Clank, clank.
I uselessly tugged at the firmly locked front door.
It stayed shut, refusing to open. Just a closed door.
Fearful of being caught, I hastily let go of the doorknob.
"...It won’t open."
Even though I had expected it not to, an inexplicable wave of disappointment washed over me.
If I really wanted to, I could cut through the door and get in.
But then I’d be exposed.
In the end, I gave up and decided to watch Yu Siwoo through the gap in the curtains, his figure dimly lit by the bright indoor lights.
For some reason, the curtains weren’t drawn today.
Thanks to that, I could observe him more easily than usual.
Hmm, I don’t know why the curtains are open today, but it’s convenient. Nice.
Feels like I’ve gained something.
It’s usually hard to see what Siwoo does...
So, what is he doing right now?
Siwoo seemed to be using his computer to look something up.
"...What is it? Hmm, can’t see clearly."
He appeared to be searching for something, but the screen wasn’t visible, so I couldn’t tell what.
After a while of searching, Siwoo sighed and started making a phone call.
Then back to searching.
With the phone pressed to his ear, he was completely absorbed in whatever it was.
...Who is it?
I desperately wanted to check the name of the person he was talking to on his phone.
But it was impossible. I could break into his room, sure.
But then Siwoo might see me as an enemy.
That can’t happen.
Suppressing the urge to eavesdrop, I kept watching him.
"...Same as always."
The only difference was that he had made a call and briefly searched for something on his computer.
Otherwise, Siwoo’s day was no different from usual.
Practicing his sword in the yard, eating, washing up.
A boring, ordinary routine.
Thankfully, it seemed no assassins had come for him.
Relieved, I sighed and decided to head back as usual.
Siwoo looked like he was about to fall asleep.
Time for me to leave too.
Just as the curtains in Siwoo’s house finally closed and I was about to step away—
I felt something wrong with my body.
My chest tightened, cold sweat dripped down, and my legs wouldn’t support me.
"Huhk, hng, b-breath... I can’t..."
I couldn’t breathe.
Pounding my chest in frustration did nothing.
Panic surged alongside the sudden symptoms.
What the hell is this...?!
"Huhk, kkgh... A-Author-nim..."
Only the Author could do something like this to me.
So I called out their name, my voice thick with bewilderment.
But there was still no answer. The Author had been silent for days now.
...Wait, didn’t the Author say they could edit me?
I couldn’t remember. My mind went blank.
"D-Don’t help me... Don’t help me...!"
Squeezing out the last of the oxygen in my lungs, I screamed.
No...
There’s no way the Author could help me. That’s impossible.
She couldn’t help me. She didn’t do anything to me.
This… yeah.
Something must have been made wrong. It has to be.
The Author didn’t do anything.
If that were possible, then I…
I’d be no different from the people I’ve killed.
That can’t be allowed.
I’m human. They’re dolls. That’s how I decided it.
That’s how it was supposed to be.
"Kehk, kuh…"
Maybe because I forced the air out.
My throat tightened, making it even harder to breathe. I clutched my neck.
Hahk, hahk.
I tried to suck in air, but it wasn’t enough.
Even when I gasped for more, it still wasn’t enough.
Was I going to die like this?
Suddenly? Why?
Just as my mind started to blur—
a sudden warmth on my shoulder jolted me back to my senses.
"Arte! Arte! Are you okay?!"
Maybe because he’d rushed out—he was barefoot, still in his pajamas.
I saw Yu Siwoo, utterly panicked, calling my name over and over.
"Hoo, hoo… I-I’m fine, right?"
"S-Siwoo…?"
"Yeah. It’s me, Arte. You okay?"
How had he found me?
I’d thought I might actually die.
Since I couldn’t hear the Author’s voice, I couldn’t even be sure I was safe.
But as Yu Siwoo drew closer, my breathing gradually steadied.
"Thank you. I feel better now."
I didn’t know why, but my breathing had suddenly turned bad—I’d thought I was going to die.
It wasn’t like Yu Siwoo’s presence had fixed it…
But since he’d rushed out in such a hurry to help me, I offered my thanks.
But this was a problem.
If he asked why I was here, I didn’t have a good answer.
So after thanking him, I tried to quickly slip away.
If not for what Yu Siwoo said next.
"Where do you think you’re going in that state? Rest for a bit before you leave."
"…Huh?"
"I know you’re trying to go somewhere. You don’t look well. Just rest a little first."
Yu Siwoo gestured toward a door.
The same door I’d tried to open earlier and failed.
The door that had been firmly shut was now wide open, as if welcoming me.
"Don’t ask how I knew. …You know my Ability, right?"
Intuition?
What a convenient Ability.
Never mind how his intuition could pick up on something like that—
there was no other Ability that useful.
It’d be helpful in battle, letting him avoid attacks, and it was incredibly useful in daily life too.
I felt a little envious.
All I could do was slice things up or swing from threads while enjoying the night view.
"Don’t refuse."
"…Then, just for a moment."
The fact that I could enter Yu Siwoo’s home made me happy.
…Wait, why was I trying to go inside again?
I didn’t know. But if it made me happy, that was good enough.
"Hoo… That scared the hell out of me…"
After leaving Arte in the living room for a moment, Yu Siwoo went to the bathroom to calm his racing heart.
Just as he was thinking she’d probably left by now, he’d drawn the curtains, changed clothes, and was about to lie down in bed—
A sudden wave of unease washed over him, and he hurried outside.
There, he found Arte in a panic, clutching her throat.
It seemed she was struggling to breathe.
"...This is serious."
Yu Siwoo confirmed the new problem he had suspected about Arte.
That night, Yu Siwoo searched online for information about Arte’s symptoms.
Separation anxiety.
An extreme fear of being apart from the person one is attached to.
The way Arte had acted that afternoon had strongly reminded him of it.
Clinging to him to sleep, showing signs of distress when he wasn’t around.
And when he had tested her by suggesting they part ways for the day, she had panicked.
Then there was what had just happened.
Yu Siwoo had no choice but to accept it.
Arte was extremely anxious about being separated from him.
"This is a headache."
He was genuinely grateful that Arte cared about him.
But he didn’t want it to get so bad that it harmed her physically.
Yu Siwoo sighed bitterly, then quickly decided to go back outside.
If Arte was suffering from separation anxiety, the current situation wasn’t safe either.
"Ah, are you done?"
"Yeah."
Fortunately, Arte seemed fine.
Yu Siwoo exhaled in relief, rubbing his chest.
He never wanted to see that again.
Arte clutching her throat, gasping for breath.
Once was more than enough.
"Umm, but do I really need to stay here…?"
"Just sleep here tonight."
"What?!"
"It’s late. It’s not safe for a girl to be out alone. You know how bad things have been lately."
"Hah, but…"
Arte wasn’t just an ordinary girl—she was a member of Arachne.
She had the strength to protect herself.
But that was only when she was at her best.
Right now, Arte was mentally unstable.
And from the way she was talking about going home, it seemed she didn’t even understand why her breathing had become so labored.
If she had another attack on the way back and no one was there to help, it could be dangerous.
As long as she stayed with him, her breathing wouldn’t act up.
Yu Siwoo had already decided he would do whatever it took to help Arte when she was in trouble, so this much was only natural.
"Just sleep here. If you go back now, you’ll be late tomorrow too."
"…Well, if you insist."
Fortunately, Arte accepted his suggestion.
"Should I sleep in the living room or a guest room? Do you have any spare blankets…?"
"No. Let’s sleep together."
"What?!"
He knew how absurd it sounded.
If he said this to anyone else, he’d probably get accused of sexual harassment.
But Yu Siwoo didn’t think about that at all. He had only suggested it for Arte’s sake.
If being apart made her anxious, then staying by her side was the solution.
"Don’t worry, Arte. It’s not dangerous. I’ll protect you."
To ease Arte’s anxiety, Yu Siwoo resolved to stay as close to her as possible.
But he didn’t realize—
how his words might sound to her.