Small and Fragile Things - Chapter 59

Out of nowhere, my heart started pounding. Thump, thump, thump.

What’s wrong with me?

The scene before me was as peaceful and beautiful as could be, yet a chill ran down my spine, making every hair stand on end.

Why…?

Sometimes, human instincts pick up on things the eyes can’t see, an almost sixth sense that detects something ever so slightly twisted in an otherwise ordinary scene.

And unfortunately, those instincts tend to be most accurate when you desperately wish they weren’t. This was one of those moments.

What is it…?

The instant the four people in my line of sight all turned around at once, a black car appeared. As if it had been waiting for the perfect cue, it rolled into this deserted lakeside.

A cold gust swept across my back, almost as if it was trying to say—

Run.
Run, now!

It was like something was forcing fear into me without giving me a reason why.

No.

I didn’t want to trust my instincts. I ignored them.

Why should I run?

But then, the moment I saw the face of the woman who stepped out of the car, it felt like a spear had been driven straight into my heart. I froze.

“Uh…?”

I couldn’t make sense of the scene unfolding in front of me. I was seeing it, but it still didn’t make any sense.

Muk-hyun walked up to Park Eun-young and whispered something to her before lighting the cigarette he’d been holding between his lips.

When the white smoke finally curled up like a snake and veiled his face, the reality I’d been trying to ignore hit me square in the chest.

“No… no…”

One by one, even the people I thought I could count on turned their backs on me.

“No…”

And while I was busy denying this impossible reality, the person I never wanted to see again was walking toward me.

Every instinct in me was screaming to run. But where? Behind me was the lake. Unless I threw myself into the deep water, there was nowhere to go.

“Illy.”

Backing away from Park Eun-young, my feet sank into the water up to my ankles. The cold current wrapped around my bare skin like shackles, and I looked down, dazed. It felt like invisible iron cuffs had been locked around me.

A bone-deep chill shot up my spine.

“You don’t want to be dragged away looking like a drowned rat, do you? It’s over now.”

“No.”

“You really didn’t see this coming? I told you what kind of people they are.”

“Don’t come any closer!”

“Face reality, Illy.”

“No!!”

My own scream ripped through me, shredding my chest from the inside. This can’t be real. It’s all a lie.

“Go! Get away from me!!”

The beautiful world from moments ago shattered into pieces. My vision warped, a sharp, piercing noise drilled into my ears, and the fragments of it all cut into me like shards of glass.

“Illy.”

“Don’t… don’t call me that. G—Go away…” Pain tore through my chest like something sharp had sliced my heart.

I doubled over, clutching my chest with trembling hands. No matter how hard I clawed or pounded at it, the pain wouldn’t lessen.

It hurt so much I thought I might die. Somebody, please—save me.

I couldn’t even cry out anymore; my breath caught and stuck in my throat. Park Eun-young didn’t so much as lift a hand to help, she only looked down at me, annoyed.

“Don’t waste your energy.”

“I… I’m hurt… my body feels weird…”

“Get a grip and check your condition,” she said coldly, making it crystal clear what kind of place I was going back to.

“You haven’t been taking anything you shouldn’t, right? I trust you’ve been careful. But just in case, think about exactly what’s wrong and tell me.”

Her voice almost sounded like she was trying to soothe me. Once, I might have been fooled by that tiny hint of kindness. But not now, not after I’d learned what real warmth felt like.

“You’ll be at the hospital soon enough, so relax. If the pain’s too much, I can give you a sedative. I brought one.”

When I still wouldn’t move the way she wanted, she gestured to someone behind her. Two men in black suits started walking toward me.

No.

A jolt of clarity shot through me, if I was going to fight back, it had to be now. Before I could even think about what I was doing, my body moved on its own.

“Illy!”

I bolted toward the closest person, Gi-seon, but it was useless. I didn’t even make it near her before they caught me.

“No!! Let go!”

“Put her in the car.”

“Let go! Gi-seon!”

I was so close—, f I could just reach her, maybe… I kicked and thrashed with everything I had left, trying to scream for her to help me.

But I couldn’t.

Her face was wet, soaked through. I saw it and my voice died in my throat. She turned away, and in that moment I understood. I had no choice but to accept reality.

So this is how it ends…

They were sending me back. Maybe something had changed, or maybe it was always going to be this way. Either way, the ending was the same. All the strength drained out of me.

When my body went limp, the men holding me on either side startled and shifted to support me.

“Whoa, she—”

And then—

A familiar hand reached into my field of vision, wrapping firmly around my waist and lifting me with practiced ease. That fleeting warmth, that familiar scent, I broke into tears instantly.

“Hhh…”

I looked up into his face. It was cold, frozen. When he set me upright and started to pull his hand away, I grabbed it desperately. It was warm.

“I…”

But no other words came out.

Why? Why didn’t I want to hit him or spit venom at him for betraying me? Maybe because his hand was still warm.

If you were going to do this, why did you make that promise? I wanted to ask just one thing. You said you’d never leave me.

But if that, too, was a lie… I didn’t think I could bear it. I didn’t want the happy memories to vanish like that. So I didn’t ask.

“It’s time to go back.” His voice was the same as always, steady, unshaken.

Even the faint smile tugging at his lips was perfectly under control.

“What if… I said no…?”

Flashes of all the happy moments I’d shared with him flickered through my mind, followed by all the pain, the loneliness, the suffocating isolation I’d endured my whole life.

It hurt so much I thought I might break, but I could still breathe—and that made it all the more unbearable. Unlike him, I couldn’t control anything.

Tears rolled down into my mouth, my fingers trembling so hard I couldn’t stop it. My voice cracked as I forced it out.

“What if I begged you… just one more time… to help me?”

If I went with them now, it would be the final goodbye. There’d be no chance of ever running into him again, not in this lifetime. I looked up at him with every ounce of desperation I had left. His smile had faded to something colorless.

“You save your own life.”

“……”

“Go.”

When I let go of his hand, the tears caught in my lashes fell in a rush.

Grief swelled inside me, but he only watched as I cried, he didn’t pull me into an embrace, didn’t wipe the tears from my face.

My vision went dark. The sun was still shining, but the shadows were swallowing my world. Maybe he’d never once felt the same way I had. Maybe I’d just been fooling myself all along.

“Don’t worry. I’ll never leave your side.”

The moments we’d shared rewound in my head, pushing me back to before I ever knew him.

“Do you think I’m a good person or a bad one?”

The truth was buried in darkness. My tear-clouded vision couldn’t even hold his face anymore. With my heart tearing itself apart, I squeezed out the last words I could manage.

“…Thank… you.”

“……”

“Remember… me.”

And just like that, the time that had felt like the last precious gift of my life came to an end.