TL/Editor: raei
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Song Soo-yeon rembered Jung-gyeom's words.
The words he said the day she first tried to jump off the rooftop.
"You'll regret it."
He wasn't wrong.
Had she jumped that day, she wouldn't have tasted the happiness Jung-gyeom later gave her.
The feeling of playing in an amusent park.
Watching a parade.
The feeling of dating.
Holding hands, hugging.
The feeling of being in love, she would have known none of it.
Song Soo-yeon took steps, one at a ti.
A cool breeze brushed past her hair.
At the sa ti, she revisited her conversations with Jung-gyeom one by one.
Back then, the five-story building she chose due to an underlying fear of death.
From that height, Jung-gyeom had said,
"If you really wanted to die, you wouldnt have chosen this building."
Even this was true.
Five stories was not too low to die from... but it wasn't high enough to guarantee it either.
Had she gone through with it, as he said, she might have just ended up with broken legs due to her lingering attachnt to life.
"...Not anymore, mister."
Song Soo-yeon whispered quietly.
From the rooftop of a twenty-story building, Song Soo-yeon looked down at the distant ground.
Several lights twinkled like stars.
Had Jung-gyeom been beside her, she might have thought it beautiful.
But not now.
The simple news of Jung-gyeom's death erased any lingering attachnt to the world.
Thinking about it, this too might have been inevitable.
After all, as he said, parting was inevitable.
It was too hard to stay sane after watching Jung-gyeom walk into ruin because of her.
There was no one she loved more.
And because of her, he had faced death.
He had sacrificed himself.
In the past, even from the height of five stories, her legs trembled.
But now, cleanly devoid of any attachnts, she felt no fear of death.
As she walked, she felt nothing.
It felt like her inner self had died along with Jung-gyeom.
There was only one thing she wished for now.
To et Jung-gyeom again, in death.
If she could et that man who had been her only salvation in this world just one more ti, it wouldn't matter where it was.
After all, a world without Jung-gyeom was hell to her.
---
---
Min-Bom and I stuck close together, sharing trivial stories for a long ti.
I told her about everything that had happened to , step by step, and Min-Bom shared what had happened during that ti as well.
Perhaps because a lot of stress had accumulated, she whined to as she spoke.
Complaining about soone annoying her, or tis when she was angry.
She kept sharing stories with .
Then, when silence fell upon us, Min-Bom slowly confessed to .
"...Oppa, do you rember what you said before?"
"...What did I say?"
".....You said that I probably wouldn't have beco a hero for the money."
I couldn't rember exactly... but it sounded like sothing I would say.
"Actually, I did beco a hero for the money."
"..."
"I wanted to live better than other people...wanted to be outstanding...that's why I beca a hero."
I slowly nodded.
Now, I could accept this side of her too.
Hearing her words, I stroked her hair.
"......Are you confessing now because your conscience is bothering you?"
"..."
"...Thank you, for telling ."
Like this, I learned sothing new about her.
Rather than being disappointed, it seed our relationship only deepened.
We just sat quietly on the sofa for a long ti.
No more words or actions were needed.
Just being like this allowed us to taste a happiness we hadn't felt recently.
I gradually felt at peace.
The longer I stayed like this, the more I gradually fell for her.
Being beside soone you love felt like true happiness, more and more.
Min-Bom continued to run her hand over my body, slowly reaching towards my pants.
"....?"
She carefully touched sothing in my pocket and asked .
"...What's this?"
Following her words, I reached into my pocket.
I pulled out a tracker that showed Song Soo-yeon's location.
It was the tracker I had used temporarily to take Tryno.
"......."
And then, looking at the location indicated by the tracker, I froze on the spot.
---
---
Song Soo-yeon swung her legs over the railing, one after the other.
It was a sowhat familiar sensation.
She had climbed over a railing like this when she tried to die before.
The difference now was the height was incomparably higher...and Jung-gyeom wasn't nearby.
She felt a sense of liberation.
She really felt a lot had changed from the past.
Back when she didn't know happiness.
When she attempted suicide like this, she only felt anger towards the world.
She felt resentnt, injustice, and fear towards the world that had driven her to this point.
But now, after learning happiness from Jung-gyeom...
She didn't feel anger.
Nor did she feel fear.
She only felt despair, knowing that Jung-gyeom was no longer in this world.
She felt longing and self-loathing.
And a desire to end the pain.
Suddenly, she thought,
If she died like this... the mories with Jung-gyeom would also die with her.
No one would rember his kindness.
She had seen it sowhere before.
There are people who lived on only so soone rembered their loved ones.
"....Ha."
Song Soo-yeon let out a hollow laugh.
She wasn't that kind of person.
She wasn't as strong as them.
She had no intention of living her life just reminiscing about him.
She couldn't imagine living in a world without Jung-gyeom.
Despite always acting tough...without sothing to lean on, she could no longer continue the act.
Her toes crossed the edge of the rooftop.
Only her hands gripping the railing prevented her fall.
Even then, Song Soo-yeon slowly thought of Jung-gyeom.
Facing death while thinking of him didn't seem so bad.
Their coincidental eting.
Reuniting at his restaurant.
The day she was saved from bullying.
The tis she was fed.
The school violence that stopped because of him.
The ho she could escape because of him.
The salvation and affection he offered.
The daily, mundane tis that simply flowed by in his restaurant.
The first ti she drank alcohol.
The amusent park date.
The walks they took holding hands.
The day she cried and he held her in his arms.
And the kiss they shared above the sea.
A natural smile appeared on Song Soo-yeon's face.
It was more beautiful than ever before.
She let go of the railing.
Slowly, she leaned forward.
"....Thank you."
She whispered.
At the sa ti, Song Soo-yeon lost her sense of gravity and began to fall rapidly.
The wind fiercely swept through her hair.
It was a peaceful feeling, unbelievably so.
Having made peace with herself, death was the greatest rest she could have.
She simply braced for the impact to co, surrendering her body to the sky.
"......?"
But no matter how long she waited, the end didn't co.
She felt no impact.
Only an endless, peaceful feeling persisted.
Was she already dead?
Perhaps this peace, this warmth, was proof of that.
The wind that had brushed past her head had already cald down.
But she didn't open her eyes.
She wanted to enjoy this tranquility a little longer.
Then, a voice hit her ears.
".......You said you'd live a good life."
At that voice, Song Soo-yeon's eyes snapped open.
Tears blurred her vision.
Blinking rapidly, she tried hard to make out the figure in front of her.
".....You need to be scolded more to co to your senses."
"........Ah.....Mister....?"
She called out a na she thought she'd never call again.
Gradually, his face beca visible.
The face of the man she loved was there.
Struggling to believe her current situation, Song Soo-yeon cautiously asked.
".......Am I dead?"
".......No."
Jung-gyeom, holding Song Soo-yeon, slowly landed on the rooftop.
Her body, which should have been falling to the ground, was sohow back on the rooftop again.
But Song Soo-yeon had no ti to worry about that.
Weakly, she reached out to stroke Jung-gyeom's cheek.
He felt vividly real.
"I'm...not dead?"
She asked again.
".....Yeah."
Jung-gyeom gave the sa answer again.
Song Soo-yeon thought for a long ti before carefully asking her question.
"......So....sob....you're....alive....?"
Jung-gyeom slowly looked at Song Soo-yeon.
Their eyes t in the air.
He said once more.
"....Yeah."
Song Soo-yeon caressed Jung-gyeom's cheek for a long ti.
Tears wouldn't stop.
She couldn't believe this was real.
Song Soo-yeon's body began to tremble.
The pain in her heart, which had felt numbed, surged back like waves.
Her heart started beating again, as though her emotions were revived.
"Ahhh....uhh...."
Song Soo-yeon bit her lip, trying to handle the overwhelming pain all at once.
Through her sobs, she struggled to ask.
"Really....uhhup....are you really...alive...?"
Jung-gyeom leaned against the rooftop railing and slowly sat down.
Song Soo-yeon completely nestled into his embrace, rested her head on his chest.
Tears continued to flow.
She didn't want to believe it.
She was afraid of getting her hopes up only to be disappointed.
She realized that even incredible happiness can be sothing to fear.
But Jung-gyeom's warmth felt too real.
His familiar voice was too sweet.
Though she shook like a leaf, sobbing...Jung-gyeom held her tight.
She began to slowly shake her head.
Even though she couldn't bring herself to leave his embrace, she started to deny the reality.
As always, no expectations, no disappointnts.
She tightly closed her eyes and started to deny his existence.
"You were reported dead....! Solace herself....told everyone....!"
"...Bom helped fake my death."
"Sob....even if you were alive....you hate ....you wouldn't co back to ...even I...find myself repulsive..."
"....If I hated you, would I have sacrificed myself for you?"
"....You wouldn't save again like this. How did you even know I was here?"
"....I ca after seeing the tracker Han Yoo-jung gave ."
However, all her denials were easily shattered by his rebuttals.
She found herself wanting to believe his words more and more.
Wanting to hold onto this miracle.
Perhaps this was the punishnt being ted out to her after entering hell.
A trick by devils, giving her hope only to cast her into the abyss.
So, Song Soo-yeon kept her eyes closed, shaking her head.
"No...no..."
Whispering with a voice filled with emotion, she refused to believe in his existence.
"............Soo-yeon."
But that voice made her last resistance futile.
Jung-gyeom's fingers, as before, wiped away Song Soo-yeon's tears.
".....Look at ."
He said.
Song Soo-yeon couldn't resist his words.
She slowly opened her eyes.
At a distance no more than a hand away, she saw Jung-gyeom.
"....I'm here."
With a small smile, he said.
With the assurance in his voice, and his familiar smile.
".....Uhhup.....sob....!"
Song Soo-yeon couldn't hold back anymore and started crying out loud.
Her cries echoed across the rooftop, a space shared only by the two of them.
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