Chapter Thirteen: A Choice Once Again
This is a dream.
Sou looked around him.
He was in an old park.
Under the sunset, the rusty swings, the creaking seesaw, and the dust-covered slide evoked a strong sense of nostalgia.
This was the park near his childhood home where he and Nagi and Mana often played.
Following his memories, Sou glanced towards the sandpile in the park, where a pair of young children were playing.
One was an unremarkable black-haired boy who appeared introverted and shy, while beside him was a girl whose beauty made even the lingering light of the setting sun pale in comparison. The starlight in her eyes was more dazzling than the orange-red sun.
Was it because he had come to the Hoshikami family after a long time? Or did his conversation with Nagi stir up his memories?
At that moment, Sou was wandering in a dream called “Memories.”
“Sou-kun, Sou-kun! Which of these two movies do you think I should participate in?”
Young Nagi, with an innocent and carefree smile on her face, asked in the memory.
Back then, as a genius child star just beginning her career, she was cute and dazzling, a rising star with a bright future in the entertainment industry.
In contrast to her angelic appearance, young Nagi was an actress deeply engrossed in playing “evil spirit” roles.
To many film critics, Nagi’s flawless cute exterior enhanced the absurdity and strangeness of the “evil spirit,” multiplying its effect on the audience.
The horror films she starred in could make many critics, who specialized in horror appreciation, sweat even in broad daylight, and there were even rumors of her scaring other actors and crew members into fainting on set.
She was a girl with a legendary aura.
Although the films Nagi starred in were mostly suitable for adults, Sou remembered that Nagi often pulled him into her living room to watch them with Renji and Sayaka.
Though Sayaka, Nagi’s older sister, was the oldest present, she would always frighten herself to the point of hiding behind Renji.
And while Sou would feel scared by the evil spirit Nagi portrayed on-screen, each time he turned to see the real Nagi sitting beside him with an adorable expression, his fear dissipated.
That was a very happy time for Sou.
At that time, staying at his uncle’s house, Sou felt like an outsider, a superfluous person in the family.
Only by Nagi’s side did he feel at home.
Even though Nagi had become a sensational star, she still consistently spent her free days without filming at Sou’s side, playing as they always did.
In this scene, it seemed Nagi was troubled about which movie to shoot next, unable to decide between the two due to scheduling conflicts, and she wanted to hear her childhood friend’s opinion.
Because the memories were a bit distant, Sou could no longer clearly recall the names of those two movies Nagi mentioned; he only remembered one was a comic adaptation that kids loved.
And young Sou was naturally one of them, so he hoped his childhood friend Nagi would choose that movie.
“No way.”
Sou, watching this scene from a third-person perspective, couldn’t help but let out a dry voice.
But the dream called “Memories” did not change because of Sou’s thoughts.
“I want to see little Nagi in this!” Young Sou raised his comic book and said innocently, seeming proud to have such an extraordinary childhood friend as Nagi.
It was a popular manga telling the story of a pure boy haunted by evil spirits in ancient times, awakening his talent as an exorcist and using the evil spirits’ powers to eliminate monsters, ultimately having to blood-sacrifice an evil spirit that fought alongside him for the sake of the town’s safety, saving the citizens.
“Mm! Then Sou-kun must come to see me!” Young Nagi flashed a bright and lovely smile.
But witnessing this memory, Sou couldn’t help but want to rush to Nagi’s side and stop her.
“No! Little Nagi, you can’t choose this movie!”
But Sou’s footsteps couldn’t catch up to young Nagi.
Endless shadows pulled the scene before him farther away.
When he came to his senses, it felt like the time in the dream had fast-forwarded to several months later.
At this moment, Sou seemed to merge with his younger self, standing in front of the entrance of Nagi’s familiar high-end apartment.
But unlike before, the entrance was crowded with reporters holding cameras and microphones; media personnel surrounded the building.
Sou’s body moved, but this time it wasn’t of his own volition; he was merely repeating the actions of his younger self from that day.
At that time, the young Sou didn’t know what had happened to Nagi, only that it seemed she had an accident and would no longer act.
Now, as an adult, Sou finally understood what his childhood friend had gone through.
“Child star attacked by crew members on set.”
The assailant was a middle-aged woman who had lent her old house as a filming location for the crew.
The incident seemed to stem from the fact that the movie Nagi had previously filmed caused the woman’s daughter to take her own life, leading the woman to harbor resentment towards Nagi.
Upon learning that Nagi’s crew would be filming in a classical mansion, she planned everything and generously lent out the location.
Taking advantage of the break, she intentionally sent away the staff from the resting area, taking Nagi deep into the ancient house’s warehouse to abuse her.
According to the staff who rushed to the scene afterward, they saw the woman sitting on top of Nagi, gripping her neck with both hands, making strange sounds that resembled “Look, Mommy is going to personally kill this evil spirit for you.”
Moreover, many functioning cameras and photo devices were set up around.
What shocked the staff the most was that during Nagi’s rescue, even while being sent to the hospital, she did not scream or shed a single tear.
Until—
“When I went to visit her in the hospital,” Sou recalled.
Because present-day Nagi always showed a sunny and cheerful smile, Sou’s mind had long treated that experience as a dream.
Current time.
It should be when Nagi discovered that she could no longer act in front of the camera, suffered severe psychological trauma, and announced her retirement from the entertainment industry.
At this time, Sou followed the actions from memory, taking the elevator to the floor where Nagi lived, only to encounter a haggard-looking woman preparing to take the elevator down.
Sou recognized her as Aiko Yang, Mana’s mother.
After the incident, he seemed to see her visiting the Hoshikami family frequently.
Though he didn’t know the reason, starting from the day of Nagi’s accident, she had been coming every day to apologize.
Sou had more than once witnessed Aiko kneeling at the door of Nagi’s home.
She seemed to believe that Nagi turning out this way was all her fault, but Sou didn’t comprehend the specific reasons.
It’s worth mentioning that from then on, the once-close trio relationship between Nagi, Mana, and himself began to shift.
The Yang family and the Hoshikami family seemed to have fallen out since then, severing their ties, but the gentle Nagi continued to maintain her relationship with Mana.
Moreover, Mana’s determination to wholeheartedly pursue her acting career also happened shortly after that.
From Aiko’s haggard face as she approached, Sou understood that the Hoshikami family did not accept her apologies today.
When Aiko saw Sou in the elevator, she forced a grim smile and patted Sou’s head.
“…..Then that child is entrusted to you.”
With that, she lowered her head and left the elevator.
After bidding farewell to Aiko, Sou walked towards Nagi’s house.
Waiting for him was Nagi’s mother, who, in the memory, appeared more haggard and fatigued than ever.
As soon as she saw Sou, she forced a smile similar to Aiko’s and said, “…That child must really want to see you.”
Passing by Nagi’s mother, Sou stepped into Nagi’s home.
Though all the lights were on, the Hoshikami home felt ominously dim.
In the living room, he saw the once confident and steady Renji weakly lifting his head.
Upon seeing Sou, he stood up from his chair, his hands trembling slightly as they rested on Sou’s shoulders.
“Sou, please, I beg you, help that child…”
The Sou in the memory nodded and then turned his head toward Nagi’s room.
One step.
Another step.
Sou felt that the memories of himself were heavy, as if there was something at the end of this path he did not want to face.
All of this was his fault.
Sou thought, if he hadn’t made Nagi go shoot that movie back then…
That child would definitely not be…
Sou arrived at Nagi’s bedroom door.
The door was unlocked, slightly ajar, leaving a crack.
Suddenly, Sou realized he had regained the ability to move freely.
This time, Sou raised his tremulous arm.
What exactly did he say to Nagi back then?
The memories had become too vague; Sou couldn’t recall at all.
But he couldn’t back down here.
Gathering his courage, Sou gently pushed the door.
As the crack widened, the hallway’s light seeped into Nagi’s room.
Illuminating the chaotic room.
The floor was covered with shards of trophies and broken discs.
Scripts fluttered around the room like feathers in a snowstorm.
The walls were adorned with torn movie posters and chaotic graffiti.
She was right there.
Like a derailed doll.
Nagi’s petite form curled up in that hellish corner, her head buried deeply between her arms and knees.
Noticing the door was pushed open, Nagi slowly lifted her head.
Her long black hair now clung to her tear-stained face like a dirty rag, and her once-bright, clear eyes held no spark.
When Nagi recognized who had come, she moved.
But she didn’t immediately rush towards Sou.
Her slender hands fumbled around the ground where she was, picking up the shards of scripts and posters to throw towards the door.
“Get out! Don’t look! Get out!!” Nagi’s hoarse voice screamed.
“Little Nagi…” Sou couldn’t remember what he had done or said.
But looking at Nagi before him, he felt an overwhelming sense of guilt.
At that time, Sou had no idea what had happened to her.
However, the current Sou had later learned from Mana what Nagi had endured.
The perpetrator had ridden on top of Nagi, cruelly telling her that she was the real evil spirit, that the roles she played would harm everyone, while she dared to show such a hypocritical smile in front of everyone, and today she would pay for her daughter’s life, killing this evil spirit for all the people.
Ironically, it turned out that the woman had no daughter at all; it was all in her delusion.
But Nagi was a kind child, and the words from the woman left an indelible mark on her heart. The thought that her performance could hurt others made her unable to stand on stage; every time she faced the camera, she would find it hard to breathe.
Since then, Nagi seemed to have changed into a different person, no longer the cheerful girl she once was.
She grew to hate all the works she had once starred in, even destroying them.
She became afraid of the camera, no longer taking pictures.
Every day she stayed cooped up in her room, terrified she would hurt others.
Until—
She somehow emerged from that shadow… but Sou completely didn’t remember how he had accomplished it.
“Get out! Don’t look! I don’t want you, Sou-kun, to get hurt because of my mistakes!” Nagi howled, and then she kept apologizing: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
If it weren’t for him, Nagi wouldn’t have turned into this…
With Nagi’s talent, she could have stood on a bigger stage…
It was all his fault, so now Nagi could only stay by his side…
Right, why did he forget this matter?
The gentleness Nagi now showed him, her family’s fondness for him, all stemmed from this misunderstanding, didn’t it?
Clearly, he was the culprit who pushed her into the abyss, yet he stayed by her side like a benefactor?
He—
“Leave her side”
“Step forward and embrace her tightly”
…..
…..
At that moment, the dream stopped, as if the pause button had been pressed.
DD-chan emerged from the shadows of the messy room.
“This is… that guy’s past?” DD-chan murmured in disbelief, surprised that that seemingly carbon-based creature had such a…
But the next moment, a voice from beside it interrupted its thoughts.
“Oh dear, oh dear~ you saw such an embarrassing side~ how shy~”
Standing there was the grown-up figure of Nagi.
“W-Why are you here?!” DD-chan jumped back in horror, trying to distance itself from Nagi.
This was the dream world, a space created by DD-chan’s power; normally, others could not intrude.
“Well, I wanted to see Sou-kun’s reaction~”
Though Nagi wore a shy smile, her eyes sparkled with countless stars that held no trace of mirth.
“I see, Sou, if you had to choose again, would you still make such a choice?” Nagi spoke softly and lightly.
Then she turned to face the panicked DD-chan, revealing a smile as sharp as a crescent moon.
“The plan has changed; please continue to possess me for a while~”
“W-Why?”
DD-chan felt a thousand unwilling thoughts rushing through its mind. It could possess men, it could possess burly men, or even a dog.
Yet it didn’t want to face this “existence” before it, with eyes gleaming with stunning starry light.
“Because what’s next should be—my personal arc~”
