Chapter 20: The Story Begins (3)

“The chances of Janwol’s survival are close to a miracle.”

That was the opinion of the medical team who examined Ianna’s battered body.

Even to an untrained eye, her condition seemed hopeless.

There were no visible external wounds, but the internal damage was severe.

Ianna’s face, wearing a faint smile as it gradually turned cold, had already lost all signs of life.

“…What about the artificial body preparation?”

“Not yet. The development is in its final stages, but inserting Janwol now is impossible. The circuits to connect to the brain and spinal cord are not yet optimized.”

“I see.”

Sweat trickled down Hojoon’s exposed forehead.

Even Hojoon had not anticipated this.

He couldn’t afford to lose Ianna now.

No, not now or ever. He could never lose her.

He didn’t want to.

Calming his chaotic emotions, Hojoon pushed up his glasses and spoke as calmly as he could.

“Begin treatment. Use whatever means necessary. Spare no support.”

“…Understood.”

The best technicians and medical staff in the Bureau were all gathered.

They might not be on the same level as Dr. Mikhail Filipov, a renowned authority in the field, but their talents should be enough to save Ianna, even in her critical condition.

No, they had to succeed.

No matter the form—she had to live.

“I—I mean, we…”

Two magical girls, frozen in panic, looked helplessly at Hojoon.

“…Follow me.”

Hojoon said with an extremely calm expression.

He acted as if nothing was wrong, treating them like usual.

Shrinking in fear at Hojoon’s towering presence, the two girls hesitantly followed him.

And so, the “small incident” that had shaken the Bureau came to a close.

A childhood memory.

“Why did you follow me? Go to your father, please… Don’t ruin my life anymore.”

“W-What are you talking about…?”

“Having you is the biggest regret of my life. I want to die because of it…”

“…I’m sorry. I was wrong. I’ll do anything, just please don’t die… Mom…”

Ianna’s mother had been a prostitute.

She had no choice. Back then, the only jobs available to women were factory work or selling their bodies.

To support her family, Ianna’s mother chose the latter.

The money she saved for her family was quickly squandered on luxury goods.

Known to some in her region, Ianna’s mother ended up spending a night with a nouveau riche man—someone who’d struck it rich through real estate after moving from the countryside.

It was a business transaction.

A prostitute and her client.

Somehow, love sprouted between them.

From that one night, Ianna was conceived, and the two married hastily.

That was the beginning of the tragedy.

“…You’ll really do anything?”

“Y-Yes… If it makes you happy, I’ll do anything… Just please don’t die…”

“Then… please die… I’m begging you…”

Anna.

In Hebrew, the name meant blessing or grace.

But for Ianna, that name was anything but a blessing.

A curse.

To her mother, Ianna was a curse. A shackle named Ianna chained to her ankle.

She believed every misfortune had sprouted from Ianna.

“O-Okay… I-I understand…”

Her mother’s large hands gripped Ianna’s slender neck relentlessly.

“…Ahh, th-this makes me so… happy…”

Ianna didn’t resist.

She gladly accepted her mother’s touch.

This was the only time she could feel it.

Her neck tightened.

Her mind blurred.

Her mother’s joyous face became hazy.

‘…Thank goodness.’

That’s what Ianna thought.

If just choking her brought her mother joy—if it made her smile—she was willing to be choked, anytime, anywhere, over and over again.

Ianna had matured far too early.

She understood her situation perfectly.

She knew why her mother resented her and why she was never allowed outside.

So she gave her body and soul to her mother.

Her mother was the only one she could depend on in the world.

To her mother—who brought home men every day, drowned herself in alcohol, and lived her life through s*x—Ianna was her only family.

And family had to rely on each other, no matter what.

Ianna opened her arms and tried to hug her mother as she strangled her.

“You f*cking lunatic b*tch…”

Only then did her startled mother let go of her neck.

Ianna, gasping for air, looked up at her and smiled brightly.

She was too young to know what words like “f*ck” or “lunatic” meant.

She simply thought they were affectionate nicknames.

To young Ianna, her mother was the most precious person in the world.

There were always red marks on her neck.

To Ianna, those marks were symbols of her mother’s love.

She was just a child.

At an age where she desperately needed parental love.

What she needed most… was affection.

Whenever her neck was squeezed for too long, she would sometimes lose consciousness.

Each time, she would see a wide blue sky with a green meadow and a gentle river running straight through it.

She instinctively knew—if she crossed that river, she’d never return.

And every time, she tried to cross it.

Because her mother wished it.

She wasn’t afraid to die.

What she feared… was being abandoned by the only family she had.

So Ianna tried her best—not to be abandoned.

Her stomach churned violently.

She felt like she wanted to empty her insides completely.

Her head was spinning.

‘…Ah.’

She was still alive.

She could feel pain vividly all over her body.

Not the usual foggy, dull sensation—this was sharp and intense.

Just like when Heosang attacked her.

“Urgh…”

The moment Heosang’s face came to mind, she gagged.

“Bleeh…”

Everything was covered in blue liquid.

‘Blue…?’

She looked around and saw thin tubes stuck into her body.

White lights glared down from above.

Everything around her was stark white, except for a transparent wall in front.

A medical room.

From her memory, this was the Bureau’s medical facility.

She had been rescued.

For some reason, tears welled up.

The past she relived while unconscious—her memories of Ianna—were so vivid.

It wasn’t nostalgia or relief that made her cry.

It was joy.

Because, even briefly, she had received “affection” from the mother in her memories.

Even just for a moment, even if only in sleep, she hadn’t felt alone.

White hair.

Her frazzled white hair came into view.

When she touched it, she could tell she hadn’t washed it in quite some time.

‘How long have I been lying here…?’

She slowly forced herself up.

Her mind still spun.

Her stomach ached at the slightest movement.

Just remembering everything was terrifying.

She was scared.

Ianna now had more memories she needed to forget.

Nothing would change from recalling the past.

She had to forget it and move on.

There was nothing else she could do.

“Hic, hic…”

It was an experience she never wanted to relive. It was like being tortured.

More than anything, her heart hurt.

It felt like it had been shattered.

The betrayal she felt from those two was overwhelming.

If it had just been violence born of misunderstanding, she could’ve forgiven it.

She was alive, after all—she could’ve let it go.

As Janwol, magical girl Ianna had a duty to guide her juniors.

But those two had murdered an innocent person.

She could never look at them the same way again.

Her heart hurt like it was being torn apart.

It was unbearable.

She couldn’t believe those two had killed her aide right before her eyes.

“Hic, hic… hic…”

If only she had at least learned the aide’s name.

She had lost someone too suddenly.

The absence left behind by her aide weighed heavily on her.

She could no longer even hear their voice.

“…Director?”

She was sure that’s what she had thought.

“A hallucination…?”

“It’s not a hallucination, sir…!”

Somewhere, her aide’s faint voice seemed to call out to her.