Chapter 3

It was at the orphanage that John first met Eric Belderk. Unlike him, who entered the orphanage at the age of 10, Eric said he had been here for a long time.

He entered the orphanage, but he found out a long time later that Eric was the same age as him. It was because he was Eric, who was so small that he would collapse if hit, so he naturally assumed that he would be the younger brother.

Furthermore, Eric Belderk was an idiot. He always stared at the window with a blank expression, but he seemed to be looking at a tree standing tall outside the orphanage. Also, Erik couldn’t communicate like he had never learned a language, and occasionally made strange noises in the middle of the night that resembled howls of animals.

The interesting thing was that John and Eric looked very similar. Every time they saw them with brilliant silver hair and blue eyes, the adults at the orphanage would jokingly ask if the two were actually lost brothers. Every time that happened, John felt like he was being treated on the same level as an idiot, and he felt dirty.

However, Eric seemed to like John quite a bit. The guy who always stood blank and only looked at the window began to hover around John whenever he had time. Since he couldn’t talk anyway, he was a little annoying, but not to the point of being intrusive. Thus, John gradually accepted Eric.

Life in the orphanage was literally hell. The children, who grew up eating things like trash, had become skinny enough to reveal their bones. Long-starved children chewed pieces of blankets or ate tree roots and soil.

It was a year later that he heard Eric talking. Eric, who was kicked by the director for not being able to pee at the age of over 10, suffered from a high fever for more than 10 days from that night.

Even when John saw it, it felt unusual. Eric suffered so much that he wondered what would happen to him if he died like that.

However, on exactly the 15th day, Eric, who suddenly gained energy, immediately took John’s hand and left the orphanage. The place he took was under a large tree planted right in front of the orphanage. The tree, which Eric looked at through the window every day, soared as if it were about to touch the cloud with its roots firmly embedded.

“Romian.”

Eric definitely said ‘Romian’. When John heard this, his eyes were surprised and big. Eric’s eyes, which were always blurry, were young for an instant. Eric told John relatively many stories in a split second.

His sister named Romian. The story of going to see fireworks at the festival together and losing his sister’s hand. He even said that he promised to meet at the tree, the guardian deity of the village, but failed to keep it.

Eric spewed out so many words that it was hard to believe that he had kept his mouth shut until now.

‘John, can you tell my sister I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise for me?’

‘… You say that yourself. Seeing that you’re speaking well, I think you’re better now.’

‘You know what? My sister is pretty like a fairy when she smiles. You’re jealous, right?’

‘Who cares? You’re noisy.’

‘I want Sister Romian to be truly happy.’

It was his first and last conversation with Eric. The next day, Eric was discharged from the orphanage as a cold corpse. He was incinerated with a pile of garbage without holding a proper funeral.

The director, who was burning the body, ordered John to bring all Eric’s belongings. All Eric had left was a worn-out robe and a worn-out handkerchief that was about to rip.

[Eric Belderk.]

However, John, who found Eric’s name on the handkerchief, took it away. Looking back, he didn’t know why he made such a choice. For some reason, at the time, he was seized with the feeling he had to.

John ran out of the orphanage as soon as he was seventeen. Then, he blindly headed to the furthest place from the orphanage. Because everything there was terrible.

As time passed, Johan grew into adulthood, but his life didn’t differ much from when he was in the orphanage. Life was still a struggle, just like the gutter. He had no qualms about engaging in illegal activities such as black market transactions if it meant money. Using his attractive appearance, he even sold his charm to wealthy married women with deep pockets. He had a talent for persuasion and deception, often resorting to scams. It could be said that he lived by whatever means necessary.

[Looking for a younger brother who was lost 20 years ago].]

It was really a coincidence to see the last page of the newspaper. The gaze, which was reading without emotion, stopped once at the name of “Eric Belderk” and once again at the name of “Romian Belderk.”

The article described in relative detail how a widow named Romian lost her younger brother. Surprisingly, it was the same as what Eric told John just before he died. At that moment, John had this idea.

If he did well, John could make a big fortune.

John immediately headed to the address written in the newspaper. Until then, he had no intention of introducing himself as Eric. He was just going to get paid a lot of money in return for telling her about him, emphasizing that he was from the same orphanage as Eric.

And there, John saw Romian for the first time. The woman standing with a dazed expression seemed as if she could die any moment, with no signs of vitality. It was like a cruel twist of fate to encounter someone like Romian. A bolt of lightning struck Johannes’s mind. His heart pounded as if it was about to burst.

‘You know what? My sister is pretty like a fairy when she smiles. You’re jealous, right?’

He didn’t know why Eric’s words came to mind at that moment. But he was sure of one thing. John desperately wanted to see Romian smiling brightly.

The next day, the next day. John went to visit Romian. Standing at a distance, he wanted nothing but a smile. At first, he just wished for her, but as time went by, he came to yearn for her, and that longing turned into a terrible possessive desire for Romian.

How to make her laugh. What did she want most?

Eric was puzzled.

Of course his troubles didn’t last very long. Because he knew so well that what Romian wanted most was to find her lost brother.

But he couldn’t bring back the dead Eric. John had to figure out another way. Then suddenly, he remembered that he and Eric had very similar looks. The fact that he hated it so much at the time was funny, but now it was considered very fortunate.

“How can you prove that you are my brother?”

Romian’s gaze toward him was full of distrust. John smiled as kindly as he could and held out a worn-out handkerchief.

“Can this be proof?”

Thus John became Romian’s lost brother, Eric Belderk.