Chapter 57
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 57
Three days had passed.
Just as she’d said, the last personality never emerged. The wound on my wrist had mostly healed, leaving only a scab.
Tomorrow, Eun-ah would return.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
The words came without warning.
Dokyun turned his head to look at Eun-seol, who was sitting on the opposite sofa.
Her eyes remained fixed on her book as she spoke again.
“Dealing with the others. You worked hard.”
“Ah, yes.”
So that’s what she meant.
It had certainly been a tear-jerking week.
The little brat who found fault with every little thing was one thing, but…
Go Eun-sam…!
That con artist who’d dragged me down to hell and then fled.
Grind—.
The thought of her made him grit his teeth again. The crypto coin he’d held onto, hoping it might somehow rebound, had now plummeted to -213% returns. It was impossible to pull out now.
He would never, ever forgive her.
“I really… went through a lot…!”
He answered through clenched teeth, and her gaze finally shifted to him.
A dubious expression began to form on her face. After staring at him for a moment, her lips parted.
“…Hang in there.”
“I’ll have to. If I’m going to destroy that bastard.”
Just thinking about it made his blood boil again.
He needed to calm down.
To compose himself, Dokyun turned on his smartphone. He had shoved the crypto app into a far corner of the screen. What was the point of looking at it, other than to make his blood pressure spike?
With a familiar flick of his thumb, Dokyun opened the novel app located in the center of his screen. He navigated to his favorites list, and as he scanned it, he felt his heart grow warm.
It’s alive…!
A smile crept onto his lips unconsciously.
Indeed, the power of the Necromancer was terrifying.
Beneath the banner of the little one that had seemed destined for discontinuation, a pop-up announced an upload from three hours ago.
Money really was great. Just as she’d said, there was nothing money couldn’t do.
Thank you, Necromancer!
After being beaten with the great club of capitalism, The Ghost Fleet's Third-Class Helmsman had started uploading multiple chapters a day, right on schedule.
A high-quality najakso [My Small and Precious Novel] that delivered three chapters a day.
He wouldn’t be able to see it for a while after today, but Dokyun trusted the Necromancer’s performance.
A million won should keep it going for a few weeks, right?
Please, please still be alive the next time I check.
As he clutched the smartphone to his chest and prayed, he felt a sharp gaze on him. He turned his head and saw her staring at him, her face etched with contempt.
Dokyun tilted his head and asked, “Is something wrong?”
“…It’s nothing.”
She shook her head and cast her eyes back down to her book.
Is she uncomfortable about something?
Well, she did say she’d be going back inside her body tomorrow. It was understandable if she felt a little wistful.
As that thought crossed his mind, a question he’d forgotten popped into his head. He let out a small “Ah,” and asked her.
“Once you go back in, when will you come out next?”
It was clear she would appear after Go Eun-chae, but deliberately bringing out Eun-chae just to summon her was a bad idea.
Since she played the role of the control personality, he wondered if she could come out with some degree of autonomy.
After Dokyun finished his question and looked at her, she seemed to ponder it for a moment before finally opening her mouth to answer.
“That depends on you.”
“Pardon?”
Her gaze, which had been glued to her book, moved to look at him again.
“I said, it depends on how well you win over Go Eun-ah. The happier Eun-ah is, the less need there is for Eun-chae. When that happens, Eun-chae’s influence will diminish.”
“And if her influence diminishes, you can regain control?”
She nodded in response to his follow-up question.
“Once a certain amount of control is restored, I’ll probably be able to help more actively.”
“Hmm…”
He was starting to get the picture. His job was to make Go Eun-ah happy.
As he was organizing his thoughts, she watched him for a moment before speaking again.
“Isn’t that what you’re best at? Hyping things up.”
Flinch.
Dokyun’s body tensed. He shot her an awkward glance, and she added with a smirk, “Focus on Go Eun-ah. Put that najakso or whatever it is aside for a while.”
“Y-Yes, ma’am…”
Her words hit the mark.
It seemed he’d have to scrap his plan to secretly hide his phone and check on his little novels from time to time.
As expected, she was a formidable opponent.
After a moment of awkwardness, Dokyun noticed it was dinnertime. He rose from his seat and headed for the kitchen.
“I’ll go make us some food, then.”
“Alright.”
It had naturally fallen to him to be the cook, but he had no choice.
The ingredients she liked were all extremely polarizing. If he left the cooking to her, dinner could easily turn into a form of torture. It was more peaceful for him to just do it himself.
At first, he hadn’t a clue what to make, but he had the pinnacle of modern civilization—a smartphone—in his hand. He was perfectly capable of following a recipe, and he had slowly grown accustomed to cooking.
Let’s see…
It was her last day, after all. It would be good to send her off with a hearty meal of meat.
Dokyun opened the refrigerator, took out the steak he’d thawed the day before, and placed it on the counter before starting a search on his phone.
Man, the world had gotten convenient.
All he had to do was type “how to cook steak” into the search bar, and all sorts of recipes came pouring out. It couldn’t be easier.
Feeling a growing sense of excitement, Dokyun hummed a little tune as he picked the simplest-looking recipe and began to cook.
Sprinkle salt and pepper on the meat, massage it with olive oil. Sear the outside in an oiled pan over medium heat, then let it rest in foil.
After completing the process and removing the foil, a perfectly cooked steak was revealed.
He stared at it for a moment, then sliced into it with a knife. Juices burst from within.
A wave of satisfaction washed over him.
Maybe I should open a restaurant later.
The more he cooked, the more he found it fun.
Perhaps he had a talent for it. Most of the dishes he’d attempted had turned out successfully, and as for money, he’d have plenty once this was all over.
It was something worth seriously considering.
His thoughts continued to wander as he transferred the meat to a plate, finished the plating, and carried it to the dining table before calling for her.
She came to the table, stared at the steak for a moment, then walked over to get a bottle of liquor. She swirled it and said, “A drink?”
She really did love her alcohol.
Dokyun let out a small chuckle. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and replied, “Sounds good.”
He couldn't join her in drinking that strong liquor, but he could certainly have a beer.
A moment later.
Tsk-!
Sitting at the table, Dokyun popped open his beer can, clinked it against the glass she offered, and said, “Enjoy your meal.”
“You too.”
After the toast, he took a sip of beer to wet his palate, then cut a piece of steak and ate it. A burst of juice followed the tender texture, flooding his mouth.
The quality of the meat was likely the main reason for the good result, but the thought that he had cooked it himself filled him with pride and a pleasant feeling.
As he chewed on the meat, he glanced at her sitting across from him. She was eating silently.
Having spent the last few days with her, Dokyun had become somewhat adept at reading her expressions. He could guess her mood from the look on her face.
Her eyebrows were relaxed into a straight line.
It meant she was satisfied.
It seemed she quite liked his cooking.
Having confirmed her reaction, Dokyun felt another surge of pleasure and continued his meal with a smile.
No particular words were exchanged, but this quiet atmosphere suited a meal with her.
The clinking of utensils, the sound of a drink being poured, the soft drip of water from the faucet, and the faint noises of chewing began to fill the space.
And so, they continued their meal.
Some time later, she took the plates, insisting she would do the cleanup, and began to wash the dishes. While she did that, Dokyun finished washing up.
Afterward, he went into the bedroom, lay down alone on the bed, and closed his eyes. Only then did the reality of it all sink in again.
Tomorrow, Eun-ah would be back.
It had only been a week, and her body had been with him the whole time, yet it felt like they were reuniting after a very long time.
It was probably because the personalities were so distinct that it was hard to find Eun-ah in that face.
He felt a sense of unease.
As he thought of her, of her life, and of what he meant to her, a sudden feeling of suffocation began to set in.
Could he treat her the same way he had a week ago? Could he look at her the same way he did back then, when he knew nothing? He mulled it over, but no matter how he thought about it, the answer was ‘no.’
He probably couldn't treat her as he had before. He would constantly feel this same sense of suffocation in her face, in her actions. He would feel a certain sadness.
Suddenly, a laugh escaped him.
At some point, the word ‘escape’ had vanished from his mind.
He’d had several chances to escape, and her condition really had nothing to do with him, yet he had willingly chosen to stay here to help her.
He could have just ignored it and walked away, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
The problem is the narrative justification.
As expected, there’s no spec better than a pretty face. The thought occurred to him once again.
As his thoughts continued and eventually reached Eun-seol, he realized something. When viewed in terms of results, the current situation was exactly the one she had wanted.
In the end, he had stayed here for Eun-ah. Because he stayed, Go Eun-chae’s power would weaken, and Eun-ah’s happy world would be protected.
As a result, Eun-seol would be able to seize control of the personalities again.
She was impeccably thorough.
And yet, he didn’t feel too bad about it, probably because he felt her objective wasn’t for her own selfish gain.
From the way she treated Eun-ah and the other personalities, it seemed she was quite fond of them.
She didn’t express it directly, but it was visible in her subtle attitude.
Maybe this is what they call a tsundere, he cautiously guessed.
As his thoughts drifted, the door opened and she entered, ready for bed.
Dokyun turned his head slightly to look. She was dressed in the same kind of clothes Eun-ah usually wore and was lying down on the bed.
The sight was so unfamiliar that he froze for a second, his body trembling. But then he saw the calm look in her eyes and composed himself again.
He could finally see Eun-ah, but this was still Eun-seol.
Dokyun let out a slow breath, then lifted his head, looked at her, and spoke.
“So you’ll change when you wake up?”
“Yes.”
A short reply.
With that, she lay down completely, pulled the blanket up to her chin, and continued.
“Like I said, Go Eun-ah will treat this week as if it never happened. You need to act accordingly.”
A final warning. As Dokyun mulled it over, he realized there was still something he was curious about and asked, “What about the gifts and things?”
“Go Eun-ah’s mind will filter it. Something like we went out while she was asleep.”
“Will Eun-ah accept that I went out?”
Another question.
It was about whether Eun-ah would tolerate him leaving the house.
At that, she slowly opened her closed eyes and muttered her reply.
“It doesn’t matter if I’m there.”
I see. So the main personality trusts her too.
That was a relief. It would be troublesome if she started finding fault with it.
After hearing everything and reviewing the instructions, Dokyun finally nodded and said, “I understand.”
“Go to sleep.”
Another short reply.
Seeing her close her eyes, Dokyun considered saying something more, but decided to simply remain silent and close his own eyes.
It wasn’t as if they were parting ways, so that felt like the right thing to do.
I should get a good night’s sleep.
From now on, it was up to him.