Chapter 120.1
Absolute Advantage
âh-hm?â
adamâs words shut the childâs mouth. and she looked puzzled.
âiâm not curious about your name at all. donât even try to know my name.â
adam drew the line quickly.
âwell⦠how do i say it?â
âyou donât have to say it.â
itâs not like weâre seeing each other twice anyway.
adam had no intention of giving his name. the same was true of the opposition. if she even knows his name, she will definitely get into trouble.
adam stared at a child much smaller than him.
the child was really small. the only thing big was her eyes. maybe sheâs younger than him.
âsheâs a total kid.â
adam snorted at a girl who couldnât buy food alone.
in the eyes of adults, they would have looked like any other children. there was no adult in the slum who would look at children with such warm eyes.
the poor, who had nothing, were wary of strangers so that they wouldnât lose even their only life.
âsheâs wary, too.â
the next day, adamâ¦
the next day, he visited the child.
and every time, the child waited for her father firmly.
the man who could hardly be called a parent.
nevertheless, when she sees her owner just because he gave birth and raised her, he canât believe sheâs waiting endlessly like a stupid dog wagging its tail.
maybe thatâs why it bothered him more. looks like it overlaps his past where she wanted marie to come to her senses.
a being who pursues an impossible dream evokes affection in the viewer.
âwhen are you going to give up?â
âgive up on what?â
âwaiting for him.â
âoh, you mean my dad? dadâll be back in a minute. he said it would take a little longer this time!â
heâs glad he didnât find her body here. adam didnât bother to say this thought.
however, the child seemed to know what was going on in adamâs head. and mumbled an excuse in a disheartened voice.
âmy dad is an omega, but he says itâs hard to live in korea. thatâs why iâm here. itâs much better hereâ¦â¦.â
adam snorted at the thought of the childâs father.
âand for you?â
âme? iâ¦.â
âitâs terrible to stay here. isnât it?â
asked adam, laughing like a devil.
he wanted to bully the child. rather, it was in the hope that she to acknowledge the reality. if he admitted it, he would have been harsh.
âitâs better for me to have a hard time than for my dad.â
however, the childâs mouth unexpectedly gave an adult answer.
âi canât live without my dad.â
but the subsequent weak sound scratched adamâs nerves.
i canât live alone.
âall you can do is wait stupidly because you say such weak things. that manâ¦!â
the sentence that the man was trying to sell her came to the top of his throat.
âthat manâ¦.â
but he couldnât say it out loud.
he knew better than anyone else what it felt like to be abandoned by oneâs own parents. and the child in front of him didnât even look strong enough to handle the fact.
she looks small and fragile like a broken butterfly when touched.
ânever mind. wait like a fool.â
adam turned his head.
then the child held on adamâs fingertips. adam listened to the childâs voice, feeling the warmth spreading through his fingertips.
âdad will definitely come back. you come to see me every day, too.â
i canât believe it.â¦.
adam was somehow drained by the naive answer. adam shook off the childâs hand.
âit has nothing to do with me coming.â
âis that so?â
the child grinned as she continued her words.
âbut itâs similar.â
â?â
âmy father and you are a precious family to me.â
they donât even know each otherâs names.
how did they get involved like this?
he felt like an invisible rope was tied to the child and himself. maybe thatâs why he keeps coming back to her. like a magnet.
âwhat do you mean?â
âin korea, people who eat together are called family. family. weâre the same as family.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âso weâre a family, too.â
the child clenched his tender fists. it was funny, but adam said nothing.
âgo back to korea!â
âyes! go back to your country!â
the next day, orphans in the slum surrounded the child and pointed their fingers.
adam grabbed the orphan by the collar and threw him away. and warned the other orphans in a ferocious voice.