Chapter 45
I reached out my hand.
The blade cut through Aso’s body.
Blood scattered in all directions.
In that world dyed entirely red, only Aso stood still.
Our eyes met.
Just as I thought he seemed to smile faintly—
Thud.
“Ah… ah…”
Aso collapsed.
Standing in front of me, taking the sword meant for me.
Bleeding……
“No, no, no—Aso, no!”
I dropped to my knees. Then, scrambling, I rushed to the fallen Aso. The hands that pulled him into my arms were trembling violently.
Is this… a dream?
“This—this isn’t right. This can’t be real. Why are you there? Why did you step in? You hate getting hurt. You’re scared so easily. So why—!”
I couldn’t continue.
A long shadow fell over me.
Dazed, I looked up to see a man in black wearing a mask. He raised his sword—the same sword that had cut Aso—this time to cut me down.
If it’s going to be like this, then I’d rather—
“Hey, you bastard!”
Clang!
Sparks flew as the masked man’s sword was knocked aside.
I blinked. At some point, Hyung Lim was standing in front of me, blocking the attack.
“Snap out of it! Are you actually trying to die?!”
“……”
“Do you think acting like this will bring the dead back?! The living have to live! I’ll hold them off here—move!”
“……”
“Go! Now!”
Before I could even answer, he dragged the masked man away and disappeared somewhere.
That again.
Everyone keeps telling me to go.
Go? Where? Where am I supposed to go? Aso is already dead—where am I supposed to go alone? Aso is already—
“Cough……”
“—!”
My eyes flew open.
I hurriedly looked down.
Aso was gasping for breath.
Panting, I asked urgently,
“Aso, are you—are you okay? No, don’t talk. The blood—the blood is coming out too much. We need a doctor, we need to get a doctor—quickly—”
“It’s… fine.”
Aso spoke with difficulty.
“I’m… I’m okay. Just… a little sleepy. I keep… wanting to sleep…”
“No, don’t.”
I adjusted my hold on him.
“You can’t sleep, okay? Aso, just hold on a little longer. You’ll be okay. You can live. I promised, didn’t I? That I’d buy you a gift when we go to Hapi—no, no, I won’t go. I’ll stay with you. I won’t go anywhere……”
“No……”
“Huh?”
Aso muttered hazily.
“I told you, didn’t I? Eat lots of good food… buy and wear pretty clothes… and later, when you wear a skirt… we’ll buy accessories together……”
“Yeah, yeah. I know. I’ll do everything you said. Eat lots of good food, wear pretty clothes, skirts……”
I froze.
“Skirt…?”
As if he noticed, Aso smiled faintly.
“…You knew?”
“……”
“When did you know?”
“When you were injured……”
If it was when I was injured, then it must have been when I stayed in the guest hall after hitting my head. Back then, Aso had taken care of me when I couldn’t move properly.
Right.
It had always been strange—how my clothes were changed without anyone suspecting anything. How I’d never been discovered even in dangerous situations, and how I’d always managed to slip away cleanly.
It was because of you.
“You thought I wouldn’t know… right?”
“……”
“Do you know how hard it was… for me? You’re surprisingly careless… If it weren’t for me, you’d have been found out—cough, cough……”
His face suddenly turned pale.
Only then did I snap back to reality.
“I see… so it was because of you. Thank you. I didn’t even know… When you get better, I’ll repay you. Okay? You have to repay kindness. So don’t sleep. Okay?”
“……”
“Just a little longer. Just hold on a bit more. I’ll do something—anything—to save you. I won’t let you die like this. Never—”
“…You know.”
Aso spoke calmly.
“I’m… glad I met you.”
“Aso, stop talking. Your wound—”
“Actually… I live alone with my father too. But my dad… he’s pretty pathetic, you know? Not sick like your mother—he just drinks every day and gambles……”
“Aso……”
“So at first, I couldn’t understand you… How you could go that far for your family. How you could sacrifice yourself for someone else……”
“……”
“But… watching you, I started to understand.”
Aso smiled softly.
“You were kind to me. No matter how rude I was, you kept coming back. You listened to me, said you’d help me…… No one had ever tried to help me without expecting something in return.”
“……”
“I thought I didn’t need things like friends… but that wasn’t true. I was happy you stayed close to me. The more time we spent together… the more I liked it.”
“……”
“I wanted to do something for you too……”
Aso paused, breathing roughly. I hugged him tighter and spoke desperately.
“I feel the same. I was happy to be close to you. Being with you was so much fun. I wanted to do anything for you.”
“Really? Even though I complained and said awful things?”
“What’s awful about that? None of it was awful. I even like it. You can say whatever you want to me. Keep complaining forever, okay? I don’t care. Anything is fine.”
“…What is that?”
Aso laughed at my desperate words.
“You keep saying things like that… it makes me want to be spoiled.”
“You can be spoiled. As much as you want. As much as you want.”
“Really? Then… actually……”
His eyes clouded.
“…I’m scared of dying.”
“……”
“I’m still young. There’s so much I want to do… I’m really scared I might die. That if I fall asleep like this, I won’t ever wake up…… That scares me so much.”
“No—no, Aso. You won’t die. You won’t.”
“But something even scarier appeared. Do you know what it is…?”
“No……”
“You… dying.”
I stopped breathing.
At some point, Aso was looking at me with warm eyes.
“It’s strange. I used to think sacrificing yourself for someone else was stupid. I thought I’d never do something like that… and yet here I am.”
“……”
“But oddly enough, I don’t regret it. I even think that if I went back to the past, I’d make the same choice again……”
“……”
“…Don’t be too sad.”
Aso slowly raised his hand.
As his hand came toward my cheek, I realized I was crying.
I grabbed his hand first.
The warmth in it was terrifyingly cold.
“Thank you for being friends with me.”
“Aso, don’t—don’t say that. You said you liked being with me, right? You said you didn’t want to part from me. We have to stay together. From now on, always……”
“I’m glad I met you.”
“Don’t say that. Don’t say it like it’s the end……”
“Thinking about it… I think I really liked your smile.”
Aso spoke as if to himself.
“No matter the situation, seeing you smile so brightly comforted me……”
“Please, Aso……”
“Smile.”
He smiled brightly.
“I want to see your smile one last time.”
My vision blurred. Tears fell onto Aso’s pale face.
But I forced the corners of my mouth upward.
At that ridiculous expression, Aso laughed too.
Slowly, Aso’s eyes closed.
I heard a faint murmur.
“Dan… Dana.”
“…Yeah.”
“Goodbye……”
“……”
“…I’ll miss you.”
With a trembling voice, I replied,
“Me too… me too……”
“……”
“I’ll miss you too. I’ll miss you so much, Aso. I won’t forget you. I’ll never forget you……”
But there was no answer.
I loosened my grip.
Aso’s hand fell limply.
I hugged him tightly instead.
No matter how much strength I put into it, Aso didn’t move.
I lowered my head and pressed my forehead against his.
My entire body shook.
A long, broken sob spread through the air.
* * *
I held onto Aso for a long time.
I don’t know how much time passed.
It felt like minutes… or maybe hours.
Everything was dull and hazy, but one thing was clear.
Aso was no longer here.
I stared blankly at him.
His small face, stained with blood, looked as if he were sleeping peacefully.
I stood up slowly, carrying Aso.
Strangely, there was no weight in my arms.
I walked and laid him down beneath a tree.
I wanted to bury him somewhere warm and sunny, but I didn’t have much time left.
All I could do was wipe the blood from his face and straighten his disheveled clothes.
After staring at him for a while, I tried to stand—
Then I felt a presence behind me.
I turned around.
A familiar person was standing there.
“…Miss.”
