Chapter 176 - Regret and Ruin
Swoosh—
It happened so suddenly.
When Hayoung, Chaeryeong, and Minseo were huddled together, embracing one another,
no one noticed that Yoon Seol had grabbed a large rock rolling on the road.
"Ugh... Master... my whole body aches..."
Even as Minseo winced, he smiled happily while held in Hayoung's arms, but
that smile didn't last long.
Because he saw Yoon Seol slowly rising, gripping the rock, and approaching Hayoung.
His body stiffened... and his expression twisted into terror.
Yoon Seol was coming at them relentlessly, bleeding as she moved.
I have to protect her.
I need to protect her.
Even in that brief moment, Minseo thought only of protecting his Master—
"Master—!!! Look out—!!"
He shouted urgently with a hoarse voice, but...
"Go to hell and die—!!!!"
The blood-soaked Yoon Seol raised the rock above her head, and...
it was already too late to dodge.
No...
No... please...
After all I went through to meet my Master again... I can't... lose her like this...
I have to protect her.
Minseo squeezed his eyes shut... and wrapped his body around Hayoung to shield her.
Since I've always been the one protected, this time I have to be the protector.
Master.
Please don't resent me. I love you. Always.
Yoon Seol brought the rock down...
Thud—
The rock struck directly into Minseo's head as he shielded Hayoung.
"You fucking bitch—!!!!"
Seeing that, Chaeryeong immediately kicked Yoon Seol to stop her, but...
"M... Minseo...?"
Hayoung caressed his cheek with trembling hands.
Hayoung's pupils were shaking more violently than ever before, and her hands trembled with insane terror.
"Ha... young... n..."
Blood streamed down from the face of Minseo, who had been looking at her, and he closed his eyes just like that.
Thump.
Minseo collapsed while still in Hayoung's arms, and...
"Kang Minseo—!!!!"
Hayoung wailed, drenched in sorrow and consumed by rage.
That as a Master, she couldn't properly protect Minseo.
That even as a Master... she had only ever received help from Minseo.
With the helplessness of failing to keep him safe, she pulled his blood-stained face tightly against her, and the painful sorrow that tore through her body erupted.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... so please... wake up... please..."
Covered in tears, Hayoung held Minseo, wailing and shaking her body violently.
And—that sight...
"Huh."
There was Chaeryeong, watching with dead eyes, all vitality drained from them.
It was a tragic moment that no one had foreseen.
A month has passed.
One day when the rain was pouring down—pitter-patter—someone was sitting on a bench drenched in rainwater, holding an umbrella, yet sitting there without a care.
Click—
She had already put a cigarette in her mouth...
"Puff—"
With a thick cloud of cigarette smoke, Seoyoung, with her short red hair... closed her eyes tightly.
Closing her eyes made her feel a bit more at ease, and soon, the voice she had been waiting so long for could be heard.
"Seoyoung-nim."
The gentle and soft voice she had been waiting for.
"Yeah. Minseo-ya."
Seoyoung looked into his eyes with a bright smile.
Those bright, sparkling eyes that always shone.
And I really loved those eyes, even when they would blur and tremble while he was being ravaged by me.
"Seoyoung-nim, why are you suddenly smoking?"
"Just... because I suddenly felt like it?"
Seoyoung smiled bashfully at Minseo.
Seoyoung was someone who hated cigarette smoke to death.
Moreover, she was someone who wouldn't even touch a cigarette, saying it wasn't good for working out.
She was the one who would frown and click her tongue even when Jiha and Yujin smoked.
But now, those thoughts had long been forgotten.
"Liar."
"Huh?"
"You're smoking because of me."
"....I'm not."
Seoyoung said that, but... bitterness remained on her face.
Swoosh—
Minseo caressed Seoyoung's cheek with a soft smile.
"It's not because of me, so don't be sad. And don't resent me either."
Minseo was smiling, but he had such a sad expression.
"Minseo-ya, you have to call me Seoyoung-nim. You'll get in trouble?"
Seoyoung swallowed the sob rising from her throat and forced a smile.
Because she didn't want to show a sad expression to Minseo.
Because she didn't deserve to.
He was the hero who saved me.
"Seoyoung-ah, we're the same age. You fool."
Minseo said that and caressed my tear-filled eyes.
"When things are hard, it's okay to cry."
At Minseo's kind words... the tears I had been holding back somehow burst forth, and...
"Hic... hic..."
Looking at the Minseo who had already disappeared, Seoyoung sobbed and wailed...
Whoosh—
The rain didn't know how to stop and poured down...
The umbrella lay abandoned on the ground.
Taking the rough rain with her whole body... Seoyoung cried and cried again.
Ever since Minseo became unconscious, she had been seeing hallucinations from that moment on.
A very warm and kind Minseo would talk to her...
And even though she knew it was a hallucination... she treated him preciously.
Because it was so heartbreaking that she hadn't treated him that way sooner.
Because she blamed herself so much.
She thought of it as being punished.
And so—for a month, Seoyoung lived drenched in sorrow, seeing phantoms of Minseo.
Bang—
Jiha was drinking high-proof alcohol alone in her room.
In the dark room, looking out the window where the rain was streaming down.
When I was being clumsy and couldn't adapt, it was Kang Minseo who kindly helped me.
I only realized my feelings now.
Now... I can't even convey my feelings.
Drop—
Drop—
Clear tears fell from Jiha's eyes... and she drank and drank more to forget the sorrow.
"Haa... Minseo-ya... I miss you."
Jiha resented this damn situation that was now far too late... and she hated it.
"Please... just open your eyes... please... I beg you..."
Jiha sobbed, messing up her blonde hair...
Only guilt and insane longing remained in her heart.
Just as Jiha's tears were flowing without end...
Beep-beep-beep—
Suddenly, with the sound of the door lock—
Clatter—
Someone entered.
"Hmph. The smell of alcohol."
Yujin frowned at the pungent smell of alcohol that pierced her nose.
"Hic, hic... Unni..."
Seeing Yujin, Jiha began to cry sorrowfully...
"....."
Usually, she would have spat out curses asking why she was crying...
Swoosh—
Yujin sat silently beside her and patted her shoulder.
It was a significant shock to Yujin as well.
When Minseo became unconscious, everyone fell into a panic...
And it was clear that the Baekhwa Organization would collapse in that state.
She was insanely sad and struggling, but... she had to be the one to rebuild the organization.
Minseo wouldn't want it to collapse so vainly.
Recalling the memories of Minseo, with whom she had enjoyed chatting in bed.
Recalling that warm Minseo who would listen to her stories while smiling as brightly as a child.
Yujin held back her tears and began to work as hard as she could.
Seeing Hayoung, who was nursing Minseo in a devastated state all day, Seoyoung, who had disappeared somewhere, and Jiha, who was holed up in her room, she vowed to protect the organization by herself at least.
She didn't resent them.
Because they were the ones who had even more memories with him than she did.
Because she knew they would be having an even harder time.
She, who had fewer memories with Minseo, had to pull herself together.
If only for the sake of the Minseo she would meet later.
If only to prove that she had endured this firmly.
'Kang Minseo, I believe you will open your eyes.'
Yujin wiped the tears flowing down her cheeks without anyone knowing and bit her lip hard.
*
Scratch— scratch— scratch—
The temporarily set-up office.
Someone was working like a madwoman there.
"Here is..."
"This document is... here..."
She, who piled up documents like a mountain and worked day and night... was Suhyun.
Ever since Minseo became unconscious, she was the one trying to rebuild Baekhwa along with Yujin...
And so, she was working as if she were crazy, until her body collapsed.
Even when she was staggering and had no strength left, even when her eyes were closing, she couldn't put down her pen.
Because...
The moment she took even a short rest, Minseo's voice would be heard.
"Suhyun-nim... why couldn't you protect me...? Even though you have the strength. Is that all you were...? You don't deserve to be a bodyguard."
She often heard auditory hallucinations of Minseo, engulfed in the guilt of not being able to protect him and the helplessness of being strong but unable to do anything...
"Ugh... I'm... sorry... I'm sorry..."
Suhyun had no choice but to work like a madwoman to avoid hearing Minseo's hallucinations.
If she stopped working even for a moment, his voice would tear through Suhyun's body and torment her...
"Ugh—aaaa—"
Suhyun was on the verge of going insane, tears streaming down her face.
Just then—
Clatter—
"Suhyun-ah. You have to pull yourself together. Okay?"
Chaeryeong, who had entered the office, smiled brightly and hugged Suhyun.
"It's okay. Everything will be fine. Let's rest a bit. Both of us."
Chaeryeong, shaking her body, comforted Suhyun who was held in her arms.
Suhyun's body had changed a lot from the strong and sturdy bodyguard she once was.
She shook her body like a kitten caught in the rain in Chaeryeong's arms...
And her face, which was always neat and clean without a single blemish, had become haggard with fear and terror.
"Ugh... I'm sorry... Minseo-ya..."
Suhyun sobbed insanely while held in Chaeryeong's arms...
"Hic. Hic."
That was how Suhyun fell asleep after crying in Chaeryeong's arms for several hours.
"Phew."
Chaeryeong, who had put Suhyun to sleep, finally let out a sigh of relief...
Drop—
Drop—
Transparent tears fell from Chaeryeong's eyes too, without anyone knowing.
Sorrow was already lingering in the eyes of Chaeryeong, who had been comforting Suhyun kindly and bravely.
Ever since Minseo became unconscious, everyone had fallen into a state of panic...
Everyone was unable to pull themselves together, becoming devastated and drenched in sorrow.
Naturally, Chaeryeong also had complex emotions like insane sorrow, agony, anxiety, and regret tearing through her heart...
But even so, she couldn't be the one to be sad.
Because she was the eldest sister.
She had to take responsibility and lead them.
She covered Hayoung with a blanket as she cried and fainted several times a day, and took care of her by making warm meals.
She called Seoyoung, who had disappeared somewhere, several times a day and talked to her for at least a few minutes.
She comforted her with hopeful stories, saying that Minseo's condition had improved a little, that his hair had grown longer, or that she had shaved him.
She went to Jiha's house, who was holed up at home drinking alcohol, cooked food for her, and took care of her.
She visited Yujin and Suhyun, who were working hard, several times and comforted them with a smile.
She never cried.
Because I am the eldest sister.
Because I have to be the most reliable one.
But still, if no one is watching... it's okay to cry, right...?
Chaeryeong bit her lip hard and cried sorrowfully in silence, fearing that Suhyun might hear.