Episode 82 Reason for the Wound
White space.
Jinwoo stopped before his younger self.
The child Jinwoo stood with his head lowered.
Playground.
The sun was setting.
Friends had all gone home.
The one he had waited for never came.
The child pretended to be fine.
But his eyes told otherwise.
Jinwoo watched silently.
The other Jinwoo asked.
“Do you remember?”
Jinwoo slowly nodded.
“…Yes.”
He thought he had forgotten.
No.
He had tried to forget.
The other spoke quietly.
“From that day.”
“You stopped expecting.”
“Because you didn’t want disappointment.”
Jinwoo could not argue.
It was true.
Expectations brought wounds.
Trust brought disappointment.
So.
It was easier alone.
The child Jinwoo slowly raised his head.
And spoke.
“I did nothing wrong.”
Jinwoo’s heart trembled.
The child.
Words he had never spoken then.
The other Jinwoo asked.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
Jinwoo was silent for a long time.
Finally he whispered.
“…I was ashamed.”
“I didn’t want anyone to see I was hurt.”
The white space grew still.
The other Jinwoo’s face turned serious.
“Yes.”
“That is you.”
“Not alone because you are strong.
But alone because you feared the wound.”
Jinwoo closed his eyes.
He could not deny it.
Far away, Hanul’s voice echoed.
“Not this again!”
In another space.
Hanul faced his past.
The other Hanul spoke.
“You always wanted to win.
Because you hated losing.”
Hanul gritted his teeth.
“Of course.”
The other.
“No.”
“You hated being ignored.”
Hanul’s face froze.
Darin’s space.
She kept smiling.
But the other Darin did not.
“How long will you keep smiling?”
Darin.
“Smiling feels good.”
The other.
“You smile because you’re afraid.”
Darin’s smile faded.
Soyeon’s space.
She stood quietly.
The other Soyeon too.
After a long pause.
The other spoke.
“Why didn’t you ask for help?”
Soyeon whispered.
“…I didn’t want to be a burden.”
The other.
“So you endured alone?”
Soyeon lowered her head.
Each space.
Each wound.
Each truth.
And reality.
Earth’s orbit.
The final defense line.
Another fleet destroyed.
Boom!
A massive flash.
Countless lives.
Countless sacrifices.
Yet they had not retreated.
White space.
Arena’s voice resounded.
[Self Confrontation Progress: 53%]
Arena continued.
“To see the wound is easy.”
A pause.
“To admit the wound is hard.”
Jinwoo looked at his younger self.
And slowly knelt down.
Meeting the child’s eyes.
For the first time.
He spoke to him.
“…I’m sorry.”
The child’s eyes trembled.
And the white space began to shake once more.