“The fire keeps growing… please, save me… Ugh, please…”

“It’s okay. I’m here. I was wrong. Don’t cry. Don’t cry, please, it’s okay because I’m here with you.”

With a distorted face, Ren whispered continuously into her ear.

Her trembling persisted, and Sharty, who was crying out loud, didn’t even realize his presence.

Ren desperately held onto her, making sure to make his presence known until her shaking subsided.

As she pleaded for help, her hands grabbed onto Ren’s clothes with strong force.

“…Ugh, I, I don’t… want to die…”

Perhaps feeling the strength supporting her body, Sharty’s voice gradually faded.

And soon, as if a thread had been cut, Sharty’s body collapsed in Ren’s arms.

“…Shaa!”

Hurriedly, Ren checked her breathing.

At the faint sounds of Sharty’s labored breathing, Ren let out a sigh of relief. His startled heart was beating rapidly.

After covering her with the hood again, Ren carried her to the bedroom.

Attempting to lay Sharty on the bed was not easy because she strongly held onto her clothes.

“…”
Ren quietly looked down at Sharti’s small hand, which refused to let go of his clothes. Even as he was held back with pleas not to leave, a chill ran through one corner of his heart, making it tremble. Sharti’s turquoise eyes twisted with agony and remorse.

“…I’m sorry, Sharti.”

Ren, forcefully detaching Sharti’s clinging hand, quickly left the bedroom and extinguished the fireplace. The initially warm air had turned into a clammy heat. Ren, looking down at the charred logs, became lost in thought.

‘…Good grief.’

Ren, harshly washing his face with both hands, had curses circling in his mouth. Sharti hadn’t refrained from lighting the fire; she couldn’t.

‘There must be some kindling around. What do I know about Sharti?’

The image of Sharti, continuously looking at the fireplace and sobbing as if provoking a match, kept flashing before Ren’s eyes. His self-blaming face stiffened.

Feeling foolish and unable to express the self-loathing, Ren muttered, ‘Repaying kindness with vengeance.’

Staring at the cooling fireplace, Ren lowered his gaze. Not only did he intrude into Sharti’s peaceful life, but he also stirred up her trauma out of selfishness.

Ren despised himself.

“Worst.”

Standing still, Ren turned his head towards the ceiling and contemplated his mistakes. As his mind calmed down, Ren headed for the bathroom.

Now, nursing Sharti took precedence over self-reflection.

“Sharti…”

Approaching Sharti, who was softly moaning, Ren had brought a wet towel. Sharti seemed to be having nightmares, twitching slightly.

Ren wiped the sweat from her neck with the wet towel, carefully attending to her arms and legs.

“…I’m sorry.”

Feeling the pain in his throat, Ren made a decision once again. Leaving Sharti was the right thing to do. Being with her was a selfish desire of someone who couldn’t do anything right. Ren lightly held and released Sharti’s hand, realizing the powerlessness of himself.

“Sorry for hurting you, Sharti.”

Swallowing the anger and regret that welled up in his throat, Ren forced himself to swallow them again.

The dark and mixed emotions soon turned into sadness. That night, Ren quietly and painfully endured within the depths of sorrow.

Now, there was only one day left to be with Sharti. However, the time was insufficient to erase the selfish desire not to leave.

The next day, Ren stared at Sharti’s back with a hollow expression. Sharti, who woke up only in the late morning when the clouds covered the sun, handled the piled-up tasks without eating since leaving the bedroom.

Externally, she looked fine, and there was no sign of the seizures from the previous evening. However, Ren felt not relief but a chilling emptiness.

“…Sharti.”

“…….”
The next day, Ren stared at Sharti’s back with an empty expression. Clouds covered the sun, and it wasn’t until late morning that Sharti, who had awakened, avoided meals and dealt with piled-up work since leaving the bedroom. Outwardly, she appeared fine, and there was no trace of the seizures from the previous evening. However, Ren felt not relief but a chilling emptiness.

“……Sharti.”

“…….”.

Even when Ren called her or approached, Sharti didn’t give him a single glance. She thoroughly ignored and disregarded him.

“Sharti.”

As Ren couldn’t endure it any longer and blocked her way, Sharti immediately turned her body and moved in the opposite direction. By this point, Ren was also growing frustrated.

In this tense atmosphere, Ren, who had rigidly guarded her bedroom door all night with a stiff face, couldn’t get a wink of sleep. Throughout the night, he thought about what to say once Sharti woke up—apologize, explain the fireplace, and then leave, expressing regret.

However, Sharti chose to avoid him.

“Sharti, I need to talk for a moment.”

Unable to forcibly hold her, Ren’s voice, distorted with a mixture of frustration and anxiety, flowed out.

“……Yesterday evening, I…”

“……!”

Sharti, who seemed to be avoiding any conversation with Ren, tripped over her own feet as if deliberately running away.

In that moment, Ren quickly reached out and grabbed her arm.

Thunk! Sharti reflexively shook off his hand.

“…….”.

Ren, with a vanished expression, stared at the rejected hand and slowly clenched it.

A heavy silence briefly passed between the two.

Without glancing at Ren, Sharti quickly entered her bedroom.

Left alone, Ren gritted his teeth.

‘What should I do in a situation like this?’

Ren wiped his eyes with one hand to calm the turmoil within him. It was impossible to pretend to be in pain or play the pitiful role when there was something wrong.

‘Let’s pretend nothing happened.’

He was well aware of Sharti’s desire to brush off any mistakes or traumas as if they never occurred.

‘…Only one day left.’

It wasn’t a difficult task. Suddenly, Ren, furrowing his eyebrows, let out a wry smile.

None of the seemingly simple tasks applied to Sharti. He left, ridiculing the cowardly intention to seek opportunities to reverse decisions.

Entering the room, Ren lay down on the blanket, supporting his head with both hands.

‘Now, I really have to worry about my own path.’

Beretta had given him a suspicious look. Ren felt a strong conviction that he had to stand on his own ever since following Beretta.

However, he had no desire to plan for the future.

He was just staring at the ceiling, contemplating the complex and uncomfortable emotions.

“……!”

At the faint sound of footsteps outside, Ren abruptly sat up. It was undoubtedly someone who had approached the door and then disappeared.
As Ren urgently went outside, he discovered clothes placed in front of the utility room door. They were the clothes Sharti had been making.

“…….”

On the finely folded pieces of fabric, impressions were naturally formed without a single note. Ren believed that Sharti would give him clothes tomorrow, at least as much as she made. He thought she would hand them over for him to wear before leaving.

‘Is this really the end like this?’ Could it be that she was telling him to leave right away? Suddenly, the image of a home flashed in Ren’s mind, and his face stiffened.

“Sharti!”

He couldn’t just leave without saying a word to her. He didn’t want to leave after causing her pain without offering an apology. Ren took a decisive step and forcefully opened the bedroom door.

“……!”

Sharti, surprised and frozen, was staring at him. It was when Ren, suppressing the collapsing expression, was about to step into the bedroom.

Thud! Thud!

“……!”

“…….”

Both Sharti and Ren held their breaths. Someone was knocking on the log house door. While staring rigidly at the door, a loud voice echoed from outside.

“Ah! Miss! It’s me! Manmulsang! Are you home?”