Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Just Believe in Oppa
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Thanks to Scardi's consideration, I was finally able to meet Lily one-on-one. I never wanted it to come to this, but in the end, even Lily had ended up in prison.
"No injuries, right? Hmm?"
There was nothing strange about me fussing over her like a mom. How many months had it been since I'd last seen Lily?
This small, pitiful girl, whom I'd only been able to see through the visiting room window, was now sobbing in my arms, her face brimming with tears. I barely held back my own tears. I couldn't let Lily see me cry.
"Oppa, I'm fine. I got a little hurt, but I healed right away. I'm not someone who goes down that easily, you know."
"Yeah, that's right... I'm glad. Really glad."
Even though she was now stuck in prison just like me, at least she wasn't hurt for the moment—that was a relief. No matter how strong Lily claimed to be, if she got ambushed or caught off guard, she'd definitely take a serious hit.
And yet, Lily was still holding up. She was a bit thinner, her clothes hanging loose, but that was okay. As long as she wasn't injured.
"What the hell happened? What's that on the news? Huh?"
After checking her over and helping her calm down a little, it was time to hear what kind of mess Lily had gotten into. I was still clinging to a faint hope that it was all a misunderstanding.
"No way Justice..."
"..."
Lily didn't answer. She turned her head away with effort, still nestled in my arms. I had a feeling I knew what that meant, and my head spun.
"It's true? Why the hell...?"
"Oppa, just let me rest a little more. Let me stay like this in your arms a bit longer. Just a little..."
Lily burrowed deeper into my chest, rubbing her head against me. It felt a little damp. Her tears soaked into the inside of my prison uniform.
Seeing her hesitate like that, I could only imagine how hard it had been for her. I gave her a moment to catch her breath. Gently stroking her still-shiny pink hair, I tried to soothe her.
I should have protected her. Instead, I'd gotten caught first and dragged her into danger.
It was my fault. I'd done nothing but rot away in this place, waiting helplessly for help—and in the end, I'd put us both in jeopardy.
"...It was Unnie."
But the biggest mistake was, perhaps,
trusting Justice too much.
"I did my own digging, trying to get you out somehow, but she found out in the end. Even so, she was Unnie—the one I'd been with all this time—so I wanted to believe in her until the very last moment..."
Lily lifted her head. Her small face was graced with large, beautiful eyes that didn't suit it, now filled to the brim with tears.
"Unnie came at me first. If I hadn't reacted, I would've been dead for sure. I barely dodged the shot aimed at my head. Even then, she kept coming..."
It didn't sound like a lie. Even if I trusted Lily completely, there had been parts that seemed suspicious, but looking at her face and hearing her words, I couldn't doubt her. It was the truth—and it came straight from the heart.
"So I used my ability too. You told me not to use it on people if I could help it, but I was so mad that Unnie betrayed me and you..."
Lily started crying again. The thick tears falling one by one looked far too harsh and heavy for her pretty face.
"...It's okay."
I wiped away her tears with my thumb, trying to comfort her somehow. My own feelings were still a mess, but I had to reassure Lily first.
"You didn't do anything wrong. It's okay. I'll figure something out. Forget about Justice."
"Maybe I killed Unnie. Or... should I have? Oppa, I don't know anymore."
Little by little,
anger welled up inside me. The suspicions about Justice solidifying into certainty made my blood boil with murky injustice.
"...It's okay. I'll protect you. It's okay."
Lily was just too pitiful. She'd only been trying to protect me, and now I could already picture the hellish prison life awaiting her.
How many villains had she locked up while heroing alongside me? Fewer than me, sure, but there wasn't a single person here who'd welcome her with open arms.
Which meant I had to protect her. She was the last remnant of my old memories, my precious treasure that I had to safeguard.
Without Lily, it felt like I could never go back to the way things were. I had to protect her. She was the only one who truly believed in me. Everyone else just used me or tried to kill me, but Lily cared for me from the heart.
"..."
As those thoughts swirled,
Scardi suddenly crossed my mind.
No matter how cutthroat prison life was, Scardi was definitely someone I could call an ally. If I built a deeper connection with her, wouldn't our safety—mine and Lily's—be guaranteed?
"Lily, I'll protect you."
Scardi was undeniably a villain. But here, she was kinder than any of them. A woman I could rely on. She didn't go back on her word easily, so she'd surely look after Lily and me to some extent.
If I put in a little more effort from there, we could definitely survive.
"Just believe in Oppa."
Even if there were places her influence didn't reach, I could step up in Lily's place and draw their attention.
No matter how much they hated Lily, if I took all their anger and grudges head-on, they wouldn't touch her. As long as I kept enduring it.
"But you have to stay quiet. This isn't like the outside. Most people here see us in a bad light. You know that, right?"
"But Oppa, this..."
But when Lily sniffled and glanced at the inside of my clothes, a wave of guilt and shame crashed over me.
Was relying on Scardi really the right choice? Was giving my body to Orca or the villains the only way to scrape by?
"What's this...?"
It was the spot covered in countless marks from Orca and dark bruises.
"No, it's nothing. Lily! Hands off!"
She brushed off my hand as I tried to close my collar and yanked up my shirt to peer inside. The numerous bruises I couldn't hide, the shameful wounds hinting at our intense encounters...
"Ahh..."
Lily burst into tears again. Her honest, heartbreaking sobs choked me up.
I pulled her into a tight hug to cover her eyes, but she kept calling my name, unable to forget what she'd seen.
"Oppa, Oppa...! What are they doing to you? Oppa..."
"It's nothing. Really. You don't need to worry about it."
I hugged her tighter so she couldn't squirm away, calming her down. No matter what humiliations or abuses I endured, I could bear it—but making Lily worry was something I just couldn't stomach.
"I've known since the first visit. That you were going through things you couldn't even talk about... Scardi, right? That woman? I could tell you were watching out for her."
"It's okay, Lily. It's okay!"
I didn't know when my voice had gotten so hoarse. Clearing my throat with effort, I poured out explanations against the top of her head.
But Lily wasn't a fool; she didn't buy my excuses. She was already picturing every awful scene I'd suffered through, tears streaming down her face.
"How could Unnie... how could she put us in a place like this..."
"..."
Justice had truly abandoned us.
Every time I recalled that she was the real culprit who framed me, it felt like my heart was being torn apart. How had the three of us ended up like this?
Lily and I were rotting away unjustly in prison, tormented by villains day after day,
and Justice,
right now...
"You did your best. It's okay."
Was she in the infirmary? Justice wasn't the type to die easily. She was probably resting there, recovering.
Once she healed, she'd hold another press conference and start her political games again. She'd kick out me, Lily, the Director—everyone—and pursue her own brand of justice.
"...Now that I'm with Oppa, everything will be okay."
Then why had she left us alive? Wouldn't it have been better to just kill us?
Maybe it was some shred of affection she still felt for us that spared our lives. We should've been eliminated without mercy like the Director, but she'd deliberately kept us breathing. Or perhaps she couldn't bear to finish us off herself and sent us here to die instead.
"We'll get out. I promise. Somehow."
If that was the case, then Justice had made a grave mistake. I would never die, and I'd protect Lily no matter what until we made it back outside.
And once we did,
maybe,
I'd go kill Justice. I wasn't even sure of my own heart anymore.
But the emotions surging through me as I held Lily right now were too intense to shake off.
"Somehow..."
Murderous rage boiled up,
but so did my utter powerlessness.
My body, growing weaker bit by bit,
my crumbling resolve,
and the final duty I felt: to endure it all.
"No. I'll protect you. Oppa, you stop worrying—and don't let those things touch you like that anymore."
Lily cried. I couldn't; I just stroked her hair.
I had to find a way out of this place. I could handle it, but I couldn't let Lily spend the rest of her life rotting in this filthy hellhole.
"I'm always on your side, Oppa. No matter what... anytime..."
My one and only ally,
good girl.
"I'm the only one on Oppa's side. Don't trust the others."
The last reason for my existence,
my cracked pillar of strength.