Chapter 144
Meeting my mother was calmer than I had expected. The mother I saw again after such a long time looked far older and more frail than the one who appeared in my dreams. Only then did I realize that my subconscious had turned her into a large, terrifying presence. She no longer felt frightening to me.
I was glad that I had gone to see her. It helped me understand her, even if only a little.
Not long after we met, my mother passed away. It was an illness even the hospital had already given up on—she had been discharged simply to wait for the day she would die.
“I’m sorry, Sohee. I’ve committed far too many sins against you.”
That day, my mother kept apologizing to me. I remembered meeting her in a dream once—she had been cold even there. But the mother standing before me now cried and begged for forgiveness.
What I saw that day wasn’t the terrifying mother of my memories, but a small woman who had grown old and sick, finally realizing her mistakes too late and apologizing for them. It was the first time I ever felt pity for her.
“Goodbye, Mom.”
White ashes scattered through the gaps between my fingers. My heart felt calm. The father I had never once seen probably didn’t even know that my mother was dead.
A bitter smile formed on my lips. My mother had been an unhappy person. I had my benefactor, the center director, and countless connections I’d made in that other world—but my mother had been utterly alone.
With no one to help her or point out her mistakes, she lived having given up on standing on her own. When even her only daughter was taken away from her, her life became one with nothing left to lean on.
She hit me and hated me, yet at the same time, I was her entire world. That was probably why she repeated such contradictory behavior—beating me so cruelly while clinging to me all the same.
“In another life, don’t hit me. Let’s just live happily together, the two of us.”
The wind swept through my hair. Hot tears rolled down my cheeks and dropped—tap—into the box holding her ashes.
“No. If there’s a next life, I’ll be your benefactor instead.”
Then maybe, in her next life, my mother would be happy.
After finishing my mother’s funeral, I quit working at the author’s office. Once everything settled, I felt a strong desire to write my own story.
In my dim studio apartment, I drew a comic based on everything I had experienced. If I hadn’t possessed that other world, I never would have thought to go see my mother like this. I wanted to record all of it forever.
I stayed home for days, drawing nonstop. After completing about five episodes’ worth, I uploaded them to the internet.
It was my way of not forgetting the people I had met. As a mere assistant—not a well-known creator—I didn’t expect my work to draw attention on a platform flooded with new uploads every hour. It was mostly for my own satisfaction.
But contrary to my expectations, while I slept, the comic began heading in an unexpected direction.
When I woke up the next day, my comic was on the popularity charts. With each new episode, massive numbers of comments and views poured in.
What I thought would be a brief moment of attention lasted over a month. And then, one day, I received the official serialization offer I had dreamed of.
Three years passed.
In those three years, my life changed drastically. My comic, Wait—Let Me Change the Ending, became a huge hit, allowing me to escape the suffocating studio apartment and move into a sunny officetel.
My student loans, which had tormented me for so long, were gone. The days when I was exhausted by life and forced into isolation were over—but my daily routine hadn’t changed much.
While working as a webtoon artist gave me opportunities to interact with other creators, I didn’t make much effort to attend gatherings. More than anything, I wanted to focus on translating the stories of the people I had met in that world into my work.
The webtoon was now approaching its ending. The comments were already overflowing with people chanting for a happy ending between the male and female leads, even starting signature campaigns insisting the heroine couldn’t just return and have it end like that.
I smiled as I read each comment. The ending was already decided. Perhaps it was simply the ending I wished for.
When I finally finished working on the last episode, someone knocked on the office door.
“Sunyoung? I told you that you could go home—why did you come back again?”
Assuming it was my assistant, I answered casually while sending the final manuscript to the editor.
At the sound of the door opening, I looked up—and realized the person standing there wasn’t Sunyoung.
It was someone completely unexpected. I dropped the pen I was holding without realizing it.
“Guinness?”
“Is that the ending you wanted?”
Guinness asked, his long red hair now neatly cut short. Just like the first time I faced him, I sat frozen in my chair, unable to say a word, as he slowly approached me.
“Have you been well?”
“Are you seriously asking me that right now?”
I stared straight at him. I couldn’t understand his intention—showing up out of nowhere and asking how I’d been.
Had the last three comfortable years erased everything he’d done to me? Foolishly enough, the moment I saw Guinness, I felt glad before I felt angry. That realization irritated me, and I frowned.
For three years, I had drawn obsessively, never doubting that what I experienced was real. Of course, I couldn’t tell anyone that my comic was actually my own story.
When I returned, there had been no proof left that I had ever gone there. If I told anyone, they’d think I was insane—so I kept my mouth shut.
I began drawing to confirm that it hadn’t been a dream. Because I didn’t want to forget. Because I wanted to remember everything without missing a single detail.
It felt unreal. Those six years in that world had completely changed my life.
Perhaps that was why I felt glad to see Guinness. He was the only person who knew the truth—even if he was also the one who had tormented both me and Allen. Desperate for someone who understood, I couldn’t help but feel relieved.
Guinness was fiddling with the published volume that had been released. With a lingering expression, he spoke.
“I didn’t expect you to record it all.”
“Why did you come?”
“I came to apologize—and to say goodbye.”
He smiled. Unlike before, when his smiles always masked a crushing loneliness, this one was unadorned. It was an honest expression of emotion.
It was a smile he had never shown, no matter how hard I tried. Perhaps what he truly needed wasn’t someone like me who resembled her—but Rebecca.
Maybe after I left, Rebecca changed him.
“Where are you going?”
“Who knows. Maybe down the path of taking responsibility for what I’ve done.”
“If you really plan to take responsibility, you’d probably have to die several times.”
“You’re ruthless.”
“You weren’t expecting kind words, were you?”
“Of course not. I agree with you.”
Guinness let out a bitter laugh.
So you do understand—how many people you killed and tormented.
Even realizing it now didn’t erase what he’d done. What Guinness had committed was far beyond forgiveness. It had taken him hundreds of years to understand that.
“I’m sorry. I did unforgivable things to you.”
“That’s right. You really are a terrible person.”
“…You’re firm.”
Guinness laughed out loud. Seeing him made me miss Allen even more—the reason I went to that world, and the person who still gives me strength whenever I falter.
Noticing my expression darken, Guinness tossed something to me. I caught it reflexively—it was a red stone. Unsure of his intentions, I tilted my head.
“What is this?”
“A gift. I secretly made it before my power was taken away. Of course, there’s no way he didn’t know. I can’t beat him, after all. He probably knows about this too.”
“Don’t tell me it’s a gemstone. I’m not someone who gets dazzled by jewels anymore.”
“Oh? Look at you, treating jewels like pebbles now that you’ve made it big?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“It’s not a jewel. It’s a dimensional stone condensed with my magic. You’re not planning to be satisfied with drawing the ending, are you?”
Guinness smiled cryptically. Having been scammed by him too many times before, I hesitated to accept the gift.
“If this is another trick—”
“Go back to where you belong. They’re waiting for you.”
My hand froze as I was about to return the stone. I already knew where that place was.
Sohee murmured hesitantly,
“…No one will remember me anyway.”
