The Love That Remains

A white cat lazily sprawls on the green grass under the sunlight. His mismatched blue and yellow eyes gaze at two beautiful ladies. One woman has short dyed red hair and other has long black hair. Under the spring sun, the two ladies are sitting in the garden and chatting merrily about their pregnancies, unaware of a certain god watching and listening to their conversations.

"I hope that we give birth at the same time," Wang Mei tells Fang Aisa unhappily. "This is your third pregnancy and my second pregnancy. If you give birth before I do, I will kill you."

"It's not my fault that I don't take nine months to give birth like you." Fang Aisa sighs. "I am pregnant with triplets again. I want a cute girl like Ri-Na, but I keep having boys."

"She is a crybaby." Wang Mei sighs. "Ri-Na resembles Jaemin more than me."

"I think that she resembles you a lot." Fang Aisa laughs. "You used to be a crybaby when you were young."

"I didn't cry that much." Wang Mei frowns. "You were scary back then."

"I am a freaking demonic goddess now." Fang Aisa rests her chin in her hand. "But, nobody is scared of me."

"You are a lousy one."

Wang Mei is not lying. Fang Aisa is the demonic goddess, but she rarely acts like one. Once in a while, some high-ranked devil comes around and challenge challenged her, but it was always Sung Jun who sends them directly to the unbreakable prison. Though she is the one who restored the demon lords' bodies with the help of cores that Sung Jun extracted from Jar'Golen, all the demons along with their demon lords are scared of Sung Jun more than Fang Aisa. In the dark world of supernatural creatures, it is Sung Jun, the heavenly blessed immortal, who is famous as the devil who destroys anyone who dares to harbors any bad feeling toward his family. Fang Aisa is rather popular as the benevolent goddess who helps everyone who seeks help from her.

What a reversal of role! Reis shakes his head. This person doesn't act like a demonic god at all. It's a shame. He is the one who trained her.

He didn't appear in front of her since she has become the goddess. As he has promised, he considers her as a friend. But, he still feels guilt for his actions especially because Fang Aisa has no bad feeling toward him. As time goes on, his guilt has not decreased at all. If she has been angry, it would have been better.

The contract. Telling her the half truth. Manipulating her to become his medium. Throwing her in the hell. Wishing to separate her from the only person who can make her happy. Reis is guilty of this all, but he did it to save the world. His priorities have always been different.

Once in a while, Reis comes here to watch her from afar. She has not noticed yet.

Six young demon kids come to the garden. They look like mini-version of Sung Jun. They gather around their mother, complaining about each other. Fang Aisa checks on her youngest of her six sons, Seong Won who has fallen earlier when he was running to hide during the play.

"Where is Bae Ri Na?" Wang Mei asks Soo Han, the five years old boy.

"We were playing hide and seek." Soo Han explains calmly. "I don't know where she hid."

"What are you doing then?" Fang Aisa ask the kids "Except Seong Won, everyone will look for her. Find her. It's time for lunch."

"I am always scolded." Soo Han pouts. "I am only eight minutes older than Soo Hwan."

"Sung Soo Han, Sung Soo Hwan, and Sung Soo Hyun." Fang Aisa flicks their foreheads as she calls their full names. "She is your younger cousin sister. You have to take care of her. Always."

"Then, we don't have to?" Seong Min asks happily. "She always cries whenever she loses. She cries whenever she falls. She cries when we tease her. She cries when we joke. She cries when we play."

"Seong Min, Seong Jin, and Seong Won," Fang Aisa lets out an exasperated sigh. Bae Ri Na is human. Her boys are demons. She is not quite matched when they are playing. She also loses to them easily. But, Wang Mei is adamant that Bae Ri Na must play with them only. "She is older than you. Treat her with respect. Also, treat her gently. You also have to take care of her."

"That girl gives me a headache." Wang Mei rubs her forehead. "Was I really like her?"

"Yep." Fang Aisa doesn't mince her words. "You used to get scared easily."

Both of them laughs loudly. The boys start looking for Little Bae Ri Na. They go back inside the mansion to look for her. In a while, Reis falls asleep in the sunlight. Little Bae Ri Na comes out of her hiding spot and glances at the cat.

"Finally, I caught you." She mumbles to herself. She has seen this cat a few times. His mismatched eyes have attracted her attention. She has told about him to the boys. At first, they have been excited to catch this cat, but they have stopped believing her because the cat is sneaky and it has never appeared in front of the boys. She will catch this cat today and show it to those unruly boys.

Bae Ri Na cautiously moves toward the cat without making any sound. She is just about to grab the cat when it opens its mismatched eyes. With a flash, the cat jumps back away from her. Bae Ri Na looks at her hand that's been scratched by the cat. It starts bleeding. The time is suddenly flowing slowly. Bae Ri Na's lips tremble. Her eyes fill with tears. She opens her mouth to cry when the cat suddenly becomes a man.

The cat is the man. The man is the cat.

Bae Ri Na closes her mouth in shock. Bleeding hand and the pain are forgotten.

Reis is relieved to see that the girl didn't cry. It didn't want to enchant her mind. It is harmful to use that skill on a young child like her. He realizes that Fang Aisa has been talking about this girl. This young girl doesn't look cute to him at all. She is full of snot and tears on her face. She is looking at him with dumb eyes.

He looks at the bleeding hand, feeling bad for attacking a young child. He has been surprised. When he becomes a cat, most of his habits become like a cat. Rene Reis hates being surprised the most. Still, he moves closer to her and heals her hand. The girl doesn't stop staring.

"I hate fragile mortals," Reis tells her after he finishes healing her hand. He puts a handkerchief in that hand. "I hate crybabies more. Clean your face. Try to look cute."

Reis disappears right in front of her.

"You are here." Sung Soo Hyun is the first one to find her. "Are you hurt, cousin?"

"What?" Bae Ri Na comes out of her shock.

Sung Soo Hyun comes close to her and looks at her hands. There are drops of blood on the grass, but there is no wound on her body. "There is blood. Where did you get hurt?"

"I am not hurt." Bae Ri Na stands up.

"You have been crying." Sung Seong Jin appears from her right. "I am sorry for teasing you. I won't do it again. Don't hide and cry again."

"We won't tease you." Sung Soo Hyun promises. "We will treat you like our sister. None of us will ever make you cry again."

Though Bae Ri Na didn't cry because of the Sung Brothers, she is happy with the outcome. The cat has been lucky for her.

"I am starving, Hyung," She says to Sung Soo Hyun happily. "Let's go inside."

"Our mothers are cooking," Sung Seong Jin's tells her sadly. "I miss father at this time."

"He will be back soon." Bae Ri Na wraps her arm around little Sung Seong Jin and Sung Soo Hyun. Other boys also find them at the same time. They are relieved to see that Bae Ri Na is alright.

"Come inside." They hear Wang Mei yell at them. "Lunch is ready."

The other kids sigh at the same time. They slowly drag their legs to go to the mansion. At this time, they all miss Sung Jun's cooking the most.