The villa's systems purred softly—deceptively calm.
Haewon, now fully healed by Iseul's gift, sat on the edge of the couch with a faraway expression.
She kept replaying what she'd seen—the light, the screams, and the terrifying beauty of what Iseul had done.
Across the room, Joon-Seok and Ji-ho were in the private office, coordinating with contacts and security feeds.
"Were you able to get a hold of your uncle?" Ji-ho asks what they tired sigh taking off his optical holo reading glasses.
Joon-seok who just ended his meeting coming from the Zepenet virtual world.
"He said that he'll see what he has going on." Came with has nonchalant reply.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Ji-ho asked in disbelief.
Sigh
Joon-seok leaned back in his seat rubbing his hand over his face.
"I don't know, but he's the most reliable person I know despite his —erm— unique personality and strange temper."
In the lounge, Chul-jun idly adjusted a disassembled pulse cannon while Chang-min sat nearby, his senses tuned to the faint hum of Neo-Seoul beyond the walls.
For a brief moment, the chaos outside felt like another world.
Then—they noticed something strange.
The air felt sharp every time they inhaled.
Chang-min frowned and inhaled sharply.
Choon-Hee coughed.
Chul-jun rubbed his throat.
The air felt different—unnaturally different, almost sterile.
"Are you guys OK?!" Haewon cried, catching Choon-Hee as she stumbled.
She looked over and saw that the others were in the same condition.
"What's going on with the air?" rasped Chang-min.
"The air? What happened?!" Choon-Hee asked, confusion written across her face as she struggled to sense the difference.
"I can't breathe!" Chul-jun coughed before collapsing to the floor.
"Brother Chul!!" Choon-Hee shouted in panic, running to his side.
She called out, voice sharp and commanding. "Gullius!!"
Joon-Seok and Ji-ho rushed from the private office, abandoning their meeting.
"Something's wrong—they can't breathe!" Haewon said, her eyes flicking toward Iseul's pod.
Both men understood the unspoken words instantly.
Ji-ho rushed to Chang-min's side helping him up when he was wiped off and shoved away by him.
"I—I—Cough —got it!" he grunted out roughly through clinch teeth.
Tsk.
Ji-ho scoffs at him not amused by his temper tantrum.
"You guys are definitely related by blood. You're really just like your cousin."
Chang-min only glared not having the energy to restore back
Still, Ji-ho stood close by him just in case he needed any extra assistance.
Getting impatient waiting, Haewon called again.
"What's happening?! Gullius, hurry, come quickly!!"
Joon-Seok frantically scanned the room for Choon-Hee.
Seeing her leaning against the couch, he rushed to help her up.
As his fingertips grazed hers, she yanked away, glaring.
"Don't touch me!"
He froze, taking in the hurt behind her eyes.
After a moment, he ignored the glare and reached out, lifting her into his arms carefully, keeping her upright.
"I said get off of me! I don't want any help from the likes of you!"
Cough! Cough!
She heaved, weakly pushing and striking at his chest, unconcerned with her shortness of breath.
He caught her hands gently, bringing them close, placing soft butterfly kisses on them.
"Calm down, don't tire yourself anymore, my blossoming tree—" Joon-Seok coaxed, but she cut him off with a quick, furious movement.
SLAP!
"Who's your blossoming tree? Who's your… what? Anything?! I don't even know who you are!"
She turned her back to him.
"ChoCho—" Joon-Seok started, but Choon-Hee cut him off.
"No! You don't get to calm me anymore. I don't associate with virus liars, static-brain clean-air breathing goldgears, and big fat synthetics like you!"
She broke out into a coughing fit, heaving, harshly as her lips began to turn a hint of blue.
Joon-seok froze in his tracks as he felt sharp pain in his chest from her words.
He would prefer her punches over the sharp stabs and stings of her words that always seem to leave deep wounds.
It hurt him to see her like this, though he understood he was in the wrong and that it would take time to earn her trust back if he could.
Joon-seok reached his hand out to help and opened his mouth to say something but was caught off with the presence of the long-awaited mech.
At that moment, Butler Gallius finally rushed in with his datapad, pausing immediately.
His synthetic eyes flickered as he scanned the room.
"Curious," he murmured.
"Radiation levels have decreased by 11.8%. That's far too clean for you three. Your bodies haven't acclimated yet."
He quickly adjusted the villa's life-support system and handed out oxygen masks.
"Here—wear these until the environment rebalances."
Choon-Hee, Chang-min, and Chul-jun obeyed without question.
Haewon helped Chul-jun, then Chang-min when he slapped Ji-ho's hands away.
Joon-seok went to help Choon-hee but she only snatched the mask from him and watched as Haewon put it on her two cousins.
"How can something like this happen?" Choon-Hee asked, voice shaky and dry.
The masks hissed softly as they breathed, easing the strange tightness in their chests.
Gullius thought for a moment before explaining.
"Well, things don't happen like that unless you have a high-grade S-level radiation absorber. And sadly, we do not have any power or network to own one of those."
'Then how did the radiation get absorbed by so much ?'
Everyone shared the same question, glancing at Iseul in her pod.
Was it a special gift? It had to be.
But no one had the heart to voice it.
They all had watched the memory logs and even Haewon after she woke up.
The group explained what they knew but she wanted to see what they saw know what they knew.
She was still in awe and disbelief. Iseul is a unique and special person and her gift fits her just well.
For a few minutes, calm returned. The air stabilized.
But beneath that calm, everyone felt it—a subtle pressure in the room.
Something about Iseul's presence had changed.
And whatever it was, anyone coming for them would be far too late to stop it.