“He seems to like you quite a bit. As a mother, I'll make a special exception just for you.”
"He seems to like you quite a bit. As a mother, I'll make a special exception just for you."
"Doctor. I kept you for a long time. Sorry."
"Not at all. You don't need to think of it that way, Selene-nim."
In a room lit by only a single light, we silently shared a drink.
The conversation gradually dwindled, and before long, only the sound of our breathing filled the room.
Fiddling with the glass in my hand, I stared at Doctor for quite a while.
"You're also someone who crossed over here all alone. So I don't need to explain my situation to you, right?"
"That's right. I understand completely."
"That's enough then."
Whether when we first met or right now, Doctor consistently wore a good-natured face.
"It's all over now. I saw them last time, and everyone was smiling. This kind of ending isn't common."
"It's all thanks to you, Selene-nim."
"Don't give me all the credit. It's an ending that every single one of us bled to create."
I raised my glass and clinked it against his.
Jjang.
"Jjan."
I downed the rest of the alcohol in one gulp. The harsh alcohol burned hot as it rushed down my esophagus.
After catching my breath for a moment, I muttered in a dry voice.
"If my daughter Delphine saw this sight, I can't even imagine what kind of earful she'd give us."
"She'd probably say she's going to kill me."
"If you were trying to be funny, you failed."
Doctor gave a weak laugh.
As his laughter soon faded, I moved on to the main point I had been putting off.
"I have nothing left to do here. I should return to where I originally came from."
Doctor fell silent.
Without a word, he refilled my empty glass.
A moment later, he spoke heavily.
"......Are you truly intending to return like this?"
"I don't know. It's just that it's right for a person to return to their original place."
"In this place, Delphine-nim is here, there are people who respect you, and people who like you, aren't there?"
I set my glass down on the table for him to see.
"Are you trying to stop me? When I even handed over all my weaknesses to you. Surely you're not planning to use that as a weapon right now, are you?"
Doctor kept his head hung low for a long time.
Regret, fear, lingering attachment. I could see him struggling because he couldn't accept the farewell.
Only after a long while did Doctor raise his head.
A bitter smile hovered at the corners of his lips, as if forced.
"......I understand."
"I appreciate your cooperation. I've only made stubborn demands, but you've never refused me once."
"I've never thought of it as stubborn demands. I've learned so much thanks to you, Selene-nim."
Silence settled over the room once again.
Fiddling with my glass for a moment, I hesitated before slowly opening my mouth.
"Isn't this body strange? Even if I'm cut, I don't die. Even if my bones break, they mend."
"......."
"Yet sleeping pills work. Poisons don't work, though. It doesn't make any sense."
Doctor remained silent. With his head hung low, he just quietly listened to my rambling complaints.
I slowly pulled down my collar. My pure white neck was exposed defenselessly.
"It's not without a weakness. Right here."
"Your neck......."
"Yeah. If you strangle this spot until I stop breathing, I think I'll really die then."
"......."
"Originally, I was fated to be murdered by someone. It seems the System doesn't allow suicide."
"......."
"Sorry. It's not a pleasant story to hear. I feel like I've placed too heavy a burden on you."
As I calmly straightened my collar to cover my neck, Doctor slowly shook his head.
"It is not a burden. I am doing this because I want to. Because there is no one other than me who can send you off."
"......Thank you. Truly."
"I, too, am in a position where I crossed over alone from another world. There is no one who understands better than me why you must make such a choice."
I swirled the round glass in circles.
"We really are alike. We're both uninvited guests."
"That's true."
"But we differ in just one aspect. I'm trying to return, and you're trying to stay."
Doctor answered calmly.
"Because here, for the first time in my life, I found a place to settle down."
"......I see."
"It is right for you to leave since you have a place to return to, and I remain because I found a reason to stay."
Staring silently at his peaceful face, I nodded.
"Yeah. That's where it began. The moment we started walking different paths."
Setting the glass down on the table, I folded both my hands over my knees.
"In the end, I go, and you stay here......."
"Yes. That's the answer we've reached."
I turned my head sideways to face him.
Lingering attachment and regret dripped from his expression, but he didn't try to hide it like before. Because time was up now.
"Doctor."
"Yes, Selene-nim."
"Even if I leave this place, can you remember me until the very end?"
I knew it was a somewhat selfish request.
Still, we had spent a long time together in a strange world.
Doctor gave a soft smile. It was much more natural and warm than before.
"How could I possibly forget? A person as strong and radiant as you, as far as I know."
He really had a way with words.
That's probably why he rose to the position of this world's protagonist.
I raised the glass sloshing with the remaining alcohol once more.
"Now, let's have one last drink."
"Yes, let's do that."
Doctor raised his glass and clinked it against mine.
Jjang.
Emptying the glass, I leaned comfortably back into the chair.
"Then, shall we start?"
At my words, Doctor silently stood up. His shoulders, which were usually broad, slouched exceptionally low.
I didn't rise from my seat. Only if I stayed seated would it be easy for him to strangle my neck from behind.
"Don't feel pressured. If it's really too hard, you can stop."
"No, I am fine."
Doctor rummaged through his coat pocket. It was a thin cord.
The tool that would kill me and send me back to my original world.
'......?'
I blinked blankly.
It looked excessively soft to be a deadly weapon meant to sever someone's windpipe. A material of velvet or fine silk. Rather than a murder tool, it looked like a ribbon for wrapping a gift.
"What is that? You pulled that out when you're supposed to kill someone? If you were planning to end it, you should have prepared properly."
Fiddling with the soft cord, Doctor gave a bitter smile.
"......I wished for your final journey not to be too painful."
"Is that so?"
"I also hated the thought of leaving unsightly wounds on your body. Do not worry. I can accomplish it well enough with this."
In the end, I was rendered speechless and shut my mouth.
Trying to ease the pain while in the middle of murdering someone. It was a foolishly tender consideration.
So foolish, because he was helping me cross over to another dimension.
A sigh escaped my lips naturally.
I swept my hair back to yield my nape—the weakness I had just pointed out a moment ago.
"Thank you. Truly."
I closed both my eyes.
"I'm counting on you, Doctor."
"......Yes."
Doctor walked over slowly.
Tak. Tak. Tak. Tadak.
The footsteps stopped behind my back. His breathing could be heard close by.
With my eyes closed, I opened my mouth as something suddenly crossed my mind.
"Ah, now that I think about it."
"......Yes."
A voice that sounded like he was gritting his teeth tightly.
To relax him, since he was so tense, I continued speaking in my usual tone.
"My daughter, Delphine."
"......."
"She seems to like you quite a bit. As her omma, I'll grant you special permission, just for you."
Doctor gave no response whatsoever.
Only the sound of him fiddling with the silk fabric echoed.
Because Doctor was currently in a position where he was murdering Delphine's mother, as well as the person he respected.
In the end, I ended up dumping far too terrible a burden onto Doctor.
'Still, I have to return to my original world.'
Swallowing my bitterness, I gave a faint smile.
"Once I leave, Delphine will be quite heartbroken. You stay behind and protect her side. Can you do that for me?"
"......Just leave it to me."
"Right...... You do it. Because I trust you."
A moment later, the fabric carefully touched my neck. The smooth cord slowly wrapped around my neck once.
Doctor's hands trembled violently above my shoulders.
A final voice came from behind my back.
"......I will keep it in mind."
Immediately after, the cord wrapped around my neck tightened.
"......!"
The silk blocked my airway. My breathing was cut off.
I didn't struggle.
I suppressed the reflex to flounder around in order to survive.
Relaxing, I let my body go limp in order, releasing tension from my toes to my waist and up to my shoulders.
To lessen his guilt.
To end it quickly.
Thanks to Doctor's consideration, there was no pain of tearing skin. The pressure squeezing my airway and the feeling of my mind going completely blank were all there was.
Pitch-black ink spread from the edges of my vision, and darkness swept over me.
'If it's to this extent, it's not half bad.'
My strength drained away all at once. Still in that strangled position, my head fell back and both my arms dangled toward the floor.
My breathing grew shallower and shallower, and my eyelids were already closed.
◆◇◆
"Omma......!"
A faint voice dug into my ears.
"Omma! Please wake up!"
Omma?
"Heoheop......!"
My breath burst out all at once.
Inhaling oxygen, I snapped both eyes open.
The shapes around me were revealed.
The first thing that came into my sight was Delphine leaning forward, looking down at my face. Tears welled up in her eyes, and her expression was heartrending as if it would collapse at any moment.
"Omma opened her eyes!"
Delphine's voice was drenched in delight.
How could this be?
I slowly looked around my surroundings.
A familiar sight. It was the infirmary.
'......Am I lying on a bed right now?'
Kung. Kung. Kung.
My stopped heart was pounding fiercely once again.
I should have been strangled to death at Doctor's hands. My breath was cut off and all my strength was drained, yet...
I didn't die.