episode_0208

“You know Branch Manager Mok Jin-woo, right? Actually, today, he… ”

“After retracing the attack route… there were some unnatural parts… so… ”

“To summarize the conclusion… It’s clear that someone inside instigated them… ”

My body is shaking. My heart is beating so hard that it feels like it’s going to burst out of my body.

I never imagined that I would hear this story from his mouth first.

Why today of all days? If only I had one more day, if only I had more time to prepare myself mentally.

‘Hey, come to your senses…’

But soon, feeling compassionate, he chewed his lips and came to his senses.

That doesn’t mean that what needs to be done changes.

Rather, from a different perspective, it may be easier to add words naturally.

Fortunately, the man didn’t seem to notice her strangeness yet, perhaps because he was too engrossed in the explanation.

“Well, you know. Actually… ”

“… So, I’m going to kill them all.”

Yeonmin-ha, who had made up her mind like that, was about to open her mouth.

But suddenly, when she heard the voices overlapping, she stopped moving.

“Huh… ?”

I found myself asking a question without realizing it, feeling sorry for him. Then I slowly raised my head and stared at the man.

Only then could she see all the emotions he was pouring out in his eyes.

“Ah, ah… ”

What unfolded before Yeonminha’s eyes was chaos incarnated.

The tears of sadness clearly pooled in the eyes where the blood vessels had burst.

However, the corners of the mouth that are raised upwards and smiling are also clearly an expression of joy.

He had scratched at his scar so much that it had turned bright red and stained his face like an embarrassed blush.

It was an unfamiliar side of the man that I had never seen before. Even during the time when I was at odds with him, I had never encountered such intense emotions.

“… Actually, I’ve been feeling so suffocated for so long.”

Lee Hyeon continued speaking while looking straight at Yeon Min-ha.

“Even if I kill the demons as soon as I see them… Even if I tear the limbs of the warlocks apart… I wonder what is going on… ”

The voice was full of excitement and joy.

“My mom and my friends are already dead… No matter what I do, I can’t come back… But I can’t just leave those trash guys alone… ”

“… ”

“So I killed… and killed… and killed again… and still… no matter what I do… this emptiness just won’t go away… ”

Before he knew it, what he was revealing was the madness that he had buried deep in his heart.

And the compassion that confronted him was immediately apparent.

Lee Hyun’s sense of loss for what he had lost forever was deeper than he had imagined.

“But when I heard that it wasn’t an accident but a conspiracy… When I heard that there was a mastermind… When I thought that I could finally hold someone accountable… I was so happy, so happy… ”

He spoke even more passionately. He swallowed his spit, which was so pale it was almost white.

A man’s embrace was always warm and pleasant.

But the only sensation she could feel now was a tingling cold.

‘ah…’

“So I’m going to kill them all… Anyone who was even a little bit involved… Without leaving a single one behind… ”

My vision was spinning. My ears felt extremely stuffy, as if bugs were crawling on them.

She couldn’t think of anything, as if her mind had been bleached.

“… belly.”

“… ”

“… Senior.”

“… ”

“Senior Min-ha?”

“Uh, uh… ?”

And what brought that compassion back to the surface was the voice of a man she loved so much.

“I’m sorry. It was so sudden.”

“Uh, yeah? No… It’s so sudden… ”

Pityingly, she shook her head and denied his words.

Then I glanced at his complexion.

Before he knew it, he was looking at Yeonmin-ha with a worried face.

“It must have been really, really hard… Really… A lot… ”

“… But it’s okay now.”

Lee Hyeon shook his head at Yeon Min-ha’s cautious question. Then, a bright smile appeared on his face for a moment.

A captivating and addictive smile that makes your heart melt just by looking at it.

“Thanks to my senior being by my side.”

After he finished speaking, he hugged Yeonmin-ha again. She could clearly feel the lukewarm body temperature of his cheek rubbing against her hair.

She thought that Lee Hyun was like an abandoned puppy. At the same time, she also thought about how much he relied on her.

So I couldn’t look him in the eye any longer.

“Ah, ahh… ”

My legs were shaking so much that I had a hard time standing still. I tried not to show it, but nothing I did was working.

And the man, too, seemed to have noticed her ideal.

“Senior. Your complexion doesn’t look so good.”

“Huh? Oh, no… It’s not good… ”

“Your face is pale… and your heart seems to be beating fast… ”

“I guess I’m a little tired… ”

“… Senior. Why can’t we make eye contact… ”

His tone was filled with suspicion. Yeonmin-ha’s heart thumped like a stone. She felt a little resentful that he, who was usually as dull as a rock, only showed his sharpness at times like this.

‘Oh, no…’

It was a nightmare moment. All Yeonmin-ha could do was close her eyes tightly, and she had no idea what would happen next.

But the next moment I heard his soft voice, clearly filled with regret.

“… Sorry.”

And then what follows is a feeling as if my whole body is floating.

“Huh… ?”

Yeonmin-ha opened her eyes, letting out a bewildered voice.

Before he knew it, she was in his arms, holding him in a princess-like position, and he was walking up the stairs to the second floor.

Hyun Lee’s face, looking at her, was suddenly filled with embarrassment and shame. He opened his mouth while looking at Yeon Min Ha, who still had a dumbfounded expression.

“I should have paid more attention. I forgot for a moment. I remembered it well until yesterday… but then this happened all of a sudden… ”

“Poetry, nerves… ”

Then the man smiled and answered.

“It’s your period, right? It was around this time last month, too.”

Only then did I realize what was going on. It was almost the same time that he had used that day as an excuse to avoid questioning.

“Did you remember that…?”

“Of course I should remember.”

Rather, the seemingly obvious counter-question hints at a deep obsession with her. The pitiful man who was speechless had no way of knowing whether this was good or bad luck.

“You’re already tired from going to your parents’ house, and you’re even preparing dinner… You must be in bad shape… ”

“… ”

“Didn’t you say the candy was delicious last time? There was no need to do this… ”

He naturally went into the bedroom on the second floor and laid Yeonmin-ha down on the bed. Then he pulled a soft blanket over her, who was stiff, and covered her.

And then he opened his mouth, still smiling in rapture.

“I… ”

“Get some rest. Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of the finishing touches.”

Soon, a delicate hand stroked her hair a few times. Soon, along with the sound of his footsteps leaving, she was left alone in the quiet, pitiful room.

Thump-thump. The sound of my heart beating rings louder in my ears.

-Everyone who was even a little bit involved… I won’t leave a single one behind…

She just chewed on Lee Hyun’s words.

If Lee Hyeon finds out that the Reds were involved in the tragedy.

Could you possibly escape his wrath simply because you were completely unaware of it?

Of course he won’t kill himself. That’s something you can be sure of easily.

But in any case, she is a member of a family that is no different from an enemy.

If he finds out about that, will he still look at me with affectionate eyes?

Will he still whisper sweet words and treat me this affectionately?

… Maybe, like Baek Seo-yeon in the past, she trembles and shows a traumatic reaction just by touching it.

Because I had clearly come face to face with the depth of the sadness he was carrying, it was not easy to come to a conclusion of pity.

“Uh, what should I do… ”

She clutched her hair, feeling like a pitying shrimp. Time was gradually tightening around her neck as no answer came out.

***

When I woke up in the morning, there was no longer any pity. Even in such circumstances, my diligence was amazing.

I walked towards the main building and thought about yesterday’s events.

Pessimha. He looked quite embarrassed. Well, that’s understandable. He heard something like that out of nowhere…

I feel like I keep showing my honest side to Yeonmin-ha without realizing it. I wonder if that means I’ve opened my heart to her.

It’s a little embarrassing, but…

“… ”

Despite the chaos, students were gathering in the main building to attend lectures.

That bustling crowd really makes me think.

The existence of monsters that roam around wearing human skin. There could be such things among them. Of course, I was saying that it was only a possibility…

‘So the captain and branch manager also participated in the suppression?’

‘okay.’

Suddenly, the conversation I had with Mok Jin-woo yesterday replays in my head.

It is said that the Republic had to sacrifice countless magical forces to subdue the witches.

Of those who faced them directly and fought in real combat, only the leader, Mok Jin-woo, and the older sisters survived.

Even though it was said that there was no information at all, the strength to change course was truly amazing.

Next comes the worry about the captain and his sisters.

Still no reply came from the East.

Because it is such a remote area, it is said that it is quite common for crows’ coordinates to get messed up…

The word ‘enemy’ they exchanged in the dream and the evil smile on his face disguised as a dead person still haunt me.

‘You don’t have to worry. You know this because you fought it yourself. Before you, he was the first male wizard to be listed in Category 1. He killed over 80% of witches on his own 15 years ago. He killed even those who shouldn’t have been killed, so… Ahem.’

Mok Jin-woo made such boasts, but… is it really okay?

According to him, the captain went east simply to carry out a mission. So don’t worry.

But I’m hearing this story.

Perhaps the reason he left for the East was to… follow the traces of the witches who returned.

‘Why does the captain hate witches so much? It’s not like they’re just monsters…’

‘…because I lost half of my body to them.’

Although Mok Jin-woo was hesitant in his answer, I was able to understand the inside story to some extent with just that one word.

After the Red Incident. When I opened my eyes at the Black Lotus home.

A group photo from his student council days that he saw in his room. In it, the woman who had her arms around the president’s neck and taken a picture.

Seol Yu-jeong.

The reason she died.

The reason why the captain, his sisters, and even Professor Shin Jae-yu, who spent his childhood with them, kept his mouth shut about her.

Perhaps, if things hadn’t gotten this far, Mok Jin-woo would have kept his mouth shut as well.

I guess the captain still can’t forget that person. Judging from the way he doesn’t accept his sisters’ feelings…

Well, I too can’t forget the things that have passed.

Thinking like that, I looked around at the students around me.

Perhaps the offspring of the family involved in the attack two years ago could be in this cradle.

The suspects in the case were said to be from one of the top ten families in the country.

If you are a member of such a family, you would naturally spend your school days at this cradle, one of the best academies in the country.

And even… you might have been directly involved in it.

Just thinking about that possibility makes a surge of anger boil up from the depths of my heart.

I sincerely hope that such a person does not exist.

I feel like I won’t be able to stay sane if I ever meet you again.

If that happens, I feel like I won’t be able to follow the captain’s orders to graduate from the cradle quietly.

“Huh? It’s a chick.”

Meanwhile.

Someone’s voice coming from down the spiral staircase wakes me up.

I could tell who it was without even turning around. After all, there was only one person in this cradle who could call me that.

A familiar second-year girl approaches, waving and smiling.

The buttons on his sweat-soaked school uniform shirt were two or three undone, leaving the top hem hanging loose.

And then I saw something black shining through it.

I ended up closing my eyes tightly.