Chapter 878: PAID

Childhood Friend of the ZenithWords: 1981

"My head feels dizzy."

Every time an unfamiliar voice resonated in my mind, I felt the urge to vomit.

Grasping my chest, I tried to steady my breath, but even that was no easy task.

What is this? What is this feeling?

My vision blurred.

The sounds I heard began to cloud my sight. The scene changed.

What I had been facing—Tang So-yeol in the middle of the night—disappeared, replaced by an unfamiliar view.

It was too hazy to see clearly, but it was definitely not night.

If anything, it seemed to be a bright daytime. The faint colors of autumn leaves hinted at the current season.

Where am I? Where is this, and when is it? Why is this happening to me?

And then—

“Just a little more.”

Despite my confusion, I found myself focusing on the scene, wanting to see more.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away. Or maybe… I simply longed for it.

It was an emotion I couldn’t understand.

But for some reason, I wanted to see it. The expressionless figure sitting before a cabin I had never seen before—it was me and someone else.

"Yes, just like that."

The woman smiled, seemingly satisfied that I had called her name.

But then—

"Always like that. Please, always stay like that."

There was an inexplicable sadness in her smiling voice. It prompted me to ask:

“Why?”

Why are you so sad? Why, even after getting what you wanted, do you seem so sorrowful?

I asked, but no answer came.

Was it because the woman didn’t respond? Or because I couldn’t hear the voice from within my memory? I didn’t know.

"Say it."

But I wanted to hear it.

"Tell me."

I wanted to grab hold of her and demand an answer, but the me in the memory seemed unable to speak any further.

It was suffocating. The inability to move, this moment—it made it all the more stifling.

Why am I so impatient and frustrated?

I didn’t know that either.

"Move, damn it."

I clenched my teeth and struggled, even knowing that my efforts wouldn’t make the me in the memory move.

Still, I felt I had to try.