Episode 1
The Sickly Dad and the Thief
Drip.
A man's large, elegant hands wrung water from wet silk clothes. But despite the strained look on his pale, veiny face, only a few drops of water, like dew, fell to the floor.
'Is wringing out my clothes really that hard?'
Watching the scene, I smacked my forehead with my small hand.
"Dad, you're going to give yourself another nosebleed...!"
Before I could even finish, thud, a sound like raindrops came from his pale face, and the floor was suddenly stained with blood.
"D-Dad! Nosebleed!"
Don't panic! I knew this might happen! I came prepared!
I took out a handkerchief and quickly moved my short legs to approach Dad.
Without a word, Dad knelt down to my level.
I was able to get the handkerchief to his nose and stop the bleeding.
"See, I told you not to overdo it."
As I said that, his dark eyes, which usually looked cold and sharp, met mine.
This man, with his long black hair, snow-white skin, and strikingly good looks, is my dad.
'Even though he's so weak he gets a nosebleed just from doing his seven-year-old daughter's laundry.'
Like I said, my dad's a total weakling. The weakest of the weak, maybe even the weakest!
Seriously, who gets a nosebleed just from wringing out a kid's clothes?!
'I heard somewhere that people like my dad are called 'sunfish.'
My name is Seol Cheon-seong, I'm seven years old, and I have a sunfish for a dad.
My whole life, it's just been me and Dad, living in this tiny village far from the city.
'When I was little, I thought my dad was, you know, normal...'
But hanging out with other kids my age, I realized something.
My best friend Ik-seon's dad, and Un-ha's dad – he's the biggest troublemaker in the village – they don't get nosebleeds just from doing laundry.
They're totally fine, even after chopping wood all day, day-drinking, or raising hell all over the village.
From what I've seen, my dad's even weaker than Ik-seon's mom.
'He's already struggling just from holding me on his lap. And why won't this stupid nosebleed stop?!'
As I was trying to stop his nosebleed, Dad reached around and put his hand on my back. It was like a reflex; he pulled me into a hug. I could feel his big hand trembling.
'His hands always tremble when he holds me. I must be too heavy for him.'
"Dad, am I heavy?"
"Not at all."
Dad denied it right away, acting like it was nothing.
'But...his hand is shaking even more now.'
Even though he was trying to play it cool, his hand kept shaking.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
He leaned down, his long, soft hair brushing my cheek.
I pulled the bloody handkerchief away and looked at him, even more worried than he looked.
'I'm pretty sure he's the one who's uncomfortable, not me... At least the nosebleed stopped.'
Even when it was obviously hard for him, Dad never put me down.
When he held me, I could feel the warmth beneath his cold exterior, and his pale hands were so gentle.
'I mean, I'm worried about him, but I love it when he holds me like this.'
I looked up at Dad, and his eyes were full of love.
'Well, there's nothing for it.'
"Dad, I'll always be here for you." I'll be right here to take care of you when you get a nosebleed. I'll protect you.
I didn't say the rest out loud, because I knew Dad was trying so hard to be strong for me.
Then, Dad held out his pinky, all serious.
"A pinky promise?"
I was confused, and Dad opened his mouth to speak – his lips were the only part of him that had any color.
"Promise me. You might say that, but then you'll go and leave me all alone, Byeol-ie."
Byeol-ie. That's what Dad calls me. He says it means I'm his shining, precious star.
"I won't leave you."
"Promise me, then."
'What's he so worried about?'
He looked really worried, like he meant it.
'It's like he thinks I'm gonna disappear or something.'
He's usually so good at hiding how weak he is, but right now, he looked like he was about to break.
'Besides, Dad's the only family I've got. It's not like I have anywhere else to go.'
Dad said Mom had important work to do, so she went to heaven after I was born.
"So, did you marry an angel or something?"
"She was amazing. Beautiful, wise, and... he just couldn't help but love her."
Whenever I asked when Mom was coming back, he'd get this really sad look on his face, even sadder than me, and then he'd just give me this lonely smile.
I just knew, even without him saying it: Mom wasn't coming back. I was sad at first, but I'm okay now.
Because I have Dad. And he loves me more than anything!
"Okay, okay! I promise!"
We hooked pinkies, and then Dad held up his thumb, all serious again.
"Now we gotta seal it."
'He's really thorough.'
"Seal it!"
After we sealed the promise, Dad finally relaxed and hugged me tight.
'I'm suddenly really sleepy.'
Maybe it was all the excitement with the nosebleed, or maybe it was just Dad's warm hug, but I felt myself drifting off.
My eyelids got heavy, and soon I was fast asleep in Dad's arms.
'Ugh, so thirsty.'
How long was I out?
When I woke up, it was dark, and I was in my bed, under the covers.
'Oh, yeah, I fell asleep in Dad's arms. I guess I slept through everything.'
I stretched like a little kitten, feeling all refreshed.
'Where's Dad?'
We always sleep together, but he wasn't there.
'Where could he even go at this hour? Wait...don't tell me he collapsed in the outhouse?!'
'H-Help! Byeol-ah! Glub, glub!.'
I pictured Dad flailing around in the outhouse, and I freaked out, kicking off the covers and jumping out of bed.
'I can't let Dad drown in the poop!'
I ran out of the room to find him.
"...I greet you, my Lord."
I rushed into the kitchen, trying to take a shortcut, and I heard a strange man's voice coming from the living room.
'That's not Dad. I've never heard that voice before... It doesn't sound like anyone from the village...'
I instinctively felt the hairs on my body stand on end.
'Is it...a thief?!'
Nobody ever comes to visit this late in our tiny village – everyone's asleep by sundown.
'It has to be a thief!'
'If it is a thief, Dad's in trouble!'
'Dad gets nosebleeds just from doing laundry! If a thief attacks him, he'll drop dead like a sunfish!'
I imagined Dad fainting at the sight of the thief and screamed inside my head.
'No! I can't let Dad die! I have to stop the thief before he gets to Dad! But...how?!'
I was racking my brain when I saw two wooden clubs in the corner of the kitchen.
They were those clubs for beating laundry.
'That's it! The clubs!'
Those are the best weapons I've got.
I took a deep breath and, with both hands, struggled to lift one of the clubs – it was almost as big as me!
'I wanted to grab one in each hand...'
But one was all I could manage.
'But it's so heavy, one good whack to the legs from behind should do it!'
I remembered Ik-seon telling me what his dad said about fighting thieves, and I crept towards the voices.
"Keep it down."
I stopped dead in my tracks.
'That's Dad! Are they...together?'
I didn't hesitate for long – I ran towards the voices.
"Byeol-ie's a light sleeper. She takes after me."
There was Dad, facing a guy in a scary-looking mask.
The mask had a red face and red eyes, and it was kind of mesmerizing.
'But I can't get distracted by the mask! It looks evil! I don't know what's going on, but Dad's in danger!'
I took a deep breath to calm myself down and tried to figure out how to take down the thief.
"...I see."
I thought he was going to attack Dad, but the guy in the mask just answered calmly, and he sounded...young.
'Wait, that mask is way smaller than Dad's face. And his voice is young... He's probably just a teenager, like the older kids in the village...'
Then I remembered someone saying that sometimes kids without parents steal food because they're hungry.
'So, is this masked kid just a hungry thief? But then why is Dad talking about me?'
Something felt off. I hid behind a big potted plant in the living room and held my breath, watching.
"Ugh... I've heard that story like a hundred times already."
I couldn't see his face under the mask, but he sounded totally bored.
"Anyway, I brought the thing you asked for."
The masked guy pulled a box out from inside his clothes and handed it to Dad.
It was a fancy-looking box, all wrapped up in silk.
"They said this new medicine is stronger, so you'll probably have more nosebleeds."
"Got it."
Dad took the box and tucked it inside his clothes.
"I should get going, then."
The masked guy bowed to Dad and said,
"My Lord, Heavenly Demon."
'Heavenly Demon...?' As soon as he said that weird title, it was like a dam burst in my head. All these strange memories came flooding in.
