72) Chapter 12. It’s Nothing (4)

Of course they knew each other.

Thinking back to when Hyeonji first arrived at the house, it made sense.

Auntie Yujin had looked startled when she saw her.

Considering how many academy students have hero parents, it wouldn’t be strange if Hyeonji’s parents were also heroes.

If so, the parents knowing each other would be natural.

But then—
why didn’t they act like they knew each other?

If she were the daughter of a friend, Auntie Yujin would’ve greeted her warmly, asked how her parents were doing.

Not… whispering in the dark living room in the middle of the night.

“……”

I had a bad feeling.

If they were hiding something, it meant it wasn’t something we should hear.

But at the same time, I couldn’t just crawl back into bed and pretend nothing was happening.

While I hesitated by the slightly open door, their voices drifted out again.

“He’s doing much better now. He even found a new job recently.”

“Yes, that’s right…”

But Auntie Yujin didn’t sound like she meant it that way. She wasn’t asking because she didn’t know—she sounded like she already assumed things had been bad for a long time.

Did something terrible happen to her father?

Silence fell.

Auntie Yujin took several uneven breaths, like she was trying to speak but couldn’t.

“…I’m just… sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize.”

Hyeonji’s voice was flat. Completely emotionless. As if she’d cut her feelings away on purpose.

Auntie Yujin hesitated with every word, unsure if she should even say them.

“Your father… he only did what he had to do.”

Another silence.

This time, Hyeonji spoke first.

“Actually, I…”

“Hm?”

“I also… thought that way.”

“What do you mean?”

She hesitated briefly, then seemed to steel herself.

“Rua… she hasn’t been completely fine at school.”

“…I see.”

Auntie Yujin’s voice tightened.

“There was someone who picked a fight with her… It’s resolved now. He stopped bothering her after losing in a duel.”

Auntie Yujin let out a tense breath—like she wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.

“And I… I thought about it too.”

“……”

“When my dad ended up like that, I thought about it a lot. When he was lying in the hospital with one arm gone, I kept thinking about the cause. Whose fault it was. Why it had to happen.”

“Hyeonji…”

“So I think… I directed those thoughts toward Rua. Because I wanted someone to blame. Because I couldn’t face the person who actually did that to my dad.”

My mind went blank.

I blinked several times, staring through the crack in the door. Was it just dark, or was I too shocked to see clearly?

I didn’t understand everything yet, but I knew what they were talking about.

I knew who “her dad” was.

“What did you think of Rua?”

Auntie Yujin asked softly.

Hyeonji paused.

“She was kind.”

A simple answer.

“Before entering the academy, I read a lot of things. Bad things about Rua. No—about Rua, and Soi, and Chae‑yi. Online… there were so many posts.”

I never searched for myself online.

That video would show up. The one that went viral not just in Korea, but overseas too.

Whenever I saw the thumbnail, I blocked it. Eventually, I stopped visiting those sites altogether.

I’m sure Auntie Yujin and Uncle Dohyun did what they could. Maybe even the Association.

But you can’t erase everything from the internet.

“Looking back, I think I searched for those things on purpose.”

“I see.”

“I thought… I couldn’t forgive her. Because it was about my dad. Even though he told me not to blame anyone, even though he said he only did what he had to do… I still…”

“Hyeonji.”

“But forgiveness or not… that wasn’t my place. I just wanted someone to blame.”

My heart pounded violently.

I couldn’t breathe.

But if I gasped, Soi and Chae‑yi would wake up.

They’d see my face and panic, and everything would explode.

Hyeonji never told me any of this.

“……”

No—she couldn’t tell me.

She said she wanted to blame me.

If my father had been hurt protecting someone, I would’ve felt the same.

I didn’t even visit him.

“I was wrong.”

“No, you weren’t.”

“I read the letters. The ones Rua kept sending. Even when my dad refused to see her, she kept sending them. Apologizing. Thanking him.”

“……”

“And even after reading all of them… I still thought that way. So yes, I was wrong.”

Auntie Yujin hesitated, then—

“…Can I hug you?”

She asked gently.

Hyeonji didn’t answer, but Auntie Yujin reached out and pulled her into a soft embrace.

“Thank you.”

Her voice trembled.

“Thank you for telling me.”

“……”

Hyeonji didn’t reply.

Or maybe she did, but I couldn’t see anything except silhouettes in the dark.

I quietly closed the door.

I no longer needed the bathroom.
I no longer knew what to do.

I crawled back into my spot.

My body trembled. My head felt hollow, cold.

Normally, being squeezed between Soi and Chae‑yi would feel a little stuffy, but now I lay stiffly between them, eyes shut tight.

A moment later, the door opened again.

Soft footsteps. Careful, so as not to wake us.

Onto the bed.

Hyeonji shifted for a while, then her breathing steadied.

I couldn’t sleep for a long time.

*

That day is clear.

But the sensations are blurry.

I know it happened. I know it was real. But when I recall it, the pain feels distant, like a dream from long ago.

But it doesn’t fade.

The pain of being hit, slammed, dragged.

The screams of children. Soi and Chae‑yi shouting. Objects flying and breaking. The teacher choking, gasping as she tried to protect me.

But the sequence is blurred. All the pain compressed into a single point hammered into my chest. When I remember it, everything bursts open like a kaleidoscope.

And at the far end of that kaleidoscope—
a red stain.

A red circle in the middle of the playground.
A man lying at the thickest part of that circle like a snapped brush handle.

The man who waved at me from the ice cream shop window.

The man whose arm was torn off and thrown aside.

The witch who pretended to be my mother and visited the school.

It was because of me.

Because I was there.

If I hadn’t been there, no one would’ve been hurt. No children would’ve been terrified.

“…Hey.”

Cold.
The warmth I’d felt moments ago was gone.

I reached out blindly, searching for warmth, and my hand brushed against something warm.

I grabbed it tightly and pulled it close.

“…Rua.”

Only then did I realize I was hugging Soi.

I opened my eyes, drenched in cold sweat, gasping.

Soi looked down at me with worry.

“What happened? Nightmare?”

“U‑ugh…”

Realizing I was clinging to her, I quickly pulled away.

I sat up—and only then noticed my whole body was soaked in sweat.

I was still cold.

Shivering.

“…What’s wrong?”

Hyeonji’s voice.

I flinched.

“N‑nothing. It’s nothing.”

My voice trembled.

She hadn’t told me anything.

She didn’t want me to know.

So I couldn’t act like I knew.

But I felt guilty.

I couldn’t look at her face.

“…No. Lie down. Just rest.”

Chae‑yi gently pushed me back down.

I closed my eyes.

But I didn’t want to sleep.

If I slept, I’d see that kaleidoscope again.

“What kind of dream was it?”

“N‑nothing. It’s nothing.”

I could only answer that way.

Because it had to be nothing.

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Pub: 12 Apr 2026 08:46 UTC

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