He suddenly stopped in his tracks, remembering something he turned to tell 016 but once his head turned to 016 his whole body went stiff.
Thirteen froze under 015's cold gaze. The weight of it pressed into him until his chest felt tight, and fear crawled under his skin. He didn't linger he turned sharply, dragging 014 with him. Both slipped out quickly, eager to vanish before the silence grew sharper.
"Brother?"
The word cut through the air like a blade.
015's perfect smile cracked. That title spoken so intimately, so casually to someone who wasn't him struck deep. Unacceptable. Entirely unacceptable.
Around them, the others exchanged wary glances. No one dared breathe too loudly. One by one, they slipped away, making themselves as invisible as possible, until only two figures remained.
015 stood motionless, long, silky strands of hair veiling his expression. He didn't utter a word. His thoughts were a snarl, mind scrambled, torn between rage and restraint.
016 watched him closely. Inwardly, he smiled. This reaction was always the same. The moment he strayed toward others, 015 fractured. The moment he reached for someone else, 015's composure splintered, driving him to seize control of the sudden imbalance of attention, in this state 016 can ask for someone's head and he would receive a head that very day
016 didn't know the exact reason for 015's abnormal obsession, nor did he care to untangle it. What mattered was simple: someone was willing to stay. Someone would bristle with anger at the smallest slight. Someone would embody the role of a brother he had once dreamed of but never truly had.
He stepped closer. Slowly, he reached out and brushed aside the hair shadowing 015's face.
Sharp eyes glared back at him hollow, yet burning with an intensity that seemed to strip the air from the room.
"Big brother," 016 said.
The words snapped 015 from his trance. His gaze steadied at once, focus slamming back into place.
"Lil brother… what do you want? Big brother is willing to do anything," 015 asked, his voice unsteady. His hands shot forward, trembling as they gripped 016's shoulders like lifelines he couldn't afford to lose.
016's lips curved faintly. A silent smile polished, practiced. Yet his eyes betrayed something deeper: an inexplicable satisfaction, a flicker of cruel delight at how easily strings could be pulled.
But he wasn't in the mood to use any favors. Not today. A punishment still loomed over him for harming fellow pupil, and his backer's protection was never certain. The man's whims were unreadable kindness one moment, indifference the next. To expect consistent save from his backer was like praying to a broken god.
And being favored by that backer only meant trouble. Too much attention meant the doctors' eyes turning, scalpel-sharp, toward him. More experiments. More torment.
So no, it wasn't the right time to use it now.
"Big brother? What are you saying?" 016's voice softened, each word deliberate, threaded with quiet gentleness. "I don't want anything. Come, let's go wash up, alright?" His tone flowed like warm water, unhurried, coaxing. Beautiful. Too pleasant to resist.
015 stiffened, the words sinking in like hooks. Tension clawed up his spine, choking him. His pale face twitched, torn between relief and dread. If he didn't act, if he didn't hold his place 016 might slip away.
016 noticed the panic, the tightening grip on his shoulders. He ignored it, his expression a mask of calm. He simply reached down, took 015's cold, clammy hand in his own, and tugged gently.
"Big brother," he repeated softly, "let's go take a shower. The blood is sticky."
The touch, the coaxing voice—it cut through what little reason 015 had left. He let himself be led, footsteps dragging as though in a dream. His lips moved soundlessly at first, then louder, muttering like a broken chant.
"I can't lose anymore… I've already lost too many. No. No. No no no no no—never. Never again."
The words followed them down the corridor, a trembling vow stitched with madness. And 016, still holding his hand, wore that same pleasant smile, eyes glinting with quiet triumph.
When they reached the bathroom door, 016 tugged at the collar of his white turtleneck and unzipped it just enough to expose the code carved into his neck. It resembled a barcode clinical lines seared deep into flesh.
He leaned toward the camera fixed at the frame. A thin blue light scanned across the mark, flickering once before the lock gave way with a soft click.
In the facility everything was systematic here: everything measured, ranked, reduced to a number. The scan decided your worth your meals, your comfort, the respect you were shown, the punishments you endured. Rank was law, and law was absolute.
Except for 016.
His ranking was unstable, shifting without pattern, swaying between privilege and degradation. Some days the system bent around him, smothering him in luxury. Other days it stripped him bare, casting him lower than even the lowest. All of it rested on the will of that person whose favor came like a flick of a coin: indulgence one moment, indifference the next.
The door slid open.
At first, the chamber was nothing but blank sterility white walls. Then the sensors registered the heat of their bodies. Panels shifted. Tiles reshaped. Water steamed. In moments, the emptiness transformed into a five-star hotel bathroom gleaming marble floors, golden fixtures, a tub wide enough to swallow a man whole.
016's lips curved faintly, but it wasn't amusement. More like contempt. He scoffed and stepped inside, heading straight for the tub without sparing the transformation another glance.
015 followed close behind, and the system stirred again. The room shifted once more, a seamless wall sliding into place, splitting the vast bathroom into two mirrored halves.
015's side was almost identical: polished stone, clean water, gilded details. Yet the difference remained. The marble didn't shine quite as sharp. The lights didn't burn quite as pure. The luxury was still there, but thinner, stretched. To anyone else, it would have seemed the same. To 015, the difference pressed against his chest like a silent hand, reminding him what he already feared that even in closeness, he stood divided.
The wall loomed between them, offering the illusion of privacy.
016 slipped into the steaming bath with practiced ease, his every motion calm, deliberate. He didn't need to look. He could already feel 015's unease radiating through the divide
016 tried to start a conversation, voice even, almost casual. No response came from the other side of the wall. With nothing to read, no face, no tone he fell quiet. The silence stretched, filling the room.
On the other side, 015 stayed still, silent for his own reasons. His thoughts moved carefully, quietly, a plan taking shape in the back of his mind.
Minutes passed. They finished bathing and dressed in the fresh clothes laid out for them.
Just before they reached the exit, a panel in the wall slid open with a soft hiss. Two small devices were pushed out compact, metallic, no larger than a coin. Both of them looked at the objects without surprise and picked them up.
015 pressed his device against his wrist. At once, it unfolded, wrapping tightly around him like a bracelet. 016 did the same, the metal fixing itself in place around his hand.
A moment later, the mechanisms activated. Thousands of fine needles slid into their skin in a single motion. The feeling was sharp, invasive, but brief. Neither of them reacted.
Once the devices were fully locked, the heavy door clicked and opened, clearing the way forward