Chapter 21 Have You Ever Felt Déjà Vu

Park Jin-ha, who had stabbed me, was now prostrate before my eyes, begging for forgiveness.

Honestly, her appearance looked very servile and genuinely remorseful.
Thanks to that, my anger had somewhat subsided, but I was still quite furious.

When I first met Park Jin-ha, I had explained everything to her.

I said we had no reason to fight and it was merely a coincidence, and I hadn’t prepared any combat stance at all.

I had spared no effort to resolve things through dialogue.

But despite my desperate explanations, Park Jin-ha didn’t listen.

Without listening, she directly stabbed a knife into my abdomen according to her own judgment.

And it wasn’t an ordinary knife.

During my fight with Park Jin-ha, I became certain of one thing: she definitely possessed S-class power.

An S-class hunter stabbing a knife meant something entirely different.

If an S-class stabbed a knife, it would be impossible to remain intact.

S-class hunters, considered monsters, their attacks are never light.

Originally, I would have been absolutely unable to survive, or if I survived, I might have been disabled for life.

I’m alive now because of the [Hero] skill, and because Park Jin-soo arrived in time.

But even so, the chilling thoughts don’t end.

What if Park Jin-soo had arrived just a bit later?

In that case, I would have definitely died.

No matter how much it was a misunderstanding, by the hands of a young girl.

Thinking about that, honestly, a sense of injustice came flooding in.

No matter how much it was a misunderstanding, or how good-hearted the person was,

Nearly taking a life was absolutely not something light.

So I harbored slightly malicious thoughts while looking at Park Jin-ha.

“Will you really do anything I ask?”

I asked coldly, looking down at Park Jin-ha.

Her red hair was at my feet, and she was crying while begging for forgiveness.

“… Yes…”

Park Jin-ha quietly answered with her head bowed.

Her trembling voice contained genuine sincerity.

“…”

I thought about her for a moment.

Since Park Jin-ha had said she would do anything, I had to decide how to address what she had done to me, whether I liked it or not.

“You’re Jin-ha, right? I’ve heard a lot about you from Jin-soo.”

“… Yes…”

“He said you’re very kind and smart.”

“…”

I started the conversation with Park Jin-ha.

Park Jin-ha looked up at my words. Her face was tear-stained, but she still couldn’t meet my eyes.

“Didn’t I say I wasn’t your enemy, Jin-ha?”

“… I was wrong.”

“You know I’m very angry right now, right?”

“… Yes.”

“You know this could have been very serious, right?”

“… Yes.”

Still looking sorry, I continued talking to Park Jin-ha.

“You realize Si-eun would have been left alone if something happened?”

“… Yes.”

“So by trying to kill me, you would have left our Si-eun alone in the world?”

“… Yes…”

“Why did you do that?”

And then…

“I was too… too anxious. After hearing my brother was in danger, I was just… too anxious… Huuk…”

And she began begging for forgiveness again with tears.

“Ah, well.”

Now I somewhat understood the situation.

Park Jin-ha had become sensitive because Park Jin-soo had recently had a gate accident.

Well, if something happened to Si-eun, I wouldn’t hold back either, so I could somewhat empathize.

“Jin-ha, you’re 17 now, right?”

“Yes…”

I asked her age.

Park Jin-ha answered with a trembling voice.

She was the same age as Si-eun.

But their appearances were completely different.

Looking back and forth between Si-eun beside me and Park Jin-ha, their differences were stark.

Compared to Si-eun, who was slightly smaller than her peers, Park Jin-ha seemed to have already finished her growth period in many ways.

But ultimately, she was still a child.

Despite the appearance differences, since she was the same age as my sister, I saw Si-eun overlapping with her.

“…”

Right now, Si-eun was hugging me tightly, waiting for my response.

Blinking, she looked curious about what I would say.

I smiled at Si-eun and then told Park Jin-ha,

“Don’t look so gloomy, Jin-ha. It’s a joke.”

I smiled at Park Jin-ha as if saying, “This was all a hidden camera prank.”

Truthfully, I never intended to blame Park Jin-ha from the beginning, and most importantly, blaming her wouldn’t change anything.

Of course, if I expressed my anger, my mood might improve somewhat.

But with Si-eun watching, I couldn’t look pathetic.

Honestly, I’m not that good-natured, and I don’t really want to forgive her.

One way or another, I had nearly died, and Park Jin-ha’s mistake was substantial.

Normally, I absolutely wouldn’t have let it go.

I would have sought compensation through some method.

But the reason I’m letting it slide is because of Si-eun beside me.

I couldn’t show weakness in front of her.

I’ve always shown strength in front of Si-eun.

Because that way, she won’t worry.

Originally, when I worked as a hunter, the reason Si-eun would wait up for me without sleeping, even when I came home late, was because of this.

She would stay awake, worried something might happen to me.

When I first started as a hunter, this was even more intense, but after years of pretending to be strong, it had improved somewhat.

I couldn’t complain about being hurt or blame Park Jin-ha in front of Si-eun.

If I got angry at Park Jin-ha, my anger might subside, but it would increase Si-eun’s worry.

That was absolutely not welcome, and avoiding worrying Si-eun was my top priority when working as a hunter.

“I wasn’t really hurt. I’ll forgive you.”

“… What?”

Park Jin-ha asked again, seeming like she didn’t hear me correctly.

“You became sensitive because Jin-soo was in danger. I’ll forgive you.”

“…”

“Just don’t do it again.”

I smiled at her once more and responded.

“Huuk…”

Drip.

And with my words, Park Jin-ha began crying again.

Huh?

I just forgave her, so why is she crying?

ㅡ ㅡ ㅡ

Park Jin-ha.

From the beginning, Si-woo was a benefactor to her.

A unique benefactor who had saved her brother while she was away.

Definitely someone to whom she needed to repay kindness continuously.

“You’ll really forgive me?”

“Yes, I’ll forgive you.”

But Park Jin-ha had not repaid the kindness.

Instead of repaying, she had repaid it as an unforgivable enemy.

No matter how much she didn’t know, stabbing Si-woo’s abdomen was absolutely unforgivable.

“I did such a terrible thing… to my brother’s benefactor…”

“You didn’t know. I understand.”

Park Jin-ha was furious with herself.

Purely due to her misunderstanding and rashness, she had tried to kill the irreplaceable benefactor who saved her brother.

If she had been a bit calmer, this wouldn’t have happened.

But she couldn’t do that, and because of it, Si-woo had fallen.

Her brother’s sister had screamed.

Watching that, Park Jin-ha fell into guilt and self-loathing.

That’s why she begged for forgiveness.

She apologized to Si-woo for her mistake.

She begged him to please forgive her.

“I’m really a bad girl. If only I had…”

“You’re a good person, Jin-ha. And nothing went wrong.”

But while begging, she absolutely didn’t think she would be forgiven.

If she switched positions, it would be impossible.

If the situation were reversed, Park Jin-ha would definitely have torn Si-woo to pieces.

“You’ll really forgive me?”

“Yes, of course.”

Therefore, she was prepared for any punishment.

A shameful punishment, a painful punishment.

Park Jin-ha was prepared for any punishment.

But Si-woo did not punish her.

Instead of punishing, he even comforted her.

Telling her not to be too heartbroken…

“Huuuuu…”

Park Jin-ha’s emotions were like a dam that had burst, uncontrollable.

ㅡ ㅡ ㅡ

“Thank you. Thank you.”

Park Jin-ha is now hugging me and crying.

Incredibly sorrowfully.

“Si-woo… no, Si-woo-nim. I’ll follow you for life. I’ll serve you for life.”

Park Jin-ha’s face was already a mess of tears and snot.

My patient gown was quickly getting dirty.

“Haha… It’s okay. Please let go.”

I knew it was moving, but I tried to separate Park Jin-ha as much as possible.

Park Jin-ha’s looks were so pretty and cute that they’d put celebrities to shame, but right now she was just too messy.

‘Huh? Wait, isn’t this some kind of déjà vu?’

It was a strangely familiar scene.

I quickly realized the identity of this familiar scene.

“Hyung-nim Si-woo… Krr…”

Looking to the side, I could see Park Jin-soo a little way off, swallowing his tears.

Come to think of it, he had done the same thing to me before.

The déjà vu was not my imagination.

The current appearance of Park Jin-ha overlapped with how Park Jin-soo looked when I had saved him before.

Siblings really do resemble each other, it seems.