Chapter 125
Chapter 125
After we'd sent the police and the civil servants on their way, we gathered once more in the reception room.
Of course, besides So-hee and Yang Hye-in, not a single other servant was present. They may all be watching my every move, but I can't trust them.
In truth, I didn't trust Yang Hye-in the same way I trusted these three friends, but the police officers' faces had hardened so rigidly, probably because of Yang Hye-in, that I let her sit here with us.
Something rather significant had happened on my end, too. That civil servant, sharper than necessary, seemed to have figured out the situation Sara had been living in.
Though I was grateful for it in a way, since it made me recognize problems I hadn't been consciously aware of.
The problem now was that those people might go after Choi Na-kyung, whom I had left alone. And this would absolutely not be their last visit.
......And even if my own feelings toward Choi Na-kyung weren't especially deep, the feelings Sara held for Choi Na-kyung were incredibly deep and dark.
As long as I kept my distance from Choi Na-kyung, they wouldn't surface openly, but deep in Sara's heart, she still remained as 'Mother.' That was also why Sara didn't want to see Choi Na-kyung.
If this matter continued to progress, no matter how hard the police tried to block it, Choi Na-kyung might still attempt to make contact with me.
But those weren't things I had to deal with right this moment. I still hadn't given the civil servant a proper answer, and naturally, they were only making educated guesses, without any clear evidence or testimony.
Besides, all I could offer was testimony, not evidence. It would be hard to secure punishment on testimony alone without material proof. It might just needlessly provoke Choi Na-kyung's temper.
Someone of Choi Na-kyung's standing would hire an astronomically expensive lawyer. Without clear physical evidence, she'd slip away like an eel.
"......So, what exactly happened?"
I asked once I was seated.
When I had gone upstairs to that room with the civil servant, the atmosphere among the police officers hadn't been nearly so grim. They had only been a bit taken aback by the sheer size of the mansion, with no reason to be angry.
But by the time I came back down, they were sitting there with their mouths tightly shut and grim expressions. They wore those same expressions the whole time until they left.
At my question, Ha-neul, So-hee, and Su-a looked at Yang Hye-in without a word. They must have silently agreed this wasn't their story to tell.
Following their gaze, I turned my eyes to Yang Hye-in as well.
"What happened?"
At my question, Yang Hye-in hesitated in silence for a moment, then spoke, her voice heavy.
"......I gave testimony regarding what I have done in this mansion."
"What you have done in this mansion?"
I frowned, thinking it over.
She couldn't possibly mean she had introduced her position and duties. That alone wouldn't give the police reason to make such grim faces. They weren't communists here to shove bamboo spears into bourgeois bellies.
...More likely, she meant testimony about, quite literally, 'the things Yang Hye-in has done in this mansion.'
...And the things Yang Hye-in had been doing in this mansion were—
"Haaah."
I let out a deep sigh and ran a hand down my face.
"......So, you're telling me you confessed to those police officers about the 'child abuse' Yang Hye-in committed in this mansion?"
At my words, Yang Hye-in silently nodded.
Unlike her usual self, her expression was extremely tense. Honestly, if the situation hadn't been like this, that look on her face would have made me flinch in shock. I'd never imagined Yang Hye-in could wear such a human expression.
...Right. And that sort of 'image' I held of her was seared even deeper into my mind because Yang Hye-in had been Sara's personal maid for the last three years. She was one of the people who had watched a young child slowly fall apart over those three years and taken no meaningful action, ultimately driving her to take her own life.
So why would someone like that suddenly make that kind of confession to the police?
...I thought I had a rough idea.
Yang Hye-in had been gradually changing ever since I entered Sara's body. She had begun to show more and more of the emotions she'd once almost never revealed, and her actions had generally been for Sara's sake.
I don't know how a person can change so suddenly.
Perhaps seeing me, someone far more emotional than the original Sara, had taught her what 'empathy' really meant. Maybe she'd thought of Sara as a doll until then.
"Why now, of all times?"
"......."
I asked, letting some irritation leak into my voice.
It's only natural to be punished for wrongdoing. Whether that punishment comes through the law or is resolved through personal conversation, I can look favorably on someone having that will themselves.
That was why I hadn't thrown Yang Hye-in out until now.
If she was resolved to be punished by the law, I could respect that. But shouldn't she apologize to the victim first?
Yet for her to act so suddenly, in this way...
"In fact, I,"
While I was stewing in indignation by myself, Yang Hye-in opened her mouth.
"had been planning to do something similar right after I was dismissed from here."
"......."
So when she quit and left, I wondered what she'd been getting up to, apparently, she went straight to a police station.
Did she want to clear her conscience that badly?
I clamped down on the words before they could leave my mouth.
After all, I wasn't the concerned party in this matter either.
I had never been directly harmed by Yang Hye-in. It wasn't me who had been neglected; it was Sara. If anyone was to resent Yang Hye-in, it should be Sara, not me. If anyone was to receive an apology, it should be Sara. If anyone was to forgive, it should be Sara.
.......
Sara hadn't said a word since earlier.
"So, you're saying you've had this thought for a long time?"
I asked, as if confirming.
"......."
Yang Hye-in couldn't bring herself to answer.
Right. If it were a thought she'd held 'for a long time,' there's no way she'd only act on it now.
She must have started to think this way at least after meeting me.
Which infuriated me even more.
Because in the end, it meant that Sara hadn't received anyone's concern at all until now.
.......
Sara was silent.
No, no one sitting here could say anything.
*
In the end, the mood became unbearably awkward because I'd erupted in frustration over things suddenly going awry.
Maybe because it was the first time I'd shown that attitude, Ha-neul, So-hee, and Su-a spent the rest of the day until nightfall tiptoeing around me. And I was lost in my own thoughts.
What made it worse was that Yang Hye-in's expression had settled into a calm look, as though she found my attitude entirely justified.
Of course, it's a good thing to recognize one's crimes and know how to apologize. There aren't many people capable of such deep reflection that they can repent for the past and settle their sins.
But I can't understand what I'm supposed to do if she just thinks it all through by herself and feels relieved on her own.
I know.
I know that I, the one who's this angry, am not the concerned party, and that I have no right to argue against her words.
That's probably why I'm even angrier. Because I'm someone who can only stand by and watch.
...Let's just go to sleep.
As I lay in bed, stewing in my anger, Sara quietly whispered to me.
Talk to me.
.......
If I fall asleep like this, I'll have to see Sara's face.
I have no idea what to say.
Because, in the end, I was someone who'd been about to give up on Sara too.
I had been ready to leave, complacently assuming everything would be fine now, that she could live an ordinary life, feeling relieved.
Thinking only that Sara would gladly accept everything I left behind.
Using Sara's body to build relationships as I pleased, spending that fortune however I saw fit.
...Maybe I was so furious because I was projecting myself onto Yang Hye-in.
Hey.
As my thoughts kept spiraling, Sara finally spoke, her voice angry.
I said, just go to sleep.
"......."
At that, I closed my eyes as I stared up at the ceiling.
*
"What are you moping around like such a sad sack for?"
How long had I kept my eyes shut?
I couldn't fall asleep easily.
When I finally drifted off after a long while with my eyes closed, the Sara I met stood with her hands on her hips, looking up at me with an expression of pure disbelief.
In the dream, I still had the same appearance as Sara, but maybe because it reflected the image I held of her, I was a little taller than she was. Thanks to that, whenever we stood facing each other like this, Sara always had to look up at me.
The way she glared up at me with narrowed eyes was cute. Though the emotions I felt looking at that face were hardly that carefree.
"This...."
Sara started to say something, then held it back, pressing her forehead firmly with her fingers as if pulling herself together.
"Haaah."
And she let out a huge sigh, loud enough for me to hear.
"So I'm telling you, quit moping around like that."
I thought she might have calmed down a little, but Sara's voice was still brimming with anger.
"What? You're building relationships as you please? Spending my money however you want?"
At Sara's words, I nodded. Seeing my reaction, Sara lifted one foot with an exasperated look on her face, then quietly set it back down. She smoothed her hand over her chest and murmured to herself,
"Wait, Sara, calm down."
"Phoo~"
And exhaled deeply again.
"You."
She looked up at me again and spoke.
"Have I ever said a single thing about the money you've spent so far, or the things you've done? Have I ever complained that you made friends without my permission, or asked why you spent so much money?"
"...No."
"Exactly!"
At my answer, Sara burst out as if she was furious.
"Of course not! Because I wasn't unhappy about it! Do I seem like the type of person who would have complaints and just not say anything to you?"
I shook my head.
Even when Sara didn't say it outright, she never hid the feelings she felt within our consciousness. Whenever something displeased her, she openly broadcast that displeasure, and she got angry or annoyed plenty of times. I'd been a little worried since they said she'd had almost no emotional expression before I arrived, but at least the Sara who talked with me had a perfectly lively personality.
"Right."
Sara nodded, as if we were finally getting somewhere.
"If I really didn't like what you were doing, I wouldn't have stayed quiet about it. The reason I'm leaving my body to you is because I trust you that much."
As she spoke, Sara poked me in the chest with her finger.
Then, suddenly—
"Uh, uh-heh?"
She flustered herself and jumped back.
She took a few steps backward and then stared at the finger she'd poked my chest with.
......Uuh.......
Well, seeing her act like that kind of makes everything I was agonizing over a moment ago feel completely ridiculous.