"Did you see Sunoo?" Jungwon asked Sunghoon, who was busy sharpening a knife on the porch.
"He went to Setta's place first," Sunghoon replied.
"Satya is picking Setta up, right? So you're going to attack them there?" Jungwon asked.
"No. I'm going to intercept Satya on the road," Sunghoon said.
Jungwon simply nodded in understanding.
"Hey, do you think I'm wrong?" Jungwon asked.
"Wrong about what?" Sunghoon replied.
"I suddenly feel… impressed by Hesa," Jungwon said.
"Honestly, I feel the same. Even until now, he hasn't thought about ending his life, even though he once gave up," Sunghoon said.
"He gave up, but still chose to rise again," Jungwon said.
"Yeah, that's why I admire him. It's just unfortunate there's something else bothering me that makes me almost forget that," Sunghoon said.
"What's bothering you?" Jungwon asked.
"First, about Riki's story—he said he accidentally kidnapped the wrong person," Sunghoon said.
"Oh yeah, I remember. He was still angry at Kyungmin for stopping him when he tried to kill Niki," Jungwon replied.
"He already kidnapped that kid, but he felt something strange that made him think he kidnapped the wrong person," Sunghoon said.
"What did he feel?" Jungwon asked.
"Kyungmin tried to escape, and they fought. But somehow, Riki clearly felt that the person he was fighting wasn't Kyungmin… but Kangmin," Sunghoon said.
"Wait—Kangmin is Kala from the past, and that kid is already dead. There's no way we can sense his presence here," Jungwon said.
"There's only one explanation. Kala is lingering as a spirit, and Riki sensed Kyungmin through him," Sunghoon said.
"That actually makes sense. That Kala thing might become a disaster for us," Jungwon said.
"I told Heeseung about it, but he said to just ignore it. Kala won't be able to interfere anymore," Sunghoon said.
"That's good, but your face still looks gloomy," Jungwon said.
"I feel like I shouldn't have told Heeseung. He seems too suspicious right now," Sunghoon said.
"What suspicious? I think he's normal," Jungwon said.
"Aren't you suspicious about how he knows Kyungmin's name in the present? He even knows Kyungmin was friends with Kala," Sunghoon said.
He sighed briefly before continuing.
"He knows more than we do, but he's deliberately hiding it."
~~~~~~
That morning, Hesa woke up with tears wet on his cheeks.
"H-Heeseung…"
In his dream, he saw the past life of his copy—Heeseung.
Heeseung was a homeless child who almost got hit by a wealthy couple. Being an orphan, he was eventually adopted by them.
The couple was worried because they saw bruises all over his body. Heeseung said the bruises were punishment because he couldn't meet the money target while singing on the streets, set by thugs who controlled him.
In his new home, Heeseung met his six adoptive siblings. It didn't take long for him to get close to them. He was happy because he finally had the life he had always dreamed of.
But of course, it didn't last peacefully. That night, Heeseung witnessed his parents being murdered, and he was also attacked. When he woke up, he was in the hospital. His siblings told him the house had burned down, and they had lost everything, while their parents' assets were taken by the killers.
No relatives were willing to take them in, so the seven of them were sent to an orphanage.
"H-Heeseung…" Hesa's heart ached watching all of it. He felt angry at Heeseung, but also a bit of sympathy for his copy.
Clink.
"What was that sound?"
Hesa turned toward the kitchen and walked over carefully.
He peeked behind a cabinet.
"Kayn…"
"You don't need to peek, it'll hurt your eyes."
"Oh, Asta. I don't think Kayn would dare break into someone's house," Hesa said as he approached Asta who somehow appeared in his apartment kitchen.
"That kid is too scared," Asta said.
"So why are you here? Breaking into my unit and all," Hesa said.
"You're so hostile toward me," Asta replied.
"Just answer the question," Hesa said.
Asta stopped cooking for a moment, turned around, and placed a sticky note on the table.
Hesa glanced at it.
"Oh, so you were told to come. I thought it was voluntary," Hesa said.
"Kayn mentioned a bit about your two friends who were recently hospitalized after being attacked by their own twins," Asta said.
"Since when do you talk to Kayn?" Hesa asked.
"I don't like talking to him because he's too stiff, but yesterday he was the one who called me first," Asta replied.
"Kayn called you?" Hesa asked.
"Usually I come on my own, but that kid kept calling me yesterday. It was annoying," Asta said.
Hesa glanced at the fried rice in front of him.
"You're really Asta, right?" Hesa asked.
"Are you serious? You think I'm Kayn?" Asta replied in disbelief.
Hesa stared closely at the red-haired boy in front of him. He really looked like Asta, but for some reason Hesa felt like he was acting.
But thinking again, there was no way someone as calm as Kayn could act like that—especially not like this noisy alter ego.
"N-No, forget it," Hesa said before eating.
"You think too much," Asta mocked.
The red-haired boy sat down and started eating as well.
"Why are you the one staying with me right now? Why not let Kayn do it?" Hesa asked.
"You don't like me here?" Asta said, side-eyeing him.
"You're so annoying," Hesa shot back.
"Kayn asked to switch, but I forced him to rest. He might run into one of those copies again. That kid can't fight, so he gets kidnapped easily," Asta said.
"So you actually care about him," Hesa said.
"If he dies, I die too, obviously," Asta replied.
"Yeah, whatever," Hesa said, uninterested.
He continued eating.
But suddenly, Asta started coughing after one bite.
Hesa tried to hold back his laughter but failed and laughed first.
"What's wrong with you?" Hesa asked.
"How can you even eat this fried rice?!" Asta said loudly.
"It's food. Of course I can eat it," Hesa replied.
"It tastes awful. Too much MSG," Asta complained.
"You made it yourself, you MSG generation," Hesa said.
"You're crazy. How can you still eat something this… abstract?" Asta said.
"That's the point. You feel it now, don't you?" Hesa replied.
"What do you mean?" Asta asked.
"You just mocked Kayn for being weak, but at least he has something he's good at. You? You don't," Hesa said.
Asta clicked his tongue in annoyance and drank water again.
"So you deliberately ate it just to mock me?" Asta asked.
Hesa pointed at his empty plate.
"If I really wanted to mock you, I would've praised it and not finished it," Hesa said.
"Then what?" Asta asked.
"I just respect you for cooking," Hesa said.
Asta looked at him with a teasing expression.
"You think I can't read your mind? You've been eating while thinking about your friends in the hospital. Even bad taste doesn't affect you right now," he mocked.
"Think whatever you want. I don't care," Hesa said, then walked to the sink and left his plate there.
Leaving Asta watching him from behind with a quiet, sad expression.