The Silence That Follows

The silence after the Baram Battle stretched on for an unnervingly long time. A breeze swept through the gaps between the shattered containers. The place that had moments ago been filled with the chaos of hundreds of footsteps and gunfire now felt impossibly still. I was trying to catch my breath. Even though the fight was over, my body was still locked in combat mode. My heart was racing too fast. The sensation of air moving in and out of my lungs was painfully sharp. I lowered my head for a moment. The ground was littered with the remains of the infected. Black mucus seeped into the cracks in the concrete. It was also an attempt to ignore the blatantly transformed state of my lower body.

Following my gaze, the four pairs of eyes around me all stopped at once. A brief silence. Seorin reacted first.

"……Chaerin."

She called my name, short and quiet. Then she moved immediately, picking up a discarded coat and wrapping it around my waist, quickly covering what was left of my torn combat suit.

"Cover yourself."

A curt command, but her fingertips were trembling strangely. I turned my head. Yerin was staring at me with wide eyes.

"Hey…… that……."

She couldn’t finish the sentence. Then she let out a small laugh.

"……That’s no joke."

She said it lightly, but her gaze was anything but casual. It flicked away almost immediately, yet in that brief moment I caught a tangle of emotions—surprise, curiosity, and a faint, subtle anticipation.

Harin’s face flushed red as she looked away.

"Sorry……."

She apologized for some reason.

"I…… didn’t expect this."

Arin was different. She looked at me slowly, neither startled nor flustered. Instead, her eyes were calm and quiet. Then, as always, she took my hand.

"Does it hurt?"

I shook my head.

"No."

"Then that’s a relief."

Her hand was warm, but that warmth carried a strange tension. The reason was obvious. Of course, it was the same for me.

"……I didn’t expect this either."

Yerin snorted.

"Well, yeah. Who would have?"

She casually linked her arm through mine.

"But can I be honest?"

Seorin shot her a glare.

"Watch your mouth."

"No, I don’t mean it like that."

Yerin shrugged.

"It’s just……."

She paused, choosing her words carefully, then said,

"Isn’t this a better change than we thought?"

Seorin’s eyebrow twitched. Harin looked shocked, while Arin smiled quietly. I sighed.

"Is this really the time for that kind of talk?"

Yerin laughed again.

"I was just trying to ease the tension."

She turned to look out over the battlefield.

"We survived, after all."

She wasn’t wrong. A little distance away, the survivors were moving—dragging the wounded, clearing collapsed barricades. The sound of breathing from those who were still alive could be heard. The infected had all been dealt with, but the survivor group had clearly taken heavy losses. There were many injured, and some who no longer moved. They were watching us. But compared to the hostile stares from earlier, their eyes had changed. Fear, awe, and a hint of confusion.

The leader walked over slowly. Dust and blood from others clung to his face. He looked at me and said nothing. Then he bowed his head.

"……Thanks to you, we lived."

It was a short statement, but the emotion behind it was clear enough. That was all that needed to be said.

"More than anything, Yerin. If it weren’t for you, we would’ve been wiped out."

Yerin’s eyes widened—she clearly hadn’t expected that. The leader looked at her.

"You still don’t want to come back?"

With the current state of the survivor group, having more capable fighters was obviously better. Yerin rejected his offer.

"Sorry, but I’ve already chosen where I want to be."

As she spoke, she tightened her grip on my arm. The leader nodded calmly.

"Then there’s nothing to be done. I would’ve done the same in your position."

Yerin gave a small laugh.

"So you’re not treating me like a monster anymore?"

The leader looked at me again.

"You are a monster. I’ve never seen or heard of power like that."

His gaze swept the surroundings—the people he couldn’t protect, and those who survived just in time.

"Still, you fought on our side. ……For now, that’s enough."

There was no forced politeness in his words. Maybe I had earned some recognition after all. It wasn’t a bad feeling to know the people I’d just saved wouldn’t point their guns at me again.

In that moment, words surfaced in my mind.

……So it’s still watching. I glanced up at the sky for a moment. Somewhere unseen, it was observing us. The Central AI.

Carneus Mechanics main building. Doyeon was staring at the monitor. The footage showed the battle recording playing on loop. Especially the final scene—Chaerin’s figure. Her eyes trembled ever so slightly.

Arka’s voice came from behind.

"You liked it after all, didn’t you?"

Doyeon didn’t answer. But her gaze never left the screen. Arka stood with arms crossed, watching the footage.

"The fight was impressive, but……"

Her blue eyes sparkled.

"Seeing that, I’m pretty interested as a woman too."

Doyeon’s hand brushed lightly over her glove. Then she muttered in a very small voice,

"……N221."

But she quickly shook her head.

"No, it was Chaerin, wasn’t it?"

She quietly repeated the name on her lips. Arka continued,

"Is that reason enough to give up on retrieval?"

Doyeon answered immediately.

"The retrieval team took too many losses."

"Really?"

Arka’s blue eyes gleamed.

"Is that really all?"

Doyeon fell silent. But in her mind, thoughts circled beyond just Chaerin. The appearance of the infected, the movement of targets, corporate data, and the timing. Everything had been too precise—precise to the point of feeling inhuman, which only made the unease stronger.

"That one got stronger."

Whether Doyeon reacted or not, Arka kept talking.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Not collapsing even at 25%. It’s not just high compatibility. Maybe compatibility rises in proportion to infection level. And yet it’s still not a Completed Bio-roid. Just how strong would it become once it reaches that stage?"

Arka shrugged. She liked fighting. Winning was better than losing. But she wasn’t the type to ignore odds ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠or refuse to accept results.

"The next fight might be my last chance to beat that one."

"……."

"If its infection level rises again after that and it still doesn’t collapse…… the gap between us won’t close anymore."

Unless Arka’s own infection level and compatibility suddenly increased beyond their current state.

Doyeon let out a slow breath.

"……Next time."

"Hm?"

"There’s something I need to confirm."

Her eyes narrowed. Something the corporations didn’t know—the true designer of this experiment. If she kept watching Chaerin, she might find out where that existence was. After all, Chaerin was clearly at the center of all this.

That night, we returned to the factory. The familiar space felt more stable somehow. The biggest advantage was that there were no people or infected nearby.

"Mmm."

The aftereffects of the battle were still lingering. My body was still hot. My muscles remained tense, and my nerves twitched with hypersensitivity. Harin checked my vitals on the tablet.

"25% is…… more stable than expected."

Seorin asked,

"Any side effects?"

"Neural overload."

Harin looked up.

"And……."

Her gaze turned toward me. More precisely, downward.

"Hormonal changes."

Yerin snorted.

"You don’t have to sugarcoat it. We all saw it."

I sighed.

"……Please, just stop."

"Ahahaha."

Yerin laughed loudly, clearly enjoying teasing me. Then Arin spoke.

"Then, as always, let’s begin the routine."

At her words, everyone fell quiet. What had become a natural part of our daily life—the post-battle stabilization. We took our positions. I sat on the soft mat. We always slept together like this. With five people, we had to push several mats together, but it had become routine.

The four of them approached slowly. Seorin sat first, pressing against my right arm.

"Don’t move."

Her body heat touched me. Arin embraced me from behind, her warm arms wrapping around my back. Harin hesitated for a moment before settling against my left arm. Yerin stood until the last moment, then said,

"……If I don’t do this at least once a day, I feel uneasy and can’t sleep."

With ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that, she finally came over and sat on my thigh. The body heat, breaths, and heartbeats of all four overlapped.

I closed my eyes. The tension in my body slowly eased. But other sensations rose. Warmth, softness, skin—and my lower body. I clenched my teeth. Yerin noticed immediately.

"……Hey."

Seorin opened her eyes. Arin seemed to feel it too. No one said anything, but everyone knew. Harin’s heartbeat quickened. Yerin let out a small laugh. Seorin sighed quietly. Arin simply tightened her embrace around my back without a word. I covered my face with my hand.

"……Sorry."

Yerin spoke.

"For what?"

I didn’t answer. A moment later, Arin whispered,

"It’s okay."

Her voice was as gentle as always.

"We’re here."

I closed my eyes. The infection rate remained the same. But somewhere in my mind, another thought surfaced.

……What if there was no risk of infection? What if it was truly safe, with no worry of transmission?

I sighed inwardly. I realized I was hoping for that day to come.

‘Even now, it’s probably watching.’

The Central AI. That ambiguous existence—neither ally nor enemy—was testing me, testing us, and yet I couldn’t help wondering if it would eventually grant what I wanted.