Moon's Labyrinths

“Wake up, Shinhae . We have to go home . ”

Sungyoon shook Shinhae’s body . However, Shinhae just groaned, and she didn’t show any signs of opening her eyes . Shinhae slapped his arm when he continued to shake her . Sungyoon got a strong sense that she hadn’t wanted to get up . She made her displeasure known . Sungyoon shook his head from side to side to show that it couldn’t be helped . He took Shinhae into his arms . Shinhae looked like a baby koala stuck to its mother .

He picked up his luggage with Shinhae clinging to him . He moved towards the driver seat . The driver seat window was all the way open, and he could see Jimin .

“Thank you, president . ”

“It is nothing . ”

Jimin spoke through the open window .

“You should get good rest for a week or so . You should go out with Shinhae too . I’ll contact you after that . ”

“Understood . ”

After Sungyoon gave a short reply, Jimin tried to close the window . Her business was done here . However, a voice stopped Jimin from saying her farewell .

“Where are you going, unni?”

Shinhae, who had her head buried in Sungyoon’s chest, slightly turned her head to speak . She was still half-asleep . Her eyes were half closed, and she sounded sleepy . However, it was clear that she was looking towards Jimin .

“Unni has to go home now . ”

Jimin spoke softly as she answered Shinhae’s question .

“You should sleep over . ”

Shinhae extended a hand towards Jimin, but Jimin just shook her head from side to side . She thought it would be for the best if the father and daughter spent their time together alone .

“I’ll sleep over next time . Ok?”

“Heeng!”

Shinhae looked like she was about to cry . Jimin unbuckled her seatbelt as she leaned out the window . She brushed Shinhae’s hair .

“Let’s do that next time . Unni will play with you . ”

“It’s a promise . ”

It was unknown as to where she had learned this, but Shinhae extended her pinky out towards her . Jimin laughed if she had no choice . She extended her hand to make a pinky promise .

“Yes, I promise . ”

Shinhae’s small pinky intertwined with Jimin’s slim pinky . They used their thumbs to seal the deal . Afterwards, Jimin settled back into the car .

“Let’s sleep together next time, unni! Promise!”

Shinhae yelled out as the car window went up . Jimin let out a big laughter as she nodded her head .

Shinhae’s whining could be viewed as a bit annoying . However, Jimin didn’t feel that way at all . In fact, her mood improved .

‘She still wants me to come back to her house . ’

She had become very close to Shinhae in the past couple days . However, she was merely a stand in for Sugyoon, who had gone to the moon for work . It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that she was obsolete now that he was back . However, Shinhae had complained when Jimin had tried to leave . That meant she had a place in Shinhae’s heart irregardless of Sungyoon being present or not . It was definite proof .

Sungyoon held Shinhae in his arms, and Shinhae kept waving towards Jimin . Jimin gave a final goodbye before she drove home .

It wasn’t rush hour, so she was able to get home quickly . She parked the car in the garage, and she went into her home .

Click!

She turned on the light to the house . She had occasionally visited this place, but for the past two weeks, she had basically lived in Sungyoon’s house . This was why her house looked a bit foreign to her . Her house was clean, and nothing was out of place . Still, she had left this place unattended for the past couple days, so a small layer of dust had accumulated on the floor .

‘I’ll eat first and clean later . ’

Fortunately, she had washed her clothes when she washed Shinhae’s clothes . She didn’t have any unwashed laundry .

Her steps were heavy as she walked towards the refrigerator . When she opened the door, she found the refrigerator nearly empty . She only had a couple bottles of water, eggs and kimchi . She had some frozen food, but most of the refrigerator was occupied by cold air . Jimin closed the refrigerator .

‘I’ll order some food . ’

After ordering some food on her phone, she sat on the large sofa . She turned on the tv, and a very generic drama appeared on screen . She didn’t pay much attention to what was on as she flipped through the channels . She clicked past movies, variety shows, and news . However, none of the programs held her interest . In the end, she had to settle on watching a movie channel . It was the least boring thing on . Her bored eyes were fixed on the tv .

She didn’t plan on turning off her tv . Jimin’s house was large and luxurious . However, it was quiet . The large size of the house amplified the silence .

‘When I was with Shinhae, it wasn’t quiet like this’

Shinhae was always bright and energetic . When she talked about her day in kindergarten, she spoke like a proud hero, who had come back from an adventure . However, this wasn’t Sungyoon’s house . She was at her own house . Shinhae wasn’t here .

Sungyoon’s house had been small and a bit run down . However, it was full of laughter and sound . Her large house felt empty .

* * *

Shinhae’s eyes shot open . She kicked her blanket off, and she got to her feet . She was still sleepy, so her eyelids felt heavy . However, she paid no attention to it .

“Wake up, Shinhae!”

It was, because she had heard her father’s voice from outside her room .

“I’m awake!”

She jumped down from her bed and ran to the kitchen . She hadn’t been able to see her father for a long time, and it was only a few days ago that she had finally been able to reunite with him . Shinhae ran up towards him as if he was going to run away somewhere . She stood next to his leg, and she took a firm grip of his pant leg .

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes!”

“Wait a bit . We’ll eat . ”

Sungyoon took out the side dishes from the refrigerator, and he placed them on the dining table . He had made rice in the morning, so he scooped up a heaping bowl of steaming rice . Shinhae was already sitting atop the dining chair . She swung her leg as she sang, ‘Rice~♬ Rice~♬’ .

When the table was set, Sungyoon sat in front of the dining table .

“Let’s eat . ”

“Yes!”

Shinhae scooped up a lot of rice on her spoon and placed a piece of the side dish on top of the rice . She opened up her mouth wide as she put the food into her mouth .

Sungyoon had a warm expression on his face as he watched her eat . He had gone through many hardships within the labyrinth, yet all his stress from it melted away from watching Shinhae right now . Shinhae’s cheeks were stuffed like a chipmunk as she chewed her food .

“Here . You should eat this too . ”

For breakfast, he had reheated one of the side dishes containing meat . He placed the piece of meat in her rice bowl . Shinhae scooped up the rice alongside the meat .

“Nyam!”

The food once again disappeared into the child’s mouth . Sungyoon placed another meat on top of Shinhae’s rice . Her mouth was full, yet Shinhae spoke .

“It is bad to be picky! I have to eat vegetables with the meat!”

“Is that true?”

“Yes . It is true!”

Shinhae moved the meat to the side of her bowl . This time he placed spinach on top of her rice .

“Ah!”

She made an odd exclamation as if she realized something .

“What?”

“Teacher said I shouldn’t talk with my mouth full . ”

Shinhae quickly put food in her mouth, and she placed both hands over her mouth . While she held that pose, she continued to chew her food . She was so cute that Sungyoon broke out in laughter .

* * *

When Sungyoon left for the moon, Shinhae had to go out by herself to the bus stop . Her shoulders had always been slumped . There was a constant shadow present on her face . When Jimin started to take Shinhae to the bus station every morning, she didn’t hunch in on herself . The shadow present on her face went away . Currently, she was going to the bus stop with her father in hand . It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she was walking tall and proud .

She continued to be that way even as she waited for the bus . Her disposition didn’t change when the teacher took her into the bus . She didn’t retract into herself as she waved her hand through the window . Of course, he matched her gesture . He waved back .

After a short amount of time, the bus left . Shinhae, who had been looking out through the window, was gone too .

‘Should I head back?’

Sungyoon had been a doting dad a moment ago, but his face turned blank . In some ways, his expression could be described as being cold . The ajummas around him kept glancing at Sungyoon’s face .

Sungyoon returned home . He had been in a hurry to send Shinhae off, so he had put off doing the daily chores . He washed the dishes, then he cleaned the house . While he was at it, he did the laundry . Afterwards, he drank a cup of coffee . He looked blankly into the empty air as he sat in a chair .

‘It is peaceful . ’

If he was on the moon, he would already be in his full armor . He would be moving through the labyrinth on full alert . Currently, he was slumped in his chair . He was slumped so far that it almost looked like he was lying on the chair .

‘It is comfortable . ’

He took a sip of coffee . It was as if the fragrant smell of the coffee erased the smell of blood, which he had constantly smelled within the labyrinth . He only received 1 . 5L of water everyday on the moon, and he was now able to use water to his heart’s content . Instead of the tasteless vitamin packs and the cold food brought to him by Chelsea, he was able to eat hot and tasty food . When night came, he didn’t have to go into the small capsule where he didn’t even have a blanket . He was able to sleep on a soft and fluffy bed .

Earth was the home of humanity . It was the cradle of mankind . He had returned from a barren land called the moon . He had suffered there and earth had welcomed him back with a very warm embrace . If he compared it to the hardships faced within the labyrinth, it wasn’t too much of an exaggeration to say that he was in heaven right now .

Was this the fate of a Connector? Sungyoon gripped his chest .

‘I want to go to the moon . ’

It was really faint, but that thought started to appear within his head .

* * *

It was as if Sungyoon was given a reward for going to the moon for two week . He was able to rest properly in his home . He only went outside to shop for groceries or for a walk . His trips only lasted an hour . He also gave the housekeeper a break . The ajumma had cleaned the house when Sungyoon was on the moon, and she had made food for Shinhae .

However, Sungyoon wasn’t bored at all . He continued to play with Shinhae inside the house, so he didn’t have the chance to be bored .

It happened when he was one week into his break . Finally, Jimin contacted him . It meant the one week vacation, which wasn’t technically a vacation, had come to an end .

On the next day, Sungyoon headed towards the company . He was contracted under this company, but it didn’t feel that way . It was to be expected . He rarely visited the company’s office . He had spent most of his time killing monsters on the moon .

Of course, he used public transportation to get around . He was in debt . Car was a luxury for him .

He was still not familiar with the location of the office, so he took some wrong turns in getting to his destination . When he arrived in front of the familiar door of the company, he carefully opened it .

“Excuse me . ”

There was no answer . Jimin was probably in her office again, so Sungyoon was about to enter into the company building .

“Get out of here right now!”

He heard a loud noise from the office . Sungyoon was a bit surprised as he turned his gaze towards the office .

‘That’s the president’s voice . ’

From what he knew about Hahn Jimin, she was a cold woman . She rarely revealed her inner thoughts and emotions . However, Jimin was expressing her emotions right now . She was expressing negative emotions . It was surprising .

‘I don’t think she was talking to me . ’

The shout had emanated as soon as he entered the building, so he was a bit suspicious . Maybe, it was directed at him . However, he soon realized that he was under a misunderstanding . He heard another voice speak .

“How dare you talk to me like that! Who taught you manners!”

It was a sharp voice filled with hysteria . When he heard the voice, he immediately frowned . The voice was so sharp that it hurt his eardrums . It wasn’t a pleasant voice . However, there was a fundamental problem beyond the shrillness of the voice .

He had heard this voice for the first time, but for some reason, it sounded familiar . The voice reminded him of his ex-wife Lee Miyun, who had terribly betrayed Shinhae and Sungyoon .