Chapter 1: Goodbye, my mother

Fing b*tch! Fing son of a b*tch!

All mothers in the world deserve respect.

Of course, there are mothers who abuse or neglect their children, but the vast majority give their children infinite love and affection.

When I was young, I took such favors for granted, but after entering society, I realized that such great favors were not at all a given.

And if I were to pick the most wonderful mother among those who give such favors, I would definitely say it’s my own mother.

I am one of those people who live with that thought.

My mother has been single-handedly taking care of me since I was young, and she is the one who cherishes me more than anyone else in this world.

I have no memory of my father’s face. He left my mother and me, running away from his responsibilities.

A weak person. That is my assessment of my father over the years.

My mother never blamed the man who didn’t clean up his own mess and left everything to the woman he loved.

She just said that if she had been better, he wouldn’t have left, and every time my father was mentioned, she always spoke as if she was the cause of it all.

Whenever I saw my mother like that, I thought to myself, ‘No, Mother. It’s not your fault. It’s the fault of that man who didn’t recognize a wonderful woman like you and left.’

But I couldn’t actually say it out loud. Because if I blamed that man, she would deny it and blame herself even more. I could only listen to my mother’s words.

I will no longer let my mother live in pain. That is my life goal that I thought of and decided to keep as soon as I came to my senses.

To achieve that goal, I first devoted myself to studying. I thought studying was the easiest way to succeed and a realistic choice.

I studied with butter in my eyes, never sleeping until the end of every class, and spent almost all my time studying except for mealtimes and breaks.

Even then, I didn’t want to spend money on studying, so I copied the workbooks that the teachers bought for reference.

F***ing support is not necessary!

Seeing me like this, some praised me for being admirable, and some pointed fingers at me for being foolish.

But what did it matter? I had no other thought but to go the path given to me.

I just wanted the smile to never leave my mother’s face. I wanted her to be rewarded even half, or even 10%, of everything she spent on me. That was all I thought about.

As if to reward my efforts, the world gave me a chance. A chance to go to college, a college that everyone in the world recognizes, with a full scholarship.

The moment I heard the news, my heart was overwhelmed. Ah, finally! I burst into tears at my mother’s touch, patting my shoulder and encouraging me.

That’s right. Now, all I have to do is work a little harder in college. Then, I firmly believed that I could make my mother live without suffering anymore.

…Or so I thought.

Even in this situation, I can only think of my mother. It makes me realize once again how much I usually think about my mother.

I look around me through my gradually blurring eyes. A dark red liquid spreading from my body. The liquid seems hotter than anything else, but conversely, my body is getting colder and colder.

A dagger flies and pierces my chest. In the end, I couldn’t achieve anything. I tried so hard to make my mother laugh, but instead, I left her with even greater pain.

As the loud noises around me gradually fade away, I fall into an intense sleep. No, I can’t leave my mother alone like this.

But unlike my thoughts, my body doesn’t move, and only the tips of my fingers twitch slightly. Ah, Mother. I’m so sorry. I don’t think I can see you anymore.

There is no more unfilial son than this. Well, that’s because a fire-attribute filial son is a ridiculous story.

As my vision slowly closes, I thought quietly. If there is such a thing as the next life, please let me be a person like my mother. With that thought, I breathed my last.

‘But why did I end up like this…?’