‘What is that sound?’
To summarize So-hee’s explosive declaration:
Cheon Gi-ja came to see her. If they continue to hang out like this, she might try to kill Yoon-ho again. So-hee needs to be away until she shines brighter.
“So-hee, do you really have to go?”
I get the point Cheon Gi-ja made.
She lacks the minimum stats needed for capturing Cheon So-hee. Given that she says she needs to shine brighter, it must be about reputation points.
If I stay with So-hee like this, her next rampage will happen faster than achieving the required reputation. Better for her to be gone for a bit. That’s the meaning, right?
“Yoon-ho, if we want to avoid killing each other, you need to leave.”
So-hee seems to be trying her best to sound emotionless but her pauses give her away.
It looks like she’s trying hard not to show it, but to me, she seems like she’s on the brink of bursting if poked.
“So-hee, what about you? If you drift away from me, won’t you lose control of your killing intent again?”
“Cheon Gi-ja said that during the Seong Family incident, my genuine feelings allowed the Reverse Heaven’s Decree to transfer to me. For now, I shouldn’t have to deal with my killing intent rising.”
So-hee bowed her head slightly and fiddled with her lips.
I know exactly what she’s talking about, but did she really have such an ability? Is this something possible in a dating sim world?
“If that’s the case, isn’t there actually no reason for you to leave?”
If a kiss can settle her killing intent, wouldn’t it be alright for So-hee to get a peck every day whenever she wants?
I can provide that as a purely selfless medical service during morning, lunch, dinner, and even snack time. If she wants, I’ll even throw in some tongue action for free.
“If we keep hanging out like this, we’ll endlessly stimulate each other, and the same thing will happen again.”
So-hee shook her head from side to side.
Stimulate, huh.
Thinking back, both rampages of So-hee were caused by me.
If just being nearby guarantees such incidents will happen, I can somewhat understand why So-hee decided to leave.
“So-hee, I want to hear your thoughts. More than what Cheon Gi-ja says.”
Reasons are just reasons. I wanted to know So-hee’s true feelings.
“……”
So-hee remained silent, looking down.
“So-hee, we agreed to figure this out together. I don’t want to let you go like this.”
It’s not the same as before when So-hee was out to get me.
Plus, now that I know she’s a heroine, there’s no reason to let her go.
“……. I don’t want to leave either.”
So-hee finally spoke, as though barely managing to voice her inner feelings.
“So-hee, then don’t leave.”
“What about you, Yoon-ho?”
Her eyes trembled as I continued to plead with her.
“So-hee, you didn’t intentionally try to kill me.”
“Yoon-ho, my killing intent is never intentional. It just wants to devour whatever it wants indiscriminately.”
So-hee placed her hand over her chest, pointing at her inner killing intent. She tried to smile to maintain her composure, but the corners of her mouth trembled uneasily.
She looked so fragile.
“I’m sure by seeking answers….”
“From the first time, it was aimed at your life. The second time, it wanted to stab you with my own hands. The third time?”
So-hee’s chest shook. The facade she had maintained began to crack, and her eyes glistened.
“So-hee.”
“I felt good that day. I was glad you came to save me and I enjoyed our kiss. But what’s funny is that something inside me also enjoyed stabbing you. And as that feeling started to fade, I was so disappointed… not for fading, but because I couldn’t kill you.”
She confessed to me as if admitting her shameful sin.
“So-hee, that wasn’t you.”
“I know. I want to protect Yoon-ho. I want to be your bodyguard while you’re out there dazzling everyone. I want us to roam the Central Plains together, now and forever. But the something inside me will always aim for your neck. I want to protect you, but ironically, the most dangerous person for you in this world is me.”
She spoke as if she couldn’t control her overflowing emotions, her voice trembling.
“Is there really no way for you not to part from me?”
“They say it’s possible if you shine brighter than the Heavenly Killing Star. What does that even mean? Apparently, the Reverse Heaven’s Decree needs to echo throughout the world. What the heck is that?”
So-hee chuckled as if finding it ridiculous.
Seems like a fortune-teller really is something.
So-hee might not believe it looks absurd, but I understood it right away.
I get it, but hearing it directly feels surreal.
How bright would I need to be to shine brighter than the Heavenly Killing Star?
“Can destiny really not be defied?”
So-hee opened the window next to my bed and gazed at the night sky.
Is she looking for the Heavenly Killing Star in the sky?
While staring dazedly at the sky, a tear rolled down her cheek.
The first time I ever saw her cry.
She, who never shed a tear in any situation, was crumbling at the thought of parting from me.
‘Should we part for a while?’
If So-hee is likely to keep targeting my neck, it makes sense to part for a bit.
When the day comes that my reputation points fully control her killing intent, I could call her back then.
‘I wonder when that day will come.’
The Heavenly Killing Star is involved here. As a martial arts enthusiast, I know just how hard it is to change the fate tied to the Heavenly Killing Star.
I looked at So-hee, who was staring blankly at the sky.
‘Does she think she won’t get to meet again?’
If she thought of it as a temporary separation to return, she wouldn’t be crying like that.
This time, if she leaves, she’ll think there’s no guarantee of when they can meet again.
‘I need to give her the courage to return.’
So she doesn’t give up.
Even if she leaves, she can come back to me as a heroine.
If I can’t change her decision, I need to give her courage.
Cheon So-hee gazed blankly at the stars in the sky.
The starlight indifferently illuminated the ground.
If the starlight is this indifferent, receiving its energy, why then is she so tormented by fate?
The fear of one day becoming someone she no longer recognizes. The destiny that could lead many people to ruin.
In the path towards such catastrophe, she discovered hope.
A man who shared the same experience, understood her pain, and even shared a past.
She thought that with him by her side, she could walk along the thorny path as long as she could look at his face. But,
一 He’s not prepared yet to bear the fate of the Heavenly Killing Star.
She cannot walk alongside him. If she does, the day will come when she ends up killing him.
Cheon So-hee carefully gazed at Yoon-ho, sitting on the edge of the bed. His worried expression looked at her.
To stay by his side, his reputation must echo throughout the world. Is that possible?
She admitted to herself that while she recognizes Kang Yoon-ho’s wits, she had never once heard the name of a reputation echoing throughout the world after they met.
With a meeting comes a parting, and with a parting comes a meeting (會者定離 去者必返). Cheon Gi-ja said so. But if she separates from Yoon-ho now, will she be able to stand by his side again?
Cheon So-hee couldn’t answer her own question.
“So-hee.”
Kang Yoon-ho sat up from the bed and approached her.
“Yoon-ho, lie down.”
Whatever Yoon-ho says, she has to leave for him. But if he hugs her, would she still be able to leave?
So-hee stepped back half a step to keep her heart from wavering.
Yoon-ho watched her with a sad expression, then gazed out the window at the sky.
“There are so many stars in the sky. It’s hard to believe that something shining just there could twist a person’s life like this.”
“It seems like the fate of the stars is ultimately insurmountable.”
So-hee spoke in a tone of resignation.
“Speaking of fate, you know, So-hee, I learned palmistry in my younger days. Could you lend me your hand?”
Kang Yoon-ho extended one hand in a natural gesture, asking for hers.
So-hee hesitated for a moment but then carefully placed her right hand atop Yoon-ho’s.
“Looking at this hand, So-hee, you’re fated to love one man for life.”
Yoon-ho grinned as he examined her palm.
“Can you see such a thing?”
“That’s just one thing among many. I can see a lot. Let me take a serious look.”
So-hee stared blankly as Yoon-ho traced her palm with his finger.
A ticklish sensation. Just tracing her palm made his affection penetrate deeply into her heart.
She wanted to feel this way forever.
But time was running out.
Yoon-ho, whether he knows it or not, began explaining her palm lines.
“You’re destined for a lifelong love with that man, and you’ll marry him. Looking at your intellect line, you have exceptional ability with no barriers to learning. Though you might have a somewhat cool personality, you’re destined to show fiery passion to those you care for. Your life line shows you’re destined for longevity.”
Destined for longevity, huh?
She’s meant to kill and ultimately be killed by someone.
That’s not a tale to tell. Yoon-ho. So-hee shifted her gaze from her hand to Yoon-ho’s face.
“So-hee.”
Yoon-ho looked at her as if he had already known she’d look back at him, his expression grave.
“Yeah.”
“So-hee, you are destined for longevity.”
Yoon-ho declared to So-hee with unyielding conviction.
“Is that even possible……?”
“According to those uncaring stars, no. But it’s written in your hand, So-hee. Tell me, is your fate above in the sky, or right here in this hand?”
As he said that, Yoon-ho held her hand tightly.
His grip was reassuring, a promise not to let go.
The stars say they’ll never be able to meet again if she parts from Yoon-ho.
But this hand writes that her destiny is to share longevity with Yoon-ho.
There’s no reason to ponder which side she wants to believe in.
“It’s in this hand.”
“Exactly. In your hand. Your destiny lies not with those uncaring stars but in this hand. So don’t give up.”
“Y-Yoon-ho.”
So-hee’s hand trembled. But Yoon-ho held it firmly, steadying it.
“I’m sad and troubled that the idea of you being able to kill me hurts more than the possibility of you leaving me. But So-hee, you’re also troubled by the danger you pose to me.”
Yoon-ho stroked her hair slowly as if he understood everything.
“I don’t want to leave, but I have to for Yoon-ho’s sake.”
Because he’s precious, she must let him go. But if she lets him go, she fears she may never roam the world with him again.
So-hee felt that accepting the fate tied to the Heavenly Killing Star was easier than accepting her own reality.
“If I must go, I’ll go. But don’t forget that your destiny is in this hand, not in the sky. Hold onto it tightly and don’t let go.”
“……. If I do, can I come back to Yoon-ho?”
“If you don’t give up, and I don’t give up, it will certainly happen. I will also strive for you. I’ll work hard so my reputation echoes throughout the world. So promise me you’ll return to my side.”
So-hee could feel his determined will flowing into her heart through their clasped hands.
It seems impossible, yet there’s a man declaring he’ll make it happen, if only for her.
For a moment, changing the fate engraved in her hand appeared as a trivial task compared to what he would strive for.
Yes.
That’s why he could accept her into his future.
Now, So-hee faintly grasped what Cheon Gi-ja had said.
With this man, it’s possible.
If he’s my destined one, it’s possible.
……. If he’s the man I love, it’s possible.
“Yoon-ho.”
At that moment, she couldn’t hold back her overflowing emotions.
“Hmm? What!”
So-hee’s first kiss.
Though it’s the second time, it’s the first time she’s doing it of her own will, so she’ll consider it her first.
Only lips grazing against each other, a bird’s kiss.
It felt like a baby bird yearning for infinite affection towards the one and only love.
Her kiss was shy, yet more passionate and desperate than anyone else’s.
“Uh, So-hee?”
After feeling Yoon-ho’s affectionate response through the kiss, she looked back at Yoon-ho, who was still stunned.
No, it’s not enough.
“Do it again.”
So-hee pressed her lips against Yoon-ho’s once more.
Her kiss might have had a hint of awkwardness, but within it was a love and passion that nobody could rival.
After what felt like a long time, both stared at each other with flushed faces.
“Are you really going now?”
It was time to part.
If they delay now, they might never be able to part again.
Both So-hee and Yoon-ho acknowledged this reality.
“Yeah.”
So-hee began to engrave the face she might never see again into her memory.
The man who didn’t give up on her.
As long as he doesn’t give up on her, she too will tightly hold onto her destiny and move forward.
So,
She wouldn’t say goodbye.
“I’ll see you again, Yoon-ho Oppa.”
One and only.
Her destined one.
Her childhood friend.
Her one true brother.
The man she loves.
She would return to meet him again.
Cheon So-hee engraved Yoon-ho’s startled expression upon her heart, disappearing from the room before he could even react.
*
“So, you finally call me ‘Oppa’ at the end.”
Hearing So-hee refer to me as Oppa, it’s better than I expected.
I smiled to myself and gazed for a moment in the direction she disappeared.
I wouldn’t be able to meet her for a while.
But we’ll meet again soon.
I’ll make sure of it.
“I need to get super famous.”
I have to. That’s the only way I can meet her again.
That’s how I can save her destiny.
So how should I go about it?
“Guess it’s time to start writing again.”
For our future.
It’s time to start writing again.
