episode_0033

… … … … …

“Haa, haa… … .”

A cocktail of powerful antipsychotic drugs quickly spread through Park Seo-ah’s respiratory tract.

Unable to control her trembling body, she held onto the sink and desperately tried to control her breathing. Soon, very slowly, her convulsions began to subside.

Park Seo-ah looked at herself in the mirror. Her pale face gradually regained color. She combed her disheveled hair and neatly organized it.

“Now… …It’s okay. It’s okay.”

Park Seo-ah’s eyes began to change slowly. Her eyes, once filled with fear and anxiety, became cold and sharp. She had returned to her usual self.

At that moment, a familiar sensation stirred in her stomach: the violent impulses and sadism that had been her lifelong enemies and tiresome companions.

“Calm down, calm down… …not now.”

Park Seo Ah muttered and pulled herself together. But as she muttered, the image of the boy she had decided to protect for the time being appeared in her mind.

Her impulse grew stronger as she thought of the innocent and fragile-looking boy.

Park Seo Ah shook her head vigorously. That didn’t calm her down, so she slapped her own cheek a few times. She hadn’t brought the boy here to torture him. She had to endure it for now.

“Autumn Army… … is not a criminal. That won’t do… … .”

If she were to give in to her impulse and torture an innocent boy, Park Seo-ah would be no better than the criminals she has been punishing.

That would be her affirming the claims of those who were her parents.

Park Seo-ah is not, as those human trash say, a demon with a twisted personality who ruined her parents’ lives and enjoys torture and violence.

When she punishes criminals so cruelly, she is simply using harsh methods out of necessity to punish them and make an example of them.

Yes. Park Seo Ah did nothing wrong. She is innocent. Her violence in the first place was caused by their abuse――

“No… … No. It’s not because of those people that I’m like this… … It’s not because of those people.”

Park Seo Ah gritted her teeth. She knew all too well where this desire that surged within her came from. But she absolutely did not want to admit it.

“I’m different from them. Totally different.”

She stared at herself in the mirror. Memories of the horrible abuse she had suffered as a child repeatedly battered her mind, but she desperately pushed them away.

“I only punish criminals for social justice. Those people who abuse their own daughters until they die… … have nothing to do with me.”

Park Seo-ah convinced herself that her actions against criminals were purely out of a sense of justice. She checked herself in the mirror one last time and left the bathroom.

… … … … …

When Park Seo-ah returned from the bathroom after almost 15 minutes, she looked different than when she had hurriedly left.

The eyes that seemed a little confused returned to clear and sharp eyes, and the color returned to the pale face. The hair that had been disheveled was also neatly organized.

Although she had returned to normal on the outside, Park Seo-ah was still uneasy on the inside. She concluded that it was because her emotions were agitated when the medicine wore off at an unfortunate time, and faced the boy she had brought back.

“I’m sorry. I have something to do… … .

Where did we end up? Oh, I told you that I would give Gaeul-kun a brief introduction to this place. ”

As it was, Park Seo-ah led the Autumn Army and began to introduce her secret base.

Her secret base was quite large, but even she, the owner, thought it was a rather dull place. It was similar to an underground military bunker.

There were several iron doors along the long hallway, each with a different colored sign. The ceiling was crossed by exposed pipes and wires, and the space was lit only by cold fluorescent lights.

“The fall group is currently staying in the room, the kitchen, and… … hmm.”

Park Seo Ah folded her arms and thought. It was the right choice to bring Ga Eul-gun to her secret base. There was no other place to take him to in the first place.

But this place was also full of places that I couldn’t show him.

For example, a torture chamber, an execution chamber, or a room filled with ‘breakable objects’ that she uses to vent her violence when circumstances dictate.

“This place wasn’t built to accommodate guests like Autumn, so there’s not much space for Autumn.

First of all, do not enter rooms with yellow and red signs. ”

Park Seo-ah saw Ga-eul nod and guided him to the room where he would be staying.

The room was empty except for a large bed and a chair, but it was at least spacious. However, like the other rooms, there were no windows.

When she finally reached the kitchen, Park Seo-ah suddenly realized something.

“Ah… … .

By the way, Gaeul-kun, you haven’t eaten anything since last night. Aren’t you hungry? ”

Her words were true. As soon as he heard that she had been starving all day, Ga-eul’s stomach growled as if he had realized it too late.

“Ahahaha… … That’s right. I’m a little hungry.”

“… … Then I’ll make something for you. Sit down.”

… … … … …

Park Seo-ah’s hands began to move naturally. She opened the refrigerator, took out ingredients, and picked up dishes from the shelf.

Flour, milk, eggs, butter, honey. The ingredients were mixed, the pan was heated, and the batter was poured. Immediately, a sweet and savory aroma began to fill the kitchen.

It was a natural process, like flowing water, but Park Seo-ah’s mind, which was actually cooking, was a little confused.

‘pancake……?’

She never eats pancakes. She’s never made them. So why is she making pancakes right now, without hesitation?

By the time the last pancake was on her plate, Park Seo-ah still had no answer to her question.

“… … Okay, that’s it.”

Park Seo-ah approached Ga-eul-gun holding a plate.

“Wow, pancakes. Thank you so much!”

The boy’s bright smile and gratitude made her body freeze for a moment. The pure joy on his face overlapped in her memory like a scene from an old movie.

“It’s delicious! It’s been a really long time since I’ve had pancakes.”

At those words, Park Seo-ah felt as if she had been struck by lightning. Memories buried deep in her heart came to the surface.

She looked at the boy, unable to say anything.

Pancakes… … pancakes… … pancakes.

A scene from the past appeared clearly before Park Seo-ah’s eyes.

One peaceful morning in my childhood, before the abuse began. My mother was making pancakes in the kitchen, and the sweet smell filled the house.

Pancakes were something that Park Seo-ah’s mother would sometimes make for her, and it was one of the few foods she had memories of receiving love from her parents.

The sight of her mother smiling and placing pancakes on a plate, and the sweet taste. At that moment, she was just a beloved child from an ordinary family.

But that happiness didn’t last long. After the abuse began, Park Seo-ah never ate any of her mother’s food, including pancakes. The sweet smell and memories completely disappeared from her life.

Park Seo-ah swallowed her breath. The memory that she had forgotten for so long, or perhaps had been buried intentionally, was now coming back to her.

She unconsciously recreated the pancakes from her memory from 20 years ago, and she was giving the boy the warmth and affection she had never received.

“Uhm… …Are you okay?”

Park Seo-ah’s mind, which was about to be buried in past memories again, barely returned to reality at the sound of the innocent boy’s worried voice.

“Yes, it’s okay.”

She answered in a hoarse voice. But in her heart, complex emotions were swirling. It was a jealousy and resentment that were difficult to express in words.

‘Why, why… … have I never had this experience?’

It bothered her that this boy was now receiving the love and attention she should have received as a child, even though it was given by Park Seo-ah herself.

A familiar impulse rose within Park Seo-ah. Her hand unconsciously reached out for the fork. The sharp tip of the fork slowly moved toward the slender boy.

‘Just stab me. Then… … it’s over.’

If she just stuck the fork into the boy’s skin, their relationship would revert to what she was very familiar with: that of torturer and victim.

If that happens, Park Seo-ah can go back to her old life. Breaking the fingers of criminals, boiling murderers in boiling oil, and selling the intestines of conmen to pay off debts.

The image of a boy pierced through the cheek with a sharp fork appeared in her mind, howling in fear and betrayal. A chilling excitement and a black, sloppy fever filled her heart.