Chapter 55
Translator: uly
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: The Black Thread of Fate - 3
A well-prepared meal.
Someone seeing this situation might think that.
I stared blankly at her lying on the bed for a moment. She, seemingly distressed by the black rope, was exhaling feverish breaths with a flushed face.
My gaze followed her feverish breath past her lips and down, where a line starting from her neck was visible. An auxiliary line that clearly revealed the sexual lines of her body.
The feminine curves that were noticeable even when she stood still now, meeting the auxiliary line of the rope, were exuding femininity to the fullest.
She's really pretty.
To the point that the reality of such a woman casually saying she'd sleep with me or asking to be tied up feels unbelievable.
For someone like me, who had no connection even to a triangle kimbap meal, let alone a well-prepared one, this situation was indeed a huge temptation.
Of course, that didn't mean I was thinking of rubbing my face between those enormous peaks and performing a nose-stuffing move or blocking her feverish breath with my mouth.
Unfortunately, I know her true identity.
Lying on the bed isn't a woman seducing me.
It's Cheonsalseong, the future unparalleled serial killer.
Eating her will cause indigestion. Stuffing my nose will really get me killed.
The reason I'm still alive is because I'm pretending to be her childhood friend oppa, not because I'm her lover.
"Yoo... Yun-ho."
She, still having nowhere to look, was searching for me.
"Oppa, I won't go."
Since I decided to play the role of oppa, it's only right to see it through to the end.
I decisively flipped over the 12-course banquet set up in my heart and pulled a chair from the desk closer to the bed to sit down.
"Uh, where are you?"
Even though I spoke right beside her, she couldn't find me.
Isn't this a serious situation? Is this rope really okay?
Since she said she used it to sleep, there shouldn't be any major danger, but Cheonsalseong's current state seems like she's under the influence of strong alcohol or drugs.
Cheonsalseong stretched her hand towards me because she heard a voice nearby, but her hand still only swept through the empty air.
Her hand like that looked somehow pitiful, like that of a child left alone in the world with nowhere to lean on.
"So-hee. Oppa is right here."
I provided a place for her hand to lean on.
Her hand was that of a martial artist, hardened with calluses from training, but it also resembled the hand of a dejected child who had lost its way.
"Don't go."
Perhaps because she felt my hand. She turned her head to look at me. A bit of vitality had returned to her previously hazy eyes.
"Where would oppa go, leaving you behind?"
"Mm."
She nodded slightly and quietly gazed at the hand holding mine.
Was holding her hand effective? The rapid breaths she was exhaling were gradually stabilizing.
"You're sweating a lot."
Is there something I can use as a towel?
I tried to let go of the hand I was holding to look for a towel and water bottle. Then she grabbed my hand, trying to escape her grip.
"Don't let go. Stay here."
She spoke like a child throwing a tantrum, afraid the nursing mother might leave.
She must be having a really hard time.
There's no need to unnecessarily provoke her in this unstable state. Holding her hand, I moved my upper body as much as possible to bring a cloth I could use as a towel and a water bottle in front of me.
I lightly dampened the cloth with water and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
"Feels cool. Nice."
Cheonsalseong, perhaps because she was in a weakened state, accepted my touch without showing any sign of displeasure.
Express your intentions clearly like that more often. Stop saying 'a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g' every time I ask what food you want.
'Is the past that precious?'
The choice Cheonsalseong made to not kill me and to stay by my side is an act of putting oneself in a defenseless state that any martial artist would one hundred out of one hundred times avoid.
For her to make such a choice, the lost past must be that precious.
'She trusts me.'
The efforts of the past few days weren't in vain.
She entrusted her lifeline to me.
Even if she's not completely convinced I'm her childhood friend oppa, she at least believes I'm not someone who would harm her.
If the relationship continues to develop like this, even if her memory doesn't return, wouldn't she come to think of me as her childhood friend oppa?
Suddenly, a way to escape this world came to mind.
[Ending Condition: Capture the True Heroine.]
Could Cheonsalseong be the True Heroine?
'No. She is not a heroine.'
She cannot be a heroine. Cheonsalseong is a character created to become a villain.
She lost her parents in an unfortunate incident and forgot her past memories. She lived her whole life as Cheonsalseong, honing assassination skills.
Even though she voluntarily bound herself with this rope to avoid killing me, even this will be useless later.
Eventually, she will go mad and, after countless killings, ultimately die.
A villain to power up the protagonist and raise his fame stat. That is the role she received in this world.
'A tragic fate.'
Looking at her acting spoiled towards me in her weak state, beyond the tension and fear I felt towards her, a hidden sense of pity welled up.
A woman destined for a tragic end.
Even if I feel pity for her and maintain a good relationship, her future won't change.
Because it's not a fate that can be changed by some barbarian interpreter.
Whether she's pitiful or I'm doing it to survive, in the end, all I can do is faithfully play the role of oppa.
"So-hee. If it's too hard, should I just untie the rope?"
Cheonsalseong's breathing had stabilized, but her face was still flushed and cold sweat continued to form. Seeing a glimmer of consciousness in her eyes, I asked for her preference.
"No. I'll sleep like this."
"Alright."
"Yun-ho."
"Yeah?"
"Tell me... a story... from the past."
She said to me with a sleepy expression.
Is she asking for a lullaby? Yesterday Cheonsalseong fell into a deep sleep with just one 'Sun and Moon'. Fine. I'll tell you a story that can deliver the finishing blow to your sleep demon.
"Long, long ago..."
"Tell me a story from when I was little."
So demanding.
To play the role of a great oppa, I shouldn't say anything unpleasant in this situation.
What story should I tell?
I guess I'll spin a tale about when the childhood friend next door was sick.
"Holding So-hee's hand... reminds me of the past. You came to play even though you had a fever and cough. You came to see this oppa without even knowing you had a cold."
With a tender expression, I reminisced about the past and brushed aside the bangs that had fallen over Cheonsalseong's face.
"Co...ld."
Her speech was gradually slowing down.
"I was so worried after taking you home. I couldn't sleep."
Cheonsalseong's eyes were gently closing after just a few sentences.
"So-hee. Are you okay? Give me So-hee. I brought some malt candy. I stood in front of your house door and said that to your mother, who was worried about you. So your mother..."
Sleep quickly. I'm sleepy too.
The night of Chilgok County, where the sound of insects chirping could be heard.
In the end, that night, I continued to stay by the side of the woman with the tragic fate.
******
She dreamed a warm and nostalgic dream.
That was the thought Cheonsalseong had when she woke to the morning birdsong.
Before her opened eyes were Kang Yun-ho, who had fallen asleep sitting uncomfortably, and her own hand, preciously holding his hand.
Cheon So-hee carefully rubbed her moistened eyes with her other hand so as not to wake him.
'When did I fall asleep?'
Her memory was hazy after he tied her up. Cheon So-hee began tracing back yesterday's memories.
She remembered being held in the man's arms and laid on the bed. The embrace felt more sturdy and cozy than expected.
What did I say after that?
'Yun-ho, don't go.'
As the words she spoke last night came to mind, all drowsiness instantly flew away.
To have uttered such weak words...
It's all because of the Chil-Ya Rope. Cheonsalseong blamed the innocent tool.
'Is this effect because I haven't used it for a long time?'
The effect of the Chil-Ya Rope isn't originally this strong.
It has the effect of calming Cheonsalseong's killing intent and weakening her martial arts and emotional control, but yesterday its intensity was far too powerful.
The Chil-Ya Rope, made specifically for Cheonsalseong. The power of the spell that had accumulated over years of not using an object created powerfully to control the power of the stars manifested.
Fortunately, as the accumulated effect of the Chil-Ya Rope seemed temporary, Cheonsalseong was able to regain her senses by morning.
If she had used the Chil-Ya Rope lightly in a different situation, it could have been a disaster.
She briefly recalled last night.
When left alone on the bed, a loneliness and helplessness she had never felt in her life overwhelmed her. It felt like being left alone on a small sailboat in a stormy, boundless ocean. The feeling that she would just die like this.
'Where would oppa go, leaving you behind?'
Cheonsalseong felt a small sense of relief that it was this man who had been by her side in such a situation.
Cheonsalseong moved her thumb slightly on the hand holding the man and brushed over his fingers.
A man's hand, delicate unlike her own, unused to holding swords.
But this delicate hand became a sturdy anchor protecting her through her dangerous night.
"So-hee. Are you awake?"
The man, feeling her touch, woke from sleep. His face still sleepy, but with that always tender voice, he asked if Cheonsalseong was awake.
Cheon So-hee did not let go of the hand she was holding even after the man awoke.
"I'm awake."
"Shall I untie the rope?"
"... Untie it."
She could actually untie it herself. But for some reason, she thought she wanted him to untie it.
Kang Yun-ho supported Cheon So-hee's lower back with his hand and carefully sat her up, then began untying the knots from behind.
Cheon So-hee felt Kang Yun-ho's hot breath on the back of her neck, but without showing any sign of displeasure, she remained still, feeling his cautious touch.
"So-hee, shall I get you some water?"
"Mm."
The ropes binding her were all untied.
Cheon So-hee should have rejoiced at the feeling of liberation, but strangely, she was touching the back of her neck where she had felt the man's breath and the rope that had strongly constrained her.
"Here you go."
The man handed her water.
Cheon So-hee tried to take the cup with her dominant hand, but as if realizing something, hastily grabbed the cup with her other hand.
Cheon So-hee drank the water slowly while gazing at the hand the man had held all night. The warmth of the man seemed to still linger on her hand.
Feeling the remaining warmth, an inexplicable small ticklish sensation arose in Cheon So-hee's heart, but she deliberately ignored it.
She had good news to tell the man.
Cheon So-hee opened her mouth to deliver that news.
My neck hurts like hell.
I should have just slept on the floor.
After talking about all the incidents all day, I fell asleep like that too.
Will I be able to work today?
As I handed the water cup to Cheonsalseong and was having such thoughts, she opened her mouth.
"I... had a dream today."
"Really? What kind of dream?"
As long as it's not a dream about killing me.
"From when I was little. A memory of my mother nursing me when I had a cold."
"Must be a nostalgic memory."
A mother nursing her child when sick is one of the common memories children have.
Huh?
Memory?
"It was a memory of my mother looking at me with worry and wiping my sweat."
The corners of her mouth rose, albeit faintly. An expression that seemed both nostalgic and happy. It was the first time I saw her smiling expression.
But I couldn't help but feel tense seeing that smile.
"I also thought of my parents a lot when I was sick away from home. So-hee must have remembered a memory you often think of since you were sick yesterday."
Pretending to empathize, I subtly tested her.
Please. Say yes.
Contrary to my expectation, she shook her head left and right without erasing her smile.
"It was a memory I remembered for the first time. A memory from childhood that I had forgotten. That's what came back to me."