“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Sungha, I’ll see you again.”
“Please be careful on your way back.”
It was a short, meaningless exchange. Summer looked at the Pope’s seemingly elated face, then turned away.
A considerable amount of time seemed to have passed, but the coachman was still there, waiting for Summer.
“I’m late. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize, miss. It’s my job.”
The coachman soothed Summer, who was apologizing, and took the reins, driving the carriage.
Summer opened the window, and a cool breeze brushed against her nose, making it tingle.
“It’s not bad to come out at night sometimes, is it, miss?”
“I guess so. It’s quiet, and the stars are beautiful.”
“Whenever you want to go out, just call for me.”
“……Thank you.”
After Summer’s brief expression of gratitude, only silence filled the carriage.
It didn’t feel like they’d traveled far, but the carriage had already stopped in front of the Lindsey Earl’s mansion.
Summer didn’t get out immediately. She hesitated for a moment, then, clutching her skirt with her hands clasped in her lap, she began to speak.
“Um… could I ask you something?”
“Of course, miss.”
“If I were to… disappear from this world, do you think Grandfather would be sad?”
The coachman remained silent for a long time in response to Summer’s question. As if carefully choosing his words.
The sound of crickets subsided, and the coachman cautiously opened his mouth.
“If it’s parting, he’ll be able to live through it. This old man, despite having experienced many partings, is still alive.”
“…….”
“But if you were to disappear from this world, it would be very sad.”
“Is that so…?”
Summer replied in a barely audible voice and bowed her head. She was too confused, feeling utterly empty.
Amidst the turmoil in her mind, a thought struck her like lightning.
What have I been doing all this time? Summer buried her tired face in her hands.
The coachman watched Summer with her face buried in her hands, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
It was as if he were recalling a distant memory.
“Please don’t disappear. I’ll consider this my last request, old man that I am.”
“……Yes.”
Summer stumbled, swaying violently as she got out of the carriage. The coachman tried to help, but Summer forced a smile and refused.
Was the mansion this big and spacious? It felt like it took a long time to reach her room.
When the door opened and the familiar sight of her room came into view, strangely, her tension released, and the emotions she had suppressed deep down exploded.
“Ugh, hic… .”
Leaning against the door, Summer let out a heartbreaking sob. But no tears came from her dry eyes.
Summer kept rubbing her dry, chapped eyes. As if forcing tears to flow.
“I’m scared… I’m so scared… .”
At the temple, Summer had clearly seen Selena. And Summer wanted to vomit at the sight she had witnessed.
She was afraid, terrified. Anxious, precarious.
Nothing was clear.
“What? Black hair. Why are you so late?”
Unfortunately, Faye opened the window and casually entered, checking Summer’s complexion.
The moment she saw Summer’s reddened eyes from constantly rubbing them, Faye immediately felt like she’d stumbled into something bad.
“Were you crying?”
“I wasn’t.”
Summer’s voice lacked any energy. Faye, as if unconcerned, hopped onto the table, spun around, and said,
“Well, I have bad news, and it would be awkward to tell you while you’re crying.”
“……What news?”
“Hmm, you’ve gotten close to the main characters again, haven’t you?”
“Haha… Yes. That’s right. I’ve gotten close.”
Summer chuckled at Faye’s question. The closer she got to the main characters, the faster she became integrated into this world.
On top of that, whenever she tried to die, the main characters would appear out of nowhere and stop her. Yet, the world still wouldn’t make Summer a main character.
An eternal supporting character. Ah, I can’t escape after all. Summer laughed, sobbing with self-deprecation.
If I die, they’ll use the main characters to stop me, and if I try to live, it’s terrifying.
Summer clasped her head with both hands. Her beautiful golden hair was crumpled messily under her fingers.
Faye waited until Summer calmed down before uttering the most important words.
“Ten days.”
“…….”
“Ten days. That’s the time you have.”
Ten days. There are ten days left. Summer let out a breath, as if in disbelief.
Time is agonizingly slow. I want to just give in to the incoming tidal wave and let myself go.
Summer shakily moved to stand before Faye. Only then did Faye also nervously watch Summer.
“Faye. I’ll ask you one thing.”
“What.”
“Am I the first, right?”
“……What?”
Faye’s purple eyes shook violently. Her expression was one of gauging how much Summer knew.
As if scrutinizing Faye’s expression, Summer stared without blinking, asking again.
“The first outsider to fall into this world. Am I the first, right?”
“…….”
Ah. She’s not answering after all. Disappointment and betrayal surged in. It was impossible to contain.
“What exactly are you, Faye? You’re not from this world, yet you exist here! Unlike me, you weren’t just a soul separated from your original world.”
“Why are you so curious about my identity? I told you. I’m a witch.”
Faye answered defensively, her wariness heightened.
“A witch? That wasn’t in the original story. Answer me properly.”
Summer spoke fiercely and grabbed Faye’s arm. It was a gesture to prevent her from escaping.
“Does that matter? Black hair. Just think about whether you want to go back or not.”
“How can I? Faye said it. That I’m a foreign substance in this world, and if I exist, this world will be destroyed!”
“If you completely integrate into this world, the story will change. Well, Summer’s soul will inevitably have to stay with us witches, but…”
Faye roughly pushed Summer’s hand away. Her expression was trying to appear calm, but Faye was panicking.
She thought Summer wouldn’t know. But Summer had already almost reached the truth without Faye’s help.
“I told you to reveal your identity!”
“I’m a witch! Damn it, what more explanation do I need to give?”
Faye hopped away from Summer’s hand and shouted.
She had to escape first. Then she had to persuade Summer again. Having made her decision, Faye leaped onto the windowsill.
“Don’t run away and answer properly!”
“What do I–!”
“Am I, the first outsider…?”
Summer, who had been fiercely chasing Faye, suddenly collapsed, tearing at the carpet. She felt like she was going insane.
Only then did Faye hesitantly settle on the windowsill, continuing to watch Summer’s movements before speaking.
“You… you know something?”
“Why am I a supporting character?”
“What?”
Summer suddenly raised her head. Even in this world of lies and falsehoods, Summer had no luck.
Summer cried out, pouring out everything within her.
“Why am I an insignificant supporting character, yet the world prevents my death! Why?!”
At Summer’s cry, Faye’s eyes sank.
“……You already know.”
“Yes. That Ian’s mother was an outsider. Were there others besides her? Answer me, Faye.”
“There weren’t.”
“…….”
“That outsider could have become the main character. But in the end, she collapsed and went mad.”
“Main character?”
“Yes. The mother of the male protagonist of this world. She would have been a great candidate to become another main character, wouldn’t she?”
“Ha, haha… .”
Summer aimlessly laughed, hitting the carpet.
Summer herself had already failed long ago. While in this world, Summer had collapsed and gone mad.
She wanted to lose her mind completely right now.
Her last instinct was holding onto her reason. The fear that if she let go of that, too, she would truly lose herself.
“That woman was in the same situation as you.”
“But…”
“At first, she refused my offer and chose to remain. She said she wanted to give the male protagonist a happy ending.”
“…….”
“Then one day, she called me out? She said she wanted to return to her original world. That this world was insane.”
Ah. Hearing his sad story from a third party was agonizingly simple.
Summer now understood. His story wasn’t the kind that could be told lightly, as in, “This happened a long time ago.”
For Ian, at least, this world must have been hell. Yet, he lived, survived, and lived through it.
Why? Why did he go to such lengths?
Summer quietly looked down at her trembling hands. Unblemished, pale hands. Hands that had never known hardship or effort.
Why can’t people live without suffering? Do beings like beloved pet dogs even understand the concept of suffering?
People receive their parents’ care for a long time, so why don’t they learn to love?
People can’t live without love. Whether they love living things or inanimate objects. Whether they love existence or fiction.
People die when they stop loving.
Summer was already as good as dead.
“……So, did Selena go back?”
“She was already so integrated into this world that her soul shattered during the transfer process.”
“Why… didn’t you tell me?”
“I never lied.”
“Did you ever tell me that this plan was dangerous?”
“It’s not dangerous. You haven’t integrated yet. I’m confident I can send you back within ten days.”
“Ten days, yes. Ten days.”
“…….”
“Faye. Let’s not see each other for a while.”
“Why… are you saying that to me? I thought you were quite… a lovely cockroach.”
“Haha. I’m so grateful you liked me, a cockroach.”
When Summer sarcastically retorted, Faye, offended, transformed into a cat, swished her tail hard, and disappeared out the window.
A cold wind blew in through the open window.
“I’m cold.”
“…….”
No one was there.
“I’m cold. Someone’s here… I’m so cold… .”
In the night, bathed in soft moonlight, Summer collapsed in front of the window and slowly lost consciousness.
In the midst of it all, she ripped off the necklace Faye had given her and threw it far away.
Liar. I can’t trust Faye anymore.
Summer had seen Selena return to her original world. Or rather, a soul that had entered Selena’s body and then returned.
A vast field, large trees, a warm spring day with bright sunshine. And beneath it, a small, nameless grave.
The happy ending that Ian and Damian had dreamed of for the outsider was nowhere to be found.