Chapter 124
“Miss?”
I was startled by the voice calling me, pulling my face away from my hands to see Angel sitting cross-legged on the floor across from Ivy’s room. His eyes widened as he noticed me, and behind him, the once vibrant sunset had disappeared, replaced by a pitch-black sky.
“Have you been waiting all this time?”
Angel quickly approached, concern in his voice as he asked. Thankfully, Ivy’s condition improved swiftly after Angel arrived, even before Yugyeom could call him.
Angel left the room with Ivy to treat her foot and ensure she got some rest. Despite the relief of seeing Ivy calm, I couldn’t shake my unease and unwillingly stayed in place.
“I fell asleep a little,” I murmured, running a hand down my face.
“Where’s Yugyeom?”
“Yugyeom?”
I glanced down at the spot where I had been sitting moments ago—his discarded blanket, my healed foot I didn’t remember being treated. The memory of Yugyeom’s soft voice from earlier resurfaced.
“He went out for a bit. Went to fetch Lee Chan.”
Lee Chan, the hopelessly directionless boy, couldn’t find his way to this house on his own.
I picked up the blanket from the floor.
“How’s Ivy?”
“She’s finally asleep.”
Angel gave a weary smile, his earlier exhaustion still apparent. His face had been pale when he rushed in. I felt guilty, thinking it was because of me.
“I’m sorry.”
My apology caused Angel to shake his head gently.
“It’s not your fault, Miss.”
Even with his reassurance, I couldn’t shake off the guilt. I had offered to help, and yet I couldn’t ensure everything was okay.
“What exactly happened?” I asked, hesitating slightly before continuing.
“I didn’t even go inside. When I greeted her, the atmosphere seemed fine, but then… it just shifted suddenly.”
I wasn’t sure if I should tell Angel what I saw. It could easily have been a coincidence or a figment of my imagination.
“You must have been shocked,” Angel said softly.
“It must have been Yugyeom,” he added. “But why was she fine in the alley earlier?”
“…I don’t know.”
I turned my gaze toward Ivy’s door again. The sweet, childlike décor seemed to mock the scene I witnessed moments ago.
Still, I managed to pull my eyes away and faced Angel again.
“You’re worried.”
At my words, Angel gave a faint smile and responded softly.
“Yeah, I wonder if bringing her here only made things harder.”
I gently patted Angel’s shoulder, noticing the heaviness in his expression.
“If it wasn’t for you, she could’ve been in real danger. Wandering alone through those dark alleys could’ve ended so badly.”
Truthfully, the thought of Ivy being with Angel reassured me more than I could express. If that little girl had to face those dark streets alone again, the thought was unbearable.
Moreover, Angel seemed to care for Ivy even more than I had expected.
“Is it because you remind her of your sibling?”
I asked cautiously.
Angel paused briefly, his eyes clouding over, before a soft smile spread across his face.
“Watching her reminds me so much of him. Not just in looks, but her personality too.”
Leaning against the balcony railing on the second floor, Angel looked up through the glass ceiling above us.
I stood beside him, gazing up at the same spot. Unlike the overcast, dreary day, the night sky was exceptionally clear. The stars seemed to shine brighter, like they could fall into our eyes at any moment.
“So this time, I want to save her,” Angel said with a voice tinged with amusement, though there was an underlying seriousness.
“Even if the cost is my own life.”
At his words, my heart sank. I turned to face Angel, seeing his profile against the night sky. There was no hint of jest in his expression—just a deep, unwavering conviction.
“Why would you say such a thing? If you truly care for her, you need to stay by her side.”
Angel turned to look at me. For a few seconds, we simply stared at each other, until his face twisted into a faint, sad smile.
“My sibling was meant to die instead of me. It was my duty to eliminate the boss’s father and your mother. With debts hanging over my head, I couldn’t pay them off, so I had to do the tasks they assigned me.”
His voice was calm, almost detached, as if recounting a tale from a far-off past.
“Inevitably, that was my last mission. Whether I succeeded or failed, I would’ve been discarded, deemed guilty and destined to die in shame.”
The memory of what I’d seen the day before surfaced—people exploding in burning cars. The images were seared into my mind.
“Before they could kill my sibling, the boss came first. My sibling took the wheel instead, protecting me.”
Angel’s hands clenched into fists as his voice quivered.
“He died, not me, because he was afraid I’d have to keep doing those things. His last act was to take my name to the grave.”
The thought of why his sibling chose to sacrifice himself gnawed at my mind.
“Why did he beg to be killed?”
The words Baek Hawoon once spoke echoed in my memory.
“To protect the only thing he held dear.”
That memory of Angel’s breakdown, his unguarded despair, surged to the forefront, and my chest felt heavier with emotion.
“Since my sibling died, I’ve become a ghost in this world.”
Angel wiped his face with a shaky hand, his emerald eyes meeting mine again. They glowed brighter than the stars above.
“But lately, I feel alive again.”
Angel’s eyes rounded as he smiled, but his joyful expression only deepened my growing unease.
“Why?”
I couldn’t hold back any longer. Gripping Angel’s arm tightly, I spoke with urgency.
“Why say such things with that expression?”
Angel looked at me, startled. I didn’t stop there, continuing to voice my concerns.
“You feel like you’re alive again, so you should want to keep living, right?”
“…”
“Then why do you talk like someone who’s ready to end everything?”
It felt as though he wasn’t searching for a new life to live, but instead, willing to give away his life to a child who reminded him of his sibling.
Despite his seemingly more at ease demeanor, I still felt uneasy whenever I saw Angel.
Looking up at the sky, Angel finally spoke.
“I received a letter from the boss containing my sibling’s final words. It said this.”
His gaze, directed upward, seemed to focus on a vision only he could see.
“For me, it was a stroke of luck to be able to save my brother through death.”
He lowered his gaze to meet mine, emerald eyes bending in a crescent shape.
“I keep thinking about those words lately.”
“…”
“I just feel like that’s how things should be.”
Angel no longer feared. Not the death of his sibling, not even his own.
“It feels like it’s time to give back what I’ve been given.”
Even if that meant his own life.
He seemed ready to face the future without hesitation, leaving everything behind.
I, on the other hand, kept glancing back.
“Listen—”
I finally spoke the words I had been holding back.
“Isn’t it common in this world to harm innocent people or children? Getting upset over moral considerations seems out of place.”
Perhaps it was my own nature speaking—or the influence of a different life I once lived.
“Getting angry about such things isn’t really like me.”
I knew this question might seem odd coming from someone like Baek Cheon’s Cha Yeonbyeol, but my chest felt heavy, and I couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“Maybe so,” Angel replied after some thought, a pensive look on his face. Thankfully, he didn’t seem disturbed by my question.
“Even in a world like this, everyone has different beliefs they’re trying to protect.”
Still leaning against the railing, Angel rested his chin on his hand as he continued.
“There are villains who are unforgivable, but there are also those whose actions you can understand.”
“…”
“And as for Baek Cheon, I heard that the killing of innocent people or children is strictly forbidden. That rule has been in place since ancient times.”
My chest tightened painfully. It felt like a wave of relief washed over me.
“I see. I didn’t know.”
Taking a deep breath, I responded. Then Angel asked,
“Are you heading to meet Doshiyu now?”
The question caught me off guard, freezing me in place.
Before I could respond, my mind was consumed by vivid, orange memories of the sunset.
The moment from that evening replayed in my head.
“I… I don’t know.”
I muttered an uncertain answer, my mind tangled in chaos.
Was what I recalled earlier the truth?
Just a coincidence?
The thought that it might simply be coincidence was the only hope I clung to.
‘His hair appeared orange because of the sunset.’
Along with that thought, a memory resurfaced.
Piece by piece, memories came together as if fitting into a puzzle.
As if everything naturally fell into place, except for me.
‘He was a middle-aged man in his 40s. The next day, he was found dead by suicide with a note blaming his guilt.’
The question of who killed the casino owner without investigation was answered with certainty.
‘…Dad.’
‘…’
‘Dad is gone.’
The child who once pleaded for help after losing her father had stopped speaking long ago.
‘The casino owner. Can you just kill him like that?’
‘Did I blindly go ahead? I did it perfectly.’
And the hair color of Doshiyu seen at that party the day the casino owner died.
All those moments pointed to one conclusion.
