A Visit (2)
"……You piece of shit."
That was what Kwon Ari thought as she walked the street, wearing a look she couldn't begin to hide her disgust behind.
That was way too far.
If the Commander had possessed even a shred of a human heart—no, if she were even human to begin with—words like those should never have left her mouth. Kwon Ari was genuinely furious. Right there, on the spot, she had even considered carving the Commander's whole body to shreds, and she only barely held herself back because Kim Hana was beside her. Because that woman was there, the one person everyone got along with.
That was when it happened.
"……Oh."
The new girl. A little odd, maybe, but kind, and bright. Kang Yerin had sent a message—someone standing one step aside from the whole commotion.
……Wait.
"She got hurt by the Commander too, didn't she."
Then it ought to be fine to tell her.
Kwon Ari relayed the facts as faithfully as she could. That the Commander was trash from the crown of her head to the last word out of her mouth. A character on par with a demon. Kwon Ari simply could not tolerate a person like that.
"Why is she even sitting in the Commander's seat?"
If only this hearing would kick her clean out...
……Huh?
Kwon Ari blinked her blue eyes once, twice, and stared at the chat in sheer disbelief.
"She's... working a part-time job?"
That Commander? The one who couldn't even speak properly? What kind of—
The shock didn't end there. The home of a Commander who looked, at a single glance, as if she ought to have money to spare turned out to be a shabby studio in a college neighborhood—far, far too far from the Security Bureau.
"Why would she live alone in a dump like that...?"
Calling it personal taste didn't quite cover it. It was beneath her. A person who bore the title of Commander, someone who never showed so much as a hint of hardship out in the world—was she that short on money? Now that she thought about it, she had never once seen the Commander eat or drink anything besides water.
……Huh?
"You can stop now, Commander."
"……"
"Please."
Kim Hana looked at me with tears brimming in her eyes.
I'd suspected it from early on.
This person had drawn a line between my ability and my behavior. She had seen through all of it. Hiding it any longer was pointless, and the moment that thought struck me, I dipped my head and apologized.
I'm sorry for acting however I pleased until now.
When I wrote it out and showed her, she froze. Kim Hana's hands stopped on the wheel.
……In the middle of the road.
This is dangerous... What if we got into an accident?
"You really, truly are an idiot."
Kim Hana said it through her sobs.
"Who did you think was ever going to understand, putting on this childish play all this time...? Why? Getting hurt by everyone like that, wearing clothes that don't even fit your body... why...?"
"……"
I had nothing to say. Had it shown that badly? Had I looked that foolish?
I'm sorry.
"Don't apologize!!"
Hooonk—!
With the blare, Kim Hana slammed the center of the steering wheel with all her strength. I flinched. The shock jerked through my whole body.
"Look at me properly! From now on, if you so much as let sorry or I apologize leave your mouth one more time, I swear I won't let it go!"
"……"
Kim Hana. Looking at her face head-on, I could see a thin trail of tears.
……Why? Worrying over me, when we weren't even particularly close...? That didn't seem right. I truly hadn't done a single thing that would earn anyone's goodwill, and she had to know that as well.
"Look me in the eyes! And promise me you'll never—never—put on an act like that again. Seriously... before I slam this thing into something."
"……"
Miss Luna Luvia. Because what I had said about her had gone too far?
It would make sense. Even I thought it had been the worst, most garbage thing I could have said. ...Still, it didn't seem to be purely for that reason.
This person... now that I think about it. She had urged me to take a kit test back then, too. Was she simply, purely, someone who couldn't leave well enough alone?
"Please."
"……"
"For your own sake."
I was fine. It didn't bother me at all. I only needed to remain in this seat. If I could just see them with my own two eyes... If the units grew strong enough to stop the cataclysm to come, if I could only reach the branch point where every unit, Lee Sera included, survived, then behavior like this didn't matter. It was nothing.
The moment I thought that—
"Commander."
"Mmph—"
Kim Hana pulled me into her arms all at once. She held me so tightly I couldn't breathe. ...Even so, it was warm. Was this what they called warmth? A clear, warm sensation I had never felt, not even in my previous life, spread through my whole body.
...How strange. So this was what it felt like to embrace someone. I was learning it for the first time.
Hooonk—!
We hadn't even pulled onto the shoulder, and the cars around us were honking like mad. Kim Hana paid them no mind. She was still holding me tight.
"...Pfft."
Something about the situation was absurd, and a laugh slipped out of me on its own. ...Truly, it felt like the first time I had laughed in a very long while.
"You promised, didn't you, Commander...?"
"……"
I'm sorry, but I can't make a promise like that. So I shook my head.
Instead—Kim Hana. Maybe it would be all right to explain everything to her.
Exactly half a year from now. The date, specifically, was September 1, 2032. A great cataclysm would unfold over Seoul. Led by Lee Sera, the units who existed now would be slaughtered in droves, and the Security Bureau, having lost everything, would have no choice but to begin rebuilding from nothing. An enormous number of lives would be sacrificed. As the machinery of the state collapsed, the region called Korea itself would transform into one vast gate.
Gate to Heaven.
This land, remade into a paradise for the angels, would soon meet its end as thermonuclear weapons came raining down.
I don't want... a future like that.
I was the only one who knew what was coming. I had no choice but to act. And so I shook my head—meaning I could not promise.
"...Commander."
"……"
"Where do you live."
Why my home...? When I looked at her in puzzlement, she went on.
"There must be things you can't properly say here. I need to hear them properly. The concrete circumstances. Slowly."
"……"
Kim Hana added this.
"If you can convince me, I'll help you with everything I have. Just not the way you're doing it now."
Words I was hearing for the first time. Someone offering me help.
"You really live here, Commander?"
I nodded. At the nod, Kim Hana heaved a long sigh.
"There's nowhere decent even to park. Why on earth..."
Because this is the cheapest place.
"You get paid plenty. Why in the world."
Would it be all right to tell her...?
Commander. The Commander from before the prologue—a stretch of time I don't know. Me. This body came with a truly complicated family history. My father, especially: a powerful politician. It was plain fact that I had only reached this seat thanks to his backing. And in return, under the name of political funds, a considerable share of my salary was handed straight up to him.
...A greedy man. At first, that was what I thought of my father. Just someone hungry for money. In reality, it seemed a little different.
"Is that another thing you can't talk about?"
"……"
"More importantly, Commander."
Better to talk inside. I walked in at a steady pace, opened the door, set my shoes neatly in the tiny shoe cabinet, and dropped down.
"?"
I sat on the floor. A studio was, quite literally, a studio. Even one bed left no space for furniture, so I took the floor and gestured for Kim Hana, the guest, to sit on the bed.
"Really... this is nothing like what I expected. The Commander's true self..."
I tilted my head. What was wrong with it? Had I done something wrong?
"More than that. Be specific, Commander. Why exactly are you doing something like this."
Kim Hana took out the kit. It was an ability examination kit, the lettering displayed on it clear as day.
I opened my mouth. ...More precisely, I typed everything into my smartphone and showed it to her.
"She's out of her mind."
The Commander. She hadn't spared a thought for herself. Thinking only of the future to come, she had cast herself as a villain, in order to protect everyone.
"...Ha."
All that came out was a sigh. Would a great cataclysm really unfold over Seoul in half a year?
And she's strengthening the units to prevent it?
Kim Hana caught it. This part was the lie. There was no proof, but the air of it was unmistakable.
...No. The Commander's goal wasn't simply that. From everything she had watched until now—
To save every unit who would otherwise be sacrificed. Was that why she had played the villain in front of them...?
An incident on that scale always came with sacrifices. Not everyone could be saved. And yet the Commander had been truly vicious toward every single unit, in order to sever even the faintest lingering goodwill. ...She was certain. And so—
Please help me.
Kim Hana nodded. She had intended to help her from the very start anyway.
But.
"All right, Commander. I have a condition of my own, though."
"……"
Half a year at most. If they safely stopped the cataclysm half a year from now—
"This sort of thing—"
Please.
"—stop it."
A nod. Slowly, the Commander nodded.
How much pain must she have been in all this time. How deeply must she have been wounded. Kim Hana couldn't bring herself to meet the Commander's eyes, because she was carrying a burden no one could bear alone. That was what Kim Hana thought.
Not anymore, though...
Kim Hana held out her hand. The Commander took it without hesitation.
Thank you.
The Commander said it with a bright smile.
On the way home after finishing her part-time shift, the internet was nothing but talk of the Security Bureau. Miss Luna Luvia, especially.
Because of me... Shouldn't I tell her the truth as well?
No. She steeled herself. The fewer people who knew about her ability, the better. The units, above all—not a single one of them could ever be allowed to learn of it. ...Because it was that kind of ability. She was sorry to Miss Luna. Truly sorry. But she couldn't tell her.
It was around then that her smartphone buzzed. A text had arrived, from a number with the caller ID blocked.
"Huh?"
Her name. All three syllables of it, written there plain as day. Information only one person knew. The name that person had absolutely forbidden her to use.
...Father.
It was a text from her biological father. The messages kept coming.
……Huh?