The word “day” has lost its meaning in sight.
The sun set a few minutes ago.
The lights of several buildings were gradually going out. I was left alone in the counseling room.
To organize the remaining paperwork and the union guild visit that would start next week.
“… It’s really coming down.”
Rain was falling outside the window.
– Pitter-patter.
More than I expected, a lot.
Very much.
I could not know the reason. Isn’t that how the weather is?
It always comes unexpectedly, without warning.
I was sitting alone in the empty counseling room, simply listening to the sound of the rain.
And that night, what came unexpectedly without warning was not just the rain.
– Creak…
The door to the waiting room outside the counseling room opened cautiously. It had probably been closed, but today it was left open.
Perhaps it was something I had to anticipate.
“……”
I slowly got up from my seat. And carefully opened the door to the counseling room.
The cold night air rushed in.
The lobby was dimly lit with all the lights turned off. In that darkness.
A figure, soaked by the rain, was standing there.
– Flash!
Lightning struck outside the window. In that split second, the flash revealed her figure standing in the darkness.
Soaked, her black hair clinging to her face. Her black, vacant eyes lost focus.
It was Jahwayeon.
With the very face I had expected her to return with. I called to her cautiously.
“Lady Cheonma.”
[Jahwayeon]
[Main Stance]
[She is in a mentally unstable state.]
[Appropriate Response] [Satisfaction Rate 90%]
[Provide the most comfortable environment possible.]
A comfortable environment, huh…
That shouldn’t be too hard.
Her vacant eyes slowly began to focus on my voice. I said nothing and approached her, gently grabbing her cold arms that were drenched in rain.
She submitted to my pull like a doll with its strings cut, without any notable resistance.
I carefully seated her in a plush chair.
And my movements continued seamlessly.
First, I picked up the remote and turned on the heater in the counseling room.
– Whirring.
With the mechanical sound, warmth began to spread through the damp cold air.
Next, I took off my thick white doctor’s coat that I was wearing. I draped it over her shoulders, which were thin and trembling from being soaked.
Her shoulder flinched slightly at the touch of the thick, dry fabric that retained my body heat for the first time.
‘Next…’
I headed straight for the small kitchen in the corner of the counseling room. I placed the brownie I had baked earlier in the small oven to warm it up just enough.
I hesitated for a moment.
Caffeinated black tea could be poison for her in this state.
She needed a good night’s sleep. What she needed was not awakening but stability.
I poured milk into a small warmer and added a spoonful of honey, stirring it slowly.
– Ding!
The cheerful sound from the oven indicated that the brownie was fully warmed.
I quietly set the prepared items on the table in front of her. A warm brownie and steaming honeyed milk.
Quickly, but without making a fuss.
I created a perfectly safe, warm, and sweet little refuge for her. A refuge that would allow her to forget everything for a moment.
“…….”
I sat down opposite her and said nothing.
Now, it was her turn to speak.
[Jahwayeon]
[Main Stance]
[She is pondering where to start her words…]
[Appropriate Response][Satisfaction Rate 90%]
[Please wait patiently until she speaks slowly.]
Waiting isn’t hard. It’s a fundamental virtue of a counselor.
How many minutes passed? When the droplets of water that had soaked her clothing began to dry one by one from the warmth of the heater.
Jahwayeon’s mouth opened.
“Doctor.”
I met her gaze without answering. Her eyes were trembling.
“… You were right.”
Her voice echoed hollowly.
I calmly waited for her to continue.
“I thought everything was resolved well. Juhohbeop was… not just a simple minister to me. He was like an uncle I believed in and followed since childhood.”
Her voice trembled slightly.
“So, I wanted to believe. That he was merely blinded by greed. That everything would return to normal if I corrected it and admonished him. That he would return to his former loyal self. I thought so.”
She lowered her head.
“But, it wasn’t the case.”
Jahwayeon looked down at her slender hands.
“I saw his last gaze. There was no compassion or regret. Only the anger of a failure and the hatred directed at me.”
I listened to her words without any change of expression. She whispered, in a voice almost inaudible.
“So. I.”
“…….”
“… killed him.”
“Juhohbeop, by my own hand.”
I received her calm confession without any expression.
‘Better to be feared than to be loved.’
That was the lesson I had shared with her, a teaching of ruling.
In truth, the original meaning of that book was not that.
‘It is best to be both loved and feared, but if you must choose between one of them, choose to be feared.’
That was the essence of the advice I had offered her.
If she had the right ministers and loyal subjects by her side, perhaps she could have achieved that. But the ones beside her were old tigers coveting the throne, and only blind zealots burning with vengeful fire followed her.
They may have been helpful at times, but not now.
In the end, Jahwayeon, who could not become a beloved ruler due to others, finally accepted my advice willingly.
And she became a ruler who was feared.
I neither made her that way, nor did she transform into that herself.
In the given environment, she had just made the best choice.
She opened her mouth softly.
“I can’t forget.”
“What do you mean?”
I also spoke up.
“The looks in their eyes when they looked at me.”
She slowly raised her head and met my gaze.
“Doctor.”
“Yes.”
“Are you also afraid of me?”
That question revealed how overwhelmed she was.
It was quite a desperate question.
Cheonma, survival of the fittest, strength is respected.
The laws of Cheonmasinism, which I had taken for granted.
Jahwayeon had grown up there since she was a child, so she would understand.
However, understanding and becoming that directly are two very different things.
She was also a young woman at the same time.
Being a figure of fear to everyone is not an easy task.
You just become accustomed to it.
But there must be individuals who support and respect her as well.
If I could point that out…
[Appropriate Response][Satisfaction Rate 5%]
[Mention her loyal subordinates, such as Geumgang, to inspire her support.]
‘5%…?’
This is not right.
[Appropriate Response][Satisfaction Rate 95%]
[Clearly convey “what you” think, not anyone else, to reassure her.]
The status window provided a clearly better choice.
Is my opinion that important?
I did not avoid her gaze but rather brought my face a bit closer.
“Are you looking at my expression?”
I asked, as if whispering.
“I wonder if, like those ministers you saw, there is fear within me as well?”
I smiled faintly and met her gaze.
Jahwayeon’s eyes slowly widened.
The black pupils within them began to slowly expand.
And Jahwayeon shook her head very slowly.
“Of course, there wouldn’t be.”
I lifted the corners of my mouth further and spoke slowly.
“But, in the face of Cheonma, a little fear is reflected in your expression.”
“What does that mean…?”
As she was flustered and about to say something, I gently interrupted her.
“Don’t be afraid.”
If she wants my support, I will grant it.
I will become her understanding ally.
Her only understanding ally.
“I shall not be afraid either. Even if the whole world fears and avoids you, I shall not be afraid of you, Lady Cheonma.”
I quietly declared while looking into her eyes.
“I will love you as a ruler. Ah, I mean with the loyalty of a single minister.”
It is not a story of romance. It is a story of ruling.
Her pupils shook violently, as if an earthquake had occurred.
I quietly watched Jahwayeon’s reaction, then added with a very slight smile.
“Then, at least to one person, you would be a ruler who is loved, wouldn’t you?”
Jahwayeon did not respond at all.
It would be more accurate to say she could not.
She merely slowly lowered her head, looking down at the cup of milk in front of her.
Once again, silence flowed in the counseling room.
Only the sound of the rain outside and the heater running filled the space.
How long did it take?
She seemed to recall my last words, and with a flushed face, glared at me as she stumbled over her words.
“Impertinent. I am a being like the heavens. I cannot dare to discuss trifling emotions….”
It was like she was summoning the last remnants of a ruler’s dignity.
“I see, then I will cancel that.”
“…….”
[Jahwayeon]
[Main Stance]
[But I don’t want to cancel it.]
[Appropriate Response][Satisfaction Rate 100%]
[Cancel the cancellation.]
I see.
However, I think there would be a better way than to cancel the cancellation.
I carefully cut a bite-sized piece of brownie with a small spoon on the table.
I dipped the spoon very lightly into the steaming cup of milk and pulled it out.
Just enough to dampen the bread.
A brownie made even more moist by the sweet milk.
As if trying to make some sort of excuse, Jahwayeon’s mouth opened urgently.
“That’s not… ugh!”
I gently pushed it into her little lips.
Her eyes filled with surprise for a moment.
Then, as the sweetness touched her tongue, they widened like a rabbit’s.
It must taste quite good.
In that split second, when she was too taken by the flavor of the brownie, I whispered quietly.
“Please forgive my rudeness.”
White milk dripped onto her lips. I lifted my thumb very naturally and gently wiped it away.
Her shoulder flinched again at my touch.
“I will occasionally provide delicious treats.”
“…….”
Jahwayeon was unable to say anything in reply.
She simply nodded her head slowly.
