episode_0008

It’s bedtime.

Once it passes 10 o’clock, the lights in all the detention cells except for the control room are turned off.

Our cell is no exception.

Sunye and I, who have been confined here for 5 and 2 years respectively, lie down on our beds.

“You know, Anna.”

“Yeah?”

“What would you do if you got out of here?”

She sometimes asks such pointless questions.

The outside world is said to have already been overrun by monsters, so where would one even go if they managed to escape?

“I don’t know. I’ve never imagined a life outside of here.”

“I mean, I’d set up a bar if I got out.”

“A bar?”

“Yeah. I’d drink and have fun with people there. You only live once, right?”

Planning to use that newfound freedom from escaping this place to set up a bar. How futile can one get?

This place is a research facility known as A2 and a training center.

Deceptively labeled as a shelter, it’s a living hell where people are imprisoned and subjected to various human experiments and training.

I am the specimen who has survived the longest among those experimented on.

It may sound ridiculous to call oneself a specimen, but after being referred to as such for a lifetime here, that title feels more comfortable than my own name now.

One might argue that surviving the longest is a good thing, but it also means enduring more pain than others.

Two weeks after being abducted, unknown substances were injected into my head, causing severe headaches every night since then.

While that pain granted me superhuman abilities, it also numbed me emotionally as a human.

No, emotions had to be numbed.

With heightened physical abilities, I had to fight for my life against other detainees to measure my prowess.

Without emotional numbness, I would surely go insane.

Due to such deadly training, specimens were dying left and right.

My roommates were no exception.

The first friend died from shock during a long-distance run.

The second friend was fatally stabbed in combat training.

The third friend’s body exploded while dismantling explosives.

Roommates changed frequently, leaving behind an eerie feeling akin to a friend transferring schools unexpectedly.

Until Sunye came to my side.

A friend whose name is difficult to pronounce correctly.

Suneui. Suneue.

She entered this place without knowing what it was and greeted me warmly from day one.

With her delicate short hair and petite frame, I initially paid her no attention.

I thought she would die before I could even pronounce her name correctly.

Yet she persevered.

Through the first week, the next, and even this year.

Despite her scarred face, she greeted me cheerfully every evening.

During meal times, Sunye always handed me a piece of the dirty meat that was distributed, which I greedily devoured without understanding why she would pass it to me, essential for survival.

But she always said this while watching me eat.

“Just because the way you eat is pretty.”

I will probably never understand her throughout my life.

A gentle melody seeps through the window bars.

It’s the audio the facility officers listen to from the control room.

Their laughter and chatter.

The sound of popping champagne bottles echoes through the detention cells.

Some groan in agony while trapped.

Others laugh and eat and drink.

All within the same space.

That’s the biggest feature of this facility.

“—.”

Sunye hums a tune.

Her husky voice, unusual for a woman, is charming.

As she sings, usually nonchalant, she becomes more serious than anyone else.

Listening to her voice makes even my numb emotions feel stifled.

It takes me back to childhood before the monsters appeared.

“—!”

Sunye stops singing abruptly and coughs.

Due to the lack of proper ventilation in the detention cell, she has been coughing intermittently for the past six months.

Soon, she turns her head towards me, perhaps embarrassed by her coughing.

“Anna, have you ever tried alcohol?”

“Just beer.”

“What about champagne?”

“Never.”

Even when I lived in the United States, I detested bustling parties with champagne.

“Don’t you want to try it?”

“If it’s here, I’ll drink anything. Even strong liquor.”

“Oh, really?”

I close my eyes tightly.

I wish she would sing a little more, but knowing Sunye’s condition, I keep my mouth shut.

I’m just going to sleep for the rigorous training tomorrow.

How long did I sleep?

I can’t hear singing from outside anymore.

The detention facility has become eerily quiet.

The emergency light that should illuminate outside the window is covered.

Even though we were asleep, we are sensitive and trained enough to wake up immediately even if we faint.

I quickly open my eyes and reach out straight to kill the one looking down at me.

But I quickly stop my hand.

“Haha… Surprise.”

A familiar face looks at me.

Sunye had beer and champagne in her hands.

“What… is that? Where did you get that from?”

“I went out for a moment.”

She points to the window with the hand holding the beer.

“You… could open the door too?”

“We have to get out of here someday.”

She sits down next to me quietly.

As I closely examine her, I notice a hairpin stuck in her bangs, unlike usual, its end is bent.

“Here.”

My roommate hands me a personal cup.

The cup was old, faded, and dirty.

I absentmindedly take the glass and watch her open the champagne bottle.

“—.”

Sunye forcefully opens the bottle.

Then, unable to control the force, the cork pops out explosively.

The loud sound of opening the bottle echoes throughout the facility.

“Are you crazy?”

I ask, looking out the window.

“It’s fine. The guards are all passed out drunk. So, it shouldn’t be hard to sneak in this kind of alcohol, right?”

“You’re amazing too.”

Her determination emanating from her small body makes me involuntarily nod.

Being with her seems to revive emotions that had dulled.

Sunye smiles broadly and pours both champagne and beer into the glass I hold.

It’s a way of drinking I’ve never seen before.

“What is this?”

“I saw it at an inn before. They say it tastes better this way!”

“Who… makes alcohol like this?”

She starts pouring the thick champagne bottle and beer, much thicker than her arm, into the cup.

It’s unsettling how her hands tremble with each pour.

Bubbles and foam bubble up in the cup.

Then the champagne bottle slips, spilling cold liquor onto my thigh.

“Oops, sorry! What should we do…”

“It’s okay.”

I wipe the alcohol off without any change in expression.

But the sweet smell of champagne clings to the already sticky shorts and bed.

Sunye apologizes as she looks up at me with a guilty expression while wiping my thigh.

I slowly wipe the foam off her cheek.

“What should we do… It seems difficult to make it again after spilling all of it.”

“This is enough.”

I bring the sticky cup to my lips.

And take a light sip.

The sparkling champagne and beer sting my tongue.

But they’re both so gassy, making it uncomfortable and fizzy.

Not quite the taste I expected…

“How is it?”

Sunye, who has no idea about this taste, looks at me expectantly.

But soon, seeing my expressionless face, she scratches her head awkwardly.

“Haha… Is it not good after all?”

Her face turns red as if embarrassed.

“When we get out of here, I’ll make you a proper Black Velvet. With expensive ingredients and all…”

I tuck her stray bangs behind her ear.

When my hand touches her face, I feel soft peach fuzz and warm vitality.

“Okay.”

“Huh…?”

Her pupils slowly shake at my words.

“A taste like you.”

“A taste like me?”

“A complete mess.”

“What does that mean…”

She gathered her knees with a disappointed expression.

But the only thing I could say to Sunye was just that much.

I couldn’t think of any more compliments.

Outside, a familiar Korean song could be heard.

The paused audio began to play in a loop again.

I hummed along to that song.

Sunye seemed surprised by my voice, which she heard for the first time in two years.

Soon, she leaned her face on my shoulder and sang along with the song.

I liked the sound of her voice.

I also liked the drink she offered, sticky and messy as it may be.

Even though it was sticky and messy.

Sunye was the only splash of color in this dreary gray world.

The only one.

“—!”

I abruptly ended the skill due to sudden pain.

Something started twisting my neck painfully.

My whole body boiled as if the food I had eaten earlier was going to come up.

“Why are you spacing out alone?”

Anna’s expressionless face contorted as she glared at me.

Even when she was about to kill someone, her calm face seemed surreal.

“I didn’t do anything…”

My eyes reddened.

It hurt as if my eyeballs were going to bulge out rather than tears welling up.

Grabbing her arm, I shouted.

Upon hearing that sound, Anna slowly lowered her hand.

I collapsed to the floor lifelessly, coughing and spitting.

How strong is this power…

“Don’t act innocent.”

Anna’s pronunciation somehow became clearer.

She slumped back into her chair.

I staggered to my feet.

Did this woman instinctively realize that I can read memories?

Even Ranker 09 fainted while reading memories… How did she wake up first?

“…”

I forced myself to take deep breaths.

Yeah… that’s not important right now.

First, I need to grasp her happiest memory.

Memories with fellow inmates in the detention facility.

Recreating that moment is what matters first.

I bent my knees and took out a bottle of champagne from the wine cellar.

The cheapest one.

Then, I took out a dark beer from the fridge.

On the bar table, beer and champagne sat quietly.

Something changed in Anna’s face.

Her firm lips slightly parted.

“Shall we begin?”

I placed a plastic cup in the middle of the table.

Then, I poured the aromatic and refreshing dark beer.

I vigorously opened the champagne cork.

With a popping sound, the cork shot up into the air.

The foamy bubbles flowed down the bottle.

Boldly, I poured both drinks into the cup simultaneously.

The black and golden liquids beautifully intersected as they poured into the cup.

The staff members watched nervously.

One of them muttered, “If you pour like that, it will surely overflow.”

They focused on my trembling arms.

“—!”

Eventually, foam started overflowing from the glass.

The spilled alcohol slid down the table, reaching Anna’s hands.

“Are you crazy? What are you doing right now!”

A staff member stood up abruptly and shouted.

“Are you trying to kill us all? Can’t you even pour one properly!”

Another staff member also screamed, holding their head.

The reactions of the female guests were not much different.

The father quietly closed his eyes, holding his daughter’s face against his chest.

“…”

However, I continued pouring without stopping, even as the alcohol overflowed.

I just kept pouring until all the alcohol flowed down her body.

Anna just stared blankly at the scene.

Soon, not a single drop of alcohol remained in the bottle.