I Became a Villainous Character with a Limited Lifespan - Episode 116

Episode 116

“We’ve arrived.”

Seok-hyung, who took a slightly longer route to avoid running into Jae-young, headed straight to their new residence. The hastily found residence was located a bit outside of Seoul.

While moving a not-so-close distance, he was quite worried that Seung-hyun’s condition might worsen, but fortunately, perhaps thanks to Seung-hyun sleeping the whole time, they were able to arrive without any major issues.

“Don’t worry about anything else and just don’t overdo it. The doctor will come for checkups twice a week. There will be times when you’ll need to go to the hospital for regular checkups, but…”

Seung-hyun quietly listened to Seok-hyung’s words and thought. Is there any big meaning in doing this? He knew best that his physical condition was worsening day by day. He wouldn’t be able to hold on for long anyway.

‘No, never mind.’

But since there was nothing else he particularly wanted to do, maybe it would be better to follow the wishes of the person who at least cared about his body. Seung-hyun nodded, thinking that. Afterward, while listening to Seok-hyung’s words and quietly looking out the window, Seung-hyun slightly frowned at the glare.

It was a house with a pretty view. Not too far from the city, but one that required a car to get around. However, the neat house located in a quiet place with good air somehow felt to Seung-hyun like just a pretty execution ground isolated from reality.

‘…Come to think of it, the weather has fully warmed up now.’

While in the hospital, complete spring had arrived. Looking around the spotlessly clean interior, Seung-hyun recalled something and had slightly bitter eyes.

Seeing the display cabinet set up on one side of the living room, he remembered Jae-young who had said they should fill it up so they could see the changing seasons at a glance.

“If there are any items you need to bring from the house you stayed at before, please let me know. I will stop by and get them tomorrow.”

At Seok-hyung’s words, Seung-hyun, who had returned to reality, let out a small sigh. Right, it was something meaningless now.

“……”

“It would be best for you to rest for today. I will be staying in the room next to the stairs, so if you need anything, please let me know.”

Seok-hyung, who briefly conveyed his business, went into his room. It was a room close to Seung-hyun’s bedroom, but not the closest one.

Was it to keep just that distance from him? Seung-hyun, who had been looking at the closed door, went into his own bedroom. Unlike the room where he had personally chosen and decorated each piece of furniture, it was a neat but stark room like the one he stayed in when he first became “Han Seung-hyun”.

“The cell phone.”

Come to think of it, he hadn’t turned on his cell phone even once while in the hospital. Seung-hyun looked at the cell phone connected to the charger next to the nightstand for a moment and then long-pressed the power button.

‘Will there be any messages?’

The number of people who knew this number was extremely limited. And among them, there was only one person with whom he exchanged what could be called contact.

Would there be any contact from that person? If so, where would it have been cut off?

Although he didn’t want to know, he couldn’t avoid it forever.

Before long, as the cell phone power fully turned on, the piled-up contacts flooded the screen. The first thing he checked was the missed calls.

Quite a few missed calls from Jae-young’s contact and unsaved numbers had accumulated.

Most of them were calls that came right after Seung-hyun collapsed. Seung-hyun ignored all the calls from unsaved numbers and focused on the calls from the one saved number.

After that day, there was no trace for a while, but starting a little while later, there were traces of Seung-hyun being sought out several times a day. However, as if expressing a tiring heart, the traces gradually decreased day by day from a certain point.

The last one was about a week ago.

“……”

There was a considerable number marked on the message window as well, but he couldn’t check that far. If seeing the decreasing number of missed calls each day made his heart this complicated, he felt like he would do something foolish again if he read the content of the texts.

He knew well that he didn’t have much time left and that any further human relationships were greed. The unresolved fatigue and lethargy that he was suppressing with painkillers were telling him, so he couldn’t not know.

‘If I was going to be selfish, it would have been better to be selfish until the end.’

He thought pushing him away was the right thing to do, but in one corner of his heart, it seemed he still couldn’t let go of his lingering attachment.

If only he had been a person who could not think about the future after he disappeared, or the heart of the person left behind.

“…No.”

However, Seung-hyun soon shook his head. Since his death was unchangeable anyway, it was right to leave only one person in pain.

It would have been better if they had never met from the beginning. If he hadn’t known this feeling, he could have been satisfied with pretending to be a golden spoon even if it wasn’t in his fate and left.

“……”

Was it because his heart had also weakened as his body weakened? The tear glands he thought had dried up were getting damp again.

He had reassured himself several times, thinking it would be okay and that this was the right thing to do, but he was tired of lying. But it was not something he could turn back on after coming this far.

So that the small sobs wouldn’t leak out the door, Seung-hyun buried his head in the blanket. The cell phone he had barely turned on soon went back into the drawer before long.

But tears and sadness couldn’t be hidden in the drawer. The lights in Seung-hyun’s new house stayed on for quite a long time.

***

“He said he’s going home today, right?”

“If there’s anything you need, please tell me now.”

“…The laptop, and…”

Seung-hyun hesitated for a moment. An item he wanted to bring came to mind, but he hesitated to ask for it.

‘…Even just that one thing.’

After a long deliberation, Seung-hyun, who finally decided to ask, slowly opened his mouth.

“…Deep in the top drawer of the dresser, there should be a black cat doll. I’d like you to bring that.”

Although his expression remained the same, a feeling of displeasure could be sensed. In fact, although Seok-hyung nodded, he didn’t like Seung-hyun’s request.

‘He’s not a little kid to have dolls and such.’

He probably didn’t want to play with dolls, and he thought it must be a meaningful item, but he disliked it even more because of that. However, since talking at length would only make himself feel complicated, he left the house without saying a word.

There was quite a distance between the house Seung-hyun had been living in and the current residence. Leaving the house for a not-so-short time with a sick person was worrisome, but on the other hand, he wanted to get away from this house even like this.

‘Guarding Director Han’s side is an obvious duty.’

Even if Seung-hyun became a vegetable, even if he became a different person who was only the same on the outside. No matter what form he changed into, he had to stay by his side.

It was no exaggeration to say it was a value that had never changed for a single moment since the day he vowed to dedicate his everything to him, a value that supported Seok-hyung’s life.

However, as time passed, it was becoming painful to see Seung-hyun. It was painful to realize that the person he had respected so much was no longer there, to constantly discover unfamiliar parts in the familiar face and body.

Even if he made the foolish decision to cling to a severed relationship, even if everyone pointed fingers saying it was crazy, he thought it wouldn’t matter, but this situation was gradually becoming burdensome.

His head was throbbing because he couldn’t fall asleep until dawn while listening to Seung-hyun’s sobs that filled the house all night. But he had no intention of giving up.

‘I can’t be the first to leave Director Han. That would be a betrayal.’

However, as time passed, it was inevitable that the question of whether this was right grew heavier along with the pain. Seok-hyung, who arrived at Seung-hyun’s house with a complicated heart, entered the house by familiarly pressing the password.

It wasn’t the first time seeing it, but it was an excessively unfamiliar house. It must be because it was a completely different space from Seung-hyun’s usual taste.

Seung-hyun preferred a neat design and disliked deviating from a regular arrangement. He had no preference for colors other than achromatic ones. He also didn’t prefer decorations, so Seung-hyun’s house was always a space that couldn’t be described in any other way than neat.

But this house was a space that was too unfamiliar to Seok-hyung. Rather than simply a house for sleeping and living, it evoked a cozy feeling with various colors harmonized, although not to the extent of being colorful.

Seok-hyung, who discovered the half-filled display cabinet, stopped in front of it for a moment. Did he play house or something? Frowning, he passed by the display cabinet and looked around the house to get the items Seung-hyun had requested.

“…Is this it?”

After picking up the laptop on the desk, Seok-hyung opened the drawer and found the cat doll. He placed the doll, which was much smaller than his palm and had a sense of age, on his hand and clenched it tightly as if he would crush it.