Denial sat in the driver's seat, Sohee's lifeless body cradled against his chest. His tears fell endlessly, dripping into her hair as he whispered broken pleas to the heavens.
Please, God… please bring her back to me… take my life instead… just let her breathe again…
But the night was silent.
No answer came.
Hours passed like that, the world outside the car swallowed in darkness. The road was empty, the air still. It felt as if time itself had abandoned them.
At last, with trembling arms, Denial forced himself to move. He carried her out of the car, holding her as if she were made of glass, every step heavy with disbelief.
When they reached the house, he took her to the bathroom. The blood on her skin had dried in patches, cruel reminders of the accident. With a tenderness that ached, he washed each wound, his hands shaking as warm water slid over her pale skin.
He dressed her in fresh clothes, laid her gently on the bed, and then left — taking another car to retrieve the wrecked one from the road. He brought it back along with rope and other items, his movements mechanical, his mind lost in a haze.
By then, dawn had begun to creep into the sky. He didn't go to the office that day. Instead, he stayed by her side, watching her face as if staring hard enough could make her eyes open again.
He spoke to God once more, but like before, there was no reply.
That night, when the silence became unbearable, Denial tried to end his own life.
He sank into the bathtub, holding his breath under the water.
He cut deep into the veins of his wrists.
He tied a rope and tried to hang himself.
But each time, in ways he couldn't explain, something pulled him back — the water seemed to vanish from his lungs, the bleeding stopped too soon, the rope slipped free.
On his knees, he wept.
"Why? Why can't I die? I want this to end… Please… kill me, God."
And then, like a voice echoing inside his mind, the answer came:
You will never be able to kill yourself. Every time you try, the curse will grow stronger.
Denial's sobs broke into quiet gasps. "Then what am I supposed to do? I don't want to live anymore…"
No reply followed.
Night fell again. The clock showed 1:30 a.m. Denial stood in the stillness, staring at her body on the bed. His strength to keep going was gone.
He lifted her into his arms once more, cold against his chest, and carried her to the car.
He drove in silence to his hometown — the place where Eva and Ren rested. Under the moonlight, he dug into the earth, his tears blurring his sight, and placed Sohee beside them.
The soil closed over her, but the emptiness inside him only deepened.
In that moment, Denial realized… he no longer had any will to live.
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