A Story Only I Know. (1)
A Story Only I Know. (1)
Diring— diring—
"..."
Diring— diring—
[ Omma ]
At the sudden incoming call, he read the letters displayed on the screen.
Omma.
Those two letters.
It was Rachel-ssi's phone number.
'Why did she call...?'
It was the first time she had called him first.
Could she be up to something?
Staring at the terminal that continued to ring, he finally answered the call.
She wasn't the kind of person who would just leave it at that if ignored.
"Hello—"
[Seo-ajeossi! It's an emergency! Rachel-eonni collapsed!]
However, the voice coming from beyond the terminal was not Rachel-ssi's.
Makina.
Why are you calling me using that terminal?
No, wait. What?
"Rachel-ssi collapsed?"
[Yes, yes! I was telling her the story about Dea's precious person, when she suddenly said she was sorry and collapsed!]
"..."
Could it really be related to the woman in that photograph?
Seo let out a sigh.
He didn't hate her so much that he could remain indifferent upon hearing she had collapsed.
If anything, he was worried.
"I'll be right there, Makina."
[Yes, got it! You can come to the headquarters of Biological Miracle!]
The call disconnected.
Looking at the screen that had turned black, Seo turned his head.
Outside the window, the headquarters of Biological Miracle rose high into the sky.
"Huu..."
He felt like he had become a fool.
Just what is the truth you are hiding?
And what is the true feeling you are concealing?
He wanted to know.
He wanted to know the true feeling held deep inside the heart of the person named Rachel.
"...Please tell me this time, omma."
Seo muttered.
It was a small wish.
***
Rachel Roberta Darwin remembers.
The streaks of light slicing through the sky.
And the flames burning the earth.
"Heok, heok, heuk..."
She lost her husband.
She lost her child.
She lost her comrades.
How desperately she had cried, holding the precious people who had turned into cold corpses in her arms.
That was why she thought.
Let's not make any more people like myself.
[Requesting rescue. Requesting rescue. A small nuclear warhead has been dropped on this location. Requesting rescue. Please, help us—]
Traveling all over the world, she saved people.
Bandages for the injured.
Prosthetic arms and legs for those without limbs.
Water for those lacking water.
Food for those lacking food.
And—
"Ah, aheuk... ah..."
"..."
—Rest for those facing death.
"P-Please help..."
"...Can you, can you stand up?"
However, she could not pass by.
A woman who was exposed to radiation, blinded, and burned across her entire body.
It shouldn't have mattered if she left her like this.
It certainly shouldn't have mattered, yet a single fact bound her heart.
"Just the baby, please save just the baby..."
"..."
The woman's stomach was heavily swollen.
A full-term pregnant woman.
Someone who might have given birth today. Or perhaps tomorrow.
Seeing that sight, the face of one person came to Rachel's mind.
The face of her precious daughter, who was no longer here.
"I will save you."
"..."
"I will save you no matter what, so please hang on just a little longer."
How much research had she done to save a life whose genetic structure had begun to collapse?
Though the research was incomplete, the knowledge she had acquired so far wouldn't be useless.
That was why she chose to take her.
Because she had given up on everything, paradoxically, she didn't want to give up anymore.
Bbi— bbi— bbi—
Rachel took the woman and headed to her personal research facility.
Along the way, there were moments when the woman gasped her last breath or her heart stopped, but somehow Rachel was able to keep a grip on her lifeline.
Part of it was Rachel's own high level of skill, but the biggest factor was the woman's willpower.
The woman refused to die.
As if she had to wait for someone, just like that.
Bbi— bbi— bbi—
"..."
After major surgery spanning several weeks.
In the end, the woman survived.
Of course, it was merely preventing immediate death; no method existed to reverse a shortened lifespan.
A month at most.
There was no possibility of the woman living longer than that.
"...Ah."
"Have you regained consciousness?"
"...Yes."
As soon as the woman woke up, she touched her belly.
A pregnant woman's instinct.
However, her belly was already flat.
"The baby... ah... eu..."
"...I am sorry."
The mother was saved, but the baby could not be saved.
No, from the moment she first found the woman, the baby in her womb had already lost its life.
No matter how capable she was, while she could save something that was dying, she could not revive what was already dead.
"Eu, haeuk, ah, aaaaaah..."
The woman cried for a long time.
Shedding tears, weeping while drooling, tearing at her hair, she fainted.
She cried, cried, cried, and cried again almost to the point of dehydration.
Like a person who couldn't endure for a single day, let alone a month.
Kki-i-i-ik—
"..."
One week later, like that.
As if lying, the woman stopped crying.
The woman was looking out the window.
At the night sky filled with artificial satellites.
Even though her retinas must surely have been burned.
"How are you feeling today?"
"...The baby."
Blankly, the woman turned her head.
The pain contained in her empty eyes was so deep.
Those were not the eyes of a living person.
They were the eyes of a dead person.
"The baby... was it a princess, or a prince..."
"...It was a girl."
"...I, see."
The woman bowed her head.
Tuduk, tuk, tears poured out.
"Yeobo, you... won the bet. So, fulfill... my wish..."
"..."
"I miss... you... heu..."
The woman searched for her husband.
With her broken body, for a long time.
"Do you know where your husband is?"
"I don't know. Even when I call... he doesn't answer. Please, I hope he is safe..."
She said her husband had gone far away to another region.
Saying it was a business trip for research.
Upon hearing the location of her husband's business trip from the woman, Rachel began gathering information about that place.
She wanted to enable the woman to reunite with her husband.
"By any chance, may I know your name...? Not even knowing my benefactor's name feels a bit wrong..."
"...Rachel, I am called Rachel Roberta Darwin."
"I am, I am Lily... Lily Elpida... Kollok, kollok kollok..."
The moment she heard the name, the woman became Lily.
Rachel could not simply let Lily slip away.
Because they shared their names, they became acquaintances, and because they became acquaintances, she did not want to lose her.
Like that, time passed again.
Bbi— bbi— bbi—
"How are you feeling today, Lily?"
"I'm okay. I've gotten much better."
It was a lie.
Though she spoke with a smile, there was no strength in Lily's voice.
As if it would crumble at any moment.
"Will my husband be safe?"
"He will be safe, so don't worry too much."
"...Before I die, I want to see him just one more time."
Lily's eyes were always directed outside the window.
The place where the main gate of the research facility was located.
...Did she think her husband would come looking for her?
Watching Lily like that, Rachel swallowed her breath.
[ Incident Report. Confirmed detonation of nuclear weapons at the corresponding location. Zero survivors. Inaccessible due to heavy concentration of radiation. Confirmed that access will only be possible after approximately 100 years. ]
The probability that her husband was alive was low.
From the very start, the report stated zero survivors.
It wasn't just low; it had to be considered 0%.
However, Rachel could not inform Lily of that fact.
'Since I didn't see it with my own eyes, he might not be dead yet.'
Her husband, child, and comrades had all died right before Rachel's own eyes.
That was why she only believed what she saw with her own eyes.
Zero survivors? They probably just haven't found him yet.
"Lily. There is a way."
Therefore, Rachel could not let Lily die.
Until she saw her husband's corpse with her own two eyes, he was alive.
Could there be anything sadder than Lily dying before that?
Perhaps it was equivalent to wishing for three miracles all at once.
'Since You took three things from me, grant me three miracles.'
She prayed to God in heaven.
First. Save Lily.
Second. Save Lily's husband.
Third. Grant that the two may meet again.
"A way... what do you mean?"
"There is no way to fix damaged genes, but there is a way to revert the genes themselves back to the past."
Of course, the research was not complete.
A method that she did not know whether would succeed or fail.
However, it had to be now or never.
Rachel realized subconsciously.
That Lily's life would not make it past tomorrow.
"Still..."
"It must be, dangerous, right...?"
"I don't know how far the cellular regression will progress. In the worst-case scenario, your memories themselves..."
"...Is that so."
Lily smiled faintly.
The words she herself had been unable to finish.
As if she understood the meaning contained within them.
"It's okay."
Stars rose in her focusless eyes.
"Even if all my memories vanish, I will fall in love with him all over again."
"..."
"And, I'm sure I'll become friends with Rachel-ssi again too."
"...Ah."
At Lily's words, Rachel fell to her knees.
Tears spilled out.
It was the moment her vow to never cry again after losing her child shattered.
"It will be okay, Lily. Surely, it will be okay."
"I believe in you, Rachel-ssi."
With those final words, Lily closed her eyes.
Maintaining consciousness could only go this far.
Just being able to converse up until now was practically a miracle in itself.
"...Yes, Lily. Thank you for believing in me."
Rachel picked up Lily, who had lost consciousness.
Her limp arm hung in the air and swayed.
If not for the faint sound of breathing, one would have thought she was dead.
Rachel whispered in Lily's ear.
"Lily, you won't die."
You will live and meet your husband.
Because I will make it so.
No matter what happens, without fail.