The Price of a Lie
"Jeff. Shine."
"Yes?"
"Mm."
"Would you two like to try going to school?"
It started during our usual routine. As we were studying with Amy, she suddenly threw out a question that made both Shine and me blink in surprise. School? It was a completely unexpected question. I mumbled for a moment before asking her back.
"Why school all of a sudden?"
"If you go there, you can make lots of friends your own age."
Instead of answering, I twirled the pen in my hand. The spinning pen eventually lost its balance and clattered onto the book.
"Do we need friends?" Shine asked, sounding genuinely puzzled.
Amy smiled softly at Shine's question and nodded. "The more friends you have, the better. And isn't it boring just staying here all the time?"
"It's not boring. And this is the safest place, so I don't want to leave," Shine refused flatly.
I nodded in agreement with her words.
"You don't have to go outside. There's a school inside this facility too."
My jaw dropped at Amy's words. It was a massive building, so it wouldn't be strange for almost anything to be inside, but the existence of an actual school was quite a shock.
"Are there other kids there?"
"Yes. Most of them are kids just like you."
I nodded. The news often reported on terrorist attacks at research labs. I had wondered where all the rescued children went; it seemed they lived in this place called a school inside the facility.
"Amy."
"Yes?"
"Do we have to go there too?" I asked, looking straight into her eyes.
Aside from Shine and me, there were no other young children to be seen here. That meant we would eventually have to go there too.
"No, not at all. It's just..."
I exchanged glances with Shine. Our eyes met in the air, and we nodded, understanding each other without a word. Neither Shine nor I wanted to leave Amy.
"I don't want to."
"Me neither."
I shook my head and closed the workbook on the desk. Today's study session was over. There was no need to check the answers; they were all correct anyway.
"I don't want to leave you, Amy."
I recalled the memory from last time. Amy throwing herself into danger for us without a single moment of hesitation. Aside from Shine, Amy was the first person to show me unconditional affection. I liked Amy.
Under the desk, my tightly clenched hand crackled with a faint blue light. I don't want to leave.
At our response, Amy fell silent. Her eyes wavered, and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. Wearing a strange expression that was neither a smile nor a cry, she covered her face with both hands.
I knew Amy couldn't watch over us forever. She was always busy. It was only right that she spend her time on more valuable things than catering to us.
That day, after Amy left the room for work, I called Shine over and sat her down at the desk. Since we needed to have a serious talk, I pulled out the coffee I had hidden behind Baek-si and poured it into a mug with rabbit ears sticking out.
"Shine."
"Yeah."
"We need to go to Jin."
"No." Shine shook her head, blowing gently on her rabbit-eared mug before taking a sip. The rich aroma of coffee drifted up like a haze.
"Amy can't watch over us forever."
"We have Victor and Rain."
"Victor and Rain both have a lot of work of their own."
"But I don't like Jin."
"Shine."
Shine squeezed her eyes shut at my words, her entire body expressing her distaste for Jin. Her plush dinosaur tail drooped lifelessly.
"Jin wants us."
"I don't want to."
"If we can do the same work as Amy, we can spend more time together."
"No, the outside is dangerous."
"Shine."
Shine, who had her eyes closed, finished her coffee and slammed the mug down with a thud.
"Jeff."
Her eyes snapped open. A strange, swirling current stirred within them. I silently raised my hand.
Zap!
"Jeff. The outside is dangerous."
"You're right. Just like you said, the outside is a dangerous place."
Shine's voice began to seep into my ears. My head grew foggy, and my focus slipped. But I shook my head and channeled my ability.
Zap!
A blue light flared before my eyes. The strange current woven into Shine's voice scattered.
"Jeff...?"
Shine's eyes wavered. She reached a trembling hand out to me.
"How did you...?"
Shine stood up and began to slowly approach. I took a step back, watching her.
"Jeff... don't do this..."
When did it start? It must have been right after I was struck by the lightning that fell from the sky. I realized Shine was lying to me. And about a great many things, at that.
I pressed a hand to my forehead and reached out.
Shine. If you're really my family. If you really like me. I wish you would stop lying to me.
Crackle!
A blue barrier unfolded in front of my hand, blocking Shine's path. My memories tangled in confusion.
"Jeff!" Shine screamed.
The strange wave carried in her voice bypassed the blue barrier and pierced straight into my brain. I clutched my head and collapsed to the floor. The blue barrier that had enveloped my body vanished.
Shine slowly walked toward me. Her small footsteps fell in sync with the beating of my heart.
"Shine. You're lying to me, aren't you...?"
She silently hugged me. Her warm body heat seeped through her soft pajamas.
"Shine. I'm confused." I reached out and wrapped my arms around her. "Shine is my precious family... but those people keep getting in the way. They keep trying to tear us apart, don't they?"
My breathing grew ragged. I gasped, hugging Shine even tighter. I felt like she would disappear if I let go even for a second.
"Shine... I don't want to leave Amy either. I like Rain too."
It's okay, Jeff. You have me.
"Right, Shine. I have you. You're my family. Right? You weren't lying to me, were you?"
Behind her whispering voice, a hazy memory surfaced.
A massive glass wall. Shine sitting on the other side.
"Them... we have to destroy those bad guys at the lab... to do that, we have to do the same work as Amy..."
My racing heart began to calm. My ragged breathing steadied, and the strength drained from the hands hugging Shine.
"Amy says it's dangerous... then we should go to Jin..."
"Jeff."
"Go to Jin... and tell him I want to do the same work as Amy..."
"Jeff..."
"Don't lie!"
In that hazy memory, I was sitting in front of Shine. With a massive glass wall between us. Looking at her, holding a microphone in my hand. I asked her: Does it hurt anywhere?
"Don't lie!"
I had never done that. It was all a lie.
There was no way Shine would lie to me. Right? Shine. Tell me it's true. Tell me those people, the people from the lab, were the ones who lied to me.
"Shine. Answer me. You didn't lie, did you? It was them. The people from the lab lied to me, right?"
"That's right, Jeff. You're right."
"Right... that's it."
My trembling focus began to return. Shine tightly held my shaking hands and pulled them to her chest.
"Shine. I really hate liars."
"Mm."
"A long time ago. When I was very young. I had my first friend at the trash mountain."
"Mm. Jeff."
"He told me that if I waited there, I could eat delicious food."
"Mm."
"I stayed there. I kept waiting. But there was no delicious food."
I exhaled calmly and spoke.
"I was just standing there, but an old man suddenly ran out, called me a thief, and beat me mercilessly."
The man who beat me, calling me a thief. He didn't have the slightest intention of listening to my words. Unable to even resist, I just kept taking the blows.
Just as my consciousness was fading, I saw my friend in the distance. He was holding delicious food in his hands, watching me as he ate.
Liar.
With my fading consciousness, I glared at him. The salty taste of blood. I could never forget the moment the blue light flashed. I still couldn't forget the screams echoing from all directions, and the twitching bodies collapsed at my feet.
Where is the delicious food?
No answer came.
It snowed heavily that day. The blue light flowing from my hands blew out every single streetlight in the area.
"Shine. I really hate liars."
So don't lie to me.
I pulled my hands from Shine's grasp, opened my arms, and hugged her.
"You're not lying to me, right?"
Shine stroked my hair and replied.
"Yes, Jeff. I didn't lie."
I nodded. Shine doesn't lie. That was enough.
Slowly catching my breath, I spoke to Shine.
"Shine. We need to go to Jin."
Shine looked at me silently. Our eyes met in the air; she still looked confused.
"You have to come with me, Shine."
I grabbed Shine's hand, turned around, and walked forward. Shine followed, pulled along limply. She clung to my back with tottering steps.
"Let's go."
Leaving the room, I headed straight for the park. Shine followed me in silence, her hand clasped in mine.
The entrance to the park. Since people's vacations weren't over yet, there weren't many people around. But perhaps because we were wearing dinosaur pajamas, their eyes naturally drifted toward us.
I walked past them without a word. Since vacations were still ongoing, there was bound to be no staff managing the rabbit farm.
I knew this because I had asked Amy before. Jin was incredibly fond of rabbits. In fact, he was the one who had managed the rabbit farm here in the very beginning.
So, while there were no staff around, going to the rabbit farm meant we could meet Jin.
Jin. He wasn't someone I had particularly good memories of, but I needed his help if I didn't want to be separated from Amy.
I wanted to be of help to Amy. I had more than enough power to do so.
Passing through the park paths with Shine, we arrived at the rabbit farm at the far end.
The building was empty. It seemed the cleanup of the building I had wrecked was finished, as everything was sparkling like new.
I walked past the building and headed further inside.
To where the rabbit farm was. Arriving in front of the small fence, I looked around.
"Hmm..."
There sat Jin, the man I was looking for.
Surrounded by rabbits, he was putting dry hay into his mouth and chewing on it.
"Hay...?"
Jin was eating rabbit food.