The End of a Long Adolescence – 3

Eyes are gradually adjusting to the darkness.

Things that were once invisible begin to take shape.

Her dress adorned with stars, her pigtails.

And her mystically shimmering, galaxy-like purple eyes.

“Seong-a.”

Firmly, her staff presses against my neck.

My voice comes out slightly hoarse from the pressure.

“Swear.”

She repeats the word ‘swear’ to me like a parrot.

A green Libra floats in the air, faintly illuminating the room.

I want to ask why she’s doing this, what’s going on.

But I have something else I need to do first.

A subtle vibration travels through the staff to my neck. Her hand holding the staff is trembling.

I move my eyes to examine her closely. Her legs and feet, pressed against either side of my body, are shaking.

And her eyes. Her eyes, which seem to hold the beauty of the universe, have been trembling ever since I woke up.

Therefore, I must say what she wants to hear, rather than what I want to ask.

“Seong-a, what’s wrong?”

Did she have a bad dream? Did I unknowingly trigger her unstable psyche?

Her eyes tremble even more at my question.

I recall the cases I’ve experienced traversing through numerous dimensions.

And I project the most similar situation onto her.

“Swear.”

The staff presses harder on my neck.

Her voice, urging me, is slightly tearful. A trembling voice and heightened emotions.

I still can’t guess what her concentrated emotions are, emotions that seem ready to burst out, anchoring themselves in her throat.

However, I’m certain that they aren’t good, positive emotions.

“Okay. I’ll swear. But can I change my position a little?”

I respond to her request while making my own, so as not to provoke her unstable psyche.

Purple eyes look down at me.

I show her a smile, not cowering.

“This position is a little uncomfortable. Let’s talk face to face. Like when we first used this Libra.”

I appeal to her, bringing up memories of the past.

At my words, she also recalls and shares the same memories.

“……..”

A moment of hesitation, or rather, contemplation.

She takes a step back, and my neck regains its freedom.

I don’t rush, slowly raising my body.

“Should I… turn on the lights?”

“……”

It doesn’t seem to be a silent agreement.

She doesn’t seem to be willing to grant my request any further.

“[I swear to the Libra that I will only speak the truth.]”

Since she granted my request, it’s my turn to respond to hers.

The green Libra shines brightly.

Even though the magical contract is over, she doesn’t speak.

What is she hesitating about? I decide to speak first.

“Seeing as you came here suddenly in the middle of the night, there’s something you want to ask, right?”

I don’t blame her.

Of course, I don’t understand her sudden actions, and I feel that they are abrupt, but I don’t show it.

Only then will she feel less guilty after all this is over.

“…You seem so relaxed.”

Her words, uttered after a long silence, weren’t a question.

It feels like she’s avoiding the question again.

“You have something else you want to ask besides that, right? It’s okay.”

I showed her a smile to reassure her.

I don’t know if she could see it well in the dark room.

I don’t know what question she’s going to ask, but she seems quite nervous.

Just from the way she’s taking deep breaths to calm herself, I can roughly feel how heavy the burden on her mind is.

“Ahjussi.”

“Yeah. I’m listening.”

“Are you hiding something from me?”

An unimaginable question is thrown at me.

And with her words, the Libra tilts.

The tilting of the Libra meant that I had to tell the ‘truth’ to her question, to balance the Libra.

“Huh? What?”

“Don’t ask back, just answer the question.”

Seong-a’s hands are still trembling.

It seems like a question with some conviction. I have no idea what it is.

“It would be nice if you could be more specific.”

“Betray me… no, were you trying to deceive me from the start by approaching me… weren’t you?”

She says, frowning as if she doesn’t even want to say it.

And hearing that question, I can only make a dumbfounded face.

While my mind is blank for a moment, unsure of what to say, Seong-a begins to gradually pour out her emotions that she had been suppressing.

“I, I… saw it. You and that lanky Four Heavenly Kings meeting and talking.”

Her hands begin to tremble even more.

“What?”

Could she be talking about that time? But we didn’t say anything special then.

Ah…!

Crown’s words come to mind.

[It’s not like we can only meet if there’s a special reason, is it? Between us.]

[How are you getting along with the Magical Girl?]

[I just wondered if things were going well.]

[Let’s meet again next time.]

That Four Heavenly Kings who spoke to me in a friendly tone.

If those words were aimed at Seong-a, who might be watching from somewhere, not me….

Come to think of it, Seong-a’s mood also turned sour that day.

Damn it. I’ve been had.

“Being nice to me… putting me in a situation where I can’t do without you… so that in an important moment… you would….”

Overcome with emotion, Seong-a couldn’t continue her words properly and sobbed.

“I, I can’t do without you… but if you were actually… not purified… but pretending to be purified….”

The staff aimed at me trembles.

The sound of Seong-a sobbing begins to fill the room.

“I kept thinking it wasn’t true… and I even tested you… but I still don’t know. Ahjussi… so please tell me honestly.”

“Ahjussi, are you planning to deceive and betray me?”

Seong-a stares at me with fear-filled eyes.

I click my tongue without realizing it at those tearful eyes.

The Libra tilts once more.

“First of all, to give you the conclusion, no.”

As soon as I finish speaking, a weight is placed on the scale.

Seong-a’s eyes widen.

“I’ll say it clearly. I don’t belong to the forces opposing you, and I didn’t deliberately create situations to make you dependent on me.”

“Really?”

“Your magic tells you, doesn’t it? Look here.”

I pointed to the Libra with my finger.

Hope shines on Kim Seong-a’s face at the weight on the Libra’s scale.

“Then betrayal….”

“I won’t. There’s no reason to betray you either.”

“Then that’s a relief… ah?”

Seong-a, who was sighing in relief, hardened her face after looking at the Libra.

The Libra was still tilted.

“But the fact that the weight is up there means it’s the truth.”

Seong-a examined the weight on the scale.

“But why… isn’t it balanced?”

Seong-a’s eyes begin to tremble again.

“[I don’t belong to the forces opposing me, and I didn’t deliberately create situations to make you dependent on me.] …The first question I asked was… yes, whether you were hiding something from me….”

Her gaze, which had been directed at the Libra, returns to me.

I swallowed without realizing it at the alien emotion contained in those eyes.

“Ahjussi. You’re still hiding something from me, aren’t you?”

“I told you. Everyone has secrets.”

“But, I want to hear the secret you’re hiding. Only then will I feel at ease.”

“Sometimes it’s better not to know.”

“Ahjussi.”

Kim Seong-a approaches me.

As I move my body back as she gets closer and closer, I end up in a half-lying position.

With her hands on the floor, she brought her face close to me.

At a distance where I could feel her breath, she buried her face in my chest.

“I want to know everything about you. I don’t know anything, really. What you used to do, where your hometown is, what kind of people you met and what kind of life you lived…. You’ve told me a lot, but you haven’t really told me anything.”

“That’s because….”

It’s because there’s really nothing I can tell you.

“During the past few days when I thought you might have betrayed me, it was so hard. I couldn’t concentrate at school, and I couldn’t rest comfortably even when I came home. But… the fact that you’re still hiding something from me is bothering me so much.”

“Seong-a.”

“Please tell me. I’ve told you so much, I think it’s too unfair that you’re the only one hiding things.”

Seong-a rubs her face against my chest.

“Ahjussi. Please….”

Feeling the warmth of Seong-a pleading in my arms, I think.

The only thing I’m hiding from Seong-a is one thing.

The secret of a person named Kang In-ho, which I’ve never uttered.

There wouldn’t be a problem… right?

I slowly stroke her hair with my hand.

“I am.”

She flinches at my voice.

“I’m a Persona, but also not a Persona.”

She holds her breath and waits for my next words.

“I am Kang In-ho.”

Reflecting on the beginning and the process of all this, I slowly utter the words.

“Died unfairly,”

“Was cursed by a goddess,”

“Wandered through many dimensions,”

“Possessed the bodies of many people,”

“Experienced many deaths,”

“I’m a possessor from another world, not this one.”

I tell her the secret I’ve been hiding.