Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? Chapter 75

“You’re Rit—what do you think?”

“Renia is right. And… I think it also means taking responsibility for each other.”

That, Ehit newly defined, was what real family was. And if you were family, that was how it should be.

A few days passed.

‘Should I try again?’

Ehit was practicing a strange kind of vision.

One day, after thinking very deeply about a certain place, Ehit had seen a vision. And some time later, that vision had become reality—it had actually happened.

He instinctively knew that what he had seen wasn’t just imagination, but the future.

He had only tried it once or twice so far, and it left him a bit exhausted each time, but he planned to keep practicing.

Because with this power, he thought, he and Renia could become happier.

On an evening dyed red by the sunset, Ehit sat alone in a corner of the orphanage and closed his eyes.

Focusing his mind, he slowly expanded the range—from where he was sitting, to the whole room, and then to the entire orphanage.

What would it be? What would happen?

Suddenly, with a sensation like sinking into water, the vision came.

‘Aah!’

‘Please save us!’

In the darkness, the orphanage turned into chaos before his eyes, filled with the sharp screams of children.

“……”

Terrified children ran around, while bandits with knives rampaged through the orphanage.

‘Are all the kids here?’

‘I’m pretty sure it’s this place.’

Amid the commotion, a stove was knocked over. Fire instantly spread across the walls and floor of the orphanage.

Thud. Thud. Watching the vision, Ehit froze.

Where was Renia in this vision? Renia, Renia… where—?

“Rit!”

At that moment, he snapped out of the vision.

Renia was poking Ehit’s cheek and peering closely at his face.

“Were you sleeping?”

“Renia…”

“Rit, I told you—later I’m going to the next neighborhood—”

His small hand was trembling. Seeing that, worry filled Renia’s eyes.

“What’s wrong, Rit? Are you hot? Are you okay?”

Renia tightly held his hand. Then she took out a purple handkerchief embroidered with a droplet pattern and wiped away his cold sweat.

It was a handkerchief Renia had owned for a long time.

After taking it from her and wiping his forehead, Ehit stood up.

He had to change it. He couldn’t let something like that happen.

“Wait here, Renia.”

Ehit immediately headed to the head caretaker’s office and told them what he had seen.

“We have to evacuate everyone right away!”

“Rit, you must have had a bad dream.”

“It wasn’t a dream! It’s really going to happen!”

“How do you know that, Rit?”

“I know the future. I can see it. Tonight, for sure—”

“You look very shaken. You seem tired. I’ll excuse you from evening chores, so get a good night’s rest.”

But no one listened. Not just the caretaker—none of the adults did.

He tried to tell the children, but the caretaker said he was making them anxious and locked Ehit alone in a room.

“Please let me out!”

Night grew deeper. No matter how much he banged on the door, there was no answer.

When helplessness finally overwhelmed his will, Ehit stopped pounding.

Where was Renia right now?

Was the future he saw really going to happen?

As he sat blankly, Ehit suddenly remembered what Renia had said the day before.

‘Tomorrow night, I’m going to the next neighborhood. They said they need a few girls as extras for a performance.’

Then Renia wouldn’t be here.

It was late at night. Soon, what he’d seen in the vision would happen. The orphanage would catch fire, and many children would be hurt.

Still, there was some relief. If nothing happened to Renia, then…

At that moment, someone knocked on the window from outside.

“Rit!”

It was Renia’s voice.

Struggling to open the stiff window, Renia stood on her tiptoes and reached out her hand.

“I was looking everywhere for you! Did the teachers lock you in?”

“…Why are you here, Renia?”

“Ah, I asked them to let me out.”

“Why?”

“You looked really unwell earlier, so I thought you might be sick. This is a secret, Rit—but I have a little bit of holy power. I’ll heal you.”

His heart pounded. Renia had come back because of him.

Because he had seen the future.

Opening the window all the way, Ehit climbed out with all his strength. He grabbed Renia’s hand and started running.

“Rit? Where are we going?”

He didn’t know where to go. But anywhere other than here would do.

Somewhere else—get Renia away from this place first, and then…

“Rit!”

As they ran wildly along the dark edge of the forest, away from the orphanage, Renia pulled her hand free.

“Where are we going? Why are you in such a hurry?”

“Renia, there… we can’t stay there.”

The little boy’s eyes and voice trembled. Seeing that, Renia gently took both of Ehit’s hands again.

“What’s going on, Rit?”

“Something scary is going to happen.”

“What kind of thing?”

“Thieves will come in… They’ll destroy everything, and everyone will get hurt. So, Renia, you can’t go back.”

Renia blinked at his words.

Would she not believe him? No one else had. Would Renia be the same?

“It’s true, Renia.”

“I know. I believe you.”

“Really?”

“Of course. You’ve always had good instincts.”

Her eyes shone with sincerity. Relief washed over him, and color was just beginning to return to Ehit’s pale face when—

“Let’s go back.”

“What?”

As Renia immediately turned toward the orphanage, Ehit hurriedly grabbed her.

“Renia! Let go.”

“No, Renia. You know something will happen.”

“Exactly. That’s why we have to go.”

“……”

“We know, don’t we? Only we know. So we have to change it.”

“…Renia.”

He called her name, almost in tears, but it was no use. Renia smiled softly to reassure him, then started running back through the forest.

I was stupid. Why did I say anything at all?

Renia was the kind of person who could never ignore something like that.

He stood there blankly for a moment. Renia was already far away.

And then, from the distance, he began to hear sounds of chaos.

“……”

His frozen feet moved again. He started running.

Inside the orphanage, filled everywhere with screams of terror, Ehit desperately searched for Renia once more.

“Go that way, Paul! Karin!”

Renia was waving her hands at the crying children.

“That necklace looks pretty expensive.”

At that moment, someone muttered from the corridor behind Ehit. A large man was staring at Renia’s necklace.

The man charged toward her. Seeing that, Ehit immediately ran at him, grabbed his leg, and clung to it.

“What the hell is this!”

“Get away, Renia! Run!”

The bandit shook Ehit off in one motion. But Ehit lunged at him again. Annoyed, the bandit shouted.

Darkness crept over Ehit’s vision as rough, massive hands tried to tear him away. But that was fine. As long as Renia escaped safely…

Ehit’s eyes turned toward Renia in the distance. He tried to shout again, telling her to run—

At that moment, the roof collapsed.

The burning roof fell toward Renia.

“……”

He wanted to call her name, to tell her to dodge. But from his reddened eyes, face, and throat, no sound came out.

Time—every moment before his eyes—seemed to slow down.

Ehit watched in slow motion as the falling roof covered Renia. It felt like all the blood drained from his head. His vision went white.

But he couldn’t move. He couldn’t do anything.

He could see the future. But he couldn’t change the past.

Knowing the future only multiplied the pain of what had already happened.

And so, Ehit lost consciousness.

When he opened his eyes, Ehit was lying somewhere.

It was somewhere in the orphanage, but beneath him was a soft, clean blanket.

The voices of adults drifted faintly through the air.

“So that kid is the one?”

“They say he used the prophetic vision passed down in Cloyden.”

“Yeah, I knew there was something noble about him. He looks exactly like the duke’s family described. Wow, his life’s really set now.”

He lost consciousness again.

 

 

****

 

 

When Ehit woke up once more, his status had changed completely.

Everything Ehit had was different now.

His position, his name, even what people called him.

“It’s been a long time, Ehit.”

A middle-aged woman dressed in fine clothes—introducing herself as the Duke of Cloyden and his grandmother—took Ehit’s hand and led him away.

“It must have been hard, but this will all become the foundation for your future.”

“What about Renia?”

Everything moved faster than he could process. Only minutes later, Ehit was put into a carriage.

As he sat there blankly and looked out the window, he saw Renia.

Covered in white cloth. Lying still, her eyes closed.

Seeing Ehit frozen in shock, the duke clicked her tongue once and shut the carriage window.

“Only what was bound to happen, happened. Don’t concern yourself with what happened at that orphanage, Ehit.”

The carriage departed. Ehit cried silently, a long, soundless sob.

That night, everything about Ehit changed. Overnight, he became someone who could eat all the food Renia had once talked about.

But that same night, Ehit lost the only thing he had. In exchange for all of this, he gave up everything that truly mattered to him.

Only then did Ehit realize it.

This power could give him many things—but it could also take away the most important one of all.