Chapter 79

I wasn’t too panicked about swallowing water after falling into the bathtub.

Sure, not being able to breathe is tough and painful, but that’s why Hyeseon unnie gets into the bathtub with me.

I’ve never made a mistake before, but who doesn’t make mistakes in life?

Before getting into the bathtub, I washed my body, but there might have been a bit of leftover foam from the body wash. As Hyeseon unnie carried me and tried to sit me down in the bathtub, I slipped and slid into the tub like a water slide, right into her arms.

After falling into the tub, I gulped for about a second, but Hyeseon unnie quickly pulled me out.

“Arang!!!”

I was startled by suddenly falling into the water, but I wasn’t panicked or particularly bothered.

The problem wasn’t Arang.

‘I lost control.’

Until now, I had been assimilated with Arang’s emotions, but I had never been overwhelmed by them.

‘Is this trauma?’

My whole body was trembling, and water was coming out of my nose and mouth. The food I had eaten for my health started coming back up my esophagus, and I began to vomit.

Tears blurred my vision, and memories of Arang that I hadn’t remembered until now started to resurface.

A person who seemed to be a caregiver threw me into the bathtub and laughed as I struggled.

‘This is Arang’s memory. Arang’s first caregiver was a piece of trash.’

Starting with the bathtub memory, one by one, the memories that resurfaced showed how Arang’s heart closed and her mind broke down.

Fortunately, the caregiver’s cruelty was very brief.

Arang’s loving family quickly noticed her condition, and Hyeseon unnie, who had recommended the caregiver, felt guilty.

‘That’s why she looks at me like that and hardly ever leaves my side.’

I thought I knew everything about Arang, but I didn’t.

Arang didn’t want to remember these memories, so she had sealed them away. That’s why I didn’t know about them when I first received Arang’s memories.

But who would have thought that the trigger to unlock those sealed memories would be drowning and not being able to breathe?

Hyeseon unnie held me tightly as I had a seizure, whispering in my ear that it was okay and stroking my back.

She hugged me, not caring about the tears, snot, or vomit.

It’s a strange feeling.

It’s like I was controlling a character in a game and then lost control of the controller.

Until now, I had merged with Arang, and no matter how strong her emotions were, they just came out as expressions. I had never lost control like this before.

It’s probably because the sealed memories didn’t merge with me. When they merged, the memories themselves were sealed.

‘I thought I had started to understand and accept Arang’s negative emotions… but there was still this left.’

I was already angry seeing Arang suffering and the caregiver laughing at her, but what made me even angrier was Arang’s emotions.

Anger? Resentment? Vengeance? There was none of that.

Just helplessness and despair.

‘She’s really kind. If it were me, I’d only think about killing them.’

Even now, if I saw that caregiver, I might have killed them. Of course, it’s impossible since I don’t have limbs.

‘Ah, is that why she felt helplessness and despair?’

After some time passed, I felt like I could regain control of my body, but I didn’t.

I just let Arang’s remaining emotions feel Hyeseon unnie’s warm and gentle love.

‘I need to be careful.’

First, water. It’s not just about showering or half-baths. I need to be careful about fully submerging in water.

Next, fire. That caregiver bastard said my amputated limbs were disgusting and used a lighter to burn them so they wouldn’t be visible.

‘What a psycho.’

I really want to kill them myself, but apparently, the caregiver suddenly went missing.

From what I remember, Hyeseon unnie told me directly, so it must be true.

Missing? Did they run away after doing this to Arang?

Then there’s choking. These are the biggest memories that were sealed away in Arang’s mind.

‘So, what I need to be careful about in life is… the lower abdomen, choking, drowning, and burns. That’s about it, right?’

The seizures gradually subsided. Hyeseon unnie kept saying it was okay while crying, comforting me without caring about how dirty I was.

‘I thought I had understood why Arang died before… but there was something even worse left.’

For Arang’s sake, I need to live happily and joyfully.

My eyes are closing.

Maybe it’s because the fatigue and stress from the seizure pushed my body and mind to the limit, but sleep is overwhelming me.

I just closed my eyes and fell asleep in Hyeseon unnie’s arms.

==

I hoped Arang would regain consciousness and never remember those memories.

Even though it was a short time, it was a time that should never have happened for Arang.

When Arang’s condition improved and she regained consciousness, and when she started to enjoy the half-baths she used to hate, I realized it.

Arang didn’t remember those memories.

Hyeseon discussed Arang’s condition with Anna.

The conclusion was to prevent her from recalling those memories.

Arang was just starting to recover mentally, and her condition was improving. If those memories were triggered, it could seriously harm her mentally.

They took care of Arang as carefully as possible to prevent those memories from resurfacing.

But maybe because her physical condition wasn’t great, Hyeseon’s strength faltered while getting into the bathtub with Arang, and she slipped while trying to sit Arang down.

Arang slid along Hyeseon’s body and fell into the water in the tub.

Hyeseon urgently called Arang’s name and pulled her out.

Fortunately, she didn’t seem hurt, but there was another problem.

Arang’s body was trembling violently, and she started vomiting, just like when they first bathed her after firing the caregiver.

Hyeseon thought Arang had remembered those memories and held her tightly, comforting her.

‘It’s all my fault… all of it…’

She had trusted the caregiver.

She had known them for quite a long time.

She had even entrusted them with patients who were uncomfortable after surgery.

But…

They did terrible things to Arang. Things that shouldn’t be done to a human being, completely breaking her.

Arang was suffering.

But all Hyeseon could do was hold her and tell her it was okay.

Eventually, Arang fell asleep from exhaustion. Hyeseon cleaned Arang and herself, then laid Arang down on the bed.

She calmly told Anna what had happened so she wouldn’t be shocked, and soon Anna returned to Arang’s hospital room, crying.

Anna hugged Arang, who was sleeping soundly, and cried.

“Hmm… chicken… fried chicken…”

The hellish atmosphere in the hospital room was instantly lifted by Arang’s muttering.

“Pfft!”

Both Anna and Hyeseon burst out laughing at Arang’s sleep-talking.

“Whose sister is this, sleeping so comfortably?”

“After trembling in fear just a moment ago…”

==

I woke up in the morning.

But…

Why is there chicken in front of me? And fried chicken at that.

Not just chicken, but Anna unnie and Hyeseon unnie were there too.

I turned my head to check the time.

8 a.m.

Lately, I’ve been waking up at 8 a.m. Usually, at this time, Hyeseon unnie greets me and we have breakfast.

I thought we had been eating pretty healthy lately for my weakened stomach and overall health.

But suddenly, chicken? And at this time in the morning?

“Arang, did you sleep well?”

Anna unnie kissed my cheek and picked me up.

“Yeah, I slept well… but what’s that…?”

The steam rising from it showed it was freshly made, hot chicken.

Just looking at it made my mouth water.

“I thought you might want some chicken after a long time.”

Do chicken places even open this early in the morning? And fried chicken at that? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before…

Well, I did want chicken, so does it really matter?

“Is it a bit too much?”

“No… I’ll eat it…!”

Anna unnie smiled brightly and sat down with me in her arms.

For some reason, there were five whole chickens, and all of them were drumsticks. All drumsticks from different chickens. Rich people are really something.

I’m really liking this.

Anna unnie naturally took out the most basic fried chicken, placed it on a plate in front of me, and started picking the meat off with chopsticks.

“There are so many drumsticks. I don’t have any…”

All the delicious-looking drumstick meat and the slightly downcast atmosphere made me joke, but I ended up casting a wide-area silence spell.

‘Was that not it? I was just trying to lighten the mood…’