Dawn's Lingering Shadows
The next morning after the interlude, the base had returned to normal. Well, not exactly—the base personnel had handled those two faceless ones themselves right from the start, and we'd kept them huddled together to prevent any potential bullshit. Thanks to Yoo Soyeon's ability that I'd brought back, the mutual suspicions had evaporated, and everyone had regained their energy. Of course.
Sizzle...
"!!!!!!"
"Tough sons of bitches."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
But we had our own work to do.
Room 408.
Sizzle...
I stared at Lee Jeongsu's body melting in the sunlight, then turned my eyes to Hwang Jinseok basking in it.
Sizzle...
Jeong Suhyun spoke up.
"Not melting bothers me."
Yeah, it would.
I clicked my tongue watching Hwang Jinseok react just like the ones in the library. Jeong Suhyun sighed as he looked at him.
"Hoo... If they don't stay out too long, they could wander around."
"Right... the problem is—"
As expected, sunlight wasn't that big a weakness for them. It was a weakness, sure, but one they could overcome. Hwang Jinseok was writhing in agony, desperately trying to avoid the rays.
I shook my head, eyeing the blisters bubbling red on his face.
"Easy to spot like this, but at dawn or dusk with less sun, or at night? Hard to tell them apart. And we don't even know how they come to be."
"... Now with Yoo Soyeon, we can distinguish them. And since we know, we can respond."
"Too late for that."
"Yeah."
I glanced outside. The moment the morning sun rose, everyone including Yoon Mina had gone out to soak it up. For a mood boost, roll call, whatever. People sat midway across the playground, chatting under the sun. Luckily, no deaths, so no major shock.
No, not quite.
Yoon Mina didn't look great, but the other women were looking after her. Yoo Soyeon was oinking from afar, lightening the mood.
"Tell them to come in before they burn."
"Should be fine. We got Kim Yunjin."
"Right."
"Yeah. Plus, Kim Jungshik can summon sunscreen with his skill."
"Huh..."
"Anything like medicine works."
Handy ability, alright. I sighed and said to him,
"... Can you handle it on your own?"
Jeong Suhyun looked aggrieved.
"Yes. Honestly, this time was overkill. I've been checking everyone's status windows morning and night."
He had. If anything, Jeong Suhyun was strict about this stuff—never slacking.
"... Still worries me. If they can mimic status windows too, the same shit could happen anytime."
"But now we have Yoo Soyeon, so it should be fine."
Jeong Suhyun pointed out the window at her. She was chattering with Choi Yuri and Kim Yunjin, sweating bullets but smiling, so she seemed okay.
Or not.
Even if not, with Kim Yunjin bossing the women around, no real issues.
I looked at Yoo Soyeon and told Jeong Suhyun,
"If they can mimic status windows, they could nullify Yoo Soyeon's ability too."
"......"
True enough. They'd neutralized his ability already; eventually, they could do the same to hers.
Jeong Suhyun let out a deep sigh.
"Still, her compatibility's higher than mine. Better ability, right?"
"Hah... what's her number?"
"99. Must be damn good."
"Figures. Bae Sungkwan's 91 was the highest so far."
If status windows had abilities, we'd spot them all. But this incident showed they weren't that friendly to people.
"My ability not working on them... gives me a headache. Yoo Soyeon can't stay awake 24/7."
"That's why."
I told Jeong Suhyun we'd head to the black fog under Yuseong University today.
"Sucks we can't do much."
"Not leaving you all out. Just—"
They were too vulnerable to gunfire. Him, Lee Yoon, Yoo Soyeon, Jeong Yena—even bringing those four detectors would boost efficiency big time. But the world's not easy. I could tank with my 6-second invincibility, but they only had one life each. Hell, no deaths in the library was pure luck—Yoo Soyeon's power and the enclosed space. Out in the open taking bullets? Done for.
"Got it, Junyoung."
"Yeah. So do your job right this time."
"Yes."
"Check if Yoo Soyeon's works during sleep too."
"...Understood."
Then we could just park her in room 409 as a human detector.
I sighed and told Jeong Suhyun,
"Eat breakfast, then I'm off."
"Yes. Be careful."
"Get Yuseong details from Yoo Soyeon and Jeong Yena."
"Yes."
With that, I headed to the cafeteria. The sunbathers on the playground had already gone there a while ago.
Creeeak.
Opening the cafeteria door, I saw the women up front: Kim Yunjin and Yoo Soyeon, Lee Seoyul holding Yoon Mina, Jeong Yena slumped over.
Kim Yunjin spoke.
"So Soyeon’s allergic to peaches?"
"Y-yes. C-can't eat them."
"Got it. Been just whipping up food so far, but gotta watch allergies now. Can kill you if bad."
"Y-yeah."
"Anyway, casual speech. Told you yesterday—why formal?"
"I-it's, uh, h-habit..."
Getting along fine. Yoo Soyeon's stutter hadn't improved, but the women were straightforward, not mean, so chatting okay.
"Yena unnie casual too, right?"
"Me? No allergies anyway."
Jeong Yena fit in better than she looked.
I grabbed food on a tray and headed over.
"Ah, boss."
"Junyoung."
"Something up?"
Everyone seemed fine. Faking it or not, whatever.
"Yunjin."
"...Boss? What's up?"
"One sec."
"Okay."
Kim Yunjin whispered to Choi Yuri and Lee Seoyul, then came back. I led her past the first-floor main building to the back door.
"...Boss. Why somewhere secluded? Expectations up?"
Kim Yunjin talking nonsense. I sighed.
"You okay?"
"...I'm fine. Mina's the issue."
Mina. Dropping formal already?
Hah...
Yoon Mina. Like Kim Yunjin said, probably not fine. Bad shit happened... but gossiping without her around ain't great.
"Still."
"...I'm good. This much? I can handle worse. Of course..."
"...Of course?"
"Yesterday was embarrassing."
True. Carrying her in front of everyone? Even I'd be burdened. Her personality aside.
"No regrets though. Wanna go again?"
Or not.
"......"
"Hehe. Sorry. Joke. Tell me if it bugs you."
"Nah."
Didn't bug me. Pretty girl flirting? Not hating it. Felt her changing the subject anyway.
Plus.
...Heard roughly already.
Hammer to the back, right? Hwang Jinseok. Betrayal from someone trusted. Or shock from the faceless ones lingering.
I sighed and said,
"Yunjin."
"Yeah."
"Watch Yoo Soyeon and Jeong Yena close."
"Soyeon and Yena unnie?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Suspicious."
Low odds, but yeah. Hard to fully trust just Jeong Suhyun's checks.
Especially Yoo Soyeon.
Even with her power, maybe influenced by the seventh remnant.
White... but Liberation Army had whites too. Worst case, she's a remnant limb wrecking our base with her ability—who'd know?
Then.
"Boss, that's paranoia. Cleared already."
Kim Yunjin narrowed her eyes. I looked awkward.
"Is it?"
"Yes, but fine. No issues probably. Told Suhyun?"
"No. You tell him."
"Whoa, trusted now?"
Her expectant eyes. I nodded.
"Who else but you? Trusted from the start."
"......"
"So handle Hwang Jinseok with Suhyun."
Honestly.
Leaving it just to base folks risky. One swap and mass shooting? Base done.
Still.
They're not.
I had work. Had to trust them. Best hand to early allies like Kim Yunjin and Jeong Suhyun.
"...Got it."
Kim Yunjin nodded quietly. Before the mood got weird, I said,
"...Back soon."
"...Yeah. Go safe, boss."
"Yes."
Honestly, Kim Yunjin wasn't great either—probably from this mess. Wouldn't say that normally.
Gotta handle fast.
Remnants, faceless— for future ops, deal quick. Internal crisis hit morale bad, results or not.
After cleanup, check Yuseong University humanities where shots rang out. Close by, risk spillover...
Hah. One body.
Click.
With that, I headed to the future apartment complex with the black fog, delegating all internal shit to others.