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On Monday, two days after the group mission, Jisung reluctantly wakes up to the blaring alarm. As always, he barely got two hours of sleep thanks to insomnia and daily nightmares that haunt him.
Most might think these nightmares would come from a traumatic childhood experience. But, all Jisung thinks about is the face of the person he had last killed. Those last few moments, the rush of adrenaline, the harsh coldness of his voice, the steadiness of his hands—he hates it
He hates that he doesn't hesitate. He hates that he doesn't seemingly care. Every victim's last words pray on his mind, eating him up from the inside out in his most vulnerable state—while he's asleep.
He looks at Hwara, the girl who's soundly asleep on a bed a couple of feet away from his own. He knows the girl doesn't care about her kills—the desperation in Sungchan's voice only confirms the thought. Recently, especially in the past week when they've taken hits, he envies her. In every mission, Hwara took care of cleanup and the brunt of the killing, simply because she wanted to. Jisung was grateful for that. Without even realizing it, she's making his life easier.
Standing up, the boy immediately walks into the bathroom, quickly brushing his teeth before getting into the shower. He shakes everything out of his head, getting ready for the new lifestyle. After all, today's the first day of the new school year. It's the first day of the first year of college for him, Chenle, and Hwara.
Hearing the shower on, Hwara slowly opens her eyes before looking at the time. Unlike Jisung, she had a fantastic sleep despite being a night owl. She's worry-free and always has been in her mind. She didn't care about the monsters in the night or even the dark voices of her mind. She'd been shutting them out unknowingly for so long that it's like they don't exist.
But they do, slowly eating away at a conscious hidden away in the core of Hwara's heart.
Knowing that she won't be able to do anything until Jisung gets out of the shower, Hwara turns on her phone, giving her brother a call.
"What is it, Hwa?"
"I'm bored. What are you doing?"
"Getting ready for college. How about you?"
Hwara shrugs, not really realizing her brother can't see it. "I'm just sitting on my bed. Anyway, you old kid, how does it feel to be going on to your second year in college?"
"You know what's weirder? I'll be seeing you there too."
"You saw me in high school—"
"Yeah, I know. But, that's different. Thinking about you going to college makes me feel weird. It's like you're old."
Hwara rolls her eyes, slightly smiling. "I'm not even eighteen yet, idiot. I'm just too smart for my own good."
"Stop flexing, idiot. Anyway, I have to go. See you at college, Hwa."
