If you don’t love me, I will die.

“However, we finally reached the end.”

Ha Soo-Jeong opened the twentieth document window.

“And this is… the twentieth. The world you are speaking and moving in right now.”

The document window, which had not yet reached its conclusion, continued to fill with text in real-time.

The dialogue that Ha Soo-Jeong had just spoken and the thoughts in my mind appeared in front of me as text.

“A happy ending. But not everyone can be happy.”
“Not everyone can be happy?”
“Someone had to die. Someone had to suffer.”
“……”
“In the end, there may not be a world where everyone is happy, Edward.”
“Of course not.”
“Why did it take me so long to realize the obvious?”

Ha Soo-Jeong chuckled softly.

“Well… should we stop with these trivial stories? We have more important things ahead of us.”

Ha Soo-Jeong tapped his laptop.

Suddenly, a bottle of champagne and three glasses floated in the air.

He grabbed the champagne bottle and uncorked it.
With a pop, the cork flew off into the distance.

“We finally made it to the end. It’s time to celebrate.”

The glasses were filled with champagne. As I took a sip, it tasted of sweet fruits.

“Anyway, you have reached a happy ending. What a joyous occasion.”
“A happy ending…”
“Yes.”
“Everything moved according to your will, didn’t it? In that case, we didn’t do anything at all.”
“Not entirely true.”

Ha Soo-Jeong showed me his laptop.

The document window of the unfinished story was being filled in on its own.

“Look at this. I’m not typing anything, but the story is flowing independently.”
“How is that possible?”
“Shall we discuss the fundamental mechanic then?”

Ha Soo-Jeong spread his arms wide, exposing his chest.

“Hit me.”
“What?”
“Don’t hesitate. Just hit me once, however hard you want.”

I did as he said.
I clenched my fist and lightly hit his chest.

Ha Soo-Jeong gently laughed as he brushed his chest.

“I don’t necessarily feel pain from that. Do you know what that means?”
“…I’m not sure yet.”
“Not everything goes according to my will.”
“Can you explain in detail? I don’t understand.”
“You are alive and moving.”
“…How?”

Ha Soo-Jeong leisurely walked over to Ania.

He grabbed Ania’s arm and shook it vigorously.

“If you were puppets, I could have moved you as I pleased. And I did, in reality.”

As Ha Soo-Jeong released his grip, Ania’s arm dropped limply.

“But as the story continued, you moved differently from what I intended. You spoke for yourselves, thought for yourselves, acted for yourselves.”
“Why?”
“That’s something I don’t even know. I created the characters, but… even that, I don’t fully understand. Writers aren’t gods, after all.”

With a faint smile, Ha Soo-Jeong drank the champagne.

“The important thing is, in the end, you reached this ending.”
“Us?”

Ania asked. Ha Soo-Jeong nodded.

“Yes. Because you loved each other, because you couldn’t live without each other, you tried in your own way. You tried to change.”
“Then did everything not move as you thought?”
“Perhaps. Some parts may have been influenced by my will… and some may not have. I don’t really know. After revising the story countless times, I can’t remember anymore. Anyway.”

Ha Soo-Jeong placed the empty glass on the table.

“You’ve changed. You, who didn’t trust Ania, now trust that child, and Ania, who only knew herself, can now understand others’ hearts.”

Ania and I looked at each other.

Ania’s hand slowly clasped mine.
A warm sensation spread.

“If you try to change, you can change. People are prone to change.”
“But there are people who don’t change.”
“That might be because they didn’t make an effort to change themselves.”

Changing through effort.
It sounded like a vague and empty story.

As if concluding the story he wanted to tell, Ha Soo-Jeong slowly walked over and sat down on his chair.

“The story I wanted to tell ends here. If you have any more questions, ask now. We don’t have much time.”

Ha Soo-Jeong looked up.
Following his gaze, the golden world seemed to crumble gradually.

The fissures at the edges began to collapse, and the world turned dark.

What should I ask?
After pondering, only one question remained.

It was an answer only Ha Soo-Jeong could know.

“The future.”

I slowly embraced Ania.

“What will become of us?”
“Haha.”

Ha Soo-Jeong laughed.

After chuckling for a while, he spoke.

“I don’t know either. My job ends here. The world after the story ends is beyond my realm.”

So, he doesn’t know after all.

As I nodded in understanding, Ha Soo-Jeong rose slowly from his seat.

“But there’s a story I want to share. Would you like to hear it?”
“Go ahead.”

He seemed to ponder for a moment, then began to speak.

“Just like before, various trials will come your way. I don’t know what form these trials will take… It will be tough. There’s no such thing as an easy trial. But…”

Ha Soo-Jeong smiled gently as he closed the laptop on the desk.

“Always remember. Remember how many trials you’ve faced, how you endured them each time, and whether you resolved them.”

Suddenly, he closed the laptop and held it by his side.

Gradually… the world crumbled.

The champagne, the desk, the chair, and the gears all began to disappear into the darkness.

“But most importantly, never forget your love. Cherish each other. People and love may change, but the love of those who have passed through dark and black tunnels like you two will seldom change.”
“I’ll remember.”
“Good.”

Ha Soo-Jeong grinned faintly.

“I’m grateful for the time we spent now, Edward. You too, Ania. I will never forget these few moments with both of you.”

The end had come.

The black darkness gradually enveloped us, including Ha Soo-Jeong.

Yet, there was no fear.
Even if this was a trial or the end of the story.

As Ha Soo-Jeong said, we love each other.
In the face of unchanging love, trials are just passing waves.

“Goodbye.”

The world turned black.

***

“Ania.”

Sunlight floods in through the window.
It’s already afternoon, the sun hovering high in the sky.

Yet, despite it being lunchtime, Ania hasn’t come out of her room.

“Ania.”

I call out her name in front of her door.
Still no response, so I open the door and enter.

“Ania.”

I call her name again.
Ania Brontë.
The woman I love.

She lies sound asleep under the warm noon sun.
Covered with a cozy blanket, oblivious to the world.

I approach her bed silently.

Under the warm sunlight, her golden hair is beautiful.
Her smooth skin, so delicate, is beautiful.
Even the faint snoring sound, indicating her tiredness, is beautiful.
She may not want to show it often, but her bare face, which I sometimes see in the morning, is beautiful.

“Ania.”

I called out her name.
I had to wake her up.

But Ania didn’t stir.
She slept soundly, just like Snow White after eating the poisoned apple.

“How long does she plan to sleep… really.”

I lightly held her hand.
Smooth texture lingered at my fingertips.

Yet, she remained still, sleeping peacefully.
Looking at her face, I felt like I might burst into tears.

Strange thoughts come to mind as I gaze at her.

I fell for Ania because of her beauty.
But now, she was my everything.

That fact was truly amazing.

Ha Soo-Jeong.
As he said, I’ve changed a lot since he created this world.

I used to think that people hardly ever change, but I have changed.

Looking at Ania, my anger dissipates and unnecessary stubbornness fades away.

It was all because of this woman.

From the beginning, it was Ania Brontë.

‘Should I start calling you ‘husband’ now?’

From the moment I first met her, maybe fate made me love her.

And now, I value her more than my own life.

“So… wake up, Ania.”

No matter how many times I call her, this woman doesn’t wake up.
I let out a soft sigh.

“Ania.”

I slowly lowered my head and kissed her cheek.

This might wake her up.

“Mmm…”

And finally, Ania stirred and turned her body with a groan.

She looked at me with half-open eyes.

“Ania.”
“Edward…”
“It’s already noon. You need to get up and have lunch.”
“Mmm.”

After saying that, she lay back down, so I hugged her tightly.

“Eek!”
“I told you to get up!”

Ania grumbled softly but smiled.
I laughed along with her.

“Today is our date day. Come on, get up now.”
“Yeah, sorry. I fell asleep too late last night.”
“Good children should go to bed early.”
“Who’s the child here?”

Since she kept arguing, I covered her mouth.
Our lips gently met.

Finally, Ania quietly wrapped her arms around my neck.

We kissed for a while.

The warm noon sunlight,
The fragrance emanating from the blanket,
The breeze carrying the scent of flowers from the garden enveloped us.

“My Lord.”
“…”
“My Lord!”
“You surprised me.”

After what felt like a long pause, we were interrupted by Lorendel’s loud voice.

“As lovely as your affection is, you should have your meal.”
“Sorry. I’ll be down soon.”
“And you too, Miss Ania.”
“Okay, Lorendel. Don’t be upset.”

After saying so, we kissed lightly again.

“Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”

A lot of time has passed.
Two years.
Long or short, it’s relative.

Many things have changed during that time.

The story has already ended.

What happened during that time?

Well, let me tell you about it.

Author’s Notes

Well… Finally, the main story has ended.

It has been a long and winding journey.

Four months and a few days.

Have you enjoyed it so far?

I hope you have.

I’ll be back with the epilogue soon.

I’m not sure if the epilogue will be in two parts or three.

Look forward to the next chapter.

Translator’s Corner

Should I put the time I finished this?

I began translating this story on January 15, and finished the main story on May 2.

There are still chapters afterwards, so see you again tomorrow.

-Ruminas