The Forgiven
Watching Minah forgive Ara, Dohyung was flooded with a complex mix of emotions. Minah had undoubtedly endured a life just as agonizing as his own, yet she was willing to forgive her tormentor. To him, her capacity for mercy seemed almost superhuman.
Although Dohyung possessed magic powerful enough to wage war against the entire world and win, he could never forgive those who had inflicted such horrific wounds upon him. No, to be precise, he didn't even have the slightest desire to forgive. He only wanted to drag them down into the same hellish torment he had suffered and bury them there forever.
Even if his abusers sincerely repented like Ara had, he couldn't imagine ever forgiving the girls currently locked up in The Basement. When he thought of those girls—who only offered empty, superficial apologies while harboring no real remorse in their hearts—any shred of mercy vanished.
That was why, in Dohyung's eyes, Minah looked as radiant as the rising sun as she accepted the apology. He felt a pang of envy toward her, watching her gracefully achieve a level of grace he could never hope to reach.
'Come to think of it... she was always like that.' He recalled his high school days when he was being bullied. Back then, when everyone else turned a blind eye, Minah was the only one who stood up to help him. If someone asked him if he could have stepped in like Minah did to save another victim, his answer would have been a resounding no. Thinking of her courage, he felt a deep, almost reverent respect.
Just then, his eyes met Minah's. 'Really... maybe you are the single ray of light in my life.' Even though she was just looking at him in silence, looking at Minah made Dohyung's chest swell with warmth. He felt like he finally understood what it meant when people said someone could fill a gaping hole in your soul.
Yet, for that very reason, a part of him warned that he shouldn't get any closer to her. If he allowed himself to draw nearer, he feared he would lose his way entirely, unable to proceed with his dark designs. Shifting his gaze away from Minah, Dohyung stepped toward the weeping Ara.
"Since Minah has forgiven you as promised, I will send you home. But just as she said, you will have to spend the rest of your life atoning for your sins."
Hearing Dohyung's words, Ara sobbed even harder. She was already incredibly grateful that Minah had accepted her apology, but the realization that she could finally go home filled her with overwhelming, tearful relief.
"Thank you... *sob*! Thank you so much..."
"Don't thank me. Thank Minah. In any case, you will never see me again. Not for the rest of your life."
Dohyung looked down at Ara, who was practically groveling on the ground, and then turned his gaze to Minah standing beside him. "Well, Minah, thank you for coming all this way. Do you have anything else you want to say to her?"
"No... I don't think I have anything left to say. My connection with Ara... ends here. I don't want to dwell on the past anymore. I want to move forward toward a better future."
Minah shook her head. Emphasizing the word "future," she looked up at Dohyung with a bright, hopeful smile. Dohyung couldn't help but offer a faint, gentle smile in return.
"Alright, I understand. Go home safely. I'll take her back to her house now."
Just as Dohyung gestured to Ara and reached out his hand to the collapsed girl, Minah stepped closer and caught his wrist.
"By any chance... you're not lying to me, right?"
Turning his head, Dohyung saw the anxiety written all over Minah's face. Even without using magic to read her mind, he could tell exactly what she was thinking. Minah was likely worried that once she left, Dohyung might kill Ara to eliminate any loose ends. Since Minah knew he possessed magic, she knew he could easily make Ara's corpse vanish without a trace, making it a very plausible option in her eyes.
"Ah, don't worry. I won't kill her just to keep things quiet. No matter what I say to trash like them, I always keep my promises."
The moment the word "kill" left Dohyung's mouth, Ara flinched violently. She hadn't realized until now that her very life had been hanging in the balance.
"That's a relief then... Okay. Then, after you drop Ara off, can we talk for a bit? Just the two of us?"
"That's..."
Dohyung hesitated. Just as he had told Minah, he had no intention of killing Ara; he simply planned to drop her off at her house and then return home to process today's events. But when Minah asked to spend a little more time together, the words caught in his throat.
Just moments ago, he had resolved to distance himself from Minah, but her attempt to draw closer made his resolve crumble. It was just like when they first crossed paths at the Convenience Store. Back then, even after recognizing her, he had intended to just walk away, yet their connection had persisted all the way to this moment.
"...Alright. I'll drop her off first and come back."
"Thank you for agreeing to my request."
Minah's face brightened instantly. Ara could only listen to their conversation blankly, tears streaming down her face.
"Now, I'm going to send you home. But don't think I'm just letting you go easily. Look closely at this."
Dohyung pointed his left hand toward his open right palm. Ara shifted her gaze to his hand. As she focused on it, a small explosion suddenly erupted on Dohyung's palm, startling her so much she almost fell backward.
"Kyaaa! *pant*... *pant*... What on earth is that..."
"That's not all. I can do things like this too."
Dohyung conjured a sharp shard of ice over the palm where the explosion had just occurred and launched it past Ara's face.
"Ugh!"
The sharp edge of the ice shard grazed Ara's cheek, leaving a small cut. That alone was enough to make Ara realize that what was happening before her eyes was absolutely not a dream or a magic trick, but reality.
"Now, it might be hard to believe if I just told you, but I can use magic like this. That's how I easily kidnapped you from your home, and I'll be using magic to send you back shortly."
"Ah, ah..."
Ara grew increasingly anxious at Dohyung's words. Although he said he wouldn't take her life, the sudden demonstration of magic terrified her, making her doubt he would let her go so easily. Then, she realized how strange it was that he was letting her go without any fuss.
What Dohyung had done was completely unacceptable in modern society. Releasing her, who had witnessed and experienced everything, carried a massive risk that could ruin him. Yet, he was letting her go simply because Minah forgave her. It was highly suspicious. Furthermore, showing her magic—something that would make anyone sound insane if they tried to explain it to others—was also ominous.
But there was nothing Ara could do. She could only pray desperately that Dohyung would send her back safely without doing anything to her body.
Ignoring Ara's inner turmoil, Dohyung briefly placed his hand on her head and then pulled it away.
"From now on, I've placed a magic spell on your head. Depending on how you act, it will have no effect, and you can return to your daily life. On the other hand, if you make a foolish choice... it will probably lead to a very bad outcome."
"W-What... do you mean by that...?"
"The magic I've placed in your head right now is a time bomb spell."
Ara was shocked to hear that a bomb spell had been placed on her head. It sounded as if Dohyung could detonate her head whenever he wanted, so she couldn't help but panic.
"This is a bomb that I can detonate manually, or it can go off on its own regardless of my will if you perform certain actions. Simple, right? Of course, I have no intention of activating this magic if I can help it. I plan to return you safely to your home as promised to Minah. But I can't just let you go when you know too much. You understand what I mean, right?"
Ara nodded vigorously. His intention was simple. It meant she had to live as if everything she had seen since being captured by Dohyung was erased from her mind. It was a warning to live quietly, telling no one and informing no one.
"If you speak to anyone about my identity, or write about it to inform others, your head will blow off on the spot. Well, if you're willing to risk that to let the world know what happened to you, feel free to try."
"N-No! I-I will absolutely never tell anyone! I won't tell a soul until the day I die and go to my grave!!"
Ara shook her head desperately and clung to Dohyung's leg. Now that she finally had a chance to return to her daily life, she would never risk her life to tell anyone. Besides, it wasn't a story she would want to tell anyone anyway.
"You should. Of course you should. Now, I'll send you home."
Leaving those words, Dohyung vanished in an instant along with Ara.
Minah was left alone in the park where Dohyung had vanished.
"He sent Ara back safely, right...?"
Minah believed Dohyung would keep his promise, since he had clearly said he wouldn't kill her and would send her back. She pondered what to say to Dohyung when he returned. Whether to talk about the forgiveness that had just occurred, or to ask him what he planned to do next—there was so much she wanted to say.
Even to herself, choosing to forgive Ara was not easy. Though she said she forgave her, she couldn't deny that a lingering resentment toward Ara remained in her heart. But Minah wanted to forget those feelings and live a new life. Ever since she met Dohyung, she felt like she could finally dream of a future.
Minah thought that someone might say she only felt this way because Dohyung had healed her scars. And she wanted to completely deny that. Because when Dohyung first saw her at the Convenience Store, his gaze was incomparably normal compared to anyone else's.
Back then, when most people saw her hideous appearance, they would react with shock or grimace, showing their disgust. But Dohyung had looked at her as if it were nothing, and had even stepped forward to help her.
When she saw the video of that same Dohyung committing acts akin to torture—things she couldn't even imagine—to others for the sake of revenge, she was utterly shocked. That was why she wanted to hold onto him even more. If left alone, Dohyung seemed destined for self-destruction.
Looking at Dohyung, the saying "before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves" came to mind. Minah believed that even if it was for revenge, Dohyung was committing acts that no human should ever do. She wanted to make him stop and guide him toward reflecting on his actions and walking the path of atonement.
Sensing a presence, Minah turned around to find that Dohyung had already returned behind her using teleportation magic. The moment she saw him, she spoke.
"You're back? You sent Ara back safely, right?"
"Yeah. As long as she doesn't say anything foolish, the magic I planted in her head won't activate. I don't know how it looks to you... but it was an unavoidable choice."
"It's okay, I understand... Maybe that is the penance Ara has to work through."
Their conversation trailed off, and a brief silence fell between them. During that time, Minah carefully brought up the words she had been pondering.
"Now... once you go home, you're going to continue your revenge, aren't you?"
"That's... of course. That's the only reason I came back here..."
"In that case... let's call each other!"
Dohyung tilted his head at Minah's sudden suggestion.
"Call?"
"Honestly, I want to ask to meet up every day... but that might be a bit too much for me, so let's talk on the phone every night. Surely you can do that much?"
Dohyung was momentarily surprised by Minah's unexpected proposal, but thinking that a phone call would be fine, he nodded. Minah thanked Dohyung for granting her request, and the two parted ways that night, heading back to their respective homes.
On his way home, Dohyung pondered how to handle the remaining girls: Sujin, Hyemin, and Dongeun. If those three sincerely repented like Ara, it might be different, but having read their minds, he knew their thoughts wouldn't change so easily.
"In that case... I'll have to use them as sacrifices for the game. I'll use them to make my slaves suffer..."
In the past, Dohyung would have smiled gleefully while saying this, but today, for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to smile.