Is That My Alter Ego - Chapter 108



Chapter 108 – The Tale of Venice

“…..Ah! With me here, don’t worry too much. I will always… be by your side.”

Your smile, ever present, whether I was in pain or laughter.

A light so radiant, it felt far too grand for my ordinary existence.

“Thank you… truly.”

I… need only you. For now, you are all that remains by my side.

Hair dancing in the spring breeze, and a smile warmer than the spring sun. I follow behind, gazing at your figure as you hold my hand and lead the way.

*

A flash.

“…………..”

How many days have passed this time? I emerged from a long, endless world of dreams.

I lifted my upper body from the soft bed. A lukewarm breeze flowed in through the open window, accompanied by the sounds of summer insects.

…Is it summer? Already… summer.

—

After that day when the third doppelgänger perished, I found myself unable to rise from sleep for a long time.

At first, I slept the entire day, then two days, and the moments I slipped into slumber grew longer and longer.

…It seems I have been lost in sleep for weeks. Surely, before I fell asleep, it wasn’t this stifling.

I stare blankly at my two hands. I gaze down at my frail form.

After weeks submerged in slumber, not having eaten or relieved myself, I remain unchanged in every way.

…..Why.

Why only you….!

Die…..

“………..!”

Tremble, tremble, tremble…

Once more, the voices begin to creep in. In the corner of my vision, I see the forms of monsters emerging from the dark shadows, ready to swallow me whole.

I burrow deeper into my blankets, covering my entire body, and fervently prayed to a god I no longer believed in.

“….Please. Please let me fall asleep… Please…”

I begged and begged. To escape this nightmare, this reality more dreadful than hell itself. I implored for the solace of sleep to be granted to me.

Why…? Why did you survive?

We left like that… why are you still alive?

…..I hate you.

“No…. no….!”

Familiar voices begin to echo from beyond the blankets. It felt as if they would rip the covers away at any moment and consume me.

You alone survived… have we forgotten?

“Hi…. hick…!”

A voice whispers right next to my ear. I jolted in shock, tumbling out of bed.

No longer is the bed safe, nor this house.

Where on earth am I supposed to go? Where should I run… how can I escape this maddening voice?

With a crash—! Thud, thud, thud—!

“Haah… haah…!”

I burst through the door of the house, sprinting into the night. My destination… I don’t even know. Anywhere would be better than here.

My heart felt as if it would burst, and my weak legs ached as if they might snap at any moment.

Yet I could not stop running.

Why only you… you alone….!

Because of you, we are dead… It’s because of you…!

I hate you… I loathe you…!

I know that if I stop now, those chilling voices echoing from right behind me will swallow me whole.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I’m sorry…!”

Tears flowed without a thought of wiping them away, embracing my blurred vision as I simply ran.

Crack.

“Ugh… Ack…!”

But as I ran without checking ahead, my foot twisted beneath me.

…No. If this continues, those voices, that shadow will…!

A wave of sheer terror began to crawl up my body. I could hardly breathe.

Yet, the moment I lifted my head from where I had collapsed, I felt the fear and dread I had just experienced vanish in an instant.

“……Ah.”

I had collapsed at the very cliff I always sought, where the beautiful stars and horizon stretched wide.

Beyond my now-clear vision, the sun had just begun to set, casting a stunning light across the horizon. And above it, the stars and the Milky Way began to shine brilliantly.

And at that moment, as I gazed at the breathtaking horizon and stars, a scene from my memory began to surface.

*

“…..Ah. How is it? This is a place your mom and dad often visited when they were dating.”

“You really…”

My father, arms spread wide with pride, and my mother, blushing with embarrassment.

Yet, I was so captivated by the beauty of the scene that I could hardly see my beloved parents.

“Wow…..”

As we parked and stepped out, the view from the cliff where the sun began to set was still etched in my mind.

The endless sea. And the sun, casting its beautiful light just above the horizon.

And the stars, scattered across the sky as if looking down upon them all.

The image I first saw as a child remained vivid in my memory, even as time had swiftly passed.

My life was not particularly special. I studied like everyone else, ate like everyone else, lived like everyone else.

If there was anything slightly unusual, it was that I didn’t feel the need to expand my social circle, so I never approached friends first.

Thus, I had few acquaintances, but those I did have were as close as a second family.

Our family was truly ordinary. A mother who was a homemaker, a father who worked at a company, and me, an average student.

So ordinary that it could be deemed special. We were blissfully happy, and we loved each other.

…Yes. How wonderful it would have been if we had continued like that for a lifetime.

“…Son, eat this…”

“I said I’m not eating!”

Puberty had come for me as well. Forgetting my childhood wish to never hurt my parents and to be a good son, I was engulfed in a fierce rebellion.

Puberty was truly like magic. With just the tiniest spark, emotions would surge, only to crash down just as suddenly.

That day was no different.

“…I said I’m not going!”

“Son… but we always went together…”

“Just you and Mom go! I don’t want to!”

“…Huh. I understand.”

For the first time, I refused to go to that beautiful cliff, an annual event for our family.

The reason was utterly childish. I was furious because it felt like my parents weren’t listening to me.

Just for that reason, for such a trivial reason, I turned my back on them.

Creeeak… thud. Squeak.

In the end, my parents went to the cliff alone, without me.

Though my mother and father tried to reason with me, it seemed they only felt pity as they watched me throw a tantrum instead of understanding.

“…Ha! This is so annoying!”

At that time, I was so young, so true to my emotions.

I never thought of the irritation and harsh words I hurled at my father and mother; I simply blamed them.

“Damn it… I guess I’ll just play a game.”

Doo doo doo… thud.

– Hello?

“Hey, let’s play a game! Hurry up and come in!”

– …Aren’t you supposed to be going somewhere with your parents today?

“I don’t care! Just come in!”

Oblivious to the nails I had driven into my parents’ hearts with my reckless words and emotional outbursts.

I was only faithful to this moment.

And so, time flowed swiftly.

When doing something boring and unwanted, time dragged on, but when engaged in something fun and desired, it seemed to race forward as if on a fast track.

“….Oh, dear…”

I felt an inexplicable guilt as I glanced at the clock, the hour late and heavy with shadows.

Isn’t that what adolescence is? Emotions erupting for the most trivial of reasons, only to subside just as easily, as if they were never there at all.

Surely, before my parents left the house, I felt no guilt whatsoever, nor did I wish to recall the words I had spat out in anger.

Yet suddenly, it washed over me. I knew it well. I was in the throes of adolescence, and my feelings were as unpredictable as the wind.

In truth, I didn’t want to say such things to my parents. How could I? They who had raised me, who had enveloped me in love.

For some reason, their return was delayed, and a wave of remorse surged within me, prompting me to dial their number.

Beep beep beep…

Beep beep beep…

The line was silent, followed by a tone…

“…What is it?”

Neither my mother nor my father answered the call.

If it were any other day, they would have picked up within three seconds of my dialing.

A flicker of unease crept in, but I brushed it aside.

Perhaps they were busy driving. Or maybe the surroundings were too noisy for them to hear.

Beep beep beep… Click.

Ah, finally, they answered. I should convey my apologies.

“…Mom! I…”

-Caller, what is your relationship with this individual?

“….What?”

I glanced at the phone, wondering if I had dialed the wrong number, but the contact was clearly labeled ‘Mom.’

Yet, the voice that answered was neither my mother’s nor my father’s. A voice I had never heard before asked me about my relationship with her.

“I… it’s me?”

-Yes. Victim… what is your relationship with this individual?

“Ah… I’m… their son…”

-………..

From noble mtl dot com

The voice on the other end fell into silence. In that moment, it felt as if time itself had frozen.

-…I apologize for this call… You must come here at once.

“What…? What do you mean…”

The location marked in the message that arrived on my phone. After seeing that message, I felt as if I had lost my mind. Even now, I cannot recall how I managed to get through those moments.

– Black… huff… what to do… what to do…!

– … Hyung…

– Unni… unni…!

– Oh dear… oh dear…!

When I came to my senses, I found myself in a small funeral parlor.

Aunt, uncle, and even grandmother were all gathered, wailing in grief.

Until that moment, I thought I was dreaming. This is… absurd.

But then. Beyond the small portrait, when I saw the faces of my mother and father in a family photo taken before I reached the peak of my adolescence, unprepared for this moment.

The warmth of that smile beyond the photo, the voice that used to look at me and laugh, I could feel it.

Drip.

“Ah… ahh…”

Only then did the tears flow. My throat felt choked, and my mind went blank.

This is a dream. It must be a dream. It has to be, I tried to deny reality, but this was no dream.

The fact that I could no longer see my parents, that warm voice and smile.

That my last words to them were laced with irritation and anger.

It hurt so deeply, so painfully.

I should have at least said I love you, that it wasn’t my true feelings.

Guilt pressed down on me like a heavy weight. I felt as if I could hardly breathe.

According to the police who arrived later, my parents had been taken from this world simultaneously by a drunken truck driver while driving toward a cliff.

The truck driver had completely crumpled my parents’ car, then fled, crashing into the cliff’s guardrail and falling to his death on the spot.

“Uh… Mom… Dad….”

I gazed into the portrait of my parents, blaming myself, and cried.

Just like that, overnight, I lost the parents I loved so dearly, so suddenly.

The image of our family in the portrait looked so warm and harmonious.

—