Late Evening – Kamikawa
The house was quiet again.
Too quiet.
The cicadas had gone silent outside. The soft hum of night was gone, replaced by wind creaking the wood panels of the porch. Ryouma sat at the kotatsu, pretending to read a history textbook, but his eyes hadn't moved for ten minutes.
Katarina was out—again.
She hadn't said where.
Souta leaned on the window frame, watching the dark tree line. There were no city lights here. No neon comfort. Just forest and fog.
"Do you trust her?" Souta asked, softly.
Ryouma looked up. "Katarina?"
Souta nodded.
Ryouma didn't answer at first.
Then:
"I trust that she wants us alive."
"Alive doesn't mean safe."
Meanwhile – Seoul, Underground HQ
The photo Kairi had burned was gone, but the image lingered in her head.
Ryouma's eyes—so much like hers.
Souta's voice—so much like his.
She sat in her personal room, now devoid of pictures, soft light bouncing off the walls.
The room had once been a nursery.
Now it was a war map.
A blueprint of obsession.
Her newest right-hand, a young woman named Min Seo-ra, approached.
"We've confirmed Katarina's alias. She forged an identity last week under the name Yoon Jae-hwa. She used it to register a rural utility account—Gangwon-do region."
Kairi's smile never reached her eyes.
"And the children?"
"No school logs. But someone fitting their age and profile was seen with her at a clinic in Kamikawa. We traced the signature. The boy signed it in English. Sloppy."
"Ryouma," she whispered.
That name always landed heavy on her tongue. Half pride, half grief.
Kairi rose, slow and certain. "Pack the team. No weapons visible. I want this to look clean."
Seo-ra bowed slightly. "Understood."
Kairi stepped to the window, overlooking the Seoul skyline.
"I'm not here to kill them," she said.
Then, after a pause—colder now:
"Unless they've chosen to be strangers."
Back in Kamikawa – The Next Morning
The fog hadn't lifted.
At school, Ryouma caught it first.
A man near the school gate. Plain black jacket. Nothing special.
But he wasn't from Kamikawa.
Ryouma knew the way people in small towns moved. Casual. Slow. Familiar.
This man didn't belong.
He was still. Waiting.
Watching.
When Ryouma blinked, he was gone.
Souta heard whispers again in the hallway. A student asking a teacher about two "exchange kids". But no exchange program existed. The questions felt rehearsed.
Then in English:
"You're from Seoul, right?" a boy asked Souta during gym.
"Yeah," she said, automatically.
"You ever go to Lotte World?"
Souta's chest tightened.
She never told anyone she went to Lotte World. That was a memory only her mother would know.
She excused herself and ran to the bathroom.
Her reflection looked unfamiliar.
Evening – At Home
Katarina returned just before sundown.
Her eyes were sharp.
She said nothing as she placed a newspaper on the table.
The front page was local, but a small article near the bottom caught Ryouma's eye.
Unidentified car spotted near Kamikawa's 6th District. Parked illegally for three days. No driver found. Seoul plates.
Souta leaned in, blood draining from her face.
Katarina's voice was quiet.
"I don't want to alarm you. But something's shifting."
"You think she's close?" Ryouma asked, voice shaking.
"I think she's already here."
Late Evening – Kamikawa
The house was quiet again.
Too quiet.
The cicadas had gone silent outside. The soft hum of night was gone, replaced by wind creaking the wood panels of the porch. Ryouma sat at the kotatsu, pretending to read a history textbook, but his eyes hadn't moved for ten minutes.
Katarina was out—again.
She hadn't said where.
Souta leaned on the window frame, watching the dark tree line. There were no city lights here. No neon comfort. Just forest and fog.
"Do you trust her?" Souta asked, softly.
Ryouma looked up. "Katarina?"
Souta nodded.
Ryouma didn't answer at first.
Then:
"I trust that she wants us alive."
"Alive doesn't mean safe."
Meanwhile – Seoul, Underground HQ
The photo Kairi had burned was gone, but the image lingered in her head.
Ryouma's eyes—so much like hers.
Souta's voice—so much like his.
She sat in her personal room, now devoid of pictures, soft light bouncing off the walls.
The room had once been a nursery.
Now it was a war map.
A blueprint of obsession.
Her newest right-hand, a young woman named Min Seo-ra, approached.
"We've confirmed Katarina's alias. She forged an identity last week under the name Yoon Jae-hwa. She used it to register a rural utility account—Gangwon-do region."
Kairi's smile never reached her eyes.
"And the children?"
"No school logs. But someone fitting their age and profile was seen with her at a clinic in Kamikawa. We traced the signature. The boy signed it in English. Sloppy."
"Ryouma," she whispered.
That name always landed heavy on her tongue. Half pride, half grief.
Kairi rose, slow and certain. "Pack the team. No weapons visible. I want this to look clean."
Seo-ra bowed slightly. "Understood."
Kairi stepped to the window, overlooking the Seoul skyline.
"I'm not here to kill them," she said.
Then, after a pause—colder now:
"Unless they've chosen to be strangers."
Back in Kamikawa – The Next Morning
The fog hadn't lifted.
At school, Ryouma caught it first.
A man near the school gate. Plain black jacket. Nothing special.
But he wasn't from Kamikawa.
Ryouma knew the way people in small towns moved. Casual. Slow. Familiar.
This man didn't belong.
He was still. Waiting.
Watching.
When Ryouma blinked, he was gone.
Souta heard whispers again in the hallway. A student asking a teacher about two "exchange kids". But no exchange program existed. The questions felt rehearsed.
Then in English:
"You're from Seoul, right?" a boy asked Souta during gym.
"Yeah," she said, automatically.
"You ever go to Lotte World?"
Souta's chest tightened.
She never told anyone she went to Lotte World. That was a memory only her mother would know.
She excused herself and ran to the bathroom.
Her reflection looked unfamiliar.
Evening – At Home
Katarina returned just before sundown.
Her eyes were sharp.
She said nothing as she placed a newspaper on the table.
The front page was local, but a small article near the bottom caught Ryouma's eye.
Unidentified car spotted near Kamikawa's 6th District. Parked illegally for three days. No driver found. Seoul plates.
Souta leaned in, blood draining from her face.
Katarina's voice was quiet.
"I don't want to alarm you. But something's shifting."
"You think she's close?" Ryouma asked, voice shaking.
"I think she's already here."