Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: It's Not a Self-Deprecating Broadcast
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“Then I’ll head out now. You’ll be okay on your own tonight, right?”
“Yes. I should be fine.”
“Alright! Have a great weekend! And make sure to eat properly!”
“Thanks for staying so late. Get home safe.”
Shin Ara waved energetically and disappeared behind the front door.
After helping with the dishes too, she didn’t head back to her place until late in the evening.
No matter how much of a lifeline she was, I couldn’t keep her here for two straight days.
She must have noticed my growing dependence on her, because she gave me a pretty firm farewell without leaving any room for argument.
“......”
Left alone like that, I quietly looked around the house.
The ceiling lights brightly illuminated the room, but outside the window, visible through the gap in the curtains, it was pitch black.
That scene naturally stirred up feelings of unease.
I knew rationally that this place was safe, but the light leaking out through the window felt irritatingly conspicuous.
After agonizing over it, I decided to turn off all the lights.
I was alone anyway, and it was almost bedtime, so even if Shin Ara saw, she wouldn’t think it was strange.
“She’s already gone...”
Once I’d turned off all the lights and peered out the window, a quiet midnight alley came into view.
Unfortunately, since her house and workplace were in different directions, Shin Ara had already vanished somewhere.
Feeling an inexplicable emptiness, I chewed on my lip and started idly watching the street outside.
The occasional unguarded passersby, the faint cries of cats drifting in. Those trivial, everyday sights brought a mix of anxiety and comfort.
“Hm?”
Just then, as I scanned outside, a suspicious figure caught my eye.
It was a man leaning against a lamppost with no light, fiddling with his smartphone.
What made him seem suspicious was something off about his behavior.
Thanks to the glow from his phone, his face was faintly visible, and his gaze was directed straight toward my house.
I shrank back into the darkness and began observing him.
Even as neighboring residents trickled home one by one and the alley fell silent, the man only glanced my way occasionally—he didn’t budge an inch from his spot.
‘He’s probably just waiting for someone...’
For a moment, I thought my neurosis had made me suspect an innocent person.
Looking back now, I wasn’t in any position to be suspicious of anyone.
Without a doubt, I was the most dangerous person in this neighborhood right now.
Sure, I had this small, fragile body, but if my PTSD kicked in, who knew what I might do.
Of course, there was still a chance that guy was the stalker who had driven Victoria to her death.
But since it was more likely he wasn’t, I couldn’t go around suspecting people based on flimsy evidence.
“Time for a shower...”
Deciding not to suspect some random person, I stepped away from the window.
I tugged at my T-shirt and sniffed it—there was a faint, delicious scent of grilled pork belly.
I stripped off my clothes right away and headed into the bathroom.
If I didn’t wash up now while my head was clear, I might keep putting it off until I got filthy.
Fortunately, there were no windows in the bathroom, so I could turn on the light without worry.
Under the bathroom’s characteristic crimson glow, the girl’s pure white naked body reflected in the mirror.
“No scars at all...”
The shoulder cratered by a bullet, the thigh mangled by a bayonet, the ears blackened by brutal cold, the chest withered from starvation—they were all gone.
The dark circles and exhausted aura remained, of course, but the naked girl in the mirror was smooth and unmarred.
Not that it made me think anything lewd, of course.
After all, I already saw Victoria Chernakoshka as myself.
It just made my current situation hit home, and I felt sorry for myself.
A pristine body without scars couldn’t prove the hell I’d been through. That thought made me feel bitterly invalidated, like my past had been denied.
Well, at least I’d put on some weight, and my chest had gotten a bit bigger—that was something to be glad about.
With a self-mocking smile at my newly curved figure, I started the shower.
“Eek...”
The cold water blasting from the showerhead snapped me awake.
Because of the trauma of being splattered in blood, I could only wash with cold water, but thankfully, my Siberian blood adapted to the chill quickly.
The problem was that the soap wouldn’t lather properly.
My body didn’t accumulate much grime anyway, so even just rinsing made it squeaky clean, but I couldn’t go out after only a cold rubdown without soaping up.
In the end, I’d have to scrub it by hand like back on the Eastern Front.
After polishing every inch until it gleamed, I shivered with my chilled body and stepped out into the living room.
“No need to buy new clothes, I guess.”
Dripping wet, I stood in front of the wardrobe.
I’d been too preoccupied to notice until now, but Victoria’s closet was pretty well-stocked.
As expected of an aspiring actress, all the outfits she had on hand looked decent.
But with my hopeless fashion sense, the best I could do was pick something casual and sporty.
The end result was an outfit plastered head to toe in the same brand, from underwear to outerwear.
Who could’ve guessed I had Soviet roots? I was instinctively drawn to Adidas.
“Okhuenno.”
Feeling refreshed, I crawled straight under the covers.
I hadn’t dried my hair, so the pillow got damp, but compared to an Eastern Front blanket, it was paradise.
I decided to just sleep before any more pointless traumas surfaced.
Right now, I felt like I could sleep soundly without nightmares, so there was no need to fiddle with my phone and stir up trouble.
But unfortunately, that thought didn’t last long.
As I lay there curled up for a bit, someone started pounding on the front door like they were trying to break it down.
- Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Startled awake, I sat up, wondering what was going on.
I hadn’t expected anyone to visit, so irritation at the interrupted sleep took a backseat to wariness.
I glanced at the clock—it was already past 11 p.m.
A chill ran down my spine at the thought of someone showing up this late.
“The stalker...?”
Naturally, I started suspecting the person outside might be the stalker.
Given Victoria’s sparse social circle, it was unlikely to be an acquaintance, and I’d spotted that suspicious guy right before heading to shower.
Plus, the person out there was banging on the door instead of using the perfectly functional doorbell.
It looked like they were deliberately trying to scare me, which only solidified my suspicions.
- Thud! Thud! Thud!
Either way, there was no reason for me to open the door right now.
If they lunged at me, it could turn bloody, and Shin Ara had told me not to confront any stalker anyway.
So I stayed put, ignoring them until they gave up and left.
Deep down, I wanted to step out and avenge Victoria, but I couldn’t risk a midnight panic attack and bloodshed.
“What’s with all the noise!”
Fortunately, the presumed stalker gave up quickly and fled.
A neighbor had heard the racket and yelled on my behalf.
Peeking out the window while staying hidden, I saw someone bolting away in a panic.
That scrawny-looking guy must have been Victoria’s stalker.
“Ebanat...”
Spitting out the curse in thick disgust, I approached the front door.
I’d heard him hurl something at it right before running off.
If it was something dirty, it could bother the neighbors.
Thankfully, there were no signs of anyone outside, so cracking the door open for a quick look seemed fine.
“A doll?”
Cautiously opening the front door, I felt something drag across the floor.
Startled, I looked down and saw a black-furred cat doll.
What was unusual was how savagely its head had been torn off.
White stuffing spilled out like guts, repulsive even though it was just a doll.
Even for a stalker, this guy seemed completely unhinged.
Disgusted, I tried to shut the door, but the doll caught on it and flopped over limply.
‘There’s a note too.’
A small note was stuck to the doll’s back.
As proof it was from Victoria’s stalker, it was written in Russian.
I crouched down carefully and read the note.
Soon, the stairwell sensor light flicked on, illuminating the contents.
[Chernakoshka.]
The note contained just one familiar word.
My last name—and Victoria’s—Chernakoshka.
That let me grasp the message from the stalker immediately.
The surname ‘Chernakoshka’ meant ‘black cat,’ and what he’d thrown was a ‘black cat doll with its head torn off.’
‘......He’s going to kill me?’
Freaking out, I slammed the door shut and backed into the house.
My heart pounded like it would burst, and my breathing grew ragged, making it hard to catch my breath.
Anyone could see this was a clear death threat.
Tears of injustice welled up at the realization that even in reality, I wasn’t safe anymore.
‘This isn’t some ordinary stalker......’
Up until now, I’d taken Victoria’s stalker lightly.
I’d figured he was just a sasaeng fan trailing an aspiring actress, or maybe a pervert who liked young girls.
So I’d thought even if I ran into him, it wouldn’t be scary.
After all, someone harboring affection—even twisted—wouldn’t be a real threat to me.
But now it looked like I’d been wrong.
This was no light message that could be dressed up as affection.
“Why are you doing this to me...”
I hid under the covers again, but the trembling wouldn’t stop.
The image of the decapitated doll wouldn’t leave my mind.
Now, even in reality, my life was truly in danger.
In the end, it looked like I wouldn’t be sleeping tonight either—nightmares awaited.