"Kyuri, where did you go?" My mother asks me hysterically when I return home.
"I went to see a friend." I grin at her. "I am sorry for making you worry."
"Silly girl." She shakes her head in anger. "Don't wander on your own."
"Yes, yes." I hug her lightly. "I won't wander like this again."
On the couch, my father clicks his tongue when he hears me. His mood is bad. I don't have to take a guess why. I sit beside him and says, "Father, you aren't mad at me, are you?."
He ignores me. That's a wrong question to ask. The silence between us become longer. My mother notices this and leaves us alone. She understands that he and I have to talk.
My father glances at me steadily. "Tell me the truth, Kyuri. What happened to you?"
I can't hide much from his eyes. He knows me well. I think that it's the right time to tell. I don't get into details or the things that I suffered. I hide about Li Jun and Kang Si An. I hide the most information. My father listens to me quietly.
"There was an accident. My body was frozen for a little more than a thousand years. So, when I appeared in front of the dorm back then..."
My father is quiet, but the deep sorrow in his eyes is clear. I hear my mother's sobs in another room. She must have been listening. I didn't want to tell them, but I felt like they needed to know. It would never make sense that a fine and healthy woman turned into a woman on the verge of death due to malnourishment and exhaustion. They are my family.
"You have suffered." He pats my head softly. "Why didn't you come to see us earlier?"
"I needed to be away until my time started running again," I let out a sigh. "My past self was still there. I couldn't appear before she was gone."
He has a lot of questions. Why didn't I try to change the past? I don't answer them. The past can change, but it changes for people who aren't time-travelers. For time-traveler, only the present change. However, the memories can never leave the mind. Has my past really change? I am still the same person who was Kang Si An's fake girlfriend and Li Jun's wife once.
We talk for a while. After dinner, I go to my room. I check the news on my laptop. There is promotional news of Kang Si An's movie 'Our Tangled Destiny'. Kang Si An is smiling and talking about the movie.
Out of all the reincarnations, Li Jun and Kang Si An have different women by their sides. They also have the same appearance.
In the original timeline, I was Li Jun's first wife. He had to take Wu Qiuyue as his concubine because of the emperor's wish. I was Kang Si An's fake girlfriend turned real girlfriend and I also got pregnant with his child. After changing the past, Li Jun's wife became someone else and he had a child with that woman. Wu Qiuyue was still his concubine. Kang Si An has a real girlfriend now. I am guessing that she won't die.
If I compare how they will react differently when they see me holding a dagger in the alley, all the reactions are too different.
Li Jun will probably come to my side and ask me to stab him if it makes me happy.
Lu Weixue will run to me and twist my wrist. Once the dagger falls out my hand, he will scold me for trying to kill myself.
Kang Si An will... well, I already know how he will react. He was there.
I let out a sigh. I am not the type of person who steals another woman's man. My life has turned into a mess. My heart is messier.
***
At morning, my brother gives me a comforting hug during breakfast. He must have heard everything from my mother. I roll my eyes and push him away. "This doesn't suit you, brother."
"You think, huh?" He furrows his brows. "I don't know how to accept the fact that my little sister is older than me. So, you are an old prude inside that young body."
I click my tongue in annoyance. He can find humor in every situation. "Don't call me that."
"Let me see." He runs his fingers through my scalp. "Is that white hair?"
"Brother!" I kick him lightly on his leg. "I don't have any white hair."
"Ow!" He touches the place where I kicked him. "You have gotten stronger."
Did I? The time crystal is active again. So, my senses and strength have increased. I should control my strength.
"By the way, did you meet the founder of the K country?" My brother asks me hopefully. "You must have taken his autograph?"
"I didn't go back that far." I chuckle. "I met many other great personalities. I will so you everything later."
My temporary immortality had perks. After leaving Lu Weixue, I didn't try to bury myself again or avoid life. Bad things did happen to me, but there were also good things. Like...
"So, we are rich?" My brother shouts in excitement, "I can't believe that I am working at the company that my sister owns."
"Is that all you can say?" My father glares at him.
"Father, she's rich." My brother points toward me. "Crazy rich! We don't have to work for ten lifetimes."
"Hello?" I lightly slam the table. "Why would I share my wealth with you? You must earn your food. I will only share it with my father and mother."
"Filial piety." My mother finds it amusing. "Kyuri, we don't want your wealth. We only want you to live well from now on. You might have had a long life, but I don't think that you lived for a single day."
I purse my lips. All wealth and pleasures are nothing if one must do it alone, but yes, it's better to be sad at a luxurious apartment than a street.
"It wasn't all that bad." I grin at them. "Mother, I must say that you cook the most delicious meals in the world."
"My sweet little sister, buy me this car." My brother shows me a car's picture on his phone. "I will do whatever you want me to do. I will even call you my elder sister."
"You are a shameless brother." My father chides him.
Someone rings the bell. I wonder who is it. My brother opens the door. I see a man in formal attire. With one glance, I can tell that it's someone from the timekeeper's organization.