Min-a's Tears, Part 2
Dohyung was at a complete loss, flustered by the sight of Min-a weeping before him. He had absolutely no idea how to react, so he could only watch her anxiously, walking on eggshells.
Min-a wanted to say something to him, but she was too busy wiping away the tears that kept welling up. And so, the two of them sat in silence, waiting for her emotions to settle.
After a short while, Min-a's sobbing finally began to subside.
"Are you okay?"
At Dohyung's quiet question, Min-a nodded silently.
Seeing her nod to reassure him brought Dohyung a small measure of relief. Still, he couldn't fathom why she had burst into tears after hearing his story and watching the video of him kidnapping and training his tormentors.
"Why did you... suddenly cry? What was it...?"
"It just made me so sad to think about how much you've changed because of those people."
"Huh? I've changed?"
Dohyung was taken aback; her reason was entirely different from anything he had anticipated. As far as he could remember, he hadn't had much of a connection with Min-a back in high school. He remembered that his school life had begun to spiral out of control after he stood up to Lee Jia on behalf of some girl, but he had never realized that the girl was Min-a.
In Dohyung's memory, Min-a was simply an incredible person who had stepped forward to save him when no one else would lift a finger. She was a deeply appreciated friend who had tried her best to look out for him until she transferred schools. But now, hearing her speak as if she knew the root of his suffering left him speechless.
"You were never the type of person who could do things like this... Seeing you go to such extremes for revenge made me realize how much pain you must have been in. It must have been so hard for you, wasn't it?"
In that instant, Dohyung felt something stir deep within his chest. He couldn't identify the sensation, but it was something he had no desire to push away. As he stood there trying to process it, Min-a rose from her seat and walked over to him.
Before Dohyung could even react, Min-a stepped into his space and gently wrapped her arms around him. She held him warm and close, like comforting a wounded, weeping soul, and softly patted his back.
"I'm so sorry... I should have stayed... I shouldn't have transferred and left you alone. If I had stayed... maybe you would have had a better future..."
Dohyung watched her approach and could have easily avoided her embrace, but he didn't. No, he couldn't. The emotions surging within him acted like a lit fuse, pinning him to the spot. And when she apologized to him, those bottled-up feelings finally erupted.
Drip.
Dohyung felt something trace a path down his cheek and fall to the floor. At first, he thought it was sweat—even though he knew it made no sense to sweat inside a luxury restaurant with the air conditioning blasting.
Then, he realized what it was. A tear from his own eye. The emotion swelling in his chest was none other than sorrow.
Ever since he had been summoned to the other world, Dohyung had never once shed tears of sadness. He had survived day by day, fueled solely by his obsession with revenge. He had wept from the agonizing pain of wounds sustained in battles against monsters, yes. But tears born of sorrow were something he had never shed in Adria. It had been the same even after he returned to his original world.
Dohyung didn't understand why the tears were falling now. He didn't realize that Min-a's heartfelt comfort had shaken the long-buried emotions deep within him. Startled by the realization that he was crying, Dohyung gently pushed Min-a away.
"Why are you the one apologizing? I'm the one who should be begging for your forgiveness..."
"Sniff... No, you didn't do anything wrong..." Min-a replied, her voice thick with sorrow as she wiped away her fresh tears.
"No, I really have to apologize to you!"
Through her tears, Min-a recalled that the whole reason Dohyung had brought up this topic was to apologize to her. But just as Dohyung didn't understand why she was apologizing, Min-a couldn't comprehend why Dohyung felt the need to apologize to her. To her, setting aside his current quest for vengeance, Dohyung was nothing more than a victim of horrific school violence.
"To me? What could you possibly have to apologize for? You did nothing wrong to—"
"No... that's not true."
Dohyung cut her off, looking at her with sorrowful eyes.
"Your life right now... must be so incredibly difficult and ruined... I'm sorry. I ended up looking into your past. And... the reason your life was ruined... is me."
"What? What do you mean...?"
"If you had never gotten involved with me, you would have never been targeted by Han Eunji and the others! You wouldn't have these scars on your body, and you... you would be living the beautiful life you always dreamed of... But I'm the one who ruined it all..."
Dohyung bowed his head deeply toward her.
"I am so incredibly sorry! Your life was ruined because of me! I'm so... so sorry!!"
Min-a didn't say a word. She simply stared at Dohyung as he stood there with his head bowed. When she remained silent, Dohyung found himself unable to look up. Just like when he had shown her the video moments ago, he couldn't begin to imagine what kind of expression she was wearing. He almost wished she would scream at him or curse him out as he waited for her response.
"...Please, look at me."
After a brief silence, Dohyung raised his head at her soft request. Min-a was gazing at him, her eyes swirling with a complex mix of emotions. As soon as their eyes met, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him once more.
"How is any of that your fault...? You didn't do a single thing wrong..."
It broke Min-a's heart to see Dohyung blaming himself so intensely. To any outsider, Dohyung was entirely blameless, yet the fact that he carried such guilt meant his mind had been pushed to the absolute brink, leaving him unable to think rationally. At the same time, she felt a swell of gratitude that he had sought her out just to apologize for this. In truth, even if he had recognized her, he could have easily kept quiet, and she would have never known his true identity. They could have parted ways without a word, yet Dohyung had gone out of his way to find her and apologize in person. It felt as though the kind, gentle Dohyung she remembered from the past hadn't been entirely erased.
"But... because of me..."
"No... you did absolutely nothing wrong. If anything... the only impact you ever had on my life was a positive one."
The moment those warm words washed over him, tears welled in Dohyung's eyes once more, spilling over and dripping onto Min-a's back as she held him.
"It's... really not my fault?"
"Yes, really."
"But... you were targeted by those monsters because of me. If someone like me hadn't been around, you would have..."
"No. You have absolutely no responsibility for what happened to me. Honestly, I still don't understand why you're the one apologizing."
Dohyung couldn't find the words to reply. He simply let the overwhelming wave of emotion take over, allowing the tears to stream freely down his cheeks. Slowly, he raised his arms and wrapped them around Min-a, returning her embrace.
"...Thank you. For accepting my apology..."
"Don't thank me... I'm the one who should be thanking you."
For a long moment, they stood locked in each other's arms, feeling a deep warmth spread through their bodies. Perhaps it wasn't just physical warmth, but the quiet healing of their fractured souls. To Dohyung, the details didn't matter. Just the belief that Min-a had forgiven him brought a profound sense of peace to his heart.
After some time, as their sorrow began to settle, the two pulled apart, both of their faces flushed a deep red.
"Ah, sorry... I held on to you for too long..."
"No, it's fine. I'm the one who should apologize... showing you such an ugly sight."
Min-a quickly turned her head away, covering the side of her face marred by the burn scars.
"That's not true."
Min-a flinched at the sheer conviction in Dohyung's voice.
"You could never be called ugly because of that..."
"But... anyone who looks at this would call it hideous."
"Then let me fix it for you. Come here for a second."
Dohyung stepped closer to Min-a, who was still shielding her face.
"Huh? What... what are you doing?"
"I'm going to heal it."
Dohyung gently took hold of the arm covering her face and pulled it away. Then, he raised his other hand and placed it softly over the scarred tissue of her burn.
Min-a stood still, waiting. She felt deeply self-conscious about exposing her hideous scar to him, but she didn't reject his touch. Instead, she closed her eyes and let him proceed.
As Dohyung gently swept aside the bangs that covered more than half of her face, the burn scars were laid bare. Shriveled, puckered skin covered over half of her forehead, stretching down past her right eyebrow. The hair of her eyebrow was almost entirely gone, replaced by a penciled-in line she had carefully drawn on with makeup. The sheer brutality of what she had suffered was plain to see, and a sudden surge of fury threatened to boil up in Dohyung's chest once more. But knowing now was not the time, he forced the anger back down.
Instead, he focused his mana into his palm, casting a healing spell over Min-a's burns. Back in the other world, he had constantly suffered injuries while fighting monsters. Realizing he couldn't always rely on the Saintess who traveled with them, he had taken the time to learn healing magic himself—a decision he was now profoundly grateful for.
A soft, gentle glow emanated from Dohyung's hand, and Min-a's damaged skin began to shift. The spell he was using was powerful enough to regenerate severed limbs to a certain extent, capable of restoring a person's body to its original, unblemished state. Gradually, the puckered, burned flesh on Min-a's face began to smooth out, returning to the flawless, porcelain skin she had once possessed. The horrific scars dissolved into nothingness, leaving no trace behind.
Only a few seconds had passed, but seeing that every last trace of the scars had vanished, Dohyung pulled his hand away. Feeling the warmth of his touch leave her skin, Min-a slowly opened her eyes.
"It's done. The scars on your face are gone."
"Already? They're... really gone?"
With a look of utter disbelief, Min-a hurried back to her seat and pulled a compact mirror out of her bag. Staring at her perfectly restored face in the reflection, tears welled up in her eyes once more.
"I really... can't stop crying today," Min-a said, looking up at Dohyung.
But the tears streaming down her cheeks now were not the sorrowful ones she had shed before. They were tears of pure, unadulterated joy, brought to her by Dohyung.