Chapter 225
After Yeon Minha's sudden confession.
Rather than anger, it was more like a feeling close to emptiness that lingered in my head.
Mom, friends, and the scenery of my hometown,
All the things I loved dearly, but to the esteemed magicians, they were nothing more than trivial existences.
Things that could be killed without hesitation for their purposes.
Moreover, now even the path to achieving even half of revenge had been cut off.
One of the perpetrators of the act, Yeon Jeongmun, had long since scattered as cold ash.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you earlier... I was so, so afraid..."
Yeon Minha's attitude was uncharacteristically dispirited.
I recalled an earlier incident. The time I buried my head in Yeon Minha's chest and declared that I would kill all my enemies.
That determination still hadn't changed... But, if I had known that her father was the perpetrator, I wouldn't have said it so openly.
After all, Yeon Minha had spent her whole life yearning for her father's acknowledgment.
"..."
My heart throbbed with a tingling nerve, struck by anger with no outlet.
But the matter had long ended.
Yet, it's not like I could pull the dead out of their graves, could I?
At least, realizing there was still someone left to resolve half of my resentment was a definite comfort.
I had to think that way to barely manage my emotions.
"I'm sorry... truly... I'm sorry..."
She repeatedly apologized in a cowered voice.
For now, I wanted to end this conversation. I thought I needed some time to calm my head.
"It's alright..."
Just when I was about to turn back to look at Yeon Minha.
Suddenly, she resolutely uttered words that I could never accept.
"I... don't deserve to be your woman..."
***
"What did you just say..."
Just that single sentence made me feel as though all the blood in my body had frozen. Lee Hyun barely forced his unresponsive lips to ask back.
It was possible that I misheard. Or perhaps Yeon Minha had misspoken.
In any case, I could allow her the chance to clarify once.
"...I'm sorry. For coveting something that doesn't suit me."
However, Yeon Minha continued to assert her argument.
"I think we need some time to reconsider our relationship..."
"What do you mean all of a sudden...!"
"...For now, let's call off the engagement. Let's separate for a while..."
"Don't spout nonsense!!!"
Lee Hyun's voice, unable to hold back any longer, echoed powerfully. Surprised by the reaction she hadn't anticipated, Yeon Minha looked at him with startled eyes.
Lee Hyun, who had been lying down, suddenly sprang up. As several thick syringe needles were pulled out all at once, blood refluxed, splattering droplets of blood everywhere.
Seeing him staggering as he rose, Yeon Minha hurriedly tried to stop him.
"Ah, you shouldn't get up yet...! You need to rest a bit longer..."
However, it seemed as though Lee Hyun didn't hear her words. He strode toward Yeon Minha, who stood frozen like a bird.
"How dare you, how dare you...!"
His eyes were bloodshot, and his breathing grew rough. Lee Hyun gripped Yeon Minha's slender shoulders tightly, as if to ensure she couldn't run away.
With piercing eyes, he stared directly at Yeon Minha. Unable to withstand his gaze, Yeon Minha tried to subtly avert her eyes, but he roughly grabbed her chin and turned her face back toward him.
"...Hhngh."
Yeon Minha let out a faint groan. And then she tried to soothe Lee Hyun.
"H-Hey..."
"You made a promise."
Lee Hyun, ignoring her words, muttered in a low voice.
"You promised, didn't you? No matter what happens... you wouldn't leave...!"
"Wait... calm down..."
"You said it yourself... with your own mouth..."
Before she realized it, Yeon Minha, pressed against the wall, had become like a rat in a trap. The emotions blazing in his eyes, as he looked straight at her, were an indistinguishable mix of anger and obsession.
"And now, you're saying you'll just leave? Do I look like a fool to you? Do you think I'll just stand by and watch?"
Yeon Minha had no choice but to listen silently to his words.
Despite her despair after facing the ugly side of her family, strangely enough, she felt faint hope now.
However, she soon let her head drop helplessly.
"B-But... my family... they have wronged you..."
"Shut up."
But an abrupt violent grip seized her chin and lifted it again. At the sensation of that heavy restraint, Yeon Minha couldn't help but swallow a hiccup.
"...Hic."
By now, her legs were trembling violently on their own. The emotion was far removed from fear or terror.
They remained silent for a long time.
Then, Lee Hyun let out a deep and heavy sigh.
"...Let me ask you just one thing."
"W-What is it...?"
"Two years ago... the incident in our village..."
He seemed to have finally regained some composure.
"Were you involved in it as well?"
"No, no!! Absolutely not!"
Then Yeon Minha immediately shook her head vehemently in denial.
"I didn't know anything about it...!"
Even in this situation, she absolutely didn't want to be misunderstood on this matter.
"I-I told you... I only found out a few weeks ago after discovering my father's journal at the main family..."
"..."
"To be honest, I didn't care much about the lives of commoners... but even so, I would have absolutely stopped something like that..."
"That's enough, then."
"H-Huh...?"
"I said that's enough."
At such a simple answer, it was Yeon Minha who was bewildered. And Lee Hyun reaffirmed himself once again, despite her questioning.
"You can't leave me, no matter what happens. Never."
"But..."
"I told you to shut up."
"Hic..."
Yeon Minha gulped. Soon, Lee Hyun's long, straight fingers reached for her hair.
He gently tousled it as if combing through it, then softly stroked her cheek.
"Huh..."
At the ice-cold sensation, Yeon Minha flinched lightly.
"Never say things like that again. About leaving, or needing time..."
"..."
"This is as far as I go with kind words. If you bring up such nonsense again..."
His hand, which slid down the line of her neck, finally stopped at her waist. Then, as he slightly gripped her and drew her closer, he whispered lowly.
"I'll make sure you can't leave me by force."
"...Hiccup."
The word "force" that he uttered, instead, seemed to provide her with a strange sense of firmness. And only then could Yeon Minha escape his strong grip.
She felt regretful yet, at the same time, as if she had broken free from heavy shackles, her body felt incredibly light.
The self who had been agonizing for days over the fear of being abandoned suddenly felt foolish.
Yeon Minha wanted to throw herself into his arms right at that moment and feel that sense of restraint again.
However, she still couldn't bring herself to do so.
Because just a short while ago, she had found out something else.
And because that was the most significant source of her unease.
Of course, underlying all of this was naturally affection, but the obsession he was showing her could also be seen as a fragment of some past event he had gone through.
Hesitant—Yeon Minha, who had been about to reach out, withdrew her arm and lowered her head deeply.
"Really..."
Then, she cautiously opened her mouth again.
"Really... you won't abandon me...?"
"There's no such possibility. Even if you were to abandon me."
"Even if Baek Seoyeon... intentionally deceived you...?"
At that, Lee Hyun's previously unhesitating movements came to a sudden halt.
And Yeon Minha tightly closed her eyes.
That dramatic reaction was precisely the possibility Yeon Minha so feared.
Lee Hyun wore a confused expression. He seemed entirely unable to understand what Yeon Minha was talking about.
"Suddenly... why that name...?"
"From here on out, I'll explain."
And suddenly. From the entrance of the hospital room, another voice was heard.
Turning his head, Lee Hyun could immediately recognize who it was.
An old friend of the Unit Commander and his assistant. Intelligence Bureau Branch Chief Mok Jinwoo rubbed his beard awkwardly.
"Branch Chief?"
"We meet again."
After exchanging light greetings with Lee Hyun, he turned his gaze toward Yeon Minha and lightly greeted her.
"Ah, I must apologize to the lady of Jeokhwa."
At that, Yeon Minha glared sharply at him. Though it didn't seem to reach the level of hostility, it certainly wasn't a friendly look either.
It was a natural reaction, considering that he was the one who had given her a new source of worry.
Casually brushing off her gaze, Mok Jinwoo continued speaking.
"Sorry for interrupting your time together... but could you step out for a moment? I have some things to talk about with him alone."
"..."
Though Yeon Minha looked somewhat dissatisfied, she eventually nodded.
After tidying up her appearance bit by bit, she turned her gaze toward Lee Hyun.
Then, hesitatingly, she spoke.
"Please... think it through deeply."
"Wait...!"
Before Lee Hyun could grab her, Yeon Minha quickly bolted out the door and disappeared.
Lee Hyun, who had been standing blankly for a moment, turned his head toward the entering Mok Jinwoo.
In Mok Jinwoo's pupils, as he looked at Lee Hyun, tangled emotions of complexity were evident.
On one hand, there was pity and sympathy; on the other hand, there was a playful mischief to conceal it.
"Wow, this brat Hyun... your charisma is really something..."
Only after the two were left alone did Mok Jinwoo smirk excessively and speak.
Having fully regained his composure, Lee Hyun awkwardly avoided his gaze.
"...Did you hear it?"
"Ahem, sorry about that. I didn't eavesdrop on purpose. Your voice was so loud... it echoed right into the corridor..."
"I'd like you to forget about it. And also..."
-Boom! Bang!
Just as Lee Hyun was about to change the subject.
Another mysterious explosion sound from the vicinity of the capital interrupted their conversation.
After the surroundings fell silent, he finally opened his mouth again.
"...And, what exactly does that mean? Explain it again..."
"For now, calm down and lie down."
Mok Jinwoo stopped the anxious Lee Hyun urgently.
"Let's handle it one step at a time. Aren't there already too many things you're curious about? Right?"