What is Responsibility – 1

“Ah… uh, ah….”

Shin Jeonga made sounds like a newborn baby, staring at the blank screen.

Contained within the small, square device that emitted no light was her own half-crazed face.

“Ah, no. Please, this can’t be…!”

She fumbled in her bag for her phone and called her beloved boyfriend, Inho.

The signal went through, then cut off abruptly.

He had rejected the call.

The instant the signal broke, she felt something inside her snap as well.

Whether it was her reason or her last remaining hope, she couldn’t be sure.

“No… it can’t be…!”

Shin Jeonga crawled on the ground on her knees.

The rough surface of the road scraped against her bare legs, causing cuts.

Shin Jeonga was in no state to care about the minor, stinging injuries.

“I can explain everything… I can explain…”

She stood up. Took a few steps. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed.

She stood up again. Took a few steps. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed.

She got hurt. Still, she stood up….

Now she was running.

Her lungs ached from the sudden sprint, but Shin Jeonga didn’t care.

Shin Jeonga was getting further and further away from Yoon Sia.

The road Shin Jeonga stumbled and walked on was the same road she had walked to attack Yoon Sia.

Retracing her steps, she headed somewhere.

“I, I’ll explain. I, I’ll explain… I can explain….”

She was going back to where her boyfriend lived, believing that just as she was retracing her steps, their relationship could also be turned back….

Yoon Sia watched the street where Shin Jeonga, who had left her mind in a shambles like a passing typhoon, had disappeared.

“Hoo….”

Her legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the ground.

She had prepared thoroughly, but if she had made even a slight mistake, she would have been the one lying face down on the ground.

For about ten minutes, she closed her eyes and took deep breaths, calming herself from the belated surge of tension and excitement.

Just as she thought she had overcome a hurdle, Yoon Sia’s eyes snapped open.

She had thought Shin Jeonga had simply run away in shock, but on second thought, she didn’t think Shin Jeonga would do that.

“To Inho’s house?”

Yoon Sia jumped up and ran in the direction Shin Jeonga had disappeared.

Then she called Inho.

‘Don’t open the door, no matter what!’

Unlike before, the call didn’t connect.

“Ah, why isn’t he answering!”

Yoon Sia, standing on the street and hailing a taxi, showed her frustration.

First, relief, then belated anger.

“Inho! Open the door… I can explain. Please.”

Shin Jeonga’s voice echoed as she shook the gate.

He leaned against the front door, tears streaming down like raindrops.

The cold temperature of the tiles traveled from his buttocks and back to his head.

A video call from Yoon Sia came unexpectedly.

Inho, who had answered the call in a daze, learned the truth about what had happened and felt relieved.

He was briefly angry that he had been manipulated by Shin Jeonga, but it didn’t last long.

He understood that the unstable her would do something like this.

First, relief, then belated anger.

And now, conflict.

“Ah….”

He exhaled the sound like cigarette smoke.

What was he going to fix?

He gave a self-deprecating laugh.

“Acting like you know everything, like you’ve realized everything….”

In the end, it’s the same old mess.

Where did the snowball start rolling?

Did he distance himself from Shin Jeonga too abruptly? Or was he too cooperative with Yoon Sia?

Even when he looked back, he couldn’t clearly recall anything that went wrong.

He didn’t think he would have acted differently from the choices he made back then, even if he went back.

That’s why he felt drained.

About Dimensional Shift, about possession,

Acting like he knew everything, like he understood everything,

Like he could achieve something here,

He thought so and guessed wrong.

But a similar ending to the dimensions he had been through was calling him from in front of his house.

He pondered. What should I do now?

What if he opened the door and welcomed Shin Jeonga back into the house?

That would quell Shin Jeonga’s rampage.

But, was that the right thing to do?

If he accepted her, could he be sure that this wouldn’t happen again?

Conversely, what if he used this incident as an excuse to kick Shin Jeonga out?

Wouldn’t Shin Jeonga’s rage be directed at innocent people?

What was the right thing to do?

While he was pondering, he heard the sound of a car.

And through the window, red and blue lights subtly entered the living room.

“Wh, what!”

Shin Jeonga’s voice sounded flustered.

“Hey, student. You can’t make a scene like this at night. We got a report.”

He heard an adult’s voice for the first time. It sounded like a man and a woman.

“It’s just like the caller said. A female student.”

“Let go!! Inho!! Don’t tell me? Did you call them? Inho!!”

“Student, first… Ack! Senior, she’s!”

The resistance was fierce, and a woman asked for help.

A commotion broke out outside the door, then soon subsided.

The red and blue lights moved away.

Along with them, the sound of the car also faded away.

A sudden silence.

And a few minutes later.

The doorbell rang.