Michael carries a teacup and takes a sip.
"So, you won't consider the issue of poor security or anything like that?"
In front of him sits Lex, who was sipping tea.
"Hmm... I don't see any problems with the security here. What are you afraid of?"
Michael frowned upon hearing this, and he says sharply:
"I'm not afraid of anything! I'm just worried about your position, you idiot. My district is the closest to yours out of all the others. If your district suffers, it will definitely negatively affect mine."
In a calm, indifferent tone, Lex replies:
"Don't worry, this prison is highly secure."
Michael's anger grows with each passing second, but he barely keeps his composure.
"Listen, you idiot, the prison was breached by outsiders yesterday, and if it weren't for me, they would've done whatever they wanted. On top of that, you have the leader of the 'Chaos Hunters' organization, and you're acting carelessly! At least put him on the fourth level."
Lex sets down his teacup and says:
"But don't you think the fourth level is a bit too harsh for him?"
Michael takes a deep breath before finally losing his patience with Lex. With sharp eyes, he says:
"You idiot! We're talking about the leader of a terrorist organization here! Do you know what this person could do if he were freed? Not to mention, the organization is directly against Holl!"
Lex responds frustratedly:
"That's not a good way to talk to your younger colleague."
"I don't speak respectfully to those who don't respect my intelligence!"
Lex sighs and then asks:
"Then remind me, why did you come?"
"Oh, right. I came today to take the leader of 'Chaos Hunters' and lock him up in a high-security prison like the one in my district."
Lex sighs indifferently and says:
"Hmm... Do whatever you want. I'm sure Judge Holl will approve the idea."
"So, you're fine with it?"
Lex nods.
The two fall silent for a while before Michael speaks again:
"But seriously, you need to pay attention to the security system here. It's terrible."
Lex takes a sip of tea.
"I don't see any flaws in it. It's airtight."
Michael sighs again:
"Listen... You need to take care of things like this. Your evaluation is currently the worst among all the deputies... You need to improve the system here."
In the same indifferent manner, he replies:
"Yeah, yeah, of course."
Michael looks at Lex calmly. He's tired of arguing with someone like Lex.
Michael stands up to leave but remembers something and says:
"Oh, right! One more thing: Why aren't you wearing your emblem? The horse emblem?"
Lex answers:
"Oh, actually, I lost it on my way to visit Nair."
Michael raises an eyebrow:
"Visiting Nair? Why?"
"Oh, didn't you hear? He was imprisoned for cooperating with a member of the 'Star Thieves' gang."
Michael starts stroking his chin:
"So Nair is in prison... Hmm... What level did you put him in?"
"Oh, I put him on the third level."
Michael freezes for a few seconds, his hand motionless on his chin.
"What's wrong, man?"
Suddenly, he moves, grabs Lex by the hair, and drags him out of the room.
"A fool like you shouldn't hold the position of deputy! How could you put Nair, Holl's closest ally, with Holl's enemy?! Didn't you think about what might happen?!"
With his usual indifferent expression, as if unfazed, Lex replies:
"What could possibly happen?"
Michael drags Lex all the way with authority. The soldiers around them whisper and talk, but neither of the two cares. Michael wouldn't bother with the opinions of insects like them, while Lex has never cared about anyone's opinion.
They approach a balcony overlooking many areas of the prison. In a rough, sharp voice, Michael says:
"Go now to the prisoner affairs department and move Nair away from that person! Now!"
Lex sighs:
"Fine, just let me go and I'll go."
Michael lifts Lex up by his hair. Michael is tall, unlike Lex, who is easy to carry due to his short stature.
In a hesitant tone, Lex asks:
"W-what are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm just helping!"
After Michael says this, Lex sees something strange—something almost terrifying: Michael, who never smiles, with his cold and serious expressions, is smiling at this moment.
Michael swings Lex behind his back like a ball and throws him toward the prisoner affairs department.
Lex flies through the air, watching Michael grow smaller in the distance.
Michael turns around, his expression back to its usual calm and serious state, and says:
"Now that I've dealt with that, I'll go check on Nair."
******
"Hey, dumbass, wake up!"
A loud scream near Sunny's ear.
Sunny wakes up startled.
"W-what?!"
He turns his head to see Eva and Yuna sitting nearby. Eva was pressing her finger against his cheek.
"And you say I sleep too much!"
It takes Sunny a few seconds to process the situation. Once he realizes what's happening, he pushes her finger away and holds his head as if he has a headache.
Eva asks:
"So, why are you in the female ward?"
Sunny starts rubbing his chin, then presses his fingers against his head.
"I honestly don't know, but this is unbearable. We need to get out of here quickly."
Yuna says:
"We need to hurry. Rix must be looking for you too."
Sunny stands up and stretches, then hears Eva say:
"Ugh, we have to wait for this idiot to stretch."
A second later, he hears Eva repeat:
"Ugh, we have to wait for this idiot to stretch."
He turns his head toward her, annoyed:
"Okay, we heard you the first time."
Eva looks slightly surprised and says:
"Umm... I only said it once."
Sunny stays silent for a moment before saying:
"I must've been delirious."
Everyone quickly leaves the cell and tries to escape.
Along the way, Sunny thinks about what happened last night—that girl and what she meant by "Do you remember?" Does Sunny have amnesia or something?
He shakes his head, dismissing these thoughts. It must've just been a dream. But since waking up, it feels like people's voices around him are louder. This gives him a slight headache. He thinks he's just tired.
Sunny, Yuna, and Eva reach the cafeteria but don't find Rix.
Yuna calls Rix through her transparent earpiece.
"Rix says he'll be a little late. Well, let's wait then."
Everyone sits at the table. Sunny and Yuna sit normally, while Eva sprawls her upper body across the table.
Sunny hears Yuna say:
"I'm so hungry! Isn't there anything edible here?"
Sunny points toward the food dispenser and replies:
"I think it makes profiteroles. Why don't you go try some?"
Everyone falls silent for a second before Yuna says hurriedly:
"Umm... Are you talking to me?"
Sunny answers:
"Yeah, didn't you say you were hungry?"
Yuna stays silent for a few seconds, her face gradually turning red with embarrassment.
"O-oh, I-I guess I was thinking out loud... I think I'll go check it out..."
Yuna stands up with her red face and walks toward the food dispenser.
Eva watches this silently and then says:
"You know she didn't say anything, right?"
Sunny tilts his head to the right and asks:
"What do you mean she didn't say anything?"
"I mean she literally didn't say anything. Are you reading her mind or something?"
More questions marks appear around Sunny
"What do you mean by mind-reading? You must've just not heard her properly."
Sunny hears Eva say:
"Did I really not hear her? But I was watching her and Charles's (Sunny's alias) mouths, and they didn't move an inch."
Sunny looks at her in surprise:
"Why would you be looking at my and Yuna's lips?"
Eva quickly lifts her head, her eyes wide.
A moment of silence passes between them, and with each second, Eva's face grows redder.
Suddenly, Eva stands up, grabs a chair, and throws it directly at Sunny.
"W-what are you doing?!"
He barely dodges the chair, but as soon as he does, Eva grabs another chair and starts hitting Sunny with it repeatedly.
Yuna returns after meeting Rix on the way. The first thing she sees is Eva smashing Sunny with a chair over and over.
Yuna rushes over and grabs Eva while Rix approaches Sunny to check on him.
Yuna asks:
"Calm down, girl!"
Of course, Eva doesn't calm down. Sunny lies on the ground like a half-corpse.
Rix holds Sunny and says:
"No, don't leave us, my friend! We haven't saved your sister yet!"
Sunny barely opens his eyes and sees Rix's face with a tear near his eye.
Sunny reaches out to touch Rix's face, but his hand falls.
Rix screams, on the verge of crying:
"No, Charles! Don't go! We... we need you!"
Sunny coughs and then says:
"I... I'm sorry... I won't make it... My time is up..."
Rix wipes the tear from his eye and says:
"Don't worry, I'll save your sister no matter what it takes."
Sunny looks at Rix's face, smiles faintly, then lets his head fall back, his eyes closed.
"Sunny... Sunny!!... Saaniiii!!!!"
During this dramatic scene, Eva kicks Sunny on his side.
"Wake up, dumbass!"
"Ouch, that hurts!"
Sunny wakes up after finishing his dramatic act with Rix, hoping Eva would stop hitting him—but no luck.
After a moment of silence, Eva says seriously:
"Jokes aside, can you read minds or something?"
Sunny looks at his palm and says:
"I don't know myself... I think so. I think I can read minds."
In a shaky, embarrassed voice, Yuna asks:
"So... can you read my thoughts?"
Sunny turns to her:
"Yeah, I think so."
Yuna pauses in surprise, then falls silent in embarrassment.
"So you really can read minds."
Sunny doesn't realize he just read Yuna's thoughts again.
Yuna says:
"So you hear our thoughts as if we're speaking normally."
He nods quietly in agreement.
Amid the silence, Rix asks a logical question that, for some reason, hadn't occurred to them:
"So how did you gain this ability?"
Sunny puts his hand on his chin, trying to remember what happened, then says:
"Honestly, I don't know exactly. But what I do know is that when I was placed in my cell, there was a girl with blue hair, her mouth covered. She spoke as if she expected my arrival, approached me, touched my head with her fingers, and then I passed out."
Everyone thinks deeply.
Rix says:
"Why were you put in the female ward in the first place?"
"I don't know myself..."
Eva and Yuna think hard. Eva says:
"So who was that girl anyway? Does she give people abilities or something?"
Everyone thinks while Sunny listens to all their thoughts, his headache worsening.
As they ponder, Yuna realizes something they had overlooked:
"Wait! This can't be a coincidence. Charles was placed in the female ward despite being male, and that girl expected Sunny's arrival. So... this means she sent him on behalf of someone—someone with strong authority over the prison, someone who can place a male in the female ward, someone like Lex..."
Everyone falls silent, realizing the situation they're in now.
Rix says, his voice shaking:
"B-but how? We infiltrated this place. There's no way he knew Charles was here to move him to the female ward."
Yuna replies, trembling:
"Maybe... he knew from the beginning. He knew about our arrival and our plan from the start. Someone must've leaked the information to him."
Sunny asks nervously:
"But who is Lex?"
Yuna turns to Sunny and says:
"Lex is the dirtiest, most vile, worst person you could ever meet. A man without emotions, without feelings, sadistic, enjoys torture, cunning, and unfortunately, the ruler of this city. Haven't you noticed how corrupt this prison is? It's all because of Lex's negligence. He's strong and good at strategic planning. I wouldn't be surprised if all of this is part of his plan."
Sunny swallows hard and says:
"But why would he give me some kind of power? I've never been anywhere near this part of the planets before. Sure, I've heard of Holl, but I've never seen him."
Yuna stays silent, trying to figure out Lex's motives and what his plan exactly is.
Eva interrupts Yuna's thoughts and says:
"Since we've been exposed, should we retreat?"
Yuna shakes her head after a pause:
"We can't. If Lex knew about our presence and let us in, he won't let us leave. He's moving us according to his will now."
The idea of being watched and every move you make benefiting the enemy is utterly confusing and terrifying. Everyone sinks into this fear.
Sunny easily notices his team's unease and tries to reassure them:
"Guys, there's no solid proof that this Lex guy is behind everything. Maybe it's the most likely possibility, but it's still just a possibility. Maybe the one pulling the strings is someone like us who wants to free someone from prison and is using us. If that's the case, then it's simple."
Sunny lies here. It's not that simple. Even if his theory is correct, they're still being used. Only the person changes.
"Trust me, everything will be..."
Sunny starts hearing his teammates' thoughts:
Eva: [After thinking about it, Charles is the most suspicious person here...]
He continues, his voice faltering:
"...fine..."
Rix: [Could Charles be the one who planned all this?]
In a sad, almost whispering tone:
"...alright..."
Sunny's resolve shatters after hearing this. He knows their trust in him is fading. Well, he didn't trust them at first either, right?
"..."
He can't blame them for not trusting him. In the end, you can't trust someone you just met yesterday.
Sunny throws himself onto the chair behind him and starts staring at the ceiling.
Yuna looks at him:
"Charles, are you okay?"
Sunny remains silent, not answering.
"The engravings on the ceiling are beautiful here..."
Everyone looks up at the ceiling.
Eva asks:
"What? What do you mean?"
Sunny decides to ignore her and continues:
"In your opinion, what's the hardest feeling to bear? Losing someone dear? Or being betrayed by someone dear? Whatever your answer, they share one thing in common—'someone dear.' Pain is always tied to the people close to you. The deeper your bond, the weaker you become... But to save that person, your strength grows stronger. I don't care what happens anymore. As long as I save my sister, that's all that matters."
Sunny leans forward with determination.
"It doesn't matter if it's Lex or someone else. Whoever gave me this ability to achieve their goal made a grave mistake."
He turns his head toward the group:
"Here and now, who wants to back out? Because even if only one person stays, I'll fight. Even if no one stays, I'll fight too. I won't stop until I achieve my goal. Who's with me?"
As soon as the three hear these words, they feel a surge of enthusiasm running through their veins—a kind of resolve. The adrenaline in their blood starts rising.
Yuna says firmly:
"Charles, we're all here for the same goal. We won't back down even if it costs us our lives. Just like you have your sister, we have Nair. We won't retreat from this mission."
Sunny looks resolutely at Rix:
"I have nothing to say. My sister here (not literally, but as a sign of respect) has said it all. I won't back down even if only a finger of mine remains alive."
He turns to Eva, who says:
"Well, I won't lie. Retreating would be better, but my reputation as a thief who never backs down no matter what would be tarnished."
After hearing their words, Sunny smiles faintly, then stands up with determination and says:
"Now, there's no turning back. That was your last chance. Now, we won't retreat."
Everyone nods firmly.
Sunny thinks to himself:
"I let my two-day-old relationship with them affect me. This won't happen again. I'll save my sister no matter what!!!"