"Are you hungry, sis?"

As we walked and talked, Yula looked up at me and asked. Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten. The drug made it so I didn’t really need to, but it’d probably be healthier to have a meal.

"Want to see our hideout?" Yula offered.

“What’ll we eat? The stuff you got last time? Do you have water?”

“Yep. We have some left.”

Yula grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

I followed her lead, weaving through run-down buildings and piles of dirt, walking along roads that were far from maintained. The kids chattered excitedly as they walked, their voices bringing a lightness to the day.

"Over here!"

We rounded a few corners before arriving at a doorway made from a haphazard patchwork of plastic panels.

“It’s our secret base. But you have to keep it a secret, okay?”

I nodded.

A secret base—it had a nostalgic appeal.

Inside, the space was surprisingly large and well-organized.

“This used to be a restaurant. We found a secret passage to get in!”

“It’s just the back door.”

“No, it’s a secret entrance!”

“Everyone knows about it. What’s so secret about that?”

“It’s definitely secret!”

They squabbled as they showed me around. It was strangely endearing.

“Anyway, let’s eat! I’ll give you some of the food we got!”

They rummaged around in the cabinets.

“Oh, sis, just add water to this, and it’ll turn into a meal. They say just eating this isn’t enough, so we have side dishes too…”

“I even have snacks! Cookies!”

“You can have cookies after you finish your meal.”

“Ew, fine…then…”

Yula dug around in the cabinet a bit more.

“Seaweed? …Oh, we ate all that. Oh, here’s something!”

She held up a can of tuna.

“Oh, but we have to eat outside. If we cook it in here, the smell will get everywhere.”

“There’s a chair outside, too.”

They were good kids, sharing food with a stranger like this. It wasn’t easy to stay kind in a place like this. Even so, it seemed better here than the place I’d lived before. There, no one was around to take care of the monsters, and free meals were hard to come by.

I took the can of tuna from them.

—What would you like to eat most?

A voice from the past echoed in my mind.

A friend? Was it a friend who’d asked me that?

I remembered sharing food with someone before. But it wasn’t my friend’s voice.

A strange queasiness hit my stomach, a nausea that bubbled up from within.

“Urk…”

I felt sick.

Tuna was a food I despised. I must have.

“Yuck, do you hate it? I guess we’ll have to find something else.”

I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to reject your kindness like that. Did I hate it enough to hurt their feelings?

Back home, I used to keep cans of it and eat them all the time. My taste must have changed.

Even so, the instant rice was good enough. They had stir-fried rice with a few side dishes.

“Oh? You’re picky, too, sis?”

Picky?

I was just picking out the radish and some vegetables, that’s all.

“Not very tasty, huh? Like broccoli.”

“It’s good for your health.”

Right. Eating everything is important for good health.

I didn’t really dislike any foods. I could eat almost anything as long as it wasn’t spoiled.

Leaving the vegetables aside…why was that? Sometimes you just don’t feel like eating certain things.

In any case, this was a lot better than the food I’d been given in the lab. There, I’d just forced myself to eat whatever they gave me.

Now I was suddenly being picky?

Still, I was grateful for the meal.

“Oh, are you leaving? To go to the factory?”

“She might not be from the factory.”

“Play with us!”

I wanted to, honestly. Maybe someday, if I had the time.

"...Where are you going, sis?"

I nodded slightly.

I had to go.

[283 hours 21 minutes]

To the factory. Maybe for these kids.

Or maybe just to get more drugs.

Either way, I’d planned to go to the factory for a long time. I’d noticed the logo on the food packaging just now. It was the same logo as the company that made the drugs. It was etched into my memory, impossible to forget. The logo was on the packaging of the instant meal and the food supplies. This factory had to be linked to the drugs somehow.

Perhaps it was a good place, a factory that provided essential supplies and medicine while taking care of the monsters.

A facility like that doesn’t exist in this world.

But it would’ve been nice if it had.

“Oh, the doctor?”

Hyun, looking over my shoulder, said.

“It’s the doctor!”

Doctor?

I turned around to check.

And there he was—the doctor.

He was here, standing right behind me. How did he know where I was?

I could just kill him. Attack him.

No, but the doctor was kind; I shouldn’t hurt him.

I was angry, but I couldn’t understand why. Oh, was it because he’d taken so long to get here?

“It’s been so long, doctor!”

Yula greeted him warmly.

"...Heh."

Doctors really do just pop up anywhere. It was kind of amazing.

“Hello, Miss Suh Ah. Long time no see.”

“You know her, doctor? Her name’s Suh Ah?”

“Yes, I’ve come to take Suh Ah back. I should have come sooner. Were you all playing together?”

“We were going to.”

I couldn’t think straight.

Normal thoughts just wouldn’t come.

Was it because we hadn’t seen each other in so long?

“Here, I brought some snacks. Share them, okay?”

“Wow!”

“Thank you!”

Could I trust that? Probably.

The doctor was a good person.

“You’ve been well, I hope? Haha, it’s been a while.”

He started a conversation as if everything were fine.

It seemed normal, but…

Wasn’t this strange?

Why was the doctor here? Why were the kids so friendly with him?

Why now?

Maybe I was lucky. The doctor would probably give me more drugs.

He was always a good person.

My mind felt scrambled.

I couldn’t think of him as anything other than good.

“I need to have a private conversation with her. Would it be okay if I took her along?”

He seemed to have finished talking to the kids.

“Okay! Come back soon!”

“Bye!”

It all ended so quickly.

Even saying goodbye was over in a blink.

“Shall we go?”

The doctor held out his hand.

Was I supposed to take it?

I hesitated. There was nothing sinister in his hand.

But my instincts were screaming that something was wrong.

How many times had this happened? I couldn’t even think straight or control my own body anymore, and it felt all wrong.

"[Get a grip.]"

Suddenly, my mind cleared.

I had one goal: kill the doctor.

Just this one person’s death would bring a little more peace to the world.

Beloved drug, grant me a weapon—a sword, anything—to end him.

Even if he was a good person, I couldn’t let him keep reaching out to the kids. It should be enough that he’d treated only me.

—Thump.

The drug was injected.

From my nerves to the center of my brain, everything started burning. My entire body tingled, and I felt my strength drain away.

[404 hours 5 minutes]

Great.

I got the drug.

It looked like I’d gained over a hundred hours.

Clatter.

A partially formed black blade fell to the ground before dissolving away.

Ah, I’d failed.

But I felt good.

Very good.

“Haha…”

It seemed to have worked out well.

The doctor really was a good person.

I’d just wait a little longer. There might be a better time to deal with him.

Once I’d stockpiled more drugs, I could think about it again.

“This isn’t really my jurisdiction, but as long as a military factory is operating here, I can travel easily.”

Did he come through a portal? That was quite an impressive ability.

“I was actually planning to visit you, Miss Suh Ah, at some point. I’m not sure if you remember, but…”

He paused, holding my hand as we walked.

It felt almost…nice.

“After all, it was a path you chose willingly.”

"..."

Willingly?

Whatever it was, I didn’t remember making that choice.

I couldn’t imagine why I would have.

“Haha, maybe you just don’t remember. It has been a long time.”

What was he talking about?

“There are quite a few people who are grateful to you, Miss Suh Ah. Thanks to you, our work on testing the efficacy of the drug went much faster.”

A lot of experiments were done.

Considering how many chunks of memory had vanished, it must’ve been over a significant period.

“If it hadn’t been you, we would’ve needed to find someone else.”

His hand was as gentle as could be.

But I couldn’t understand.

Why was he explaining all this so kindly?

I glanced at the empty syringe in his other hand.

Thanks to him, I felt happy.

“Oh, this? It’s quite a potent drug. While we don’t manufacture it here, I brought it just in case.”

I didn’t know what it was needed for.

[404 hours]

I hoped he’d keep giving it to me.

“It’s mixed with a

 high concentration of pure extract…not something just anyone can use. But you, Miss Suh Ah, deserve it.”

Right.

I deserved it.

After all that I’d endured in that white room, didn’t I have the right to claim a little pleasure?

“You didn’t want to see your friends?”

“Huh?”

“Back at the lab. You must have seen them.”

Friends.

“The academy had training near here, so they were around, and I was nearby because of that.”

Friends?

The scene inside the lab flashed in my mind. I’d seen lights in the distance.

They were fighting monsters.

There wasn’t really a place for me there.

Of course, I wanted to see my friends.

That’s why I’d watched from afar.

I was satisfied with just observing.

Me showing up wouldn’t change anything.

As sad as it was, that was the truth.

So, there was no reason for me to see my friends in the future.

“Would you mind sitting down?”

It was a bench with no backrest.

Old, but usable.

“I’m fairly aware of your condition, but as long as I’m responsible, it’s my duty to check.”

Since when was that a duty?

“There’s no one else around.”

Is that so?

Why does that matter?

“Now, could you lift your shirt?”

"...Huh?"

Why?

“It’s just an examination.”

The stethoscope around his neck came into view.

Oh, right. He was a doctor, so of course he’d want to check.

But here?

Why?

I didn’t want to lift my shirt.

Not because I was embarrassed.

The feeling was more like fear.

A similar situation had happened before.

I’d had to lift my shirt to check bruises on my stomach.

But this was different.

If it were just a bruise, I wouldn’t mind.

No, on second thought, maybe it was embarrassment after all.

There were scars.

Just a few scars, that’s all.

The doctor waited.

"Haha..."

Bad memories resurfaced.

It would’ve been better if I’d forgotten.

It wasn’t some big deal, just childish pranks.

Just a prank.

I was over it by now, so it should be fine.

Did he already know about the scars?

He didn’t seem like he’d even use the stethoscope.

Painful memories flooded back.

And it was all because of that cursed tuna can.

Tuna.