Chapter 101
Cha Yeonbyeol lies motionless on the floor, while Yugyeom stands, holding a blood-stained knife.
“…!”
In the blink of an eye, Cha Yeonbyeol and Yugyeom disappear like phantoms.
I gaze at the empty floor, then glance around, stepping backward. But I stop after a short distance.
“Who are you?”
I bump into a tall figure behind me. I turn my body and look up.
“My son said he didn’t have black hair.”
It’s Yuhobum. His hair is black, and though he looks thirty years younger than the man I saw, his piercing eyes remain the same.
“Our son’s friend? Handsome, but prettier than handsome. A girl with short hair?”
I can’t speak. My entire body trembles in fear.
This is just a memory. I can’t escape the words and actions I made in the past. I can only stand here.
“My son seems to be losing. Maybe giving a gift wouldn’t be bad.”
Yuhobum scans me from head to toe and then calls over a subordinate.
“A pair of eyes should be enough for a game, right?”
A black hand reaches out toward me.
“Ugh, no…! Agh!”
A scream mixed with pain fills my ears, followed by a sharp pain in my eyes.
“Hng, ah, it… hurts….”
I sit down, covering my eyes. I hear the voice of a young me crying.
But the current me cannot even scream; I swallow the agony inside.
Even though my eyes are fine, the pain is unbearable.
It’s unreasonable that I share the pain while not being allowed to interfere with memories through actions or words.
My mind isn’t functioning properly because of the pain, but one thing is clear: I must have lost my eyes at this moment in the past.
As I lay on the ground, barely breathing, footsteps approached.
“Is that my son?”
I manage to open my eyes. Young Yugyeom rushes towards me frantically, and our eyes meet.
Yuhobum, observing young Yugyeom, gives instructions to his subordinate and hands him a knife.
The subordinate walks toward Yugyeom according to Yuhobum’s orders.
Yugyeom doesn’t even try to escape but keeps looking at me, frozen.
“This boy won’t see you anymore. If you’re really my son’s blood, you should be able to do this.”
Yugyeom’s gaze leaves mine and turns toward the subordinate.
“Go ahead, kid. Try to kill him.”
My head feels like it’s going to explode. I need to run, but I can’t move a finger.
Alongside the pain, the emotions I experienced at that time rise to the surface.
A boy I met by wandering aimlessly and losing my way. A beautiful boy, pure like a shining gemstone.
The world beyond this narrow alley knew nothing, not even that I was a girl with short hair.
Whenever I met him, it felt like I was stepping into a different, dazzling world.
I was drawn to that innocence, wanting to protect him. You always seemed like you’d break apart in the wind.
The subordinate pushes Yugyeom roughly, causing him to fall in front of me.
Like that time when we faced the sunset, everything turned red.
His eyes, devoid of tears, trembled with a fiery red as if flames were rising within them.
Seeing his face, I knew what I needed to say and do.
The words flowed from my lips.
“…It’s okay.”
I smile, gently taking the knife from Yugyeom’s hand.
“This is just a nightmare.”
Yugyeom’s face stiffens. He can’t even exhale and simply stares at me.
Now I understand why he cried when I was in the fire.
Speaking the same words as the one who caused the trauma with fire forced him to face it.
“Let’s end this dream now.”
I whisper softly and pull Yugyeom’s arm forcefully.
His fiery red hair swayed before me. Yugyeom moved closer to me.
The cold blade in my hand pressed against my skin.
I plunged the knife into myself.
* * *
The pain passed like a flash. In the blink of an eye, the screen changed again.
The excruciating pain in my head disappeared.
I slowly turned around, taking in my surroundings.
“…Heaven?”
This time, it’s a very likely guess. I stand in a vast, white space with no end or anything in sight.
“Heaven my ass.”
A gruff voice interrupts my thoughts. I turn toward the source of the voice.
“You…! That cat!”
In the alley, there was a black cat with shimmering purple eyes. The cat spoke directly to me.
“A talking cat?”
I covered my mouth in awe.
“I’m just borrowing this body to descend into the human world,” the cat replied with a hint of displeasure, licking a pink jelly.
“It took this long to regain your memories. This body is powerful, but it’s no easy feat.”
“You’re… like a god? Did you make me like this?”
“Humans often call me that,” the cat said, casually.
Even after hearing the affirmation, I couldn’t reconcile this adorable creature with the idea of a god.
“Do you need an explanation?”
The cat tilted its head. I vigorously nodded in response.
“Yes, that version of you is dead. Buried by his own hands. But your original fate wasn’t supposed to end that way.”
The cat pointed its tail, and a scene from earlier replayed like a film.
It seemed to take place after I had died.
I silently watched the screen.
‘They didn’t have to gouge my eyes out.’
Behind Yugyeom, sitting and smoking, was Yuhobum.
‘If he’s my son, he should be able to kill a friend anytime.’
Yuhobum tossed his cigarette onto a burning house and rose to his feet.
Yugyeom, paralyzed and unable to breathe, dropped the knife.
‘Well done. I didn’t expect much from a child raised by that woman, but you’re quite impressive.’
Yuhobum sauntered over, picked up the knife, and tucked it into his jacket.
From Yuhobum’s perspective, it must have seemed like Yugyeom was killing me.
‘He should be capable enough to handle his sister. After all, all those useless children are dispensable now. Even with lowly blood, there’s no choice.’
Yuhobum patted Yugyeom’s shoulder with his bloodied hand. Yugyeom flinched, recoiling slightly.
‘Handle everything neatly. I’ll send a car for you by tomorrow morning.’
After Yuhobum and his men left, Yugyeom remained alone in the alley. He collapsed to the ground, letting out a strained sob.
‘No… no, please… why?’
Yugyeom struggled to suppress his cries, his hands trembling uncontrollably. Eventually, after much hesitation, he embraced my lifeless body.
Seeing that scene tore at my heart painfully.
That’s how I died, and you…
“A child like you followed me, which led you to meet him, and that’s how you ended up dying.”
The cat gently pressed the ground with its paw, and the screen went dark.
“So, I have to save you. But your body is already dead. Creating a new one took over a decade in human time, and the soul couldn’t endure that long, so for that time, I sent you to a world most similar to this one.”
“Then what about the Cha Yeonbyeol others remember? Even while I was in another world, Cha Yeonbyeol still existed.”
“That was just a shell. If you hadn’t met Yugyeom, it would have moved according to its original fate.”
I was at a loss for words.
Though I understood with my mind, my heart couldn’t fully accept it. It felt too surreal.
Then, a critical question came to mind.
“What about the BL novels I read? What’s that about?”
“You were just a medium to call you back to this world. If you hadn’t returned, that future would have happened,” the cat said.
It felt like I had been hit in the head with a rock.
So, if I had died as a child, without this cat’s intervention, Yugyeom would have met Baek Ha-won just like in that novel.
“Isn’t it fascinating? Even though your memories are vague, you meet someone who looks exactly like your ghostly twin.”
Because I looked like my younger self, with short hair, and resembled Baek Hawon.
It was still hard to believe. That I truly was Cha Yeonbyeol, crossing worlds to meet Yugyeom again.
“…Does Yugyeom remember me from when I was a child?”
“Vaguely. I altered his memories a bit, so the person he sees now, ‘the one who died,’ doesn’t raise doubts. Yugyeom directly buried you, after all, so there’s no room for doubt.”
The cat approached me, its purple eyes locking onto mine. They seemed to pull me in, like a black hole swallowing everything.
“Without knowing the exact reason, you were destined to cling to him. Even without memories, you’re still the same person.”
I swallowed the overwhelming, fiery emotion rising in my throat.
We were drawn to each other like an unavoidable fate.
Through impossible worlds and destinies, I crawled my way back here.
“…I want to go to Yugyeom.”
The mist in my mind cleared, and the feelings I didn’t understand before became crystal clear.
There was no need to hesitate or run away anymore.
“Send me to my world.”
As soon as I spoke firmly, the cat vanished. The ground beneath me crumbled away.
“Eventually, you will defy your fate and choose that boy again.”
My heart felt like it plummeted to the tips of my toes. I squeezed my eyes shut. The wind howled fiercely, and the cat’s voice echoed through the storm.
“Now, it’s too late to regret.”
As its voice faded, my vision gradually turned a deep red.
“Ah…!”
Then, like being pulled from water, I exhaled the breath I had been holding and opened my eyes. I gasped for air, trying to steady my breathing.
But as soon as I opened my eyes, I was met with Yugyeom’s fiery gaze. His eyes flickered with the flames, and I froze in place.
