Souvenir - Chapter 11

“Suu, you really are unfair.”

As we grew closer, Rasha would often say she envied me.

It was becoming—not just a little—but very annoying.

Because…

“Can I come over again today?”

It was obvious she was trying to get close to Tommy.

“Can you ask him to adopt me too?”

Rasha had completely misunderstood Tommy’s kindness and was seriously considering becoming part of our family.

She kept wanting to visit, so I made a plan.

I invited her over during the day when Tommy wasn’t home—on a weekend afternoon before Maria arrived—so we could be alone.

“When is Tommy coming back?”

“He should be home by noon,” I lied.

I knew he would be late.

He had told me he was meeting You at lunchtime.

We spent some time watching TV and eating snacks.

I had no intention of letting her meet Tommy.

I remembered what You had told me before.

“The other day, when you came over…” I started.

I wasn’t sure if following You’s advice would work, but I mimicked him, gently touching my earlobe.

It helped calm me down.

His “charm” always worked like magic.

Rasha, always bold, narrowed her eyes.

“What?”

“That night… when you said you talked to Tommy, did you use too much of my cream?”

At home, whenever Rasha took more than she was allowed or acted selfishly, she would get scolded—or even hit.

As a result, she had developed a habit of lying impulsively and lashing out with harsh words.

“I didn’t! How dare you accuse me of something like that? You’re the worst!”

“But Papa said he lent it to you…”

“Ha! Someone like you will just be thrown away! I should be the one in your place!”

I had seen her nasty side before, but never this blatantly directed at me.

It shocked me.

And at the same time, it infuriated me.

I wanted to teach her a lesson.

I never realized I had these feelings inside me—or maybe, I did know, but I had always hidden them.

Maybe I was just tired of being the “good girl” Tommy wanted me to be.

And… I remembered.

Before my mother was murdered, I had wanted to kill that man countless times.

But I had lacked the power to do it.

This time, though, I knew I could take on Rasha.

“Hey, do you have anything to drink?”

I nodded and went to the kitchen.

On the way, I stopped by my room and took out an old small bottle from my shelf.

I pulled milk from the fridge, then poured some pills from the bottle into a glass and stirred.

Over and over.

The pills dissolved quickly, leaving no trace.

That small bottle had belonged to my mother.

Tommy once told me, “Your mom used to take this when I was a kid. I took them too.”

So I thought they were just sleeping pills—ones that would let Rasha sleep soundly until morning.

I wanted to punish her a little.

So I gave it to her.

At first, she just looked sleepy—drowsily swaying before lying down.

I covered her with a blanket.

Two hours passed.

She still didn’t wake up.

No—it wasn’t just that.

Her face looked pale.

I leaned closer.

Was she… even breathing?

Fear crawled up my spine.

I reached out to shake her, but before I could, panic set in.

I called You.

He arrived immediately.

Dressed like one of the workers who came to the garden regularly—cap pulled low, his longer hair tucked beneath it, black gloves covering his hands.

He carried a large folded Boston bag.

You calmly pulled back the blanket and checked her face.

Then placed two fingers against her neck.

A quiet pause.

“You don’t need to worry about anything.”

His voice was steady, but my hands trembled violently.

I clenched them tightly together.

You glanced out the window, scanning the surroundings.

Then he took a deep breath and touched his earlobe—a familiar habit.

Finally, he turned to me.

“When is Tommy coming home?”

I hesitated.

Then suddenly remembered—Maria would be back soon to prepare dinner.

“Maria will be here soon…”

You clicked his tongue.

He hurried into the living room and grabbed the phone book, flipping through the pages.

I was too scared to leave my room.

I kept staring at Rasha, paralyzed.

Then, I heard Tommy’s voice from downstairs.

He’s back?!

I panicked and rushed to the staircase.

Looking down—

It was You.

I had forgotten…

When he changed his tone, his voice sounded just like Tommy’s.

He was on the phone with someone.

After finishing the call, he turned to me.

“Suu, the housekeeper isn’t coming today. So just be a good girl and wait for Papa, okay?”

I nodded.

“Rasha is sleeping soundly, but no one else knows she’s here, right?”

I nodded again.

“I’ll take her with me now. But remember—neither she nor I ever came to this house. Understood?”

I nodded.

You swiftly packed everything up.

Then—just like that—Rasha was gone.

“Um… where is Rasha going?”

I finally asked.

You gently stroked my head.

Then, touched my earlobe.

“Suu… when did you start calling her that?”

I blinked.

“…What?”

“There was no such girl, was there?”

My heart skipped a beat.

No such girl?

But…

Hadn’t she been here?

Was it…

just a dream?

That night, I waited silently for Tommy to come home, just like always.

I never let go of the small bottle in my pocket.

Even when Tommy made his big confession to me that night, I couldn’t process a word of it.

I was too numb.

Too tense.

All I could do…

was cry.