episode_0008

Suddenly, my eyes were met with an unfamiliar ceiling.

I reflexively tried to look around, but soon realized that I couldn’t even move a finger.

As consciousness returned, a sharp pain, as if my nerves were being shredded, began to sear through me.

At least I could still move my eyes without any issue. When I saw the needle stuck in my arm and the long IV line, it felt like I was in a hospital.

“What’s going on… Oh my!”

A nurse, startled by my movement, rushed into the room. She quickly left and returned with someone.

The person the nurse brought in was the doctor who had diagnosed me as a complete non-responsive patient before.

“Oh my… No wonder you looked familiar… It was you…”

It was only after receiving pain medication from the doctor that I could somewhat gather my thoughts.

The doctor roughly summarized the events that had transpired while I was unconscious.

This hospital was in the upper city of our village, and I had woken up after a whole week.

The marauders who attacked the village were remnants of a group that had breached the barrier not long ago.

Although the main force had been crushed by the military, some managed to escape the encirclement due to the large scale of the attack.

As a result, a few border villages, including ours, suffered the consequences.

But what I was curious about was not the reason for the attack by the marauders.

“Oh, dear…”

I urged the hesitant doctor to continue. He tried to avoid eye contact and evade my questions.

And eventually, I heard the news that everyone from the other villages had managed to escape.

“…I’m sorry. It’s regrettable.”

There was no need to dig deeper.

It was all too clear that my mother, Jin-ho, and Ina were also among those who had fled.

“Son, are you coming home today? When did you grow up so much…”

“Where’s the mother who says such things to her son?”

But the realization that this brief conversation was the last one I had with my mother… I just couldn’t believe it.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t even properly confirm their bodies.

The scene was so gruesome that it was difficult to handle even for the recovery team.

Even the bodies that were intact had been cremated long ago due to the risk of infection from the ghouls.

“Ah… Ugh…”

“I heard that a grave was prepared next to the residential area where you lived. You can visit it once you recover…”

The doctor comforted me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“Still, your awakening alone is a miracle…”

According to the doctor, my bones and organs were all severely damaged.

I had suffered severe injuries from repeated strong impacts, with broken bones piercing organs causing excessive bleeding.

On top of that, I had been poisoned by the toxin on the marauders’ claws, so when I first arrived at the hospital, I was barely recognizable as a living person.

Although I had regained consciousness, it would take at least two months of hospitalization to heal my broken bones and completely rid my body of the poison.

However, reality was cold and unforgiving.

As an orphan, I had no means to afford the exorbitant hospital bills.

“…I don’t have the means to pay for that level of treatment. I’m sorry, but…”

I honestly explained my situation to the doctor.

But he simply shook his head.

He then left the room after telling me not to worry about the hospital bills and to focus on getting better.

For the time being, unable to even move a finger, I had to endure the monotony of lying in bed day after day.

But unlike my body, my sound mind became a poison to me.

I had to spend each day in agony, engulfed in the sorrow of losing my beloved family and friends.

However, amidst all of that, one question continued to linger in my mind.

Yeon’s presence had truly disappeared like a touch.

The nurses knew nothing at all, and the doctor only repeated that I was the only survivor of that village.

And after spending a few weeks in the hospital, when I had already started to feel familiar with the swamp of sadness, frustration, pain, and lethargy.

Yeon suddenly appeared in my hospital room in the middle of the night.

***

In the early morning hospital room with the faint moonlight streaming in.

I woke up suddenly from the pain that still plagued me.

“…Hello.”

“Yeon…?”

Without context or sound, Yeon stood next to my hospital bed.

I kept shaking my head, thinking it was a dream, but the scene in front of me was undeniably real.

“You look like you’re having a hard time.”

“It’s nothing. How about you…?”

“You look fine, as if nothing’s wrong.”

Yeon’s hair, bathed in moonlight, sparkled.

Partially obscured by darkness, it highlighted her innate beauty.

Seeing no visible injuries, I felt relieved and put on a fake smile as usual to reassure Yeon.

But soon, I realized that Yeon’s state was different from usual.

“…”

Her tone was emotionless, her gaze dark.

Her lips, which should have been scolding me like a needle, were tightly shut.

Her expression was devoid of laughter or tears, just quiet.

The affectionate whispers of love were nowhere to be found.

There were so many questions I wanted to ask Yeon, piled up like a mountain.

What happened after I lost consciousness?

How have things been going?

Why didn’t you come to see me sooner…?

But Yeon’s cold demeanor froze all of those questions.

“Yeon, can you tell me what happened after I passed out…?”

I forced the words out of my throat.

“Soldiers arrived shortly after you fainted. They wiped out all the demons, and you were brought to this hospital.”

Yeon answered in a flat voice.

“I see. I’m sorry. It was almost because of me that you…”

“It was because of you. You acted recklessly without heeding my warnings. If the soldiers had been just 30 seconds late, I would have been a cold corpse by now. What were you thinking, doing such a foolish thing?”

Yeon’s harsh criticism pierced my heart like a needle.

I didn’t try to make excuses.

But I never wanted this kind of scolding.

Yeon’s unfamiliar attitude brought back memories of her past self, which I could barely remember now.

“I have something to tell you. I’m in a hurry, so I’ll finish quickly and leave.”

Yeon continued in a calm voice.

“I came today to tie up loose ends from the past.”

“The… past?”

“Yes, the past.”

As soon as I heard Yeon’s words, an inexplicable sense of unease enveloped me.

My heart pounded wildly, and a cold chill ran through my body like winter.

“I’ve become a sorceress. It was supposed to happen next year, but it happened sooner due to various circumstances.”

“Really? That’s great…”

“And now I’ve been accepted back into the family. Thanks to the Lord’s proclamation, I no longer have to fear for my life as before.”

“I see. After returning to the capital, I thought long and hard. And I realized that this is my true life and the glory I should have enjoyed. The days in the borderlands were just like nightmares.”

“Nightmares…?”

“Yeah, nightmares. Memories so unpleasant and disgusting that I want to erase them from my life. I lived with those things for years. Thinking about it now makes me sick.”

“What… are you talking about…”

“So, I decided to erase those nightmares. You know? When you come from a family like ours, it’s nothing.”

“…”

“I was never part of that village from the beginning. I was the daughter who received the extreme love of the head of the family, and because of that, I was raised in seclusion without ever leaving the capital.”

“What… are you saying…”

“Everyone who knew about my past is dead, and no one will believe you even if you try to tell them. Of course not. Who would believe the empty boasts of a country bumpkin like you?”

Yeon-i’s words continued to confuse my mind.

I just wanted to block my ears so I wouldn’t have to hear any more of it.

I finally understood the meaning of the doctor’s words, that I was the only ‘official’ survivor.

“People look up to me as an example. But you, you have to bow your head even to those people. Understand? That’s the difference between us. From the beginning… it was an absurd relationship.”

“Yeon-i… why are you saying such things…”

“…”

Even with my tearful plea, her gaze remained cold and dry.

“So what were we… really…?”

“Obviously, we were nothing, and we will continue to be nothing.”

It was a protest that I couldn’t hold back any longer, but Yeon-i declared her words so coldly and simply.

Her voice was still as calm as the bottom of a lake.

“Yeon-i… this is strange… what happened…? Right, did your father threaten you or something…”

“Sigh…”

Even my barely squeezed out question was met with a dismissive sigh from Yeon-i, dispersing it into nothing.

“Something happened? Yes, something did happen. Everything returned to normal.”

“I admit it. I too had a naive and childish past. I had to cater to others’ whims to survive. But not anymore. I… have realized the reality.”

“Yeon-i…”

“I like men I can rely on. But you are not one of them. Instead of protecting me, you almost dragged me into the pit of death with you.”

“What are you talking about…”

“Still don’t understand? You’re not strong or reliable. You had a decent face, but even that has become useless now. You… don’t deserve to be by my side.”

“…”

With Yeon-i’s pronouncement of a death sentence, I could only bow my head deeply.

“I’m sorry for saying such things when you’re in a bad situation. But I couldn’t help it. I wanted you to realize the reality like I did.”

“…”

“I have to go. I’m busy now. Well then…”

After finishing her words, Yeon-i turned and walked towards the door.

There was no lingering regret in her straightforward actions.

“…Just one last thing, please let me ask…”

“…What is it?”

I mustered all my strength to grab Yeon-i and barely managed to hold her back.

There was a hint of annoyance on Yeon-i’s face as she turned her head.

“Was everything in the village… our past memories… really worthless to you…? Really…”

“Of course they were. Just waste taking up space.”

“…”

“Then.”

As if my worth was nothing, Yeon-i gave a brief answer and left the hospital room.

The quiet room now only held the faint scent of water parsley.

And I had to admit it.

My childhood ended in the worst possible way.