Chapter 233
A pale girl lying on the sickbed.
A boy, exhausted from nursing her all night, had fallen asleep beside her.
Despite the tormenting days, deep down, it was something he had yearned for.
A sight so familiar, yet one he had thought would never return.
Seoyeon tightly closed her eyes, then opened them wide again.
Wondering if she was still trapped in a dream.
Or if the painkillers were working too well, and she was seeing things.
"..."
But no matter how many times she blinked, the world before her remained unchanged.
Instead, a soft sound of drowsy breathing gently tickled her ears.
At this, Seoyeon absentmindedly lifted her hand.
And sharply pinched her own cheek.
"Ha-ut...!"
What came next was a sharp and stinging pain.
She had pinched herself so hard that a groan of pain escaped her lips.
"Uh, uh, uh, uh...?"
Seoyeon was at a loss, restless and unsure of what to do.
The eyes of the man, lying prone with his upper body down, suddenly snapped open, and soon, he sluggishly rose.
The vivid sensations, too real to be a dream, were enough to wake someone up.
The risen man muttered as he brushed his disheveled hair over the mask.
"They clearly said no one should enter the hospital room until further instructions..."
Then, he abruptly stopped speaking.
His gaze was fixed on Seoyeon, who had woken up and was at a loss.
He stared at her silently for a long time.
And at last, looking at her, he let out a single low word.
"Thank... goodness."
A single word packed with so many emotions.
***
"Baek Ilyong was captured on site by the Suppressing Army. He's currently imprisoned in Anhwa Prison. It's almost certain he'll be sentenced to execution in the upcoming trial..."
His monotonous, low voice echoed like a drowsy lullaby.
"But Paechun won't be eradicated. Thanks to your preemptive report, the rebellion was stopped. Your direct intervention to stop Baek Ilyong will also be considered in your favor. Of course, a few core businesses will have to be handed over at a bargain..."
Seoyeon silently listened to his mechanical explanation of the situation.
Just moments ago, she had been on a battlefield strewn with blood and explosions. The sudden reality was too overwhelming to process.
Still, curiosity nibbled at her lips.
Why was he caring for her so devotedly?
Why was he treating her as Baek Seoyeon, not as a rival from an opposing family?
But afraid of ruining the atmosphere, she didn't dare speak.
At that moment, Seoyeon was basking in a sweetness akin to honey.
This moment was an irreplaceable treasure for her.
Things like Baek Ilyong and Paechun were trivialities not worth caring about.
"The wounds have healed well, but you'll still need to rest for a while."
"Oh...? Uh, yes."
Feeling as though a response was required, Seoyeon, flustered, hastily answered.
Hearing her reply, the man nodded, seemingly reassured.
Then, noticing the empty water bottle beside the sickbed, he was just about to rise.
"Wait a sec... ugh."
"Hyun!!"
The man suddenly lost his balance and staggered. At the same time, a bowl fell, loudly clattering on the floor of the hospital room, almost splitting the air.
Instinctively, Seoyeon sprang up and hurriedly stepped off the sickbed to check on him.
"Hyun!! Are you okay...?"
And then, seeing something, she couldn't finish her sentence.
Things she hadn't seen while lying on the sickbed, dazed from a dream and painkillers, were now becoming visible.
The man's body, collapsed to the floor, was covered in countless scratches of varying sizes.
Beneath the rolled-up sleeve was an arm entirely wrapped in bandages.
It wasn't just his arm; his entire upper body was wrapped in bandages as if they were clothes.
One didn't need to look closely to know he had suffered severe injuries.
"Ah..."
Overwhelmed by a suffocating heaviness in her chest, Seoyeon bit her lips hard.
That sight spoke only one truth.
Once again, the boy had saved Seoyeon's life.
Once again, sacrificing himself recklessly, foolishly.
With a stabbing pain in her chest, Seoyeon recalled the grave sin she had committed against him.
"I must've tripped. It's nothing to worry about..."
Just as the man was muttering nonchalantly in an embarrassed voice.
With a thud, Seoyeon collapsed onto the cold hospital room floor.
She couldn't bear to meet his gaze.
She couldn't bear to look at the white mask covering scars she had inflicted.
Hanging her head low.
Finally, Seoyeon opened her lips and spoke in a trembling voice.
"Why... did you save me?"
"..."
"Why, why did you save me...?"
"..."
"After I said such cruel things to you... after abandoning you and leaving... why on earth..."
And then, a low voice came from the man.
"...I have something to ask."
A sound like rummaging through something could be heard. Soon, Seoyeon sensed him extend his arm forward.
And when Seoyeon slightly lifted her gaze, she immediately recognized the item resting on his palm.
The worn ring bore evident burnt marks, like scars that wouldn't heal.
It was the very ring she had cherished and kept for the past two years.
"...This ring."
Holding it out, the masked man asked Seoyeon a question.
"Why... did you have this?"
"..."
Seoyeon dropped her head again. But eventually, she opened her lips to answer his question.
"...So I wouldn't forget."
"Forget what?"
"You."
"..."
Her shoulders shook violently. Before she knew it, her voice was tinged with moisture.
"And... the things that did this to you."
"...Why?"
Now, even the man's voice carried bewilderment. Something he had been trying so hard to hide while facing Seoyeon.
"...To kill them all."
Her words poured out like a dam breaking, unleashing all her accumulated resentment.
"The Night Brigade... Baek Ilyong... Paechun... Everything that hurt you... I'm going to burn it all down..."
***
A long, heavy silence fell between them. Only then did Seoyeon lift her head to look at the man.
He, too, stood frozen, staring blankly at her.
"...Why?"
The man barely managed to open his mouth and spoke in a trembling voice.
"Is there... any reason for you... to do this?"
"...Because I love you."
"But you... you clearly have a fiancé you love..."
"I don't have any other fiancé besides you."
"..."
Then, Seoyeon shook her head violently this time. Unlike her cautious attitude earlier, her reaction was intense.
After hearing Seoyeon's words, the man lowered his head slightly, then tilted it toward the sky. And with a voice that felt filled with emptiness, he muttered softly.
"I see..."
"..."
"I see..."
As suffocating emotions continued to swell, even breathing became slightly burdensome. However, Seoyeon realized that this was her last chance.
Her last chance to deliver a sincere apology to him.
"I'm... sorry."
With a voice dampened with tears, Seoyeon finally stammered as she opened her mouth.
"I shouldn't have done that to you. I shouldn't have dared to shred your heart like that..."
"...It must have been hard for you."
"...What?"
But suddenly, what she heard was a voice that seemed to comfort her instead.
As if it sought to cover even her confession, a gentle resonance made Seoyeon instinctively hold back a response.
And then, she lifted her head.
Two gray eyes, filled with nothing but compassion and pity for Seoyeon, were staring straight at her.
"It must have... been very hard for you."
"..."
Seoyeon blankly stared at the white mask, as if she had heard a joke she couldn't believe. Her disheveled hair trailed down her drooping head.
"...Heuk."
And then, she began to slightly shrug her shoulders. What leaked out through her tightly clenched jaws was a trembling sorrow.
"Yes... it was hard... Heuk... Really... really so much..."
She repeatedly nodded her head. The man silently accepted Seoyeon's grief.
"When I thought I was left alone... in this world without you... Heup... It was really... so hard..."
Seoyeon, now collapsed, repeatedly uttered her apologies in bewilderment.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... It's all, all my fault. Because of me, because of me, you... I'm sorry... truly... Heuk... I should have said it earlier, much earlier..."
"..."
"Honestly, I was happy. Seeing you alive again made me so happy... Heuk... But I was afraid of being hated again... so, like a fool..."
Manifested sadness dripped and soaked the ground.
"It was all a lie. Words I didn't mean. Saying you weren't reliable, calling it a nightmare, all of it..."
"I... I made you... made your face like that. I ruined your life. Leaving you all alone like that... I should never have done it..."
Even under such a clear sky, raindrops continued to pour relentlessly.
"I'm sorry... truly... sorry... Heuk..."