ICTV - Chapter 108

ICTV - Chapter 108

I change The Villain

The curtains were drawn so the cafe was quiet and dark. The entire store has been rented.

I spoke without hesitation.

"Mera, you stay here."

"Yes?"

"There will be an escort brought by Edgar inside."

"If anything happens, scream right away."

The store door was closed. I silently stared at the man sitting in the corner. The man was fiddling with something without even noticing me coming in.

I approached the man. Even as the distance got closer, the man still didn't move. I was about to call Edgar but stopped. Because something stepped on my foot. I could immediately tell that something was scattered on the floor. It was none other than shredded paper and rose petals.

That was when I was staring at them with an expressionless face.

“Ah.”

Tuk. 

A whole red flower fell. The man raised his bowed head. His eyes, as bright as his heart, looked at me without warning. I took a step back without realizing it.

"When did you come?"

It was clear that he was talking while looking at me, but the feeling that he was talking to himself was stronger. Edgar stood up. 

"Please sit down."

"No, I will stand and talk."

Edgar smiled slightly at my determined appearance.

"No matter how long it's been since we decided not to keep our distance, we're starting to distance ourselves again."

"Are you saying that because you really don't know that?"

"No, I know."

Edgar looked somewhere and continued speaking.

"As always, it was my choice."

Crack. 

The branch that was stilI in hia hand was broken in half, looking unsightly. The thorns dug into his flesh, but Edgar continued speaking regardless. 

"It was my mistake."

Edgar threw that branch on the floor as well. As my eyes automatically turned to the floor, Edgar mechanically apologized.

"I'm sorry the floor is dirty."

"..."

I looked around the room. I guessed it from the moment I opened the door, but Ed was the only one there. He didn't even bring an escort. 

"Do you know how we are being treated now?"

"Of course I know."

 "Did you stay silent even though you knew that?" 

Edgar raised one corner of his mouth.

 "I didn't stay still."

"I beg your pardon?" 

"Would you like me to teach you a fun fact?" 

"What is it?"

Edgar pointed to the seat directly across from him. His hands were bruised here and there and blood was dripping from being pricked by a thorn earlier. 

"Then please sit down first."

"..."

"Your feet hurt, right?" 

I touched my forehead.

"Why didn't you bring an escort, Edgar?"

 "I want to talk alone. I no longer want others to distort my words." 

I glanced at the closed door.

"...I'll bring Mera. She has a very big mouth. There is no risk of distortion because she listens straight to whatever is said."

"That's not possible either." 

Edgar still spoke as if he was talking to himself with empty eyes. 

"If you bring someone else, I won't say a word."

I immediately turned my back.

"Then I understand that means you don't want to talk about it." 

"That's not possible either." 

I turned around in a really annoyed voice.

"You really..."

My words trailed off. In the faint light coming through the gap in the curtains, something sparkled.

"If you go, I won't stay still."

Edgar gently pressed the tip of the dagger to his neck. Edgar's appearance as he spoke like that was closer to that of a stubborn child.

"..."

I ended up sitting across from Edgar. But Edgar did not lower his dagger. He continued his speech, still pressing the tip of the dagger to his neck.

"I never hid from people that I loved you."

"... I beg your pardon?"

"I told people several times that it happened because I confessed my feelings to you at that time." 

Edgar slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

"But the only person who believed in me was Violet. Oh, Violet is your friend too, right?"

It seems like Violet was covering up our relationship well. I nodded my head.

"Violet was the only one who seriously told me to give up on you, and she was the only one who put me in a position like this. I think everyone else is just making excuses to protect Belial. It's natural."

Because there are things he has done so far.

"But this is what came to me when I saw people who really didn't believe me until the end. Really, the only one I can say is Violet...."

Edgar could no longer speak. My fist tightened.

"The person who sincerely believed whatever you said is now suffering."

I thought of Violet, who kept frantically repeating that she was sorry when I delivered the note.

I  clenched my fists.

"She e said she ruined everything for you."

Edgar didn't say anything. He doesn't know what on earth he wants to talk about. Even though he had already confessed his own feelings. But what is more unknown?

"...."

I don't know the solution to this problem. I washed my face dry and Edgar muttered.

"In some ways, I think it's my fault that no one believes in me other than Violet."

It was only natural that he had acted too rationally. Even when people die from illness right in front of his eyes, when people whose problems have not been completely resolved assault him, and when his family elders take away what little he has. 

"I always proposed solutions rationally."

If you appear too rational, you may lose credibility, so make sure to use appropriate facial expressions and gestures as well.

Edgar looked down at the floor. 

"Do you know what I tore? There's no way you would know."

"..."

"This is a picture of a sand castle that children once drew. But I wasn't very happy when I received the picture. I really hated sand castles."

Edgar's expression was somewhat unpleasant and creepy. 

"I thought it was very much like us that it would collapse immediately at the slightest touch. I thought It was natural for all humans to be in danger to that extent, and I also thought it was natural for people to believe in something to escape the sandcastle-like state."

Right away, so did Edgar himself. As a child, the more things he was deprived of by the elders of his family, the more desperately he clung to them.

"But not now."

Transparent tears welled up in his eyes, which looked as creepy as the devil. 

"Only now do I realize that believing in something in a state of instability is truly foolish and dangerous."

Tears continued to fall down his cheeks.

"Rose, loving something is so annoying." 

Edgar's hands gradually gained strength.

"You develop weaknesses, lose your temper, and learn things you don't want to know. I have never felt such an ugly, horrible feeling." 

In addition to his palms, blood began to pool on his neck. 

"But I can't let go of this feeling. Because this is my first time feeling such loving and honest feelings."

Blood began to flow from his neck Iike tears. 

"Rose, you said it once. You want to die. Won't you die with me?"

Edgar, who said that, was no longer at the Ievel of a devil.

"The choice I thought was the best turns out to be the worst."

It was the devil itself that brought humans into the abyss. Edgar continued to whisper in a soft voice.

"The person I thought I could trust forever has become someone I cannot trust for the rest of my life."

I gazed endlessly at Edgar, into those empty red eyes.

"Even if you want to live now, yo lu will want to die later."

Edgar asked finally. 

"Isn't that just a human being?"

"..."

"If that's the case, you'd rather be with me now..."

I said nothing. Instead, I asked a question.

"Do you remember the day I visited you at the Lovenica Festival?" 

Why are you suddenly bringing that up? Edgar looked puzzled but nodded his head.

"Of course, I remember. It was the day you came to visit me."

"Thanks to you for letting me cry freely back then, and thanks to the people who have been by my side until now."

I finished her sentence with very clear eyes. 

"This is how I was made."

"..."

"I will not be swayed even if I think about the countless blessings."

Edgar looked at me helplessly. Anyone could see that I was full of life. It was the exact opposite of Edgar's empty eyes.

It seemed like he had eyes like that not long ago, but it already felt like a long time ago.

"What you said is correct from beginning to end. Like a sand castle, we are unstable."

"Then... "

"But." 

It was the moment when Edgar's face brightened. I suddenly stood up. The table tipped over and the dagger flew far away. Edgar looked up at me.

"The worst choice is transformed into an experience for the next time."

I whispered, holding Edgar's wrist.

"A lifetime of distrust becomes an opportunity to become stronger for the future."

Edgar stared endlessly into the green eyes. 

"Even if you want to die now, you will want to live later."

"..."

"Aren't you human?"

I brought my face, still full of life, closer.

"Being imperfect means you can change as much as you want." 

Edgar's body began to tremble slightly.

"I will live. Even if I regret it, I wilI do it later and I will wake up later... Even if you say that now, there will definitely be painful moments later, right?" 

Rose answered without hesitation. 

"Belial, are you saying you trust him that much?"

There was sadness in Edgar's eyes.

"No."

I denied it without hesitation.

"I say this because I believe in myself, who has survived this far and will not break down no matter how difficult things are now."

"... You."

My voice became increasingly confident.

"Don't trust others. Don't even believe in God. Both of them are the most prone to betrayal." 

In the end, I am the only one who will not betray and the only one I can trust with peace of mind.

"So, believe in yourself and get up."

I looked directly at Edgar and spoke clearly.

"And live in the future." 

"...No. I do not want."

Edgar, who had been listening silently to whatever I said, turned his head slightly. He no longer dared to make eye contact. Edgar answered, still not meeting my eyes.

"I came here thinking today was the last day."

Previous            Next