Sunny’s despairing fist lingered in the air a mont longer than necessary, suspended between an offered conclusion and an already obvious rejection, before he slowly lowered it. The wind swept past the balcony again, carrying with it a sharper chill than before, though neither of them reacted to it. The quiet between them stretched, not entirely uncomfortable, but heavy in a way that demanded resolution.
He exhaled softly.
"Nope. I don’t want to."
The words were simple, delivered without hesitation, and that alone made them land harder than anything else he could have said. There was no attempt to soften the impact beyond the faint, almost apologetic curve of his lips.
Seele’s head tilted, her brows knitting together as disbelief surfaced plainly on her face.
"What’s that supposed to an?"
Sunny shrugged lightly, as if the answer required no elaboration.
"Exactly what I said. You and ? It’s not happening."
For a brief second, her expression didn’t shift into anger like one might expect. Instead, it lingered in that strange space between confusion and resistance, like her mind was still catching up to what she had just heard.
"And why is that?"
Sunny didn’t answer imdiately. His gaze drifted past her, out toward the distant snowfields where the fading light of sunset painted the world in muted shades of gold and violet. It wasn’t that he was avoiding her question — it was more that he needed to align his thoughts into sothing coherent enough to explain.
"I know how you feel. And you know how I feel."
He paused, then glanced back at her.
"But do you know ?"
Seele blinked, clearly not expecting that.
"...What?"
’This is going to be rough...’
Sunny continued, his voice steady:
"You know my na. You know my power. You know what I’ve done for you, and you’re grateful for it. In your mind, I probably have this great image. You must see as so sort of hero."
There was no accusation in his tone — only a quiet observation.
"But you know what? Heroes die. That’s their whole thing, actually. They do sothing crazy, then they die."
A faint smile flickered across his face, though it lacked its usual playfulness.
"I only really match half of that criteria. Sheer luck and scheming can go a long way."
Seele stared at him, her confusion deepening.
"And this relates... how, exactly?"
Sunny’s expression softened slightly, though not in a comforting way. It was the kind of softness that ca from soone acknowledging an unpleasant truth they had already accepted.
"Unlike the rest of you, I can’t bring myself to choose the lives of others over myself. You’re a hero — and that’s where the problem is."
Her grip tightened around his hand without her realizing it, as though her body had reacted before her mind could process the aning behind his words. Sunny continued, glancing briefly at their hands before pulling his away.
"Don’t get wrong. I consider you guys my friends. That wasn’t the case two months ago, but it is now. But there’s nothing beyond that."
The wind moved across the balcony again, and this ti, the silence that followed it felt heavier.
"I don’t think I’d die for my friends. If my friends die, I’ll be a bit sad, but I’ll move on after an hour. With a life as dangerous as mine, it would be stupid not to expect loss."
Seele flinched, though it was subtle enough that most people wouldn’t have noticed. Sunny did.
He watched her for a mont before asking:
"Have I ever told you about my sister?"
That caught her off guard.
"...No? Why have I never heard of this?"
He shrugged.
"It’s a bit of a sore topic, but I’ll give you the short version. Her na was Rain. Our parents died when we were kids, so we got put into an orphanage. I wasn’t well-liked, so she got adopted on her own."
His tone remained even, but sothing about the way he said her na carried a weight that hadn’t been present before.
"I was mad and wanted my sister back, so I ran away. I killed a bunch of people and robbed their corpses, saving up enough money to pay for a private detective. He gave her address, and I found her."
Seele’s eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t interrupt.
"I wanted to be the hero who saved the damsel in distress. But she didn’t need saving. If anything, her life looked pretty nice and cushy to . So I just left."
The simplicity of that conclusion made it feel heavier than anything else he had said.
Seele stared at him, her expression tightening.
"Why would you do that?"
Sunny crossed his arms, tilting his head slightly as if considering the question rather than reacting to it.
"At the ti, I thought her life would be better if so rat claiming to be her brother didn’t show up at her door. I was trying to be the hero. And it hurt so much that I wondered why anyone would be selfless."
His gaze drifted away again, toward the horizon.
"If I had the chance to stand in front of that window again, I don’t know what I’d do. Maybe I’d burn their house down and keep her to myself. That was what it was all about, anyways. Possessing her."
Seele’s breath caught slightly, but Sunny continued without noticing — or perhaps without caring.
"I’d be sad if she was sad, but I might’ve been happier with a sad sister than no sister."
For a brief mont, he fell silent, as though actually weighing that thought.
Then he exhaled and looked back at her.
"So, Seele. As a hero, I have no doubt you’d die for . But would you kill anyone and everyone for ?"
The question hung between them, sharp and unavoidable.
Seele t his gaze without flinching this ti.
"No. I wouldn’t do that."
Sunny smiled faintly.
"I’d kill you and die for Rain, as long as it ant she was mine and mine alone."
He paused, then added almost absentmindedly,
"Well, there’s other problems too. If I was forced to gamble between you living or dying, I’d bet the latter. That’s what heroes do."
He suddenly chuckled.
"Then again, I’m not much better. It’s sink or swim for , and I have no idea how I haven’t sank yet."
He sighed softly.
"Back to my original point. I can accept you dying as a friend, but not as anything more. Sorry. I’m not too good at explaining things like this."
Seele didn’t respond imdiately. She just stared at him, her expression completely still, as though she hadn’t quite processed everything yet.
Then, slowly, her face twisted into disbelief.
"That’s it? You’re just too scared?"
Sunny grinned, the familiar expression finally returning, though it didn’t quite carry the sa energy as before.
"That’s my whole thing, didn’t you know? Heroes usually aren’t cowards, so I’ll take that as a complint."
His tone softened slightly as he added.
"I’ll admit, I like you, and I’m glad you feel similar. But I don’t want you, and I don’t need you."
The words settled heavily between them.
He raised his fist again, holding it out toward her.
"I think you’ll be fine. We cool?"
Seele stared at his hand, then back at his face. For a mont, sothing fragile flickered in her expression, sothing that might have broken if pushed further.
Then it disappeared.
"A fist bump? Really?"
Sunny pouted slightly.
"You got any better ideas?"
Seele’s lips curved into a strange smile, one that didn’t quite match her usual expressions.
"Actually, I do."
Before he could react, she moved. Her form blurred, afterimages trailing behind her as she closed the distance instantly, and then her lips were against his.
Sunny froze completely, his thoughts stalling for a brief mont as his brain failed to process what had just happened.
Then reality caught up.
He pushed her away forcefully.
"Were you listening to anything I said?!"
Seele stumbled back slightly but quickly regained her footing, grinning despite the faint blush creeping across her face.
"We’re cool now. I’d try to get you to change your mind, but I’m not that bitter. I’ll take that as payback for making go through the trouble of getting this dress just for you to reject ."
Sunny stared at her, still trying to recover.
He glared at her for a mont before exhaling slowly.
Within one day, two girls had kissed him. Though technically, they were both in the sa body. The thought lingered unpleasantly in his mind, tying itself to [Fated] in a way he didn’t particularly appreciate.
"...Nobody made you do anythi—"
A sharp, grating sound cut him off.
Both of them froze.
Their phones rang simultaneously, the sound harsh and unnatural, far louder than any normal notification.
Seele’s expression imdiately darkened as she pulled her phone out.
"Seriously? There’s been a Nightmare Gate every week—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Sunny had already taken his phone out. His eyes scanned the screen quickly, then stopped.
"What the fuck...?"
ERGENCY ALERT
ERGENCY ALERT
GATE ACTIVITY DETECTED IN YOUR PROXIMITY
ETA: 77 SECONDS
EVACUATE IMDIATELY
GATE PROBABILITY: 2 (10% PROBABILITY), 3 (49% PROBABILITY), 4 (41% PROBABILITY).
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