“My son, the truth is, I am a god from another universe.”
On his twentieth birthday, his father said this with utmost seriousness.
Ha Suyoung reacted with indifference.
“Really? What brings you to this humble Earth?”
“I was just taking a stroll. No special reason. Do you need a reason to dip your feet in a stream you come across while collecting insects in the hills?”
“Oh, so you were just passing by and decided to dip your feet for a moment?”
“Exactly, and that stream is you.”
“Yeah, yeah. In the time it took to dip your feet, the child you picked up on the street has turned twenty. Time sure flies, doesn’t it?”
“Picked up on the street, you say. Even though I’m your adoptive father, I’ve raised you with as much love as if you were my own son.”
“Does someone who raised me with love tell me on my tenth birthday, ‘Actually, I picked you up on the street. I’m not your real father, and someday we’ll have to part’? Any other kid would have cried a lot back then.”
“I had no choice. My time here was limited, and I had to prepare you for the harsh world. I thought it was best to tell you the truth about your birth early and help you stand on your own.”
“So, what’s the secret of my birth? I’m a bit curious now.”
“Your lineage isn’t that impressive. Your real father isn’t a chaebol, and your mother isn’t a stunning actress. They just live ordinary lives.”
“Is that all there is to the secret of my birth?”
“Still, being adopted by a god who rules the universe is quite a birth secret, isn’t it?”
“A god who rules the universe? You?”
“Of course. Ah, if you want, I can arrange for you to meet your biological parents. But you don’t want that, do you?”
Ha Suyoung found no fun in humoring him anymore.
This wasn’t the first time his father had said such things.
Though usually diligent and serious, his father occasionally spouted nonsense like today.
Isn’t the story about picking me up on the street a lie too? Maybe I’m his real son, and he’s just joking…
His father was certainly capable of such things.
In truth, his father was a remarkable person.
If only he didn’t have the habit of telling completely absurd stories as if they were true.
Handsome, young, knowledgeable, and diligent.
He had a decent amount of money and quite a bit of land, even if it was farmland.
It was common for unmarried female teachers to dote on him to earn his favor.
If only he didn’t occasionally say bizarre things as if possessed, he would be a perfect father.
“It’s a shame. I don’t have much time left. I must leave Earth now.”
“If I were a ‘pretty daughter’ with fair skin and a slender figure, would things be different?”
“Even then, I would have stayed only about a month longer. This is, um… let’s say, my business. Business, you understand?”
“Leave a generous inheritance before you go.”
“Huh, I thought you’d cling to me crying, and I was worried I’d get soft-hearted…”
“Are you disappointed?”
“No, I’m proud. I’ve raised you to be so strong. Now I can leave with peace of mind.”
Suddenly, Ha Suyoung felt a strange sensation.
His father’s nonsense was unusually long today.
And his expression was subtly different from usual.
For a moment, he felt an unsettling fear that his father might really disappear somewhere.
“I’ve planted an inheritance for you in the backyard. With it, your life will change dramatically.”
“Am I finally going to become a building owner in Cheongdam-dong?”[1]
“It’s something a bit better than that. That’s my standard, but it might be different for you.”
“Considering you’re someone who equates the value of a 30 billion won building in Cheongdam-dong with the sun, I guess so.”
“Anyway, I’ve planted it well in the backyard, so make good use of it after I leave.”
His father added with a smile,
“I hope we can meet again.”
“…Are you really leaving?”
“Of course, is there such a thing as leaving for fake?”
At first, he thought it was a joke.
But when he woke up the next day, his father was nowhere to be seen.
Not only that, but all traces of him were gone.
Clothes, shoes, dishes, furniture, even limited edition DLC titles—everything.
On the dining table, there was only a single sheet of A4 paper.
[I took all my belongings on purpose. If I left them, you might hold onto false hope that I’m just on a short trip. The inheritance I planted yesterday has grown well.]
For a moment, he was stunned.
Had his father really left?
He often talks nonsense, but he never acts on it.
Though he often told jokes, he never acted on them.
He wasn’t the type to pack up everything overnight and disappear, leaving everyone shocked.
It was strange.
He didn’t feel like crying.
He wasn’t sad.
It felt as if his heart was empty.
Was he really that cold-hearted?
Or had he been preparing himself for the possibility that his father’s nonsense might actually come true someday?
He staggered a bit as he got up.
What on earth was the inheritance his father had planted?
He had to check that at least.
Ha Suyoung stepped into the backyard and stopped in his tracks.
“My goodness.”
In the backyard, where there should have been only a flat lawn, stood a massive tree he had never seen before.
He had never heard of a tree growing so large overnight.
Could it be possible to transplant such a large tree overnight?
“Father, were you really a god?”
[1] Cheongdam-dong has the most expensive land prices in all of S. Korea.
