The Obsessive Maniac Is Trying To Confine Me

Chapter 207 I had a strange dream. In the dream, a man was crying sadly. “… I told you, Rose.” “…….” “If you leave, I will destroy everything.” His blue eyes were filled with madness. “Not a single thing will be left.” The man whispered to me as if he was seeking revenge. ***** “Senior, are you conscious?” When I woke up from the dream, I was back in Shi-eon’s house. I lay on the bed and rolled my eyes. “Huh… Why am I here….” “Don’t you remember? You fell asleep in the car, so I carried you inside.” “You carried me? Why didn’t you just wake me up…?” But something is strange. Why had he said, “Are you conscious?” instead of “Are you awake?” I thought about asking but decided against it, thinking I might just be overreacting. “I’m fine.” “Really?” “Yes.” Still, Sion seemed preoccupied, asking me the same thing several more times. It was as if he were afraid of something. ***** Time passed. Adjusting to the world I initially found unfamiliar didn’t take as long as I had thought. “Senior, how about applying here?” Shi-eon had been helping me a lot during this time. “Isn’t that place too far out of my league? I’ll definitely get rejected.” “Still, why not give it a shot?” I probably won’t make it, but there’s no harm in trying. I submitted applications to several companies. And then… “…I got accepted?” This didn’t make sense. “Congratulations, senior!” “No. This doesn’t feel right.” “I always believed in you.” “No, don’t. This is really weird.” “You’re amazing, senior!” “Amazing? Think about it. There’s no way I got in here!” “They must have seen your potential.” “…….” It wasn’t realistic.Something was definitely off. The sense of strangeness only grew stronger. **** “How did you come up with this proposal?!” “You must be a genius!” What’s going on?This new company felt bizarre. Everyone here seemed far from normal. **** Congratulations on your promotion!”“…?” It’s only been three months. **** “Shi-eon, be honest. Is this really Korea?” “Would you prefer it to be the America?” “This isn’t the time for jokes. Just tell me the truth.” “Alright, fine. It’s the America.” You little… ***** Three months had passed since I started living here. But is this really Korea? It feels like Korea, but there are subtle things that don’t quite fit. ***** [Let’s meet at 7 tonight.] I checked the text from Shi-eon and sighed. Tonight at 7 o’clock, I promised to have dinner with Si-eon. About 10 minutes left until the appointment. The city’s night streets were lit up with bright lights, and people passing by were laughing and chatting. The lively downtown atmosphere will probably remain in my memory for a long time. Everything looks real. ‘This can’t be fake…’ Thinking that I should have a serious conversation with Shi-eon again today, I headed towards the crosswalk. The light was red, so I stopped in front of it and saw Shi-eon standing on the other side. He is checking his watch while holding a bouquet of flowers.I was caught up in a strange feeling. Sometimes, it still felt unreal that I was in Korea. If I closed my eyes and opened them again, it seemed like I might hear someone calling me “Rose” from that other world. I’d escaped that endless desert, where sandstorms blew ceaselessly and the horizon was perpetually out of reach, yet my mind remained trapped there. The scent of sand seemed to fill my nose, and it felt as though grains were creeping into my shoes. Crack. A sharp sound, like glass shattering, echoed from above. But, there only the sky above my head? I lifted my head without a second thought, but seeing the cracks in the air, I stiffened. I remember this sight. What I saw when I went to my mother’s ossuary a few months ago. But it was dismissed as a dream. Am I dreaming again? No… this feels real… I looked at Shi-eon with a little cynical eyes. Shi-eon, who found me, looked at me and smiled brightly. I returned the smile, having made my decision. The light hadn’t turned green yet, but I stepped into the crosswalk anyway. “……!” Surprised by my sudden action, the people around me whispered. Beep! Beep! A harsh honking sound erupted as cars swerved to avoid me. “Senior!” Surprised, Shi-eon shouted and threw the bouquet in his hand and ran to me. Beep! Crash! A horn that constantly rings loudly. At that moment, a car that I couldn’t avoid rushed towards me. I shut my eyes tight. But… nothing happened. “Ah..” All I heard was a faint sigh above my head. When I opened my eyes, the city scenery I had captured vividly had disappeared as if washed away. Cars honking their horns like crazy, and people talking to me. They all disappeared and a barren land covered them. “… Senior, are you okay? Are you hurt?” Even now, Shi-eon’s first concern was my well-being. I looked at him coldly. His hands, which had been gripping my shoulders, loosened their grip as he averted his gaze. “Senior, this is… well…” Shi-eon stammered, seemingly at a loss for an excuse. Of course, he hadn’t planned for this.Shoving aside the illusion of the city in a fit of panic was probably not part of his script. “Senior, this… it’s nothing, really.” “……” “Just wait. I can fix it.” With a snap of his fingers, the cityscape returned. Suddenly, we were back on the sidewalk as if nothing had happened. People passed us laughing and chatting as if nothing had happened. “See? Everything’s fine now, senior.” “…….” “Senior.” “…….” “Say something, please, senior…” Say something? I glanced around at the reconstructed cityscape and let out a dry laugh. “… Say something? Fine. Let’s talk, Shi-eon. So, I’ve been playing around in this fake world for the past three months?” To think there wasn’t a single person I could trust. My life was truly astonishing. “You’re the one who said, ‘Let’s go back to Korea.’” “…….” “Is this Korea?” When Shi-eon didn’t answer, I picked up the bouquet that Shi-eon had thrown away. “Fine. Let’s set this aside for now…” But there was one thing I couldn’t forgive. “What about the radio my mom gave me? Was that fake too?” “…….” “We went to the ossuary not too long ago. You bastard, was that fake too?” If that was fake… “How could you show me something like that?” “…….” “How could you, Lee Shi-eon!” I couldn’t resist and slapped him on the shoulder with a bouquet of flowers. The falling petals are so beautiful that it doesn’t match the situation. It wasn’t just a fleeting moment of anger—it felt like years of pent-up rage bursting out all at once. “I thanked you, didn’t I? For taking good care of my mom…” “…I’m sorry, senior.” “Sorry? If you were sorry, you should’ve told me the truth back then!” I picked up the bouquet again and slapped him on the shoulder. The wind blew the bouquet away from my hand, but I did not stop and slapped him on the shoulder. Shi-eon didn’t resist, silently enduring the blows as if it were his way of atoning. “Why… Why did you do this to me too? Why?!” Despite my shouting and hitting, not a single person on the street paid us any attention. Because they were all fake. I was so sick of it. “… I’ll explain everything, senior.” What good was an explanation now?My energy drained, I sank to the ground. At that moment, a golden glow, like fireflies, enveloped the entire city.The cityscape vanished again, replaced by a green meadow. Blades of grass brushed against my legs. Shi-eon knelt beside me, his face full of concern. “Are you a demon?” I spit out without even looking at Shi-eon. The voice that came out as if it reflected my feelings was not even high or low. Suddenly, a myth-like story that Shi-eon told me a long time ago came to mind. Demons have a unique ability to create space. A demon banished by the apostles, who then created a world where they could meet the apostle they loved. “…I don’t think so.” “Then what are you?” Shi-eon paused for a moment to answer. “The reason I made this place… … Because we can’t go back to Korea.” “… What?” “This was the best I could do.” I didn’t understand his words. “Then you mean that killing the Transcendent is meaningless?” Have I ever been fooled? Even killing Yurtha… “That’s not true. The premise that killing a transcendent allows you to return hasn’t changed.” “Then why…” “In Korea, your body is already dead.” That’s why you can’t go back.