In the darkly draped room, Min-gu colpsed.The cold sensation lingering on his fingertips, the faint groaning echoing in his ears. He stared at his trembling hands as if unable to believe it. The moment he realized he had been strangling his mother, Min-gu's heart pounded violently as if struck by lightning.The sight of his mother's eyes rolling back and her desperate, gasping breaths fshed through his mind. Min-gu hurriedly released his grip and recoiled from her. Thankfully, his mother was gasping for air, regaining consciousness, however faintly. Min-gu looked at her with eyes mixed with relief and terror.Even as she struggled for breath, his mother reached out with a trembling hand and stroked Min-gu's cheek. That warm touch filled Min-gu with even more guilt. He quickly tidied his mother's room and returned to his own.Alone in his room, Min-gu trembled, overwhelmed by shock and fear. He couldn't believe what he had done.'Why did I... why...'His mind was a whirlwind of confusion. He was genuinely remorseful. The anger and loathing he felt towards his mother had turned into a momentary madness, and he had committed an irreversible act. Min-gu fell to his knees, sobbing."I'm sorry... Mom... I'm sorry..."He desperately begged his mother for forgiveness. Then, he returned to his room, closed the door, calmed himself, and whispered softly to himself."I wish Mom would get better. If only... Please, make Mom get better..."Min-gu's desperate voice was swallowed by the silence.Around the time the cherry blossoms were just beginning to fall, before the excitement of his university admission had even faded, his mother quietly passed away alone at home. As if gently closing the final page of a life filled with hardship, she left Min-gu's side all by herself. Left behind, Min-gu sank into a deep and cold abyss of despair, as if all the light in the world had gone out. The reality of having no one left to lean on was an unbearable pain.For a week, he couldn't eat anything. He simply drifted through time, numbly realizing his mother's absence. It was as if the shackles that had bound him for so long had disappeared, but Min-gu understood that his mother's death had not brought him freedom.At the funeral hall, where only a cold air lingered, Jin-kyung arrived, breaking the silence."Min-gu, are you okay?"Her voice was filled with deep sorrow and concern. Min-gu was grateful for the warmth he felt after so long, but the door to his heart, already firmly closed, would not open easily. It was as if an invisible wall stood between him and Jin-kyung."Thanks, Jin-kyung. For coming."That was all Min-gu could manage – a single sentence uttered while suppressing his emotions."I should go now," Jin-kyung said carefully."Yeah, be careful," Min-gu replied weakly.Min-gu watched Jin-kyung's retreating figure with a sense of sorrow. But he had neither the courage to grab her nor the strength to hold on. Every time he saw Jin-kyung, guilt about his deceased mother washed over him. His insides burned bck, but he could do nothing. His entire twisted life was filled with regret, but he could only silently remain in his pce.In the pre-dawn darkness, the cold air filled his lungs.Min-gu was walking along the empty road under the faint glow of a streetmp. On his way home from his night job, his tired body felt like a heavy lead weight. The steps towards the empty house, where not even a trace of warmth awaited him, felt even heavier and slower.The moment he stepped onto the st crosswalk on his way home, a blinding light filled his vision. As he turned his head, Min-gu's body was lifted into the air. Before he could even understand why he was flying or what was happening, his body was violently thrown onto the cold asphalt.After the intense pain subsided, the senses in his entire body shattered. Alone and abandoned on the dark and quiet road, Min-gu's consciousness was slowly fading. He instinctively knew it was the end. No tears came. A life full of hardship. Perhaps saying goodbye this quickly wasn't so bad after all."It's okay... it's okay... everything's okay..." Min-gu muttered to himself in slurred words.A feeling of something slowly leaving his body washed over him, and Min-gu's eyes slowly closed.