Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Unchanging Love-7
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Lee Yoo-jin loved Kim Yoon-seul.
She couldn't pinpoint exactly how those feelings had begun. There were just too many reasons to love her, too many moments that could have sparked it.
So she wanted to be with her.
-With skills like yours, you could probably head out to the field already.
-Really? I wouldn't just get in the way?
-No way. Trust me.
She sent the trembling Kim Yoon-seul out to the field. Because she wanted to fight alongside her.
They broke through death together. Pure Line—Yoon-seul—held up far better than Yoo-jin had expected. She withstood enemy attacks on her own and boldly swapped positions to heal Yoo-jin whenever treatment was needed.
With their powers combined, it felt like they could overcome any crisis, any hardship. And in truth, they had for quite a long time.
But it all ended in tragedy.
-That's the last one.
There was a villain who wielded horrific curses, drawing in the gaze of outer gods to turn others into monsters.
They spent a long time plotting to take him down. Black Warden and Pure Line teamed up with a few other heroes for a raid on the villain's hideout.
Everything went smoothly. Right up until Black Warden drove her fist into the villain's chest.
-You okay, Pure Line?
The moment she thought the enemy was subdued, she turned to look at Yoon-seul.
Looking back now, it didn't seem like she was truly worried about her. Logically, there was no reason to call out to Yoon-seul in that situation.
There was a hero positioned in the rear to protect Yoon-seul. The raid had gone so perfectly that the villain's test subjects hadn't even come near them.
She had simply wanted to turn around.
Defeating the villain, checking on Yoon-seul—no, pretending to check on her—and locking eyes in that moment had been utterly sweet.
Hearing Yoon-seul cry out 'It's you!' right in the middle of the battlefield had given Black Warden an almost excessive rush of pleasure.
It was an unnecessary action. Carelessness. Arrogance.
The other villains they'd faced before couldn't exploit that arrogance-born gap. Black Warden was that powerful a hunter, and her combo with Yoon-seul was beyond perfect.
But that day was different.
-Ha, hahahahaha!
Before dying, the villain mustered his last strength and unleashed his ability. A massive curse surged forth. Black mana enveloped Black Warden.
She sensed it instinctively. The moment she absorbed the information in that mana, the human Lee Yoo-jin would die. And that body would twist into something horrific and repulsive, no longer of Earth but like an alien monster.
-Ah….
Only then did Black Warden realize her carelessness.
If she'd properly finished off the enemy in that final moment, this wouldn't have happened. If she hadn't turned to look at Kim Yoon-seul, she might have cut off the villain's last gasp before it began.
Now she would pay the price.
-No!
In that instant, Kim Yoon-seul rushed forward.
She took the curse instead. Thanks to her purification power, her mind fortunately remained intact.
-Aaaahhh!
Her body could not.
-Ugh….
Black Warden turned away from the gruesome sight to finish off the villain. She couldn't repeat her mistake.
It was pointless. Whether that curse had been his final act at the cost of his life, the villain lay dead.
-You okay, Pure Line?
Black Warden turned her head.
She already knew. There was no way she was okay.
-N-not… o-okay….
She wasn't okay at all.
Kim Yoon-seul's human body was melting, crumbling, distorting, and vanishing. Flesh, mud, and pus swelled, flowed, and burst, forming a new shape.
-Pure Line….
The happy moment had ended. The nightmare began.
A nightmare that continued no matter how many times she fell asleep.
After that, Lee Yoo-jin desperately searched for a way to restore her wife.
She kept talking to her wife, trapped in the lab. Fortunately, there was hope. Among the traits her wife hadn't chosen yet was one that could restore her body to its former state.
But there was no way to gather the points.
Even imprinting a penalty so severe it made daily life impossible might change things slightly, but neither Yoon-seul nor Yoo-jin wanted that.
Time passed like that. Then one day, Black Warden heard that Hunter Baek Se-ra was burning through points in an oddly extravagant way.
For the first time, he used his espionage and intelligence-gathering skills for something underhanded.
He got caught pathetically at the last moment, but Baek Se-ra knew some of Black Warden's circumstances. She casually said she'd 'contact that person for you.' It was out of goodwill.
And so, his last hope arrived.
The hope named Lee Seong-ha.
/////
There wasn't much talking.
I didn't do anything. At least not right now.
Instead, I went alone to the Hero Association's lab.
To meet Yoon-seul.
"Pardon the intrusion."
I opened the door and put on the blindfold.
The horrific, repulsive stench stabbed at my nose, but it was still better than facing the reality directly.
"You're the one who came before. Seong-ha, right?"
"Yes. I came because I have something to discuss."
"Where's Yoo-jin?"
"She didn't come. Not today."
Today, I wanted to talk with Yoon-seul alone.
If I left Yoo-jin and Yoon-seul to talk, it'd just be empty words.
"You've become a woman again. Or should I say, returned to one?"
"That person? Shame. I've only seen Yoo-jin as a woman in photos. She was so pretty and cute."
"You said you wanted to become my sex slave."
A brief silence fell.
"Why? Fallen for you, Seong-ha? Or... you didn't offer to heal me in exchange for that from the start, did you?"
There was no tension in her voice. It wasn't genuine. She was certain.
She believed Yoo-jin would never fall for me and try to regain her woman's body, no matter what—that she'd never sell her body.
"You said it seemed like she didn't want to become my slave first because she didn't want to break the marriage vow. It'd be betrayal. So she said she'd betray Yoon-seul first."
"...She's gotten dull."
"Pardon?"
"Black Warden is a pro. Interrogation, persuasion... even reading the opponent's psychology. There's no way she wouldn't notice I was lying. She must have been really desperate."
"Then what's your true feeling?"
"If I tell you, will you pass it on to her?"
"Depends on my judgment."
She looked at me.
I had the blindfold on and couldn't see, but it felt like our eyes met.
"Did you make Yoo-jin your sex slave?"
"No."
"Why? She must have been beautiful."
"Just…."
I revealed my true feelings.
"I saw a photo of the two of you holding hands. It was beautiful."
A photo that captured love itself—sacred, heart-stirring.
I didn't want to tear it apart.
"I can't solve this problem in the end. It's something you two have to handle. Have plenty of talks, confirm each other's true feelings, and make a decision. I'm just a third party."
"…."
"I'll respect whatever decision you two make. But I hope you're happy. That's how I feel as an observer."
I couldn't take sides. Whichever way, it'd hurt the other or themselves.
But if they thought it through deeply, talked enough, and decided together, they could ultimately be happy.
Even if Kim Yoon-seul died, or became my slave.
For that, they needed to know each other's true hearts. The feelings they couldn't convey face-to-face.
"Yoo-jin seemed to carry guilt. Like she thought it was her fault you ended up like this."
"So it was that after all. She never said anything like that to me."
"She wanted you to live happily. Enough to sacrifice anything for it."
That's why Yoo-jin was moving more desperately, more urgently than usual.
The person she loved had become a monster, and she thought it was her fault.
She believed she had to give back what she took, by any means.
"Yoon-seul. Tell me what you want."
"That person has never been truly loved."
"Pardon?"
"Duty, discipline, principles. She's bound herself with countless chains. Others see her as 'convenient' or 'amazing,' but they don't really love Yoo-jin. It's natural, but sad."
I had nothing to say.
"I can love that person. Forever. Until the moment I die."
She smiled softly.
"Whether she loves me back or not doesn't matter. Betrayal? Let her. Anyway, like this, I'll die in three months. If someone takes my place after, it'd be a blessing."
"…."
"But I want to give her love until my last moment. I don't want Yoo-jin to doubt... that she's loved by someone else. Even if it kills me."
My hunch was right. It didn't make me happy.
Even if Lee Yoo-jin became my sex slave, Kim Yoon-seul had no intention of surviving. She wasn't thinking of marriage as a contract or mutual love—just her giving to Yoo-jin.
Even if Yoo-jin stabbed her with a knife or cursed her with words, Yoon-seul's attitude wouldn't change.
"Ha... damn."
I let out a deep sigh.
"I'm really sorry to say this. But tell Yoo-jin to give up, and that I'll love her until the end."
"Talk it out with her yourselves... One word enough?"
"What?"
Frustration filled my chest. I couldn't hold back without saying it.
"You two really are made for each other."
I threw off the blindfold.
Rage overcame fear.