Myth 1: Prologue to New Beginnings

This story begins in a secluded mountain home with a very somber atmosphere. The dark clouds in the sky blanketing the surrounding with the pitter patter of rain fall. In the main living room a group of people kneeling on the ground and bowing in respect as a great person has left the realm of the living.

This man was Miyamoto Hanzou. He was known for being one of the last traditional sword smiths in the art of creating Japanese traditional swords best known as katana. This long forgotten art form is one of Japan`s national treasures and his swords were well sought out by many Japanese politicians, military leaders, and underworld bosses. He was also known for being a descendent of the great Miyamoto Musashi and has taught many practitioners of the Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu sword style at this location. His disciples ranged from yakuza to military officers. He did not believe in any political or legal standpoint to teach his way of the sword or better known as bushido. The only request he has given them was to only teach those they can trust. Hanzou also practiced ninjutsu and was considered a grand master of this fighting style. Not the ninjutsu found in stories and manga but actual assassination arts. He only taught the best students these arts and they are put under oath to not share these arts to no one but their descendents. At the age of eighty he passed on with many achievements in warfare, martial arts, philosophy and also some unmentionable titles in the criminal underworld. Within his lifetime he has only sired one child. His beloved wife died a few years after his only son was born. He had high hopes for his son to carry on his legacy but his son did not follow his wishes. He taught him as much of his skills as possible but his son was not built for fighting. He knew that and allowed his son to follow whatever dreams he wanted to pursue.

The man standing in front of everyone and greeting each member had a very sharp and handsome face. Although he was in his forties he did not show any traces of it except a silver lining of hair on the right side of his head. This man was Miyamoto Kenshiro the CEO of the Yamato Corporation. He owned the second most successful business in Japan for this period of time. He was considered a genius in business with connections both legal and in the underworld. He was also well regarded in the area of science and mathematics. He did not smile nor showed any emotion in his face. Beside him was his second wife Miyamoto Sakura and their fraternal twin children Miyamoto Kenji and Miyamoto Hanabi. The children had red puffy eyes from crying as someone important to them has passed away.

There was another young man who stayed in the corner of the room. Eyeing the picture and the urn with Hanzou`s ashes. Turning his gaze towards the twins and once he made eye contact he nodded his head. The two children walked towards him and he bent down and hugged him.

“Aka-nii!” Quietly sobbed Hanabi as she tightly grasped her elder brother. Her other brother buried his head into the young mans shoulder wiping tears on the mans suit.

The young man had medium length black hair slicked back in a very similar style as his father. Wearing a black suit and a tie, he allowed the two sobbing children to hug him while their tears began to fall and merge with his suit. His name was Miyamoto Akaro. His father was not the one who named him. It was Hanzou that did. The same grandfather who had had been cremated not too long ago. After a bit of time he slowly got up but still held his siblings hands one on each side. Their noses and eyes moist after rubbing the tears and runny noses they had. They have calmed down but they all went stiff as their eyes met their fathers.

The front of the room showed a picture of his late grandfather. There was no urn filled with ashes of his cremated grandfather. Instead there was a very beautiful katana displayed by the picture. Many of the discerning eyes believed and named it Miyamoto Hanzou's greatest work but there was a secret to the blade that only his direct family will ever know. It was made by his only apprentice in the art. Miyamoto Akaro.

Kenshiro showed no fondness for his first son. His first wife died after giving birth to him. The hatred and helplessness he felt as he watched the love of his life succumbing to the hands of death was all directed to Akaro. He had left the boy in his father's care as even a glimpse of him put him in a foul mood and would tempt him to kill the child. In order for him to run his business he had to cut out any weaknesses that would cause him to falter. He knew his son was not at fault for the death of his mother, Nu Eun Mi, but nonetheless the hatred grew. After a few years the hatred turned into indifference. He had no longer deemed Akaro as a son. But he could not do anything about it as he is technically his heir. As long as his father was alive the possibility of that changing was impossible. Now that he has passed the opportunity has presented itself. He was a businessman and he was not going to let this opportunity slip through his fingers.

“I'm sorry for your loss.” Another stern looking man made a comment.

Kenshiro who was brought out of his dark thoughts looked back at the man. “You give us great honour for visiting us in this time of mourning. Kusanagi-dono."

Kusanagi clan was heavily affiliated to the yakuza. Their leader was Kusanagi Tatsumi and was a very honourable man. He was Miyamoto Hanzou's very first disciple in the way of sword. Kenshiro was talking to this man and he turned to look at the young woman beside him.

“Kusanagi Kiyomi-hime has grown to be a fine beauty like her namesake. Thank you for coming.” Kenshiro remained polite as this was a man who was quite close to his grandfather and one of the people who supported the Miyamoto clan in the shadows.

“Thank you for your compliment and my condolences.” Kiyomi replied.

Kiyomi looked behind her and saw the young man comforting his siblings. She unintentionally glared as she had a grudge against the young man but this was not the place to act on it out of respect to her father's sensei. She and her father left after making their greetings.

Many other people greeted Kenshiro before leaving. Some of Hanzou’s disciples from different countries who held considerable political power. Many were politicians in power who has backed the Miyamoto clan financially and some who were active board members of his company. Once the last man left home he turned his attention to his family.

“Miyamoto Akaro,” Kenshiro spat out before he continued, “As you may have already come to know, I do not see you as a son. Nor will I ever acknowledge you as the heir to the company I worked so hard to build.”

Akaro did not flinch or react to the hateful words coming out of his father's mouth. He only nodded as he stared at the raging eyes before him.

His half siblings reacted almost immediately startled by his raised voice and hid behind him.

“Hanabi, Kenji.” They jumped as they were being called by their father as he continued, “Go to your mother.”

They silently walked and sat beside their mother on tatami floor. She was wearing a traditional black kimono used for mourning at a funeral. Although she was wearing plain clothing her face showed a serene type of beauty that can be only described by the Japanese as a Yamato Nadeshiko. As her husband spoke she kept a composed face. Although inwardly she hated how her husband treated her stepson but out of respect for her husband she did not openly shared her feelings. When they married Akaro was only the age of seven as he was brought along with her soon to be father in law. She wanted to befriend him and wanted him to acknowledge her as his new mother but her husband was highly against it. It was not until after she gave birth and visited Hanzou every year with her own children did she create some sort of bond with the boy. She knew he wouldn't accept her as a mother but she wanted him to know that she did not share the same views as her husband.

Taking out a piece of paper, Kenshiro laid it out in front of Akaro. “Sign this.”

Akaro read the paper as he held the pen in his right hand. It stated:

'I, Miyamoto Akaro, renounce my name and any claim on any profit the Yamato Corporation will have present and in the future. I sign my name here to verify that I have no more ties to Miyamoto Kenshiro and the Miyamoto family.'

Upon my signature of these terms I will take the inheritance that my grandfather, Miyamoto Hanzou, has left me in a lump sum to be entrusted to my other grandfather, Nu Myung-Dae, until I have proven to be able to handle my own inheritance. I will also leave the country of Japan and live with Nu Myung-Dae in Korea and spend the rest of my life in Korea.'

Signature............................................ Witness.....................................................

The eighteen year old boy pondered. This was an opportunity for him to meet his family in Korea. He knew of them when he spoke with his grandfather as he explained that he was half Korean. He had no other family left other than his step siblings and mother. He knew they did not think the same way as this man who he was told his father. He had no love for this man who seldom showed up in his life. The only memories with this man were the glimpse of pain and sorrow in his eyes for brief moments before replaced with hatred. He was about to sign the paper until he heard the voice of his younger brother.

“DON'T SIGN IT ANIUE!” Shouted Kenji. “Father he is your son and my brother! This is disrespectful to our honoured grandfather.”

“Kenji!” His father bellowed. “You are the next heir of the family. I will not have you disrespect me!”

As he walked towards the younger boy and prepared to strike him Akaro moved like a shadow and stopped him.

“I will sign. Do not hurt him.” Akaro finally spoke throughout this night. He seldom spoke and his whole family knew that. One of the reasons he was deemed unworthy of inheriting the name Miyamoto, was his lack of social skills. He grew up in the mountains with only his grandfather and his grandfather's students. Even then he only spoke with his grandfather and never made any friends with the pupils as they had a large age gap of twenty years.

Breaking free from Akaro's grasps he then scowled and glared at Kenji. He hated how his other children held such respect for the older boy. He then looked at his wife and noticed the icy glare staring back at him. He knew she loved her children and any harm to them would be a faux pas. He grimaced as he knew he will not hear the end of it later on this evening.

Mustering up his courage Kenji continued, “Then I propose a slight change in the contract.”

“Oh?” Kenshiro amused with his son trying to barter with him. He taught the boy the essence of business and groomed him to be a proper heir. Out of curiosity he motioned the boy to continue.

Kenji sighed as waves of relief hit him, “I want to propose that he does not cut ties with us his siblings. We want to be able to visit him whenever we want. I will acknowledge I am the sole family heir but I do not want to lose my Aka-nii.”

At that both Hanabi and Kenji kneeled in seiza position as if asking for forgiveness for their rude behavior.

“Anata you should consider this as they would have not been here if not for his aid and guidance.” Sakura added on.

Taking the paper from Akaro, Kenshiro took out a pen and made the adjustments. He knew at this point this would probably be the best he can get out of it. Giving the paper back to Akaro he motioned him to sign. “Be thankful I am letting this change happen.” he blurted out and waited for the young man to sign it.

Akaro did not hesitate and signed the piece of paper and gave it to his step-mother to sign as the witness. He was quite pleased that his step family cared for him but he did not smile. It was part of his training to keep his emotion in check regardless of the situation.

After confirming the signature was made Kenshiro took the paper and signed it as well. He then started speaking, “You will be packing all your things and I have already made sure all the items my father wanted you to have are in the plane. You will be leaving tonight.” With that he left the room as he knew his family will want to speak with him. He went to a bedroom that was prepared for him and his family.

Once their father left the room the twins latched onto Akaro without hesitation as they sobbed. They were so saddened that he was leaving them. Their mother also stood up and gave him a quick hug before leaving to berate her husband in private for the way he was acting in front of the children.

“Onii-cha..an” Hanabi sniffled out, “You'll stay in contact with us won't you?”

“I'll send a letter.” Akaro simply replied smiling slightly as her dishevelled hair and face came into view. She was a cute girl that takes after her mother and for sure would grow up to be a beauty.

“You should get a laptop and send emails to us. But then again...” Kenji started out to say before his face contorted as he continued, “The last time we tried to get you to use a laptop you blew it up.”

“That was an accident! I saw a bug and screamed and he... he... tried to protect me!” Hanabi defended.

“By throwing the laptop at the cockroach and throwing several kunai along with it...” Kenji sighed at the overprotective attitude his half-brother displayed in that memory before continuing, “Regardless aniue still has problems with electronics. Even when I wanted him to play some video games with me, we would play on the old super famicom (super nintendo) as the controls were simple.” complained the younger boy. “Promise me aniki you'll try to get used to technology. I cannot be there to help you with that, now that you are leaving.”

With an apologetic facial expression Akaro nodded at his junior. The young boy, like his sister, was cute. He knew that Kenji looked very similar to his father but had a more gentler look. He also knew his younger sibling was right as he was not used to using technology. His grandfather believed that technology made people forget about training their bodies and the major cause of laziness. He doesn't hold the same prejudice but he grew up with less access to modern technology. He would prefer to read then to play games. He humoured his brother and played an old system his father apparently used when he was a child. He thought it impossible his father would play games but remembered that everyone was a child once.

As soon as the goodbyes were set he went to his room to pack his belongings which wasn't much. He had the first katana he ever made, his dark red ninja garb he used for training, and a whole library of books that ranged from history, fantasy, languages, and even biology. Particularly the languages he was most interested in were Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin, English, Tagalog, and German. Majority of languages he wanted to learn were due to not only the disciples that have come to learn under his grandfather but also in grandfather’s many war stories.Having a photographic memory helped in learning to write with these languages but also because of his grandfather’s disciples he was able to also practice speaking with them as well. Not as fluent as a native speaker but just enough to be able to hold a conversation. This made his heart somewhat more calm as he will be heading to a land where he can somewhat understand the language.

He knew that his mother was from Korea and was one of the languages he decided to learn first early on. To be more precise his grandfather made sure he was to learn it first out of honour to his mother. As he did not attend school growing up, most of his education was either self taught or guidance from his grandfather.

As he was being driven to the airport he used this time to meditate and calm his nerves. He was going to miss his home in the mountains and he missed his grandfather the most. Although he was already the age of eighteen and was a young man he couldn’t help but feel slightly afraid. As they arrived at the airport he clenched his fist as he was directed to the private jet. Once seated he only held on tightly as the plane quickly departed. The anxiety of being in a vehicle that flew also did not help with his nerves but he could not help but see the beauty of seeing the top of clouds illuminated by the moonlight.

The country of Japan did not lose one national treasure but two. The greatest legacy that Miyamoto Hanzou has left behind was not his students, nor the swords he created, or even the achievements he accrued throughout his life. It was the black haired youth who was now becoming a citizen of Korea.

***

Touching down at the Incheon International Airport he had finished reading his book and was taking a small nap. The moment the landing gear hit the ground Akaro woke up immediately. Checking his surroundings he got up and prepared to leave the plane. The moment he stepped out of the private jet his body froze. The notion of entering another country has now hit him. The feeling of unfamiliar territory caused his senses to tense and his focus to increase. Now he understood the meaning of a foreigner. Still wearing the suit he wore for Hanzou's funeral he followed the direction the pilots were going. As he was about to ask about the luggage a man came up and bowed to him.

“Young master, we will be handling the luggage. Please continue to follow the pilots to enter the airport.” A man shorter than him bowed and spoke to him in Korean.

As his understanding was still limited to basic Korean he nodded.. As he thought he was being called young master would mean that his grandfather in Korea, Nu Myung-Dae, must be someone of importance. As he was pondering he entered the airport and a whole group of people started to stare at him. Feeling the stares he frowned slightly as he thought maybe they thought he was an eyesore as he believed they saw an ugly foreigner. Contradictory to what he was speculating they were looking at him as he was some kind of actor from overseas. His facial look was considered handsome to most women and men alike. He was taller than the average Korean and his build from training for the majority of his life showed through even with the suit covering most of the skin. They also saw him leave from the private exits saved for rich businessmen rather than the exits used by those who flown the commercial flights.

Looking a bit lost he thought, “Strange, now that I think about it. I do not know anyone here. How am I going to find my grandfather?”

Standing in the middle of the airport in thought, women began to gather around him but kept a safe distance away as they continued to stare at him. They began to whisper between each other and started rating him and daring each other to try and approach him.

Feeling the predatory eyes of the women around him Akaro thought, “They all look like they would try to eat me...”

Growing up in the mountains and only being surrounded by men he was sheltered from the advances of women. The only women he knew was his step mother and his half sister. Not liking the situation he started to silently walk towards the exits of the airport in which the taxi cabs can be found.

As Akaro stepped out of the airport he was then approached by a beautiful women in her late thirties. She wore a suit jacket and matching skirt. She had beautiful dark brown hair that was cut up to her shoulders. She had glasses that matched well with her eyes. She then hugged him before he can react.

Feeling him being tense she chided herself for acting so familiar with him. “Hello my nephew.” She quickly said as she let go of him and apologized, “I'm sorry for hugging you all of a sudden. You reminded me of your mother.” A stray tear came out of her eyes.

After hearing her say those words and noticing the tears attempting to leave her eyes he nodded. Akaro understood that this person was someone related to him from his mother's side. The embrace caught him off guard but he let it go as she was being sincere. Still he stayed silent as he was wondering what her name was.

“I'm your aunt, Kim Juhee.” Juhee quickly followed up, “Call me, auntie.”

He nodded once more before replying, “Yes auntie.”

Juhee was surprised from hearing his voice as this was the first words he spoke to her. She thought ‘He has a really nice voice just like, unni.’ Looking him up and down she saw that this boy was going to be breaking a lot of hearts but she can feel that he was not used to that type of attention. She spotted a grouping of girls starting to gather around and decided it was time to leave. “Follow me. I'll be driving you to abeoji.” As she pulled him towards her luxury vehicle.

Akaro followed her and sat on the passenger side. He felt the predatory looks start to fade away and was quite thankful for his aunt.

They started to drive towards the location where his grandfather resided. During the trip he quickly memorized the street names and highway information they passed by in the case he ever had to go back to the airport. As they drove he started to notice less of the concrete commercial buildings to a more rural area. Seeing many houses were built so close together and knit themselves onto the hill. As they started driving up one street where he noticed a house with farm animals being raised.

'So they could raise chicken and rabbits in this neighbourhood. Must be a good area.' He pondered as he notice the area with young families and the elderly living in the surrounding area. He saw a house for sale nearby the one house with the chickens and he made note of it mentally.'

Driving up the street they came to a secluded driveway that lead further in. His aunt continued to drive until they reach a traditional Korean house with a large front yard. The serenity that exuded from this house showed that it was well kept and as not even a spiderweb nor and damage can be found on it. The stone walkway curved towards the home while the yard itself had a pond and a man-made waterfall falling into it with a gentle soothing noise as it hit the stones and rocks below it. After leaving the car he walked towards closer to the pond and noticed many gold fish in it as well. Very similar to the koi ponds in the home he lived before. He had a thought that his Korean grandfather might have similar taste to his Japanese one.

Following his aunt he took off his shoes at the entrance and silently walked beside his aunt. His movements were so quiet that if Juhee had not already known he was beside her she would have jumped as she may have seen a ghost. As they entered the living room he saw an elderly old man reading a novel. He had snow white hair and golden rimmed round glasses. He looked to be in his sixties as he looked a bit younger than Hanzou. His face had a dignifying look only found on those who were accomplished and held great wisdom.

Placing his book down, Nu Myung-Dae stood up and eyed the young man with a sincere gaze. The same sincere eyes stared intently to measure his grandson. In Japanese he spoke to Akaro, “Welcome my grandson. My name is Nu Myung-Dae. Please call me harabeoji or whatever you are comfortable with. I also like gramps, grandpa, or even old man.” He winked at the last statement as he said that to be humorous as a smile showed on his face.

Akaro didn't return the smile as he was still wary with this old man. He gave a polite nod and bowed towards his grandfather as he done so many times in the past to show respect.

As there was no reaction to his joke Myung-Dae was taken aback slightly. He was hoping that joke would have broken the ice but instead he saw his grandson bowing to him out of respect. The surprise was only for a moment before he spoke, “There is no need for such formalities. I am your grandfather and even though this is our first meeting I just want you to relax and let us get to know each other.” He quickly glanced at Juhee and she gave him a look as if asking “Is this normal.”

Juhee during the whole trip tried a few times to start a conversation but was greeted with silent nods instead of a verbal response. She sighed as he was doing the same thing to her father.

'I wonder why he is so quiet. Even when he walks he's like a ghost.'

She slightly shuddered at the thought of him haunting her. He had that eerie atmosphere around him but she chalked it up as nervousness meeting with his Korean family for the first time.

Juhee, Myung-Dae and Akaro all went towards a square table and sat in the cushioned chairs. Myung-Dae smiling as he got to see his only grandson while he was still alive. Juhee showing the same smile feeling she just got a new son. While Akaro stared blankly at the both of them not knowing if he should returned the smile or not.

“What is your first thoughts on our lovely country?” His grandfather asked him in Japanese. Although it was not the best accent he still understood it.

Akaro thinking that it may be uncomfortable for his grandfather to continue speaking in Japanese he replied in Korean, “It is warm place honoured grandfather.”

“Oh you speak Korean? When did you learn?” Myung-Dae asked.

“At a young age. Grandfather wanted me to honor my mother by learning it first.” Akaro simply replied.

“It is still quite good.” His aunt replied first.

“You said first? What other languages do you know?” His grandfather caught onto that sentence right away.

“English, German, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Tagalog..” Akaro replied. Showing no change in his emotion.

At this point the two older members of the room noticed that he has not showed any expression in their conversation with him. They knew that he did not have the greatest father as Kenshiro offered Myung-Dae over 3,000,000,000 won just to take the youth out of his hands but they have heard he was quite friendly with his step family. They looked at each other and nodded as if they telepathically both informed each other it was going to take time for him to open up to them. They both had a positive outlook with their interaction with him and with fire in their eyes they made a silent promise to have him open up to them.

Myung-Dae then gave Akaro some papers to sign. He explained, “Akaro, as per your father's agreement we are obligated to change your name. If you do not mind I have renamed you Nu Myung-Ki. After my own name. Is that okay with you?”

Akaro knew that it was about time this talk needed to happen. He knew in general his name needed to change in order for him to be accepted as a Korean citizen and to be able to blend in within this country. He nodded without hesitation although inwardly he felt a little bit of regret as the name Miyamoto Hanzou has given him was one of the many keepsakes he was given.

‘My father made sure to take that away from me as well.’ He kept that dialogue within his mind of course.

Signing the papers Nu Myung-Ki was born as a true citizen of Korea. He gave back the papers to his grandfather and watched as Myung-Dae gave the papers to Juhee.

“Make sure to take this and get all the papers authenticated. You have now adopted your nephew as your own.” Myung-Dae smiled at his daughter. He knew she always wanted children but was unfortunately not blessed with the ability to do so. Her ex-husband left her for that reason and he knew she was lonely. He hoped that Myung-ki will be able to help mend her heart and is one of the reasons he did not mind having this young lad live with them. “Myung-ki you may call her eomma as she is now your legal guardian.”

Mixed feelings began to arise in Juhee. She has always wanted her own child and was happy she was given the opportunity to have Myung-ki part of her life. He was the sole son of her elder sister and he was abandoned by his own father. She hated his father with a passion. She hated how he treated his son and how he took her sister away and brought her to Japan during the pregnancy. She blamed him for her death although in her heart she knew that her sister had a weak constitution. Like Juhee, Eun Mi was not expected to give birth to a child. Miraculously she did but at the cost of her own life. Juhee believed that Eun Mi gave her life so that she can provide that man with a son.

‘She would be crying now knowing what he did to Myung-Ki.’ her face scowled at the thought. She then looked at Myung-Ki with the intent to know what his answer was. She can already feel the emotions welling up in her if he decided that he would not accept her as family. Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes threatening to fall upon hearing his answer.

Myung-Ki on the other hand did not know this history. He himself has never really grown up with a female figure other than his step-mother from time to time. Here is another situation he was not used to. His face did not show his discomfort but he steeled his resolve and accepted his fate. He is no longer a Japanese man of the Miyamoto family but he still remembers what he was taught.

**Flashback**

“Akaro. Men protect the weak and innocent. That is what we are born to do. I teach you my techniques so that you may be able to use it to protect your family, and any loved ones you'll come to know in the future.” With a voice that held great authority, Hanzou continued, “Promise me Akaro. If you ever get the chance to meet your family in Korea. You will protect them the same way you protect your step siblings.”

Young Akaro nodded at his grandfather.

“Good good. I may have taught you too well. You hide your emotions all too well!” His grandfather bellowed while laughing. “Remember a shinobi must not show any of his emotions in front of an enemy, but to people he loves it is okay to smile and show them some emotions.”

The youth smiled back at his grandfather a toothy grin.

“That's it! Now enough of that lets go do some survival training!” His grandfather although quite elderly still moved like a young man.

**End Flashback**

***

The memory ended and Akaro glanced back at Juhee. “Yes eomma. I will be happy to be your son.” He then smiled at her which quickly turned to a worried look. His aunt had fallen over in tears while a serene smile was on her face.

“Don't worry grandson. She just fainted from being happy!” his Korean grandfather laughed at the situation. “That's more like it grandson. You should smile like that more with us. We are your family now! Forget about all the depressing things in the past and let us move onward to the future!” Myung-Dae spoke with energy. “I will also have your aunt be in charge of your inheritance. This is equal to 90,000,000,000 won. That is quite a lot of money. What would you like to do first?”

“Can we buy a house down the road?” Myung-ki said as his aunt finally started to wake up. He helped her up as he asked this question.

“Hmm why would you need a new house. You can stay here with me. This house has enough room for the three of us.” Myung-Dae said as he started to feel a little depressed after hearing his grandson was already planning to move out.

“Honorable grandfather...” but before Myung-ki could continue he was smacked upside the head. It hurt so he stopped to rub his head.

“Aigoo! Stop calling me honorable grandfather. Makes me feel older and makes me feel like a stranger. I hate formalities. Just call me gramps.” The old man sternly scolded his grandson.

Continuing Myung-ki started again, “Gramps, I am now eighteen. I should start to learn to live on my own. There is a plot of land down the road that it would be nice to set up a house. I would still like to continue my routines and need a proper location to do so. I do not want to damage your lovely home for the type of training that I do.” Feeling a lot more comfortable now with his new family he did not need to hold his tongue and spoke freely among them.

“I can agree on one condition. I will be moving in their with you.” Juhee wiping her tears and regaining her composure continued, “What kind of mother would I be if I do not even take care of you and feed you.”

Myung-Dae hearing his daughter's condition for the situation happily said, “I can agree in those terms. But this will have to be built still so you will be staying with me here until then. I can make arrangements to buy the plot of land there and get the construction started. Do you have any conditions that we need to know?”

“I just need a large room to practice martial arts in, a library for all my books, and maybe a shed where I can do a bit of swordsmithing.”

“The first two should be easy but the last request. Sword making is not something we come across too often but I'll make sure they build you the perfect residence.” Myung-Dae proudly said. “This will not be coming out of your own pocket. This is my gift to you for missing all those birthdays.”

“Then I will make sure to add in a few things for myself in this home.” Juhee also put in her two cents as her father will be paying the bill, “We'll need a good kitchen, bathrooms in all the bedrooms and maybe a place where I can garden. We'll also need capsules for Fighting Destiny Online as well.” She then looked at her new son, “We will be living here while it is being built. With father's resources shouldn't take more than a month.”

‘Fighting Destiny Online?’

Thought Myung-Ki. He decided to not worry about it and just nod his head and agreed to all the conditions as he did not have any idea on what is needed for a house to be built. Following his aunt he went to his temporary bedroom and spotted all the items he has packed and a few other boxes and bags of items his grandfather left to him as an inheritance. After the roller coaster of emotions he experienced in a day his eyes felt really heavy. His father figure had passed on and he was forced to leave the life he always knew behind. But he took this as a new beginning as he had obtained another grandfather and even a mother of his own. He smiled as this was the first time he felt true freedom.