My Villains Episode 234
48. Artist (1)
The fingertips trembled.
He lightly patted the supporter’s back. His shoulders were trembling too, so I was able to hide my trembling.
“Phoenix.”
It was Utequai’s voice.
“What is that child?”
It may sound obvious, but Jiwon and I spoke in Korean. So, the other party didn’t understand the situation.
W…… uh W
……
I swallowed dry saliva for a while.
Normally, he would have tried to gloss over it with plausible words. But now I couldn’t. I didn’t want to lie in front of Jiwon.
“My nephew.”
“nephew?”
The group’s gaze turned to my cousin and fiancée, Heyla.
She was observing Jiwon with an expressionless face. There was no way that Jiwon, a Korean girl, would be mistaken for a member of the twin royal family, but Heila just kept quiet.
At that time, Jiwon, who was in my arms, slightly poked her head out and looked at the group.
“Uh, uncle friends? A co-worker?”
Well, roughly.”
“Huh. I see.”
Jiwon, who is very shy, took a close look at the party while holding onto the hem of my clothes.
“…It’s just like Halloween.”
While examining the exotic appearance and attire of the party with curious eyes, Utequa, a giant, and Cole, who had a rough impression, quickly turned their gaze toward the bundle, perhaps a bit reluctant. And it made his eyes shine.
“oh my god. She resembles that older sister, Kyu-hwa.”
“silicified?”
“Yes, Tukima Silence. If you just squint your eyes, they will look exactly the same.”
Tukima? Oh, you’re talking about a girl group.
I think I’ve seen it on TV a few times, but I can’t remember the names of the members. Come to think of it, it seems that there was a kid who looked like Moongchi.
“…who is that sister?”
“Um, my cousin. No, to be precise, Phoenix’s cousin-”
“Wow. After all, genes can’t be fooled. It’s a complete stand-up.”
Ji-won, who was making a fuss, met Heila’s eyes and hid herself in my arms.
“Oh wow that’s crazy. My heart almost stopped when we just met eyes.”
“…Oba.”
“Can I take a picture?”
“picture?”
“huh. A friend of your uncle? no?”
While Jiwon was bewildered by Jiwon’s sudden request, he heard signs of lowering his weapon from behind. They don’t understand each other, but the petite girl acting cute seems to have loosened her guard.
“uh? what?”
Jiwon, who was rummaging through the pockets of her jean skirt and the hips with the logo of a sports brand, soon had her shoulders droop.
“Oh right. i lost my phone Forgot.”
“…Where did you lose it?”
“I don’t know, I don’t remember.”
He said “Ay” and pouted his lips, then looked up at me with a grumpy face.
“But, mister.”
” huh?”
“I was worried about falling into an absurd world, so you’re very happy?”
“…Hugang? who? I?”
“Your uncle. If it’s not an opportunity like this, when will you mix things up with the unnies like that?”
“Hey, what are you talking about? What about me?”
“Do you know how to say that? If you’re my uncle’s age, you should at least objectify yourself.”
“what?”
When I burst out laughing, Jiwon clicked his tongue and added some advice with a serious face.
“So don’t just trust your face and be arrogant, do it with the mindset of being a foot wiper. don’t cheat Anyway, Uncle Blood is stupid, so he’s not good at push-and-pull.”
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Engrave it. It’s advice my uncle needs.”
“Ha ha.”
I’m dumbfounded, so I’m scratching my head, but I suddenly have a question.
“…but how did you know I had fallen into another world?”
“uh? Uh…
I asked Jiwon with a slightly perplexed expression.
“I heard you.”
“To whom?”
“Oh yes. it is a secret.”
As if trying to deflect my question, he grabbed my sleeve and began to pull.
“Okay, let’s walk for a while. Don’t stand there like this.” “Wait a minute, helper.”
“Oh quickly!” The guy pushed me and pulled me. However, how much effort would a small girl weighing less than 50 kilos use?
“Ah, why is it so heavy? cow?”
After arguing for a while, he stopped and grabbed Jiwon by the shoulder.
“Han Jiwon, wait a minute.”
“why? Shall we just take a walk?”
Facing my nephew’s troubled face, I hesitated for a moment before opening my mouth.
“I don’t have time for this right now.”
“I have to go find someone.”
“……who?”
“colleague. They will be waiting for me.”
When I pretended to be determined, Ji-won bit her lower lip in disappointment.
“…I am?”
“what?”
“I am? We met after 7 or 8 years. Can’t we talk for a second?”
After taking a deep breath to calm his weakening heart, he moved his stiff jaw.
“…you’re not really Jiwon.”
“what?”
“It’s the Jiwon of my memories and dreams, it’s not the real Han Jiwon.”
I calmly ate my heart and spit out the words, but when I saw Jiwon’s hard face, the words jumped out without me knowing.
“I’m really sorry. But I have work to do now.”
A certain memory rears its head at Jiwon’s sad expression.
A photo of a broken smartphone in the police line women’s restroom at an amusement park on a weekday.
Memories settled in the deepest darkness in my heart.
Normally, just thinking about them would have been so painful that I couldn’t even breathe. But now, only the memories are clear, but the emotions are a bit fuzzy. I don’t know why, but it was fortunate.
“I’m sorry, because of me, you… but I have to go now.”
Emotions are obviously blurry, but seeing Jiwon keeps making my heart suffocate. I picked up a few more words, but I can’t quite remember what I said.
It was then.
“Oh stop!”
Jiwon interrupted my chatter with a shriek. Then, he put his hands on his hips and frowned.
“How long are you going to linger? It’s not your uncle’s fault!”
“Jiwon-ah”
“Anyway, I can’t remember the last one, so there was nothing scary in the first place. There is no limit now. So,” Jiwon, who had been uttering incomprehensible words, huffed and raised his voice again.
“So, we haven’t seen each other in a while, so don’t bring up that gloomy story!”
As he screamed in annoyance, a single glistening tear trickled down his cheek.
“uh? Mistress, this is not like that.”
Surprised as if it had been sparked, Jiwon hurriedly wiped his eyes with his hand.
“This is just annoying. My uncle is annoying.”
“I have no friends to meet, let alone a girlfriend, and after work I sit in the corner of my room and play games. But then, it ended because I was so annoyed that it
ended-” Ji-won, who had been pouring out his words in tears, eventually burst into tears with an “Ei-ing” and dug into my arms.
“… Support.”
“I wished my uncle hadn’t *sigh*, but my uncle just *sniffed*”
He sympathizes with his uncle who is lacking as he passed away at the young age of sixteen. Contrary to nightmares, as I remember, he is a really good kid.
I wanted to comfort her, but I couldn’t open my mouth. I felt like the emotions that filled my throat would pour out.
So, I just patted Jiwon on the back in silence.
After crying in my arms for a long time, Jiwon stopped crying and ran to the bathroom.
I wanted to do that for some reason, so I waited patiently, and soon the guy reappeared with a clean face.
“…Have you fixed your makeup?”
“uh. why?”
“No middle school student”
“What am I forever in middle school? In terms of age, I’m already twenty-four!”
“Ah,
SI3
… Han Jiwon of twenty-four.
Then you must have graduated from middle school as well as high school. I didn’t like the school uniform, saying the color wasn’t good, but what about the high school uniform?
“hey?”
After graduating from high school, he could have gone to college and enjoyed the campus life, and he would have had a part-time job where he sang all the time.
And again…
“Hey, Mr. Kim Seung-soo!”
“Huh huh?”
“Did you feel depressed again?”
“…No no.”
Ji-won, who had been glaring at me with her eyebrows narrowed, suddenly looked at my party and bit her lower lip.
“Ah, embarrassing. What is this like in front of strangers?”
The boy grumbled and let out a deep sigh. It is a sigh that somehow feels relieved.
“Let’s go then.”
” huh?”
“Let’s go. I will guide you to the gateway.”
“……A gateway?”
“uh.”
“Are you talking about passage? It looks like a black disc? You call it a gateway?”
“……Huh?”
Even though I sounded stupid in my question, Jiwon immediately frowned.
“Whether it’s a gate or a passage, what does the name matter? Hurry up and follow me. Who is waiting for you?”
After saying that, he led me and my party to the second floor. And I went up the escalator through the complicated road.
After passing the 3rd floor and reaching the 4th floor, Jiwon, who had been walking silently, slowed down little by little.
“Support?”
“…I’m confused for a moment. This way.”
Maybe he was really confused about the road, but after looking around most of the 4th floor, he stopped his slow pace.
“…a ferris wheel?”
The place where Jiwon stopped was in front of the ferris wheel. In front of the ferris wheel, the top half of which protrudes out onto the roof, allowing you to see the night view of the city.
Unlike the other rides that were operating by myself, the Ferris wheel with the lights off did not move.
“hang on.”
Not long after Jiwon went into the control box, the ferris wheel turned on.
“Hey.”
Heila and Moongchi’s eyes twinkled as the colored lights turned on. Utequai and Cole seemed unperturbed, probably because they had already seen enough of the other rides.
At that time, Wu Tequai, who had been quietly crossing his arms, suddenly spoke up.
“That child. Is that your nephew?”
“…Uh, that’s right.”
“Then, is this the place called ‘Earth’?”
“what’?”
When I turned around in surprise, he had a calm face as usual.
“A powerful shaman distinguishes between true and false by dialogue. Akanku Karamek I believed you. It means what you say is true.”
A few months ago, he had spoken wildly to fool the mighty soul shaman, Akan-ku Karamek.
Karamek possessed a skill called ‘Eye of Wisdom’ that could determine the authenticity of words. So I drew attention by revealing that I was from Earth, and
as a result, I ambushed Karamek and slit his head.
At that time, I thought that only Ellen and Atalanta remembered the story I told Karamek, but Utequai seemed to be paying attention as well.
“…I must have noticed it a long time ago.”
“It is an incredible story. I found out for sure today.”
The conversation between Utequai and I that started out of nowhere froze, Cole hardened his expression, and Heila blinked.
While I couldn’t find anything to say, Utequai asked a question.
“Since when?”
“……what?”
“What happened to you.”
I hesitated for a moment, then sighed and told the truth.
“By the time we arrive at South Harbor in early May.”
“hmm. Right.”
Utequai nodded as if he had expected, then shut his mouth.
When I glanced at him, his face was still grave.
There was no resentment at being tricked by someone he regarded as a friend, no wariness or hostility towards alien spirits, no dismay at the unbelievable.
“…is that the end?”
“O uh?”
“Is that the end?”
“Do you need anything more?”
“Do you have anything more to ask?”
At my question, Utequai slightly narrowed his brows, but instead answered back.
“What do you ask?”
“uh? That’s right…
“I don’t know you before that. So don’t ask.”
…Can I be this cool? I think I will freeze to death.
When Utequai concluded the conversation with a nonsensical attitude, Munch let out a sigh. Cole closed his mouth, lost in thought, and Heila blinked with a puzzled look on her face.
coo kung.
The ferris wheel, which had been flashing lights as if to break the silence that had fallen on the group, began to rotate.
“Just wait a little bit.”
Jiwon, who came out of the control box, looked up at the ferris wheel as if guessing something.
“It should take about three minutes.”
“…thank you.”
“Thank you.”
The guy with a helpless smile headed for the empty aisle. We arrived at the boarding gate when the Ferris wheels, each painted in a different color, turned about 15 degrees.
Jiwon, who had hardened his expression on what he was thinking, opened his mouth.
“uncle.”
” huh?”
“When did you and your mom and dad ever have a fight at dawn?”
“…Your brother-in-law isn’t that kind of person?”
Jiwon, who had been stiff at my surprise, drooped her shoulders and narrowed her brows as if in pity.
“under. Is that important, mister?”
“ O……”
“Of course, Dad is not that kind of person. My mother said such strange things, so I endured and endured a few words.”
“So it is. So why didn’t you sleep until dawn? Did I tell you every day? go to bed early I just did a nose job anyway”
“Ah, that’s because of my uncle!”
“me? why me’?”
“You didn’t even come to see me in the evening because you were busy after entering college.”
“What does that matter?”
“How about elementary school? I had a good night’s sleep because I was hanging out here and there every evening. But since my uncle went to college, he has been at home in the evening, so he
hasn’t been able to sleep?”
It sounds like nonsense, but it’s subtly convincing.
Jiwon didn’t want to shoot more, but looked at the ferris wheel and stomped his feet.
“Ah, now is not the time to say things like this.”
“……2”
“Anyway, I heard what my mother was saying then.” “What are you talking about?” The guy pursed his lips with a complex face mixed with impatience and hesitation before finally speaking.
“Talk about your uncle.”
“……About me?”
“My mother said it was someone without a drop of blood.”
what?
at all. I was speechless at the unexpected story and only blinked my eyes.
“It was said that he brought an enemy into the family because of his weak-willed grandfather.”
“How do you know that?”
“I told you. Did you hear couples fighting?”
“Don’t talk bullshit!”
At my sudden shout, Jiwon gasped and took a step back, and the party flinched back as well.
“You are my support. Ji Won never said anything like this to me.”
“no.”
“…No? what?”
“This is not the Han Ji-won you made, you stupid uncle. Why are you screaming!” Jiwon, who had been shrinking, continued to speak, closing her eyes tightly as if swallowing the sadness of being beaten by drums.
“I’m not the Han Ji-won that my uncle made, I’m just Han Ji-won.”
“What are you, are you-”
While stuttering, the yellow ferris wheel entered the boarding gate. The door of the Ferris wheel was opened wide by myself
and there was a whimper.
A black disc rose from within.
As soon as the passage to escape the dream appeared, the world began to collapse.
Gu-gu-gu-gung-
The city scenery seen through the window in the distance turned into dust and disappeared. Next was the ceiling made of steel frames.
“I have to go now.”
“Wait a minute, helper. Then you”
“Go quickly, you fool.”
Jiwon pushed my chest with tears streaming down his face. When I grabbed my arm instead of being pushed away, he struggled and struggled.
“Ponyx-sama!”
Cole, with an arrow attached to the protest, roared, scanning the surroundings with a wary look.
“Something is strange!”
“…strange?”
“Nothing came out!”
Before I could ask what that meant, Cole quickly continued his explanation.
“Every dream in another world met a black wall at the end. The wall disappeared and a person appeared, and the passage appeared only after defeating that person!”
Indeed it was.
Heewon’s father and husband in the neighborhood where I lived, a company commander and an investigator in the ASP.
In other words, there was a kind of ‘gatekeeper’ in each dream, and the black disc appeared only when the gatekeeper was cut down.
“……no way.”
Heila, who had been standing still, muttered as if moaning. Cole, a bunch of Utequai, turned his head after her.
“Voila.” Jiwon, who received the gaze of the party, smiled mischievously with her face covered in tears.
“I am the guardian of this dream.”
“Support, that’s it.”
“It is an order as a guardian. Leave right now.”
As soon as those words were finished, the wind that had destroyed the world gathered in the air and shot towards the party.
Utequai planted her feet in the ground. Heila summoned a bunch of starlight shields. Cole grabbed the railing with strong hands. Cole was swept away by the wind like a hollow ping-pong ball and was immediately eaten by a black disc.
“There were things I wanted to say but couldn’t.”
Jiwon wiped her face with trembling hands, then looked up at me realizing that she couldn’t stop the tears that had already burst.
“But everything is fine now. right?”
“Support. Han Ji-won.”
A small hand pushed me gently against my chest. I floated up as if gravity had disappeared and was sucked into the black disk.
At that last moment, Jiwon’s whisper passed by my ears.
Sadly, that last whisper was swallowed up by the roar of the world collapsing.
