Chapter 103: Chapter 103 - The Hero Is Trapped in Villain Prison

Humans are peculiar. Or perhaps, special. Twinkling stars gaze down from the heavens. The fragile beauty revealed in the struggles of tiny, feeble things born on that lonely blue dot. Tonight, those beautiful stars shine steadily, refusing to fade. Seeing stars in the heart of the city is a stroke of pure luck. Amid them, the Director gazes especially at two red stars. Two stars glowing crimson. "Lily." In the reflection on the glass wall, Lily breathes quietly, the pitch-black muzzle of her gun—darker than a black hole—pressed against the Director's nape. "Mind if I use your computer for a bit? I've still got some work saved from the past few days." "Go ahead." June 27, 2035, 10:12 PM. While digging into REP project intel inside the Association with Crow, the Director encounters Lily in the hallway. A gun is already trained on the back of her head. Dragged forcibly to the Director's office in that state, Mullen begins sorting her final files. Lily doesn't interfere with any of it. "Alright. I'll wrap it up quick. But ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠why the gun? You've got better weapons. You could end this in ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an instant." "Sorry. I need this one today." They converse in voices dripping with kindness. If not for Crow's gun lying between them, they might have chatted warmly as always and drifted off to sleep. "...Why are you doing this? You can at least tell me." The Director turns from those beautiful stars back to her desk. Her slender fingers tap leisurely at the keyboard. Tap, clack— That mechanical noise is the only sound in the office. The very report Crow will read three months later fills out bit by bit, now nearing completion. "Why did you do it? No second thoughts, even now?" "No." She chuckles softly. They both laugh. The Director finishes tapping the keys, and Lily chambers a round in midair, leaving no fingerprints. "Can I ask you a few things too?" "Of course, my princess." "Did you know I was behind the REP project?" Lily offers no reply, but the Director types on, revealing part of the answer. "Since two days ago." "Then why didn't you do anything?" "Hm, I won't answer that." "Fine." The ticking clock, the typewriter clacks, impatient foot-tapping, and the sound of the Director setting down her glasses. "Whew, that's about it." "All done?" The Director stretches. Even in that moment, Lily sits still, etching the Director's final moments into her eyes. "Yeah. You planning to delete this?" "Yes. Thinking of smashing it." "Don't. I worked really hard on it." "I'll think about it." The Director grins and rises. Lily doesn't stop her, letting her do as she pleases. "You've grown so much. You were just a baby before." "Really?" They share fond smiles. The Director approaches, stroking Lily's hair, and Lily breathes deeply, savoring the touch. "Eaten yet?" "Not hungry today, so I skipped." "I told you not to. Kids these days love being too skinny. You gotta eat up and put on some weight to look healthy." "Sorry." Even though Lily's the one holding the gun, her voice trembles first. "...Sorry." She forces a smile, but tears of agony stream down. Tears so honest from a girl who seems like she'd never shed one, that she wipes them fiercely with her left hand. "Sorry..." The Director heads back to her seat, considering a long-overdue smoke, but decides it might mess up the scene. "Once I'm dead, Crow gets arrested, right?" "Yes..." "REP was made to bury him too?" "Partly. I picked only the ones who've been bothering Oppa and you. They're all dying anyway." Fearing even her tears might hit the floor, Lily catches every falling drop. No trace of her presence lingers in this room. "What's the point? I thought hard for a week straight, but I still don't get it. Won't you explain a little to Auntie?" The Director asks Lily. Her black suit feels unbearably stuffy today. "You think making him look back at you like this will make him love you?" Lily's sobs begin to subside. "No. I just want Oppa to change his mind." "Crow already loves you, Lily." "Not like that." No more tears flow. A fierce will, strong enough to suppress her sorrow, lifts Lily to her feet. "Why do you think Oppa won't accept me?" Her fingertips no longer tremble. Even the gun aimed ahead at Crow steadies, silently targeting the Director. "Because he cares that much." "Exactly. Isn't it ridiculous? Oppa can't ever love a girl he sees like family, no matter what. He feels guilty about it." "Lily, Crow is—" "That's why he's such an idiot, living in sacrifice without knowing his own pain. The world's that infuriating. Good people always lose." The world Lily faces holds no beauty. "...So I'll fix it all." Humans suffer no matter their efforts, and eventually, unable to contain their hearts, they fall ill. "I'll set everything right. Oppa can only be happy by my side. This world doesn't deserve him." "Lily, this will only make Crow suffer more." The Director looks at her with sad eyes. The little girl's desperate cry is too heartbreaking to bear. "He'll hurt at first. But in the long run, he'll be happy with me." "Lily, there must be a better way." "There isn't. Oppa will never change. If I don't force it, he'll waver between Justice Unnie and this disgusting world until he dies." Lily meets her gaze with equally mournful eyes. The child who knew only destruction and slaughter has grown into an adult, seeking to save those she cherishes. "...So please die. If the chance comes, I'll bring you back. I promise." "Ever revived the dead? Please don't with me. Humans should end after one death." "I see." Of course, there'd be a fitting price. Since no one can have it all in this world. So for now, she kills the Director. "Anyway... what I mean is... Auntie, I'm really sorry. But I love Oppa so much." Lily readies the trigger. "I love him so much I can't live without him." The Director rises slowly, stepping right up to the muzzle, then turns to gaze at the night sky. "I ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠see." Surprisingly calm. No protests of injustice, no sobbing. "Yeah." The Director doesn't find her fate here—dying by Lily's hand—unfair or tragic. She simply aches seeing the pain on Lily's lovely face reflected in the glass. "...Auntie." Lily's final question. Thirty seconds later, the Director takes a bullet to the back of the head and dies instantly. "Why aren't you angry?" "Dunno. I'm not." "You don't hate me?" "I do. But I feel sorrier for Crow." Lily finally presses her slender finger to the Director's back. A little closer, and... She could see everything the Director feels now, everything she's pondered, even the files from the past few days. "..." In the end, Lily doesn't read the Director's heart. "You know, Auntie Mullen feels like my mom." "..." The Director edited the reports she'd written, created a new folder, and left a message for Crow. "So I won't read it. I promised Oppa. No more using it on people." She changed "[Lily]" to "[Crow]>, "[That child]" to "[He]>, and rephrased sentences for smoothness. In the direct message to Crow, she admitted being the REP mastermind and added supporting lines. "So I'll never use it on either of you." Lily chokes up. At this moment, this point where she must kill, somehow, the Director's heart feels visible. What a strange thing. "...Mom? Don't get the wrong idea. It's not because of you. I'm too disappointed in you now. Even if it kills me, I'm siding with Crow. Someday he'll smash your plan, escape, and read what I left." Only on the brink of death does the Director spit harsh words. The word "mom" draws a fierce reaction from Mullen. She speaks the opposite of what she's written. Perhaps hoping Lily will smash the terminal in fear. But her true intent remains unknown. "You're done for, Lily. The world won't bend to your whims. Some things are beyond even your powers. Crow will abandon you in the end." But Lily takes it all in, engraving the final words in her ears. "Do whatever. I can't stand the sight of you anymore. Don't revive me. Being near you makes me sick." Lily won't smash the terminal. She becomes endlessly weak around Crow and the Director. "Ah, ready to kill me now? I've got nothing more to say." The trigger pulls slowly. "...Goodbye, Mom." Etching her into her eyes one last time, Lily says, "Even if you hate me, I love you, Mom." Bang!Bang!Bang!Bang! Crow, unable to contain his rage, unleashes a barrage into the Director's office. Sparks fly from the terminal, and sirens begin to wail. ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠But Crow has no intention of fleeing hastily. He simply stares at the pitch-black screen with reddened eyes. Part 1 - Frame-up End.

Chapter 103

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