Archive of Our Own ^beta

Rok Soo never bothered to search what the original Cale owned until a maid suggested using his previous playroom for his kids.

"Would you like us to clean the playroom, young master?"

"That... Sure, add some new toys too."

"It will be ready tomorrow, young master."

The maid nodded sternly, taking the task very seriously. She bowed down in a perfect 90° before excusing herself.

Cale and his group went to Henituse Estate to celebrate his sister's birthday. He brought lavish but useful gifts with him — not like he could show up to Lily's birthday empty-handed.

"Ron? You didn't mention that I had a playroom?"

He asked the old man entering his room, eyeing him suspiciously. It had been a month since he confessed to not being the 'Real Cale.' The group took it well but didn’t pry any deeper, thankfully.

"Have I not? It was of no use since his playroom was clubs and bars."

Eating breakfast with his family to celebrate Lily's birthday with just family before having the party at lunch. The maid yesterday approached him to inform that the rooms has been cleaned.

"For the children?"

Deruth asked, patting his face with a napkin, to which he nodded.

"I forgot it existed. It would be of use to the children, so I gave it a go."

"I suppose you have every toy in there? Different ways to stimulate the children's brains?"

"Of course, Counte— I mean, Duchess."

Violan smiled while Deruth sputtered but quickly recovered and just ate quietly. His siblings just wondered what type of playroom he had.

It's... Colorful... Very fitting for the energetic, bubbly child Ron had told me about...

Cale ran his hands through intricate gold patterns on the accent wall, feeling the detailed lines. He wondered how long he had used it—maybe before his mother went away. Sitting down at the window seat, absorbing the sight of a room that belonged to someone else, he felt odd.

Something's really off here... I get that it's for a child, but the toys are soft on the eyes. It's not blinding with color like the rest of the room.

He stood at the little table filled with a gold mini kitchen set, a gold baking set, and carved vegetables and fruits—all made of gold as well.

His taste is amazing, as expected of a bird.

Opening the little drawers, he stumbled upon a diary. A red leather diary with an emerald in the middle, shaped like a "C." He inspected it for any secret openings, relieved that there weren’t any. He unlatched the lock and started reading from the very first time the original Cale could hold a pencil.

"What the..."

Eyes furrowed, mouth in a frown—a face that screamed bewilderment. There was something wrong about the entries. This wasn’t a regular child’s diary. Goosebumps spread across his body as he quickly flipped from page to page, realizing a horrible truth.

"He knew..."

His voice cracked, and he silently closed the diary before holding it close and taking it with him.

On the way back to their home, everyone noticed his somber demeanor from a few days ago. Ron suspected what happened but didn’t say anything, knowing that anything about "Cale" would set his puppy’s alarm berserk.

The kids, Choi Han, Rosalyn—even Mary—tiptoed around him, knowing that one wrong move might shatter a fragile surface.

One rainy morning, Cale finally slid the diary to Eruhaben after breakfast. No one dared utter a word as Eruhaben carefully read through it.

A loud thump echoed when he aggressively shut the book. The others startled, waiting for the explanation behind Cale’s strange behavior.

The two people in the room who read the entries looked at each other with understanding.

"He knew... From the very start."

Eruhaben pursed his lips, not knowing how to respond for the first time.

Ron picked the diary up while Rosalyn peeked from behind. Ron got through two pages before sighing, eyes trembling. He put the diary back down as if it were a sacred item. Rosalyn’s eyes widened at the first entry.

"He’s so... How do you live with that...?"

Cale muttered, shaking, while the other three tried to make sense of it all.

The original Cale, from the very start of his life, knew that he wasn’t going to last long. He knew someone else would take his body and live with it. He knew about the deal, but not why it was made. He lived knowing he’d die.

As the wind blew past the window, a note flew to the ground. Choi Han picked it up, hesitating, but held it as delicately as a thin piece of glass.

"It says 'Live well'?"

Cale laughed bitterly, looking outside like he’d been deceived.

"We will live well then."

Smiling down at the diary, he quickly composed himself and nodded.

"There’s no use dwelling on it. We just discovered him all over again."

Eruhaben scoffed at the diary, though his eyes were soft.

"Make use of your life. Someone dedicated it to you."

"DAY 1:

My name is Cale and I’m 3! I learned to write today so I copied my Mommy having a diary.

I went out to play again but Mommy looked at me funny. She always looks at me like that when she sees what I did.

Big me talked to black smoke so I have to live very well until I go.

I have to get better so me and you don’t have a hard time.

–Love, Cale baby (I’m not a baby but Mommy calls me that so I’m introducing myself as one)