Chapter 111
As Sarin struggled to lift the groceries she had brought, her gaze briefly flickered towards the inside of the house. Sensing no movement, the latch-displaced door quietly swung open, not pushed by anyone, but carried inward by the wind. The sight of the giant figure crossing the threshold without a sound almost seemed like an act of magic, prompting Sarin to marvel.
“I’ll take those for you.”
The glass, which Sarin’s hands had handed over from her own, finally spoke up belatedly. As Sarin took the lead towards the kitchen to turn on the electric light, the orange bulb flickered to life. Upon inspecting the bags, she found mostly retort foods, as if she had swept up everything from the items at the supermarket she intended to buy.
“Have you had your meal?”
Yuri shook her head quietly.
It was said that everyone outside was also starving. So, after doing the grocery shopping, Sarin just left them as Owen told her to. Sarin couldn’t help but laugh, knowing that there wasn’t even a proper restaurant in the village.
“I’m sorry.”
“Yes?”
“I’ve caused a lot of trouble in Eden City. I even hoped that the lady wouldn’t show up there.”
Yuri spoke frankly.
“I would have done the same. You know, I’m not really a helpful person.”
Owen was involved in a dangerous business that Sarin couldn’t even gauge. That’s why Nikolai probably wouldn’t have liked her either. Yuri, who was by his side, would have been the same.
She had never thought deeply about other people’s opinions.
She easily got tired of paying attention to the gazes that followed her because of her unique eyes. When Yuri sighed as Sarin didn’t seem to care much, Sarin felt puzzled.
“Because we couldn’t tell whether you were alive or dead, I was against the surgery…”
“Surgery?”
Sarin’s hand, which had been packing food for the people outside, stopped. Then, her gaze, which had been fixed on the wall in front of her, slowly turned towards Yuri. It was a face of confusion.
Yuri realized she had inadvertently made a mistake and quickly closed her mouth. His eyes turned to the kitchen door behind Sarin.
She thought he would have already noticed with his keen senses. Indeed, Owen was standing in the kitchen with an expressionless face. Unable to pass him unnoticed due to Owen blocking the entrance, she couldn’t get out now.
At this moment, Owen’s gaze, still not noticing Sarin’s arrival, turned to the back of Sarin’s head.
“Sarin.”
He finally called her name as he approached her as if demanding an explanation from Yuri.
Sarin turned around and walked towards Owen, who was standing in disheveled attire. Then, without anyone stopping her, Sarin’s hand grabbed his dress shirt and pulled it apart.
Thunk.
A button fell to the ground with a loud noise.
Yuri, retreating further, backed away. There was no emergency exit here, so the only thing he could do was press against the wall behind him.
There was a distinct mark on Owen’s abdomen.
The marks of bruises, still not healed, were visible where the fat had swollen. Sarin was tightly gripping the hem of his shirt with her hand. She didn’t know what to say. No words or phrases came to mind. She tried to say something, but her lips couldn’t move. She breathed heavily, trying to find the right words.
“I told you the child was fine.”
Sarin finally looked up at Owen.
Her vision blurred. She tried not to cry like a fool, but tears flowed uncontrollably.
That wasn’t the meaning. Asking if he was okay didn’t mean that.
She must have felt relieved when he said he would give his marrow to Hayan. But perhaps she thought it might be a little more distant.
“…You’re lying.”
She didn’t know this would happen. Owen reached out and touched Sarin’s face gently. His touch, touching the softest thing, was affectionate as if comforting.
He suppressed a smile. A subtle thrill enveloped him from head to toe. This was the face he wanted to see. A face that crumbled the world and reconstructed it. Her world would surely be built solely around herself.
“The child and I promised not to hurt you.”
His smile was full of confidence.
It’s pretty when you cry. The tears seemed to overflow with satisfaction in Owen’s heart, thinking that these tears were crying because of him.
The most ecstatic moment was right in front of him. Sarin’s crying face shimmered in the light. Perhaps it had been shining from the beginning.
So it caught my eye.
“Why, why… Why do you do this?”
As Sarin asked Owen why he was doing this, he smiled kindly.
He hid the black shadows under the light. Still, the traces of the darkness remained. Sarin wouldn’t know anyway. How filthy, dangerous, and ferocious of a beast he was.
Owen spoke while concealing the darkness within.
This was a game where he was perfectly winning.
The hand that had covered his cheek now lightly touched Sarin’s neck. The shackles he had set were firm.
“Growing again is something that can be done anytime.”
It would suffice to tie her up so that she couldn’t think of running away or leaving.
She was a woman with a strong sense of responsibility. That’s why she had been reckless enough to come to Eden City to save just one child. She would tremble, and she would be afraid, but she would never back down.
“Euh…”
Owen embraced Sarin and comforted her.
Then his eyes met Yuri’s, who was standing against the wall. The sweet, honey-like eyes that had just been looking at Sarin were nowhere to be found. They were indifferent, as if looking at an inanimate object. Unable to find a space to escape, Yuri quietly turned towards the wall.
Owen eventually came out holding the crying Sarin and sat on the bench in the yard.
Worried that her body temperature would drop in the cold wind, he reached out to Yuri coming out of the kitchen. As he quickly took off his suit jacket and handed it over, Owen warmly wrapped Sarin’s body. The scent of a stranger lingered lightly. It wasn’t her perfume.
For a while, Yuri stared at Sarin’s small body, covered in his cologne. But he was impatient to go to the room and get his own belongings, so he quickly went back outside.
The sound of sniffles gradually subsided.
“Are you still crying?”
Tears streamed down Sarin’s face at his words.
“Not anymore…”
“I see.”
He couldn’t imagine how much pain she must have been in. Sarin’s gaze kept falling on his abdomen. Soon, he took off Yuri’s jacket from his shoulder and draped it over Sarin’s belly and knees.
“You shouldn’t let the cold wind touch your wounds.”
Although there were still faint marks, the wounds had actually healed quite quickly. His condition had been bad only because he couldn’t find Sarin. But now, Sarin completely thought that he had become thin and weak due to the surgery.
Her concern wasn’t that bad.
Owen quickly put on the jacket she handed him. It seemed better than leaving Sarin with the scent of a stranger.
“It feels a little cold.”
His eyes softened. As if wanting Sarin to embrace him on her own, Owen opened his arms towards her. Eventually, pretending to give in, she sat between his legs and leaned back against him from behind.
But her body stiffened at the thought that Owen’s surgical scars were right behind her.
“Did it hurt a lot?”
“Not really.”
Her small, black head was pretty. Owen gently brushed his face against her small, round head.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be by your side.”
It was he who had planned the surgery when Sarin wasn’t there in the first place. The child’s recovery period was longer than his. They had to spend a few more months recovering in the hospital.
He sighed at his apology for not being able to stay by their side.
“I’ll be by your side from now on.”
“Yes. Please stay by my side.”
Sarin nodded at Owen’s response. Then her head bumped into his lips. Both of them giggled without anyone saying who would go first.
“Hurry up and go see Hayan and the others, Blue and Yellow…”
Owen’s gaze flickered outside the door. Unaware of it, Sarin continued to speak.
“Pink too…”
Wong.
It was a small, timid sound.
But as soon as that sound was heard, the dogs next door started barking again.
“…Pink?”
Wong!
A more definite barking sound was heard. As Sarin tried to get up without realizing it, Owen tightly pulled her waist.
“There’s… a sound… Pink? Did Pink come?”
As she semi-turned to him and asked.
“I didn’t say she came alone.”
After a long flight, the dogs, not in good condition, had been to the animal hospital for a simple check-up and IV therapy before coming late. Quietly waiting outside the door until her name was called, one of the dogs couldn’t stand it and barked to let everyone know she was here.
Starting with that sound, the dogs in other houses also started barking, and the untimely cries of animals echoed through the village in the middle of the night.
In the end, Owen had no choice but to let Sarin go to see the Dobermans.
“Yuri.”
As he called Yuri, the door opened.
In the darkness, three dogs, who had been sitting quietly, immediately noticed Sarin when they saw her. Ignoring their owner, Owen, who was their real owner, they rushed towards Sarin with vigor. Pink was the first to bump her head against Sarin, ignoring Owen.
