"...Okay."
Irin raised an eyebrow slightly and used the tip of her white cane to locate the chair.
She slowly found the seat and sat down.
Across from her, Yemir spread strawberry jam over several slices of bread.
He arranged them neatly on a glass plate before carrying it over.
"Here."
"It’s ready."
Irin carefully reached forward.
Her fingertips touched the cold surface of the glass plate.
"...Bread?"
She sounded slightly surprised.
"You made this?"
Yemir smiled.
"You probably haven’t eaten anything."
"So..."
"Eat first."
Irin’s fingers remained still for a moment.
Then she carefully felt around the plate and picked up one slice.
"...Thank you."
Yemir smiled.
"You’re welcome."
Outside, the rain continued to fall softly against the windows.
Inside the small apartment, the two of them sat together.
For the first time in a long while, neither of them had to face the quietness of being alone.
Irin took another small bite before turning toward him.
"Why did you go through all this trouble?"
Yemir looked at her.
"You could have simply given me the bread."
"You can actually make breakfast?"
Yemir picked up a slice for himself.
"I was making breakfast anyway."
"So stop asking so many questions."
"Just eat."
Irin smiled faintly.
She lifted her bread and took another bite.
Yemir absentmindedly watched her.
A tiny smear of strawberry jam appeared at the corner of her lips.
His gaze stayed there for half a second.
Then he quickly looked away.
Why am I even noticing that?
He took another bite of his own bread.
Across from him, Irin suddenly stopped eating.
Her head lowered.
Her hands became still.
Yemir noticed.
"Hey."
"What happened?"
Irin didn’t answer immediately.
A few seconds passed.
Then she quietly sniffed.
"Actually..."
"I don’t usually eat breakfast."
Yemir looked at her.
"Huh?"
Irin kept her voice calm.
"There’s a little girl who lives in the nearby alley."
"She brings me lunch and dinner every day."
"I pay her every month."
"So..."
"I usually skip breakfast."
Yemir slowly lowered the bread in his hand.
He looked at her for a moment before giving a small smile.
"Don’t be sad."
"To be honest..."
"I don’t eat breakfast that often either."
He took another bite.
"But..."
He paused.
"From now on..."
"We’ll have breakfast together every morning."
Irin’s expression softened.
"...Really?"
"Really."
A small smile appeared on her face.
She picked up another piece of bread.
The room became quiet again.
After another bite, her expression changed.
"...The jam is really good."
Yemir smiled.
"I’m glad you like it."
"Oh, right."
"I bought a few other things for you."
Irin stopped.
"For me?"
"Besides the slippers?"
Her voice became softer.
"What have you done?"
Yemir waved his hand.
"It’s nothing."
Irin lowered her head.
"It makes me embarrassed."
"First my room..."
"And now food and all these things..."
Yemir laughed.
"I knew you’d say that."
"What is there to be embarrassed about?"
"Think of it as a loan."
He leaned back in his chair.
"When you become a famous voice creator and start earning lots of dollars..."
"You can pay me back."
Irin slowly closed her fingers into a fist.
"...Then it’s a deal."
"As soon as I get a proper role..."
"I’ll pay you back."
Yemir didn’t answer.
He simply smiled.
"Then that’s settled."
Irin finished the last piece of bread on her plate.
A few minutes later, Yemir changed into a fresh outfit.
"I’m heading out."
"You stay here and get some rest."
He placed a key on the table.
"If you need to go outside..."
"Take this."
Irin picked up the key.
"If I take it..."
"How will you get inside when you come back?"
Yemir smiled while putting on his shoes.
"I won’t need it."
"I can unlock the door with the password."
"Oh..."
"I understand."
She walked toward the door.
"Bye, Yemir."
Irin gently shook the key in her hand.
Cling... cling...
"Bye."
Yemir opened his umbrella and stepped outside.
Rain still covered the streets.
Yemir walked along the sidewalk with one hand holding the umbrella.
Then he noticed someone running in the distance.
A man sprinted around the corner.
"Thief! Catch him!"
Someone chased after him, shouting at the top of his voice.
Yemir instinctively shifted his body.
I should catch that guy.
Then he looked at the umbrella in his hand.
But... the umbrella!
Before he could decide what to do, the man chasing the thief ran past him and struck his right arm.
"Are you going to stop the thief or carry an umbrella around like a lady?"
He continued running.
Yemir stared after him.
People really say anything these days.
He sighed.
Whatever.
Instead of chasing them, he stepped toward the roadside and called a taxi.
A car stopped nearby.
Yemir climbed inside.
"Where to?"
"Dani’s Departmental Store."
The driver nodded and started the engine.
Vrrrmmm...
The taxi moved slowly through the rain.
Yemir rested his head against the window.
Posters covered the walls and roadside boards.
Some showed Unknown Z as a hero.
Others condemned him.
One poster showed a dark silhouette beneath the words:
UNKNOWN Z — JUSTICE OR CRIME?
Another read:
THE CITY NEEDS A HERO LIKE HIM.
Beside it was another message:
NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO BECOME JUDGE AND EXECUTIONER.
Yemir read several of them as the taxi passed.
The driver noticed.
"People have been arguing about him everywhere."
Yemir looked toward him.
The driver continued,
"Honestly, the only people who should hate Unknown Z are the ones who have something to fear from him."
Yemir remained quiet.
"Maybe you’re right."
Then he looked outside again.
"But..."
"Is it really right to punish someone like that?"
The driver glanced at him through the mirror.
"Let me give you an example."
"Suppose I robbed you right now."
"You report me, and the police arrest me."
"Then I give some of the stolen money to the authorities as a bribe."
"After that, I still have most of the money left."
He shrugged.
"What exactly have I learned?"
Yemir remained silent.
Rain streaked across the window.
The driver continued.
"That is why some people support Unknown Z."
"Whether he’s right or wrong..."
"They believe the normal system doesn’t always give people what they deserve."
Yemir looked down.
He didn’t answer.
The taxi slowed.
The driver pointed ahead.
"Here we are."
He stopped near the roadside.
"Dani’s Departmental Store."
Yemir paid the fare.
"Thanks."
He stepped out.
The moment Yemir reached the store, he noticed something unusual.
The place looked almost deserted.
The usually busy area around Dani’s Departmental Store seemed strangely empty.
Yemir entered.
"Dani?"
From behind the counter came a familiar voice.
"Oh!"
Dani looked up.
"Well, look who decided to visit."
Yemir smiled.
"Hi, Dani."
"You disappeared for a while."
"I’ve been busy."
"Busy?"
Dani gave him a suspicious look.
"You?"
Yemir laughed.
"Why does everyone doubt me?"
"Because you make it easy."
They exchanged a few more words.
Then the bell above the entrance rang.
Ding.
A customer entered.
Then another.
Within moments, several people had gathered inside.
Dani immediately became busy.
One woman stood near the counter.
Her name was Poly.
Dani looked at her.
"What do you need, dear?"
Poly didn’t answer immediately.
Her lips trembled.
"I..."
She wiped at her eyes.
"My mother died today."
Yemir, who had been standing nearby, turned toward her.
Poly lowered her head.
"I want to go there."
"But I can’t."
Dani’s expression softened.
"Why not?"
Poly took a breath.
"I ran away and married a younger man."
"My parents never accepted it."
"So..."
"I don’t think my father will let me see my mother."
Dani came around the counter.
She placed a hand gently on Poly’s shoulder.
"Listen to me."
"You’re making a mistake."
"Go."
"Just go and see your parents."
"Parents don’t simply stop loving their children."
"No matter how badly a child has hurt them..."
"If that child comes back, holds them, and cries..."
"Their hearts can still soften."
Poly lowered her head.
"But they don’t know everything."
Dani waited.
Poly’s voice became quieter.
"The man I married only wanted my money."
"He took my jewelry and cash."
"Later I discovered that even the marriage had been arranged around that."
"He disappeared with everything."
Her voice broke.
"My parents don’t know."
"If I go there..."
"They’ll find out."
Dani squeezed her shoulder.
"Then let them find out."
Poly looked up.
"Go home."
"Whatever happens after that..."
"At least you won’t spend the rest of your life wondering what would have happened if you had gone."
Poly wiped her face.
Yemir remained silent.
He listened to every word.
People always lose to their own pride.
He looked around the store.
Sometimes a person could lose years simply because they were afraid to take the first step.
Far away from Dani’s store, the remains of Hevix Vortex stood behind police barriers.
The facility had been reduced to a damaged shell.
A group of people wearing white protective jackets moved through the ruins.
They searched carefully through the debris.
Among them was a laboratory researcher named Dr. Xen.
His assistant, Lin, followed closely behind.
"Sir."
Lin pointed toward a small evidence container.
"We found something."
Xen walked over.
Inside was a glass containing traces of Hevix-mixed whiskey.
But something else had been detected in the sample.
Xen carefully examined it.
"This isn’t only Hevix."
Lin frowned.
"There’s another substance mixed into it."
Xen lifted the container toward the light.
"Keep it sealed."
"Yes, Sir."
They continued searching.
A few minutes later, Lin found another piece of evidence.
"Sir..."
He held up a torn piece of clothing.
"There’s something attached to this."
Xen examined it.
The material looked strange.
Something had left a residue on the fabric.
"Bag it."
Lin nodded.
Then he suddenly noticed another object.
"Wait."
He crouched down.
"There’s one more thing."
He carefully picked it up with protective tweezers.
It looked almost like a broken nail.
But something about it was unusual.
Lin stared at it.
"Sir..."
"What is this?"
Xen took it.
He turned the strange fragment beneath the light.
"Is this the last sample?"
Lin looked around.
"We haven’t found anything else."
"No hair."
"No skin."
"Nothing that can give us another sample."
Xen said nothing.
He pulled out a magnifying glass.
He examined the fragment once.
Then again.
And again.
His expression changed.
His eyes widened.
He leaned closer.
"...This is..."
His forehead creased.
He turned the object between his fingers.
"Impossible."
Lin stepped closer.
"What is it, Sir?"
Xen didn’t answer.
He kept staring at the fragment.
After several seconds, he carefully placed it into a sealed evidence container.
"Lin."
"Yes, Sir?"
"We’re leaving."
"Now?"
"Yes."
Xen looked back toward the ruined Vortex.
"There are too many things here that don’t make sense."
Inside the car, Lin sat beside him.
The evidence container rested securely between them.
Rain tapped against the windows.
The vehicle moved away from the Vortex ruins.
Lin glanced at his superior.
"Sir..."
"I think something happened here."
Xen remained silent.
"You could tell from the sample."
"And from your expression."
Lin leaned back.
"Whatever you found..."
"It doesn’t seem normal."
Xen finally looked toward him.
"I need answers."
He glanced at the sealed container.
"And I have a feeling..."
"We’re about to find something we were never supposed to find."