Chapter 91: Winheim Village, the Place of My Childhood

The place where I spent my childhood was Winheim Village.

I stood in front of the orphanage now.

Since I had found a place to settle, it was time to pay a visit.

Thump thump.

My heart beat faintly.

I wondered if everyone was doing well.

The younger ones must have grown a lot, right?

Knock knock.

With a fluttering heart, I knocked on the orphanage door.

Jingle.

The orphanage door opened, and a girl with a familiar face asked.

“What brings you here?”

“Isabel. Have you been well?”

“Who…?”

Isabel, my orphanage little sister who was one year younger than me, scrutinized my face.

“Huh?! Fabir oppa?”

“It’s been a while, right?”

“Is it really you, Fabir oppa?”

“Don’t you recognize me?”

“You look like a completely different person! What on earth happened to you?”

“It’s a long story. Let’s go inside, and I’ll tell you bit by bit.”

“Ah, come in quickly.”

With an excited heart, I stepped into the orphanage.

This place hasn’t changed a bit.

“Isabel, who is it?”

“Director Nun. Come out quickly! Fabir oppa is here!”

“What? Fa, Fabir?”

The director nun came running in a panic.

“Have you been well all this time?”

“It’s really you, Fabir! I recognize your voice! Come in, come in.”

I sat down facing the director nun.

You have such a refined aura.

I’d believe it if someone said you were a young master from a noble family.

How have you been?

Have you settled down?

“Calm down. You’ll faint at this rate.”

“I’m being too much, aren’t I. I was just so glad to see you that I have so many questions.”

“I’m doing fine, so don’t worry. Baski is doing well too.”

“Are you living with him?”

“Yes, somehow it ended up that way.”

“That’s wonderful!”

The director nun was truly delighted.

It seemed she had been very worried.

“Baski was always short on confidence, which made me worry.”

The director nun turned her head toward the wall.

There hung the drawings we had made as children.

He was always afraid of achieving something on his own.

Baski always copied other people’s drawings.

Back then, I didn’t understand why, but now I get it a little.

Perhaps because he was clumsy at creating things himself, he envied and coveted what others had.

Thinking that living by relying on others was the best he could do.

Now, he’s become much brighter and overflowing with confidence.

He’s even set a goal to have his own shop.

Baski is diligently learning the trade, aiming to open another branch.

Now he’s striving to seize his dreams on his own.

I plan to cheer him on from the side.

“That’s really great news.”

The director nun smiled softly.

“But what about the children?”

“They went to the nearby forest early this morning.”

In the autumn mountains, there were plenty of things to forage.

They gather firewood for the winter and pick fruits.

In a poor household, the children had to contribute their share to prepare for winter.

“I brought some crops with me.”

“Crops? Are you farming now?”

“By good fortune, I obtained land to farm. I settled there as well.”

“That’s great! Really great!”

The nun gripped my hand tightly.

Her aged hands were very gaunt.

“Thank you for coming back like this. And I’m relieved to see you’re doing well.”

I replied with a smile.

Seeing this brings back old memories.

You always got along better with the neighborhood dogs than with kids your own age.

“D-did I?”

“When you were little, you always talked to animals. As if you were having conversations with them. Back then, I was really worried about you a lot.”

“Ah, yes….”

Hearing it put like that, it’s no wonder she was concerned.

I had already realized when I was young that I was odd.

But I never mentioned that I could communicate with animals.

It wasn’t that I was deliberately hiding it, but I considered it a trivial ability, so I didn’t feel the need to boast, and I didn’t like others finding it strange.

“Director Nun.”

Today, I finally summoned the courage to ask the question I had never asked before.

“By any chance, do you know anything about my parents?”

The director nun was briefly flustered by my question, then spoke in a low voice.

“…I’m sorry.”

…It’s okay.”

Perhaps it was for the best.

It was better to abandon vain hopes early.

“Still, I remember when you first arrived here.”

“Yes?”

“Someone placed you in a basket and sent you here gently.”

My head spun at this story I was hearing for the first time.

She continued the tale slowly, as if recalling the past.

“Your name, Fabir, was written on it.”

“I always thought the director nun had given me my name.”

Well, I had never asked until now.

I thought I had received nothing from my parents… but there had been a point of contact.

“No wonder I thought my name was more unique than the other kids’.”

Perhaps they named me distinctively so they could recognize me later?

If I lived diligently in my place, maybe someday my parents would come looking for me.

It was an absurd thought.

It might be a futile expectation.

But somehow, such a thought crossed my mind.

***

“Wh-what is all this?”

Isabel’s eyes widened like saucers.

“Precious ingredients to last us through the winter.”

I took out the crops I had brought in bulk, placing them one by one in the kitchen.

“How did you manage to get so many…?”

“I’m farming now. So, accept them without feeling burdened.”

The storage room behind the kitchen was filled to the brim with the fresh crops I had brought.

Just seeing them made me feel secure.

“It’s already almost time for lunch? I need to hurry before the kids return.”

I headed straight to the market.

Sniff sniff.

“Ah, the smell of delicious bread.”

From the bakery, the savory scent of freshly baked bread wafted out.

“Please give me some bread.”

“Yes, how much would you like?”

“Give me all the ones that just came out.”

“Eh? All of these?”

I handed over gold coins to the shopkeeper who asked back in surprise.

“There are many mouths to feed.”

“I-I’ll pack them right away.”

She hurriedly began packaging the bread.

At that moment, someone approached the shop.

“Please give me some bread.”

“They just sold out.”

“Really?”

The woman said with disappointment.

Upon closer look, her face was familiar.

“Huh? Auntie!”

“…Do you know me?”

“It’s me! Don’t you remember? You gave me bread before.”

“…Huh? The young man who found my wallet that time?”

“That’s right. It’s me!”

“Oh my! Nice to see you! I was really thankful back then.”

“Are you buying bread? Take some of mine.”

I handed her the bag bulging with bread.

“Oh my, how thoughtful! Here, take the money.”

“No, it’s fine. Just take it.”

I firmly refused the money she kept trying to give me.

The piece of bread she had shared with me back then had been so precious.

Now, I could eat bread freely, but that bread I ate when hungry stood out especially in my memory.

“Really, thank you. My son will be thrilled.”

The auntie with the big eater of a son hugged the bread and left.

I too carried a bag full of bread and turned my steps lightly.

It was late autumn with chilly winds, but my hands were full and my heart was warm.

Tap tap tap tap.

Bubble bubble.

***

Delicious aromas of food wafted from the orphanage kitchen.

Cooking after such a long time, memories of my old meal duty days came rushing back vividly.

It had only been a year, yet so much had changed.

In the past, ingredients were always scarce.

I was constantly worried about what to eat each day.

But today was different.

The ingredients overflowed, and the food was plentiful.

“Oppa. Isn’t this a bit too much?”

Isabel, helping with the cooking beside me, stuck out her tongue at the sight of the numerous bread bags.

“I wanted to make sure everyone eats their fill today.”

I’ve always wanted to do that.

When I was at the orphanage, I always wished to eat to my heart’s content but never could.

I’m fulfilling that dream now.

Clamor.

“Stack the firewood you brought over there.”

The front of the orphanage was bustling.

It seemed the kids who had gone to the forest had returned.

I walked to the door to greet them.

“Did everyone have a good time?”

“Huh? This voice?”

“No way, is that Fabir hyung?”

“Fa, Fabir hyung!”

“Hwaaang! Oppa!”

Urru.

The orphanage siblings rushed over and hugged me.

Some jumped around in joy, others burst into tears from pent-up emotions.

“Hyung, I missed you so much.”

“Oppa, why did it take you so long to come! Uhaang!”

“I missed you guys too.”

These kids had grown so much in the time we hadn’t seen each other.

If I’d known, I should have come a little sooner.

One side of my chest ached.

Pat pat.

I hugged them one by one, comforting them.

It took quite a while before they seemed to calm down a bit.

Sniff.

The kids were all a mess of tears and snot.

Their tiny hands were covered in dirt again, for some reason.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and said.

“Everyone’s hungry, right? Go wash your hands.”

“Are we really eating Fabir hyung’s cooking after so long?”

“OH! VILICH!”

The kids ran to the well.

They quickly washed their hands and sat at the table, shouting.

“Wow.”

The old wooden table was so laden with food that I worried it might buckle.

Gulp.

Yet the kids were just swallowing their saliva in front of the feast.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

…Hyung, can we really eat all this?”

The kids all looked at me.

They were hesitating.

They might think I was overdoing it.

“Of course you can. Don’t be shy, eat as much as you want.”

I smiled as warmly as I could.

“Re-really?”

“Th-then, I’ll eat?”

“Let’s dig in!”

Chomp chomp.

The kids attacked the food like starving beasts.

“The vegetable soup is so tasty!”

“The bread is incredibly savory!”

The kids stuffed their mouths until their cheeks bulged.

“Everyone, eat slowly! Don’t choke!”

Isabel admonished the children.

Anticipating this, I had packed plenty of digestive aids in my bag.

A warm smile spread across my face as I watched the kids eating heartily.

With the crops I had stocked up, they wouldn’t have to worry about hunger this winter.

Isabel, who had been tending to the kids, came over to me.

“Thank you, Fabir oppa.”

“No need for thanks. I’m doing it because I want to.”

Isabel smiled faintly.

Now that I thought about it, Isabel would soon be an adult.

“Isabel. Your birthday is coming up soon, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Have you decided where you’re going?”

“I want to stay here and keep looking after the kids.”

“You’ve always been great with them. Go ahead with that. I’ll help you.”

“Re-really?”

Isabel’s face lit up with a bright smile.

But soon her expression darkened, filled with worry.

“Isabel? Why the long face? Is something wrong?”

I dashed to the director’s office in a panic.

My heart pounded wildly.

Bang.

***

“What do you mean by this? The orphanage is closing?”

My mind reeled at the bolt-from-the-blue news that Isabel had relayed.