Chapter 107 Until the Day of Doom (Complete)
Chapter 107 Until the Day of Doom (Complete)
"Ugh..."
When I opened my eyes, my entire body felt incredibly refreshed. I must have slept deeply through the night. Yet, my surroundings were still pitch black—just as dark as when I'd fallen asleep—and I felt a pang of panic.
"Chae-young?"
I sat up in bed and immediately began searching for her. Though my body was damp with sweat, the boiler she must have cranked up before leaving kept the cold at bay.
I stepped out, rummaged through the fridge for a bottle of water, and scanned the room again.
The bed was empty. The pillow beside mine was cold, without even the slightest indentation.
"Chae-young!"
I leapt out of bed and frantically checked every corner.
The bathroom, the walk-in closet, the toilet.
She wasn't anywhere.
'Did she go to get water?'
I opened the bedroom door and stepped into the living room.
The spacious penthouse was dead silent.
She wasn't in the kitchen. She wasn't on the living room sofa.
A foreboding chill crawled up my spine.
I looked at the digital clock on the wall.
[04:30 AM]
4:30 in the morning.
Was the sun not up yet? How long had I been asleep? An hour or two?
But the scent of the air drifting in through the window was different.
And most damningly, the date displayed next to the time made me doubt my own eyes.
[January 25th]
"...No way."
I stumbled backward.
I had collapsed on the morning of the 24th.
Which meant... a full 24 hours—no, even more—had passed. It was now the early hours of the 25th.
I hadn't just blacked out briefly.
I had slept like a corpse for an entire day, my body purging the poison from the Holy Medicine.
"Chae-young... Chae-young!!"
Terror crashed over me.
There was no way Chae-young wouldn't have tried to wake me during that entire day.
No way she would have just left me here alone.
'Don't tell me—'
I sprinted back into the bedroom like a madman.
I grabbed my phone from the nightstand.
Plugging the dead device into the charger, I turned it on.
The moment the screen lit up, it erupted with vibrations.
Buzz— Buzz— Buzz—
Dozens of notifications flooded the display.
[Missed Call: Gaeul Noona (58)]
[Missed Call: Gaeul Noona (59)]
[Missed Call: Gaeul Noona (60)]
Scrolling down revealed no end to them.
Gaeul Noona had obsessively called me throughout the day I was unconscious.
As if mocking me—or confirming something.
And buried among those countless missed calls.
A single text message.
[Jang Chae-young]
My heart plummeted.
With trembling fingers, I opened the message.
It had arrived last night, while I was still deep in sleep.
The content was brief.
[I love you.]
"...Ah."
A hollow breath escaped my lips.
My grip on the phone slackened.
This... wasn't some sweet morning greeting between lovers.
This was a farewell.
The last words of someone who would never return—a suicide note in all but name.
"No... no..."
The pieces clicked together in my head.
Me, poisoned by the Holy Medicine. The desperate need for an antidote. And Gaeul Noona.
To save me, Chae-young had gone to her—walked straight into that viper's den while I slept.
"No, Chae-young... please..."
Clutching the phone, I bolted for the front door.
She had gone to that demonic bitch—for me. To save a worthless piece of trash like me.
"Goddammit—!!!"
I howled like a beast, kicking open the reinforced steel door and charging into the darkness.
"Hah... hah... hah...!"
My heart threatened to burst. The "Cult Leader's Blood" dormant within me—that cursed instinct—boiled over like madness. I scrambled up the mountain path like an animal, half on all fours.
I knew. Knew exactly where Gaeul Noona would be.
That abandoned container on the outskirts of the Cult's grounds. The filthy den where our twisted relationship had begun.
"Jang Chae-young... please, please..."
The worst images flashed through my mind. Gaeul Noona's deranged laughter. Chae-young's face twisted in terror. That foolish woman who had walked straight into the tiger's den to save a bastard like me.
THUD!
I slammed my body against the rusted container door, forcing it open.
"...Ah."
The stench that rolled out was nauseating.
Damp mold. Cheap air freshener. And the metallic tang of... sex.
They were there.
Gaeul Noona sat on a worn-out couch, smoking. Her clothes were disheveled, her lips curled in a sickening, triumphant smirk.
And on the floor.
On the cold concrete, Chae-young lay collapsed.
"...Chae-young."
Her clothes were torn to shreds, barely clinging to her body as she curled into a fetal position, trembling violently. Between the tangled strands of her hair, her pale shoulders were marred with red nail marks and bruises.
An empty glass bottle rolled beside her. A fake antidote.
"You're late, Eun-woo."
Gaeul Noona exhaled a long stream of smoke, giggling.
"Slept a whole day, huh? Just as I expected—you're special. To survive that much poison and still be standing."
She jerked her chin toward Chae-young's crumpled form.
"That bitch wasn't much fun, though. Fragile. Passed out too quickly. Still... wrecking your favorite toy had its own charm."
Snap.
Something inside me broke.
Half a year of suppressed rage. My hatred for the Cult. My self-loathing. The guilt of failing to protect Chae-young.
All of it fused into a single, cataclysmic storm.
"...I'll kill you."
The voice didn't sound like mine. It was the growl of a demon clawing its way up from hell.
"Oh my, how scary. Is that any way to talk to your mother?"
Gaeul Noona sneered as she stood.
"Did you forget? You're mine. I made you. I raised you. I—gack!"
I closed the distance in an instant. Before she could react, my hand closed around her throat, lifting her off the ground.
"Ghk—! Kkh—!"
Her legs flailed in the air. The smugness on her face twisted into terror. She was staring into my eyes—realizing, for the first time, that the weak little brother she'd manipulated was gone. A real monster had awoken.
"You... were never anything like a mother to me."
I tightened my grip, snarling.
"You're just... the same disgusting devil as Father."
"P-please... Eun-woo, I'm begging you—"
"The antidote? That bullshit about needing to do it with my body? Save it. I was fine from the start. That shoddy poison of yours never worked on me."
Her pupils shook with despair. She realized her only means of control had been a lie—and that I'd known all along.
I slammed her onto the floor. She gasped, crawling away.
She wasn't worth another second. I stepped past her, toward Chae-young.
"...Chae-young."
When I reached out, she flinched violently, shrinking away. Her unfocused eyes were glazed with terror. She didn't even recognize me.
My chest tore open. What had I done? Because of me, this pure, radiant woman had been broken.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Chae-young..."
I dropped to my knees, carefully gathering her into my arms. I stripped off the silk pajamas she'd dressed me in and wrapped them around her bare body.
"It's me, Eun-woo. I'm sorry I'm late. I'm so sorry..."
Did she recognize my voice? The tension in Chae-young's body slowly eased. A trembling hand rose, clutching my sleeve.
"...Eun...woo?"
A voice scraped raw.
"Yeah, it's me. I'm here now. You're safe. No one will touch you again."
"...You're alive. Thank... God..."
She didn't spare a single thought for her own state, only smiling weakly in relief that I was alive. Then, as if her strings had been cut, she went limp in my arms.
I lifted her. She was light as a feather.
Behind me, Gaeul Noona shrieked with venom.
"You can't leave! If you go... I'll tell the Cult everything! You think they'll let you walk away? You'll spend the rest of your life running! You and that bitch will rot in the gutters!"
I paused, glancing back at her over my shoulder.
"I don't care."
My voice was calm.
"I'll run forever if I have to. Rot in the gutters if I must. As long as I'm with her... no hell could stop me."
"You... insane little—!"
"And remember this. If you ever lay a hand on my woman again."
I shot her a look of pure contempt.
"I'll come for the Cult myself—and cut your throat right next to Father's."
Leaving her screams behind, I stepped out of the container.
Dawn was breaking.
A pale blue light pushed back the darkness.
Cradling Chae-young close, I descended the mountain path.
The road ahead was still shrouded in black. The Cult's pursuit would begin now. We might spend the rest of our lives as fugitives.
But.
The warmth of Chae-young's body seeped into mine. The steady rhythm of her breathing echoed in my chest.
That was enough.
I was no longer alone.
For the first time, by my own will, I stepped into the world—to protect the woman I loved.
At the edge of dawn, our real life began.
