Chapter 362

It had been a while since the three ladies had met their grandson, so they did their best to make Shinwoo very comfortable. When Shinwoo was young, both his parents were usually very busy, so he was frequently in these three ladies' care. If one considered the amount of love his grandmothers had shown him, he might be closer to his grandmothers than to his parents.

“How’s work? Is it going well?”

Hweeyoung asked as she peeled the apple. It was very unlike his normal self, but Shinwoo directly took a piece of the apple from Hweeyong with his mouth as if he were a baby bird taking food from the mother bird.

“It’s ok. I can’t complain.”

“You should always be careful. Your life's on the line.”

Aiin quietly spoke. The three of them had lost their husband in the Great labyrinth. Of course, Jungbum had died at the hands of Hyunwoo, but this didn’t mean the labyrinths weren’t any less dangerous.

“If you don’t know something, don't forget to ask me.”

Plu-El also spoke up.

Unlike the Connectors who visited the Moon for some period, Plu-El and her people had lived on the Moon. Regarding labyrinths, her advice was more helpful than most others'.

The three of them spoke from different perspectives, but in the end, they treasured Shinwoo. Receiving this love, he once again felt overjoyed.

“Now that I think about it, how are my uncles and aunt doing?”

“Your uncles are doing the same. They came for a visit a while ago.”

“Nothing particularly good has happened, and nothing bad has happened. They are doing well.”

Aiin and Hweeyoung spoke one after another. Thankfully, Woosang and Woosung were doing fine.

“Your aunt is also doing well. She’s as close as ever to her husband.”

Plu-El told him about Soyoung. Soyoung was born on the Moon, but she had quickly adapted to Earth’s culture. She wasn’t facing many difficulties as she had created a family for herself.

“Ah! Now that I think about it, Mr. Aruwen wanted me to give you his regards, Grandma Plu-El.”

“Oh my! Really? Is he still staying inside the capital of Planote?”

“Yes. He keeps saying it's his duty to keep an accurate account of what happened to the people of Planote. He called it his last mission. He said it doesn’t matter if the truth is good or ugly. He’ll continue to find more information about Planote.”

Aruwen had chosen to walk down the path of a historian. He was working hard to find even one additional piece of information about Planote.

“I don't want to offend you by asking this question, but was Mr. Aruwen always like this?”

From Shinwoo’s experience, Aruwen was a brusque person. Yet, he answered any question Shinwoo asked. He was a bit standoffish, but he also took good care of Shinwoo.

Plu-El let out a bitter laugh.

“His personality wasn’t just beyond bad. He was a dumpster fire. I’m glad he’s doing well.”

“Yeah. He usually researches, but sometimes, he goes to the grave of a man named Tiotudo to drink some alcohol.”

“I see.”

A distant look appeared in Plu-El’s eyes. She thought about the distant past where the three of them had been inseparable. Hweeyoung and Aiin rubbed Plu-El’s back from each side. Over time, they had become close like sisters, so Plu-El quietly laughed at their attempts to comfort her.

***

‘I think that’s all the task I have to complete for now.’

Shinwoo still had to look up a lot of people; he had to meet friends and acquaintances. However, he had plenty of time to meet up with them at a later time.

‘I should start heading back since it is almost the appointed time.’

Shinwoo slowly pressed down on the gas pedal.

However, he didn’t immediately head toward the house. He had someone that he had to pick up.

‘As expected, she came outside. I told her I would contact her when I got here. She should wait on the street like this.’

When he arrived at his destination, he grumbled when he saw the person waiting for him along the street.

However, he had half expected this. He gave up since he knew this was the type of person she was.

She opened the door, and she got into the car. A smile appeared on Shinwoo’s lips.

He was always gentle, but serious in front of his younger siblings. He always tried to maintain his attitude as an older brother, but he no longer kept up that act.

He acted in a similar way as to how his younger siblings acted around him.

“It’s been a while, Woo Shinwoo..”

“It’s been a while, noona.”

He was the reliable big brother to all his younger siblings, but now, he was the younger sibling instead.

In front of Shinhae, Shinwoo’s attitude relaxed without realizing it.

***

“How have you been?”

“It’s been the same. Nothing really changes on the Moon. What about you, noona?”

“It’s been the same for me. Company life is all the same.”

Shinhae stretched her arms. It was an attempt to get rid of the stress of being a part of society.

“That is why you should have applied to mother’s company.”

“It’s fine. I want to set myself up using my own power. I’ve already received a lot of help from my parents.”

“I received a lot of Gems from father. You are going to make me feel small if you keep talking like that.”

“No way. How can you compare my work to yours where you have to put your life on the line?”

It had been a while since the two siblings had met, so they continued to converse in an affectionate manner.

“It really has been a while since all our family members gathered in one place. Right, noona?”

“It is to be expected. We are all busy. Still, this is good timing. I have something I want to tell everyone.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“I’ll tell you a little bit later.”

Shinwoo smirked when Shinhae winked at him.

***

When the two arrived at home, the house was as noisy as ever.

“It finally feels like home. It really was quiet without you guys.”

“We do have a big family. Also, it isn’t as if our kids are well-behaved and quiet.”

The sight that could be seen from the front door was ridiculous yet nostalgic.

“You know what? I found this while I cleaned your room. It looked quite precious. You should store it better.”

“Huh? What…! Wait a moment! Why do you have that, mom!”

Chelsea cackled as she held the diary written by her daughter when she was in middle school. Shinhwee’s face turned red as she snatched the diary away from Chelsea.

“You should relax a little bit. You are being too stiff.”

“As the son of mother and father, I have to maintain a certain amount of decorum. I cannot bring shame to my parents.”

Grace gave some advice to Shinhyun, who was being unnecessarily stiff. However, Shinhyun sounded proud of his own behavior.

“Are you really going to fight up close? Isn’t it too dangerous? Are you trying to make your oppa, unni, and me worry about you?”

“It...it isn’t like that, mom. I think it’ll be safer to follow a path I am better suited for.”

Emily kept sighing at her daughter’s decision, and Shinbi was at a loss as to how to deal with her mother.

“Where were you today? I heard from Shinbi. I heard you cut class to go meet a woman. You did so knowing it is an important day today.”

“Mom. It isn’t like that.”

As expected, even Shinjung couldn’t screw around in front of Jiyoon. Cold sweat erupted as he came up with an excuse.

“How should I say this? It finally feels like home right now. Am I weird for feeling that way”

“Really? I think something is still missing.”

“Missing?”

Shinwoo blinked his eyes. The sight in front of him was like old times, so he had no idea what was missing.

‘I have a bad feeling about this.’

To be precise, he felt uneasy by the fact that his noona was looking at him with mischievous eyes.

“Shinwoo and Shinhae. You guys are here.”

“Ah. Mom!”

“Yes. We are here, mom.”

Jimin came through the front door as she greeted the two. It had been a while since Shinwoo had seen his mother. He greeted Jimin with great joy in his heart.

For a short time, everyone exchanged information about what’s been going on in their everyday life. Everyone finally felt like they were home.

Shinwoo became excited as he gave a detailed account of what he was doing on the Moon.

Jimin, who had been quietly listening to the story, suddenly frowned.

‘Shit!’

In order to boast about his own exploits, he also spoke about one of the dangerous things he did. He quickly shut his mouth, but the water had been spilled.

“How can you do that! I always told you to put safety above all...!”

Jimin started scolding him. Shinwoo just lowered his head. He knew this would go on much longer if he tried to give an excuse. He sealed his mouth shut as he quietly listened to Jimin’s scolding.

As he kept his head down, Shinwoo took a glance at Shinhae’s face.

She was laughing. She looked like she was enjoying his predicament. She also looked nostalgic.

‘This is what she meant.’

She said something felt missing, and he finally understood what Shinhae meant.

‘The thing missing was me!’

To be precise, it was him being scolded by his mother.

When Jimin’s scolding rang out through the house, it truly felt like before.

Click!

The front door opened.

“Everyone is here.”

A familiar baritone voice could be heard.

Shinwoo looked up as if a savior had descended from the heavens.

In fact, he was right in using the word savior.

The person, who had just entered the house, would save Shinwoo from his mother’s scoldings.

“Dad!”

Shinwoo was very happy as he greeted Sungyoon.

***

Most of Sungyoon’s family lived a busy life. Aside from scheduled breaks, their workdays were long and hard. There were large parts of the calendar where they had no breaks.

This was why Sungyoon’s family had to schedule two days in a year that they could all gather at home for dinner.

For their family, this was their biggest event.

Scrumptious food was laid out on the table as the family members sat around the desk in a circle.

They conversed with each other as they spent time catching up.

Sometimes they laughed, and sometimes the mood became serious. At times, they nagged each other. Shinwoo felt very happy about being in this unfiltered atmosphere amongst his family.

“I have something I would like to tell you all.”

Shinhae never lost her smile, but there was a serious expression on her face as she spoke toward her family members.

Everyone turned to look at her.

Shinhae met gazes with each member of the family. After looking into Sungyoon’s eyes last, Shinhae dropped a bomb.

“I have someone that I would like to marry.”

The bomb had a powerful effect. Sungyoon was a battle-tested hero, yet he was the first one to become speechless. All her mothers became stunned at her news. All of Sungyoon’s children stopped eating.

“M...marriage?”

Sungyoon was probably never flustered to this extent even in front of Grenoid.

“Who…!”

Sungyoon was barely able to open his mouth.

“Marriage? You want to marry someone? What kind of person is he?”

However, Chelsea reacted faster. There was excitement in her voice, and it felt as if she raised the temperature inside the room.

“Have you thought this through?”

“You know this isn’t an ordinary family. That is why you have to choose your marriage partner especially well. You know that, right?”

“Of course, she knows what she is doing. What kind of person is he?”

“Do you have a picture?”

All her mothers started asking questions all at the same time. However, they showed no signs of going against Shinhae’s decision. They just showed curiosity and worry toward Shinhae.

“Unni, unni! What kind of person is he? Is he handsome? What about his personality? Does he show you enough love?”

“You should calm down a little bit before you question her, Woo Shinhwee! However, Shinhwee does have a point! What kind of person is he?”

“Noona! Men are all wolves! You have to be sure before you marry...!”

“You are the enemy of women, Woo Shinjung! You have no right to say those words!”

“That is why I’m most qualified to speak about this to noona! You guys should shut up and let me speak!”

All her siblings spoke up with their opinions. There was no opportunity for Sungyoon to open his mouth.

This was how Shinhae had dropped an explosive announcement on an amicable dinner, and the dinner turned into a war of questions.

***

It was the day of the full Moon. Sungyoon sat on a chair in the yard as he looked up at the bright Moon.

‘It was a full Moon on that day too.’

He thought about the day when his ex-wife and best friend stabbed him in the back. He vividly remembered looking up at the sky on that day, and it had been a full Moon.

Of course, the emotions he felt right now were completely different from the emotions that he felt back then. The only similarity was the fact that he felt a bit restless.

At that moment, someone hugged him around the neck from the back.

“What are you doing here, dad?”

“I’m looking at the Moon.”

Shinhae kept her arms around his neck as she looked up at the sky with him.

“It is the full Moon. Now that I think about it, wasn’t it a full Moon when mom betrayed you?”

Sungyoon took a firm grip of Shinhae’s hands.

“Don’t worry about me, dad. I’m fine now. I have mothers better than my birth mother. I have five mothers, who gave me so much love. Even if that woman lived and died a hundred times, she wouldn’t be able to give as much love as m mothers. Also, I have you, dad. You gave me more love than anyone.”

“That’s…”

“Yes! That’s why you shouldn’t worry about me, dad.”

The strength drained away from his hands. However, it was Shinhae’s turn to grip Sungyoon’s hands tightly.

“He is a good person. He lived a tough life starting from a young age. He is a hard worker, and he is a good man. In that aspect, he is similar to you, dad.”

Sungyoon smirked.

“Still, I’m going to check if he is a scrub or not.”

“That’s a given. You are my father.”

Shinhae was well aware of the fact that Sungyoon was a father, who put her well-being above all else.

“There were three in our family. It had been reduced to two, but now we have a much larger family. It is the same thing. We are just gaining one more family member.”

“Don’t you think there are too many rascals in our larger family now?”

Shinhae burst out laughing at Sungyoon’s complaint.

“Still, they are cute kids.”

Sungyoon didn’t deny that fact.

“You have to bring that man to me as soon as possible. I have to see what kind of man he is.”

“Yes. I’m sure you will like him.”

“No. There is no way that’ll be true.”

Sungyoon denied her assertion flatly.

While the father and daughter affectionately conversed with each other, another shadow approached them.

“What are you two doing here?”

“Ah. Mother Jimin.”

Shinhae caught sight of Jimin, who was slowly approaching them.

“Heh heh! It has been a while, but I’m having a date with dad.”

“Oh my. I'm jealous. Do you mind if I join you guys on your date?”

“Mmm. It’s a shame, but I’ll make a concession. After all, dad is yours.”

“Hoo hoo! Shinhae knows us well..”

Grace approached from behind Jimin, and she spoke with a smile on her lips.

“Ah. Then I’ll join in too! I have a right to my husband too, right?”

“To be precise, you can have ⅕ of him. You can’t encroach into our share of him.”

“Should we call up King Solomon to see how we should divide him up?”

Chelsea, Emily, and Jiyoon appeared in the yard after Jimin and Grace.

“Uh. What the hell! Something fun must be happening outside with our moms and dad?”

“Really? Wow. That’s so unfair. It’s been a while since we’ve all gathered here. You should include us too!”

All his children followed their mothers outside. Sungyoon and Shinhae looked at each other, then they burst out laughing at the same time.

It was like before inside the house. The yard was filled with raucous sounds.

The Moon quietly looked down at the loving moment between family as if to give them a blessing.