Confession Night

The night deepened. Wind whistled through the steel beams of the abandoned factory, the low groan of rusted metal echoing faintly. The space felt impossibly quiet for a place that had hosted a battle only hours earlier. I drew a slow breath. My breathing was steady. My heart still pounded hard, but the rhythm was stable, no longer erratic.

The message surfaced in my mind far more calmly than before. I clenched my fist. Muscle moved smoothly beneath the skin. My strength had become far more precise than it had ever been, as though my entire body had been recalibrated. I raised my arm. Black fibers shimmered faintly beneath the skin before vanishing again. The bio-armor no longer needed to deploy externally for me to feel its presence. I had already confirmed its capabilities during the fight. It dispersed impact and blocked the intrusion of infectious material. In short, I could now touch the slime of infected creatures without consequence.

And that fact was no longer mine alone. It affected everyone around me.

I lifted my head. A small fire flickered on one side of the factory. Yerin had gathered rebar and fashioned a makeshift stove over the campfire. Cans sat heating on top of it.

"Oh." Yerin spotted me and smiled. "You're awake."

I nodded.

"When did you wake up?"

"About an hour ago?" She shrugged. "Everyone's starting to stir."

Our light rest after the battle had stretched longer than intended. I glanced around. Seorin sat leaning against the wall, rifle resting across her knees. Her eyes were closed, but she wasn't fully asleep. She was likely half on guard. Arin sat beside the fire, hands outstretched toward the flames, her face bathed in warm light. A little farther away sat Doyeon and Arka. They kept a noticeable distance between them. In the strangely awkward silence, Arka spoke first.

"You're up. How's your condition?"

"Fine. Much more stable than before."

Arka snorted. "Didn't need to ask. I can see that."

She rested her chin on her hand and studied me. "Jealous."

Doyeon frowned. "Jealous?"

Arka shrugged. "Getting stronger is always a good thing."

Doyeon said nothing. Instead she looked at me, her gaze far more cautious than before. I spoke.

"I'd like you to tell us what you know."

Doyeon nodded. "I was planning to."

She straightened her posture. "Let's start with the corporations."

The fire crackled, sparks rising. Doyeon's voice remained calm.

"The Carneaus Mechanics I belong to is a much smaller organization than you probably think."

Yerin blinked. "Small?"

Doyeon nodded. "More precisely, it's part of a multinational corporate alliance."

I narrowed my eyes. "Alliance?"

Doyeon explained. "On the surface they appear to be competitors, but in reality they operate under a cooperative structure."

She placed four pieces of scrap metal on the floor. "Four corporations." Then she added a fifth in the center. "With the alliance above them. Carneaus Mechanics is one of those four."

Her tone stayed even. "And, to be honest…"

Arka cut in with a grin. "Carneaus is the weakest of the four."

Doyeon closed her eyes. "…I can't deny it."

Yerin whistled. "The weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings?"

Arka laughed. "Exactly."

I folded my arms. "So there are three stronger corporations out there."

Doyeon nodded. "Correct."

Yerin muttered, "The scale just keeps getting bigger," while pulling a can off the stove and spooning some into my mouth. "What about the Central AI?"

"The central control AI of the research facility." She continued feeding me without pause, though her eyes flickered slightly at our ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠casual intimacy. "Originally it was just a management system. But comparing it to your story, it's clearly become an independent entity now."

Arka chuckled. "That's what makes it interesting. Don't you think so too, Chaerin?"

I shook my head. "Not really."

"Liar." Arka rejected my answer outright. "You enjoy getting stronger."

I didn't reply. Because she wasn't entirely wrong.

Just then Yerin clapped her hands. "Alright, enough of the gloomy talk."

She grinned. "Let's get to the main point."

I raised an eyebrow. "Main point?"

Yerin pointed at me. "Your bio-armor. Thanks to that, we don't have to worry about infection anymore, right?"

The atmosphere shifted. I blinked. Seorin opened her eyes.

"Yerin. Watch your mouth."

Seorin's low warning didn't deter Yerin. "Why not? It's true."

Harin's face flushed red. "That's…"

Yerin pressed on. "If we don't have to worry about infection spreading, then there's no need to hold back anymore."

Seorin sighed. "……"

Arin smiled quietly. Harin covered her face. I pressed a hand to my forehead.

"Yerin."

"Hm?"

"Do we really have to talk about this now?"

Yerin shrugged. "Of course. The condition's been solved."

Then she said, quite naturally, "So shouldn't we move to the next stage?"

Doyeon’s eyes widened as she finally grasped the direction of the conversation. "……What?"

Yerin smiled. "Why?"

"No, I mean…"

Doyeon couldn't finish. She looked between us. "This conversation… Is it what I think it is?"

Arka burst into laughter. "Ahaha!" She slapped her knee. "This is fun. Keep going."

Yerin rested her chin on her hand. "It's simple, really." She looked at me. "Chaerin. We all like you."

Seorin closed her eyes. Harin turned scarlet. Arin continued smiling softly. Yerin continued, "All four ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of us."

Doyeon froze completely. Arka, by contrast, looked delighted. "Wow. This party's even more interesting than I thought."

Doyeon spoke. "I don't understand. Maintaining that kind of relationship while struggling to survive seems…"

Yerin answered immediately. "That's exactly why we maintain it."

Doyeon's eyebrow twitched slightly.

Yerin didn't smile. "In a world where we might die at any moment, what's strange about wanting to stay close to the people we like?"

Doyeon was silent for a moment. Then she said, "……I grew up in the city. More precisely, I was trained within the corporate system and lived by its order."

To her, human relationships had always been clear: superior, subordinate, collaborator, or target for elimination.

"But what I'm seeing now is completely different."

Doyeon hesitated, searching for words. "It's…… inefficient."

"Is that so?" Yerin shrugged. "Well, you're not wrong. No one else is living my life for me. But we don't live for the sake of efficiency."

Doyeon fell silent, but she seemed to be turning the words over in her mind. "Efficiency and inefficiency……"

Arka's voice cut in from the side. "So, are you all doing it together?"

Time seemed to stop. Harin's face grew even redder. Seorin's eyes narrowed. Yerin smirked. "Why? Curious?"

Arka snickered. "Of course. I've never seen anything like this. One guy with multiple girls is one thing, but……"

Her gaze dropped lower. She whistled. "With that, even most men would have trouble comparing. Maybe it's not so strange after all. If it stays like that without ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even getting hard, it's definitely something to brag about, right?"

Arin objected. "That's not why." Because they were both bio-roids, she didn't use honorifics. "We've liked her since before."

I pressed a hand to my forehead. Why was the embarrassment always the listener's burden? ……The most troubling part was that it wasn't only embarrassment I felt.

Arka's expression turned serious. "I see." Her blue eyes turned toward me. "Chaerin. Would you consider letting me join too?"

The atmosphere froze solid. Even Yerin, who had been casually steering the embarrassing conversation until moments ago, looked genuinely taken aback. "Hey. Are you actually insane?"

Arka shrugged. "Why? It looks fun."

Doyeon said, "There's a limit to jokes."

"I'm serious." She stood up and struck a pose, as if showing off. Her well-developed muscles did emphasize her chest, hips, and thighs in a way that was admittedly impressive. "We'll be fighting together anyway. My face and body aren't bad, right?"

I covered my face. "……I'm going crazy, seriously."

"Chaerin." Seorin called my name. Her voice was calm, but there was a strange tension beneath it. She slowly rose and walked toward us. Setting down her rifle seemed to make her more nervous than entering combat. She stopped in front of me.

"……This isn't an impulsive decision." She looked straight at me, her gaze as steady as ever. "We've already decided this a long time ago."

She held out her hand. I took it. Her hand was warm.

"Being by your side."

This time Harin moved cautiously. "Um……" Her voice was small and careful as always. But she didn't run. She walked toward us. "……I feel the same way."

I couldn't say anything. Then a gentle hand reached out from behind and embraced me. It was Arin.

"Chaerin. We've already shared so many moments together."

Her voice was calm and soft. I exhaled. The warmth of all four bodies pressed close at once. Four breaths, four heartbeats. All of them drawing nearer around me. The campfire flickered, and in its red glow their eyes shone. Tension, seduction, sensuality, and something deeper. I steeled myself and spoke.

"Even like this, I'm possessive. Once you cross the line, that's it. No matter what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠happens afterward, I won't let go. You won't regret it?"

Seorin answered immediately. "I won't."

Yerin smiled. "It's already too late."

Harin nodded. "……Yeah."

Arin took my hand. "It's fine."

I closed my eyes. Then I pulled all four of them into my arms.

"Hold me tight."

"As if you'll break us."

"Mark it on our bodies."

"Proof that we're your women."

The campfire flared brightly. And the night grew quietly, deeply darker.