The Damn Family Is Back Again - Chapter 360



360. Choice (6)

Suddenly, as I embraced her from behind, Harnié panicked and tried to break free.

“W-what are you doing? Let go of me right now.”

“…”

“Let go. I told you I have to go. There’s no time for this…”

The more she spoke, the tighter Karsein held her, as if he would never let her go.

Harnié, seemingly frightened, began to struggle.

“I told you I’m busy. You have to go back to your world too. You need to return quickly!”

“…”

“This is what you wanted so much. The return to your original world that you longed for is right in front of you. There’s no time for this…!”

Struggling and trying to persuade, but a terrifying situation unfolded in Harnié’s eyes.

‘W-what? I must have seen it wrong…’

The door to another world created by the power of the jewel.

Its angular part had become slightly blurry.

I thought I might have seen it wrong, but…

‘No, I didn’t see it wrong…’

The blind spot was continuously shrinking.

The blurriness deepened, and soon it was replaced by the scenery of this world.

It is disappearing.

The door containing the alien world.

As if that door was closing.

“Karsein, that door. It’s disappearing. It’s disappearing!”

“…”

Silence. What kind of reaction is this?

Harnié fell into confusion.

Then suddenly realizing what choice he was about to make, he shouted urgently.

“Go now! There’s no time to waste!”

From noble mtl dot com

He holds her from behind, not letting go.

Even after hearing that the door is disappearing, he doesn’t move.

Instead of showing urgency, he quietly keeps his mouth shut.

Isn’t he a smart man?

There’s no time to be doing this.

He must have heard that sound.

He must know that he could be trapped here.

Absolutely, absolutely he must know these facts.

And yet.

This man neither moves nor responds.

No. You can’t do that.

“This isn’t the place you lived, nor the world you were living in. You were dragged here against your will, suffering all kinds of hardships, and that’s why you wanted to go back.”

You have to go back. To your world.

“Somehow, getting out of this world. That was your goal. Returning to where you originally lived was your purpose! Why are you doing this?!”

You have to escape this excruciating pain.

“Didn’t you hear me?! Get a grip and go quickly. If you stay here, you could be trapped here forever!”

You have to forget it forever, not be trapped here forever.

“You’ve gone through all sorts of hardships to get here. You should shake it all off and live happily in your world! Are you saying you’ll give up your goal now that it’s right in front of you?!”

A silk road is spread out before your eyes, why aren’t you going?

Before long, the door had lost even its rectangular shape.

The door, which had begun to lose its shape little by little, had transformed into a size that could barely fit a body through.

This was truly the last chance.

“Please… please go. Okay? Please… don’t make the wrong choice at the last moment…”

As a final desperate plea.

That this man would come to his senses and return to his world.

However.

Karsein whispered calmly as he held her.

“This is my choice.”

With the worst possible answer.

The door to the other world completely closed.

*

‘What to do.’

In the end, it disappeared.

The path that should have led him to happiness after enduring times of hardship.

The path to happiness no longer exists.

The time he should have spent letting go of everything and living out his remaining days stopped here.

Isolated in this world, he had to live on forever.

‘It’s all over…’

Harnie, with a blank expression.

Soon, she was engulfed in another sorrow.

‘I, I endured so much…’

She had deliberately kept her distance, thinking that seeing his face would make the farewell harder.

She had waited for him to leave, ignoring all contact.

I tried to accept that I had to let him go, even if it meant bearing the pain.

But everything went wrong.

From the moment Karsein was in danger, I couldn’t help but intervene.

‘I tried so hard to help while holding back…’

I thought I just needed to help him until he left.

Wasn’t he always a cold person? He wouldn’t have any lingering attachments here. He wasn’t the kind of person to have any in the first place.

In the barren field of emotions, where reason faced a cold winter, he was destined to leave this world unless he created any special attachments.

So, I just needed to kill my own feelings.

I just needed to hide this heart.

I thought I just needed to suppress it so that it wouldn’t hold him back.

The truth was never revealed.

There were quite a few unexpected situations, but I deliberately didn’t show it.

Not a single mistake was allowed. The moment I held back the man who was about to leave, everything would fall apart.

…It should have been that way.

‘I was prepared to let him go, and I was prepared to deal with my emotions after he left… I tried and tried not to hold him back…’

Yes. I held back.

I held back so much.

I wished for Karsein to return somehow.

I acted and acted, suppressing the desire to hold him back.

I held back and held back, wishing for this person’s happiness.

This moment.

All that effort went to waste.

Eyes that had been avoiding him as if they might catch him now turned to Carsein.

Endlessly trembling pupils.

Harnie’s eyes, mixed with complex emotions, were filled with resentment at this moment.

Knowing what she was about to hear, Carsein released the strength in his arms and let her go from his embrace.

-Thud.

“Why did you do it?”

Harnie asked, hitting Carsein’s chest with her fists.

“You’re a smart person. You already decided long ago that going back was the right thing to do.”

Why aren’t you going back?

A smart person should know better than to step further into this.

“You know that if you stay here, you’ll just be chased, living hellish days. But if you turn your back on this world and leave, it won’t matter at all.”

You’ve been bullied by your family, treated as an outcast by the world, and almost died several times.

Even after experiencing that, you can’t stay here.

“What am I to you? I’m just one of the many people you’ve met, someone you encountered in a distant world, a connection that should disappear like a midnight dream!”

That’s right.

There’s no reason to stay.

Except for mentioning one single worry.

With her head bowed, Harnie kept hitting Carsein’s chest.

“What am I even? Why have I lost the will to go back?”

Just one of the countless ordinary people.

Just one of the people with no special qualities.

A person met for the purpose of a transaction.

A person who made a contract to achieve mutual goals.

A person who is not truly engaged, but in a fake engagement.

A person who will have no relationship once this contract ends, a complete stranger.

A person who will return to being a total stranger.

That was Harnié.

“But why, why won’t you go back because of a complete stranger?”

“…”

“You said you have a place to return to. You have your original world, and if you go back there, you can live as you wish. Why won’t you take a few steps forward without looking back, just by closing your eyes for a moment?”

There is no reason.

No matter how much I think about it, there is no reason.

There is no reason for this person, who should erase the nightmare of this place and return to their world to create new memories, to not take a step forward.

-Thud, thud.

“Tell me. Just say something!”

Harnié continued to pound on Karsein’s chest in lamentation.

“…”

These frail arms did not exert any strength.

It was as weak as a cotton bat.

It was not resentment.

It was something closer to self-reproach than resentment towards others.

Therefore, Carsein had to grab Harnie’s wrist to stop this self-reproach.

“…The only lingering attachment I have left here is you.”

At those words, the purple eyes widened.

“What… does that… mean…”

Carsein chuckled.

“You have always been by my side. No matter what happened, no matter what rumors I heard, no matter what difficulties I faced.”

No.

“I thought everyone had turned their backs on me. When even my family ignored me, I wondered who would be my ally. I was so obsessed with the idea of living alone that I couldn’t look around. But then I realized there was always someone by my side.”

Stop. Stop it.

“I couldn’t do it alone. I might have been broken before I even got this far. Every time, my blood cooled, soaked in the frozen air, and I only thought about work. Because of that, I might have stepped into a worse path and become a monster. But then, someone gave me warmth.”

Those words shouldn’t come out.

They shouldn’t come out.

“The reason I didn’t turn into a monster was because of the power of that warmth. And… the person who gave me that warmth was in danger.”

No…

“That’s all. Because of you, I didn’t turn back. And.”

-Swish.

“This time, it’s my turn to save you.”

The stream of water that had been locked away began to flow down Harnié’s cheek.

Like a faucet that finally bursts open, tears poured out in torrents.

“It’s… unfair… It’s unfair… If you say things like that… What am I supposed to do…”

Harnié cried and cried again.

“All this time, I, I have hidden these feelings… I have endured and endured…!”

She cried for hours, nestled in Carsein’s arms.

*

“…”

Harnié cried herself to sleep.

Seeing her sleeping form, I was certain.

This was unmistakably the appearance of Ji-eun.

To only realize this now. How pathetic.

My side had always been filled with the warmth of one person.

My memories always held the subtle scent of one person’s presence.

My past was not filled alone.

It was always filled because there was someone who believed in me and helped me.

The time here was no different.

It wasn’t just my time alone that remained.

She was always by my side, and her scent always reached me. That time always flowed together with Harnié’s time.

Yes. This game… was always sending me a message.

In the form of a memorial.

With memories of the past and the present time.

The hidden memorial I saw earlier is, of course, not my memory.

I don’t even know if such a thing happened, nor have I experienced it.

But the memorial has been leaving messages, showing perspectives other than my own.

This time, a very direct message to save the author.

“We can’t repeat the same mistake.”

But.

▶EX Episode. Proceeding with the true enemy.◀

▶Eliminate the true enemy to save Harni.◀

I had nothing.

I didn’t even know what to do.

The power given to me does not exist.

I don’t even know exactly what situation I’m in.

It was literally a situation where the future seemed bleak.

…Nevertheless. The odds are sufficient.

Because I’m not lacking in information.

These two strangely similar worlds provide me with the most information.