Iseul suddenly burst into laughter upon hearing Ryong's command, drawing puzzled looks from everyone around her. Just because she had given him his personality didn't mean she was out of tricks. After all, she had created him—a toy for her amusement. And when a toy breaks, it's meant to be discarded.
"Have you found the yeouiju? Want me to tell you where it is?" Iseul smirked, her tone dripping with mockery. She knew that, for Ryong, the yeouiju was more important than anything. That must be why he was threatening them now.
Ryong stayed silent, slowly withdrawing his hand from her neck. Sensing an opportunity, Iseul shoved him away and bolted toward her brother.
"Get up!" Iseul urged, grabbing Jaehyun's arm and pulling him with her as they ran oppositely. She needed to get Jaehyun out of there; he had nothing to do with this. She was the one who had created this hell, and it was only fitting that she faced the consequences, not him.
"Peek-a-boo!" Ryong's voice rang out, startling her as he suddenly appeared by her side. He grabbed her hair and flung her mercilessly against the wall.
"Noona!" Jaehyun cried out as he watched his sister crash into the wall with a sickening thud. Iseul crumpled to the ground, sharp pain stabbing through her as her vision blurred. Each breath she took was agony, and every attempt to inhale only intensified the searing pain in her ribcage.
Through her hazy vision, Iseul saw Jaehyun desperately begging for help while Mai tried to strangle him. No, this wasn't the time to focus on her pain. She couldn't give up now. She had already lost her mother; she couldn't lose Jaehyun too. He was the only family she had left.
With a final surge of energy, Iseul forced herself to stand. A strange metallic taste filled her mouth, and she glanced down to see drops of blood spattering on the ground. Trembling, she touched her upper lip, feeling the warm, sticky liquid on her fingers. She coughed, and a pool of blood splattered before her. The unbearable pain in her ribs made every movement excruciating. Her legs felt weak—an unfamiliar and terrifying sensation. If this was a nightmare, she wished with all her might for it to end.
"Stop…" Iseul's voice was barely a whisper as she staggered toward them, her steps unsteady.
"DIE!!!" Ryong roared, his voice echoing through the air as rain began to pour down in torrents. That was the last thing she remembered before she collapsed to the ground, Jaehyun's frantic voice calling out her name.
Her body went numb, and even breathing became an unbearable chore. If this was death, it was indeed a tormenting experience.
***
"Just a mere puppet and you wish to be a god. If that's what you want, then I'll let you be the god of your world," a feminine voice whispered.
Iseul gasped for air. Her eyes widened slowly inhaling a gasp of air as the piercing pain almost made her unable to breathe. She glanced at her surroundings—a stark, white room, with the only sound being the steady beeping of a machine by her bed.
Puzzled by her bedridden state, Iseul looked around, trying to piece together what had happened. What had happened after she passed out? Where was Jaehyun? Was he okay? Had they killed him?
This wasn't a dream; the searing pain in her right chest was too real. But none of that mattered now. Iseul yanked out the IV tubes and every other attachment connected to her body. She ripped off the oxygen mask and tried to get up. At the same time, the right part of her chest pierced her body with pain. Her fragile hands trying to support her in sitting up straight only failed miserably.
"Noona!" Jaehyun's voice was filled with panic as he rushed into the room and saw her trying to sit up.
Hearing his voice, Iseul's eyes welled up with tears. He was safe. That was all that mattered. She had at least managed to save him. Jaehyun stood beside her, anxious and desperate as he tried to help her up.
"Are you okay? Please, stop moving," Jaehyun urged, his worry deepening as he saw her tears. He had never seen his sister cry like this—not like a child, not with such raw emotion.
"Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" Iseul asked, wiping her tears away as she looked at her brother, praying this wasn't just a dream.
"I'm fine. It's you who's not," Jaehyun replied, nodding to reassure her as he gently helped her back into bed.
"What happened after I passed out?" Iseul asked once she had calmed down. A sharp pain shot through her right chest, making her wince. She hadn't grasped it before, but her right shoulder was broken and plastered. Were her injuries that severe?
"I don't know," Jaehyun began, his voice hesitant. "They suddenly stopped. That silver-haired guy started screaming in pain, and something like fish scales fell from his back. They left immediately after that."
"How long has it been?" Iseul asked, glancing around the room. There were no windows, no clocks—nothing to mark the passage of time. It felt like an eternity could have passed in this place.
"Two months…" Jaehyun's voice was barely above a whisper.
"Noona, Ma is…" Jaehyun struggled to finish his sentence, his eyes brimming with tears.
"I see." Iseul nodded as if she understood what her brother trying to convey. The room became eerily quiet as Jaehyun stared at his sister whose face was unreadable. He couldn't understand why she seemed so unaffected by their mother's death. Had she hated her mother so much that she wouldn't even mourn her passing?
"Iseul." A voice called out as the door to her room opened. Iseul glanced up, identifying the familiar figure standing by the door. It had been so long since they had last met. Her eyes sparkled as she saw her grandfather standing there.
"Grandpa…" Iseul whispered, giving a slight bow before her gaze shifted to the man in the white coat beside him.
The doctors smiled as they entered, performing a quick checkup and reattaching the tubes to her body before leaving the three of them alone.
Jaehyun glanced at their grandfather, waiting for a signal. their grandfather gave a slight nod as a gesture for him to go ahead, "Noona…there is something we wish to tell you."