Caren yawned, then stood up and walked toward the mirror.
He ran a hand through his messy hair, tidying it up a little.
Then he went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth.
He left the bathroom, checked himself in the mirror once again, and left the room.
He passed the doors to the other Upside Downers’ rooms and headed to the cafeteria.
He opened the door and entered.
The cafeteria looked the same as last time.
But this time, there wasn’t a single seat.
It was still full of Upside Downers, and he had to find his teammates.
He looked around.
Lots of monitors were attached to the walls in several corners of the hall, each displaying a number.
Under the monitors, Upside Downers were standing and talking to one another.
His eyes remained on one of the monitors displaying the number six.
But no one was standing there.
“Guess I’m the first one.”
Caren headed toward that corner.
He looked at the other Upside Downers who had already found their teammates.
He stopped and leaned against the wall.
It was a little strange.
Finding new people or even talking to them.
He couldn’t help but become serious.
He had made a promise to himself that he shouldn’t trust anyone or show his emotions anymore.
What if what happened to Ren happened to him again?
Or maybe that wasn’t the reason?
Was it because of his life?
Why was he alone?
He didn’t know why.
Maybe it was his problem.
He didn’t know what he wanted from life.
He would find a home, and then what?
“Hello.”
Caren looked up.
A girl was standing there.
“Atrin…”
Caren smiled weakly.
“Hello.”
Atrin responded to his smile with a smile.
“Seems we’re teammates.”
Caren nodded.
“Yeah, I guess.”
They both looked at each other for one more second, then looked at the floor.
Atrin also leaned against the wall but didn’t say anything.
Caren didn’t look at her.
He simply asked,
“Do you know who our teammates are?”
Atrin shook her head.
“No, and I don’t care.”
Caren looked at her.
He hesitated for a second.
“Can I know why?”
“You’re too curious.
It’s better for you not to know.”
Caren shivered slightly.
One time, he died because of his curiosity.
He found out that she was the killer of that boy, and Ren killed Caren because of it.
Maybe he shouldn’t be so curious in this world.
“Can I kill Atrin in a fight?”
Caren’s eyes widened.
Why was he thinking about killing everyone these days?
What was wrong with him?
“Shut up, Caren.
You can’t kill anyone because you’re still a human.”
But…
he had killed Ren.
What would happen if he could kill someone else?
“No, absolutely not.
I killed her because she would kill me in the future.
But this time, no one wants to kill me.”
But what about Kindest Murder?
He wouldn’t kill Caren, right?
Caren wasn’t a special person, so there was no reason for Kindest Murder to want to kill him.
He looked at Atrin.
What if she wanted to kill Caren?
Just like Ren did?
“That won’t happen.
There is no reason for that.”
“Hiii.”
Someone was standing in front of Caren.
Caren wanted to step back a little, but his back was against the wall, so he could only look at the person.
There was a girl.
She was a little shorter than him, but not enough for anyone to notice at a glance.
She had olive-colored skin, green eyes, and black hair.
She had a slim body and a cheerful smile on her face.
She was the kind of person Caren tried to avoid interacting with.
She was wearing jeans and a crop top.
Nothing special.
“Crap…”
“Excuse me?”
Caren coughed, then opened his mouth to speak.
Suddenly, he felt like his voice had become slightly higher-pitched.
It was almost as if he disliked speaking.
“Hello, miss.”
The girl’s smile widened.
Her eyes seemed to say that she had found her victim.
“There is no need to call me miss.
I’m Rey.”
Caren ran his hand over the back of his head.
“Fine…
I’m Caren, by the way.” Get faster updates on g.com.
Rey placed her hand on Caren’s shoulder.
“Nice to meet you.”
When the girl turned to look at Atrin, her smile faded and her brows furrowed.
“Why is she here?”
She looked at Caren in confusion.
Caren was a little surprised.
Was there something strange about that girl?
She had been kind to Caren so far and seemed almost more sociable than him.
“What do you mean?
She’s our teammate.”
Rey frowned and clenched her teeth.
“I know, but don’t you have any problem with that?”
“Huh?”
Caren looked at Atrin and then turned to her again.
“No, I don’t.
Why would I?”
But before Rey could answer, another person appeared.
“Is this Team Six?”
A boy?
Caren let out a sigh of relief.
At least he wasn’t surrounded by girls.
The boy looked so polite.
He had wavy brown hair and gentle brown eyes.
He wore a dark green and beige plaid shirt with rolled-up sleeves and loose white pants.
A polite smile was on his face.
“Yeah, it’s Team Six.”
The boy nodded.
“Oh, I’m Nero.
Nice to meet you.”
Then he turned to Atrin, and his smile faded for a second.
Then he smiled at Atrin again.
Atrin raised her eyebrows.
“I’m Atrin.”
Then Nero looked at Caren, waiting for him to introduce himself.
“Well…
I’m Caren.”
Rey put her arm around Nero’s shoulder.
When she did that, Nero immediately blushed.
“What are you doing, miss?”
Rey pouted.
“It’s the second time someone has called me miss today.
I’m Rey.
Please call me Rey instead of miss.”
Nero’s face was red as a potato.
He politely nodded.
“Yes, miss…
I mean, Rey.”
Rey smirked.
She had found two victims to annoy in one day.
“How fun you two are.”
She licked her lips, and Nero shivered.