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I recall everything that has happened so far.

I have always been in a position to extend my hand. It seems I am quicker to understand the situation than others, for better or worse, and that I inevitably handle things well as a result.

“Chae Yeon?”

I stare blankly at the hand extended toward me.

“Grab it.”

As if in a trance, I reach out my hand to Jang Chae Yeon, and she takes it.

Looking behind her, I see Song Ah Rin watching me with a worried expression.

“A-Rin?”

“…”

At my words, Song Ah Rin turns away and clutches her arm with one hand.

Her face looks uncomfortable.

Before I could say anything to her, the grip on my hand tightens.

“Focus.”

“Chae Yeon.”

Jang Chae Yeon looks at me.

She’s right.

This is not the time to think of anything else.

The golden light pouring down from the sky and the sound of drums.

It was inevitable that I felt anxious; I had experienced this phenomenon before.

“Chae Yeon, if we touch this light…”

“I don’t know much about that. It’s fine if we do.”

Jang Chae Yeon murmurs as she pulls me closer by the hand she has grabbed.

“The important thing is that you’re here, and I’m here.”

“…”

Sometimes the trust she extended to me felt heavy, but in this moment, there was also a strangely reassuring feeling.

Without hesitation, Jang Chae Yeon continued speaking as we walked.

“You might not come up with an answer right now.”

“That’s actually the case.”

If I had known how to break that, I would have resolved it a long time ago.

“Then we can think about that later.”

“Huh?”

Jang Chae Yeon turned her head to look at me.

Her white hair shone with a golden light.

“I’ll stay by your side until then.”

“…”

That was typical of her.

“Understood.”

“Let’s think together.”

Thinking together, huh?

Just in case, I looked up at the sky, and the translucent window reappeared.

[Name: – ]

[Age: – ]

[Specialty: – ]

[Talent: – ]

[Background: – ]

[Weakness: See carefully.]

“…”

My eyes were still malfunctioning.

“What do you see?”

“I can see something, but it’s not very helpful.”

The downpour of light intensified.

I surveyed the surroundings.

Three people stood huddled between the crumbling buildings.

“Cough…!”

Song Ah Rin coughed in the dust as she looked around.

“What is this…?”

“That’s right.”

The sunlight pouring down and the collapsing buildings.

“The scene I saw when we failed is this.”

Despair was evident on Song Ah Rin’s face.

“How the heck are we supposed to prevent this…?”

“We couldn’t stop it.”

That’s why we had no choice but to turn back time and escape.

Right now, there wasn’t even a way to rewind time.

“Um…”

A hole opened in the ceiling of the collapsed building, and sand began to pour in.

-Feel the pain.

“…A-Rin.”

“…Huh?”

I noticed Song Ah Rin staring blankly at the sky.

“Can you possibly make it so Chae Yeon and A-Rin can’t feel pain?”

“Are you asking me to brainwash them?”

“Yes.”

“What about you?”

“I won’t be affected, you know.”

The mental barrier was a real hassle at times like this.

Jang Chae Yeon shook her head stubbornly after hearing my words.

“I don’t like that.”

“…Then I won’t do it either.”

After hearing her words, Song Ah Rin shook her head as well.

“There’s no need to be proud in a place like this.”

“It’s not pride.”

Jang Chae Yeon’s gaze meets mine.

“You can’t just let yourself suffer alone.”

“…I feel the same way.”

Song Ah Rin muttered grumpily, crossing her arms.

“Everyone, stop filling your unnecessary pride.”

“It’s not unnecessary pride.”

Jang Chae Yeon looked at me.

“You would have done the same.”

“…”

The golden light fell, and a burning pain was felt.

My body was starting to turn into sand.

“…”

“…”

As Jang Chae Yeon and I faced each other,

“…Ugh…”

Song Ah Rin gritted her teeth, enduring the pain.

My arms began to melt away, and my head started to dissolve as well.

I watched as even my eyes turned into sand and drifted away, looking at the two of them.

Song Ah Rin, who looked at me with her lips pressed tightly, and Jang Chae Yeon, who smiled at me, filled my vision.

Both of them turned into sand and vanished, and I too disappeared, becoming sand.

*

-Feel the pain.

“Cough!”

I coughed, expelling sand that filled my throat.

The next place I opened my eyes was,

“…”

A sinking cruise ship.

Am I drowning now?

“Cough…!”

I could hear a faint coughing sound.

Song Ah Rin was coughing next to me.

“Cough! Cough!”

“A-Rin.”

“Cough!”

Clutching her throat, Song Ah Rin coughed repeatedly.

She wasn’t expelling sand.

Her pale expression and unstable gaze revealed a face filled with fear.

“A-Rin, focus!”

“I can’t escape the pain.”

Before long, Jang Chae Yeon, who had been behind me, murmured as she gazed at Song Ah Rin.

“Step aside.”

She pushed me aside and faced Song Ah Rin.

“Chae Yeon.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Cough! Cough!”

Jang Chae Yeon quietly murmured before slapping Song Ah Rin’s cheek hard with one hand.

Song Ah Rin’s head snapped to the side, and her coughing stopped.

Silence fell.

“Are you back to your senses?”

“…Yeah.”

Song Ah Rin nodded, placing her hand on the cheek she was slapped on.

Jang Chae Yeon sighed softly and spoke up.

“You need to break the trance.”

“…”

Song Ah Rin froze at her words.

“You know it too, right? Next time, it’s seriously dangerous for your mind.”

“…No.”

Song Ah Rin’s voice trembled.

“Right now, this is just the first time. Soon…”

“What do you think?”

Jang Chae Yeon’s gaze turned to me.

“…”

I observed Song Ah Rin’s state.

The tight grip on her throat left handprints like autumn leaves, and her face was still pale, indicating she was not fully composed.

“…I agree with Chae Yeon.”

“…”

Song Ah Rin is too dangerously off. She might not last through the next ordeal.

“We can go back, right?”

“We can go back.”

Jang Chae Yeon nodded slowly in response to my question.

“…”

“A-Rin.”

“Ah, no.”

“A-Rin?”

Song Ah Rin hurriedly shook her head and looked at me.

Only one emotion radiated from her expression.

Desperation.

“No. I’m not useless. This, this level of pain means nothing to me.”

“A-Rin.”

Shaking her head, she continued speaking.

“During the Red Lady incident! I endured even through the pain! I’m not useless enough to be thrown away for something like this…”

“A-Rin!”

“…”

Song Ah Rin’s words halted as our eyes met.

“You’re right, A-Rin. You’re not useless.”

“Y-Yeah. I’m not useless. So…”

“But right now, you must go back.”

“…”

At my words, Song Ah Rin’s expression froze.

She stared at me, trembling as if she heard something terrifying.

“No…”

“For your sake.”

“…”

Frozen, she looked at me for a while before muttering with a tremulous voice.

“Okay.”

If you really wish for it, then…

“That’s right. I wish for it. For A-Rin.”

“…Ugh…”

She looked at me, murmuring.

Her expression was so similar to that of an abandoned child that I felt I had to hold onto her.

“A-Rin…”

Before I could finish my sentence, Song Ah Rin vanished.

The expression she had just before disappearing lingered vividly in my mind.

“…When you go back, please take care.”

“…I will.”

Jang Chae Yeon murmured behind me, and I could only respond that way.

-Creeeeek…

The cruise was sinking.

*

“Puhah!”

Surviving on a sinking ship was harder than expected.

In movies, everyone swims with all their might,

“Cough…!”

Jang Chae Yeon came to sit beside me, expelling water.

“Turns out movies were all lies.”

“I just found that out now.”

Swimming in strong currents felt nearly impossible.

To warm my cold body, I unconsciously sat next to Jang Chae Yeon, and she huddled close to me.

We were sitting at the top of the ship.

Now there’s no higher place to go.

“Drowning is supposed to be really painful.”

“That’s right.”

“Have you experienced it?”

“Cube.”

“You went through that there?”

“…”

Jang Chae Yeon nodded.

The water had risen to my thighs.

“…”

What should I do to get out of here?

-Feel the pain.

And “watch carefully,” they said.

Seeing and hurting.

Surely there must be a way to break this.

But I could think of nothing at all.

“Chae Yeon.”

The water had risen to my waist.

“Yeah.”

“I’m afraid it’s a very rude question, but…”

“Yeah.”

Jang Chae Yeon stared intently at me.

“Could you die with me just a few more times?”

“…Haha.”

The water had risen to just below my chin.

She looked at me and smiled.

A smile without a speck of dust.

“If you want that.”

“······.”

“I’ll do it. As many times as you want.”

Jang Chae Yeon smiled, and at that moment, we submerged in the water.