Cry Pretty When You Come Back - Chapter 2

“Save me, please.”

Noel followed her words mockingly. It sounded strange, probably because it was not a word in his dictionary. Children, women and the elderly. If they were Lautrecian, he had killed them regardless. But, why? An unanswered agony arose. As the intense confrontation continued, beads of sweat trickled down his temples. He could clearly see the woman gurgling and swallowing her saliva.

She kept getting weaker. The strap of the backpack kept slipping off his shoulder. Just when he was trying to feign ignorance and lower his gun in an unfamiliar impulse. Crunch, the sound of stepping on grass came from not far away.

“Stop right there.”

Noel turned around in the blink of an eye. The man, parting the bushes, noticed the aimed gun and immediately surrendered. The two knelt down side by side and exchanged glances, then looked like they were about to cry. Could it be that they are lovers? As the speculation leaned in that direction, an unpleasant feeling welled up.

“Sinnon…”

To the point where Noel wanted to blow their heads right now.

“Nemia, it’s okay. Everything will be okay.”

The man’s pale complexion made him look like he was in pain, and the satchel hanging on his shoulder was filled with unknown herbs. Noel furrowed his eyebrows.

What were they doing in the middle of enemy territory like a bunch of fools? There were still gunshots and loud screams resounding from all directions. Noel tilted his head nonchalantly and fixed his gun. Then the woman put her hands together and began to plead.

“Just once. Can’t you pretend not to know just once? We only came here because we needed herbs. Really, that’s all. We don’t know anything.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“…”

“What matters is that you are a Lautrecian.”

Noel pointed at her with an eerie grin and his flawless posture.

The frightened eyes pleased him. The sense of superiority of having the power to determine another person’s life or death sent shivers down his toes. At the moment his inherent cruelty flared up, the man who had been silently holding his breath suddenly grabbed a stone and threw it swiftly.

“Sinnon!”

Noel moved lightly to avoid the flying stones. While the stone that had completely missed hit the tree trunk and fell, the man grabbed another stone in his hand.

“Hey, let us go. D*mn Waltane.”

“No, Sinnon. Please don’t. Put that down. We might both…”

“Let go of this! Why are you trying to stop me? Do you think I’ll lose to that man, right now?”

A scuffle broke out between the two. Noel looked down at Nemia, who was holding back Sinnon. Every time she tried to snatch the stone Sinnon held, the sweaty dress revealed her voluptuous figure. Noel, who was scouring her body as if savouring it, inadvertently licked his lips and clung to the gun properly.

“Gun is faster than a rock, isn’t it? You foolish Lautrecian.”

“This time, I will hit you right in the forehead.”

“It’s a good posture for prey not to be afraid of predators. But a weak prey like you forgetting fear… it is just stupid.”

Noel aimed the crosshairs at Sinnon’s forehead, ready to shoot. But an unexpected variable occurred. Whizz, another rock flew and knocked his assault rifle out of his hand. As the gunshot rang out, the bullet missed its target. Taking advantage of the opening, the woman grabbed the man’s arm and turned to run.

“Yeah, this way, it’s more fun.”

He must have thought it was a quick move. Unfortunately, her slow movements were evident to him, accustomed to hunting people.

Noel readjusted his shooting stance in the blink of an eye and put his eyes on the scope. With a click, as if contemplating which one to choose, the crosshairs went back and forth leisurely.

“If only you didn’t run away…”

The predator’s eyes which were perfectly aimed at the prey, suddenly flashed with fierceness.

“I was trying to save you.”

Bang-

The unnecessity shooting was over. Following that, a pungent smell filled the air, and the explosion sound of a grenade made the ears ring. Amidst the chaos, Noel couldn’t take his eyes off the woman, who was crying and screaming.

“NOOOO!”

“SINNON, PLEASE COME TO YOUR SENSES!”

Judging by the shape of her mouth, she seemed to be screaming too much. In the midst of the sea of ​​burning fire, Noel looked through everything in Nemia. Drops of blood splattered on her pale cheeks. Skinny forearms and a long, slender neckline. The woman was sobbing now, with her head lowered deeply.

“If you show your back, I have no choice but to shoot.”

He lowered the gun for the first time. The slippery sweat soaked his palm, and his tired shoulders slumped. At the most pitiful moment, the woman turned her head towards him.

“Ah…”

When their eyes met, a sigh escaped. Covered in blood, sweat, and tears, the woman looked like an innocent saint. Although her eyes were filled with resentment, her overwhelming sorrow was more striking. The man’s lustful gaze flows smoothly down her straight, protruding collarbone and the bulge beneath her breasts.

Even though it was not an appropriate situation, a feeling of warmth spread to the tips of his fingers and head, and the blood rushed downward. Instinctively, Noel took a step forward and stopped when he noticed the necklace dangling from the nape of her fine, white neck.

A cross necklace. A cross drawn for killing.

‘Because they each have their own circumstances.’

‘Don’t hate me.’

A cross necklace was also hanging from the nape of the old man’s neck. He never took it off for even a day. As if it were a talisman.

“Please help me.”

In the meantime, the woman who had wiped away her overflowing tears was running, panting. Ridiculously, he tried to chase her without any reasonable explanation. What was he planning to do if he caught her?

“Stop! Not there!”

His desperate shout was buried in the explosion sound. His outstretched fingertips trembled. But with an explosion, sparks rose from the side where the woman had disappeared, sand splashed, and a puff of smoke spread.

Tinnitus-like ringing pierced his ears. The sand-mixed sparks soared into the sky. He hastily raised his arm to cover his face, but intense heat swept over him. Noel staggered forward only after the thick smoke had dissipated.

The blackened remains reflected in his sight. He could no longer approach any closer and only stare at it in dismay.

With a thud, he threw away the weapon that was his lifeline.. For the first time in his life, he wiped the area around his trembling jaw, possessed by an unknown emotion.

“Somehow, I feel terrible today.”

As he mumbled, sparks burst out here and there. Someone’s severed limb would also likely be scattered and fall somewhere.

The smell of gunpowder scratched the empty mind. He knelt down at the encounter site.

* * *

7 years later…

Last night, a woman crossed the streets turned into ruins by an unexpected airstrike. The road was filled with building debris, and with a roar, the building corners collapsed again. Mushroom-shaped dark clouds rose into the blue sky.

“That one will collapse soon too.”

The old man looked up at the sky and blankly lit a cigar. Nemia moved her steps towards the graveyard.

Under the autumn sun, the tombs are scattered in disorder. She managed to find a tomb and put down a single white flower she was holding in front of it.

“Sinnon, I’m here. It’s been too long since I’ve come.”

Addressing someone who couldn’t hear her, she looked around. The makeshift cross-shaped graves made of wooden boards were desolate. She slowly sat down and brushed away the dry grass that had stuck to the stone.

“Is it safe and peaceful there? It’s still hell here.”

Nemia wiggled her fingertips.

“Yesterday May died. The air raid fell in the morning. Aunt cried a lot.”

The smell of ammunition stung her nose, and the houses were charred black. And underneath that, until just yesterday, was her friend who used to show her teeth and smile. All that was left of her was her head, and even that was crushed into a horrifying corpse.

“You know, I couldn’t do anything. Just like the day I let you go. I covered my mouth, lying flat on the ground, and just sobbed. I wish those bombing raids had never happened, but I endured the dawn while only thinking about my own life and how it would end.”

She cowardly held her breath as May died.

“I’m still so powerless. There’s nothing I can do here except clearing the debris. I don’t want to bury anyone anymore. I don’t want to do it.”

When she closed her eyes tightly, her vision cleared. Instead, the back of her hand was wet with tears.

“Even though those who brutally murdered innocent people walk the streets shamelessly with their faces up, all I can do is hide. How long do we have to continue living like this?”

Her teeth gnashed as she thought of countless deaths one by one. She wanted to knock them out. Rather than cursing, she wanted to pour out the most despicable profanities in the world.

“Sinnon, where did you hear that? They say despair becomes a habit.”

However, she knew best that she lacked the strength to confront them. Even the fear and sense of defeat were etched into the bones.

“…I am truly alone now.”

Feeling the breeze against her face, she closed her eyes. Then, the unforgettable image of a man came to mind.

The feel of dirt digging between her toes. The smell of gunpowder lingers in her nose. Eyes flashing with life and sweat dripping down the strong jawline. A man holding his gun in an impeccable posture frowned at her. Then he twisted his pitch-black muzzle.

“I’m scared.”

In truth, she was scared. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was. The killing that determined her fate, the aimed gun barrel, the intense hatred exuding from that man’s gaze, and the man’s gaze filled with deep lust.

At some point, she felt he would grab her from behind and swallow her shadow.

“No, no.”

Nemia snapped out of the ominous thought and grasped reality. Wiping away her dried tears with determination, she stood up like a soldier marching and left the cemetery.

Nemia, drowned in ominous thoughts, managed to hold on to reality. She courageously wiped away the dried tears, stood, and left the graveyard.

She was really fed up with cleaning up the stones and bloody cement scattered on the street. Nemia walked down the avenue with a languid expression, kicking at the debris that was in the way. She tried to get past it just like that. She would have kept going if she hadn’t spotted the wall poster stuck to the grey building.

“This…”

Nemia’s mouth shut tight, and she stifled a gasp. It was noon, with the sun overhead. Although many people were walking on the street, when she saw the wall poster, time seemed to stop.

Her trembling eyes quickly read the bold letters.

[The hidden heir of President Waltane Lexenor Jobert, appointed as the battalion commander of the special unit ‘Leopard’ that focuses on the assassination.]

Her fingertips trembled. Swallowing dry saliva, she blinked rapidly. Even after rubbing her eyes, it was still there. How could she forget? The owner of the gun barrel who aimed at her seven years ago, the monster who casually blew off her friend’s head.

***