Mina stood there, staring wide-eyed in disbelief at what she was seeing in the middle of the fog-drenched pine forest. Her pupils trembled slightly. She clenched her teeth hard, her hand gripping the gun so tightly it never wavered.
In front of her stood a pale, milky-white figure, shaped like a naked man. He spread his arms toward her and wore a crude, vulgar grin.
Was he just a hallucination?
Then why did he look so real?
Mina forced herself to stay as calm as she could, even though her body shivered faintly as the cold seeped into her bones.
"That's impossible… You're dead…"
She glared at Valko, saying it more to reassure herself than anything else. Valko only burst into harsh, grating laughter.
His laughter echoed through the forest, making his presence even more grotesque. His voice broke in and out, as if he were out of breath, like the rasping scrape of some vile creature. It made Mina's stomach churn.
"Really? I'm dead?" he sneered. "Is that true? Did you ever see my body?"
Mina froze where she stood. The pale figure continued speaking as he stepped closer. Mina instinctively backed away.
"…I know you think about me every night. You always wondered where my body was, didn't you? You were scared. Not seeing my corpse made you restless. I know."
Then, suddenly, his voice was right beside her ear.
"Hey, Mina… how exactly did I 'die,' hmm?"
Mina jolted. She spun around, stumbling back. She raised her gun and shouted hoarsely,
"Bastard! Don't come any closer!"
But he just stood there, laughing. His smile was pitch-black as he tilted his head at an unnatural angle, watching her with a sick, probing gaze.
"Not allowed to come near you?" he said softly. "But we're husband and wife, aren't we?" He pressed on.
"Don't… don't come closer…"
Mina kept retreating, gun still raised, but suddenly he appeared from another direction. Then another. And another. His presence tore at her mind.
She wanted to pull the trigger. She wanted to kill him right here, right now. Once wasn't enough. She wanted to kill him hundreds of times, thousands of times. As long as he was truly dead, she didn't care anymore.
But the pale shadow only laughed mockingly, as if he could read the violent thoughts ripping through her head.
"Want to kill me again?" he taunted. "With that handgun that doesn't even have bullets?"
No bullets…
Mina whispered the words under her breath, staring at him in horror. No bullets. How could there be no bullets?
The pale figure continued,
"Didn't you let that woman touch your holster before you came here? You really shouldn't have trusted her."
Dali…?
Did Dali take all the bullets from her gun?
Yes. It had to be that bitch.
But… but…
If the gun had no bullets, then what was she supposed to do?
Valko's mouth stretched into an even wider grin.
"Isn't that right…? Now it's just the two of us here. In this forest. Like husband and wife."
He chuckled darkly.
"And husband and wife get to do anything they want… don't they?"
His laughter and voice were so filthy, so twisted, that Mina's skin crawled. Her chest tightened painfully as an old trauma resurfaced.
"No… don't… don't touch me…"
Her voice broke.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!"
Mina doubled over, squeezing her eyes shut and clutching her head as she screamed. But the voice didn't stop. It hovered around her ears like a broken radio, warped and nauseating.
"Mina… do you remember that night…?"
"No… no… stop…"
"You shouldn't have drunk the glass of wine I gave you…"
"Damn it… stop…"
"Your body back then… it was so tight…"
"Damn it…"
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she trembled, wrapping her arms around herself. Mina desperately tried to shield her body in every way she could. Any way. But his voice lingered.
His disgusting breath. Even the sound of his breathing.
Not safe.
Not safe.
Help me…
Please…
Duyen…
On Christmas Eve, the whole street was filled with the sounds of winter music. The wail of an ambulance siren pierced the air as the vehicle rushed Mina straight to the hospital.
She was in critical condition. Inside the ambulance, nothing was clear anymore. Her vision blurred. The only thing she could see was Dao's tear-streaked face beside her, gripping her hand tightly.
"Don't worry, Mina! I'm here! You'll be okay! Damn it… there's so much blood!"
The nurses shouted urgently.
"Hurry! Get another oxygen tank! She's losing consciousness!"
Huh…?
"You're going to be fine, Ms. Kamakiri! Look at me! Look at me!"
The doctor's voice echoed as her awareness slipped away. The harsh lights of the emergency room burned her eyes.
"Ectopic pregnancy! We have to remove the fetus immediately before her life is in danger!"
Ectopic…Pregnancy…?
"Hurry up!"
The medical staff urged one another, their clothes soaked red.
"Get more blood! She's lost too much blood! Now!"
Pregnant…?
At what felt like the razor-thin edge between life and death, Mina drifted into a strange haze.
In that dreamlike state, she thought she heard the sound of a baby as it was pulled from her body. Surely there should have been a sound.
But no. There was no crying.
Only the doctors' sighs of relief.
After the emergency surgery, Mina's condition stabilized. But she sank into a deep depression. Dao visited her, asking questions, trying to talk. Mina never responded. Not even once.
She knew about the ectopic pregnancy. She knew the doctors had done everything they could, cutting it out to save her life. It was the only way, they said.
But Mina was utterly lost.
How…
How could she have been pregnant?
Then Dao's question became the final drop that made everything overflow.
"Why wasn't that bastard Valko here? His wife was dying in emergency surgery, and he didn't even show up?"
Valko…?
Mina stared at Dao, stunned, as if she'd just heard the most absurd thing in the world.
"Well, isn't your ectopic pregnancy his fault?" Dao continued bitterly. "No matter how busy he is, he should've been here. You're married, after all."
No.
That's impossible.
Mina's eyes trembled as she looked at Dao.
Impossible…How could that be…?
Then, somewhere deep in her subconscious, a memory surfaced. One that clearly wasn't hers.
That night…When Mina had been completely unconscious.
What he did then…
That thing…
The moment the thought formed, Mina suddenly vomited violently on the hospital bed. Everyone panicked, both Dao and the nurses.
"Mina!? What's wrong!? Doctor! Call the doctor, now!"
Mina kept retching, sobbing at the same time. Her voice choked and broke apart. Shame crushed her. She felt disgusted with herself.
She thrashed on the bed, screaming wildly, clawing at her own body, smashing her head against the wall.
Dao burst into tears, helpless as she watched her friend fall apart. She rushed forward, holding Mina down, stopping her from hurting herself further despite the screaming and struggling.
"Mina! It's okay! I'm here! I'm here!"
But Mina continued screaming like a wounded animal trapped in a cage.
It was a secret she wanted to bury forever, even in death.
And now, that unbearable, violated pain had returned to claim her once again.
Mina clutched her chest as a sharp pain tore through her, her fingers clawing into the damp earth beneath her while Valko's vile laughter echoed endlessly around her. He shouted, reveling in her agony, even mocking it.
"So delightful… the way you lay there, motionless on the bed back then… absolutely delightful!"
"Stop it… please… stop…" Mina muttered weakly, still pressing her hand against her burning chest.
But Valko showed no mercy. He pressed hard against her wound again, deliberately twisting the knife, stripping her mind bare.
"Is that why you wanted to kill me? You thought killing me would be the end of it? Even in death, we are still husband and wife, Mina. Even in death."
"You will never escape me. Never. If you dare bring that woman home, you will become the sinner of the entire family. They will only ever accept me. Me, Valko, as the son-in-law of the Kamakiri family."
As he spoke those words, something suddenly flashed inside Mina. The scattered fragments of her thoughts snapped together, and clarity surged back into her mind.
She slowly lifted her gaze to look at him.
Another white silhouette appeared. It was Amuro, his body drenched in blood, twisted at impossible angles that sent a chill down the spine. Mina stared at him in horror as he struggled to speak in a voice filled with resentment and sorrow.
"Lady Mina… I died unjustly… I died without closure…"
Mina stood frozen, unable to move, when yet another white shadow emerged.
It was Satoru. His entire body had become a charred, cracked mass of burnt flesh, scorched beyond recognition. It was almost impossible to tell who he was until he spoke.
"Lady Mina… I sacrificed myself for you. I sacrificed myself for your narrow, selfish ideals. And yet you never once looked back. All of us… we died…"
The voices of Amuro and Satoru twisted together, forming a grotesque symphony straight from hell, ripping through Mina's mind with another wave of searing pain.
Valko only laughed louder as he stretched out his hand toward her.
"Mina… do you see the calamity you've brought upon others because of your petty selfishness?"
Mina lowered her face to the ground and shut her eyes tightly.
"They wouldn't have had to die if you'd just accepted your place as my obedient wife from the very beginning. Everything you do will end in utter failure."
She gritted her teeth, struggling against the voices echoing in her head. At the same time, her hands moved swiftly, ejecting the magazine to check her gun.
Something made her freeze.
There were still bullets. No — they had been there all along.
A faint smile appeared on Mina's beautiful face.
She slowly straightened up, startling Valko. Her eyes returned to their former coldness and resolve. She faced him without a trace of fear, enough to make even the white shadows falter.
"…Once I make it through this forest, I'll see Duyen again," Mina said calmly. "After that, we'll get married, and all of this will finally end."
Her blunt declaration left Valko momentarily stunned before he burst into raucous laughter.
"Marry her? How is that even possible? Your family will never accept—"
He didn't get to finish.
"They will have to accept it," Mina cut in, enunciating every word clearly. "Because I am the head of the Kamakiri clan."
Those words struck Valko like a killing blow. He stood frozen for a heartbeat, then forced a crooked smile.
"…The head of the Kamakiri clan? You're not even wearing the ring, are you? Here, you are nobody."
Mina no longer paid him any attention.
She calmly turned to Amuro, then to Satoru, and shouted:
"You two! As members of the Sawada clan, vassals of the Kamakiri family, you will remember your oath of absolute loyalty. I command you—"
She pointed straight at Valko.
"Strangle this traitor of the Kamakiri clan to death."
Valko stared at them in disbelief. Why could she command them? He let out a scornful laugh, but his body trembled uncontrollably.
"You think you can order them around? Why would they listen to the one who drove them to their deaths? The one they should be taking revenge on is you!"
But the impossible happened. Amuro and Satoru both smiled — and spoke in unison.
"We obey."
"…What?" Valko stood dumbfounded.
Both Amuro and Satoru turned toward him at the same time. Satoru's hand hovered over his katana, as if he were ready to tear Valko apart at any moment.
The sheer absurdity of it all sent Valko into full-blown panic. He waved his hands frantically.
"Hey! Why are you attacking me!? The one you should hate is her!"
Too late. Amuro's hand reached out, ready to carry out Mina's absolute command.
At that moment, Valko's face twisted into something horrifying. His eyes, nose, and mouth darkened into an inky black as he let out a piercing scream.
"BUT YOU'RE ALL JUST ILLUSIONS!"
Only then did he shudder as he realized the truth. Mina was aiming her gun straight at him.
Her gaze was cold and unwavering.
"The things I've done…" she said quietly. "I will never regret."
Mina pulled the trigger.
---
Haru was in the village, preparing for the upcoming wedding between Shana and Duyen. Every woman in the village was buzzing with excitement, decorating the area and building a grand palanquin for what would be their most solemn and sacred ceremony.
Suddenly, a gunshot echoed from somewhere in the distance. They all froze.
"What was that!?" Hasuko shouted, her eyes sharpening as she turned to Haru. "This is bad, Haru! That sound came from the forest!"
Haru's face instantly drained of color. She stared toward the forest, whispering under her breath,
"Mom…"