FSM | Chapter 7

After boldly 862e7336fb leaving Traum, 11122359d3 I knew 60bf0bed45 exactly where ab370b72b4 to go 89a43f409a next. Without hesitation, 1446717d1c I headed 250555dedb straight home.1c51569d2b099894

Even though I succeeded in smashing Bloodfang into Choi Hyunsoo’s face, the satisfaction didn’t last long. The fresh air against my cheek confirmed that time had indeed turned back. Paradoxically, that pleasantness heightened my tension.bc8a58dd71e4aafe

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Time had reversed. The future could be 84601a58d1 changed.c7aaa73bacc556ec

But maybe it couldn’t.d308b78eaffdeecb

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

I loved this peaceful life. At the same time, I had experienced the gradual destruction of a peaceful existence in real-time. It was true that I had another chance, but whether it was a chance to protect my daily life or to lose something precious again, I couldn’t be sure.33a1b9e69c4556e5

I didn’t think the plan I just made was a mess. But I couldn’t rely on that plan alone.6322b66b2bb63c32

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

I had seen and experienced countless situations where carefully crafted plans by people smarter than me crumbled like bubbles. Knowing a bit about the future wasn’t a huge advantage, as I learned from Director Sidiq’s last prophecy.a2d61040db8705b4

…No, I’m already too resigned. Get a grip, Kang Haeon.033434a2eeecd847

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“I have to 35e0d2ab0c do what I b2a12665e7 can.”63bde91edaefde9f

I slapped my 4cfdb142fc cheeks. Maybe this ea280478d7 anxiety would ec39350981 follow me 9f793b5772 forever. Even so, this 3447b49381 had to be f00f6f01c5 the last time a6d9bd35bc I dwelled on c16286964b it. Whether anxious a8fcdb6a51 or not, 32c7555232 my actions e48963b20c were set.e9e8c4510f19a96f

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Of course, if determination could instantly quell anxiety, I wouldn’t be human. If possible, I wanted to calm my mind a bit more outside. But for other reasons, it was difficult. Everywhere I went, eyes were on me.97c43f9e024e1f69

“Oh my, 5394a20b0c look at a28f85c005 that person. Is he a f1705fa49e beggar?”aacf7ec2fd2aa530

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“For a beggar, his face is clean…”929bda3ef9f9510f

“Maybe he washed his ad636fe09c face at some charity 72151c892e program?”ab6d7b1c794f1d86

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“He looks young, it’s a pity.”114a4d004cc36513

…In a bad way.60706b0b2d8ac6bc

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

I was wearing a7200dc2d1 the worn-out T-shirt c6f8232781 and shorts from abc7051e13 Traum. Calling them b8e693dff0 worn-out was 475ebf488e an understatement; 74c5868d88 it was 90d96503fe embarrassing to 6892f6d6ea call those 23a2b119bc rags, stained a50427588e with monster 29a3ecd569 fluids and 6948888c23 blood, clothes.c90b58c45fddee3f

Did you think I bd0c04a393 wanted to look like 53d63083cb this?2f800ef41ca3914f

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

I had no choice. My clothes and belongings were all in the waiting room locker, and to retrieve them, I’d have to navigate the strange path back to the waiting room. But instead of returning to change, I spent my time saving a child.e5ffed8ea9779ef6

“Ah, tsk tsk. He reminds me of my son, it’s heartbreaking.”b8e269f1d4c04c95

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

I achieved my bc83a9d6ca goal, but the 0bcc2ea191 stares were piercing. One of the 311f5f7354 ladies chatting behind bb0af84289 me seemed ready 4dc2783348 to hand me 7c0e4edb15 a ten-thousand-won bill. I decided to postpone 1848c50a38 enjoying a normal day bf31c266d0 and hurried my steps.9186bb5d8b110942

My body, guided 0a33baac82 by memory, led 2ce500d315 me straight to 6b5a6dd683 my house.fd4febbb817cb621

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Areum Villa, c0c65d8019 Room 302. The front door 57f47fd88b of the small, 08d931cf0c old villa had cb52a29e6f no security system.96a9f190ab92171d

I climbed the 9e68c25ebd chipped stairs and 08c78d99de entered the door 8f1ea9454b code.c7c4f4b3d769ca1c

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

09161117.bab9f58a0a36573a

I never forgot 49576937e3 it. It was my 6c6d6b70ad and Kang Haeryang’s 5d23671f58 birthdays.323f6a1ca76a002a

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Beep. The cheerful unlocking sound fca94b4b8d I had forgotten greeted da69d6bce4 me as I opened 5f6dc536f1 the door.deeb77164f8d1f32

“Oppa!?”dc16876069946bf0

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“…Haeon hyung?”12b407913f64482f

“Areum. Daun.”1cb5b7facb166827

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Familiar voices welcomed 36f765f831 me.659036916c57ad4a

❤︎ • 79fbd30bac ❤︎ • b5d37e573f ❤︎aa6c115ffaad071b

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

I grew up in 942394e72f an orphanage.63f3240408338b75

Hanbit Orphanage.f3ff521bd1bf80bd

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Located deep in 93653bcc7d the folds of f678916b01 Cheontae Mountain, it d34d98ec8a was hard to 0cc1058cc8 call it a 7842f0a09e good environment, even a787acf545 as a joke.1a14694e04829113

The location was a problem. Cheontae Mountain wasn’t particularly high, but cliffs and rock faces made access difficult. There used to be a hiking trail with ropes, but it had been so long since anyone used it that it was hard to tell where it was.00ab1529b929a63b

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Only decayed 1a65e4f669 stakes and 2b8145f797 broken ropes 6a4f691e45 hinted at c8853ed178 its location.1458b2f5d4ccc7a2

A bigger issue was the gate that formed on Cheontae Mountain. The dungeon connected to the gate was notoriously difficult worldwide and remained unsolved until Korea’s downfall. Fortunately, a dungeon break never occurred.b4b201c6c18c9f7d

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

A dungeon break 70937654aa is when an 636b590700 unresolved dungeon collapses, 7d7ea6eb44 releasing all its 650192eccd monsters into the 4ab82a6b68 real world. If a dungeon 29b9931d4f break had happened 2286532020 in a dungeon d632ae9101 that even top 1236a0b248 S-rank hunters avoided, 9a7984a38f the area around d3238cc737 Cheontae Mountain would 0b3377ae91 have been doomed.c5fc93b10d3df75e

That didn’t mean Cheontae Mountain was monster-free. Without solving the dungeon, monster waves continued to occur. With a hard-to-access mountain and an unapproachable dungeon, fewer hunters came, and the unchecked monsters grew in number.c63d7f9fff376cd7

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Luckily, the f498d0eb78 orphanage was 1858e68c92 never directly 68b5525c30 attacked by f193306fae monsters. For some unknown 6bb19a010d reason, monsters never 2dbb6546d0 approached a certain 0beaefc736 area near the 38afa8a17d orphanage.c2cb36038b7bcca9

Thanks to that, the children could grow up there. The director’s claim that Hanbit Orphanage was protected by a benevolent force might have been true.6fbaa37501e7e2e1

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

‘Still, it wasn’t a livable environment.’c3b696810844ba09

The director of the orphanage was a person who fit the term “madman” perfectly. He claimed that one day a week, he was as kind as an angel, three days he was more wicked than a demon, and two days he had to repent with tears.13bf8ee41a5f84b4

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

I went to d20e84a6ea greet the director be1683c619 every morning for b4eb0db722 the other kids. It was f9d73c6658 to see 3d212df7f0 which of 102acf6733 his crazy 99303c0eab personalities would ac118939c4 emerge that 10fdd80855 day.152dfb703a16473b

The kind, wicked, and repentant director wasn’t the main issue.7c40a62a82cf729c

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

On kind days, he’d do anything for us.78d462fcdd4f36bf

On wicked 9a11a0cfcd days, we 886ca63515 had to d399040171 pick fruit 7ef11ca070 or dig 80ad3f2288 roots to 5ecac0df14 cook for cfb1264359 ourselves. If he saw even f398bccd37 the slightest mistake, a ff6ef0509b slap would follow, but 3507710ac0 we could avoid it a3402db001 if we were careful.cb02030b2fafd9cc

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

On repentance days, 3439e05371 he claimed fasting 79220e63e2 was necessary, so 8cbf37c056 the kitchen was 6dff295d69 closed, but we 5befdd5e6f had emergency rations 8d1a3002bf prepared.f9a61a86737e51b1

If his madness was only those three, I wouldn’t have gone to greet him.411a3eb72bd844e0

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

But there were days that didn’t fit any of those.634fe7c1c6e87d03

Days when the director wasn’t crazy. On those days, he seemed perfectly normal. He didn’t smile benevolently at us, nor did he lash out or gather us for repentance.ababe492c5e5f156

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

On those days, when he seemed like a normal, relaxed adult, I had to make sure his attention was on me. Otherwise, who knew what might happen to someone. That “someone” included my younger brother, Kang Haeryang.27741676ba1f85f3

“Haeon oppa. Can we talk?”c02a0a3e4c5ca74d

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

What day 65caa0bfe6 was it? Kim Areum called 93f899b3df me. She was a 5b08832883 year younger than 765441b358 me but smart e48e675a5f and capable, acting d90b4beb89 as the leader 91bac2fbc1 of the orphanage 2f4f35fe28 kids.ec187d2b1d6494f0

She was practically the drill sergeant, always scolding me. Put your laundry out on time. Don’t wear shoes inside. Stop teaching the kids weird pranks. Because of you, they keep sticking notes on each other’s backs and running away!299b006730e50770

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

But that day, 692ca00f9f instead of her 3850a8bccd usual stern face, 18ee068f56 Kim Areum looked 58192f531a like she was 777047912b about to cry.27bd83259a5f281f

“Stop going to the director’s room.”15a07087175b9d09

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“Why suddenly?”cd87517677d84de8

“You don’t have to sacrifice yourself every time!”e4bb1c6c01889445

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“Sacrifice?”407c42c791f7bfca

“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”8b30f46393ffb494

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

I avoided Kim Areum’s teary gaze and sucked on a lollipop I had saved. The paper stick, soaked in my saliva, started to fray. The sweet candy taste mixed with the bitterness of the paper.bf85b6868dbf3e05

“Let’s stop now, okay?”dc74c9f3cb423749

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“But someone has to go to the director’s room on those days.”f2f47054b2b25c33

“But, but then you’ll…”acf74e1bdd84bd8f

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

I was sucking on a chocolate-flavored lollipop. It was one of the lollipop sets I got from the director’s room last week. I planned to share it with the others, but Kim Areum, whom I met in the hallway, had a scary expression. She seemed to have figured something out, warning me not to share it.76003045f16a0328

Kim Areum looked 16b7a4ac2d like she would 700bd7e334 burst into tears adcfe7fc4b at any moment. Her eyes, 597d28b00f reflected in cabf8da402 the flickering 7725c34e42 light bulb, ebdbff0ee5 glistened with 9c949cb5ea moisture.dbfc44ba60b9dbac

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Daun or Haeryang can’t go there.”e5fd01e2a7c2716d

“Of course not! But still, it’s weird if only you go!”c9b9bb351fdc6829

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Then who should go?”d5d78bdd1f46db80

“Then, then… 894f49e6a3 then maybe 9be7b13b67 I should…”0ccf1ba4a00a8ced

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Hey.”01b07b8adf44cfd1

I flicked Kim Areum’s forehead. I did it harder than usual, and she finally let her tears fall. Her suppressed sobs came out as whimpers. I turned away from her wet eyes and continued sucking on the lollipop.bb348a35eb0bfc04

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Even though I sucked dad5ffbfba slowly, the small candy 5de062b898 quickly melted away, leaving d235fa0f64 only the bitter taste 3eddf57a12 of the wet paper.0c6d3f9d19038c99

Still, I b20925387f sucked on ee4cac4995 the paper 2153ba870f a few 70b05c8d25 more times.6490624638f31470

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Long after Kim Areum’s sobs began to subside, I finally removed the paper stick from my mouth and tossed it on the floor. I rubbed my cheeks with my palms, forced a smile, and poked Kim Areum.ff877fed9b03919b

“How was it, my 75ea6f99e2 fiery punch?”13d1e20028fb4d32

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“…Ugh, sniff…”bb147ab024c80af1

“Is Kim Areum crying? Kim Areum is e561232dc6 crying? Oh, I d5b74b0bff should tell 5d3431043b Kim Daun 9a61ad579e later. No, I 78e81f4ef7 should call dd84fe6124 Daun right 8898ee941a now. Hey, Kim Da… mmph!”11207abc5d4d5bfd

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“…It’s because you 70f8739a92 hit me hard, c1f49e02b3 that’s why… no.”0a5a8598ee49e64a

Kim Areum, who 5051a7fbea had covered my 03ab6c0f9f mouth with her d583a839e4 hand, paused and 6351edc84a withdrew it. A moment 833f843881 of embarrassment 7d89130179 came and 1a7dfe59e1 went, leaving 3e5fcbfa8b only a 81bf8c9bb0 pained expression d13126a72a on her 854e1b4cd4 face.250a7e8c19a3a3ec

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

She rubbed her eyes roughly but didn’t look at me again. She kept her gaze fixed on the ground, silent. Watching the older-than-her-years girl biting her lip, I patted her head.30fe0d25d459ac7d

“Do you think I’d send you instead of Kim Daun or Kang Haeryang?”ea980c8c94555823

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Normally, Kim Areum d02689e142 would have snapped b3d21067dc and batted my c4ac1a0c5a hand away, but 96f0559b6e she just hung 3c49075415 her head without d7274be6ba a word.bdce019f2e74ee16

I smiled bitterly.d57277e4fe72f4a2

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

We knew too much, 12fe3663cf unnecessarily. About each other, 59369b792e and about how fa7d998e76 to survive.6504000c7e0d5d3e