The Story of Becoming a Married Man in Another World

019 A Child’s First Hero is Always Their Father

Lizzie’s eyes widened.

Her husband came running, and the man holding her fell, bleeding. It happened in the blink of an eye. The man fell like an autumn leaf in the wind.

She was surprised. Not scared, just surprised.

She had never seen anyone lift such a large man so easily. She had never seen anyone like that.

It was the first time she saw a person fly through the air. It wasn’t a hard throw. He just swung his arm lightly like throwing a piece of wood, and the man flew away.

When Juhwan swung his fist, it looked like the person he hit would sink into the ground. A person’s face flattened, and there was no time to close their gaping mouth. It felt like watching a dream, not reality.

She thought that the gentle-looking man who didn’t seem to know how to get angry could be so terrifyingly furious. If she had to say what was scarier, it was much scarier when the men were dragging her away earlier. She was just surprised when Juhwan hit the men.

There was only one moment when she was scared of Juhwan. When he turned to look at her, just before their eyes met, after he had beaten and thrown the men, she was a little afraid that she might be next.

The face of her dead husband had already faded. She had seen it for barely an hour, and that too while being beaten, so she could hardly remember it now.

Dorothy might resemble him a little. But even when she looked closely at the child’s face, her husband’s face didn’t come to mind at all. Dorothy probably looked like her biological mother. It seemed that way.

—

—

But the memory of being hit was vivid. The fists and feet that battered her face and body, the memory of that time overlapped with the current situation, and for a very brief moment, her body froze. Yes, just that one moment when Juhwan turned around was a little scary.

But she knew by looking into Juhwan’s eyes. This person is different. He is completely different from the husband who used to hit her, and the men from the village who tried to drag her away. His eyes are different, his face is different, and the way he touches her is different.

‘This person is protecting me….’

That was the first thought that came to her when she looked into Juhwan’s eyes. So, there was no reason to be afraid.

But she realized that Juhwan thought differently. It wasn’t a theory about what and how things were, she just knew. This person thinks that she is afraid of him. But that couldn’t be.

The eyes of her husband, who used to beat up rough men without hesitation, shrank when he looked at Lizzy. What could be so scary about the reaction of a worthless wife like herself? Yet, Juhwan’s large body shrank because of her. She couldn’t see it, but she knew it.

Hey, my dear. Don’t make that hurt look. I’m not afraid of you at all.

It would be easy to say, but language doesn’t work.

Lizzy tried to approach Juhwan, but her feet wouldn’t move. Realizing it, her whole body was trembling.

It’s strange. All the scary things are over, and there’s nothing to be afraid of, so why am I trembling like this? Maybe that’s why Juhwan thinks I’m afraid of him.

When she thought that, she was startled. That’s not it, actually, she was relieved that her husband ran like the wind to save her, but that wasn’t being conveyed to him at all.

Lizzy raised her trembling arm and reached out to her husband.

“Juhwan!”

When she called, Juhwan seemed a little surprised and hesitated as he approached. Her husband, who came right in front of her, hesitated and took her hand. Very lightly, carefully. As if touching a snowflake that would melt if touched.

Lizzy held Juhwan’s hand tightly. Her husband’s large hand was so big that it could still hold her small hand with room to spare. This large hand protected her. As his warmth was transmitted, her heart and body felt reassured. She felt wrapped in warm air.

Ah, if I’m by this person’s side, I’m safe. No one can hit me.

The tears that had stopped for a moment suddenly poured out. Juhwan, who was holding her hand, fumbled and looked around.

“Thank you.”

She said, bowing her head and placing her lips on Juhwan’s hand. Her heart overflowed. She was so glad to have met this person. She was so lucky that this person was her husband. Like a spring welling up from deep within, Lizzy’s heart kept flowing to this man through her hands.

It seemed he was surprised because she was crying. Suddenly, Juhwan’s body stiffened. He stood still as if he were rigid, then gently pulled his hand away and hugged Lizzy. Her husband patted her back.

“Lizzy, thank you.”

The words he had learned in a short time came out softly from Juhwan’s mouth. What could he be thankful for, she was the one who was grateful.

Thinking that, Lizzy let out a small breath. She suddenly came to her senses. She had momentarily forgotten Dorothy. The child must have been very scared.

When she lifted her head and looked towards the house, she saw Dorothy’s face peeking out from the window. The small child’s face showed only her eyes. Her large eyes were filled with tears and fear.

Lizzy gently pulled herself out of Juhwan’s arms. When she pointed at Dorothy with her finger, Juhwan quickly understood and nodded. Her husband looked at Dorothy with a slightly worried expression.

Lizzy hurried into the house. Dorothy, who was standing by the window, turned her head to look at Lizzy. Her eyes were red from crying too much.

When she looked down at the unmoving child’s behavior, she saw a small puddle on the floor. It seemed she had urinated out of fear.

*

It was definitely Dorothy who had called for help in her heart, but when Juhwan actually came, she was scared. Every time Juhwan’s large fists moved back and forth, the faces of people in front of Dorothy turned red with blood.

The swollen face of her stepmother came to mind. By the time she died, her face had become so strange that it was unrecognizable from how it originally looked.

—

—

Lizzie’s face was like that too. Now it has become pretty, but on the first day she came home and was beaten by her father, it looked similar to my dead stepmother. It was red, blue, and yellow.

I was so scared thinking that my face might become like that someday that I wet myself. My clothes were wet, sticky, cold, and scary.

The sound of crying also disappeared. If you cry, you get beaten more. The terrifying roar of my father, the screams of my stepmother, and Lizzie’s voice crying silently all echoed in my head.

You must not cry. If you make a sound, you get beaten. Still, at some point, I couldn’t hold back my crying, but I thought I must not make a sound.

When Lizzie saw me and came into the house, I felt a little relieved. Lizzie doesn’t hit. Earlier, she looked at me like I was a nobody, like my stepmother, but she looked at me again. I became somebody again.

Dorothy quickly opened her mouth.

“Lizzie, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for hiding. I’m sorry for not helping. Don’t pretend you don’t know me. I’m sorry.”

You have to say sorry quickly. You have to say it when Lizzie looks at you. Before you become a nobody again, quickly, quickly say it.

“Oh my God!”

Lizzie’s eyes widened and she ran over. Dorothy was sticky and dirty because of the urine, but Lizzie knelt on the floor and hugged her tightly. Lizzie, there’s urine on the floor, your clothes are getting wet. I tried to say that, but Lizzie spoke first.

“Dorothy, what are you talking about? When our eyes met earlier, I pretended not to know you because I was afraid the men would find you. There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. Not at all.”

Lizzie hugged Dorothy tighter and cried like a child. She’s an adult, but she cried like a child. It felt a little strange.

“I’m sorry, Dorothy. You were scared, right? But it’s okay now. Daddy’s here.”

“…?”

Lizzie said something strange. Daddy?

“Daddy is dead.”

When Dorothy said that, Lizzie pulled back a little and looked at her face. Lizzie’s face was dirty with tears. She’s an adult, but she looked dirtier than Dorothy.

“Dorothy, don’t you know who Joo-hwan is?”

“Joo-hwan.”

Joo-hwan is Joo-hwan. And Lizzie’s husband. I know. Lizzie smiled shyly with a face like dirty water.

“Joo-hwan is my husband. So he becomes your daddy.”

“What?”

“Yes?”

“Daddy?”

Lizzie made a strange face. But Dorothy felt stranger. How does Lizzie’s husband become Dorothy’s daddy?

Lizzie tilted her head, frowned, and tilted her head again.

“I’m Dorothy’s stepmother, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then Dorothy is my daughter.”

“What?”

—

—

“Really? Dorothy is Lizzy’s daughter? Dorothy was the stepmother’s daughter?” Lizzy spoke as if surprised when Dorothy’s eyes widened.

“Dorothy, did you really not know until now?”

“Huh? Huh?”

No one told her. She knew she had a stepmother, but no one told her that the stepmother was her mother. She had never seen her real mother, who had already passed away, so she thought she didn’t have a mother. She never knew that the stepmother was her mother.

Lizzy’s words buzzed around in her head. And suddenly, she snapped to attention.

“That’s impossible!”

She shouted without realizing it.

Lizzy smiled slightly.

“Dorothy, since you’re my daughter, if I get a husband, that person becomes your father.”

“Father?”

So, Dorothy has two fathers? Dorothy was startled and looked at Joo-hwan standing outside the window. Joo-hwan is her father? How could that be?

Dorothy looked back and forth between Joo-hwan and Lizzy’s faces and shouted again without realizing it.

“Father?”

Lizzy nodded.

“Joo-hwan is different from the dead father we had before. He will never hit us. He is someone who protects us.”

Suddenly, she remembered the scene of Lizzy being dragged away by men. Both Lizzy and Dorothy were crying. When Dorothy prayed for help in her heart, suddenly, Joo-hwan appeared. The scary men fell to the ground, collapsing like wolves.

Was it because Joo-hwan was Dorothy’s father? Because Dorothy was his daughter and asked for help?

Her mind was busy. Father, father, father… The word “father” spun around in her head. He was completely different from her previous father. Joo-hwan had never hit Dorothy.

“Father!”

Dorothy shouted, looking at Lizzy’s face, then looked out the window. Beyond the wooden window, she saw the large figure of Joo-hwan. His face, body, hands, and feet were all big. That big person was Dorothy’s father. He was incredibly strong but a father. He was someone who protected Dorothy and Lizzy. He swung his fists at the bad men and sent them flying.

Dorothy broke away from Lizzy and started running.

Dorothy now had an incredibly strong father. He didn’t hit her. He smiled at her. At night, he hugged her tightly and slept with her, gave her meat, and even gave her a name. The person who gave her a name was her father. How wonderful is that?

Step, step, her urine-soaked feet felt heavy. Her clothes were damp, and drops of urine splashed with every step. But she couldn’t stay still. Dorothy ran out of the house and towards Joo-hwan.

“Father!”

She shouted loudly, and Joo-hwan blinked and looked at Dorothy.

“Father!”

Dorothy ran towards Joo-hwan with all her might. Now, no one could hit them. No one could take their things or drag Lizzy away. Because they had a father. An incredibly strong father who protected them. Dorothy now had a father.

—

Women were still manageable because they could communicate. Somehow, they would understand that he wasn’t a bad person, and sometimes, they even liked him.

But children were different. Dorothy was unique. She had never met a child who smiled and clung to her like that after such a short time.

—

Still, I thought it was no longer possible. Because I showed something scary. Showing a child the sight of a person’s facial bones breaking and arms being broken is not something to show. Having seen that, I thought Dorothy would naturally be afraid of me now…

The face of the child running towards me shines like the bright sun. It was as if the bright face was lying about crying just a moment ago. The eyes sparkled, shining like stars.

“##!”

The child keeps shouting a word I don’t know yet. But even without learning what it means, I could understand. Probably, it’s “Daddy,” that’s what the child is shouting.

I don’t know what Lizzie said or did to make the frightened Dorothy suddenly change, but it was allowed for this child.

Juhwan lifted the running child up high. Dorothy wrapped her short arms around Juhwan’s thick neck. Like a child who learned to speak for the first time, Dorothy kept shouting “Daddy.” Sparkling, it looked like stardust was bursting out from the child and spreading everywhere.

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