"He doesn't resemble me. You can't call him my child since he doesn't have my hair or eyes."
"Who knows, maybe it's from his mother. You should realize that a woman's gene is significantly superior. We've all been a lady at some point in our lives."
"Please don't say that, old man. He's not my child, and I don't have a wife!"
"Big brother, can he then be my playmate?"
"Of course, go ahead; it's not my concern."
"Sweetie, why don't you go over there and play with the staff while mommy and daddy chat with your big brother?"
"But I want to stay here with big brother!"
I sighed my palm on my brow due to the severe headache I experienced as soon as I entered the room. A 10-year-old boy, yet having the appearance of a 5-year-old, sat still in his chair staring blankly at the wall in another room with a wide-open glass pane to view inside. He appeared to have been malnourished and mistreated; the scar on his face and purple bruises are apparent indicators of child abuse. I don't even know who this youngster was or where he came from, but his presence made me look horrible in my parents' eyes.
"Hong In-Ho," "Don't." I cut Pyeon Mi-Young's word off. I know it isn't polite, and I understand her feelings, but I don't have a child, and I needed them to understand me.
"Please allow me to speak to the boy." The headaches were becoming worse as I shook my head.
Despite my parents' worries, they nodded, and I entered the room. The boy turned to face me; his eyes pit black and lifeless, a shell devoid of spirit. I've seen these kinds of eyes before in my previous life. The eyes that had lost all hope in the world and were waiting for death to take them. It's heartbreaking to see such eyes in such a little child.
I sat in front of the child. The more I stare at him, the emptier I feel inside because he reminds me of who I was before I became Emperor. A helpless and vulnerable kid with no hope in the world. I've never understood parents who can produce a child, mistreat them, and then abandon them in the wilderness. It always irritates me. No innocent child should be ruined.
"What brought you here? I can save you if you tell me." I informed him. He kept staring at me with his lifeless eyes. Uncomfortable feelings simmered in my gut, and I had no idea why.
"I've seen the future." The young boy said in a gentle but lifeless voice.
"Foresight?"
"No."
"How do you predict the future then?"
"I've been there before, and it's not time travel."
"Rebirth."
This kid, like me, was reborn into a new existence. Did I do something in the future to entice this youngster to come looking for me, given that no one knew about my rebirth?
"You've got many questions, but I can only answer a few of them." He reached into his pocket and placed something on the table.
It was the first present I had given to my wife when I initially fell in love with her, a lovely golden butterfly hairpin that I know all too well not to know. I took it and scrutinized it, and it indeed was the one hairpin I had given her since it had her name inscribed to my beloved, Sun Sook.
"What occurred in the future?" Without taking my gaze away from the hairpin and softly touching it, I questioned.
"This planet will perish. Humanity's demise."
"Did you return after death, or did Sook save you?"
"She rescued me, gave me the hairpin, and instructed me to search for you." He explained, and I looked up to him. I'm not sure why Sook did such a thing. My wife has always been compassionate, but to her, life is like a story with a beginning and an end that you can't change no matter how hard you try.
"Why?" I inquired.
The youngster was deafeningly quiet as if he didn't know either. I've known Sook my entire life; she doesn't do anything without reason, so I'm sure I'll find out her purpose in the future, but I'm not sure whether she's even alive. I know the lad said she saved him, but it's not like she was present. I'm also not sure why she requests the youngster to come and look for me. What will I do with this youngster and the knowledge he has for me?
"Can you tell me your name?" I inquired about him.
"My name bothers me. It was given to me by my mum." He responded, and I could sense fury and hatred in his eyes and fear. It comes as no surprise to me.
"So, how does Bo Jiwoo strike you? Is it good enough to replace your last name?" I proposed and inquired. I didn't give much attention to this name other than it would suit him nicely.
He gave me a long look before looking at his hand and nodded. Even though I can't see his expression, I can tell he enjoys it. I can tell since I used to have six children of my own.
"Well, now, Bo Jiwoo, my parents believe that you are my child, and I have no way of explaining your situation to them." I looked out the glass window to the two adults talking to each other and a child clinging onto its mother's hand. "You can't tell anyone you've been to the future or that you have been reincarnated. You know how ability users are when they're greedy."
"Do you think they're evil people?"
"Who? My parents? No, and it's not that I don't trust them; it's the individuals in their guild that I don't trust."
Bo Jiwoo glanced at me as though he didn't comprehend anything I said. Why would I say such a thing? Because, even if my father is the best non-ability user, he is still a non-ability user in the eyes of influential people. My mother was cast out the day she married my father for marrying a guy who already had a kid old enough to be her father. From the perspective of society, my parents' image is both positive and negative.
"My father is the guild master, but there might still be spies infiltrating the guild. We must be very cautious with information concerning the future." I returned my gaze to Bo Jiwoo and grinned. "Of course, I believe you should live a regular life and not be concerned about someone attempting to utilize you for future information."
Bo Jiwoo fixed his gaze on me. I can see he's conflicted by my remarks, and I understand why. This whole new existence was startling to me; it took a long time for me to embrace this new life and go on, even if I still hold to a little portion of my previous life. I am incredibly familiar with the feelings of perplexity, fury, and despair.
"Can you truly guarantee me a regular life?" He inquired, which caught me off guard because I hadn't considered how to offer him a good childhood. What you think is normal in this day and age isn't genuinely normal at all.
As I considered his comments, many thoughts raced through my mind, but there was only one best answer I could give him.
"Honestly, normal isn't even normal anymore. I'm not sure if the life you'll lead from now on will be normal, but it's a new beginning." I smiled as I reached over to touch his head, and he winced slightly but did not push my hand away. When I removed my hand, I noticed a reluctance on his face, which made me chuckle a little on the inside. "Let's just say you're my unknowing child, and this is the only way for you to stay by my side and be safeguarded within the guild."
"My father is still breathing, but my mother is no longer alive." Bo Jiwoo murmured, his fingers clenched into a fist, and he appeared to be enraged. "My father is Kim Jae-sang, the Dragons' deadbeat guild master."
I gazed at him, puzzled, for I had not expected Bo Jiwoo to be the son of a famous guild leader. Although being a deadbeat guild master, Kim Jae-sang kept that post for a long time due to his strength. The capacity to employ dragon qualities and traits. After the previous guild leader dies, that ability can be handed down to the following generation. It was thought that Km Jae-sang murdered his father to get that ability because the previous guild head wasn't even that unwell at the time; in fact, he was a very healthy man with tremendous muscle and body figure, yet he died in such a strange way.
"That certainly complicates everything. If Kim Jae-sang comes looking for you, I can't defend you since you are legally his son, and I have no right to keep you. It's more like I took you away from your father." I let out a sigh and crossed my arms across my chest.
"You may take him to court."
"That gives us the appearance of a divorced couple."
"Not in all circumstances, though."
"Hey child, I don't want to battle him in court," I remarked as I unfolded my arms and placed them on the table. "But it doesn't mean I'm abandoning you. I may battle him using my old man's guild. The Dragons guild has been a pain in the buttocks for many other guilds, including the Fire Lilies; therefore, this is an excellent opportunity to get rid of it."
"You can't win against the Dragons guild," said Bo Jiwoo, shaking his head.
"Why is this the case? The Dragons Guild is powerful, but how powerful can they be?"
"Because they are the ones that wreak havoc on the future. They struck a pact with an unknown god and destroyed humanity."
I remained mute. I'm not sure why I'm sitting here listening to this child babble anymore. I'm not sure what Sun Sook saw in me to send this child to find me, but I can't aid the future or whatever she wants me to do. I may have liberated my nation from a cruel ruler, but rescuing the earth is too vast a task and a significant load to bear. I understand that saving a whole country is a burden, but this is beyond my control; not everyone can be a savior.
"Can't you tell me more about what Sook wants, kid? Did she ever say anything about the kinds of goals she could reach by seeking me?"
Bo Jiwoo produced a contemplative expression. "I followed her for a while, or maybe she followed me, but all I ever heard her say was that you must surely rescue the world if it's you. You were previously referred to be the Greatest Emperor."
"I used to be the Greatest Emperor. I am now nothing more than the slacker son of guild leader Hong Sangwook. I am no longer the Greatest Emperor I once was. Sook should let go of the past a little more."
"She used to tell me stories. Many stories regarding your responsibilities as Emperor. She informed me that, even though she had never liked you in the first place, you were her hero."
"You didn't have to tell me that she didn't love me. That's all well and good, but I can't save the world. I'm confident that the future will be alright; there are numerous results of previous acts; therefore, I don't believe the world will end."
"NO! You simply cannot!"
I looked at the youngster in front of me and blinked. His face was deformed, and horror could be seen in his eyes as if he had experienced death again. I couldn't help but feel wrong about what I'd said. Maybe I should have given this problem more thought, but I like my quiet life and don't want to get engaged in any of this.
"Hey child, calm down," I replied as I stood up and pushed him back into his chair. "I understand your desire to preserve the future, but one cannot always be a hero." Because the world around us is constantly changing, the individuals from your first life may make different decisions now than they did in the first. You don't need to be concerned about the future because it is full of possibilities."
"But...but what about my buddies, and, and, and, and," His remarks were disjointed. Whatever he saw in the future must have hurt him significantly, and I understand his sentiments about losing individuals dear to him. Still, as I already stated, the world is always changing.
"You coming to me is confirmation of another possibility that has occurred. If you had ignored Sook's words and gone somewhere else, the outcome would have been different. I don't enjoy carrying the weight of the entire earth — on my shoulders." I informed him.
These are my heartfelt messages to him.