Side Story 3 – Don’t Brag to Philly

It was an ordinary spring day. By now, Philly had turned five, and it had been a year since their second child, Rosiana, was born.  

Elena and Felix had become seasoned experts in parenting.  

There were, of course, difficult and exhausting days, but the happy ones far outweighed them.  

“Abya-bya-bya!”  

“Rosie, are you excited because the food is delicious?”  

Elena smiled warmly at Rosiana, who waved her arms while eating baby food fed to her by Felix. Felix wiped the corners of Rosiana’s mouth and asked,  

“By the way, where’s Philly? Why hasn’t he come out? Is he napping?”  

“He said he wanted to play alone earlier and left…”  

Now that she thought about it, Philly had been unusually quiet. Philly was quite mischievous, and even at five years old, he couldn’t be left unsupervised for too long.  

“I’ll go find him.”  

Elena began searching the mansion for Philly. However, he was nowhere to be found—not in his bedroom, the playroom, or the study.  

“Philly? Where are you? Mommy’s getting worried, so come out quickly.”  

Her steps quickened with growing anxiety. Eventually, she decided to check the portrait room, just in case.  

The portrait room was a space where family paintings were displayed. It was a room they rarely used.  

As soon as she entered, Elena’s eyes widened in shock.  

In front of the portrait of her and Felix’s wedding was the bracelet Felix had given Philly, lying abandoned on the floor.  

“So today was the day that happened?”  

Elena sighed deeply as she picked up Philly’s bracelet.  

Having already met Philly from the future on her wedding day, she had always known this day would come—that Philly would time travel at some point.  

Recently, Philly’s face had begun to resemble the older version of him she had seen years ago, so she had sensed that the time was drawing near.  

Still, now that Philly had actually disappeared, she couldn’t help but feel unsettled.  

“Felix, what exactly did you say to Philly?”  

When Elena glared at Felix, he avoided her gaze and tried to recall.  

“Nothing much…”  

“What do you mean by ‘nothing much’?”  

“I was reading him a fairy tale, and he asked if we had gotten married. I told him we had. Then he asked if you were prettier than the princess in the story, so…”  

“And?”  

“I said you were much prettier.”  

“What?”  

Felix sighed.  

“Now that I think about it, he did say he was sad that he hadn’t seen it. I explained that it was natural since he wasn’t there at the time…”  

So, Felix was the reason the little rascal had decided to time travel.  

“Why would you say something like that to him!”  

“It wasn’t anything inappropriate. It was just a normal conversation between a father and son. The problem is that Philly’s abilities are far too advanced.”  

“Haa.”  

When Elena let out a heavy sigh, Felix tried to console her.  

“Elly, even if I hadn’t said that, Philly would’ve found a way to go back in time. It’s something that already happened, remember?”  

“I know, but…”  

“Don’t worry. Philly will have fun with the past versions of us and come back safely. He had a great time back then, didn’t he?”  

“I know. But I can’t help feeling uneasy. What if he didn’t go to our wedding day but to some other time? What if he didn’t time travel but teleported somewhere entirely different?”  

“Hmm.”  

Felix furrowed his brow slightly.  

“That’s not impossible, but it’s highly unlikely. Think about it, Elly. Didn’t the clothes Philly was wearing earlier match the ones he wore when he appeared before our wedding?”  

“Now that you mention it, they did.”  

“So let’s wait. Philly will come back excited and happy.”  

“Okay.”  

Elena and Felix placed chairs in front of the portrait of their wedding and sat down, waiting for Philly, who was likely meeting their past selves.  

Although they only waited for thirty minutes, it felt as long as three years—or even thirty.  

After thirty minutes, Felix, who had been holding Elena’s hand and stroking the bracelet, suddenly lifted his head.  

“He’s here.”  

At the same time, they felt a strong disturbance in the surrounding mana, and Philly appeared. His cheeks were flushed red, and he was smiling brightly, as if he had thoroughly enjoyed himself.  

“Philly!”  

“Mommy!”  

Philly tried to run into Elena’s arms, but Felix snatched the bracelet from her and quickly fastened it onto Philly’s wrist first. Philly obediently waited for Felix to secure the bracelet before running into Elena’s embrace.  

“Mommy, Mommy! Guess what I saw!”  

“Hmm, what could our Philly have seen?”  

Although she already knew the answer, Elena played along, not wanting to dampen Philly’s excited mood.  

She wanted to scold him for what he had done, but that could wait.  

“Mommy, I saw your and Daddy’s wedding!”  

“Wow, really?”  

“Yeah! Mommy was so pretty! Even prettier than in the painting!”  

“What about Daddy?”  

“Daddy was cool too! And I saw Uncle Lindsey and Aunt Tony! They were so small! They were as small as me! I can’t believe Uncle and Aunt were ever that tiny!”  

“That’s right. Lindsey and Tony were that small once.”  

Philly, eager to share everything, chattered non-stop like a little bird. Then, with a mischievous grin, he looked at Felix.  

“Daddy! I saw Mommy in her wedding dress before you did!”  

Felix, too tired to argue, responded half-heartedly.  

“Okay.”  

“I saw her before you! Daddy, are you listening?”  

“Yes, I’m listening.”  

Realizing Felix wasn’t paying much attention, Philly puffed out his cheeks in frustration.  

Sensing that Philly’s story was winding down, Elena took his hand and gently scolded him.  

“Philly, did Daddy say you could take off the bracelet or not?”  

“He said not to…”  

“Right?”  

“But Mommy, I really wanted to see it.”  

“Philly, Mommy understands how you feel. But you should’ve at least told Mommy and Daddy and gotten permission first. Do you know how worried we were when you suddenly disappeared?”  

Philly mumbled, glancing nervously at Elena.  

“Mommy, are you really mad?”  

“I’m not mad. Mommy was just very worried about you.”  

“What about Daddy?”  

Felix turned to Philly with a serious expression.  

“Daddy isn’t mad either. Daddy was worried too. What if you had ended up somewhere else, with strangers instead of Mommy and Daddy?”  

“Philly is good at these things!”  

“Even so, no. From now on, you must promise to tell Mommy first. Got it?”  

“Yes.”  

“Promise.”  

Elena held out her pinky, and Philly hesitated before hooking his own around hers.  

“Promise.”  

“That’s my good boy.”  

Seeing that the mood had softened, Philly began chattering again.  

“Mommy, but it’s so sad that it’s just you and Daddy in that painting!”  

“Well, of course, Philly. A wedding is between Mommy and Daddy.”  

Felix’s blunt response made Philly puff up his cheeks again.  

“But Philly and Rosie are family too!”  

“You and Rosie weren’t there when Mommy and Daddy got married.”  

“That’s not true! Philly was there!”  

Philly’s confident declaration left Felix speechless. Elena also didn’t know how to respond.  

‘Well… technically, he’s right.’  

Felix probably meant that Philly and Rosie hadn’t been born yet, but it was true that Philly had time-traveled to their wedding.  

Feeling triumphant, Philly continued.  

“I even threw flowers with Uncle Lindsey and Aunt Tony! And I kissed Mommy in her wedding dress!”  

“But Philly, that painting was already finished when you came. We couldn’t change it.”  

“Then just paint it again!”  

Both Elena and Felix answered in unison.  

“Let’s do that.”  

“Sure, why not.”  

Philly’s eyes widened in surprise.  

“Really?”  

“Of course.”  

Elena hugged Philly tightly and smiled.  

“If it’s something Philly wants, we can do anything.”

***

Two weeks later, the family sat on the sofa in the drawing room, dressed in hastily tailored white formal attire. They had gone to great lengths to hire the most skilled artist in the capital.  

“This is exciting!”  

“Abya!”  

“Philly, don’t move.”  

With much effort, they managed to keep Philly and Rosie, who couldn’t sit still for even a moment, calm enough to complete the painting. In truth, they had moved so much that the faces were the only parts that resembled them. It was less of a portrait and more of an imaginative artwork.  

‘All hail the artist’s skill…’  

The finished family portrait was hung next to their wedding portrait. As soon as it was hung, Philly stood in front of it and exclaimed in admiration.  

“Wow! It’s so beautiful!”  

Indeed, the family portrait was stunning. The entire family wore matching designs in their outfits, smiling brightly. Just looking at it filled their hearts with warmth and brought tears to their eyes.  

“Oh? Mommy, are you crying?”  

“No, Mommy’s not crying.”  

“Don’t cry!”  

“Mommy’s really not crying. It’s just because I’m happy.”  

The little girl who had lost her mother at the age of eight and had grown up feeling lonely was now an adult. She had married the person she loved and built the harmonious family she had always dreamed of.  

What made it even more special was that the person by her side was Felix, whom she had been with since childhood.  

This happiness wasn’t something she and Felix had created alone; it was something they had built and protected together with Philly. That thought made her even more emotional.  

“Mommy loves our Philly and Rosie very, very much.”  

Philly looked straight at her and smiled.  

“Philly loves Mommy, Daddy, and Rosie as much as the sky and the earth!”  

***

That night, the family slept together in one room. Rosie, who was still at risk of falling, slept in the baby crib, while Philly slept between Elena and Felix.  

Elena, feeling the warmth of Philly nestled in her arms, drifted off to sleep happily. Suddenly, she felt Philly stirring.  

“Philly? Are you awake?”  

“Mm… Mommy…”  

She glanced at the window. It was still early, with no sign of dawn yet. Elena gently patted Philly’s bottom.  

“It’s still time for the moon to be up. Let’s sleep a little more.”  

“Mommy, I had a strange dream.”  

“A dream?”  

“Mm.”  

Philly rubbed his sleepy eyes and murmured.  

“Philly was a grown-up, bigger than Mommy, and I played with Mommy at the academy.”  

Elena’s hand, which had been patting him, froze for a moment. Philly continued mumbling, oblivious to her reaction.  

“And then, Mommy, Daddy, and I defeated a bad man. I think I became a cool knight like Daddy.”  

“…Really?”  

“And then… um… and then…”  

Philly, struggling to stay awake, pressed his face into her chest.  

“I thought I wanted Mommy to be happy.”  

Unable to fight sleep any longer, Philly fell back asleep after saying those words.  

But Elena couldn’t sleep again. Just moments ago, she had been drowsy and groggy, but now her mind was as clear as if cold water had been poured over her.  

Teenage Philly, the academy, and the bad man.  

She felt like she understood what those fragmented words meant, but she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.  

The Philly in her arms now was the same as the Philly from the past—the Little One who had traveled back in time to change a sad future. Yet, he was also different. This Philly had no memory of what had happened.  

So it was natural that Philly wouldn’t remember the past events. But how…?  

Silent tears streamed down her face as she hugged the peacefully sleeping Philly tightly.  

It really was you, Little One. Even though the future changed, and your existence faded, you truly came back to us.  

But don’t worry anymore.  

From now on, all that awaits us is happiness.  

Listening to Philly’s steady breathing, Elena smiled.  

It was the happiest night she could ever imagine.  

<End of Side Story>