Min-ah's Wish
Neither of them could utter a single word for a long moment. The warm, amicable atmosphere from just moments ago had instantly dissolved into a suffocating, heavy silence. It was only natural; every single word of Dohyeon's confession had been nothing short of devastating.
Min-ah could understand him taking revenge on those who had actively tormented him. But what had their classmates done to deserve being murdered? Even if those young students had merely stood by and watched Dohyeon suffer through school violence, they probably felt they had no other choice; helping him would have been incredibly difficult for them. Stepping up boldly to help Dohyeon like Min-ah had done would have been the ideal scenario, but that was a highly exceptional case. She couldn't help but think that Dohyeon, consumed by madness, had slaughtered innocent people in his quest for vengeance.
Hearing Dohyeon say earlier that there would be no happy ending for him, it seemed he secretly regretted his actions deep down. But if he was allowed to continue down this path of revenge, his only remaining destination would be utter ruin. She didn't want to see such a future, yet she was at a loss for words, paralyzed by her helplessness.
Is it right for me to tell Dohyeon, who is so consumed by revenge, to stop? Those words were not easily spoken. In the first place, simply stopping the revenge now and releasing the people he had captured wouldn't solve anything. Min-ah knew Dohyeon would never accept that. To him, these were people he hated enough to kill; even if she begged him to stop and let them go, the deep-seated malice festering inside him wouldn't just vanish.
Furthermore, the fact that Dohyeon had killed all of his former classmates and teachers was a massive shock. Taking the lives of those who hadn't even harbored direct malice toward him felt like he had crossed a line as a human being. Seeing Dohyeon like this filled Min-ah with profound sorrow. How had he fallen so far...? If there was any way she could help him, she wanted to do it, no matter what. Just like Dohyeon had healed all of her scars today.
Min-ah tried to think of what she could do, but nothing came to mind. A way to save Dohyeon, who was so deeply stained by revenge...
"Since we're done eating, shall we get going?"
While Min-ah was lost in thought, Dohyeon stood up first. Min-ah wanted to say something to him, but unable to think of anything she could do right now, she silently rose from her seat. Watching Dohyeon pay for the dinner, an endless anxiety began to creep into her heart. She felt that... if she parted ways with Dohyeon like this, she would never see him again. Unable to shake that premonition, the moment they stepped out of the restaurant and Dohyeon turned to say goodbye, she grabbed his sleeve.
"W-Wait!"
"Hmm? What's wrong, Min-ah?"
Seeing Dohyeon react as if he had lost a piece of his soul ever since he mentioned killing his classmates, Min-ah's heart ached. So, she wrapped her arms around him in a warm embrace.
"M-Min-ah?"
Ignoring Dohyeon's startled, flustered voice at her sudden embrace, Min-ah squeezed him even tighter.
"Let's meet again."
"Huh?"
"Next time... let's meet again and talk! We can eat delicious food, go somewhere with a beautiful view, and... go somewhere we can just have fun together!"
Min-ah cried out desperately, terrified of letting him go. She felt that if they parted ways now, she would never see him again. If she lost contact with him, he would slip away to a place far beyond her reach, and she couldn't bear that. So, she tried to force a promise for a next meeting. If the Dohyeon she knew—the one who still had a heart—was still in there, he wouldn't be able to ignore a promise and disappear.
Looking down at Min-ah, who was desperately clinging to him and shouting, Dohyeon understood exactly why she was doing this. It was painfully obvious that she believed they would never meet again if they parted now. And in truth, Dohyeon had intended exactly that. He had planned for their connection to end today.
His plan for today had been to meet Min-ah, have a pleasant conversation, heal all of her scars, and then never see her again. He intended to secretly transfer a portion of his wealth to her so she would never have to worry about money again. He trusted that Min-ah wasn't the type of person to squander money on gambling or other vices, so he felt safe giving her a fortune.
That was his way of atoning to her. Even though Min-ah denied it, Dohyeon believed that the root cause of her ten years of suffering was entirely him. If she had never gotten involved with him, she would have lived a much brighter life, and she wouldn't have wasted ten years of her youth.
Time was something that could never be reclaimed. No matter how much money he gave her, lost time could never be restored. Yet, Dohyeon couldn't shake the thought that Min-ah had wasted a staggering ten years because of him. She had thrown away her late teens to her late twenties—the most radiant years of a woman's life—for absolutely nothing. This was something Dohyeon could never truly compensate her for, no matter what he did. Even if he used the magic he had brought back from the other world.
If only I could solve this with magic, just like erasing the scars on her body today... Dohyeon ultimately shook his head and gently pushed Min-ah away.
"Dohyeon?"
"No. It's best if our connection ends here."
Tears welled up in Min-ah's eyes at his firm refusal to see her again.
"Why? We met again! Is this really just a coincidence? Isn't it proof that we were destined to meet again?"
"No... I think it was just fate's way of forcing me to resolve the suffering I caused you." Dohyeon shook his head as he answered.
"But... we don't have to part ways here. I don't believe you and I are meant to just end like this. We can... we can start over! Between the two of us!"
Her words were incredibly sweet to Dohyeon's ears. To start over, even after he had already crossed the line... Who could possibly reject such an offer?
"I can't... I... I have to take revenge. No, I have to live only for revenge. I can't drag you into this. And it makes no sense to stop now."
After returning to his original world, Dohyeon had resolved to live solely for vengeance. Meeting Min-ah and saving her today had never been part of his plans. His body had simply moved on instinct because he saw her suffering; if he hadn't witnessed it, he would have focused entirely on his revenge. A life lived for revenge, and a life ended by revenge.
Perhaps the reason Dohyeon wanted to make his captives suffer eternally was because he knew what kind of end awaited him once his revenge was complete. He had already crossed the Rubicon. He wondered what would have happened if he had met Min-ah before he even began his crusade. Could he have forgotten those unforgivable bastards and started anew with her...? But that future had long since vanished. For the current Dohyeon, revenge was the only thing left to fill the void in his heart, and he had run toward it blindly.
"But... I don't want to! I don't want to lose you again!"
Min-ah pushed past his resisting arms and buried her face in his chest, crying out.
Dohyeon looked down at her with pity, gently stroking her hair. He felt this was the only thing he could do for her now.
"Revenge... even if I wanted to forgive them, it's already begun, so I can't stop halfway. Not that I have any intention of forgiving them anyway."
If he slaughtered all the people he had kidnapped right now and disposed of their corpses with magic to start anew with Min-ah, would a fresh start even be possible? Dohyeon believed it was out of the question. He might be able to pretend everything was fine and live with her, but his inside was already rotten to the core. It would only be a matter of time before the same tragic ending caught up to them.
Min-ah seemed to read his mind, understanding his thoughts as if they were laid bare before her. Yet, she wanted to stop him. Just as Dohyeon had saved her, she wanted to save him from his impending ruin. Even if there was nothing she could do for him right now. Deciding she had to do whatever she could, Min-ah gently pulled back from his embrace.
Just as Dohyeon let his guard down, thinking they were finally parting ways, Min-ah suddenly grabbed his face with both hands.
And then... their faces drew close, and their lips met, pressing together.
Dohyeon was startled, but he didn't reject her. Their kiss lasted for several seconds. As time flowed, their lips parted, and Min-ah took a step back.
"I'll wait. I'll keep waiting for you to come back."
Min-ah offered him a sad, gentle smile.