The Farewell Letter
I thought about a plan. A way for Noona to cut off her lingering attachment to me and, going further, ensure she would never come looking for me again.
If I spoke honestly and left, she would track me down without fail. Whether that pursuit turned into rage or a twisted love-hate obsession, it didn't matter. Her fixation ran that deep. No matter what excuses I came up with, I doubted she would ever let me go. Even now it was basically half-imprisonment, but if I announced I was leaving, it would become the real thing.
"In that case, the only method left is..."
It felt like something had stabbed me in the chest, but I forced myself to ignore it.
"I'm really such a rotten bastard."
"Oh, Noona! Good morning!"
"Oh, um. Good morning!"
Hanseong spoke to me first. 'What's going on...?'
Lately I'd noticed him approaching me more and more. The same Hanseong who used to avoid me because it felt burdensome...
'Has he finally realized how I feel?'
My heart thumped wildly. Was this what family love felt like? But it was thicker, stickier somehow. Almost like the feeling between lovers...
'No, what the hell am I thinking!'
'Hanseong is my little brother! Family!'
My face flushed on its own at the improper fantasy coming from his Noona.
"Huh? Noona, are you sick?"
He reached out and pressed his hand to my forehead in concern. My already-red face burned even hotter.
"H-Hanseong...? What are you doing?"
My tongue tripped over itself in panic.
"Ah, I thought you might be sick... Sorry for touching you like that."
Seeing him droop at my words, I couldn't help thinking how adorable he looked. I stroked his slumped shoulders and said,
"Hanseong, it's really good that you worry about Noona, but... you shouldn't just touch a girl's body so casually. It's not nice."
He's still young, but does he already have a player streak...?
"But... Noona touches me all the time, doesn't she?"
Crack.
"...Hanseong?"
"Ah, uh? Yeah..."
"Our Hanseong is going to listen to what Noona says, right?"
"Y-yeah..."
Hanseong trembled as if afraid of me. The way he shrank back like a baby bird made me want to pinch his soft cheeks right then and there, but I held back. Right now it was time to play the strict Noona.
"Hanseong, if you don't listen to Noona, I'll have no choice but to give you some education for your own good..."
"N-Noona, I'll do better... please."
"Right? Hanseong is a good boy, isn't he?"
"Yeah..."
"Noona's words were a little harsh. Come here."
Like a dog and its owner, Hanseong rubbed his body against me in my arms.
"Good boy, good boy~"
As I stroked his hair, I thought to myself that this was true happiness.
──Noona, I'm sorry.
──If we meet again, let's do it as a better connection.
I shot upright.
"Haah, haah... it was a dream?"
I'd just dreamed of Hanseong leaving me.
"Aish, what kind of nonsense dream is that... Hanseong is right next to... me? Huh?"
Hanseong was gone.
Bang!
Rumble rumble rumble.
There was no time to think. Like a madwoman, I could only scream his name.
"Hanseong, where did you go... Hanseong Hanseong Hanseong Hanseong Hanseong Hanseong Hanseong Hanseong Hanseong Hanseong Hanseong Hanseong..."
"Lee Hanseong!!!"
I searched every corner of the bunker, but there was no trace of him. When I returned to the central room in despair, I found a single note beside where I had been lying.
"This is...? Did Hanseong leave it?"
In a rush I unfolded the note.
To my beloved Noona.
Noona, it's me. Hanseong.
Well, you already know that. The reason I'm leaving behind nothing but this note is... because there's a secret I couldn't tell you.
I'm terminally ill. It was some rare genetic disease, I think? Anyway, I don't have much time left. I'll be dead soon.
So honestly, I hated the world. I wished a world like this would just hurry up and disappear. I hoped it would be destroyed.
Maybe the gods heard my wish, because the world really did end.
But the stupid part is that once the world actually ended, I suddenly wanted to live even more. I wanted to breathe a little longer, to connect with more people.
But in this ruined world, that's become as difficult as grabbing stars from the sky.
That's why the time I spent with you was happy. Truly, genuinely happy.
It was a complicated relationship, though.
I know my body well. At this rate, I'll probably stop breathing in two days at most.
Do you know what I thought back then? It's really selfish, but because I had you, Noona, I thought it would be okay. That even if I died, there would be someone who would stay by my side...
That's what I thought. But when I reconsidered, it felt like I was burdening you.
If it was you, Noona, when I died you'd probably follow me and die too. Because you love me that much.
But I really hated that idea. I want you to live well, Noona.
So please grant your dying little brother's one wish. I hope you live a long, long time in my place, happily. Have children, live peacefully with a family.
The letter got a bit long, didn't it? I'm going now, Noona.
Because I know you'd be sad if you saw me die. I'm sorry for putting this weight on you, and thank you. For everything.
I love you.
Your loving little brother.
Drip.
Something fell. It was a tear. The fallen teardrop left a mark on the note.
"Huh...?"
My legs gave out and I collapsed.
"It's a lie, it's a lie..."
Hanseong, terminally ill? No. No, no, no!!!
Hanseong's face flashed through my mind. The venomous face when we first met, and the cute, lovable face he had now.
"Right... I have to see Hanseong."
My steps were weak and stumbling, but a sudden thought stopped me cold.
'What if I see Hanseong's corpse?'
Could I endure it? Would I even have the will to keep living?
"Then what should I do... why, why..."
I wanted to cry. The same way I had cried as a child in the orphanage, waiting for the mother who had abandoned me.
But I wasn't a helpless little girl anymore.
"I have to... save Hanseong somehow."
There was still hope. My ability, Predation. If it let me consume anything, maybe it could even consume time?
It might be an insane delusion... but.
Crunch. Chew.
I bit down on the note and swallowed it. The strange texture of the paper mixed with the taste of my fallen tears. I would keep Hanseong's heart with me forever.
And I would take him back.
"No one can take my family from me."
"Not even death itself."
If I could get Hanseong back, it didn't matter if I became human or monster.
"Whew... I wonder if she's seen the note by now?"
The way to make her abandon her obsession with me... was to fake my own death. The idea that came to mind was terminal illness. I would pretend I had some rare disease and didn't have long to live.
Telling her directly was too dangerous. The moment I said it, she would keep me by her side until the very end. And if I stayed perfectly healthy for the next few days, anyone but an idiot would get suspicious.
In the end, the only way was to leave like this...
And to ease my own guilt even a little, I hoped she would keep living. In the worst case she might follow me in death because of it.
I knew full well that this was disgusting hypocrisy and self-satisfaction. But I didn't want to deceive her any longer. After this, I truly hoped she would be happy.
"I wonder if Eunah is still alive..."
I was worried about Eunah, who had left so early. With that fragile personality of hers, I wasn't sure she could survive...
"Still, as long as she's alive."
Someday, the day would come when we would meet again. I prayed that day would arrive as soon as possible.
If I had known what results my choice would bring later, I would never have made it.
Several months later, the world began to rebuild. New buildings rose over the ruins of the old ones, and people started choosing cooperation over mere survival and looting. It was all thanks to the Awakeners. Their power laid the foundation for a new world.
They erased the Gates and subjugated the monsters. Thanks to their achievements in many other fields as well, the world quickly regained its former shape.
Among the countless Awakeners, ten stood at the absolute peak. They were called the 10 Strong.
Among the 10 Strong, there was one female Awakener who alone commanded monsters. She was called Beast.
In public she was also known as the Beast Woman, thanks to her intense appearance and voluptuous figure.
"Haaam..."
On the massive body of a dragon straight out of myth, a woman let out a yawn.
Grrrrrrr.
"Aww, good boy?"
The Black Dragon, a monster whose measured rank was off the charts and known as one of the most ferocious, was currently...
Whine, whine.
It rolled over like a puppy at her touch, exposing its massive belly.
"This guy, really."
She rubbed its belly as if used to it, then suddenly froze.
Thump thump thump.
"Huh...?"
Something was trying to burst out of her. And instinctively, she knew.
He was alive.
"You were alive!"
And so Beast, no, Kim Eunah, broke into a wide smile for the first time in years. A bright, genuine smile.