Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: Wojo
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I barely managed to lift my body and met eyes with Choi Na-kyung, who was looking at me through the rearview mirror.
The area under Choi Na-kyung’s wide-open eyes was dark, as if she hadn’t slept in days.
“Once a friendship is formed, it’s supposed to last forever… right?”
Choi Na-kyung said, as if chewing on her words.
…Friendship?
I had no idea what Choi Na-kyung was talking about.
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Choi Na-kyung didn’t seem to have any intention of stepping on the accelerator.
“……”
A suffocating silence followed.
In fact, I was truly suffocating.
I wasn’t on the verge of death, but the piece of cloth stuffed in my mouth made it impossible to breathe comfortably.
“Ah, I see. You couldn’t answer. That’s why.”
Choi Na-kyung mumbled to herself and then let out a dry laugh.
It was as if she had forgotten how to express emotions, making everything about her actions feel disturbingly bizarre.
Something was wrong.
I didn’t know the reason, but this person had been broken long ago.
Maybe, even more than Sara.
“……”
Choi Na-kyung stopped laughing and, with a smile still on her face, stared at me through the rearview mirror.
The way she looked at me through the mirror, her eyes forming crescent shapes as if she was looking up at something, was unsettling.
With a fabricated smile on her face, Choi Na-kyung kept staring at me.
A loud honk rang from behind, followed by a car speeding past us as it brushed by the vehicle we were in.
…Please.
Please, let at least one car stop.
Let someone, furious, come out and knock on Choi Na-kyung’s window.
But despite my desperate wish, no one stopped.
Click.
I heard the sound of something mechanical.
It sounded like a lighter flicking on or a jackknife being folded, but in reality, it was Choi Na-kyung undoing her seatbelt.
And that action felt more threatening than any of the things I had just imagined.
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
I tried to scream, but only muffled sounds came out.
No matter how much I pushed my body back, I couldn’t go any further as my back pressed against the car seat.
Choi Na-kyung, having unfastened her seatbelt, turned around.
Her expression was frighteningly rigid.
“I’ve been waiting, you know. For years. Years and years.”
I was terrified.
I was so scared.
So much so that I wished someone else was beside me.
But Sara still hadn’t opened her eyes.
“I waited for you to look at me, to love me.”
Sara had loved her.
Sara had once loved Choi Na-kyung.
Ironically, it was Choi Na-kyung who had twisted that love into hatred.
Because of her greed.
Because of her incomprehensible greed, Choi Na-kyung had destroyed Sara.
“I waited so long. Even when people insulted me. Even when they dismissed my thoughts. Even when I was called incompetent. I kept waiting, thinking money didn’t matter. Look.”
With trembling hands, Choi Na-kyung tucked her stray hair behind her ear.
Though her actions and expression were disturbing, Choi Na-kyung was undeniably a beautiful person.
Even now, despite the dark shadows under her eyes, and despite her wide, crazed eyes, she was still beautiful.
“See? I dressed up today too. I always put in my best effort to look good when I met you. Even when you didn’t know me. Even when you were too sick in bed to see me properly. Even when I had to wear a nurse’s uniform. Every time I met you, I always tried to look my best.”
I didn’t understand.
Had Sara been that sick when she was young?
Was Choi Na-kyung a nurse in the past?
“But then, you… with that man…”
“……”
What in the world…
“Haa.”
Choi Na-kyung sighed deeply and brushed her face with her hand.
“What am I even talking about? You’re not yourself yet. There’s still so much to do. It’s fine. Even if we get interrupted a little, it doesn’t matter. I believe you’ll come back to me.”
“Mmph!”
No, that’s never going to happen.
Even if you try to bring her back, I won’t let it happen.
…But even as I thought that, I still felt anxious.
Sara wasn’t saying anything. Not even in this situation.
“Oh, right.”
Choi Na-kyung muttered, as if she had just realized something.
“I haven’t untied this yet. How silly of me. Of course, I should have untied it first if I wanted to hear your answer.”
Choi Na-kyung said as she reached behind my head. After some fumbling, the gag tied around my mouth was loosened.
Choi Na-kyung used her fingers to pull the cloth out of my mouth.
“Haa…”
Finally able to breathe, I inhaled deeply.
My mouth was still slick with saliva, and some of it clung to Choi Na-kyung’s hand, but there was nothing I could do about that.
“Daughter, do you have anything to say?”
Choi Na-kyung asked.
My jaw was sore. But I forced my mouth to move.
“…You killed her.”
My voice was cracked, and my jaw didn’t close properly, so the words weren’t clear, but I spoke them distinctly.
“What…?”
“You killed her!”
I shouted.
I was scared.
I was still scared.
Sara’s body was smaller and weaker than Choi Na-kyung’s, and now, it was tied up.
There was no way she could put up a proper fight.
So, I was terrified.
Terrified of being trapped here with Choi Na-kyung.
Of being held down by someone who didn’t seem to make sense, who didn’t appear to be in their right mind.
Of having no friends around in this situation.
Of Sara, who should be in my consciousness, saying nothing at all.
So I shouted.
Determined to blow away all that fear.
“You killed her! You killed Sara! She was in so much pain, so lonely! She loved you so much!”
“…What, what are you… talking about…?”
Choi Na-kyung’s eyes trembled.
“What are you talking about? Sara is dead…? You’re…”
“Yeah, of course, you wouldn’t know.”
My throat stung from all the yelling, but I glared at Choi Na-kyung and spoke with all my might.
“You didn’t come often, so of course you wouldn’t know how much Sara suffered. Every time you came, she waited for you. And before she could even resent you, you just left. You have no idea how lonely she was, left alone in that big, empty room.”
“No, you… you’re Sara. What are you talking about…?”
“Sara is dead.”
I glared at Choi Na-kyung.
My vision was blurry.
I didn’t know if this was due to Sara’s old memories overlapping with the present, or if I was just so scared that my eyes were welling up with tears.
But still…
Still…
This was all I could do.
I wanted to get back at Choi Na-kyung somehow.
I wanted to drag things out, buy some time until someone came to help me.
“She’s dead. She even left you a suicide note. Why don’t you drop by her room when you have time? It’s in the bottom drawer of the desk.”
“…No, Sara. You’re Sara, standing right in front of me. What are you saying? And what’s this about ‘she loved’…?”
“No.”
I blinked. Tears that had welled up in my eyes finally fell.
After blinking a few more times, I could see Choi Na-kyung’s face clearly.
Her eyes trembled as if in shock, her forehead creased.
Her expression said she didn’t know how to process what was happening.
“Sara is dead. I’m not Sara. The plan you had in mind… it’s long since crumbled.”
I took a short breath and added, as if I were delivering the final blow.
“‘Chairwoman.’”
“What…”
“Sara called you differently than I do, didn’t she? You know it too, right?”
“What… No, no.”
Choi Na-kyung reached out, fumbling over my—Sara’s—face.
As if she was trying to check if something was wrong.
“No, you’re Sara. You’re right in front of me… You’re Sara. My daughter… What are you talking about? You… dead…? Then, who’s…”
“Goodness, you really don’t get it.”
I twisted my neck away from her touch and took a deep breath.
Yes, my throat was a little freer now.
So…
“Help me!”
I shouted those words with every bit of strength I had left.
The ringing in my ears told me I’d screamed louder than I ever had before.
I hadn’t known I was capable of such volume.
Of course, this was a luxury car.
I wasn’t sure if my voice could penetrate outside.
But I didn’t want to give up just yet.
I thrashed with all my might.
There was a button to roll down the window near my feet.
I thrashed, hoping to hit it, even by accident.
“Help me! Please, help me! I’m being kidnapped—”
But my words were cut short.
“Mmph—”
“No, daughter. You’re right here in front of me. What are you talking about?”
As she spoke, Choi Na-kyung was covering my mouth.
With both hands, tightly.
No, not just my mouth.
Whether intentional or not, my nose was also covered.
“Mmph!”
I writhed.
It was hard to breathe.
I tried turning my head, but Choi Na-kyung used her weight to pin me down and keep my mouth tightly covered.
“Shh, daughter. It’s okay. Once you wake up, everything will be over.”
Choi Na-kyung’s face came closer.
She hovered over me, leaning down, whispering into my ear.
“When you come to your senses, it’ll all be over. By then, it’ll be just the two of us, okay? Then, we can talk slowly, just the two of us.”