A: Dear nemesisDear nemesis, it was my will to love you, but it wasn't my will to love me. Even that unclean soul was intentional.
A single, flickering streetlight was the only light, and a man collapsed, breathing heavily, in an old alleyway. Half-closed, his eyes half-closed, his fading consciousness clinging to him with a desperate willpower, he gazed at the blood trickling down his abdomen and lamented his pitiful predicament, saying it was a matchless situation. The chilly air, cast by the shadows that lingered day and night, perilously enveloped the unpaved alleyway. The stones poking out from the rough road's edge, their fierceness now and then, savagely clung to Taehyung's grasping hand, sneered. Yooeun scoffed, her face motionless, as if the raw scrapes on her hand and the deep gash on her abdomen were insignificant. Taehyung, pale and pale, sweat dripping down his face, glared at Yooeun, and barely managed to speak.
"You were so sick of it. Aren't you just another one of those damned gangsters? Now I understand why you did this to me, but rather than wasting time, why don't you just brush it off and go back and wag your tail at your superiors? A loyal hunting dog would be so happy to see you go and get your ass kicked... ugh."
"Even if your mouth is crooked, you should speak straight. Right? I'm not just some underling, I'm the boss. That bastard is nothing more than a puppet. A loyal hunting dog, you idiot."
"Betrayal must have been easy for you. No, did you ever love me? If anything, I doubt the very foundation of your love. Lying was your daily routine, repeating it as if breathing. Isn't that right?"
"How naive. Are you still talking about love games? I told you not to trust people so easily. There was never any sign of such romantic, rustic feelings blossoming in our relationship. Don't be so stupid. You already knew that, but you're pretending to be mistaken for my sake."
"It's been clear, then and now, that you're being selfish, but I just didn't notice. Ha, I've never been mistaken. If I had known, I wouldn't have just sat there and watched until this happened."
Eun-woo smiled creepily and relaxed, as if she was dissatisfied with her prey in front of her. Tae-hyung, who faced her, instead of being intimidated, sarcastically questioned her, as if asking what was so funny.
“It’s just funny. Do you know what I’m going through? And yet, you’re clenching your teeth and holding on.”
The next moment, he threw a shard of glass at Yu-eun, who clenched it tightly. Blood flowed through the crack of his clenched fist, pooling and splattering on the floor. Yu-eun, as if offering him a refreshing laugh, continued to show a look of excitement. Then, she lifted his limp chin and let the shards fall, brushing past him.
"It's so fucking filthy. The broken glass isn't whole anymore. Don't you get it? The reason I'm pointing the knife at you now isn't because I've broken myself because I loved you. Or is it because I can't stand it? What's so burdensome about the fact that it was a lie from the beginning? Isn't that so weak? It's ridiculous, hahaha."
“Don’t make me miserable until the end. You’re the one who looks funny, a crazy hunting dog. Isn’t that just a merciless insult?
..ugh.”
“I told you not to call me that. I’m going to die anyway, so it doesn’t matter if it’s a little more painful.”
Eun-i ruthlessly raked the side of Tae-hyung's wound with the back of her heel. Exhausted, Tae-hyung struggled so quietly that even death was difficult. Unable to bear it any longer, Tae-hyung snatched the knife from Eun-i, who lowered her head, and thrust it into himself again. Eun-i deliberately watched the blood gushing out, as if in a choked rage.
Can I help you?
You're crazy.
What do you mean when you know?
I chewed my lips so tightly that the blood would show through my last, barely a pang of sympathy. And then, standing before the dying man, I insisted that he was flawless, that it was I who had fallen, and that I had to weave together all sorts of blame that would otherwise have been there. In front of him, so worthless and insignificant, a tear, precariously close to falling, flowed just once. I had no idea his final, unwavering embrace would be so painful.
"Don't cry. And don't regret anything. I hate you so much I want to erase every memory of my love for you. Pretense was something only you had. It's all useless now."
“I won’t do something like that even if you ask me to.”
The discordant sound of heels echoed. For a moment, Taehyung watched the figure slowly retreating, his unsteady steps steady, before slowly losing consciousness.