Chapter 12-2
by Han Yong-un · 2026-08-25
The woman took another sip of water and glanced at Dae-cheol before continuing her speech.
“Oh dear, so I decided to break your happiness.”
“First, I thought it would be best to take your husband.”
“But I pretended not to know from the beginning.”
“Without pretending to know you or the fact that I rescued you from Wonsan,”
“I dug into everything and found out all the details.”
“And then I started to lure him.”
“There was no need to lure him or anything. I was already madly in love with him and trying to die for him.”
“So my wish came true as if the wind filled my sails.”
“I sweetly coaxed a man who couldn’t escape from me, so it turned out quite well.”
“In the end, I made it so that you would even get a divorce.”
“But, oh dear… I’m out of breath, so I need to catch my breath before I continue.”
“The effects of the drug are wearing off, so I need to speak quickly.”
The woman continued her speech.
“Now that I’ve made you get a divorce, you should register our marriage.”
“Until then, I had never been formally married.”
“In my heart, I was a loose woman, but in form, I was a respectable maiden.”
“So I wouldn’t have registered with him.”
“It’s ridiculous. When we first started dating, he seemed like a decent person, but once we registered, he turned out to be nothing.”
“He just drank all day and wandered around claiming to be looking for gold, but I never even saw a single nugget.”
“I truly spent all the money I had saved by selling my body, which was over a thousand won.”
“Later, I even started taking opium, and he would show it to me and coax me to take it, so I ended up taking it too.”
“I might not have been deceived if I had not been ill.”
“But after several years of recklessly treating my body, I fell seriously ill. That’s how I ended up like this.”
“Later, I realized it was all to satisfy my filthy desires. Who would have known?”
“For a while after consuming that, I didn’t know whether night passed or day came, or if the world was collapsing while lying under the same blanket.”
“Who would have known that I was doing such dirty things?”
“But gradually I became addicted, and when the money ran out, what could I do?”
“Then somehow I ended up in Seoul, and for the first while, I managed to get by.”
“But how long could that last? So we drifted apart and ended up like this.”
“I had already been here for a while. I always stayed in this upper valley.”
“So even if you didn’t know me, I knew you. I knew you were here.”
“Even though I pretended not to know, I had my own feelings inside.”
“I always thought I would apologize to you someday, and now that I am about to die, I am telling you this for the last time.”
“Anyway, you are a kind and good person.”
“I am suffering like this because I am dragging that noble person around.”
“You are suffering in this life because of me, but in the next life, you will surely go to paradise.”
“If I die later, I will go straight to hell.”
“I should die after suffering like this, and they should also die after suffering like that.”
“They will die soon too. Can they live in that state?”
“After they die, please receive blessings and live well, then go to paradise.”
“I have nothing more to say now, and I can't speak because the energy from the injection has run out.”
“Sun-young, please, please be blessed and live well for a long time.”
The woman cried while looking at Sun-young, shedding hot tears that seemed to come from nowhere.
Then she turned to Dae-cheol.
“Hello, I am Nan-hyang. You should call me Nan-hyang to understand.”
“I was your lover and I was your wife.”
“You said you couldn't live without me. I said I couldn't live without you either.”
“And this is how it has turned out.”
“Anyway, I ended up dying in one place, so it's quite a strong bond between us.”
“They say even the most wicked person thinks good thoughts when they die, and now that I'm dying, regrets are coming up.”
“You probably feel the same way.”
“In any case, being born into this life has led to a pitiful situation for both of us. We are saying goodbye forever in this world.”
The woman shed tears again and looked at Sun-young.
“Please take care.”
“The words we said playfully when we were young have led to this much trouble.”
“Please be blessed.”
Then she crawled back the way she came.
Sun-young couldn't hold onto the woman any longer.
It felt like a dream.
Sun-young observed Dae-cheol's expression.
Dae-cheol, who had only been sighing while listening to Un-ok, was shedding tears that soaked the ground.
Sun-young didn't ask about Un-ok, only observing her breathing.
Her breath was getting faster, and sweat was dripping from her forehead.
“What's wrong? Calm your heart.”
As Sun-young comforted him, Dae-cheol let out a sobbing sound.
“What time is it now?”
Dae-cheol asked with a slurred voice after calming down a bit.
“It's getting dark. It must be around eight o'clock.”
“Is there still an injection left?”
“Yes, there is.”
“No, I gave it to that woman earlier.”
“Still, there should be about two left. Is there any way you would have leftovers without using them, teacher?”
“Then should I get one?”
“What good would it do for someone who is about to die to get a shot, but I have something to say too.”
Daechul pointed with his chin to his arm.
“Please don’t do that and calm your mind.”
Even so, Sunyoung administered the shot.
“Please help me sit up. I can’t breathe properly lying down, so I can’t speak.”