Chapter 258: What is Responsibility?-1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 258: What is Responsibility?-1
"Ah... ugh, ah..."
Staring at the darkened screen, Shin Jeong-ah let out a sound like a newborn infant.
Reflected in that small, square machine—now devoid of any light—was her own face, looking half-insane.
"No, no. Please, not this...!"
Fumbling, she pulled her phone from her bag and called her beloved boyfriend.
The signal rang, then cut off abruptly.
He had rejected the call.
At the same time the dial tone snapped, she felt something inside her snap as well.
Whether it was her reason or her last shred of hope, even she couldn't be sure.
"No... I said no...!"
Shin Jeong-ah crawled across the ground on her knees.
The rough surface of the road scraped against her bare legs, drawing blood. She was in no state of mind to care about such trivial, stinging wounds.
"I can... explain everything. I can explain..."
She stood up. She took a few steps. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed.
She stood up again. She took a few steps. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed once more.
Wounds formed. Still, she stood up...
Now, she was running.
The sudden sprint made her lungs ache, but she didn't care.
She drifted further and further away from Yun Si-a.
The path Shin Jeong-ah stumbled along was the very same one she had taken to ambush Yun Si-a. Retracing her steps, she headed toward a specific destination.
"I-I'll explain. I... I'll explain... I can explain everything..."
She was heading back to where her boyfriend lived.
Just as she was retracing the path she had walked, she believed she could retrace the steps of their relationship...
*
Yun Si-a watched the street where Shin Jeong-ah had vanished, leaving her mind a chaotic mess as if a typhoon had just swept through.
"Whew..."
Her legs finally gave way, and she sank onto the ground.
She had prepared herself thoroughly, but if she had made even the slightest mistake, she would have been the one lying face-down on this pavement.
Ten minutes passed.
As the delayed tension and adrenaline finally surged, she closed her eyes for a moment to steady her breathing.
Just as she thought she had cleared a major hurdle, Yun Si-a’s eyes snapped open.
She had assumed Jeong-ah fled out of pure shock, but on second thought, she had a premonition that the woman wouldn't just give up.
"To In-ho’s house?"
Yun Si-a scrambled to her feet and bolted in the direction Shin Jeong-ah had disappeared.
As she ran, she dialed In-ho’s number.
You absolutely cannot open the door!
Unlike before, the call didn't go through.
"Ugh, why isn't he picking up!"
Reaching the main road, Yun Si-a hissed in frustration and anxiety as she tried to hail a taxi.
*
First came relief, followed by a belated surge of anger.
"In-ho! Open the door... I can explain. So please, just open up!"
Shin Jeong-ah’s voice screamed out as she rattled the front gate.
In-ho leaned his back against the front door and slid down like a raindrop. The cold temperature of the tiles seeped through his pants and back, traveling up to his head.
The unexpected video call from Yun Si-a.
Having answered it on a whim and learned the truth of everything that had happened, In-ho felt a sense of relief. He had been briefly angry at the fact that he’d been manipulated by Shin Jeong-ah, but that feeling didn't last long.
He could understand why someone as unstable as her would do such a thing.
First relief, then belated anger.
And now, conflict.
"Sigh..."
He let out a breath like a puff of cigarette smoke.
What exactly was I going to set right?
He let out a self-mocking laugh.
"Acting all dignified, as if I’d realized everything..."
In the end, it turned out like this again.
Where did the snowball start rolling?
Had he distanced himself from Shin Jeong-ah too abruptly? Or had he been too cooperative with Yun Si-a?
Even as he retraced his steps, no clear mistake came to mind. Even if he went back in time, he didn't think he would have chosen differently.
That was why he felt so drained.
Regarding dimension transfer, regarding possession...
He had thought he understood it all, that he had realized everything.
He had thought he could achieve something here.
He had been completely off the mark.
A conclusion similar to the dimensions he had passed through before was now calling out to him from right outside his gate.
He agonized over it. What should I do now?
What if he opened the door and let Shin Jeong-ah back into the house?
That would surely calm her rampage.
But was that the right thing to do?
If he accepted her, could he be certain something like this wouldn't happen again?
Conversely, what if he used this incident as an excuse to cast her out?
Would her explosive rage then be directed at some innocent person?
What was the right answer?
While he was lost in thought, he heard the sound of a car.
Then, red and blue lights began to flicker subtly through the living room window.
"Wh-what is this!"
Shin Jeong-ah’s voice sounded panicked.
"Now, now, miss. You can't be making such a scene at night. We received a report."
He heard the voices of adults he didn't recognize. It sounded like a man and a woman.
"It's just as the caller described. A female student."
"Let go of me!! In-ho!! No way... did you call them? In-ho!!"
"Miss, for now... Ack! Senior, she's—!"
The resistance must have been fierce, as the woman called out for help.
A bout of chaos erupted outside the door, only to fall silent shortly after.
The red and blue lights faded into the distance.
The sound of the car engine faded with them.
A sudden silence descended.
And a few minutes later.
The doorbell rang.