’t afford to drop.
“Don’t you dare say anything strange again. Always making a fuss and scaring the child…”
However, as the envelope was opened, Grandma from Unit 107 fell silent.
Sweat beaded on Tia’s forehead as the fanning stopped.
Silence filled the single room, with only the sound of cicadas chirping—when suddenly.
“…What are we going to do.”
The grandmother, who had turned away, abruptly pulled Tia into her arms.
“What are we going to do! What on earth are we going to do!”
Then she began wailing loudly.
Tia just blinked, held in the grandmother’s embrace.
The aunt from Unit 203 was sniffling too.
Confused as she was, Tia quickly realized something was very wrong.
—
[In accordance with Article 12, Paragraph 1 of the Act on Funeral Services, etc., the body of the unclaimed deceased has been processed, and we hereby give notice. Claimants are requested to take custody of the enshrined remains.]
—
That day marked the tenth day since Dad hadn’t come home.
—
“Funeral…?”
What’s that.
Left alone after Grandma and Auntie hurried out, Tia read the paper over and over.
The paper was full of difficult words.
Even so, there was one word Tia recognized.
“…Deceased means a dead person.”
Suddenly frightened, Tia gently set the paper down.
As she wiggled her fingers, her eyes fell on the Tanipang sticker book that Seulhee had given her at kindergarten.
Seulhee had used almost all the stickers, but Tia’s favorite, Ttonapang stickers, were still left.
“Show me your magic~ Catch catch…”
Tia hummed the Tanipang theme song as she carefully peeled off a Ttonapang sticker.
Then she slipped out of Unit 107, went into Unit 106, and brought back the flyers Dad had collected.
Tia first took a blank flyer and wrote neatly on the back with a marker:
[Please bring Dad home.]
No one in the Quail Class could write as well as Tia.
She didn’t forget to press the Ttonapang sticker firmly after the period, either.
“Dad…”
Dad, who always said strange things.
Dad, who believed he came from an empire called Talochium, and that Tia’s hometown was there too.
Dad said he was an incredibly powerful Holy Knight in that world.
He said he punished bad monsters and villains every day, and was the strongest hero everyone respected.
Tia shook her head.
Of course, Tia had believed those words until she was about three.
Dad was so cool that her heart would pound, and there were nights she couldn’t sleep past nine because of it.
But Tia was four now.
That meant she was old enough to know everything.
‘A strongest Holy Knight that everyone likes would definitely be rich.’
But Dad and Tia weren’t rich.
They were actually poor.
She could tell because her kindergarten friends went on vacation every summer, but Tia and Dad had never gone on a single trip.
Also, Dad almost never had a day off.
He worked on weekends, on Children’s Day, on Hangeul Day, on Christmas.
When Tia asked why Dad worked so much, the adults at Gold Yeonlip said:
It was because Dad’s job “didn’t pay enough for what he did.”
It was a difficult word, but Tia vaguely understood.
That no matter how hard Dad worked, he couldn’t earn enough to buy Tia a new Tanipang sticker book.
Of course, Tia didn’t mind.
Because Dad was a hundred—no, a thousand times—more precious than any Tanipang sticker book.
Tia always thought her hardworking Dad was cool and grateful.
—
‘Everyone has their reasons.’
‘That’s why, look at the person in Unit 106. With that tall, handsome face at such a young age, why would he be living in poverty? It’s for the child’s sake—because he’s afraid the child will be taken away.’
‘But it’s strange. Even if he’s an illegal immigrant, if he just gets some kind of visa… Tia’s already four, so it’s about time to register her birth…’
‘They say Tia’s birth can’t be registered at all! And if they try to register it now, the district office won’t just sit still! An illegal immigrant, see? The moment he gets caught, the fine is huge. And then our Tia could be repatriated to his country. The young man in 106 would have to serve prison time here. What kind of separation is that?’
‘Anyway, I went to see that kindergarten director downstairs again. Thank goodness she’s a good person—if she’d insisted on not taking Tia till the end, the child would’ve been left in the dark in no time.’
‘Tia would’ve been fine since she’s naturally sharp, anyway? In all my years, I’ve never seen a kid like that. She basically taught herself to read! By the way, has the young man in 106 still not said which country he’s from?’
—
Tia had learned a lot from the neighbors’ chatter that drifted in while she was half-asleep, but she was happy living with Dad.
“…Sniff.”
Snot dripped onto the scrap paper, and Tia held her breath.
Tears were starting to trickle out without her even realizing it.
“Snuffle.”
Feeling glum, Tia buried her face in her hands.
Dad needed to come home soon.
“Daaad…”
The word “deceased” kept floating through her mind.
Tia curled her body into a ball and squeezed her eyes shut.
She repeated to herself that it couldn’t be, that the word deceased couldn’t be referring to Dad.
Then she must have fallen asleep.
When she woke up, it was pitch dark outside.
Grandma from Unit 107 didn’t return until late evening, soaked from the rain.
In her hands was a cardboard box with water stains here and there.
Tia opened the box and stared blankly with her mouth agape.
—
‘Dad will live with Tia for a long, long time. Someday, we’ll definitely go back to our hometown, and I’ll make our Tia smile in a much bigger and cleaner house.’
—
‘But I used the Ttonapang sticker.’
What arrived wasn’t Dad.
Tia stared at the three characters written on the box: “Keepsake Box.”
She knew what that meant.
She’d seen that word in a drama once.
So… without living long, without going back to their hometown, without making Tia smile.
Dad had left Tia behind, just like that.
In the end.
—
Late at night.
Leaving Grandma from Unit 107’s snoring behind, Tia stepped out of the room.
She snuck into Unit 106, the room she and Dad had shared, just two steps away.
On the innermost drawer of the room, she saw the keepsake box Grandma had placed there.
Tia climbed onto the drawer and opened the box lid.
“…”
Inside were Dad’s usual hat, a few keys, and a wallet, sitting alone.
As she tilted the box to get a closer look, something clattered and fell out.
At the very bottom of the box was a necklace with a broken chain.
‘Dad’s…’
Tia picked up the necklace without thinking.
Because Dad always carried it in his inner pocket, she’d never had a chance to see it before.
After removing the broken chain and holding the stone pendant in her hand, her throat felt tight.
She could feel Dad’s warmth from the stone.
Just as tears welled up in Tia’s eyes—
Thump-
The ceiling suddenly vibrated.
Startled, she looked up, and this time she felt a vivid tremor through the floor.
Thump-!
As she stepped back, a bright light cast down before her eyes.
[Why are you crying?]
Tia blinked and opened her mouth.
The stone that had slipped from her hand was floating in midair.
Radiating bright light from its edges.
“The-the stone is talking…”
In that moment, something popped up from above the stone.
It was a small, black head about the size of an adult’s fist.
Tia watched with her mouth wide open as ruby-like eyes, a nose, a mouth, and ears appeared on the stone.
[Why are you crying?]
When the second question came, she snapped to her senses in a panic.
After hesitating warily, she finally mustered the courage to speak.
“Ti-Tia’s dad is…”
[Got it.]
In that instant, the stone, now grown arms, legs, a tail, and wings, cut Tia off.
The stone licked its tiny front paws a few times and said:
[That man is dead, huh?]
Tia’s eyes trembled.
“…Dad, Dad is…”
[Should I bring him back?]
Until she heard the stone’s next words.
The stone, staring intently at Tia, shook its head with a flutter and spoke again.
[I asked if you’d stop crying if I brought your dad back to life.]
