Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Parting at Dawn
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A staple trope in Korean makjang dramas is more twisted than family ties.
People you thought were strangers turn out to be blood relatives, and those you believed were family become total outsiders. It's like magic.
Pitol's play was no different.
Rido wailed.
It was the scene where the hidden illegitimate child agonizes after being used by their parents. The indispensable birth secret of makjang was kicking off. This was the buildup to a tale of bloody revenge.
It was a trope they didn't use here.
Knowing full well it could come off as weird if mishandled, I opened my mouth with bated breath.
"Darsi, you okay? If it's uncomfortable, I'll switch to something else."
Surprisingly, he, who had been staring holes through the screen, replied.
"I'm fine."
"Good. That's a relief."
Watching the anguished Rido, he muttered flatly.
"Seeing it like this feels kinda fresh."
I couldn't grasp what he meant by that last part, but his "I'm fine" landed first and foremost, better than silence.
So at that moment, I had no idea.
What meaning his words concealed.
After sitting through the full three-hour play, dawn had arrived before we knew it.
The room, with lights off, was plunged into complete darkness.
My favorite time of dawn had come.
Lying in bed, I savored the darkness and drew in a breath. Far from scary, my pitch-black field of vision soothed my mind.
"It's the time you like."
He whispered softly. His voice was closer than I'd thought.
'Where is he?'
As I blinked, I realized Darsi had perched on my bed.
I felt his gaze gradually settling on me.
Without getting up, I nodded.
"Yeah, my favorite time."
To be precise, it came with music too.
As I added that, I heard rustling. He must have stood up.
Footsteps followed. Even in the dark, his confident movements suited him.
Moments later, my favorite piano melody poured from the gramophone. It was the nocturne I always played around this hour.
The piano notes rippled gently.
Like an old friend I'd long awaited, it enveloped me. The music eased my heart.
Doing nothing at all felt good.
Just basking in this moment made me happy.
I wished Darsi could feel the same.
"Darsi, lie down too."
Darsi obeyed readily. The problem was...
"...I didn't mean on my bed."
That he'd lain on the same bed.
His voice came from right beside me.
"The bed's big enough that we won't touch. Cut me some slack. This is my first time, so I need to watch you and follow along. But if you're on another bed, I can't see you."
It sounded so logical and theoretical, like he'd prepared it.
Right. To give him a chance to savor the dawn, it was only proper to lead by example.
But it would be a lie to say my heart wasn't pounding at all.
'We're a man and a woman, lying on a bed together.'
Deep into the night at dawn, no less.
...Though this bed felt more like movie theater seats than a real bed.
Maybe it was the dawn, but all sorts of thoughts flooded in.
To shake off the stray ones, I hugged my pillow tight and spoke softly.
"Close your eyes and listen to the music. Daydream, appreciate the sounds, enjoy the dark. It's savoring the silence in a time when no one can disturb you."
A time free from noise. I closed my eyes.
"It's a time when you can just exist, no need to say a word."
A break from the stress of human relations, a reminder that I'm alive. A time that helps gather scattered thoughts.
"I hope it's the same for you."
I hoped Darsi, who would soon leave, had moments like this.
Silence fell as my words ended. So quiet only our breaths echoed. That steady sound comforted me.
Contradictory feelings stirred.
I was weary of people, yet having someone beside me brought solace.
It wasn't that I hated being alone.
But the sudden pangs of loneliness that struck anytime left me powerless.
Maybe I was talking to myself.
That I felt reassured, even glad, to share breaths and memories with someone...
That someday I'd rise above this hurt and face people again.
Darsi, who I'd thought would bolt up any second claiming he hated this, stayed a full hour.
When he finally rose, his face looked far more at ease as he headed to the parlor.
Trailing after him to see him off, I fiddled with the magic tool camera.
'Should I ask for a photo?'
I'd decided against keepsakes, but now at the final moment of parting, it felt bittersweet. I wanted at least a simple commemorative picture.
No matter how fated our bond was, he was someone I was grateful for.
We might never meet again, but couldn't I reminisce about knowing him once?
The camera in my hand was perfect for capturing memories to cherish.
'Alright, let's do it.'
Resolved, I approached Darsi and pointed the camera at him.
"Let's take one last photo together."
"...A photo?"
"To commemorate the successful end of our contract."
Darsi smiled at my words.
"I don't think I said it was the last time."
...Did he have to spell it out?
With that enlightened look of someone departing, he'd whipped up two magic tools in such a short time.
First, I trailed off and gauged the distance between my camera hand and my face.
Could I manage with just stretching my arm?
"Yeah, but who knows when I'll see you next. Anyway, the magic tools seem good enough now."
Then I turned the lens toward us and tried a selfie. Luckily, he didn't run.
"Look here, Darsi!"
Click, click. Darsi shook his head half-heartedly.
"Hey, don't keep moving!"
But I'd already pressed the shutter. Grumbling, I checked the shots one by one.
"Look, the photos came out weird."
I'd marveled at the clear portraits for a moment, but despaired at the results.
Darsi was a blurry mess in every one. Sighing as I sorted them, I coaxed him like a child.
"Darsi, it's the last one—let's get a good shot."
At my words, Darsi furrowed his brow.
"Why talk like I'm never seeing you again? It's weirding me out."
I replied in a quiet voice.
"It is the last."
Darsi, who'd been casually retorting, paused.
"You're leaving."
His gaze on me grew strangely intense at my calm words.
Darsi narrowed his eyes. He didn't ask how I knew.
Narrowing them further, he clutched a lump of magic crystal.
"This was intentional too, huh."
"You're pretty perceptive."
It was more instinct than perception, really.
Darsi shut his mouth primly at my words. The playfulness from before vanished.
"Will you pose properly this time?"
Shrugging, he nodded obediently. The camera in my hand felt noticeably lighter.
I warned him.
"Stay right there."
Darsi stood at a jaunty angle.
I checked the distance and angle for both of us, then set the camera on the dresser.
"Alright, let's go."
There was about a five-second delay from pressing the button to the actual shot.
I dashed to Darsi's side.
We stood side by side, not quite touching.
This time, he stared obediently at the camera.
Click.
The magic crystal embedded in the shutter vanished. Like a Polaroid, paper fluttered out, developing.
I took the paper.
It showed us awkwardly staring ahead. Even in it, Darsi struck a model pose.
His defiant eyes and slouch evoked a stormy teenage rebel.
'I'll never forget this.'
Giggling at the sight, I nodded in satisfaction.
My expression was stiff from not posing in ages, but I didn't look bad. Not to brag, but Marso was a beauty.
"How's it turn out?"
Darsi peeked over. I pressed the photo into his hand.
"Yours. I hope the memories here become good ones for you."
"...Just this lousy picture?"
Darsi asked, baffled. But the photo stayed in his hand.
He was bad at expressing true feelings. Awkward fit better.
'Well, I knew that from the start.'
As I stared, Darsi scratched his nape sheepishly.
Whatever his story, Darsi had been good to me.
"Wish you luck going forward."
So I hoped the Darsi avoiding my eyes awkwardly could break free from whatever bound him.
That he could escape the room he'd been holed up in and meet other people.
Darsi stared at me with wide eyes, like no one had ever said that before.
"Grant me one last wish?"
His low voice, unlike usual, felt different. I nodded.
In an instant, he closed in and wrapped his arms around me.
His much larger frame felt like a sturdy tree. My face buried in his chest, a foreign scent hit me—incense from his body.
It was the first time in a man's embrace. I was startled by the firm muscles through his thin shirt.
His hold was softer and warmer than expected. Unlike his cold hands.
'...This is his wish?'
Dazed, I snapped to. As I moved to push him away, his voice came.
"It's warm."
"..."
"You know it's been forever since I hugged anyone?"
A fragment of his unspoken past surfaced again. It made me a bit glad, a bit sad.
In that fleeting pity, I couldn't bring myself to shove him off and stayed quiet in his arms.
Seeing Darsi act so out of character drove home that this really was goodbye.
I was grateful for so much.
For listening silently to my stories, for looking into the rumors about me.
Such a person was leaving.
Emotions welled up after so long.
'I wish you wouldn't go.'
I knew I had no right to stop him, yet the words nearly escaped my throat.
But I was just an outsider with no such claim.
That fact left a bitter taste.
Even knowing I'd kept my distance too, not just him.