Farewell (3)
Moments later, an unfamiliar ceiling came into view. I tried to scan my surroundings on instinct, only to realize I couldn't even move a single finger. The moment consciousness returned, a pain as if my nerves were being gouged out began to throb through me. At least my eyes could still move. The IV needle in my arm and the long drip line suggested I was in a hospital.
"What was that sound…? Oh my!"
A nurse, alerted by my presence, came in. Startled, she rushed out and returned with someone else. The person she brought was the same doctor who had once diagnosed me as a Non-sensitive.
"Good heavens… I thought you looked familiar. It was you all along…"
Only after the doctor administered painkillers could I gather my thoughts. He briefly explained what had happened. This was a hospital in the city above our village, and I had been unconscious for an entire week. The demons that attacked the village were remnants of a group that had crossed the barrier. Their main force had been crushed by the national army, but because of their sheer numbers, some had slipped through the encirclement. That was why several outlying villages, including ours, had suffered.
But the reason for the demon attack wasn't what I wanted to know.
"Hah… come on…"
I kept pressing the hesitant doctor. He kept avoiding my eyes, clearly reluctant. In the end, I learned that everyone else in the village had died.
"…I'm sorry. My condolences."
There was no need to ask further. It was painfully obvious that Mom, Jin-ho, and Ina were included in that count.
'Son~ You're coming home today, right? When did you grow up so much…'
'…What kind of mother says that to her own son?'
Yet I couldn't believe that those few lines had been my last conversation with her. Worse still, I couldn't even properly see their bodies. The scene had been so horrific that recovery efforts were difficult. Even the relatively intact corpses had long since been cremated due to the risk of ghoul outbreaks.
"Ah… ugh…"
"I heard the graves were prepared next to the residential zone where you lived. Once your body recovers, you should be able to visit."
The doctor placed a hand on my shoulder in comfort.
"Still, the fact that you woke up at all is nothing short of a miracle…"
According to him, my bones and organs had been completely wrecked. Repeated heavy impacts had caused severe internal injuries, and broken bones had punctured organs, leading to massive bleeding. On top of that, I'd been poisoned by a demon's claws. When I first arrived at the hospital, no one would have thought I was still alive.
Though I had regained consciousness, I would need at least two more months of hospitalization for my bones to set and the poison to be fully purged. Even so, reality remained cold and merciless. Suddenly orphaned, I had no means to cover such enormous medical bills.
"…I don't have the funds for that kind of treatment. I'm sorry, but…"
I confessed my situation honestly to the doctor. He simply shook his head.
"Don't worry about the hospital fees. Just focus on getting better," he said, then left the room.
Unable to move even a finger, I spent the following days lying in bed. But while my body was broken, my mind remained intact—and that became its own poison. Every day was spent drowning in grief over the loss of my family and friends. Yet one question kept resurfacing: Yeon-i had vanished without a trace.
The nurses knew nothing, and the doctor only repeated that, officially, I was the sole survivor of the village.
After several weeks in the hospital, I had grown numb to the swamp of sorrow, frustration, pain, and helplessness. Then, one night, Yeon-i appeared in my room.
The hospital room at dawn, bathed in faint moonlight. I had woken from the lingering pain.
"…Hello."
"Yeon… i?"
Without a sound or warning, she stood beside my bed. I shook my head several times, wondering if this was a dream, but the sight before me was undeniably real.
"…You look like you're in a lot of pain."
"…This is nothing. What about… you…?"
"…I'm fine, as you can see."
Her hair shimmered under the moonlight. Half-hidden in shadow, her face only emphasized her natural beauty. Relieved that she seemed unharmed, I put on my usual bravado to reassure her. But soon I realized something was different about her.
Her tone was flat. Her eyes were dark. The lips that used to chatter like a sparrow and scold me were tightly sealed. Her expression was calm—neither smiling nor crying. The gentle, loving Yeon-i I knew was nowhere to be found.
I had so many questions piled up. What had happened after I lost consciousness? How had she been living? Why hadn't she come to see me sooner…? But her cold demeanor froze every word on my tongue.
"…Yeon-i. Can you tell me what happened after I passed out…?"
I forced the question out, my throat tight.
"…Right after you fainted, the soldiers arrived. They wiped out all the demons, and you were brought straight here."
Yeon-i answered in a monotone voice.
"…I see. I'm sorry. If it weren't for me, you might have…"
"Yes. It was because of you. Because you ignored my warnings and acted on your own. If the soldiers had been even thirty seconds later, I would've been nothing but cold ashes by now. What were you thinking, doing something so reckless?"
"…"
Her harsh words stabbed into my heart like needles. I hadn't intended to make excuses. But I hadn't expected this kind of rebuke either. Her unfamiliar attitude reminded me of the distant version of her from long ago—memories I could barely recall now.
"…More importantly, I have something to say to you. I don't have much time, so I'll make it quick and leave."
Yeon-i continued in a calm voice.
"I came today to put an end to the past."
"The… past?"
"That's right. The past."
The moment I heard those words, an inexplicable anxiety wrapped around me. My heart pounded wildly, and a winter-like chill spread through my body.
"I… awakened as a mage. It was supposed to be next year, but things happened and it came earlier."
"R… really? That's great…"
"And I've been accepted back into my family. Thanks to the family head's public declaration, I no longer have to worry about threats to my life."
"…"
"You know, after I returned to the capital, I thought about it a lot. And I realized something. This is my real life—the glory I was always meant to have. Those years on the outskirts were nothing but a nightmare."
"A nightmare…?"
"Yes, a nightmare. The kind of unpleasant, disgusting memory you'd want to erase from your life. Living with those things for years… just thinking about it now makes me sick."
"What… do you mean…"
"So I've decided to erase that nightmare. You know, with my family's power, that's hardly difficult."
"…"
"I was never in that village to begin with. I'm the beloved daughter of the family head, raised with the utmost care, and I've never once left the capital."
"What… are you saying…"
"Everyone who knew about my past is dead. Even if you tried to speak up, no one would believe you. Of course they wouldn't. Who would believe the boasts of some country bumpkin like you?"
Her continuing words left my mind in a haze. I wanted to plug my ears and stop listening. Only now did I understand what the doctor had meant when he said, "officially," I was the only survivor.
"When people see me, they show the utmost respect. But you? You'd have to bow your head even to them. Do you understand? This is the difference between us. From the very beginning… it was an impossible relationship."
"Yeon-i… why are you saying this…"
"…"
Even my tearful pleas couldn't warm her cold, dry gaze.
"Then what… were we to each other…?"
"We were nothing. And we will remain nothing."
It was a desperate protest I couldn't hold back, but Yeon-i affirmed her words with chilling simplicity. Her voice remained as still as the bottom of a lake.
"Yeon-i… this isn't like you… Did something happen…? Wait, did your father threaten you or something—"
"Haa…"
Even my strained question was scattered by the sigh she let out, as if annoyed.
"Something happen? Of course something happened. Everything went back to the way it should be."
"…"
"I'll admit it. I had a childish phase once. I had to flatter others just to survive. But not anymore. I've… faced reality."
"Yeon-i…"
"I like men I can rely on. But you're not one. Far from protecting me, you almost dragged me into the pit of death with you."
"…What are you talking about…"
"Still don't get it? You're not strong, and you're not dependable. At least your face was decent, but even that's useless now. You… don't deserve to be by my side."
"…"
After her barrage of death sentences, all I could do was hang my head.
"I'm sorry for saying this when you're already down. But it couldn't be helped. I wanted you to face reality, just like I did."
"…"
"…I should go. I'm a busy person now. Well then…"
Yeon-i turned and walked toward the door. There was no hesitation in her movements, no lingering attachment.
"…Then just one last question… please…"
"…What?"
I squeezed out every ounce of strength to stop her. When she turned, her face showed nothing but mild irritation.
"The time we spent in the village… all our memories together… did they really mean nothing to you…? Truly…"
"Of course not. They were just worthless trash taking up space."
"…"
"Goodbye."
With that dismissive reply, Yeon-i left the room without looking back. Only the faint scent of forget-me-nots lingered in the quiet hospital room.
And I had to accept it.
My childhood had ended—in the worst way possible.