She's Beautiful, Isn't She?

Is it finally happening?

The day Eric had envisioned had finally arrived.

Yet instead of feeling excited, he was unexpectedly calm.

"Jonathan, are we really going to tell Eric now?"

Mother Martha's brows drew together slightly as she looked at her husband with concern.

"It's time. Eric, come with me."

Jonathan rose to his feet and headed downstairs, motioning for Eric to follow.

A few minutes later, the two stood outside the barn.

"Do you remember, Eric? You used to love drawing when you were little. You went through two whole sets of Crayola crayons in a single summer."

Rather than opening the barn door right away, Jonathan began reminiscing about Eric's childhood.

"At first, Martha and I thought you were just scribbling like any other child. But then we saw what you drew. Spaceships, the vastness of space, exploding planets."

"Maybe some things remained in your memory. Things carved into your very bones."

As Jonathan spoke, he pushed open the barn door.

The smell of soybeans and buckwheat, mixed with the stench of decay, rushed out all at once.

"Really? I don't remember that."

Eric followed Jonathan inside.

In truth, he remembered it all.

He had carried his memories with him since infancy. How could he possibly forget something like that?

The reason he had used Crayola crayons to draw the scene of Clark's homeworld exploding was nothing more than boredom and a bit of mischievous amusement.

"Come on, give me a hand."

Jonathan handed Eric the pulley rope connected to the barn cellar and gestured for him to pull it open.

Creak, creak!

As Eric pulled the rope, the cellar doors opened.

A cloud of dust and a foul odor surged out from within.

Jonathan took the lead and descended into the cellar.

Rustle!

He yanked away the dust-covered tarp.

A spacecraft glowing with an ancient, dim light appeared before Eric.

"This is...!"

Eric put his acting talent to perfect use, allowing a look of "shock" to appear on his face.

"Incredible, isn't it? A spaceship."

Jonathan shone his flashlight over the spacecraft that had brought Superman to Earth.

"We thought the government would come looking, but nobody ever came for you or Clark."

As he spoke, he picked up a wooden box from the nearby workbench, took out a long black seal, and handed it to Eric.

"This came to Earth with you and the spaceship. I once had a metallurgist examine it. He said its composition wasn't even on the periodic table."

"In other words, Eric."

Jonathan's tone grew increasingly solemn. "You aren't from Earth. You and Clark were both sent here by this ship. You are the answer to that ultimate question—whether humanity is the only life in the universe."

Caressing the "Kryptonian artifact" in his hand and looking at the S-shaped symbol on the seal, Eric's feelings were complicated.

This was probably the master key that could activate the Kryptonian ship that had crashed in the polar regions.

Everything left behind by the Kryptonians was inside that ship.

Eric felt little excitement at obtaining the master key so easily.

He could sense Jonathan's loneliness and sorrow at that moment.

Raising his head to meet his father's eyes, Eric said without the slightest hint of pretense, "No matter what, Father, I'm still your son."

Having grown up in an orphanage in his previous life and never known familial love, he had received much warmth in this small farmhouse home.

No matter how cold, selfish, or hard as stone he might have been, the softness in his heart had still been moved by his parents.

So when he saw the loneliness in his father's eyes, Eric could not help stepping forward to comfort him.

Jonathan ruffled Eric's messy hair, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. "Of course. You and Clark will always be my sons. But I believe there was a reason you came here. All the changes you've gone through—one day, you'll see that they were helping you grow."

Perhaps seeing his younger son shed his former indifference, lower his guard, and reveal his true feelings, Jonathan felt deeply comforted.

"Eric, do you know why I'm telling you the truth alone, instead of telling Clark?"

After stroking Eric's hair for a while, Jonathan asked him.

"Because..."

Eric fell silent for a moment before saying, "You think Clark isn't ready yet."

"That's right. Clark isn't ready. He isn't ready to face the path he has to choose."

After a brief pause, Jonathan looked at Eric seriously. "Eric, although you're the younger brother, I hope you can help Clark in the future. In some ways, you're more mature than he is. Sometimes Clark can be as stubborn as a bull. Only you can pull him back."

After a few seconds of silence, Eric nodded.

"I will, Dad."

The night grew deeper.

Clark stepped onto the soft earth as he entered the farm.

He had left in a rage earlier, but now he was in a fairly good mood.

As he reached the front door and touched the handle, he hesitated just as he was about to open it.

Taking a deep breath, he released the handle and turned toward the barn.

His secret base was there.

He climbed the creaking wooden stairs to the barn's second floor, where a vast view unfolded before him.

The pitch-black night sky, dotted with stars, and the boundless wilderness—

Everything looked so wonderful.

He sat down in a chair and carefully replayed his conversation with the beautiful girl.

Driven by anger, Clark had run to the public cemetery, where he happened to meet Lana visiting her parents' graves.

The two had had their longest conversation since they first met.

After savoring the memory, Clark began fiddling with his telescope. Once he adjusted the angle, he aimed it at Lana's house not far away.

Through the telescope, Lana stood in her yard, talking on the phone.

Watching every smile and frown on her face, Clark's heart began to beat faster.

"Clark!"

Just as he was using the telescope to spy on his goddess, a familiar voice suddenly rang out, startling him.

He jerked his head up and saw Eric standing beside him.

Now he understood how his best friends Chloe and Pete felt. When someone suddenly appeared behind you and startled you out of nowhere, it really was not a pleasant feeling.

Before Clark could lose his temper, Eric walked to the edge of the barn loft and looked in the direction Clark had been watching.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?"

With a smile on his lips, Eric murmured to himself.

His greatest hobby now was teasing this adolescent "son of Krypton."

Clark's face immediately turned the color of liver.

He knew his younger brother's vision had evolved to the point where he could see objects miles away.

From up here, seeing Lana was effortless.

The thought that his goddess was being watched so brazenly by his brother made Clark deeply uncomfortable.

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