Souvenir - Chapter 4.2

He grabbed Vera by the hair, yanking her toward the hallway. She let out a strangled cry.

I acted on instinct.

I shoved him off her, pushing her toward me. She stumbled, gripping my arm.

“Please—!” she gasped. “I’ll hold him off. You—take Su! Get her out of here! Please!”

Her eyes locked onto mine.

It was a plea. A command. A final act of resolve.

I hesitated.

But Vera didn’t.

She turned, grabbing the man’s shirt, forcing him backward toward the stairs.

I didn’t have time to think.

I did as she asked.

I rushed into the apartment, slamming the door behind me.

My hands were shaking as I pulled out my phone and dialed emergency services.

“This is an emergency. I need assistance immediately.”

I barely heard their response. My heart was hammering too loud in my ears.

“Su…?”

No answer.

My pulse quickened. A terrible thought slithered into my mind—what if I was already too late?

“Su,” I called again, my voice unsteady. “It’s okay. Please—come out.”

Silence.

I searched the closet.

The bathtub.

Behind the TV.

Under the table.

Every obvious place.

Nothing.

Outside, the shouting continued. Something crashed.

Where was she?

I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to stay calm. I needed to find her. Now.

I suddenly recalled something from my childhood—how, during games of hide-and-seek, I always hid in places where I almost got caught but never quite did. And if I was ever truly frightened, I would hide somewhere my mother would surely find me.

The kitchen.

My fingers trembled slightly as I reached for the cabinet under the sink.

She was there.

Though I couldn’t see her face in the dim light, I knew without a doubt that the girl hiding inside was the one I had been looking for.

“I found you… Come on, let’s go.”

I stretched out my hand, glancing anxiously toward the door.

A small, ice-cold hand reached out. The moment I grasped it and pulled, the girl emerged, staring at me with terrified eyes.

Her expression was so much like Vera’s.

There was no time to take a proper look at her—I just grabbed her and pulled her close.

“We have to go.”

Just as I took her hand, Vera’s screams came to an abrupt stop.

A terrible feeling twisted in my gut.

I turned around.

Vera lay motionless on the floor.

Before I could even process the scene, a shadow lunged at me, a guttural roar filling the narrow space.

A sharp gust of wind brushed past my back, and then—

A dull, sickening sound.

Pain.

For a second, I was too stunned to understand what had happened.

Instinct took over.

I shielded the girl, curling around her as tightly as I could.

Everything else faded—except for the one thought hammering in my mind. Protect her.

The world blurred.

Distantly, I heard shouting, sirens wailing, the sharp crack of gunfire. Then a heavy thud, like a massive body hitting the ground.

Someone’s voice broke through the haze:

“You’re safe now.”

Relief flooded my body. My strength gave out.

Then—nothing.

I have always believed that things tend to turn out better than we expect.

But I was never the type to think that way. I was a realist, often pessimistic, always calculating risks.

Yet, as I held that child in my arms, something in me shifted.

I didn’t want to die.

I refused to die.

I had to live.

If there was a god in this world, I begged him to grant me this wish. No, I deserved to have this wish granted. More than anyone, I had a reason to keep going.

Because I had her.

The hope of living alongside her.

The responsibility to protect her.

I had spent my entire life keeping others at a distance. Even with my own family, I never truly let anyone in. But in that moment—when I instinctively shielded that girl—I realized something.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t open my heart.

I simply hadn’t.

And now, for the first time, I did.

She made me see things differently.

And this… was only the beginning.

Could I truly protect her?

That question lodged itself deep in my mind, refusing to let go.

But then, she squeezed my hand.

Her warmth chased away every doubt, every hesitation.