AM I PERFECT

Chapter 7: Shattered Innocence

Hearing the voice of the one who had just entered her room, he rushed toward the bathroom. When he reached the doorway, he saw a washbasin directly in front of him, and above it, an exceptionally clean mirror in which her reflection was clearly visible.

He saw that she was holding her right hand, staring at it intensely, studying it the way a doctor examines a patient. In the mirror, he could see her face clearly, but he couldn't see what she was looking at in her hand.

Why is she staring at her hand like that? He muttered to himself.

To find out, he moved closer to her.

And what he saw made him scream as well.

"What is this?" He demanded.

Hearing his voice, she flinched. When she lifted her head and looked up, she saw him in the mirror, standing directly behind her, staring intently. I don't even know the person whose name is written on this. in her hand.

The moment she realized he was behind her; panic surged through her. She turned around instantly.

"What is all this?" He questioned her again.

"I don't know," she replied fearfully.

He grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard. "I'm asking you what all this is?" he shouted at her with such force that her heart jolted. No one had ever shouted at her like this before.

"Why are you getting angry?" She asked in a trembling voice.

He was glaring at her with fury, as if no one could tell what he might do next.

He moved closer to her face. Now, paralyzed with fear, she began to tremble uncontrollably. Tears streamed down her face. His words made her heart feel as though it had dropped into her hands. She couldn't bear the shock of it, because in this world, if there was anyone, she loved the most, it was him, only him.

Without raising his voice, speaking through his breath alone, he pierced her with words sharp like arrows.

"You know what I'm looking at, don't you?"

As he said this, he forcefully grabbed her right hand with his own and held it up for her to see.

"I'm talking about this."

He was still speaking without sound, his words riding only on his breath.

An arrow had pierced her heart; she was wounded beyond repair. It felt as though her soul was drifting away, as if her heart itself was dying. Tears streamed down her face as she looked at him like an innocent soul, hoping he would understand her, hoping it would finally make sense to him.

But perhaps he never truly knew her at all.

Still, she wanted to explain, to make him understand.

"I don't know who wrote this," she said, trying to prove her innocence. "You know me, don't you? The person whose name is written on this, I don't even know him. I've never met him. So why would I do this?"

Hearing her words, he shoved her shoulder aside lightly, as if rejecting her.

"And if I don't believe you?" He spoke.

The moment those words left his mouth, her legs gave way. She could no longer stand and collapse onto the floor. She couldn't even bring herself to meet his eyes. Her dreams were shattering the palace of dreams she had built in someone's name was breaking apart.

He moved closer and stood beside her, then crouched down on the balls of his feet next to her. Grabbing her right hand forcefully, he held it up again, making her look at it.

"This tattoo is on your hand," he said coldly, "it's something people choose to get made. Do you want me to believe that someone came, made this tattoo, and just left?"

He glared at her, paused for a moment, then jerked her hand away and said harshly,

"I'm not a fool."

Her gaze was still fixed downward. She wasn't avoiding his eyes out of shame; it was because she couldn't bear this side of him.

Then, suddenly, she lifted her eyes toward him. He, still waiting for an answer, looked into her eyes. In them, there was still a glimmer of hope to prove herself.

"Yes... Someone did all this without my permission. I'm telling the truth,"She said, her voice trembling as tears ran down her cheeks. "If I can't make you believe me... then I have failed in love."

She spoke, crying and pleading, trying desperately to prove herself, but perhaps he only caught the last part of her sentence.

Tears welled up in his eyes. "A man doesn't cry," he said, "but my heart is crying... and today, for the first time, my heart is breaking."

"You weren't worthy of my love," he continued, his voice heavy with pain. "Those who have rivers within them, if they still search for a drop of water, they must remember... a drop is already part of the river. It carries the river with it."

He spoke with a voice filled with anguish, as though he, too, had shattered into pieces.

He grabbed her mouth with his right hand and pulled her closer to him. His own hand, held against her face, caused her pain, but the anguish of separation was far greater than any physical discomfort.

"You can't even meet my eyes," he said, teasing her lightly. "How ashamed you are."

Her emotions, a mix of pain, fear, and anger, poured out uncontrollably. He tightened his grip, pressing her hands harder against her face. Now, the pain was sharp, and she cried out, the sensation making her body recoil.

She moved her lips slightly, trying to tell him how much it hurt. He understood immediately. "Yes... it hurts you," he said, giving her a faint smile.

In that small smile, there was a hidden thrill; he found joy in seeing her pain. And when she saw it, the last shred of hope that had remained in her heart shattered instantly.

After saying those words, he shoved her face with such force that she was thrown a little distance away, crashing into the table.

The table was old, and because of its age, one of the nails that formed its base had shifted from its place. It was jutting out slightly, as if waiting for someone.

Her elbow struck it.

The impact injured the side of her elbow.

"Ah-" a cry of pain escaped her lips.

The cut was deep, so deep that blood began to flow from her elbow, dripping down until it touched the floor.

She stood up and began to walk away.

Her steps were weak and exhausting. Her eyes were swollen from crying endlessly.

The wound in her heart was so deep that she could no longer hold herself together.

In just a few moments, she cried so much that her tears had turned into shock.

She remained completely silent, no questions, no words, not even a glance in his direction.

She simply walked out of the washroom.

The face she had come to wash was now the same

but crushed under grief, filled with such sadness and trauma

as if someone had torn her soul out of her body

and left her alive, yet dead from within,

abandoned in the world, only to suffer.

He watched her walk away, but in truth, he was watching his separation from her.

His heart was crying; his soul was burning alive.

And the man the world took pride in

After she left stood before the mirror and looked at himself.

"What is the worth of this beauty?" he whispered,

"When even while you still exist, my soul is being torn away from me?"

He was speaking to himself,

and in response, his heart wept.

After she left, he gathered himself and stepped out of the washroom, moving toward the door of the room.

He reached for the handle and opened it

Suddenly her voice froze his steps exactly where he stood.

"We will never meet again," she said.

"And if fate ever makes us cross paths, you will regret it deeply."

There was no hope left in her voice to save this relationship, yet her words carried a hidden truth, a warning that fate could betray them at any moment.

Hearing her, he replied in his own calm way,

"I'm not used to turning back to look."

And with that, he stepped out of the door, leaving the past and her words behind.

Her mother entered the room and froze. Instead of preparing to leave the house, she saw her daughter sitting on the bed in an utterly strange and alarming state.

Her mother's face went pale at the sight. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes swollen and red, and one of her hands was coated in blood as if it had been soaked in it. Blood stains marked her clothes as well.

She stared blankly in one direction at the window.

Seeing her like this, her mother could no longer control herself. She turned on her heels and ran out of the room to call her father and sister.

Chaos had erupted in the hospital. Alarms blared everywhere, and people were evacuated. Those who had been sleeping peacefully in the rooms were abruptly woken up.

Patients unable to walk on their own were being assisted out, and red marks were placed on the doors to indicate that the rooms had been cleared.

Her mother, panic-stricken, rushed into the waiting room, frantically searching for her father and sister.

"What are you doing here? Step outside, quickly!" A doctor shouted at her.

"Staff, get everyone out! No one should remain here, hurry!"

The doctor's voice was sharp, urgent, and commanding as he pushed forward, ensuring everyone moved swiftly.

Her mother grew even more terrified, now realizing fully what was happening in the hospital, why people were being evacuated, and why such chaos had erupted.

Uncontrollably, her words escaped, "My God..."

Without a second thought, she ran, following the path upward to the first floor.

When she reached the first floor, the sight froze her in place. Her heart skipped a beat.

The entire floor was engulfed in flames. The fire roared and leaped with such fury and danger that it looked as if a crocodile had opened its jaws, ready to devour anyone in its path.

Without a second thought for her own safety, her mother moved forward toward her room when, suddenly, someone grabbed her.

"Mom, what are you doing? You could have been hurt!"

It was Ella who had run up to the first floor searching for their mother. She knew her mother would be here.

"She's inside! We need to get her out, her mother said

Her mother tried to withdraw her hand, but her sister held on tightly, preventing her from making the mistake of going inside.

"Mom, look at the red sign wherever this red mark is; those rooms have already been evacuated. Don't worry. There are many people downstairs; she will be there with the patients. Dad is downstairs too."

"Please... we have to leave this place, or we'll die! Please!" She pleaded, begging her mother for both of their lives.

"I don't believe it. We should check at least once," her mother insisted, her voice trembling with determination.

"Mom, I'm telling you, "Her sister tried to reason with her. "The hospital staff are very responsible. They announced that all patients have already been evacuated. You must trust them."

"Dear, this isn't about trust," her mother replied desperately. "Just a moment ago, before they even finished speaking, they heard a massive explosion."

She couldn't finish her sentences.

The flames, which had already been raging with fury, now grew even more violent.

"Mom, please, let's go. I won't listen anymore," her sister pleaded.

"For my sake... I swear," she said, invoking an oath.

Her mother was finally forced to give in.

Reluctantly, she turned away, and together they began to leave.

But until the very moment her mother reached the elevator,

her eyes never stopped searching,

fixed on that room.

She lay unconscious on the floor, completely unaware of the disaster waiting to claim her, or how and when it would finally wrap her in its deadly grip.

Suddenly, a deafening sound struck her ears, sharp and violent enough to wake anyone.

Her eyes flew open.

What happened to me?

Why am I lying on the floor?

Why does my entire body ache so badly?

The questions attacked her all at once as she struggled to sit up.

Then her gaze fell around the room

"Auh!"

A horrifying scream tore out of her throat.

Her entire room was filled with flames.

"Mom! Dad!" She cried uncontrollably, screaming her family's names at the top of her lungs.

Hearing noise from outside, she rushed toward the window

But something suddenly fell from above, wrapped in fire.

She screamed in terror.

"Help! I'm trapped here! Help me, please! I'll die! Is anyone listening?"

She knew the truth.

There was no one left, neither outside nor anywhere in the hospital.

Everyone had already fled, saving their own lives and leaving her behind.

Yet she kept screaming, making desperate, futile attempts.

When no path seemed clear, reality finally hit her.

I have to get out on my own.

No one is coming to save me.

She said the words aloud, but there was no strength left inside her.

She was completely shattered from within.

Perhaps fate itself had come to take her life.

She could see death standing right in front of her

Yet she wanted to try one last time.

She still held onto a fragile hope that maybe, just maybe, she could save herself.

If I survive, it will be my destiny.

And if I don't... then perhaps I have no reason left to live anyway.

Her thoughts were soaked in pain

, the agony of suffering alone,

the terror of dying helplessly,

and the fear of leaving this world without ever proving herself innocent.

Carrying all of it in her heart, she moved forward toward the door.

Flaming debris blocked her path again and again.

She forced herself past each burning obstacle, step by step, until she finally reached the door

The moment she opened the door, what stood before her was enough to convince her that today was her last day.