You Did the Same, Didn't You?

"You did the same, didn't you?"

A long, strangled wail tore out of her.

Was I imagining the grievance packed into that stifled sobbing? Was she really that shameless?

Not that any of it was my problem.

I set one foot on Song Yura's back—she was probably still clinging to the hope that if she just stayed down there sobbing, I might cut her a little slack—and made the call.

"Nngh—hh!"

She moaned like the mere fact of being laid bare in front of me was agony. I didn't care in the slightest.

Earlier today, at the strawberry pocha, Karina had gone so far as to call me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠human. I'd even started to think I still had a soft side left in me. Facing Song Yura, I felt like a completely different person.

So this was what they called karma.

I knew exactly what this girl had done. I knew exactly what kind of woman she was. There wasn't a shred of pity in me.

"Ah, Naengjung. What's going on?"

The voice on the other end belonged to the convenience store owner.

"Yes, boss. Something did come up."

"H-huh, for real?! What happened? Do you need me to help?"

He sounded as worried as if it were his own problem. I put more weight on the foot planted in Song Yura's back and answered.

"Nngh—hhah!"

"No, it's nothing major. Just a small bit of trouble. I'll probably be about an hour or two late. I'm really sorry."

"Phew, as long as it's not serious, that's a relief. If you can't make it, this old man can cover your whole shift. Don't worry too much—take your time and handle it."

"No, that would be too much of an imposition. I'll be there within the hour if I can. Just a little patience, please."

"Haha, I'm the one who should be saying it's fine, you brat. Good grief, you're too soft for your own good. You've worked for me for years without a single complaint. You think I don't know you? You've gotta have a real reason if you're calling me like this."

That unwavering, gentle trust only made the comparison with Song Yura sharper.

"Nngh—hhkk!"

"Hey, is that a girl's voice I hear?"

"There are a lot of drunks around here. Anyway, I've got to go—I'm in a bit of a rush. I'll get there as fast as I can, boss."

"Yeah, yeah. Good luck."

"Yes, sir."

I hung up and, without the slightest attempt to hide it, started recording video.

The smartphone's voice rang out with startling clarity in the dark, quiet alley, and Song Yura's trembling multiplied several times over. She wasn't a complete idiot. She already understood what that phone call had meant—and she had a pretty good idea why I was recording, and what I intended to capture.

"W-wait, I'm sorry! Waaah—I mean it, I really am sorry, so please—please go easy on me!"

"You're being noisy."

"Ghk—!"

I seized her face in one hand, hauled it up, and growled.

"Don't you get that this disgusting attitude of yours is only making me angrier?"

"...Hhkk. Hh. Hhh..."

"Don't worry. I'm not planning to kill you like this."

"Hiiiek—!"

The word kill sent her into a full-body seizure. Had she actually believed I wouldn't?

"Ah. So that's how it is."

I could see it in her eyes. Even at the worst possible moment, Song Yura had held fast to the conviction that she would not die.

"Started off on the wrong foot."

I drew my Killing Aura back up and focused it on her.

"I am going to kill you. No question. And I'll do it with pain more horrific than anything you can ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠imagine."

"...Ghk."

A choking sound escaped her, and she fainted on the spot. I had a feeling she'd be back up soon enough.

I wouldn't have listened even if she'd tried to stop me. Still, having Karina's unspoken consent made it that much easier to proceed with the revenge in peace.

"Pretty, are you?"

I took Song Yura's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠slender chin in my hand, turned her face this way and that, and let out a short laugh. It wasn't a wrong assessment. Her looks were the kind people in the neighborhood talked about—guys from the high school two schools over used to come looking for her just to confess.

Even I, back in high school, had felt my heart kick over at that face more than a few times.

Looking at it now, though? No.

"It's just a disgusting face."

This was the face that had made me shake with dread at the thought of when and where I might run into her. It didn't matter how pretty it was. Maybe in the old days. I was confident I wouldn't fall for it anymore.

That said, I was still curious about a woman's body. If anything, a situation like this only made the hunger worse—because I wasn't looking at Song Yura as a fellow human being. I was treating her as an object. I intended to handle her however I pleased.

"This chest. Those lips that used to spit every curse in the book at me. I'm going to make sure you understand exactly what it feels like when your humanity dies and despair swallows you whole."

And I intended to collect. I was going to make her understand just how enormous the wrongs she had committed truly were.

"..."

Her eyes were still shut, her mouth clamped tight, but I could tell she was awake. A faint tension had run through her body.

"You'd better get up. Unless you want your neck broken right here."

"I-I'm up!"

The formal speech was starting to sound natural on her. I gave a short laugh and ran my fingers through her hair.

"One year from now, just like I said, I'm going to kill you."

"P-please! I don't want to die—please let me live!"

"You stupid bitch. You think I gave you a year for no reason? If you don't want to die, spend whatever time you've got left making sure I never feel like it."

Hypothetically speaking: if Song Yura spent that year changing so completely that even I sat up and took notice—if she actually managed to satisfy me—I was prepared to let her live, just as promised.

"You know I can't lie to save my life, right?"

It was true. Even in moments when I felt like I'd starve if I didn't eat, I had never once stood in front of her and lied that I had no money.

"Y-yeah! I-I mean, I understand! I-I'll work hard. S-so if I just work hard, you'll let me live, right?"

"Not hard. Well."

I hadn't expected to start sounding like some lecturing old man, but what I wanted from Song Yura wasn't effort. It was results.

"Y-yes! I'll do it well! I'll give it everything I've got!"

Watching the life creep back into her at the thought that she might survive, I felt the irritation rising all over again.

"You'd better think carefully about the other side of that coin, though. If you piss me off, there is no year. Nothing. The second you cross me, you die. Just like this."

"Hhk—ghk!"

I grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground.

"I can see exactly what you're thinking. You figure if you can just get out of this alley, you'll find some way to shake me off."

"Grrk—ghk—hhggk!"

"If I were an ordinary person, you might not even be wrong. But Song Yura."

I stamped my foot—just a light tap. The ground heaved over on itself, and the shattered fragments hung in the air. A small miracle, born of impossible strength amplified by Demonic Energy.

"...!"

Song Yura's eyes went as wide as they could physically go.

"I already told you I don't care about whatever dirt you've got left on your phone. If you take what I said lightly—if you walk out of here and report me to the police, or run to your parents and thrash around trying to save yourself—"

"Grrhk—ghk!"

"—I will find a way to kill you. Even if a nuke drops on my head, I am confident I can end you. I actually have that kind of power."

That last part was closer to a bluff. I had no intention of taking on that kind of risk. If I hadn't had a beloved little sister named Han Suhui, I really might have. I could be cold in every other circumstance—but when my sister was involved, I had no such confidence.

Even if it killed me, I would keep her alive.

The way things stood, that was exactly how it would play out.

People couldn't stand the existence of anyone who might threaten them, or anyone better than they were. The moment I stood out even a little, they would throw everything they had into finding a way to keep me in check—and it wouldn't take them long to figure out that my weakness was Han Suhui.

If I wanted to stop that from happening, I had to become far stronger than I was now.

Making Song Yura my first target for revenge was nothing more than a single stone on that path. I couldn't do everything alone. I needed a loyal horse I could ride and throw away whenever I pleased.

I didn't have a day to waste.

I couldn't let Han Suhui keep suffering like this until I had enough power of my own. I needed outside help, and I intended to use Song Yura to get it. Whatever else she was, she had a far wider reach than I did. I had never had any talent for that kind of thing.

"I assume that's clear enough?"

"Cough—cough! Y-yes, I understand. I-I won't ever betray you. I-I won't lie, either. If you want, I'll give you my body and my heart—I'll even be your dog."

"A dog would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be wasted on you. You're just my slave."

"Y-yes! Master—i-if you want me to be a slave, then that's what I'll be. Woof woof!"

Watching Song Yura make dog noises nobody had asked for, I almost felt like I had her. Almost. It still wasn't enough.

"Your profile picture."

"...!"

"You like the guy in that photo, don't you? I could tell just by looking. You know me well—well, I've been watching you for a long time too. Don't contact him anymore."

I'd wondered if something this small could even count as revenge.

"...W-why are you doing this to me. No—what do you even want from me?!"

Apparently it had meant more to her than I'd expected. She even lifted that head she'd worked so hard to keep down.

It was almost touching. Love still mattered in the face of death, did it?

Then why had a person like that done what she did to me? I was the one who wanted to ask.

"D-do you like me? Is that why you're jealou—kyaah!"

I grabbed her by the collar and yanked her in.

"Don't talk shit. There's no way I'd like you. What do I want?"

"..."

"For you to be more miserable than anyone alive. For you to hurt more than anyone alive. I just don't want to see you happy."

Of course I didn't.

"You did the same, didn't you?"

A grin spread across my face.

I handed her own words back to her, quoted line for line. That was when it finally hit her—clear and sharp—everything she had done to me.

"Ah... aah..."

The shock wiped her face clean. She dropped to her knees and begged my forgiveness in a dead voice.

"I-I'm sorry. I... I've done wrong. I know I can never be fully forgiven for what I did, but for the next year, I'll give it everything I have. I mean it."

"Your sincerity is none of my concern. You're my slave. You'd do well to at least carry out what you're told."

"Yes..."

Song Yura swayed as if she might collapse at any second. I still wasn't satisfied.

"Now take it off."

At my words, she bit down hard on her trembling lip and nodded.

A soft rustle. Right before my eyes, Song Yura's clothes began to peel away, layer by layer.