Babel is Cinderella-3

Having lived in this dimension without major ups and downs, I briefly overlooked something.

The trials arranged by the goddess. Namely, that someone obsessed with me exists in this world.

Of course, I was cautious as soon as I arrived here.

I definitely thought there would be such obsession stemming from the relationships the original owner had built.

But, no one was obsessed with me.

Hana was a potential candidate, but her obsession wasn’t with me, but with money.

So I was relieved. This world has no interest in me.

Therefore, I drew a hopeful blueprint for the future, thinking that if I took good care of my body, I could live here long and prosperously.

But, little did I know I would dig my own grave.

-Tug, tug

The strength of her grip, pulling at my sleeve, was strong.

With her holding my arm, I was like a dog tied to a leash in the countryside, unable to stray beyond a certain radius.

“Garam. Please let go.”

Yanking my arm away would hurt her, so I raised my hand.

My hand went over her tightly clenched fist. And her hand trembling beneath it.

She looked back and forth between my sleeve and my face.

She was biting her lip with her front teeth, and I wondered what would happen if she drew blood.

“Garam.”

I call her name once more.

Let go of this hand. If I had my way, I would have said that already.

But, as the one responsible for this situation, I can’t bring myself to speak harshly to her.

It was a problem I caused by dragging her in, an incident that arose because I formed a connection with her.

Hearing her name called, she shook her head.

“N-no… If I let go, you’ll leave…”

Tears welled up in her eyes again, and she squeezed out her voice.

“I-I’ll be good… D-don’t leave me alone. P-please.”

“Garam. I’m not going anywhere. First, we need to leave the hospital. I’ll go get the doctor. We can’t stay here forever.”

I kneel to meet her eye level.

“……”

“It’ll be just a moment. Less than five minutes.”

“……”

A suspicious look. I never imagined she would look at me like this.

Where did that lively, warm, and cheerful girl go?

Was the shadow so dark because the light was so bright?

Or did she have to shine brightly to hide the dark shadow?

Well, I don’t think the order matters.

It’s more important to fix what happened.

After a long deliberation, Garam reluctantly let go of my hand.

I finally swung my freed arm around, loosening my stiff shoulders.

My whole body was tense from driving here in a hurry.

“Wait just a bit.”

“I’ll count five minutes.”

It would have been cute under normal circumstances, but it sounds scary today.

Only after the doctor briefly checked her condition were we able to leave the emergency room.

After paying for the usual tests and IV fluids, it came out to about 150,000 won. I paid for it.

As we headed to the parking lot, Ho-cheol, who was sitting in a small rest area next to the hospital entrance, saw me and stood up.

He was smoking, as he had a cigarette butt in his hand.

“Hyung, are you done…?”

Seeing Garam grabbing my sleeve and following me, Ho-cheol scratched his head as if he found it strange.

It’s too complicated to explain. Just ignore it.

“You didn’t leave?”

I thought he had gone home after his shift, but it seems he has something to say.

“Ah, yes… well…”

He trailed off, glancing at Garam.

“Is it important?”

At my words, Ho-cheol nodded slightly.

It seems to be a sensitive topic to talk about in front of Garam.

“Garam. Would you mind sitting on that bench for a moment? I have some business to discuss with this friend.”

“Again? Are you leaving again?”

“I won’t leave your sight. It’s only about 5 meters away.”

“……”

Whether she’s anxious, dissatisfied, or both, it’s hard to read her expression, which is a mix of emotions.

But she doesn’t resist as stubbornly as she did in the emergency room, and goes to the bench.

I was worried she might grab my arm here too, but thankfully, she didn’t.

Ho-cheol and I turned our backs to her.

“Um, I’ll light one up. Hyung… Ah, you quit.”

Ho-cheol put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it, thinking of smoking another one.

In the darkness, the cigarette fire burned red, and Ho-cheol took a deep drag.

“Hoo…”

He turned his head slightly and exhaled the smoke.

“What’s the story? You didn’t go home.”

“Hyung. Garam…”

Ho-cheol lowered his voice.

“What about Garam?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to keep your distance? She doesn’t seem to be in her right mind.”

“……”

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately, but… if you’re going to exercise, it might be better to go somewhere else.”

“Well, it doesn’t interfere with my daily life, does it?”

“It’s stressing you out. You collapsed once before because of Hana or whatever her name was.”

“Well, I’m glad you don’t seem to be chasing after her these days.”

He tapped his cigarette with his finger, flicking off the ash.

I had nothing to say, so I remained silent, and Ho-cheol continued to speak.

“I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I’m just worried about your health.”

“Oh, are you worried about me?”

“Of course. You changed my jobless life. I have to worry.”

At his loyal words, I smiled without realizing it.

I patted him on the shoulder.

“Okay, okay. I won’t overdo it. Today’s incident is actually my responsibility. I can’t just let Garam go.”

“Hyung’s responsibility?”

Ho-cheol’s eyes widened.

“Yeah.”

I glanced back slightly. Garam, sitting on the bench, is biting her nails and glaring at us.

“Hana messed with Garam.”

“That bitch? Why would she mess with Garam, who has nothing to do with it?”

“That’s what I’m saying. If she wanted to mess with someone, she should have messed with me. Why bother Garam, who was just minding her own business? Tsk.”

“I’m just saying this now, but Hana is a real bitch. I told you, you can hang out with other Broadcasting Jockeys, but don’t hang out with her. I told you so many times-“

“Okay, okay. I was wrong.”

In the past, I had such a loyal subject around me, so why did I live like that?

“Anyway, it’s late today. Let’s stop here and go in.”

“Yes. Hyung, you should go in and rest too. It’s a shame, since it was your day off.”

Ho-cheol finished his cigarette and threw the butt into the trash can.

The flying cigarette butt hit the rim and went inside.

“Well, I was just unlucky.”

With those words, I turned to Garam.

“Ah, Hyung.”

Ho-cheol called out to me as I was going to Garam.

“What?”

“Are you just going to leave her alone?”

He’s talking about Hana.

“No, I’m going to pay her back in kind. Why are you asking something so obvious?”

I replied, wiping the screen of my phone with my thumb.

“I won’t be satisfied until I get back what I lost.”