Was I Worth It?

Chapter 1: Where The Reality Blurs

"Child, come!"

Hyeon heard something.

A voice. It felt familiar, with gentle and clear notes, reminiscent of a distant melody drifting through the rustling leaves.

She blinked awake, her eyes still foggy. Rubbing them gently with her fists, Hyeon shook off the last traces of sleep. As her sight cleared, the surroundings dawned on her—widening her obsidian irises in its wake.

A cluster of white cumulus clouds drifted leisurely above the vast expanse of a sea. The crystal blue water shimmered under the golden light; its ripples casting a mesmerizing dance of glimmering reflections. And upon those waters, Hyeon found herself lying, completely perplexed.

...Wh-Where in the world am I?

Before that thought could escape her lips, a strong gust of wind rushed past her from behind. And with it, the array of white clouds before her parted like curtains, unraveling a scene that froze Hyeon in pure disbelief.

A few feet away from her stood an old woman, clad in a white gown and a familiar scent of jasmine. A dark-brown shawl was gracefully draped over her shoulders, the wrinkles on her fair skin as old as the secrets whispered by the time itself. Yet her puckered lips carried a gentle smile— something that Hyeon had missed so dearly.

"Grandma?" she muttered under her breath, her voice laced with the tinge of emotions she couldn't name. Hyeon pushed herself to her feet, her gaze fixed on the old woman before her.

Is... Is this for real???

She took a step forward, then another, until her limbs picked up the pace, closing in the distance between them.

The sapphire blue sea cradled her advancing steps as if she weighed no more than a feather. Before reaching the old woman, however, Hyeon's foot snagged in the hem of her nightgown, tripping her over. Luckily, a pair of scrawny arms caught her by the elbows just in time.

"Haha, when did our Hyeon become clumsy enough to trip over a gown?" The old woman chuckled lightly as she steadied Hyeon on her knees. "Tell me, wasn't she the girl whom even the most notorious delinquents of the town feared?"

Hyeon raised her head and locked eyes with the woman supporting her by the elbows. Tears welled up in her petite eyes, her voice getting tangled in her throat.

It's—It's really grandma.

The one whom she had missed with each passing day and night. Whom she had longed for this whole time. And now— she was here, right before her eyes, right in her reach.

Hyeon jumped into her grandmother's arms, the warmth of that embrace instantly melting away her long held icy walls. She couldn't contain it anymore. She just couldn't. And finally broke into tears. All of the long buried emotions and untold words set loose, dispersing out in the silence of that intimate space.

A softly creased hand came up, patting Hyeon's head lightly— the same old touch warming up her heart just like it used to do back in those days. How much? Just how much did she miss this warmth?

"Don't cry, my lovely child. It's not the time yet—" the old woman's voice suddenly trailed off, her breaths hitched, replaced by a painful wince. The sound caught Hyeon off-guard and she immediately peeled herself away from the embrace.

And when she looked, it was gone. Her grandma's soft smile was all gone. There now loomed a painful expression on her face; eyes squinted, the colour of her skin draining into paleness like a prey being devoured by the beast. Hyeon could feel her grandmother's body trembling all over her.

"G-Grandma... Grandma!!!" Hyeon cried out; her voice trembling in fear. "...What's going on?! Are you okay? Tell me... tell me that you're okay! Please... Grandma!!!"

Plop!

A loud echo reverberated in the air, silencing Hyeon's cries in the stillness of the sea.

W-What was that?

Plop!

Something dropped? Hyeon peeled away her gaze from her grandma's face and looked down.

A red drop fell into the ocean. Then another. Then another. In less than a second, the scarlet hue of those drops seeped into the blue of the sea, turning it into deep crimson as if her feet now stood in an infinite pool of blood.

Hyeon blinked, her gaze lingered over those red drops—dripping down from her grandmother's stomach, one after another.

The sight froze her. Her senses paralyzed. A knife was stabbed into her grandma's stomach— and the one holding it— none other than her own two hands.

Fear crept along Hyeon's skin, sending shivers down her spine.

She jolted backward and in a frenzied retreat scrambled away from her grandmother; the terror in her eyes pushing down those lingering teardrops into the bloody ocean.

"Oh, isn't this the girl who killed her grandmother?" a creepy voice echoed in the air.

Hyeon's eyes widened, a chill racing across her skin, draining the little color that remained.

"Such an atrocious act could only be done by a monster like her!"

"She bit the hands that fed her... How dreadful!"

"A girl like her shouldn't have been born!"

"She must be condemned for this gruesome act!"

"No!!!" Hyeon wailed, burying her head in between her knees; her bloodied hands clasped tightly over her ears. "No! Please... I-I... I didn't do this... I didn't kill my grandma!"

"...Hyeon," a warm, trembling hand gently touched the back of Hyeon's hand. She raised her head and saw her grandmother's lips curved into a soft smile.

"My dear, remember what I used to tell you— The truth lies in one's soul and heart. It's what that makes them pure. And you, my child, have a heart and soul worthy of that purity..." She broke off suddenly, her body wracked by a violent cough. A trace of blood stained her lips before she drew a trembling breath.

"...J-Just have faith, my child! In me. In yourself. And in this fate that brought us together... I-I wish I could spent more time with you my dear, but as promised... I must bid my farewells now..."

"No! No! Nooo! Grandmaaa!!!..." Hyeon reached out her hand, crying out in desperation. "Please...please, don't leave me again!..."

Hyeon collapsed down on her knees. Screaming. Sobbing.

But her grandmother slipped away from her holds like the cherry petals drifting away by the gentle rush of breeze.

"GRANDMA!!!!"