Severed Ties
It was late at night. I draped a blanket over Han Yeoryeon, who had been dozing off leaning against the wall, and stepped outside for some fresh air. There were plenty of people out there like me, either getting some air or smoking cigarettes. But every single one of them had a troubled look on their face. And so did I.
‘No one else is coming now, huh.’
I sat on a bench, wondering if any more mourners might show up. Truth be told, our family didn't even have relatives, so "mourners" just meant the aunties who'd been close to Mom before we moved or the folks from the mart where she worked. There wasn't anyone around me worth notifying, so aside from Han Yeoryeon and her uncle, no one had come to pay respects. Mom's life, my life—they'd both been so damn lonely.
‘The snow's finally stopped.’
How much time had passed as I stood there in the biting winter wind, shaking off my hazy mind? "Excuse me."
A man in a dark coat approached and spoke to me.
"?"
At first, I thought he was just asking for a lighter or something.
"Kang Yuchan, right?"
He called my name out of nowhere.
"…Who are you?"
"Ma Yeonseo asked me to come."
"…What?"
I rushed back to the funeral hall and grabbed my phone. Then I slipped outside again and checked the piled-up messages and missed calls. Sure enough, there were tons from Ma Yeonseo.
I hadn't explained a single thing, but she knew.
‘…Ma Yeonseo…!’
Swallowing my rage boiling in the cold wind, I called her. Her familiar voice came through the speaker almost immediately.
"Yeah. Yuchan."
That calm tone made all the anger I'd been suppressing surge up.
"How the hell did you know about my mom passing?"
"……."
"Answer me. How did you know?"
She let out a quiet sigh before speaking softly.
"I'm taking the earliest flight…"
"Don't dodge it—answer me!"
"……."
A short silence followed.
"I sent someone."
She confessed reluctantly, like she had no choice.
"You suddenly stopped replying."
I couldn't believe it. She'd really put a tail on me without me knowing. All because I hadn't contacted her for a few hours!
"What… what the fuck do you think I am…?"
I was so dumbfounded I could barely speak.
"You think I'm gonna sneak off and look at someone else or what?"
"…That's not it."
"Like hell it's not!!"
I exploded, drawing stares from the people who'd come out to smoke.
"Don't yell. I did it for you."
Even now, Ma Yeonseo was spouting nonsense about it being for my sake. My vision was spinning.
"Sticking some creep on me to spy is 'for me'? You thought I'd go, 'Oh, thanks,' and play cute? Don't treat me like a fucking idiot!!!"
My lips trembled. Still, she tried to persuade me in that composed voice.
"Yuchan… I get how you feel, but you're too worked up right—"
"Fuck, what the hell do you know!!"
"…!"
With my resentment bursting out, I spilled the feelings I'd buried deep since the Han Yeoryeon incident.
"I told you back then—I'd do better, I wouldn't look away again, so please stop this shit! But what is this? Is surveillance the price of your love? I'm not some dog. Do I have to live every second under your watch?"
"Yuchan."
"Let me breathe for fuck's sake…! I've done everything you asked…! Everything!! I cut off all my relationships for you, focused only on you! So why go this far…? What did I do wrong!!"
"Kang Yuchan."
As I vented my fury, a cold voice cut through the speaker.
‘Fuck…’
That icy tone made my body shrink instinctively, and it pissed me off even more.
"…Handle your mom's funeral first. I'll have someone tidy up the house, so stay at my place for now. We'll talk when I get to Korea."
She spoke as if it was the most natural thing, inviting me to her house. I almost fell for that matter-of-fact tone. Even now, all she could think about was locking me down.
"No."
"…What?"
"Didn't hear me? I said no."
"Haa… Yuchan."
"You think I'm walking into that knowing what you'll do? Gonna put a collar on me this time? Why not just break my limbs? You like that shit, right?"
I sneered with venom, and she went quiet. She was starting to get pissed too, her tone sharpening with barbs.
"…I know Han Yeoryeon's there with you."
It was blatant blackmail.
"You know and say nothing. Because you love me."
Her stubborn appeal to love amid it all was astonishing. Any lingering affection I had plummeted.
"Love… Yeah… If that's your love… I can't do it anymore."
"…You, right now…"
"Yeonseo. Let's end it. Us."
"……."
"I can't take it anymore. Placating your whims, wondering when you'll snap—I'm sick of it all."
"…That's enough. Kang Yuchan."
Her voice, laced with clear fury, stabbed into my ear. Before, I'd have groveled and soothed her, but not a shred of that will was left in me.
"Or what? Gonna kill me? Oh, right—you said you couldn't. Then kill Han Yeoryeon. I'll follow her."
"You…"
"If you're gonna fuck with people, at least do it right. Ma Yeonseo. I'm not your toy."
Having poured out my pent-up hatred, I took a deep, shaky breath and left my final words.
"…Hanging up. Don't contact me again."
"Kang Yuchan…! If you hang up!"
Her voice cracked with rare agitation. I squeezed my eyes shut and ended the call firmly.
"……Haa……."
Fatigue crashed over me like a wave.
Yeonseo stared blankly at the disconnected call screen. A small lizard huddled on the table lifted its head and looked up at her.
"…?"
It was the new C-rank summon she'd contracted recently.
"……."
She reached out and gently stroked the lizard, replaying Yuchan's harsh words in her mind.
-Fuck, what the hell do you know!!
Words that cursed and condemned her.
-Yeonseo. Let's end it. Us.
And his voice uttering a breakup she couldn't even imagine.
‘How dare he.’
To her, who equated parting with death, "let's break up" was the same as "die." Her temper flared again, and without thinking, her hand tightened on the lizard.
"…!!!"
Trapped helplessly, the lizard thrashed wildly, begging for life.
Flap flap—!
Flap flap—!
But she didn't loosen her grip. She squeezed harder, as if ready to crush it entirely in her palm.
Flap flap—!
Flap… flap…!
Flap…!
Flap…!
Low-rank summons couldn't resist their contractor, no matter how strong they were. This lizard could only flail against its owner's sudden violence.
Flap… fla… p….
Just before its breath gave out completely, she finally eased her grip, letting it escape…
Thud.
Even fully freed, the lizard didn't move. It just lay limp, barely gasping.
"……."
Suddenly, Yeonseo saw Yuchan in the lizard's state.
‘If only I could make a human my summon.’
She fantasized briefly about contracting Yuchan as a summon, but sadly, it was just a delusion. Humans couldn't become summons in the first place. Summoning didn't work on "humans" by design.
‘Too bad.’
With her anger vented, she unsummoned the lizard. Reflecting on her emotional outburst, she pondered how to sweet-talk Yuchan once she returned to Korea.
‘What should I do?’
She didn't understand his true feelings at all.
Mom's funeral wrapped up smoothly thanks to Han Yeoryeon and her uncle.
"Thank you so much for helping."
"Thank Yeoryeon, not me."
"…Thanks, Yeoryeon."
"Hehe. It was nothing."
They promised to help anytime I needed, becoming reliable allies. They were a huge support in every way.
‘She worked so hard…’
Back home, I tackled the postponed paperwork one by one.
"What can I help you with?"
"I'd like to settle my mom's bank account."
Thankfully, there were no debts. After tallying her savings and insurance, I had about 30 million won left. Unwilling to touch it, I stashed it all in an unused account, praying I'd never need it.
‘Gotta move out of this place too.’
I decided to leave the old villa soon. As someone who hadn't earned steady money yet, rent was tough, and it was too big for one person anyway.
"Tsk tsk. So young and already so pitiful…"
The landlady grandma took pity on me and cut me some slack, which bought me time. If that's luck, then yeah, I got lucky.
With everything sorted, as I lay on the bed still carrying Mom's scent:
‘Now I'm really alone…’
Feeling the emptiness sink in, lost in hollow sentiment—
Ding dong.
Ding dong.
Someone rang the doorbell insistently.
"Coming!"
I bolted up, thinking it might be from the district office, and opened the door.
"Who is it?"
My face hardened as I saw who it was.
"…It's been a while."
Ma Yeonseo. She'd come to my house.