Possessing The Obsessive Maniac’s Cotton Doll

“What’s wrong, all of a sudden… ? What’s going on?”

“… Nothing.”

At Mikael’s answer, Yul couldn’t ask any more questions and shut his mouth. It was because he instinctively realized that no matter how many times he asked, the answer would be the same.

There’s something Mikael couldn’t tell him right now. He didn’t know exactly what it was, but he could tell that it was about his conversation with Andrei. If so, what did they talk about?

Yul bit his lips and fell into thought.

It was also Andrei who had told him the other day that Mikael could be misunderstood as practicing black magic. The problem was that even though the issue he warned about was shocking, it was just him who was terrified, while Mikael didn’t seem to mind much.

So he couldn’t imagine what he was hearing about that made him so agitated now.

“Don’t think about it.”

“… Yes.”

As if he knew that his mind was spinning with thoughts, Mikael forbade Yul’s thoughts. On one side of his heart, he had a rebellious spirit that said, ‘No, I can’t even think?!’, but Yul wasn’t foolish enough to express his feelings to the gwanggong.

“Just… Stay still. Stay like this. That’s all I need.”

“… Okay.”

He didn’t know what it was about, but Mikael seemed to need comfort right now. Perhaps it was because he was anxious.

When people are anxious, they want things to stay the same except for themselves. Of course, They would want the shitty situation to change immediately, but other than that, unlike their own mind, which is already shaking uneasily, they want the things within your reach to remain unchanged.

People get great comfort just from the fact that the unchanging things are within reach. IIt’s the same for everyone. Perhaps it was the same for a gwanggong.

Anyway, Mikael seemed to feel the same way. So Yul stayed as still as possible. Being held still and having to be kept in the dark made him tingle and feel frustrated, but he controlled the uncomfortable feelings that suddenly surged with his feelings for Mikael.

He couldn’t tell himself how much he liked Mikael, but he was at least able to soothe him now.

“Yuri.”

“Yes. Tell me, I am listening.”

“What if… I’m just saying what if…”

Mikael, who had held Yul without saying anything for a long time, eventually spoke up. His anxiety was unmistakable in his voice. Yul felt the trembling, but acted as if nothing was wrong. It was a way to relieve his anxiety.

“What if?”

“You… If you have to give up everything, could you?”

“Everything… ?”

“Yes, everything.”

Unexpectedly, Yul couldn’t say anything.

He vaguely sensed that Mikael’s anxiety might be related to him. It was kind of instinct. So, he was determined to deal with anything that came out of Mikhail’s mouth about him, as bravely as possible.

However, Yul’s promise came to naught when he heard what he actually heard.

Where did everything include, from where to where? Yul recalled the few things he possessed one by one.

Just a few years ago, his parents passed away in an accident. He didn’t have any relatives with whom he interacted actively, so he was not left with a family.

However, he had a friend, Changhyun, who was like family, and there was a professor who he resented, but who supported him when he was having a hard time losing his parents in the accident.

The assets left were a small house in the province where his parents lived, a small and cute savings account that he had accumulated from part-time jobs and scholarships in school, and a deposit for the house he was living in now.

This was what Park Yul had in Korea. In this world, Yuri had other things.

Lucky, who was adorable but didn’t grow up the way he wanted him to, Levi who seemed indifferent but actually had a friendly side, Caleb who was always polite and warm, and Andrei who was unfathomable but didn’t seem to be a bad person. And… Mikael.

“… Do I really have to give up?”

The more he thought about each one, the more his regrets and greed grew. He never thought of it as a life with so many things, but it wasn’t a matter of the number of things. It was a matter of feelings. How precious it was to him, how much it meant to him.

“… Mhm. You must.”

“If… If I must… I should. But it will be sad. Very. But do I really have to give up? Can I not do it?”

Rationally, if it’s an extreme situation, such as, you’re going to die if you don’t give up, or the world is going to end, then you should give up.

But if it wasn’t like that, he didn’t want to give up. He didn’t know what the ‘must’ situation Mikael was talking about, but he wanted to avoid it if possible.

Yul slowly pushed Mikael away and looked at his face with a desperate expression. His red eyes were full of his reflection, but somehow Mikael seemed to be trying not to look at him.

“Hm? Mikael, can I not give up? Why are you saying that?”

“…”

“I have to know the reason to understand it. How can I just give up on everything when I don’t even know why? Will the planet be destroyed if I don’t? Or will I die?”

“… Yeah.”

“Yes?”

“… You will die.”

Yul’s lips, which had been grumbling, were shut as he looked at Mikael with surprised eyes. His eyes widened, wondering if he had misheard, but Mikael avoided Yul’s gaze. It was sincere.

“They say you’ll die otherwise, Yuri.”

Hearing the difficult words, Yul forgot to even blink his eyes and looked at him still. Time seemed to have stopped.

* * *

“Is it okay if you lose Yuri?”

“What?”

Mikael doubted his ears. He thought he had heard it right, but he couldn’t believe that Andrei had said that to him.

“I asked if you wouldn’t mind losing Yuri.”

As if he had read Mikael’s mind, Andrei struck a wedge again. Mikael could not say anything. For a moment, the world without Yuri passed through his mind. There, he saw himself alone.

It was only for a moment, but his chest sank and he couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t explain, being alone. There were no words to express the loneliness and desolation, and he choked up.

He glared at Andrei, wondering how he could say such cruel things, but the man just opened his mouth, his face expressionless.

“It’s not that there isn’t a way at all.”

“What is it, that way?”

Now he had only one option. To figure out the way, and to act on it.

“First, Yuri must return to his original world.”

“Say that again.”

“He has to go back to his original world. Only then can the divided souls be united.”

At Andrei’s explanation, Mikael gritted his teeth.

In theory, it made sense. Since the soul split across two worlds, it had to go to one place and unite.

However, he did not want to send Yuri back to his world.

If Yuri went back to his original world, he was unlikely to ever come back here. Yuri said several times that he missed his original world, and wanted to go back. But Mikael wasn’t sure if he would give up that world and come back.

“Let’s say he goes back, finds his soul in that world. What next?”

Mikael’s voice was sharp.

Even though he knew that there was no point in resenting Andrei, even knowing that he was trying to help him, he resented him internally for letting him know this. The foolish thought that it would have been better if he hadn’t known haunted him.

“He has to go through the ritual of giving up that world himself.”

“That means…”

Unfinished words were scattered in the air. Mikael’s voice was heavy.

“That’s right. It means to die.”

“Nonsense! If you’re going to pull pranks like that, go back now. I can’t listen anymore. No matter how much you disapprove of Yuri, this is too much, Andrei.”

He knew at least that Andrei was not one to lie. He knew it, but he couldn’t admit he was saying this. Because he couldn’t accept it, he didn’t want to accept it.

In front of the cruel truth approaching, Mikael’s world was shaken. As if it would collapse at any moment, as if everything would be broken and ruined.

“Mikael.”

“…”

“If Yuri doesn’t give up on one world, he will eventually die in both worlds.”

His world collapsed at the words he finally heard.