Chương 119: I Brought the Family Home

The next thing Kichan felt after being pushed out of the other world was cold rainwater on the bank of the Han River. His knees struck the wet grass first. Riphiel crashed into him shoulder-first a moment later, and Dust came rolling in on top of them. Valkyrie remained stuck inside Kichan's coat and did not fall away. Argaon and Batu appeared together a short distance off. Batu skidded through the mud and slammed into a metal railing. The railing shook hard.

"Don't touch anything." Kichan spoke.

"I didn't touch it." Argaon answered.

"Not you. That one." Batu put his nose to the railing and sniffed. Across the river, the lights of apartment buildings spread through the rain. Cars streamed across the bridge in a long line. The scrape of tires over wet pavement never stopped. Riphiel watched the cars with one hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Are all of those carriages?"

"Something like that."

"But there are no horses."

"There aren't supposed to be." Argaon drew a deep breath.

"There's almost no mana either."

"Is that bad?"

"I didn't say it was."

"You can still say you're hungry, right?"

"That I can do." Argaon looked around.

"Where's the food?" Kichan could not answer. Home was not far away. But he did not know how much time had passed since he disappeared. His phone was inside the material board. When he held down the power button, it finally vibrated. The date and a pile of missed calls appeared on the screen at once. The date was one season later than when he had left. The same home number filled line after line. The battery died before Kichan could check the first one. His wallet still held an old card and a few crumpled bills.

There was something to deal with before money. Batu.

"He's way too big for this side." Kichan spoke. Batu raised his head.

"Can he become smaller?" Riphiel asked.

"No." Argaon looked at Batu and moved one finger. Faint light wrapped around the enormous body. Batu's stripes and long fangs blurred in the rain. From a distance, he looked like an exceptionally shaggy large dog.

"You can't speak to the world anymore, but you can still do this." Kichan spoke.

"This just fools the eye a little."

"Good enough."

"You too."

"I'm already small."

"As a cat." Argaon glared at Kichan. Gold light swept over his human form, leaving a yellow cat with red eyes sitting in the wet grass.

"In a hundred years, the first thing I'm doing is blowing the roof off your house."

"A talking cat stands out too. Be quiet." Kichan took dark winter cloth from the magic bag. He covered Riphiel's ears, then wrapped the remaining cloth around her scabbard and shifted it behind her back.

"Why am I the only one being covered up?"

"People here don't walk around with long ears or swords." Riphiel looked once at the stream of cars and did not remove the cloth. Kichan looked at the proposal knot on the wake-up rod. The white molly fiber and red mandragora thread had crossed worlds without coming undone. The rain had only deepened their colors. Kichan touched the knot, then let go. Instead, he took an ordinary leather cord from the material bag. He looped it once around Batu's neck and tied the other end to his own wrist.

Riphiel looked between the wake-up rod and the leather cord. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"This time, you can tell the difference."

"This isn't a leash." Batu took one step and dragged Kichan along.

"A little slower." The rain grew heavier. They followed the riverside path toward the nearest light. It was an old cafe that stayed open until dawn. Yellow bulbs hung in rows behind the window, and a faded advertisement for cake stood beside the entrance. Today's recommended set. A small gift for a sweeter day. Kichan stared at the words for a long time.

"What is it?" Riphiel asked.

"Nothing." Batu remained beneath the awning outside the cafe with Argaon, who was still disguised as a cat. Argaon insisted that he should be allowed in too, but leaving him outside was easier than explaining a talking cat. Riphiel stayed outside to guard them. Valkyrie remained inside Kichan's coat, and he put Dust in his pocket.

"Don't touch anything." Kichan pressed a hand over the pocket. A small cry came from inside. Bright pop music greeted him when he opened the cafe door. Kichan stood still for a moment. The smell of coffee mixed with cold air from the refrigerated cake display and the damp scent of umbrellas. There was no blood, no medicinal herbs, no woodsmoke from the other world. A red pay phone stood beside the counter. It looked like a decoration for tourists, but when Kichan lifted the receiver, he heard a dial tone.

He found a coin in his wallet and fed it into the phone. His fingers remembered the number for home. It rang once. Twice. Someone answered on the third ring.

"Hello?" It was his mother's voice. Kichan had not prepared a single word.

"Mom." The other end went quiet.

"Kichan?"

"Yeah."

"Where are you right now?"

"The Han River."

"What are you doing there?"

"It's a long story." His mother did not question him immediately. Over the receiver, she drew one deep breath and slowly let it out.

"Have you eaten?" Kichan looked through the window. Argaon was glaring into the cafe from beneath the awning. Riphiel watched every passing car with suspicion, and Batu tugged at the ordinary leather cord. The proposal knot on the wake-up rod beside the door remained tied, soaked in rain. Valkyrie moved inside Kichan's coat, while Dust tried to work a coin out of his pocket.

"Not yet."

"Are you alone?"

"No."

"With Suyeon?"

"No. Other people." Kichan paused and corrected himself.

"I've got some family with me."

"How many?"

"It depends on what you count as a person."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll explain when I get home." His mother breathed out through her nose.

"Just come home first. I'll have soup ready."

"Make a lot."

"How much?" Kichan looked at Argaon.

"A whole lot." His mother laughed, then began to cry on the other end. Kichan could not say anything more.

"I'll be there soon."

"Hurry."

"Where's Dad?"

"Out looking for you. I called him, so he'll be home soon." Even after the call ended, Kichan held the receiver for a moment. Then he put it back in place. He ordered the cheapest coffee in the cafe. He was not sure the card would work, but the terminal approved it at once. Even that surprised him a little. He sat at an empty table and waited for his coffee. A woman sat across from him. She held a cup of iced Americano in both hands. Half the ice had melted, and the straw leaned toward her.

She had not taken a single sip. The woman turned her phone screen on, then off, and looked toward the glass door again. Kichan did not look at the cup for long. He stood before his own coffee was ready.

"Your drink is ready." An employee called. Kichan took the paper cup. At the door, he looked back once. The woman still held her cup in both hands. Kichan opened the door and left first. Riphiel, Argaon, and Batu were waiting in the rain. Valkyrie clung to Kichan's body, and Dust had stolen one of the coins from his pocket.

"Put that down." Kichan spoke. Dust put the coin in its mouth. Argaon sniffed the paper cup.

"Is that food?"

"No."

"Then where's the food?" Kichan looked toward the road that led from the river into the city. The city was soaked with rain, and the sky was overcast. Strangely, he felt all right.

"There'll be food when we get home." They left the rainy riverside path and headed home. At the far end of the apartment hallway, the front door opened. His mother stood there wearing only one slipper. Kichan spoke.

"I'm home." His mother's palm struck his back. Smack.

"You brat! Where have you been without a word?" She hit him again. Kichan did not dodge. The hand she raised a third time did not strike his back. His mother seized his wet coat and pulled him inside. She did not let go for a long while. Riphiel stepped forward.

"Should I assist you?"

"Stay still. I deserve this." His mother released Kichan and looked in turn at Riphiel, Batu, and the yellow cat standing in the hallway.

"So this is the family you were talking about?"

"Yeah."

"Some of them aren't even people." Argaon, in the form of a yellow cat, smelled the soup inside the apartment. Before Kichan could catch him, he walked through the doorway first. His mother's palm struck Kichan's back one more time.

"You can finish getting hit after you eat." She opened the door all the way.

"Everyone inside first." Kichan brought his family into the house. Steaming soup and bowls of rice waited on the table. His mother appeared to have emptied the refrigerator after hanging up. Bulgogi and japchae were piled on large plates.

"You told me to make a lot." His mother placed a bowl of rice and a fork before Riphiel. She served rice and meat into the largest metal basin for Batu, then pushed a small plate in front of Argaon in his cat form. Riphiel wound japchae once around her fork and ate it. Her chewing stopped.

"What sort of flavor is this?" Argaon swallowed a piece of bulgogi and put one forepaw on his plate.

"It's meat. Why is it sweet?" Riphiel's fork moved toward the bulgogi. At the same moment, Argaon's paw reached for the japchae. Riphiel took one piece of bulgogi, and Argaon caught one strand of japchae in his mouth.

"That is my share."

"You ate my meat too." They each pulled the plates toward themselves. His mother asked Kichan,"What are they saying?"

"They both want more." His mother served more bulgogi and japchae onto a small plate and set it between them.

"Tell them to stop fighting and eat." Riphiel looked between the japchae and bulgogi on the new plate. Then she looked at Kichan.

"Now I understand."

"What?"

"Why you would risk your life for a single meal." Argaon nodded too, hugging the bulgogi plate between his forepaws.

"Now I understand what it means to earn your keep." Instead of answering, Kichan ate a spoonful of soup from the bowl before him. It was hot. His spoon touched the rim of the bowl with a familiar sound. His mother sat across from him. Beside him, Riphiel and Argaon were pulling the new plate toward themselves again. Without speaking, Kichan finished an entire bowl of rice. His mother did not ask where he had been. Kichan held out his empty rice bowl.

"More rice." Without asking a thing, his mother took the bowl, filled it with another serving of rice, and brought it back.