### Chapter 429 – Clan with Structure (5)
—
[Han Kain]
—
That day, after finishing my shift at the coffee shop and heading home with Ahri, I found my mom crying.
“Kain… Ahri… sniffle!”
Then came the thunderous news from my mom: Dad has terminal cancer.
The shock was so overwhelming that my legs went jelly, and I couldn’t stand anymore.
At that moment, Ahri smirked.
“Let’s wrap this up.”
“…”
“Looks like this story has taken a nosedive into misery. More endless misfortune is about to crash down.”
Ahri silently grabbed a kitchen knife.
“… Just get it over with.”
“Of course! I’ve killed a few before. You think I’d mess up with just one?”
Trustworthy answer, indeed.
— Thud!
—
…
…
…
—
— Swoosh!
A gentle breeze brushed my cheek, accompanied by the rustling of leaves in the nearby bamboo grove.
Tickling my nose—
—
— Clap!
A sudden sound of clapping startled me.
There stood my little sister, Elena.
… My sister is a blonde with green eyes?
The absurdity hit me hard, and a new piece of information popped into my head.
This girl was adopted by my parents when she was young.
It makes sense that her appearance would be so different when she’s adopted.
…
No, this is just too ridiculous.
Is this even a serious setup?
“Kain.”
All of a sudden, my little sister called me “Kain” in a surprisingly natural tone.
“Oh, in this situation, shouldn’t I be calling you ‘big brother’?”
“Let’s stick to Kain.”
“Uh, ahem. Since there are others around, I’ll use ‘big brother’. You can talk casually too. It might be confusing, but just listen to me.”
“…”
“You see, from what I’m seeing with Ahri outside, it’s clear you’re in a bit of a trance right now. Half of you is conscious, while the other half is lost in a dream.”
“…”
“So try to snap out of it.”
“I was gonna wake up soon anyway.”
It’s a strange notion, but I did start to feel like I was ‘waking up’ more and more. Memories of past dreams began flickering in my mind.
Ahri looked like a typical dark-haired Asian girl, but Elena’s blatant Western features provided such a jarring contrast, it was hard to ignore.
“Waking up, huh? That’s not a great phenomenon…”
“What do you mean?”
“Everyone else is using the white canvas of the painter as a sort of screen to quickly speed-watch your dream.”
“…”
“We’ve noticed something puzzling in the process.”
“What’s that?”
“Why do you keep failing?”
As I momentarily found my voice lost, Elena continued speaking.
The other cousins watched our conversation with puzzled but intrigued expressions.
“This dream reflects an adaptation of your childhood experiences. Back then, you made it to the hotel all on your own without help.”
“…”
“Why is it that the younger you conquered those challenges while the current you keeps failing? You’re not getting any dumber with age, are you?”
“…”
“Our analysis leads us to a conclusion.”
“How?”
“Maybe you’re acting too ‘grown-up’ now? That’s why it seems like you’re arriving at a different conclusion than the actual history.”
It dawned on me that I was indeed acting too maturely. But why?
—
As Elena put it, I was in a trance.
Half of me was indeed middle school Kain, but the other half vaguely knew this was all a dream.
“Bro, the painter decided earlier. You have two chances left. Failing won’t mean death, but you’ll miss out on rewards the painter offers.”
“…”
“For this round, I won’t jump in recklessly. I’ll just point out when you’re acting uncharacteristically for a middle schooler.”
“…”
“Keep in mind, from now on, Kain, ahem, your ‘big brother’, is officially a first-year middle schooler. Act accordingly.”
I am a middle school student.
“I am a middle school student.”
“That’s right.”
“A first-year middle schooler is basically an elementary school student.”
“Uh… right?”
“I am basically an elementary school student with no concepts.”
“Kain?”
“I’m a concept-less mad middle schooler!”
“Excuse me?”
—
It hit me hard.
I realized I was a wild and reckless middle schooler, an untamed Han Kain.
—
As soon as I got back to the countryside house, a raucous voice echoed.
“Jung-ho! You never visit the grandfather’s place—”
“Uncle, what’s the difference? Someone might think you’re the best son ever!”
“What’s with your attitude? Min-seung clearly didn’t raise you right!”
“Hai—! Your brother needs to do better!”
“This punk—”
“No, Aren’t we from the same batch? If I’m a punk, what about you—”
— Crash!
—
“…”
I glanced toward Elena.
How did I act back then in this situation?
I would’ve tried to pacify the stiff cousins while playing in the back mountains, waiting for the adults to settle down.
“Wow! Thinking back, that’s just absurd.”
“… Bro?”
“What middle schooler is that well-behaved? Isn’t this straight out of a moral story?”
“Kain?”
I had to show the adults what a ‘real middle schooler’ looked like.
“Elena. Get ready to cry at once.”
“What? All of a sudden?”
“Just get ready.”
—
I quickly turned to the cousins behind me.
“Hey kids!”
“Wahhh?”
“Let’s play in the water!”
“Water play?”
“Yeah! Let’s do it!”
—
As I scanned the area, I noticed multiple hoses set up for garden care, and I passed them one by one to the kids.
“Shoot!”
Soon, the kids began laughing hilariously, spraying water everywhere while the adults quarreled.
I aimed the hose toward the hanok.
“Hey! What’s this—”
“This is what being a middle schooler is!”
“Excuse me?”
“Like this.”
“Excuse me?”
“Fire!”
— Splash!
As the rainbow-like water surged throughout the countryside house, the delicate hanok paper tore apart mercilessly, chaos ensuing inside.
“Ah!”
“What’s happening!?”
“What is it?!”
“Someone go check—”
—
Hearing the adults scream, I quickly lowered the hose and transformed into the ‘good middle schooler’ to stop the cousins.
“Guys, let’s play with care okay~”
Of course, the kids were too enthralled to stop spraying water everywhere.
Watching this scene, Elena gazed at me with ajar mouth.
“What does this… mean?”
“I don’t know.”
I didn’t know either.
But come to think of it, all the early mischief kids get into generally carries no real meaning.
“Watch it, punks!”
Finally, when the adults came rushing out of the hanok, I signaled to Elena.
“Cry!”
“…”
“Now!”
“Uwaaa!”
—
I was about to create an accident so big that jaws would drop.
If I think I’m about to get scolded, I’ll just cry first.
Isn’t that the correct behavior for a child?
—
The spectacle of the hanok turned into a mess left my great-grandfather speechless, declaring all the parents’d failed to keep the kids in line and sending them to the tea field.
That’s not entirely wrong.
Had they taken care of their kids properly, this mess wouldn’t have happened.
Elena muttered while observing the scene.
“Did the adults get kicked out a day earlier? What does that even mean?”
“I’m not sure.”
“…”
The adults who were expelled a day early compared to the actual past, and kids who could now act more freely.
What does that signify?
…
It means I’ve gained some free time.
Time to uncover the secrets hidden within this blasted hanok and pot!
“I now know what to do. Kids~!”
Dragging the little ones along toward the storage, Elena displayed a very worried expression.
“W-wait! If we break the pot—”
“Elena, I have a brilliant idea. Just listen.”
“…”
Upon hearing my plan, Elena gave a wobbly smile, her face questioning if this was even possible.
“Is this really how a middle schooler should act?”
Honestly, probably not.
But now that I was fully conscious with Elena here, I couldn’t help myself.
“Stop focusing on whether it’s right for a middle schooler or not. What matters is finding a way to wrap this dream up with a happy ending.”
“That’s true, but…”
Seeing me and the kids rushing towards the storage, the staff of the hanok looked genuinely bewildered.
If it were a typical thief, they’d probably hit me hard to stop me, but it was amusing watching them panic since I’m the owner’s great-grandson.
As we entered the storage, I announced with determination.
“Alright! From now on, touch and play to your heart’s content!”
Soon, the kids burst forth like runaway ponies, recklessly claiming all the expensive items around.
Elena and I began searching for the jar, and while my memory of the previous dream was fuzzy, Elena, who had clear recollections, quickly found it.
“… You do know we can’t break it, right?”
“I’m well aware.”
Meanwhile, the kids began escalating their perilous antics.
“It’s flying! It’s flying!”
Min-seok threw what appeared to be a pretty pricey painting under the innocent guise of a “plane,” turning it to rubble moments after it’s been torn just a moment ago.
“What’s this? Why’s it round?”
Min-a threw an object that looked like a golden toad to the floor, twisting the round toad into a square shape.
In just moments, collectibles that cost several tens of millions of won became trash.
At that moment, the noise grew louder as my grandpa and a supporting servant burst in.
“Ah, what on earth is this?”
“Grandfather~!”
The dazzling sight of cute great-grandkids joyously circling around amid the messy storage— as my great-grandpa marveled at this absurdity, I appeared holding the pot along with Elena.
“Great-grandpa~!”
“Gah!”
This situation was different.
Not long ago, a billionaire with thousands of billions was unfazed by the children making a mess, but now he looked horrified, drenched in cold sweat.
This pot is “real.”
“K-Kain! Elena! Put that down!”
“Uh, what?”
As if genuinely confused, I raised the pot high, acting like an ignorant and reckless middle schooler.
My grandfather’s face went pale.
“Kain! J-just be careful! There’s something extremely dangerous inside that pot!”
“Dangerous? That sounds like fun to me!”
I gave it a little shake, as if I might toss it.
“Ahhh!”
— Ping!
I even poked the pot lightly with a flick of my finger.
“Oh my! Who the hell raised you two like this?! Whose kids are you!”
“Your great-grandchildren.”
“Oh no! Am I dying already?!”
In mere moments, my great-grandpa’s expression became one of utter shock.
With everyone watching, I jostled the pot back and forth crazily.
In reality, I had made sure it wouldn’t open, and the sounds were all from my hands.
But what might it look like to the fascinated onlookers?
It seemed the pot had opened, or cracked, causing serious suspicion.
Grandpa believed that if anything went wrong with the pot, it would lead to “ominous occurrences,” which was in fact true.
So now…
It’s time to uncover the secrets my great-grandpa has been holding.
I poked Elena.
“…”
“Faster!”
Elena, who had been wearing a crooked smile, soon started her “act.”
“Uooohh!”
Suddenly, the blonde girl rolled her eyes and started making ghostly sounds!
As my great-grandpa looked bewildered at Elena, she next made a sound resembling metal scraping while saying.
“Haahh… It’s been a while, Seung-jin… right?”
“Ugh!”
“What… how long has it been? You doing alright?”
Caught in shock, Han Jin-seong sank to the floor.
I want to know.
What on earth happened between Han Minsang and Han Jin-seong trapped in that pot?
And what price does the pot demand in exchange for wealth, and how might we avoid that price?
The only one who holds that answer is none other than Han Jin-seong.
—
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