[딩딩딩~ Good Morning~ 딩딩딩~]
As I opened my eyes in a daze, sunlight was streaming through the blinds installed on the window.
Lying down and staring up, I found myself looking at an unfamiliar ceiling.
For a moment, I wondered where I was, but as my mind cleared, I remembered that I had moved to Yoon Si-woo’s house yesterday.
After moving several times over the past few months, there wasn’t much chance I’d get used to the ceiling I was staring at from the bed.
Honestly, I didn’t really prefer moving frequently, but in this case, it was an unavoidable choice.
I had no regrets.
In fact, I was at the point of praising myself for making an excellent choice. Having an environment where I could sleep peacefully was truly important.
Anyway, thanks to having a good sleep, I could start the day in the best condition I had in the past few days.
With a bit of a lifted mood, I hummed a melody echoing in my head as I stepped out of the room, only to lock eyes with Yoon Si-woo, who was sitting on the sofa in the living room.
…Huh, did he just see that?
And the moment our eyes met, Yoon Si-woo blushed and looked away, which confirmed that he had witnessed my embarrassing antics.
This brought up memories of my past embarrassing moments.
For some reason, I recalled that day when I was jamming out alone in an elevator, and suddenly the doors opened, letting someone else in. That awkward memory.
The elevator had no soundproofing whatsoever, so I was sure he must have heard my singing, yet I had to act like I didn’t care while standing in the same space with him.
To escape that painfully awkward atmosphere, I recklessly decided to keep singing as if I didn’t care whether he heard me or not…
But people learn from their mistakes, right?
Unfortunately, I had rolled around in bed regretting why I had done such a thing all night, and I eventually realized that it was best to act like nothing happened in situations like this.
So I made an effort to not show how embarrassed I was and initiated a conversation with Yoon Si-woo.
“Yoon Si-woo, good morning.”
“Uh? Oh, good morning…”
“Did you eat breakfast? If you haven’t, I can make something for you.”
“Ah… yeah, thanks.”
As I shifted the topic to breakfast, seeing Yoon Si-woo absentmindedly nodding, I couldn’t help but cheer inwardly, thinking I had smoothly moved past the awkward moment.
Breakfast was a simple soy sauce egg rice made from the eggs I bought yesterday.
With the comforting taste of rice, egg, and soy sauce, a spoonful of sesame oil adds a delightful flavor. I can’t resist it.
As I happily enjoyed this simple breakfast, Yoon Si-woo, who was sitting across from me, suddenly asked a question.
“…Um, was there anything uncomfortable when you went to sleep last night? Something on your mind?”
“Hmm? Not really uncomfortable? In fact, last night was great.”
How long had it been since I had a good night’s sleep like this?
Indeed, environment is really important for sleep.
While I was thinking this, Yoon Si-woo suddenly coughed as if he was choking.
Seeing his face turn completely red, it seemed pretty serious.
Worrying about him, I quickly got him some water and gently patted his back. Thankfully, he soon stopped coughing.
Taking deep breaths to calm himself down, Yoon Si-woo was still looking a bit worn out.
He looked like someone who hadn’t slept well last night.
Just as a question arose in my mind, I recalled his earlier question.
Feeling a pang of realization, I cautiously asked him.
“…Um, it seems like you didn’t sleep well last night… Was it because of me?”
Yoon Si-woo quickly shook his head and shouted in a big voice.
“No! That’s not it, Scarlet! I wouldn’t have such bad thoughts about you…!”
Seeing him break out in a cold sweat and desperately denying it, I felt a surge of guilt bubbling up inside me.
Suddenly, an outsider had intruded into his personal space.
It’s naturally a sensitive issue when someone invades one’s personal boundaries.
I had numbed that feeling because I had been living for two years with a bunch of people seeing each other’s embarrassing moments in the cramped barracks, but for someone like Yoon Si-woo who didn’t have that experience, it must have been quite uncomfortable.
Despite that, he couldn’t refuse when I barged in, probably because he had a rough idea of my situation.
He wasn’t the kind of person who could deny the request of someone who was living on borrowed time.
Because he wasn’t that harsh, no matter how he felt about it, he’d never directly say that another person’s presence was bothering him enough to disrupt his sleep.
With a heart full of guilt, I spoke to Yoon Si-woo.
“It’s okay… I understand it must be hard since I suddenly came into your space when you were living alone… No need to pretend otherwise.”
“I really mean it! I’m trying so hard not to think like that… Ugh?!”
“I see, is that really how it is…?”
“No, I…! Ah, uh… I’m sorry…”
He looked so distressed as his true feelings slipped out accidentally.
After he bowed his head in apology, I raised his face and met his embarrassed gaze with my own.
“You don’t need to apologize to me. It’s me who should be sorry. I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable. I put you in a position to grant my request forcefully, so I’d like to do something for you, but I have nothing but my body to offer… So please, don’t hesitate to ask me for anything you need while we’re living together. I won’t turn down anything I can do, got it?”
“…Got it, I’ll remember that.”
Feeling much guilt for having him see me as an inconvenience, Yoon Si-woo, still blushing, answered and ran away to his room, not showing his face until noon.
*
“…Are you going out anywhere?”
“Yeah, I just need to check on something.”
When I called Yoon Si-woo for lunch, he finally came outside, noticing I was dressed for going out.
He asked that question, and after I answered, it seemed like Yoon Si-woo was still worried about earlier, as he couldn’t meet my gaze and bowed his head.
“…Have a safe trip.”
“I will. I’ll be back before dinner, so let’s eat together later.”
“…Yeah.”
After saying goodbye to Yoon Si-woo, I stepped out of the house.
And as soon as I stepped outside, I felt a slight tremor in my hands.
That instinctive reaction brought a wry smile to my face.
How silly to get shaky over a small separation.
Fortunately, Yoon Si-woo had a day off, but I was already starting to worry about what would happen if I had to be apart for a longer time.
…In the end, there was no choice but to keep my mind focused.
Thinking like that, I moved forward.
The task I had for today was simple.
To understand the changes that had occurred in my body since being taken by the witch.
And of course, I wasn’t going to the hospital.
When I went to the hospital last time, the doctor was amazed at how much better my physical condition had become compared to before.
If he saw my current condition, he might faint.
Right now, my situation was something that shouldn’t be revealed to most people.
And there was only one person who could consult with me about my physical condition, who knew me well enough.
The place I headed to was a shabby building located in a corner of the city.
When I pushed open the door and went down to the basement, I found someone already seated among various equipment.
“…It’s been a while.”
The one who greeted me was Luke, or rather, Guardian Uncle.
He looked rather tired, and when I greeted him with a nod, he wore a bittersweet expression and said,
“I heard you’ve had a lot of things going on. I’m sorry I couldn’t come by for a while. There have been so many people watching over me lately. It took me a while to sneak out quietly. Anyway, so, your condition has been strange?”
“…Yeah, I was hoping you could take a look. Do you have anything sharp?”
“…Sharp? Would this work?”
He pulled out a pen from his pocket and handed it to me.
It might seem a bit shocking, but seeing is believing.
I used the pen he handed to stab my hand.
“You?! Out of the blue…!”
“Calm down, just look.”
Luke gasped and shouted in surprise, but I remained unfazed, showing him the blood dripping from my hand.
After a moment, he sat wide-eyed in shock.
“…You’ve recovered? What in the world…”
“I came to show you this. I was wondering if you might know what happened.”
“…It looks like I’ll need to explain a bit.”
I proceeded to describe what had happened to me and the reasoning I figured out behind my current physical condition.
Then, I lay on a suspicious-looking device and underwent various tests.
Luke checked the test results and murmured with a serious expression.
“Phew, miasma… I searched high and low for a way to improve your condition, but I never expected that to be the solution. By the way, Scarlet, did you know about your previous condition?”
“…Yeah, I knew I wouldn’t live long. I vaguely heard it would be no more than three years.”
“…I see, you knew. Well, I have some bad news and some good news. Which one do you want to hear first?”
“…Let’s hear the bad news first.”
With that, Luke sighed deeply and pointed to my chest.
“Originally, there were seven pieces of a witch’s heart embedded throughout your body to allow you to handle the witch’s powers… But now, aside from the one in your prosthetic arm, all those pieces have merged into the area where your heart is. I don’t know how this happened, but it’s likely that your physical condition changed because of that. Your body, which was originally closer to human, has become closer to that of a witch.”
I instinctively touched my chest at his words.
A bitter smile slipped out unconsciously.
“…So, am I no longer a human but a monster?”
“…Not at all. You are absolutely not.”
Luke firmly grabbed my shoulder as he spoke.
Looking into his eyes, I could sense a whirlpool of complex emotions, but there was one feeling that stood out the most.
It was faith.
With that deep conviction, he said to me,
“Remember this, Scarlet. No matter how your body is or what your heart is, as long as you possess a human soul, you are a person. So don’t ever call yourself a monster.”
At his statement, I nodded.
Then, a smile broke on his face as he continued.
“By the way, I haven’t told you the good news yet. Your body, you see. Originally, your condition was slowly deteriorating over time. However, right now, there is no sign of that at all. You will be able to live a long and healthy life.”
Luke spoke while on the verge of tears, his joy evident.
“I always worried about your condition, but now I can lessen my worries. If I can just see you living happily for a long time, I won’t have any regrets. I’m really… relieved.”
Luke flashed a truly joyful smile.
But I could not return that smile.
Ah, I should be happy that my lifespan wasn’t limited anymore.
And yet, I couldn’t bring myself to smile.
It felt as if it was bad news, despite everything.
For me, even three years felt like a lifetime.
Amidst the voices echoing in my mind, I inwardly asked myself.
Just how much longer can I hold on?
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