Chapter 230 - Chapter 226: IF Side Story - Still Getting Devoured (28) - End
When I was kicked in both legs while being held by the neck earlier, the sensation in my legs vanished, replaced by a searing, white-hot pain.
The pain persisted even though I couldn't feel them, so they were at least still attached.
However, it was too early to be relieved.
As I tried to check my legs, Bianca-eonni's fists began to rain down mercilessly on my face and torso.
Bam! Thud!
"Ke... Keuk... Aack!"
"How could you! Look at what you've done to Seon-ah! Die... just fucking die!"
"Keuk... S-save me... Please... I didn't know anything. I just brought him back as loot during my first expedition... It was a coincidence. I never imagined he was Eonni's mate... Keuheup... Cough... Blegh."
Feeling something surge up inside me, I choked, gasping for air.
When I finally spat it out, a mouthful of bright red blood clots and bile splattered onto the floor.
As I leaned forward, prone and retching, the talisman hanging around my neck fell to the floor with a clatter.
The string must have finally snapped when she hit me.
Bianca-eonni picked it up.
"What is this?"
"Ah... No... Don't open it."
When she opened the talisman, I saw the rage on her face intensify.
"A coincidence? Loot? The photo that was in my room... why was it hanging around your neck? You're going to lie to me, and you can't even keep it straight for a few seconds?"
Thud!
The sight of Bianca-eonni's foot swinging toward my face was the last thing I remembered before everything went black.
"Seon-ah... Seon-ah. How did you... end up back here? Why... when I had returned you safely. To suffer such a terrible thing all over again."
As I lifted Seon-ah to check on him, I saw bruises covering his body.
My heart ached at the sight; he looked like an object that had been ruined and discarded.
"Se... Seon-ah... Seon-ah... Where are you... He... hehehe... My Seon-ah... Where is Seon-ah..."
Furthermore, the woman who appeared to be a friend dragged in with Seon-ah seemed to have lost her mind, tied to the bed.
"Ah... No... This can't be... I sent you away on purpose. To think you'd end up suffering like this again. Where on earth is your daily life... your happiness..."
I had forcibly erased his memories and sent him away because I wanted Seon-ah to be happy, yet he had been dragged back to this Demon World to suffer.
I had wanted only myself to suffer, but in the end, we both ended up going through the same hell.
"I was wrong... I thought it would be enough if I, the one who caused you pain, didn't appear in front of you... I never knew... it would turn out like this. Now, I will protect you... Seon-ah. This time, let's go to Earth... together. This time, I will stay by your side. For your sake..."
As I finished speaking, I took out two sacks, put Seon-ah into one, and shoved Yu-rin into the other.
"It's a bit stifling... but please bear with it. I'm sorry... It's forbidden to take humans treated as objects out of the Demon World... so I have no choice. I'll take you out as soon as we get outside. I wanted to wait until your body recovered, but... now that that bitch Miel knows, you two will be targeted by countless demons. So... we have to get to Earth as soon as possible."
Yu-rin, who had lost her mind, and Seon-ah, who had lost consciousness.
Thinking that they might be listening, I spoke to myself, shouldered the two sacks, and moved toward the gate.
In the spot where Miel had fainted, only a ruined house with a hole in the door remained, along with the succubus who lay unconscious after vomiting blood.
.
.
.
When I arrived at the gate, I found a familiar face.
Though it wasn't exactly a welcome encounter in this situation.
"Oh... Bianca. I haven't seen you in a while... Wait?... Why are you so hurt?... And what's with those sacks?... To think there are two this time."
"That... some things happened. Anyway, since I've been off work for a while... I have to go out again. Please open the door."
It felt like déjà vu, as if the same thing had happened last time, but this time, the gatekeeper looked at me with genuine worry.
"I... I can't let you through. Going to work in that state... you might die... No matter how much I'm just a gatekeeper who only opens and closes the door... I can't let a demon who looks like she's about to die at any moment go out..."
"I'm asking you just this once... please..."
However, the gatekeeper's resolve seemed firm.
"Absolutely not! What you're saying right now is the same as saying you're going to die! Even if we're just acquaintances who only talk when we run into each other, I can't let a demon who wants to commit suicide go through!"
"Then... I'll give up... Instead, could you take a look at this for a second?..."
As I opened the sack to show him the inside, the gatekeeper lowered his head, his face full of confusion.
Thwack!
"Keuheuk."
I struck the gatekeeper's neck hard with the edge of my hand, and he collapsed forward.
"I'm sorry... Thank you for everything until now."
I whispered a short apology and walked through the gate.
Step by step.
Even if my feet felt like they were shattering. Even if my breathing was ragged and shallow. Even if my broken hands and wrists felt like they were going to fall off.
I forced my body, which felt heavier with every step, to carry the sack containing Seon-ah beyond that gate.
Still Getting Screwed. Side Story End.
It feels like it ended too abruptly, right? An epilogue is prepared.
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- Epilogue -
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"Haaam... That was a good sleep. Yu-rin, wake up."
"What time is it, Seon-ah?"
As the early morning sunlight leaked through the window and tickled my eyes, my eyelids fluttered open.
Waking up to the soft touch of Yu-rin's warm skin is something I experience every day, but it never feels ordinary.
"It's 8 o'clock. We should get up, wash, and get ready. We decided to start the broadcast at 9, and it wouldn't be good to keep Manager Noona waiting."
"That's true... We can't keep Manager-eonni waiting."
As Yu-rin sat up, she took my hand and helped me up.
To think we're a married couple who can anticipate each other's needs without a word.
I feel it every morning—Yu-rin and I really do get along perfectly.
"Kik... Puhup..."
Perhaps we were thinking the same thing; Yu-rin looked at my face and giggled.
I laughed along with her, and as if by silent agreement, we headed to the washroom, holding hands tightly.
"Ah... Seon-ah, is that my toothbrush?"
"Hm?... I'm sorry, should I give it back?"
"I don't want to! Since you already used it, I'm going to use yours!"
"Ack! No, I'm sorry, I was wrong, give it back..."
Kikik-duck.
It's a little game we play when we're groggy in the morning, and it's always fun.
Maybe it's because we're still in the early stages of our marriage that life feels this affectionate and playful, but I've never been happier.
"Here, towel."
"Thanks, Seon-ah."
After washing up, I handed the towel to Yu-rin, and she wiped her face.
Once we were done, we had a simple breakfast of toast, changed out of our pajamas, and waited.
"Manager Noona must have it tough, coming to our house—which is also our studio—every single morning."
"Kik... Seon-ah, that's funny. Anyone hearing you would think she travels from far away, when she lives right next door."
Pu-hut..
Every time I make eye contact with Yu-rin, the joy just bubbles up.
Yu-rin and I work as a married couple streamer duo.
When we went missing in a gate and returned, I had no memory of being dragged inside.
My last memory was just holding hands tightly with Yu-rin in the basement.
Not having memories means not having a past.
And because there's no story that formed who I am, it's a terrifying and painful void.
However, thanks to Yu-rin, my parents, and Manager Noona, I've been able to move past the pain of that missing time.
To think I could forget the memories, but also forget the pain.
Isn't it ironic?
"Seon-ah, what tea do you want?"
"I'll have mint tea. Strangely, that's what I crave the most."
"Mint tea? You really do love mint, don't you?"
"Yeah... I don't have memories of it, but I just crave things like mint or mint chocolate."
When Yu-rin brought the tea, I turned on the TV in the living room, watching the steam rise from my cup.
"The New York stock market..."
"A gate incident occurred in the safe zone of downtown Seoul, but it was cleared within 3 hours..."
"Gather around, friends..."
"The lion, king of the jungle..."
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Nothing interesting on."
"It's morning, after all. Come to think of it, what are we filming today?"
"Hmm... We said we'd do a cooking broadcast from morning until lunch. We're each going to make our most confident dish, and Manager Noona is going to evaluate them."
Since we film every day, Manager Noona set up a schedule divided into three parts.
Come to think of it, working this long... wouldn't Manager Noona be tired?...
"Kik... Ah, I'm going to win today. Seon-ah, you're good at cooking, but you make such weird things every day."
"What are you talking about? Weird? It's food from heaven itself."
"Are seasoned seaweed stems, dried pollack gangjeong, and Hawaiian pizza not weird?"
"Of course not!"
To insult the dishes I love most... I absolutely cannot lose this time.
Ding-dong.
"Ah... Manager Noona must be here."
"That's right... Seon-ah, let's go out together."
"Yeah."
When I opened the front door, holding hands with Yu-rin, Manager Noona greeted us with her usual smile.
"Hello, Seon-ah, Yu-rin. Are you ready today too?"
Our manager, Bianca, with her blonde hair and brown skin.
She became our manager not long after we returned from the gate.
"Can I stroke your hair just once, Seon-ah?"
"Yes."
"Manager-eonni! No matter what, he's my husband. You should at least get permission before doing that."
"Eh? It's my hair... Why do I need your permission... Oh well, forget it. Stroke both of us together."
Strangely, Bianca Noona looks at me with such an affectionate expression every time she strokes my hair.
Especially when her emotions well up, she strokes it a bit too hard, and sometimes she even buries my face in her chest.
Noona says she feels happy whenever she strokes my hair... or something like that...
Of course, there are times when Yu-rin looks at us with a jealous gaze, but she seems to understand.
It seems like there's something between the two of them that I'm not privy to.
"Then, shall we start with work? Manager Noona, today is a cooking broadcast, so I'll show off my skills. What would you like? Hawaiian pizza? Mint chocolate pie? Just say it."
"Ack... That's cheap, Seon-ah. To ask the person evaluating it directly what they want... Of course, seeing you recite the cooking list, it seems like it's already ruined. Huh? Eonni? Why is your face pale?"
Bianca Noona's face had turned pale.
Is she not feeling well?
I should pay a little more attention today, right?
"Ah... I have a stomachache today. I'll only taste a little bit."
Ah... that's a shame. I really wanted her to taste my cooking to her heart's content.
"Then let's go in. Seon-ah, Yu-rin, are you ready?"
When Bianca Noona took out the camera and asked us, we answered energetically.
"Yes!"
This daily life with the two of them is the happiest moment for me, more than anything else.
Yandere Hunter of the Reversed World Side Story End.