Love-Hate (2)
I had fallen for a man I hated. At first, I denied it. I told myself it was just the twisted affection that blooms from constant fighting, the kind of feeling that would vanish as quickly as it came. But as one month passed, then two, that emotion only swelled, taking on a life of its own.
This is dangerous.
At some point, the feeling began to influence my actions. Only then did I analyze it objectively, coldly. And I realized. This was love.
Han Yuri, of all people, in love? A passing dog would laugh at the idea. Yet even I, for all my pride as a woman, started doing things I had never done before just to look good in his eyes.
What are you doing? I got caught planting a chip in his arm.
Want to learn from my dad too? I made offers I would never have made before.
I couldn’t approach him gently like Lee Seol, nor could I awaken his protective instincts like Shin Suyeon. I did it my own way. Yeah. I thought if I approached him slowly like that, it would work.
But… but….
It won’t open….
No matter how much time passed, his heart remained sealed. It was like standing in front of an unyielding concrete wall. While he smiles so brightly at that bitch Shin Suyeon.
Why only me?
While he treats Choi Ahyeon like his best friend!
Why only me!
Watching him speak comfortably with other women made rage surge through me. Were friendly girls really that much more popular? Endless questions and self-loathing flooded my mind. Still, I didn’t give up. Someday. If I kept trying like this, someday he would look at me, even once. Yeah. That was what I believed.
And then that day arrived.
“Ah……”
In the crystal orb, I saw my father. And a woman being tortured. They told me she was his older sister. The woman being tortured was the sister of the man I loved. Only then did everything click into place. The reason he hated me. The reason he had unleashed such murderous intent toward me on OT day.
From the very beginning….
It had been a love that could never be.
After that, one shocking truth after another slammed into my mind. My father was the leader of the Demon Sect. I was a Witch. To save me, they had killed his sister. And finally, the man I loved had killed my father.
When I opened my eyes, my father had become a blackened corpse, and Lee Seonghyun was crying with eyes that seemed to have lost every last trace of emotion.
“……”
A dream. Yes, this had to be a dream. There was no way this hell could be real. The funeral. As I stared at my father’s portrait, reality slowly crept back in.
Hatred. Yes, this was hatred. Hatred toward Lee Seonghyun for killing my last remaining blood relative. But at the same time, his actions made sense. How desperate must he have been?
Love and hate. The two collided inside me. I want to kill him. One voice screamed to tear his body to shreds and follow him into death. He’s too pitiful. The other voice cried out to embrace him, because his life was simply too tragic.
“Haa… haa…”
A contradiction. A terrible contradiction raged within me. No answer came. Only meaningless delusions—if only things had been different, if only I had done this or that. In the end, the conclusion I reached was simple.
Let’s run away.
From this reality. From this hell. One step off the rooftop and everything would end. It would surely be easier. I steeled myself and tried to stand, but I heard a presence behind me.
The presence I had desperately waited for over three days, yet had prayed would never come.
With my heart pounding, I slowly turned my head. And there he was.
Witch of Love-Hate
Status: Sprout
Growth: 21%
It was the same. The complete opposite of my expectation that her growth rate would have dropped. Why the hell…?
While I was still trying to process my confusion, she grabbed my collar.
“Why… did you come?”
Her voice sounded like it might fade away at any moment. The confident, sharp-tongued girl from before was gone.
“Did you come to see me despairing…? Did you come to watch me cry while staring at my father’s portrait?!”
Her thick, viscous killing intent stabbed into me without restraint.
“Get the hell out! If you don’t want to die, disappear from my sight right now!”
Pure, one-hundred-percent murderous intent. Dozens of Meteors and Meteor Showers floated around us, all aimed at my body. The very space trembled under the weight of the Witch’s genuine rage.
“I’ll count to three! If you’re not gone by then, I won’t be responsible for what happens…!”
“……”
“Three!”
“……”
“Two!”
I tried to turn away, thinking I’d come back another time, but my legs wouldn’t move.
Because I didn’t move, her eyes began to shake.
“One…!”
“……”
“I’ll do it! I’m really going to shoot!”
“……”
To Han Yuri, it must have looked like I was daring her to go ahead, because she ground her teeth.
“Why… why aren’t you leaving… why?!”
The venom slowly drained from Han Yuri’s face. She hung her head. Tears began to fall, one drop after another, onto the floor.
For about a minute, she said nothing. She simply buried her face in my chest and trembled.
“I… didn’t I try hard enough…? I did everything I could to appeal to you, to loosen even a little of the hatred in your heart…”
The resentment she had bottled up poured out like a flood. She clutched my chest and began to sob violently.
“Why do you only hate me so much…! Why, why! Why do you only dislike me?!”
She knew. She knew exactly why I hated her. She was simply vomiting out the emotions that had been trapped inside her.
“I hate you now too…! I’ll kill you! I’m definitely going to kill you!”
The Meteor drew closer. The closer it got, the dizzier my head became. Why?
“Huh…?”
Han Yuri stared at my mouth with a strange look.
Hot liquid. It was blood.
Fuck….
My body had been out of my control for a while now. So this was what it meant when they said the half-dead soul would soon affect the body.
Strength left me. It felt as if control of my body had been stolen away. My eyes closed.
As I collapsed helplessly, Han Yuri muttered in a daze.
“Lee Seonghyun…?”
“……”
“Hey, Lee Seonghyun! Stop messing around and get up! Hey!”
Realizing how serious the situation was, she shook my body. Through my blurring vision, I could see her. Han Yuri, who looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment.
“Th-this isn’t a joke… don’t joke around!”
She hugged my body tightly and wailed.
“Don’t die…! Get up, get up!…… If even you die, then I……”
Earlier she had been ranting about killing me. Now she was begging me not to die.
You too.
You’ve gone completely insane.
My consciousness sank straight down into the depths.
***
Hospital room. The distinct smell of medicine stung my nose. As I slowly opened my eyes, I met Han Yuri’s gaze.
“Lee Seonghyun!”
“Don’t shout. My head’s ringing……”
“Okay……”
Han Yuri immediately lowered her voice at my words. The sight made me let out a dry chuckle despite myself.
“Your soul hurts, doesn’t it?”
“Who told you that?”
“That lady with the ring.”
Her Majesty?
I am justified! That bitch was leaking killing intent the entire time you were unconscious, so I had no choice but to……
Even so, how could you act without consulting me first?
…Sorry.
Looked like I’d have to punish her later.
“You said you needed my help to obtain the soul healing skill.”
“Well. That’s true.”
“So the reason you came to the funeral… was for that?”
Han Yuri stared straight at me. Complicated emotions swirled in her eyes.
This was the crossroads. Now that I had confirmed her growth rate hadn’t dropped, it was time to change course.
I nodded.
“Yeah.”
“……”
She clenched her fist. It looked like she was barely suppressing the urge to punch me right then and there.
To her, I said, “I’m going to keep using you from now on. Until my plan is complete. No matter how many times, dozens of times.”
“……”
“So if you want to kill me.”
I handed her the fruit knife that had been lying nearby.
“Do it now.”
Han Yuri looked back and forth between me and the knife, then ground her teeth. Eventually she closed her eyes and swung the blade at me.
Thud.
The knife that grazed past the side of my head embedded itself in the pillow.
“Haa… haa……”
Her hand was shaking violently. I grabbed both the knife and her hand and brought them right in front of my eyes. At my gesture that said she only needed to bring it down, Han Yuri bit her lip hard enough to draw blood as tears spilled down her face.
“Fuck… you really are a son of a bitch, you know that…? A real piece of garbage…… hic……”
Han Yuri covered her tear-stained face with both hands.
This girl couldn’t kill me. At least not right now.
So let’s make a bet. A gamble with my life on the line.
“Are you okay…?”
“With what?”
“Living with your enemy’s daughter. I feel like killing you even now, so how are you enduring this….”
I gave her a faint smile.
“You get used to it eventually.”
“…You’re seriously insane.”
Han Yuri took a deep breath, as if trying to calm her emotions. It didn’t seem to work very well, because she kept biting her lip. Eventually she returned to her usual self—the arrogant, strong-willed Han Yuri.
“I’ll help you. Until the day your soul is completely healed. And when you’re in perfect condition, I’ll kill you.”
“……”
“So until then……”
With a face that looked like she might cry at any second, Han Yuri punched me in the chest.
“Don’t die……”
Love-hate. Affection and hatred.
I had vowed to regress and change the future. At first I tried to avoid getting entangled with these women entirely, but as if fate itself were playing a cruel joke, I kept getting tied to them. And when I learned that I was the ultimate sacrifice, I realized.
This is my fate.
A wave. A massive wave was crashing over me. A wave too enormous for the tiny boat called Lee Seonghyun to handle. But this time, I wouldn’t run. I wouldn’t turn away.
Now. Let’s face reality.
If the first round had been helplessly swept away by the wave without knowing anything, then in the second round…
I will ride the wave.
Without being swept under. I would entrust my body to the current as much as possible. I would guide the seed—the Witch—in the direction I desired. Even if it was a high-wire act with a high chance of failure….
This was the best choice I could make.
Once again, I began a gamble with my life on the line.