Lifelong Companion
After receiving the staff’s impeccably polite farewells, the Doctor stepped out of the specialty wedding ring shop and gazed up at the sky. The weather was crisp and clear, the kind of day that lifted one’s spirits without effort. Yet she also missed rainy days in a quiet, secret way. They felt like gentle water poured over her parched emotions. Of course, only when Jihyeok was beside her. Without him, she hated the rain with a passion.
A faintly languid expression crossed her face as she opened the ring box from the shop. A pair of exquisitely crafted diamond rings rested on thin bands, each stone perfectly held by its prongs. It had been made exactly to her specifications. Worth every penny, she thought, and slid into the driver’s seat. She then activated the location tracker to see where Jihyeok was.
Uijeongbu Cathedral…?
Jihyeok wasn’t religious. Why would he suddenly be at a cathedral? The Doctor tilted her head, then remembered that Adele was the Saint. The naïve girl must have whined and begged him to take her. Accepting that explanation, she reached for the ignition—only for a wave of anxiety to crash over her.
The tracker… what am I going to do…?
She knew exactly how dangerous her actions were. The tracker she had planted on Jihyeok without his knowledge. It was safe for now because he hadn’t noticed, but if he ever discovered it, everything they had built could shatter in a single moment.
The last time she had used it was when he had been coaxed into taking drugs by Chae Bo-young. He had been too disoriented then to question how she had found him, and the matter had simply faded away afterward. That had been a stroke of luck, but she could not count on luck forever. Unease began to coil tighter in her chest.
Vrrr—!
The Doctor’s face lit up the moment she saw the message. It was obvious he had sent it while with Adele, worrying about her even then. Overjoyed, she typed her replies as quickly as her fingers would allow. When the final exchange ended, happiness flooded her so completely that she placed the phone in the cup holder, started the engine, and smiled.
Yes… she would remove the tracker the moment an opportunity appeared. With that decision made, the Doctor did not head straight home. Instead, she stopped by the research lab.
> Biometric authentication completed.
The radio-jamming door hissed open to both sides. Once inside, the Doctor was about to retrieve a fireproof box when she glanced at the situation board. The Evilion detection devices installed across the world were operating normally.
“Haa…”
She let out a long sigh, then—without quite knowing why—sat down in front of the board and blew gently across the keyboard. Dust scattered and was sucked into the humming ventilation system. After tidying the area, she stared at the monitor in silence for a long time.
……
Complicated, delicate emotions swirled inside her. All of this was part of Edward’s legacy. A facility created to honor his last wishes. If someone asked whether she still wanted to run it, her answer would lean toward no. It simply wasn’t worth the cost. The money was enormous, the labor exhausting… and then there was the World Coalition.
Originally she had carried a sense of mission to save the world alongside them and had worked hard to build strong ties. But after Jihyeok was framed and thrown into prison, her perspective had changed. The world was full of rotten people; those in power were corrupt. Even within the World Coalition, many quietly slipped her bribes, asking her to look after their own countries. That had caused Sehwa immense torment. She hated helping such people for free.
Yet even though the mission had vanished, responsibility remained—the responsibility to watch over the Beast Slayers. She and Jihyeok were the only two people capable of protecting those girls who still carried the conviction to save the world.
“Hoo…”
Her head throbbed. The Doctor squeezed her eyes shut. She wanted nothing more than to live on a remote island with Jihyeok forever, thinking about nothing at all.
Maybe I’ll sleep for a bit…
Yes. Sleep was the best cure for an overworked mind. She would rest for an hour and then head back. Rising from her chair, she trudged toward her private lounge. She shook out the blanket, turned on a classical playlist, set an alarm, and lay down. The moment she closed her eyes, exhaustion pulled her under.
“…Honey.”
A tender voice reached her ear. The Doctor stirred, rubbing bleary eyes, and the first thing she saw was Jihyeok looking down at her with a gentle expression. She felt his warm hand slip between her back and the mattress. A pleasant smile rose to her lips as she let him help her sit up. Rubbing her eyes again, she asked,
“When did you get here…?”
“Five hours ago.”
The shocking answer made her jolt. “F-five hours…? What time is it now?”
“Almost nine at night. You weren’t answering my messages and you weren’t home, so I came to check… and found you sound asleep.”
“Nine…? You should have woken me the moment you arrived… We still need to book the movie…”
“You were sleeping so peacefully I didn’t have the heart to disturb you. Why did you come to the lab?”
“I… needed a box that wouldn’t burn so I could store the photographs before incinerating them. Then I looked at the situation board, got lost in thought, and suddenly felt exhausted…”
Jihyeok nodded and settled onto the edge of the bed. The Doctor felt herself being drawn into those dark eyes that carried the faintest hint of warm brown. They were unbearably captivating. Her cheeks flushed at once.
Seeing her reaction, Jihyeok gave a soft chuckle. “Looks like you had a lot on your mind. Want to talk about it?”
Her heart raced as his fingers brushed her earlobe. Why did she still react like this? She should have grown used to him by now, yet every time she saw Jihyeok her heart transformed into that of a girl experiencing first love. She fidgeted, then spoke.
“It’s just… this facility was built because of my late husband’s will. Suddenly it all felt irritating.”
“Irritating enough to sigh like that?”
“It’s complicated. I don’t know what to do. Continuing to run it costs you an enormous amount of money… but if I shut it down, I can’t stop thinking about Sehwa and the other Beast Slayers…”
“Is that so? Then try changing your perspective.”
“Change my perspective?”
“Think of it as following my will. I believe it’s good to keep this place running.”
“Ah…”
It felt as if thick fog had suddenly lifted from her mind. If Jihyeok liked the lab, then there was no need to worry. She could simply think of operating it for the man she loved. The Doctor nodded vigorously.
“I will.”
Until now she had carried out her duties as director out of obligation to her ex-husband’s last wishes. But that was over. This was now Jihyeok’s laboratory. From today onward she would run it exactly as he desired and simply follow his wishes.
“Your expression looks much brighter. Is it resolved?”
Jihyeok asked with a slightly dazed look. The Doctor let out a small laugh and nodded.
“It’s resolved.”
“That’s a relief. Shall we get ready to head back? It’s getting late.”
“Okay. But I still haven’t taken care of the mementos… I fell asleep…”
“Postpone it until tomorrow. There’s no need to do it today.”
“You were the one who told me to do it today…”
“And now I’m telling you to do it tomorrow.”
Jihyeok grinned. The Doctor found herself smiling brightly before she could stop. She and Edward had often exchanged such playful banter, but it had never felt this good. She even wondered why she had ever loved someone so boring.
“All right. I’ll do it tomorrow. Ah, wait a moment…”
Leaving him on the bed, she rummaged through her handbag and pulled out the ring box. She approached Jihyeok, opened the lid, and showed him the rings.
“What do you think?”
“They’re beautiful.”
“Can I put yours on now?”
“Right now? Isn’t the atmosphere a little plain?”
“I think it’s perfect.”
“If you say so…”
Trailing off, Jihyeok offered his left hand. The Doctor swallowed her trembling heart and took out the larger ring. She placed it on his long ring finger and slowly slid it down. It settled perfectly at the middle joint. The situation seemed to embarrass him; he averted his gaze and scratched his head, yet he kept stealing glances at the ring. Clearly he liked it. Satisfied that her careful design had been worth the effort, the Doctor extended her own left hand.
“Will you put mine on too?”
“Ah, of course.”
Jihyeok picked up the ring with the utmost care, as though handling something infinitely precious. He gazed deeply into her eyes as he slipped it onto her finger.
Ah…!
In that instant the Doctor felt that she and Jihyeok had truly become one. In the laboratory that now belonged to him, they were wearing rings that sealed their love. The thought made her nose sting. She blinked rapidly to hold back tears and spoke in a choked voice.
“Thank you…”
“I’m the one who should thank you.”
The moment she heard his gentle reply, she threw herself into his arms. As she rubbed her cheek against his broad, solid chest, his soft hand stroked the crown of her head. Love exploded inside her; she wished time would simply stop right there.
She confessed the sincerity she had held back for so long.
“I will love only you forever…”
And Jihyeok gave her the words she had wanted to hear more than anything.
“I love you, Jenny.”
The instant she heard that pet name, the Doctor could no longer hold back her tears. The special title she had longed to hear from his lips—on a day like this, it was overwhelming. When he added, “I’ll call you that from time to time,” she could only nod silently within his embrace. She wanted to obey him. She wanted to give him anything and everything he desired. That single thought now filled her entire heart.
She had seen news stories about people who, after knowing each other only a short time, gave their bodies, hearts, money, honor—everything—to their partner. She used to find them incomprehensible. Now she understood them completely. They had become addicted to the love given by someone whose inner and outer perfection matched the ideal they had always dreamed of. She was now exactly like them.
What she had shared with her ex-husband now felt like nothing more than a childish crush. That was how perfect Jihyeok was for her. Rescuing him from the rubble of that building when the first monster appeared and bringing him to her lab had been a divine move. Choosing him as her assistant, slowly developing special feelings for him, and eventually falling so deeply in love—she was endlessly grateful it had happened. Otherwise she would never have discovered her true self.
After clinging to him for a long while, the Doctor finally lifted her face. Jihyeok gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and asked,
“Are you hungry? Shall we eat out before going home?”
“Yes…” she answered, eyes downcast, lightly biting her finger.
Jihyeok let out a low chuckle and asked again. “What do you want to eat?”
“Anything…”
“Anything? Tell me properly before we end up buying tteokbokki and fried snacks from a street stall.”
“I’d be happy with that too…”
Jihyeok let out a dumbfounded laugh. But the Doctor was completely sincere. As long as she was with him, even tteokbokki from a stall or a rice-cake skewer that had fallen onto the dirt would taste like heaven.