Chapter 59: Fantasy in the middle of the night

She fastens the half-ripped button from the bottom up and pulls up the hem of her skirt that has fallen around her ankles.

The white skin on her half-naked body gradually disappears.

Only the sound of clothes rustling echoes with a strange sense of refreshment.

As if she were an audience member beyond the screen, Izana silently watched the scene.

A sorrow like pus consumed her mind, embroidering it expressionlessly with starlight-like white paper.

Even now, it feels as though she could reach out and grasp it, but the sliver of reason remaining whispers in a withered voice.

There is nothing to be gained from it.

“Izana?”

Still, her unrestrained desire crept up on her, and then she heard an innocent voice.

With a long sigh, Ijana began to tidy up her disheveled clothes.

Looking at her state, it seemed as if she had been through several passionate encounters, but in reality, nothing had happened.

It was just self-gratification.

“Let’s go. I’ll tell the bodyguards.”

“…

•Aren’t you coming with me?”

“Why, are you going to make a scene? Oh, I’ll tell them to prepare the car.”

She forcefully utters the harsh words she had carefully crafted.

Still, knowing that they weren’t sincere, Sia could only manage a awkward smile.

“You’re so easygoing…”

At that faint smile, Izana barely managed to hold back the fluttering in her heart and muttered under her breath.

No matter what she said, she was being too soft in front of the person who had kidnapped her.

Come to think of it, she had been quite soft in front of that murderous psychopath lesbian too.

She had even forgiven the voyeuristic woman surprisingly easily. At this point, being soft seemed like her natural disposition.

She picked up a cigarette from the small table and lit it with a lighter.

A small flame rose in the shape of a round water droplet.

After gently placing the lit end of the cigarette on her lips, Izana sank into a nearby chair.

She felt a gaze staring at her, but she pretended not to notice and closed her eyes. Then she took a deep breath of the acrid smoke.

“Go, hurry up.”

“…Then, see you next time.”

See you next time. How cruel those words were. Hopes without promise are nothing but despair.

If only she had cursed him for kidnapping her, if only she had left him some hope, he wouldn’t have clung to such pathetic regrets.

But a woman who would jump up and grab him just because of a simple farewell wasn’t a child.

It’s just empty. Even if it’s the last shred of self-respect clinging to a pitiful figure, that’s fine.

Sia turns her back and starts walking away.

Izana chuckles silently and exhales the smoke that had been filling her lungs.

At that moment, the door bursts open.

But it’s not from the inside—it’s from the outside—and Sia’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Oh, you were here.”

“Kang-sun…”

The cat-like figure she hadn’t seen in a while smiled slyly. Her bright red hair was even redder than usual, and her white dress was covered with red flowers that were almost unpleasant to look at.

The familiar yet unwelcome face caused Sia’s expression to stiffen.

“Sia!”

“Oh, sister!?”

Just as she was about to snap, “Why are you here?” a small figure darted toward her like a squirrel.

Sia stared blankly at Sihyeon, who was feeling her body.

Her mind went blank at this unexpected appearance, and then she turned pale when she saw the colorful bruises all over her body.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Are you okay, sister?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m a little hurt, but…”

“Then you’re not okay!”

How did the bodyguards—the words that rose to her lips, Shi-hyun swallowed them back.

She was too scared to ask, and looking at Shi-hyun’s appearance, it was obvious.

Above all, the shotgun neatly tucked into the holster clearly explained the situation.

A double-barreled shotgun at the waist of a delicate girl.

A scene so incongruous it would appeal to a pervert like Tarantino.

While she was grateful for his willingness to rush to her aid without hesitation, the thought of him killing someone for her sake left her with mixed feelings.

“Oh, I was ready to offer a pickup service, but you rejected it in such a rude manner.”

“Shut up, you b*tch.”

Izana, who had been calmly smoking a cigarette despite the intruder, spoke up.

After glaring at the two who were hugging each other for a moment, Seon approached Izana, who was sitting motionless on the chair.

In one hand, he held a bloodstained Chinese knife as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Izana also picked up the pistol on the table, but she knew better than anyone else that it wouldn’t work.

“I should have watched Enemy at the Gate instead of Equilibrium, damn it.”

“What are you talking about?”

Izana obediently lowered the gun. It wasn’t that she couldn’t resist, but she didn’t want to make the effort to resist.

She had already lost all her strength, and even though she tried to pull the trigger, her limp body couldn’t muster the strength.

She didn’t particularly want to die. But she didn’t particularly want to live either. In that case, it might be easier to just die here and now.

“What are you doing?”

“What are you doing?”…

“What do you mean, what am I doing? It’s obvious. Get out of the way.”

“No.”

“You…”

Of course, Shia wasn’t going to just stand by and watch.

She was the one who had risked her life to save Ijana even when they were on bad terms.

She quickly stepped in front of Ijana. Her long, flowing hair, covering her back, resembled a black waterfall.

Izana watched the farce unfolding right before her eyes with an indifferent gaze.

But even though she found it trivial, her heart couldn’t help but race. It felt as though it wasn’t her own, thumping wildly.

“Sia, strictly speaking, that man is a criminal who kidnapped you.”

“But… it doesn’t matter. Nothing actually happened, and he let me go in the end.”

“Sia.”

“… Izana is my first friend, sister. Even if you’re my sister, I can’t forgive you for hurting her.”

Seeing this, Sihyun interjected, but Sia shook her head firmly and grabbed Izana’s hand, who was still sitting as if lying down,
and forced her to stand up.

“Hey, what are you touching?”

“Come with me. Let’s go.”

“Huh? I don’t want to!”

“Just come with me… sister too.”

Sia dragged Ijana out of the room. Ijana screamed loudly like a monkey, but she couldn’t shake off the hand that was holding her.

Si-hyun, who had been standing there for a moment, sighed and quietly followed the two.

“Wait, stop there.”

At the cold voice, she reflexively turned her head, and a knife blade whizzed past her cheek.

If she had been just a little closer, it would have pierced her face, but Sia calmly turned to look at Seona.

Beneath the girl’s seemingly cheerful smile, the distorted face of someone else was faintly visible.

“Where are you going without me? And you call me your first friend? Weren’t we clearly not friends?”

“Well, I don’t remember having a friend like you.”

“…Have you forgotten about that day’s deal?”
“Deal?”

She asked innocently. Her smile grew even wider.

Seona spun the knife she had just pulled out again as if performing a trick.

“You wouldn’t dare say you don’t remember, would you?”

“…”

‘From now on, I won’t kill anyone. Instead, you will be my closest friend, and I will be yours.’

Ah, how could I forget? That enchanting memory. The faint morning mist enveloping the empty classroom where we shared a conversation,

just the two of us.

The face, trembling with fear, comes to mind. The face, pale as a corpse, devoid of color. The slender wrist clenched tightly in my hand, and her lips, red as if painted with lipstick.

How could I forget? No, I cannot forget. And she, too, feels the same.

Esia. Just thinking about those three letters makes me feel dizzy.

The smile that came from anger turns into comfort. Seona takes a leisurely step forward.

Even though fate played a cruel joke on us and we were separated for a while, you’ll come back to me in the end.

“…So you don’t like me.”

“Huh?”

“Do whatever you want. Whatever it is, I’m not going to worry about you anymore.”

“What does that mean…”

Before she could finish her sentence, the door slammed shut. Her awkward smile froze on her face like a statue. Her gaze was fixed on the door as if her consciousness had been captured,

but the cold, frozen doorknob would not turn back.

Ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes. Before she knew it, countless seconds had passed, and the blood flowing from her feet had formed a pool.

Whose blood was this?

With a dazed head, as if someone had hit her, Seona raised her left arm. A single stream of blood flowed down her elbow.

“I’m hurt too…”

Suddenly coming to her senses, she found herself muttering like a lost child.