Beast, Blue Blood - Chapter 52

Chapter 52

The woman was beautiful, but she had an intimidating presence. Her height and elegant clothing seemed to contribute to that impression.

“She’s the manager in charge of funding at the Charlie Gard Foundation.”

As the nurse introduced her, the woman extended her hand.

“Nice to meet you.”

Mirsi shook the woman’s hand. After the handshake, the woman bluntly said:

“You must be in a lot of pain.”

It was the first time someone had spoken so directly, considering his pain. However, it didn’t feel like an excessive concern, so Mirsi smiled.

“It’s tough, but it’s not just me who’s in pain.”

“Does thinking that make you feel more at ease?”

It was almost like a challenge. But living only in the hospital opened a strange perspective that others couldn’t see, like recognizing someone who is in pain, whether physically or mentally.

Mirsi could somehow sense that this beautiful manager had someone in her family who was sick.

“It does make me feel at ease. At least, it feels like I’m not alone.”

Mirsi’s eyes trembled as he recalled that day.

“Even though we only met briefly, it felt somehow good. For a while, I thought I might be in unrequited love.”

“Liar.”

Hisha thought. She had clearly said she had never met Mirsi.

She must have lied out of embarrassment for secretly meeting her younger sibling. Eugene probably wanted to appear heartless.

Mirsi whispered with trembling eyes.

“I knew she was thinking of me. It felt like there was someone on my side, not just my father. I realized I wasn’t truly alone. That’s how I was able to endure.”

Hisha knelt in front of Mirsi, struggling to speak through his tears.

“I’m sorry. I…”

Then, he bowed his head as if swallowing his overwhelming emotions.

“I couldn’t protect her.”

“She wouldn’t have wanted you to protect her.”

At those words, Hisha looked up. Mirsi, with tearful eyes, spoke again.

“You’re a strong person. This sort of thing… just happened. Don’t blame yourself.”

Hisha buried his face in one of his hands and broke into tears.

Even after Eugene had passed away, Hisha strangely didn’t cry much, as if the events happening before him were not real.

Seeing this, Mirsi held back his tears.

“I felt like she didn’t want to reveal herself to me, so I just left it as is. But I should have acted like a fool. I should have said something when I knew she was my sister… I could have listened to what she had to say, whether it was dislike or nagging…….”

Eventually, Mirsi also cried. The eyes of Pierlu, who was standing and watching the two, were also reddened.

Hisha, with his face buried in Mirsi’s lap, cried silently.

‘I love you, Eugene. I love you. If these words could reach you… But you probably already know. Because you know everything. It’s just that I can’t hear you say ‘I know.’ Never again… forever.’

At that moment, Ivan and Yeon-ha, who had been coming from the other side of the hallway, stopped. Their son was in such a broken state that the term ‘shattered’ didn’t even begin to describe it.

At that time, Hisha looked at them with eyes blurred by tears. Hisha clung to Yeon-ha, letting out a suppressed sob.

“I miss Eugene.”

Yeon-ha had lived as a soldier and had witnessed many deaths. She had seen her parents die in a terrorist attack, her fellow soldiers killed in an ambush, and civilians who died in air raids.

All those deaths, endless ones.

Although no death wasn’t sorrowful, the death of someone precious and the end of those they cherished were enough to despair her even after all these years.

People told her that living forever was a ‘blessing.’ As she looked around at her family seated at the dining table one day, she felt deeply grateful for life, but because everything around her was not eternal, she doubted if eternal life was truly a blessing.

Yeon-ha closed her eyes tightly and could only hold her shattered son.

* * *

Hisha came out of the bathroom. His eyes were still red but had calmed down significantly.

“Do you want something to eat?”

Yeon-ha, who had been waiting in the borrowed hospital room, asked. Hisha shook his head and spoke.

“I’m going out for a bit.”

“Where to?”

“……”

Yeon-ha grabbed Hisha’s arm when he didn’t answer.

“Let’s go together.”

Hisha shook his head.

“Just… give me a little time.”

Yeon-ha couldn’t hide her worried gaze and glanced at her son before finally nodding.

“Okay. Go and come back.”

Although she was concerned, she knew her son wouldn’t make a foolish choice. It seemed Hisha read this thought, as he gave a wry smile.

“Don’t worry. I just… want some time alone.”

* * *

Hisha entered the room.

Eugene’s room, now empty, was quiet. It was still an impersonal room. There was nothing that told who the owner was, making it impossible to know anything about them. All that was evident was that the owner was a woman with a planned personality.

Hisha went into the dressing room. Eugene’s clothes were still hanging there, unorganized.

He took out an apricot-colored dress that Eugene used to wear. It seemed like the warmth of Eugene still lingered in the dress.

Before dying, Eugene had asked to be dressed in this dress instead of a shroud, but it was a thought that came too late.

‘But it was as if she knew she was going to die…’

Hisha, with trembling eyes, looked at the dress and brought it to his lips, as if searching for Eugene’s scent.

“When I die, dress me in the gown I wore last time, not a shroud.”

For a moment, Hisha paused.

Why did Eugene suddenly say that?

Thinking about it, Hisha pulled the dress away from his face and stared at it. Honestly, Eugene wasn’t the sentimental type who would want to die in a dress she liked. Moreover, reflecting on their conversation, it seemed unusually out of context for Eugene to emphasize ‘the dress she wore last time.’

Hisha started to rummage through the dress. He meticulously handled every corner of the dress, focusing on the sensation at his fingertips. However, no matter how much he searched, nothing seemed to be there.

Eventually, Hisha let the dress fall onto his lap as if giving up.

‘Was it not…?’

Or was asking to be dressed in the dress instead of a shroud a metaphorical statement?

While thinking about this, he looked down at the dress spread out on his lap like petals.

Eugene would have known that if she were dressed in this dress according to her will and then cremated, the dress would be destroyed along with her. Therefore, if something important was hidden, it would have been destroyed too. Given the risk of hacking with cloud or internet storage, it should have been physically stored.

In other words, if Eugene had intended to hide something important, this dress was the place to do it.

Hisha hesitated for a moment but then gathered his resolve and began to tear the dress. The soft fabric was ripped apart with a series of sounds: rip, tear, rip.

When the dress was reduced to nothing but shreds, Hisha finally felt something at his fingertips. It was inside the thickest part of the waistband.

Hisha urgently tore open the waistband. Inside, he found a chip smaller than a fingernail. When he inserted it into a computer, a video appeared on the wall.

[Hisha.]

It was Eugene.

Hisha stared at the screen without blinking.

Now that he thought about it, they had never taken a photo together, so he had no pictures or videos of Eugene.

[You’re the only one I trust.]

After saying this, Eugene got straight to the point.

[The Fuger-Dulloch Mansion will be bequeathed to ISLE. The condition is that all the employees associated with the mansion will be retained as they are. And…….]

Eugene paused for a moment.

[There is no virus.]

At first, Hisha didn’t understand what he was being told as Eugene looked directly at the camera.

[It was never there.]

Her tone was calm.

“There is no virus…?”

Hisha asked without realizing it. Eugene seemed to have anticipated this question and responded.

[A while ago, the CIA came by.]

Eugene then explained everything. After hearing the entire story, Hisha was left in a daze, unable to do anything but stare at Eugene on the screen.

[If I die, it will likely be because those who were angry upon learning that there was no virus did this.]

Now that it had come to pass, Eugene shrugged her shoulders lightly as if it were unbelievable.

[I didn’t expect it to turn out like this. I cooperated because I had no choice, but I knew it was dangerous. Take this chip to CEO Chu. He’ll handle the rest.]

Then Eugene looked at Hisha. Although she was looking at the camera, it felt as if she was looking directly at him.

[Hisha.]

Eugene slowly called his name.

[It feels strange to think this is my last message to you on this earth. But don’t be sad. Humans die anyway. This is just the first of many farewells you’ll experience in life. It might sound sad to say it like this, but it means you’ll have countless opportunities. Live those opportunities. I wish you happiness.]

With those words, the video ended. But Hisha immediately turned the video back on.

[Hisha. You’re the only one I trust.]

Eugene repeated the same words as before. No matter how many times he replayed it, there were no additional words. She never said ‘I love you’ until the end. She knew that those words would haunt him for the rest of his life.

At that moment, the sound of automatic doors opening was heard, and as Hisha jumped up, people began to pour in. Among the bodyguards, Selena appeared.

“Master.”