ꜰɪɴᴀʟ ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜ . ꜱᴡᴇᴇᴛ ʜᴏᴍᴇ ¹

XII. ᴍᴏʀᴇ ꜱᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴏʀꜱ

I couldn't reach my son's hand. I couldn't do anything when the monster took my son. It was too fast. If I had caught my son's hand... If I'd been able to reach that far, would my son still be alive?

I can't forgive myself.

I'm having nightmares every day. The monster in my head is telling me that it's all my fault. Maybe it will be better to just become a monster.

No! It's my fault.

I should've held onto him! I should've kept my son next to me!

No! There was nothing I could do. It's not my fault.

Sung-hyo read every single line, feeling more and more scared and heartbroken with every page she turned.

This poor man. Continuously blaming himself while fighting against a monster in his head to stay human.

Was this what Hyun-su was battling every day?

Was it the same?

Was it worse?

Sang-wook suddenly began to stir.

The woman, who'd introduced herself as Yu-ri, shuffled over to him with some first aid equipment.

"Are you awake now?" Yu-ri asked.

"I don't need any of that," Sang-wook replied.

Yu-ri went to grab Sang-wook's hand to stay still, but he ripped it from her grasp.

"Yes, you do," Yu-ri said as Sang-wook continued to stand. "Your bleeding has stopped, but you're still injured."

Sang-wook didn't listen and just left the apartment.

Yu-ri stood, letting out a defeated huff. "Is it okay to let him go like that?"

"There's no need to worry about him," the elderly man, Gil-seob, said. "I bet he could take on a tiger by himself."

Hyun-su stood up, catching Yu-ri's attention. "You look pretty hurt too."

Hyun-su covered the injury on his head as he replied, "No, I'm fine."

"Move that hand," Yu-ri said, searching for bandages in her first aid kit. "It'll get infected if you don't treat it."

"I can do it," Sung-hyo chimed in. "Give them to me. I'll do it."

However, before Yu-ri could hand them over to her, a crossbow was pointed at Hyun-su.

"Move that hand, kid," Gil-seob ordered. "You're turning, aren't you? Yu-ri, get away from him."

Sung-hyo felt her heartbeat quicken, but she tried to remain composed on the outside.

"Move that hand!" Gil-seob ordered again. "Or else I'll make sure your heart never beats again."

Hyun-su removed his hand, which revealed his injury that was healing.

Sung-hyo's hand slowly went to her knife, preparing for the worst.

"Get out," Gil-seob said. "I wouldn't have helped you if I knew you were a monster. Get out!"

Sung-hyo let go of her knife, glad things didn't end any other way. Hyun-su picked up his weapon and began to make his way to the door.

"I'm sorry for the trouble," Sung-hyo mumbled, bowing respectfully before following Hyun-su.

However, the pair stopped as they heard laughter behind them. Turning around, they spotted that Gil-seob was laughing.

"You have such a bad hobby," Yu-ri scolded him.

"I was just kidding," Gil-seob told the visibly confused teenagers. "You don't have to leave. And you didn't have to apologise, my dear. Why would I be scared of that when I'm going to die soon, anyway?"

"Pardon?" Hyun-su let out.

"Yu-ri. You stay here," Gil-seob told his carer before turning back to the teenagers. "You're going to the 14th floor, right? And you said there are little kids there."

"Yes, that's right," Sung-hyo nodded.

"Don't you need someone who's not afraid of death?" Gil-seob offered, resting his crossbow on his shoulder.

"Sir!" Yu-ri scolded again.

"You're fired," Gil-seob replied. "You've done well nursing an old man with a bad temper. I want to play a superhero before I die. Can you let me join you?"

"You're just acting tough," Hyun-su commented.

"What?" Gil-seob asked.

"Don't fool yourself," Hyun-su replied, earning him a small elbow jab from Sung-hyo. "No one really wants to die."

"Is becoming rude one of the symptoms of turning into a monster?" Gil-seob retorted. "Let me give you some advice, kid. Not being afraid of death and wanting to die are different things. I'm planning on living longer than anyone.

"May I ask how old you are?" Sung-hyo asked.

"Why?" Gil-seob asked.

"So I know how long I need to live to beat you," Sung-hyo replied.

Gil-seob started laughing again. "You've got a fiery spirit, my dear. That's exactly what we need in a world like this."

ᶠYͧoͨᵏu

Sung-hyo was definitely confused when they arrived at 1408 to find just Du-sik and the kids. Ms Im was nowhere in sight.

"Are you two alright?" Sung-hyo asked the kids. They both nodded.

Hyun-su turned to Du-sik, "What about the lady?"

Du-sik slowly opened the bathroom door, revealing what was inside. It looked to be like a giant womb, with a baby inside.

Sung-hyo let out a small sigh. Ms Im deserved nothing like her ending. She was a sweet lady, even though Sung-hyo had continuously tried to avoid her.

She regretted that now. 

And unfortunately, it was too late to fix.

"Rest in peace..." she whispered.