HRB 151

Then, the crying woman suddenly lifted her head. The face, covered in tears, was indeed one Eddie knew well. Though much thinner than he remembered.

Eddie’s steps, which had quickened slightly, now turned into a run. Eddie ran towards his Mother.

“Mom!”

But she didn’t react to Eddie’s words. Instead, she just stared at Eddie with a bewildered expression.

Only then did Eddie realize he wasn’t in Lee Jeong-hoon’s form but in Eddie’s, and he stopped dead in his tracks.

From his Mother’s perspective, it must have looked like a complete stranger, a man who appeared to be a foreigner, suddenly running towards her, calling her Mother.

What should I say? What should I do? Instinctively realizing time was short, Eddie bit his lip, a wave of anxiety rising to his throat.

“Jeong-hoon?”

Eddie, who had been looking down, suddenly lifted his head.

Seeing Eddie, who snapped his head up at her call, she, who had been looking at Eddie with a tear-streaked face, stood up as if she hadn’t been slumped there weakly moments before and ran to Eddie in a flash.

“Jeong-hoon!”

She finally embraced her son.

Eddie, unsure what to do with the small body that didn’t even reach his chest, instinctively held her close.

He was usually quite affectionate, but he hadn’t been able to visit home often due to being busy. It had been a while since he had held his Mother.

She cried out sobs, patting Eddie’s back incessantly.

“You rascal, where did you go? You don’t know how much Mom had looked for you, where did you go…”

He heard a scolding he hadn’t heard since he was very young. Was it when he let go of his Mother’s hand and got lost in the market? Back then, too, his Mother had scolded him like this, crying. He had left of his own will, and it wasn’t his fault, but then and now, the emotion within that scolding was purely relief.

It was the joy of a mother who had finally, futilely, found her lost child.

“…Mom.”

“Yes, yes, son.”

At Eddie’s voice, strained as he forced it out, she responded aloud to the address of “Mom” that he thought he would never be able to utter again.

“Mom.”

Eddie called out “Mom” several times. He knew, and she knew, that he wasn’t calling for any particular reason.

“Did you eat well? Weren’t you scared? Weren’t you cold?”

She continuously scanned his body, pouring out words of worry. Even though she knew he was a completely different person, regardless of whether his height or weight had changed much from Lee Jeong-hoon’s time, she couldn’t hide her worried eyes, checking if there were any negative changes in the body of her son as she knew him.

She didn’t pay attention to the state of her son’s face, which was completely different from the face she remembered, and kept tenderly stroking the face of her son, who, like her, was shedding tears.

“It’s okay, you’re back, so it’s okay. Come with Mom now. Okay?”

Saying that, she grabbed Eddie’s arm and pulled him. It was the direction Eddie had been heading, and likely the direction she had walked from.

But Eddie knew that wasn’t possible.

“Jeong-hoon?”

As Eddie stopped, unmoving, she anxiously tugged at his arm. As if asking why he wasn’t moving, why he wasn’t coming this way.

But Eddie couldn’t move. He shouldn’t, and he couldn’t.

“Mom.”

When Eddie called out in a deep voice, she seemed to sense something ominous from his gaze and shook her head.

“No, don’t do that. Come with Mom, okay? Father is here, your brother is here, everyone is waiting for you…”

“Mom, you know.”

Eddie barely parted his lips, which felt heavy, and said.

“I can’t go with you.”

She stopped pulling Eddie’s arm. But then, as if she hadn’t heard those words, she pulled his arm again.

“What kind of joke are you playing? Let’s go already.”

“Mom.”

“Why can’t you go? You’re right here!”

She strained, trying to pull Eddie towards her. However, she couldn’t overpower her grown son, who had long since become much taller than her. Even if this place wasn’t real.

Eddie bit his lip tightly, watching his Mother try to pull him into her embrace.

There was no time. Even this kind of struggle was a waste of time.

“Mom, I love you.”

So Eddie, feeling embarrassed, said words he hadn’t often said even when he was Lee Jeong-hoon.

Hearing those words, tears fell from her eyes. She was gradually realizing it too. That her son’s words about not being able to go back together were not a joke.

But she couldn’t accept it easily. How could she let go of her son, whom she had found again, whom she had grieved for so painfully after losing him?

She couldn’t.

“Or, or should Mom go there? Huh?”

“Mom.”

“Should I go to where you are? Should Mom go?”

“Mom…”

Mom, I’m sorry.

That was all Eddie could say. Meeting like this was already a miracle, and such a thing was impossible. Neither Eddie going nor his Mother coming was possible.

That was not allowed. Even if it were, it should be stopped.

In the end, she wailed for a long time, holding onto Eddie.

She knew. She couldn’t not know. This was the first and last chance. No matter what magical event had occurred, the two would never be able to meet again after this.

Truly, truly the end.

What should I say to Mom? Even hugging and sharing each other’s warmth wouldn’t be enough time, but unfortunately, the time they had was short.

The light pouring from the sky was gradually dimming.

“Mom, this might sound strange… but I’m doing well in another world.”

Eddie decided to tell her the truth. He wasn’t very good with words, so he just honestly told her that he wasn’t sick, wasn’t suffering, and was simply happy.

“There’s someone here who looks just like my brother.”

Ah, this might sound a bit odd. It was too complicated a matter to explain, so Eddie skipped that part.

“I found someone I love here. I received a proposal yesterday, too.”

Eddie showed the ring on his finger. He showed it playfully, but she just stared blankly at the ring on Eddie’s hand, unable to smile.

“I am loved a lot, and I love them.”

“……”

“I plan to live happily with that person forever.”

Eddie wasn’t just saying this as a promise because his Mother was there; he wanted to live happily with Ketron forever. Without either of them suffering anymore, happily. Doing what they wanted to do.

“Mom, I went on a trip.”

“……”

“It’s just that it’s so far away, it’s hard to see.”

It wasn’t entirely untrue. He had simply gone on a very long trip. Even if he couldn’t be reached, even if they were far apart, he just wanted her to believe that he was living happily somewhere, not dead and gone.

“I went on a bit of a long trip. I’m sorry.”

In the end, Eddie’s words concluded with an apology. Sorry, sorry for leaving like that.

But she had no intention of accepting her son’s apology.

“…What did you do wrong.”

It was a terrible accident. Her son had done nothing wrong.

“You did nothing wrong, okay?”

He was always kind, too kind, which was the problem. Was the reason he went on that trip his fault? That wicked person was the problem.

That wicked person had received their just deserts. The method was too cruel, the crime committed against a stranger in broad daylight, and the case was blown up by all sorts of famous investigative programs.

As a result, the trial concluded quickly. The wicked person didn’t even appeal, so the sentence was immediately finalized.

Life imprisonment. How much the family cried on the day the sentence was confirmed.

However, at this moment, instead of conveying that fact, she chose to say goodbye.

“You must live well, son.”

The moment of parting was rapidly approaching. Though the ticking timer was invisible, she couldn’t ignore it. Tears were a luxury at this moment.

She had to imprint the image of her beloved as much as possible while she could see it.

Don’t go, Jeong-hoon. Come with Mom.

The words that rose to her throat were forcibly swallowed. Lest her son worry.

She couldn’t let her last meeting with her son be filled with worry.

The light grew fainter and fainter.