This Life is Splendid

Chapter 2

The moment Da-eun thought about wanting to see Hye-young’s expression a little closer, her soul was moved.

‘… … .’

Hye-young’s expression was complicated.

The embarrassment of an unfortunate accident on set, the embarrassment of not being able to finish filming properly and having to find a body double again, and even a little fear of being right in front of a dead body.

But nowhere was there any sign of mourning for the death of an old friend.

“Hey, Kang Da-eun.”

Hye-young, who had crossed her legs, called out to her. There was no way someone who was already dead would answer.

“He really died.”

Hye-young’s voice was filled with cynicism as she continued to speak, and Da-eun’s expression became distorted.

Da-eun felt frustrated because she couldn’t understand why Hye-young was acting like this.

What could it be? We were closer than anyone else.

At that moment, Hye-young sighed and opened her mouth.

“Yeah. Because it’s the last one.”

Hye-young, who had glanced around and stared at the door, continued speaking even though there was no one there.

“I’m sorry.”

It was an apology that I couldn’t understand. Hye-young twisted the corners of her mouth as she apologized.

That was when.

Hye-young’s lips moved as a breathy laughter was heard.

“That scar.”

The smile of her friend, whom she had thought was nice to look at, was strangely torn apart. Hye-young sat up and reached out her hand.

Soon, the white cloth covering Da-eun was lifted, revealing the bloodless face of the person who had fallen to his death.

“… … .”

Half of Da-eun’s face was covered with burn marks that looked like the wrinkled skin of an old person.

Hye-young carefully observed the burn scar.

From crushed marks to marks that are cracked like a drought-stricken ground, to marks where flesh bursts and then heals.

Hye-young’s eyes sparkled as she carefully examined Da-eun’s face, as if she were appreciating a work of art. She watched quietly and then wrinkled her nose and said.

“These burn scars are my work.”

The hospital room was quiet. It was as if Hye-young’s words had no effect on the world. She had revealed a secret she had kept hidden, but the person who would have held Hye-young accountable was already dead.

“ha ha ha!”

Hye-young, who was lost in thought for a moment and then burst into laughter again, got up from where she had been leaning against the window and came over.

“I felt a little sorry because I have a conscience.”

Hye-young, sitting down in front of her dead friend, would never have guessed that Da-eun was listening.

“Actually, I didn’t know you would get hurt that badly.”

Three years ago, Da-eun suffered irreparable scars on the left side of her face and arm due to a gas burner explosion.

“ That’s what I wanted to do. I don’t have the confidence to win against you.”

Hye-young, with her legs crossed, wiggled her fingers. Da-eun knew that habit that Hye-young had when she was anxious.

“Anyway, it was an audition that only you and I could watch.”

Hye-young took out a cigarette and put it in her mouth as if she was trying to find some peace. She couldn’t light it, but she was fumbling with it.

“If you’re hurt and can’t come out, won’t it be mine?”

That’s exactly what happened. Da-eun got hurt and couldn’t attend the audition. The role naturally went to Hye-young.

“Thanks to you, I debuted. Thanks to you, I got here.”

Hye-young wrinkled her nose. Da-eun’s eyes filled with black tears at the sight of her happy habit.

At that time, I thought of Hye-young, who saw the burns on my face and cried and looked upset as if it were her own story.

‘Da-eun, what should I do? Are you okay? We decided to debut together, so what should I do…?’

I thought you were truly sad. But it was all a lie?

It was hard to breathe, as if my throat was blocked.

It was strange. I was already dead, but I had trouble breathing. When I looked down, there was a crack in the area around my heart, and something black and rippling was there.

“Even after the accident, I was quite satisfied with the fact that he followed me around like he was holding on to a rope, saying that he had treated me well.”

Hye-young put down the cigarette she had been smoking and exhaled smoke without even lighting it.

Hye-young’s breath reached Da-eun’s soul, who was at eye level with her.

“You know, since we’re on the subject, I think I should go to confession.”

Hye-young, who was pursed her lips and searching for words, suddenly lowered her head. Then she spoke into Da-eun’s ear, who was covered with a white cloth.

“It was during our third-year final practical exam. When you got hurt.”

No way, in the third grade.

Da-eun’s eyes twitched.

The final practical exam was a play. Da-eun was supposed to be the main character, but a week before the exam, she broke her leg. Because of that, Da-eun stepped down from the main character position, and Hye-young took her place.

Hye-young twisted the corners of her lips.

“I didn’t mean to, but something good happened to me when you got hurt.”

There was a steep and long staircase on campus, known as the ‘Stairway to Heaven’, and to get to the right place, you had to go through it.

One day, when the first snow that fell early froze over and everyone was walking carefully, Hye-young, who was chatting and laughing exaggeratedly, elbowed another friend and caused a huge uproar.

Hye-young, who was trying to catch her friend who was struggling comically to avoid slipping, ended up pretending to slip and falling down. Da-eun also tripped on Hye-young’s foot and rolled down the stairs.

None of the other friends were hurt, but Da-eun had to use crutches for a while.

“I tried to scare him because he was acting a bit weird, but I didn’t know you would become like that.”

“Well,” Hye-young added with a grin, touching her chin as if thinking.

“If I had known, I would have pushed harder.”

Hye-young, who had been giggling, got up from her seat, saying it was a joke. She looked down at Da-eun with a dark gaze, then quickly moved on.

“It feels good to confess the secrets I’ve been keeping to myself.”

Crack, crack.

Hye-young, standing in front of the hospital room door, glanced at Da-eun.

“I can’t say goodbye. I raised you as a substitute, but now you’re dead, so I’m in trouble.”

Knock knock-.

As I opened the door to the hospital room, Hye-young’s manager, who had been waiting a little way away, approached me.

“Actor, are you okay?”

“Oh my. Thank you. Thanks to you, I can say goodbye to Da-eun for the last time… … .”

Hye-young, whose eyes quickly turned red, staggered and grabbed the manager. Her whole body trembled as if she was barely able to control her emotions.

The medical staff there bowed their heads with regretful expressions. It was an apology for not being able to save his life.

Knock knock-.

The ward door closed again. The doctor’s order to move him to the morgue in an hour echoed softly through the hallway.

‘… … .’

Inside the cold hospital room, Da-eun blankly stared at the spot where Hye-young had been sitting. The sky outside the window was bright and the wind was strong, causing the tree branches to sway roughly.

I’ve already fallen and lost my life, so why does it feel like I’m still falling?

The black ripples on his chest grew bigger and bigger, and the cracks also grew in size.

It felt like her whole body was melting. As if she had gone back to the day she had been burned, Da-eun’s soul flowed out like a half-crushed whipped cream cake.

[Oh, my.]

The window was closed, but a gentle breeze blew from somewhere and enveloped Da-eun’s soul.

[It happened like this in the blink of an eye.]

As the warm breeze swept around her, Da-eun’s soul, which had been falling apart, returned to its original form.

[Hmm. It wasn’t like this last time. The butterfly effect.]

The gentle breeze murmured in front of Da-eun. The voice she heard sounded like a child, or an adult. It was clearly a formless gaze, but she could feel it staring at the rippling darkness on Da-eun’s chest.

[Right. I’ll give you a chance too. Opportunities should be equal. I’ll give you back your time.]

Da-eun’s gaze, which had been shedding black tears, returned to focus. Then, a soft laughter echoed through the hospital room.

[Will you do that?]

You want me to turn back time? How much? Can I go back to before I got burned?

Even before asking, I was sure it was possible. Da-eun answered without hesitation.

‘yes.’

She felt the presence in front of her nod. A solemn voice asked again.

[Since the opportunity is fair, the reward should be fair as well. Will you pay the price?]

Price? Da-eun opened her mouth hesitantly.

‘I’m dead. There’s nothing I can do for you.’

The wind blew around her, accompanied by refreshing laughter. As warm hands caressed her, the black ripples on Da-eun’s chest began to shine brightly.

[Let me take this. Oh, the biggest piece you had was ‘–‘. It’s really precious.]

The light from Da-eun flowed into the wind.

What is ‘–‘? The light grew stronger and stronger, turning my vision white.

[Don’t wait for me to come get ‘–‘ again.]

A kind voice buzzed in my ears. My vision, which had been covered in white, gradually became clearer, and the sweltering heat and the sound of cicadas piercing my ears felt real.

Shh …

An ominous sound and a pungent smell filled my nostrils.

“ah……!”

Da-eun, who had jumped up, sat back down, feeling extremely dizzy.

3 years ago.

It’s back to the day the gas explosion happened.