episode_0106

… … … … …

“Please… …stop it!”

Why did he so persistently try to stop me from finding Summer? And… …what did he do to Summer?

Why were they fighting, why was I sleeping in the sickroom of the Awakening Society?

There were so many questions I wanted to ask them.

But when I saw my friends fighting as if they were going to kill each other right in front of me, all the long and difficult questions disappeared from my mind.

If I got caught up in a fight between them, it could be incredibly dangerous, but I couldn’t just sit by and watch this happen.

For now, I had to somehow break them apart and stop the fighting.

Still not understanding the current situation, I simply followed my instincts and ran to Ms. Wol-hee, who was closest, and grabbed her arm.

“Seo… …Teacher! Stop! Yes!?”

Fortunately, Teacher Wol-hee’s face, which had changed terribly, quickly returned to its original state.

But… … it was strange. There was a strange sense of triumph in the teacher’s smile towards others.

“Yeah. The boy is saying this, so there’s nothing I can do――”

But the teacher’s words were cut off there. Seoyeon and Taeyang rushed in at the same time and attacked the teacher, and Teacher Wolhee, who was suddenly attacked, dodged the attack and stepped back.

The eyes of those who attacked the teacher were filled with such intense jealousy and anger that just looking at them made my legs tremble.

“Seo, Seoyeon unnie! Wait a minute!”

“Yeah, Autumn. That’s your older sister.”

This time, I wrapped my arms around Seoyeon’s waist in a hurry. The smile on her lips became even more blatant.

She stroked my head with her gloved hand and smiled victoriously at the others.

At that moment, President Haneul and Sister Ayoung rushed at me like wild beasts. Their eyes looked like they had already lost their sense of reason.

“Mr. Sky, please… … .”

I caught the boss, but this time it was the same. It was a loving ‘mother’s’ smile, but her smile was a triumphant expression as if to say, ‘My son chose me.’

As things were going on, I became increasingly anxious. The more I tried to stop one person, the more he showed off his superiority, and the more the others became crazy.

By the time I realized that my actions were actually making the situation worse, it was too late. There no longer seemed to be any rational reason for my friends to fight.

“Don’t do this… … Please… … !”

But my pleas did not reach them.

and…….

… … … … …

“… … ugh.”

The white ceiling came into view. The cold metallic lighting was dazzling.

“Where is this…?”

It was an unfamiliar bedroom. It felt like a hospital room or a military facility.

It was a closed space with no windows and only ventilation holes on the walls. Dim light leaked in through the gaps in the ventilation holes.

‘Why am I here… …?’

Memories slowly came back to me. In the conference room, they were fighting, revealing their terrifying appearances.

Teacher Wol-hee’s grotesquely twisted body, scales growing on Tae-yang’s skin, and President Sky who had grown as large as a bear and was covered in fur all over his body…

“Ugh… … .”

The more I recalled the more my head started to throbbed. I was clearly trying to stop Miss Seo-ah when I got caught up in Sister A-young’s attack, and at that moment, Tae-yang’s magic bullet…

At the last moment, it felt like someone was embracing me. And then a voice said, ‘So this is how it ended up.’ It was a voice that I felt like I’d heard somewhere before.

As soon as I tried to get out of bed, I felt dizzy.

I had no choice but to sit down and look at the side of the bed, where I saw unfamiliar medical equipment on the table.

At that moment, the heavy iron door opened with a creaking sound. The person who opened the door and came in was the president of the association.

“You’re up.”

His voice was heavier and more subdued than usual. His expression seemed to be layered with fatigue.

“This is the last stronghold of the Awakened Association. A bunker located 3 kilometers underground.”

The president of the association began to explain with a calm expression.

“This facility was built to prepare for nuclear war. It has seven layers of 2-meter thick reinforced steel doors, and each wall is made of a different special alloy.

In other words, this is the most solid defense facility in the world.

But… …we can’t stop them forever.”

He turned on the monitor on the wall. Several security camera feeds appeared on the screen.

At the first iron gate, Teacher Wol-hee was hitting the door with her monstrous arm, and the Sun-nim’s magic bullets were exploding without stopping. Elsewhere, guards who seemed to have been subdued by Ghost-ssi and Seo-yeon-noona were lying on the ground, and they were disarming the security devices.

“I assumed I could last at least two weeks… …but at this rate, I won’t be able to last even a week.”

The president of the association let out a deep sigh. There was no trace of reason in the eyes of the women on the monitor.

“First, I should apologize to you. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, then why did you bring me here… … .”

The president nodded before I could finish my question.

“Yeah. All my attempts to control them have failed.”

The president continued speaking while looking at the monitor screen.

“As you know, the reason I created the social club was to control their obsession.

They tried to balance each other out by keeping them in check, and it seemed to actually work.

But… … In the end, this is what happened.”

On the screen, the sun’s magic bullet exploded again. In the distance, the sound of an iron door vibrating could be faintly heard.

“Now that I think about it, let me make excuses… … The social gathering was the best option at the time.

Looking back now, it may be seen as a misjudgment, but even if I go back to that point in time… … At that time, there was no other way than to create a social gathering.

But in the end, what’s wrong is wrong. Because I grouped them together, they became aware of each other’s existence.

When they realized that they had a rival, they became jealous of each other, anxious that they might steal you away, and as they began to compete… … their affection and obsession grew uncontrollably strong.”

“… … … .”

“… … Now, there is only one last method left.”

“The last… … method?”

“Yeah. That’s the method I told you I had, but didn’t explain exactly what it was.”

The president’s voice was filled with heavy determination.

“In order to do that… …you and I, the two of us, must make a sacrifice. For humanity. To end all of this.

But there’s no one who would like to make sacrifices. I’m really sorry about that.

But… … Now there’s nothing I can do.”

… … … … …

One sunny spring morning.

Some time has passed since that unfortunate incident.

Today too, Seoyeon Lee was sitting on the sofa stroking her younger sibling’s head.

The gloves that amplified her abilities were now tucked away in a drawer, since she no longer needed them around the house except when she was working for the Awakened Society.

“Sister… … .”

The boy laid his head on her lap and closed his eyes. His breathing was gentle.

“Yeah, Autumn. Sister is here.”

Lee Seo-yeon gently touched her younger brother’s nape with her fingers. She could feel his pulse. She briefly reached the peak of ecstasy at the fact that she could touch her younger brother who was alive and looking only at her.

The two’s daily routine starts like this every morning. When she prepares breakfast, her younger brother always enjoys her cooking. He doesn’t leave a single spoonful.

Sometimes I forget how to use a spoon, but that’s okay. My older sister, Seoyeon Lee, will teach me.

Before Lee Seo-yeon goes to work, she takes care of all her younger sibling’s business with her help, and when she goes to work, her younger sibling stays at home unconscious.

And when Seo-yeon Lee, who had just come home from work, wakes her younger sister with a soft kiss, she opens her eyes again, spends the evening with her, and falls asleep in the same bed, confirming their love for each other. It was truly a perfect routine.

‘Now, truly, he is my eternal little brother.’

Sometimes, when her younger sister recalled a different memory, she would sneakily reach out and pat her younger sister’s head, adding something a little special.

Then everything became peaceful. All unnecessary memories of other women, except for my older sister, Seo-yeon Lee, disappeared.

One side of the bookshelf was filled with their pictures. At the park, at the amusement park, at home… .

In all the pictures, her younger sister looked happy. It was a happiness that only her older sister, Lee Seo-yeon, could create.

Of course, in those photos, there were only Lee Seo-yeon and Ga-eul. No one else was needed.

‘Forever, forever, like this… … .’

The light in Lee Seo-yeon’s pupils disappeared. Her fingertips gained strength and she pressed hard on her younger brother’s carotid artery.

“I’ll be back.”

She lightly kissed her younger sister’s lips, who had fallen asleep in an instant thanks to Lee Seo-yeon’s help.

She could be sure that this time, they were truly a family. They were truly brother and sister.

This routine will continue forever. No one will be able to disturb this perfect happiness.

Lee Seo-yeon was happy.