The Abandoned and Terminally Ill Lady Married a Monster - Chapter 33
Chapter 33
I knew what my face looked like, even without seeing it. Probably dreadfully pale.
Stark white as I stared at Kin. Kin’s eyes widened, surprised by my reaction.
‘Kin’s name…’
I wanted to know his full name, yet a part of me desperately didn’t. It was a vow I’d made to myself ever since he promised to return.
If he told me, I would pretend not to hear. I would force myself to forget.
‘If I learn your true name, Kin, I’ll inevitably try to find you.’
Knowing the name of someone who wouldn’t return would only hurt me. Searching for someone who wouldn’t seek me out would only bring me pain.
‘Coward.’ I berated myself, but I couldn’t help it. In my short life, none of my hopes had ever come to fruition.
Forcing a smile, I looked at Kin’s bewildered face. “If you really want to tell me your name…” I paused. “Tell me when you come back.”
Kin held my gaze, a silence falling between us as an autumn breeze swept past. He didn’t seem angry at my request. Instead, he smiled again and answered with certainty.
“All right.”
As if confident we would meet again, he reiterated his promise, like stamping a seal on an agreement.
“When I return, I’ll tell you my name first. So, you have to wait for me until then.” His confidence startled me. “I will definitely come back.”
Caught up in his strange certainty, I nodded. “…I’ll be waiting.” I felt momentarily entranced.
At my words, Kin’s smile widened. Watching him, I felt a pang of regret.
‘I shouldn’t have brought him to the cosmos field.’
Then, Kin took my hand again. “Shall we go back?”
I was doomed. Utterly doomed. I had wanted to create a beautiful memory for him, a happy memory of us together to cherish.
But now, every time I saw a cosmos, I would be reminded of him, drowning in bittersweet nostalgia, entangled with him.
I followed Kin, glaring at the blameless, bright sky.
***
We weren’t discovered. It was, perhaps, an expected outcome. Standing before the hidden passage, I said, “Goodbye. Safe travels.”
Kin didn’t enter the passage. Instead, he stood there, looking up at me with a curious expression.
He seemed displeased, his face slightly crumpled. After a moment of contemplation, he took my hand and kissed the part of my fingers not covered by bandages.
A satisfied smile finally spread across his face. “I’ll be back.”
Mesmerized, I stood frozen as he disappeared. The image of him just before he left lingered in my mind: his cheeks and eyes, flushed a subtle shade of vermillion in the reddish sunlight, his sharp nose and jawline, his golden hair swaying in the breeze.
All of it, now just a vivid afterimage, continued to shake me to my core. Only when every trace of him was gone did I finally blink.
I meticulously covered the opening with weeds, tears welling up and splashing onto the ground. I roughly wiped my eyes with my sleeve.
‘Goodbye, my friend. It was fun.’
And just like that, my first love, which had arrived so suddenly, seemed to come to an abrupt end.
***
On his way home, Daykin reflected on his feelings. Just thinking about Ailee made his heart pound relentlessly.
The thought of not seeing her was a physical ache, like being struck by a hammer. He already felt anxious and desperate, as if they had been separated for years, like someone suffering from homesickness.
He didn’t know when his feelings had grown so deep. He had always drifted aimlessly through life, yet now, the desire to be with Ailee had become overwhelming.
He was even making concrete plans for how to return to her quickly and confidently. This methodical version of himself felt unfamiliar.
When had he fallen so deeply? When she saved him? Had his gratitude transformed into love? Or was it the constant worry for her that had morphed into affection?
Or perhaps… was it because she was the first person to treat him like a human being, not a walking time bomb?
‘Ailee would probably still like me, even if I told her I was a ticking time bomb.’
He realized he hadn’t told her, subconsciously afraid of hurting her. He hadn’t told her that his powers had subsided in her presence, that he felt confident they wouldn’t erupt again, but that he couldn’t be entirely sure.
He hadn’t been able to confess that, and he hadn’t even wanted to think about it in front of her. Was that why he had fallen for her?
Because she was the only person who might accept him, time bomb and all? The conclusion felt unsettling, somehow inaccurate.
‘Why does it matter?’
Did love require a reason? In the past, he would have gagged at such a sentiment, but Daykin was different now.
Samara
They are so cute together!