Chapter 26: Doki Doki literary club

The way back home.

Stumbling, like a ghost, I navigated the dark streets.

The moonlight served as a beacon, guiding my two legs.

“Hey, Sister.”

My head was still dizzy, my stomach queasy, my vision blurry, my heart still pounding—the worst possible state, half-teetering on the edge of collapse.

A hoarse voice escaped my lips.

At my strained call, the small figure walking slightly ahead of me flinched and stopped.

I stopped too, following my sister, and a chilly night breeze swept through the cold silence between us.

My right hand clenched so tightly it felt like it would shatter, trying to regain control of my unraveling emotions.

Crack.

Something snapped, and something moist trickled down my smooth fingers.

“What is it?”

My sister answered without turning around.

But her narrow shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly.

Why? Suddenly, the sight struck me as funny, and I laughed foolishly.

“I’m going to the police station.”

And in that laughter, a little courage was born.

My voice no longer trembled.

I had spoken with confidence, but my sister remained silent for a long time.

Fear still lingered.

Even if it was just a speck of dust, a seed once planted could sprout again at any time and bind this heart.

So now that I had made up my mind, I didn’t want to back down, no matter what.

I already knew that criminals sometimes retaliated when their crimes were reported.

A murderer who had killed twenty people in a row would be even more likely to do so.

It was a rare case, but if things went wrong, the police might fail to arrest her, and she could attack our house directly.

I hadn’t ruled out that possibility.

Nevertheless, I had no intention of retracting my decision.

Not only did I not want any more victims, but the face of the senior, swallowed by death, kept replaying in my mind.

That face, so tragically, hideously, and cruelly contorted.

Though it was now a faint afterimage, it would resurface vividly whenever I closed my eyes and darkness fell.

This memory would probably haunt me for the rest of my life, a trauma.

Just thinking about it brought up bile, a kind of imprint.

It was clearly my fault that the senior died. It wasn’t my wrongdoing, but it was my fault.

Because I had caught his eye, he had called me to this park, and that’s why he died.

No matter how flimsy my excuses, I couldn’t completely escape the responsibility, nor did I want to.

Yes, the senior died because of me.

If I let this go and another victim appeared, what would I do? It was just an imagination, but if that happened, I didn’t think I could ever forgive myself.

The lingering scent of blood was still vivid in my nostrils.

Even if the guilt crushing me was hypocrisy, I wanted to do what I could.

Even if it was a little scary, I didn’t want to live with heavy regrets.

“…Go. Don’t worry.”

In a quiet voice, my sister said that.

My sister, yes, my sister was always like that.

Even when I couldn’t see it, she was always supporting me.

When I was going crazy from the disconnect between this world and my previous one, when I was lost in endless doubt about this seemingly false reality, when I groaned from unresolvable nostalgia, and even now, whenever I felt intimidated, it was always my sister who reached out her hand.

I turned my back on her silent back. The conversation was over.

Though it was brief, I had received enough courage.

I slowly, then quickly, moved my legs, one after the other.

“Kang Seon-a…”

Let’s admit it.

She was my friend.

The time I spent with her was enjoyable, and apart from my family, I felt a closer bond with her than with anyone else.

But she was already an irredeemable evil.

That murderer killed the senior, and countless other victims besides.

It was an obvious fact that if left unchecked, she would cause more deaths. Like a movie whose ending had already been spoiled.

Therefore, no matter what happened, I could not condone her.

No matter how terrible the consequences, I could not let that horrifying monster, her, go unchecked.

Fortunately, in this right hand, I had evidence to corner her.

The senior’s blood that had been stained ,when I put my hand on the ground and sat down, combined with my testimony, would confirm her crime.

With that conviction, I ran to the police station in charge of this district.

“Well, it probably won’t be any use.”

Si-hyeon watched her younger sibling’s vigorously departing back with pity.

The police? Did she really think such things would help? No matter how meticulous a criminal was, as long as they were human, they were bound to leave some traces.

The possibility of her killing twenty people in a row all by herself while under the spotlight of the media and police was virtually nil.

South Korea’s public security wasn’t that incompetent.

Above all, if that murderer could have been caught by a mere report, Si-hyeon, who had figured out her identity long ago, would have caught her already.

“Still, is it a relief?”

Today had been fruitful in many ways.

She had gotten rid of the troublesome vice president with someone else’s help, and she had appeared at the perfect timing to instill even greater trust in her younger sibling.

Moreover, she had been able to thoroughly beat up that annoying b*tch.

Though she had been counterattacked due to a clumsy finish.

Anyway, it was a really good day.

She hummed a tune and moved her legs briskly.