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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: A Parting Gift
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A staple of over-the-top Korean dramas is the convoluted family tree.
The magic of discovering that people you thought were strangers share your blood, and those you thought were family are complete strangers.
Pitol’s play was no different.
“Why did you give birth to me!”
Lidro cried out.
It was a scene of a secret, illegitimate child agonizing after being used by his parents. The secret of his birth, an indispensable element of such melodramas, was beginning to unfold. It was the build-up to a bloody path of revenge.
It was a theme not used in this world.
Knowing it could easily seem strange, I spoke with a sense of apprehension.
“Darcy, are you okay? If you’re uncomfortable, I can put on something else.”
To my surprise, he, who had been staring intently at the screen, replied.
“I’m fine.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
He watched the agonizing Lidro and muttered nonchalantly.
“Seeing it like this… it’s new.”
I couldn't understand the meaning of his last words, but his assurance that he was fine was more welcome than silence.
And so, I didn't know then.
What meaning his words truly held.
***
After watching the full three-hour play, dawn had already broken.
The unlit room was completely submerged in darkness.
The dawn I loved had arrived.
Lying in bed, I savored the darkness and took a deep breath. Far from feeling afraid in the pitch-black view, my heart grew calm.
“This is the time you like.”
He whispered softly. His voice was closer than I expected.
*Where is he?*
Blinking, I realized Darcy was sitting on the edge of my bed.
I could gradually feel Darcy's gaze on me.
Without getting up, I simply nodded.
“That’s right. My favorite time.”
Though, to be precise, it usually includes music.
As I added that, I heard a rustling sound. It seemed he had gotten up.
The sound of footsteps followed. His unhesitating movements, even in the dark, were so like him.
A moment later, my favorite piano piece began to drift from the phonograph. It was the nocturne I always listened to around this time.
The piano melody wafted gently.
It enveloped me like a long-awaited friend. The music put my mind at ease.
I love these moments of doing nothing at all.
I was happy just to be able to savor this moment.
I wanted Darcy to know this feeling, too.
“Darcy, you should lie down too.”
Darcy obediently followed my words. The only problem was...
“…I didn’t mean on my bed.”
The fact that we were now lying in the same bed.
His voice came from right beside me.
“The bed’s big enough that we won’t even touch, so let it slide. This is my first time doing something like this, so I feel like I need to watch you and follow along. And I can’t watch you if I’m in another bed.”
How logical and well-reasoned, as if he’d prepared it in advance.
Right. To give him a chance to savor the dawn, it was only proper that I set an example first.
But it would be a lie to say my heart wasn't pounding at all.
*I’m lying in bed alone with a man.*
In the dead of night, no less.
...Of course, this bed is closer to a movie theater seat than an actual bed.
Maybe it's because it's so early, but all sorts of thoughts are popping into my head.
Hugging a pillow tightly to clear my head, I spoke in a soft voice.
“Close your eyes and listen to the music. Daydream, appreciate the music, enjoy the darkness. It’s about enjoying the quiet in a time when no one can disturb you.”
A time to escape the noise. I closed my eyes.
“It’s a time when you can just exist, without having to say a word.”
A time to escape the stress of human relationships and reflect on the fact that I'm alive. A time that helps me sort through my thoughts.
“I hope it can be that for you, too.”
I hoped that Darcy, who would soon be leaving, could have a time like this for himself.
When I finished speaking, the world grew quiet. So quiet that only his breathing and mine could be heard. That steady sound brought me a sense of peace.
I felt a sense of contradiction.
I was clearly exhausted by relationships, yet the fact that someone was here beside me was a comfort.
It's not that I hate being alone.
But the sudden, piercing loneliness that sometimes struck would always leave me feeling helpless.
Perhaps, I was even speaking to myself.
The me who felt relieved, who felt happy, that there was someone sharing the same air and the same memories...
...was proof that someday, I would overcome these wounds and face people again.
***
Darcy, who I'd expected to get up quickly and say he hated this sort of thing, stayed for a full hour.
When he finally rose, he returned to the drawing room with a much more relaxed expression.
Following closely behind him to see him off, I fidgeted with the magic camera.
*Is it okay to ask for a picture?*
I'd decided not to get attached, but now that his final moments here had come, I felt a pang of sadness. I wanted to at least leave a simple photograph to commemorate our time together.
Though our connection was one of necessity, he had been a person I was grateful for.
We might never see each other again, but couldn't I at least have something to remember that, once upon a time, there was someone I knew?
The camera in my hand was the perfect tool for capturing a memory and preserving it.
*Okay, let's take one.*
Having made up my mind, I walked up to Darcy and gestured with the camera.
“Let’s take one last picture together.”
“…A picture?”
“To commemorate the successful conclusion of our contract.”
Darcy laughed at my words.
“I don’t think I ever said this was the last time.”
*...Is that something you really need to say out loud to know?*
You have that enlightened look of someone about to leave, and you brought two new magic tools in such a short time.
I trailed off, trying to gauge the distance between my outstretched hand holding the camera and my face.
*Can I do it just by stretching my arm out?*
“Right. But I don’t know when I’ll be able to see you again. And for now, I think I have enough magic tools.”
I then turned the lens toward us and attempted to take a selfie. Thankfully, he didn't run away.
“Okay, look here, Darcy!”
Click, click. Darcy casually shook his head.
“No, you can’t keep moving!”
But I had already pressed the shutter. I grumbled as I checked the photos one by one.
“Look, the picture came out weird.”
My admiration for the crisp portrait quality was short-lived; seeing the result, I despaired.
It was because Darcy was a complete blur in every single one. Sighing, I sorted through the pictures and spoke to him coaxingly.
“Darcy, it’s the last one. Let’s take a proper picture.”
Darcy narrowed his eyes at my words.
“Why do you keep talking like we’ll never see each other again? It’s weird.”
I answered in a quiet voice.
“But it is the last time.”
Darcy, who had been bantering relaxedly, faltered.
“Because you’re leaving.”
At my calm words, the look in his eyes as he gazed at me was strange.
Darcy narrowed his eyes at my words. He didn't ask how I knew.
His eyes still narrowed, he clutched a chunk of magic stone in his hand.
“I suppose this was your intention, too.”
“I’m quite perceptive.”
Though, in truth, it was closer to intuition than perception.
At my words, Darcy quietly shut his mouth. The playfulness that had filled him moments before was gone.
“Will you take a proper picture this time?”
He shrugged at my question but obediently nodded. The camera in my hand felt a little lighter.
I gave him a stern look.
“Stay right there.”
At my command, Darcy stood defiantly, with a slight slouch.
After checking the distance and angle to get us both in the shot, I set the camera down on a chest of drawers.
“Okay, let’s take it.”
There was a five-second delay between me pressing the button and the picture actually being taken.
I quickly ran to Darcy’s side.
We stood side-by-side, close but not touching.
This time, he silently looked at the camera.
Click.
The magic stone resting on the camera's shutter vanished. A moment later, a sheet of paper fluttered out, printed like a photo from an instant camera.
I took the paper in my hand.
It was a picture of the two of us awkwardly staring forward. Even here, Darcy looked like he was in his own photoshoot.
His slanted stance and rebellious gaze reminded me of a tempestuous adolescent boy.
*I’ll never be able to forget this.*
Seeing him, I let out a snort of laughter and nodded in satisfaction.
Though my expression was awkward since it had been a while since I'd taken a picture, I didn't look half bad either. It's embarrassing to say it myself, but Marso is a beauty, after all.
“Did it turn out well?”
Darcy peeked over. I pressed the photograph into his hand.
“Here’s yours. I hope your memories here remain as good ones for you.”
“…From a mere picture like this?”
Darcy asked, sounding bewildered. But the photo was still in his hand.
He was bad at expressing his true feelings. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say he was awkward about it.
*Well, I knew that from the beginning.*
When I stared at him, he looked embarrassed and scratched the back of his neck.
I didn't know his story, but Darcy had been a good person to me.
“I wish you luck in your future, too.”
And so, I hoped that Darcy, who was now awkwardly avoiding my gaze, could break free from whatever was holding him back and find freedom.
That he could leave the room he'd been cooped up in and meet other people.
Darcy stared at me with wide eyes, like someone who had never heard such words in his entire life.
“Will you grant me one last wish?”
His voice, lower than usual, was different somehow. I nodded.
In an instant, he closed the distance between us and wrapped his arms around me.
His body, much larger than mine, felt like a sturdy tree. As my face was buried in his chest, an unfamiliar scent washed over me. It was the smell of incense from his body.
It was the first time I'd ever been held in a man's arms. I was surprised by the firm muscles I could feel through his thin shirt.
His embrace was softer and warmer than I'd expected. The opposite of his cold hands.
*...This is his wish?*
In my daze, I suddenly came to my senses. Just as I was about to push him away, I heard his voice.
“It’s warm.”
“...”
“Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve hugged someone?”
A fragment of the past he never spoke of revealed itself again. I felt a flicker of both gladness and pity.
Overcome by a moment of compassion, I couldn't bring myself to push him away and remained silently in his arms.
Seeing Darcy do something so out of character, it truly sank in that this was the end.
There was so much to be thankful for.
For silently listening to my stories, for looking into the rumors about me.
And now, that person was leaving.
For the first time in a long while, emotion surged within me.
*I don't want you to go.*
Even knowing I had no right to stop him from leaving, the words caught in my throat threatened to spill out.
But I had no such right. I was just a stranger.
The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Even as I knew that it wasn't just him who had kept his distance—I had done the same.
