Chapter 87: Where Are You (2)
TL/Editor: Raei
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...........How long have you been deceiving me?
"..."
No words came from her open mouth.
Her vision blurred. Song Soo-yeon doubted her own ears.
"...What...?"
Finally, she managed to ask Jung-gyeom with difficulty.
The question she just heard couldn't possibly be real.
This was something that couldn't happen.
-Thud.
The cake she had carefully selected for Jung-gyeom fell to the ground.
The gift box containing a watch engraved with the affectionate phrase 'From Soo-yeon' also fell.
Jung-gyeom, covering his eyes with his palms, muttered quietly.
"Since when...since when...exactly..."
"...Mist...F*ck"
"When did you...as a villain...start deceiving me?!"
Jung-gyeom's voice, now laced with force, echoed loudly in the room.
Soo-yeon's knees trembled and then gave out.
-Thump.
She couldn't stand up again.
Breathing became too hard in this terrifying situation.
"Ha...ah...haah..."
Gradually, Soo-yeon started to grasp the situation.
Jung-gyeom had found out.
"No...it's not..."
With a voice drowned in fear, Soo-yeon hastily denied it.
Her mind went blank, unable to come up with even a sloppy excuse.
But she had to deny his words.
She had to argue by any means that she wasn't a villain.
"...No, it's not...it's not..."
She shook her head like a child, denying the accusations.
The walls she had built to avoid getting hurt were nowhere to be found.
Neither her sharp persona nor her shameless faade.
She couldn't act any of it out.
There was no room for that now.
And to Soo-yeon's denials, Jung-gyeom, through his tears, burst into hollow laughter.
"...Are you still trying to deceive me?"
"...Mister, Mister..."
"Was I...a fool for believing in you?"
Jung-gyeom had believed in her words so naively, to the point others would ridicule him as a fool.
He kept his distance when he heard of her misandry.
When she said her parents took her money, he readily found her a part-time job.
He offered her a studio apartment when she didn't want to go home, and comforted her whenever she vented out of the blue.
He trusted her without evidence.
He believed in her based on her words alone.
And he didn't mind that.
When everyone else seemed like an enemy, Jung-gyeom made her feel like he was on her side.
As long as Jung-gyeom believed in her, everything was fine.
That's why she wanted to stay by his side so badly.
Jung-gyeom's hollow laughter trailed off.
His shoulders, trembling with tears, began to shake with laughter.
"Kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk...kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk."
It was impossible to know what he was feeling as he laughed.
She was just terrified, each moment searing fear into her mind.
".......Yeah, I was a f*cking idiot."
Jung-gyeom blamed himself.
Song Soo-yeon gasped in shock.
That kind man was now spitting out harsh words without hesitation.
An idiot, a loser, a pushoverhe had laughed it off when called such names, but now he trembled with rage.
It felt like a dagger was plunged into Soo-yeon's heart.
Tears started to flow.
".......I could never have saved anyone."
"...Ah...ahh...."
"...Everything I did...was just for my own satisfaction. It was a waste of time."
Jung-gyeom regretted the very fact that he had helped Soo-yeon.
As he spoke, tears burst forth uncontrollably, like a dam had burst.
His words were painfully sharp.
The person she loved was regretting being involved with her.
"No...please...Mister...please..."
Jung-gyeom took his hands away from his eyes.
His eyes, now cold and desolate, looked straight at Soo-yeon.
".....Soo-yeon, what do you keep saying no for?"
This change crushed her heart.
It was unbearable to see Jung-gyeom despair because of her.
"Is it really not you? You're not Luna?"
Jung-gyeom asked as if interrogating her.
But within his words, there was a faint hope.
He sincerely hoped Soo-yeon was not Luna.
".............."
But faced with such questions, Soo-yeon could only become mute.
Even if she had a hundred mouths, she could say nothing.
She just bit her lip and bowed her head.
Jung-gyeom laughed hollowly again.
"...See?"
"...Sob...ugh..."
"...When did you...start having powers...?"
"...Ugh..."
"Since when? Since we met?"
"No...it's not true, Mister..."
Jung-gyeom no longer listened to her pleas.
As if reminiscing, he nodded to himself.
"Yeah. Now that I think about it, I remember. The moment we truly started to get close. Now that I think about it...there was nothing more awkward than that."
Tears streamed down Soo-yeon's face as she looked up at him.
"...Solace."
Jung-gyeom said.
"It was since the moment Solace and I started to get close."
"...Mister...?"
"As a villain...did you use me? Did you use me to spy on Solace? That's why you stayed by my side...and that's why you hated Solace so much?"
His thoughts began to race.
He was unable to think rationally due to the betrayal.
Soo-yeon couldn't stand on her trembling legs.
She crawled to him, clinging to his legs.
"It...it was never like that...please believe me..."
It wasn't because of Solace that she got close to Jung-gyeom.
She wasn't by his side to spy on Min-Bom like a spy.
"I only got my powers recently...sob...it hasn't been long...please believe me, Mister..."
Song Soo-yeon pleaded, but Jung-gyeom didn't respond.
He didn't pat her head kindly as he always did, nor did he pinch her cheeks.
Despite her tears, he didn't hug her or pat her back.
He remained as rigid as a statue, leaving her to cry bitterly.
"I thought you...actually liked me," Jung-gyeom said.
Soo-yeon rested her face against his knees, shedding tears.
"I thought you were by my side because you were grateful to me."
"...Because I liked you...that's why I was...by your side...right..? Mister..."
"...Soo-yeon, the question you asked me a few days ago...I'll return it to you,"
Jung-gyeom's voice began to tremble.
He sounded pained, struggling to continue.
"...Was I ever important to you?"
Her head spun at his question.
Her heart raced so fiercely it felt like it was being wrung out.
"...Were our memories...important to you?"
The dizziness was as intense as the nausea.
She began to retch.
"Ugh...! Ugh...!"
Between retches, Soo-yeon tried to answer.
"Important...they are important...Mister...please...believe me, please...!"
"Then why did you destroy the restaurant...?"
Soo-yeon clutched her chest.
She felt a physical pain.
It was not just emotional but physically hurtful.
"Your words don't match up. If they were important, why destroy them...?"
Jung-gyeom continued.
"...You were important to me."
'Were.'
Past tense made Soo-yeon's breathing stop.
Her heart ached terribly, yet she couldn't breathe.
A stabbing pain spread from her heart throughout her body.
"I cherished you...I wanted to do everything for you...I never wanted to do anything you'd hate."
Looking up, she saw tears continuously streaming down his face.
"Haah...! Ugh...! Haah...! Mister, Mister..."
The atmosphere became strangely tense.
Every word was too sharp and cold.
Like someone without a future.
It felt like he was settling his heart, preparing to cut off their relationship.
Soo-yeon found it hard to think straight.
"But you became a villain. While claiming I was important...you destroyed our restaurant..."
Jung-gyeom stood up.
"Uh...? No...Mister...uh...?"
Soo-yeon reflexively wrapped her arms around his legs.
-Thump!
She hugged him tightly, preventing him from leaving.
It was the first time she had clung to something so desperately.
She exerted force as if her life depended on it.
Her eyes were shaking with anxiety.
"Where are you going...? Ah, Mister...no...please...sit down..."
"I never knew betrayal from a friend could hurt so much. If I had known...I wouldn't have made friends at all."
Soo-yeon was said to be his first friend in his solitary life.
As his first friend, he often told her how important she was to him.
Song Soo-yeon, too shy to return those words, never forgot the warmth they provided.
But Jung-gyeom regretted that past now.
He spoke as if he was trying to detach her from himself.
"...Or was I the only one who thought of us as friends?"
-Thud.
With a little force, Soo-yeon's grip was easily released, much to her disbelief.
"Uh...?"
He began to distance himself, walking away without hesitation towards the door of the studio apartment.
He was leaving.
"No...you can't...you can't do this...!"
Driven by frantic fear, Soo-yeon's body moved on its own.
Her legs, immobile just moments ago, moved again.
Like someone drawing on their last reserves of strength, Soo-yeon blocked his way.
She spread her arms wide, preventing him from leaving.
"..."
Jung-gyeom's desolate eyes didn't meet hers.
He was not the same person who always made eye contact.
It was clear he had been deeply hurt.
Soo-yeon found it excruciating to see him in pain.
She slowly approached him.
With a shaky breath, she spoke.
"...Ah...Mister...listen to me...I'll tell you everything...sob..."
"..."
"I didn't deceive you...ugh...I didn't approach you because of Solace..."
She gradually lowered her arms.
Then, familiarly, she slid her arms under his.
"It's true...you're important to me...you're the most important..."
She hugged his back tightly, burying her face in his chest.
And finally, she confessed her feelings.
It was abrupt and possibly the worst timing, but it had to be done.
"...I love you."
Jung-gyeom's body flinched.
"...Mister, it's true... I love you... I did it because I love you..."
"..."
"Being a villain, it's because Solace kept taking you away from me...sob...because with Solace around, you wouldn't see me...it's because you're important to me..."
"..."
"Bom has everything...! Sob...! She's beautiful, powerful...rich...! And she keeps taking you away from me...! How can I just stand by...! How can I just watch this...!"
She vented her frustration bit by bit.
"I just need you...! My only treasure is being taken away by her...! What was I supposed to do...?"
"..."
"You're also at fault!! Why don't you see me when Solace is around!!"
Soo-yeon hugged him, reminded of the cake and the watch that had fallen to the ground.
She momentarily let go of him to pick up the two gifts.
"Look at this, Mister...! If I didn't love you...sob...would I have bought this? It's...it's my first time buying a cake...it's my first time celebrating someone's birthday...I even memorized the birthday song...right? Please sit...let's have the cake..."
Song Soo-yeon hurriedly took the cake out of the box, hoping it might change his mind.
"Yes...? Sob...I practiced...look. Happy...birthday...to you...sob...happy birthday..."
Through her tears, Soo-yeon began to sing.
Her voice, mixed with sobs, sounded nothing like she had practiced.
But after a long silence, Jung-gyeom spoke.
"...Soo-yeon."
Her actions froze at the sound of his voice, and the song was cut short.
She turned her stiff neck slowly to look at Jung-gyeom.
His face was contorted in pain.
Tears were flowing from his eyes too.
"...No, Villain Luna."
Soo-yeon was the same, tears streaming down endlessly.
She too began to realize.
It was too late.
Her eyes, like Jung-gyeom's, were losing their color.
She struggled to speak.
"Not Luna...I'm...Soo-yeon-"
"-I can't trust you anymore."
"......................Mister...please...."
Jung-gyeom wiped away his tears.
And with that, as if shedding his attachments, he firmly walked past her again.
Jung-gyeom, who had always believed her words without question, now wouldn't believe her desperate pleas.
It left her at a loss for what to do.
Soo-yeon's emotions began to explode.
She started to rage against the unfairness of the world.
Why. Why does the world curse her again?
Being by his side made her forget that the world was trash.
No, in a world that felt like trash, it made her realize that there was also warmth.
What right does the world have to give and then take away?
If it were going to be like this, it should not have let her know.
It should not have shown her that such warmth existed.
For the past 19 years, she endured not knowing this warmth.
But now, she couldn't.
She couldn't bear a world without Jung-gyeom for even a second.
She couldn't return to the hellish coldness of before.
"Don't go..."
She said.
But Jung-gyeom kept walking.
"...Don't...don't go...!!"
Soo-yeon turned and roughly grabbed Jung-gyeom.
She aimed for his arm, but what she caught was his wish bracelet.
The wish bracelet Soo-yeon had made stitch by stitch for Jung-gyeom when she was poor.
-Snap!
The now worn-out bracelet, caught by her fingers, broke off all too easily.
-Thud.
The string fell from his wrist and dropped to the floor.
The bracelet, once a source of joyful and cherished memories, met its end just like that.
Soo-yeon stared blankly at the scene before snapping back to reality.
Jung-gyeom didn't stop despite her pleas.
He grabbed the door, twisted it open, and his body moved towards the outside of the studio apartment.
"Don't go, f*ck...! Please...please don't leave...!"
Song Soo-yeon screamed desperately.
"I'll die without you...! Sob...I love you, f*ck...! Please, don't leave me alone...!"
It was the first time she had ever pleaded like this. It was the first time she had been this desperate.
She couldn't accept this nightmare.
She was already terrified of what would come after Jung-gyeom left.
"Mister!!!"
She yelled as loud as she could, but Jung-gyeom continued to move.
At that sight, Soo-yeon's rationality snapped.
She kicked open the door of the studio apartment that was beginning to close.
Her bare feet got dirty as they hit the ground, but she didn't care.
Silently watching Jung-gyeom's retreating figure, she said,
"Tomorrow...! You're coming back tomorrow, right...? That's why you're leaving now...?"
"..."
"Say something!! I'm scared to death, damn it!! You're coming back, right!! Please!! Please!!!"
Jung-gyeom's back remained unchanged.
Soo-yeon's eyes began to shine with a violet light.
There was no turning back now.
"Ugh...!"
She raised her hand.
She made her decision.
"Come back...!"
She commanded.
"Come e back and hold me...whisper to me that you love me...sob...tell me you love me..."
She had vowed not to use her powers on Jung-gyeom.
She didn't want to be loved through manipulation.
She wanted to be truly loved by him.
But.
...It was better than nothing.
Keeping him through manipulation was better than losing him entirely.
Determination filled Soo-yeon's eyes.
Jung-gyeom was also at fault.
If he knew she was a villain, he should have been careful.
He shouldn't have thoughtlessly tried to escape.
He had seen her defeat Solace, so he should have been wary.
No one wants to watch their heart walk out of their life.
Soo-yeon felt the same.
She wasn't going to just watch Jung-gyeom leave.
As Jung-gyeom, who had been walking away endlessly, began to slowly turn around, Soo-yeon caught her breath.
The panic that had seized her breathing calmed down a bit, like first e e back and...don't call me Luna...call me e and hold me..."
But beyond that, Jung-gyeom didn't move.
His cold gaze fixed on her, he just stared at her motionlessly.
Soo-yeon, puzzled, looked at her own hand.
Still shining with a violet light.
It was clear that her powers were activated.
"...Why? e here..."
And then something that shouldn't happen, happened.
"......So this is what repaying a favor means."
He spoke.
And did not move.
Her power had no effect.
"...................."
Song Soo-yeon lost her strength again.
She collapsed right there, staggering.
Jung-gyeom left.
She couldn't hold onto him.
"Come e back..."
She squeezed out her powers, but he no longer looked back at her.
"Don't leave..."
His body turned away.
"Mister...please....."
Soo-yeon pleaded.
........But Jung-gyeom did not stop his steps until the end.
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