It was dawn. Countless clusters of stars in the sky sparkled beautifully, and blue moonlight illuminated the dark ground. The sky, even cleared of clouds, was proudly displaying its form without hiding any rings, stars, or the moon.
In contrast, fog had settled on the ground. It was thick enough to hinder driving, though not enough to impede walking. The grayish city and the beautiful night sky contrasted with each other, reminiscent of a ghost town.
"...."
Kenji walked through the gloomy night streets with an expressionless face. No sound could be heard except for his own trudging footsteps. Even the usual insect noises had disappeared without a trace, as if erased from the world.
It was such a night. A gloomy night where it wouldn't be strange if anyone disappeared. Is that actually true? Kenji sneered inwardly at the question he threw at himself. Yeah, it wouldn't be strange. Who would notice if just one citizen disappeared, except for acquaintances.
He zipped up his half-down jacket all the way and took out his smartphone from his pocket. There were no new messages. It didn't matter anyway. That wasn't why he took it out. Kenji tapped the screen to launch the MomoTalk app.
Only a few names appeared. It was only natural since even combining all the people he was usually friendly with didn't amount to ten. Come to think of it, hadn't he exchanged numbers with Mine? It was a pity, but honestly, it didn't matter anymore.
He went into the recent chat list and checked the people he had talked to just moments before. The name at the very top was the girl who had been sending him messages until just now.
'Mika.'
He touched the name as if entranced. The chat log that unfolded was mostly trivial small talk. Half of it was conversations about what she ate today, should they hang out tomorrow, where were the other two, and the other half was filled with Mika acting cute and him responding.
She really did send messages all the time. Kenji inwardly realized this fact as he saw the intervals of Mika's messages. He smiled bitterly and slowly, very slowly, scrolled through the messages from top to bottom.
The final sentence he reached was so simple that Kenji unconsciously bit his lower lip slightly.
[See you tomorrow! Good night!]
...Damn it.
Kenji let out a sigh full of frustration into the air.
He didn't reply. He wanted to, but paradoxically, he couldn't. Because he didn't want to drive a nail into her chest by telling a lie. Meaningless hopeful remarks only amplified despair. The saying that without hope there is no despair didn't exist for no reason. If he had to give despair anyway, it was only natural that a smaller amount would be better.
Truthfully, he didn't want to give even that small amount of despair.
She was a precious person. A child who had crossed the sturdy fence and encroached deep inside. He wanted to smile back when she smiled, and comfort her when she cried. He wished she wouldn't get hurt, not even a tiny scratch. He hoped she would grow up receiving everyone's love, just as lively as ever.
Now that possibility had diminished. The pain of loss is filth that cannot be washed away even if you try to wash it off. Its traces and stains remain forever, gnawing at the heart and messing with emotions haphazardly.
If only she could forget.
If she could erase the lost person from her mind, the situation might improve, but could Mika, or moreover, could the other two do that? Even I, decades after losing my parents, couldn't forget them, so how could they?
He was skeptical. So he was sorry. He thought a lot about whether he was inflicting unbearable pain on them at such a young age. But even after thinking dozens, hundreds of times, this was the best option. It was obvious that becoming a lone bonfire was for everyone's sake, rather than becoming a fire demon that would consume everything by their side.
Would they resent him? He hoped they would. He hoped they would think, 'I liked such a bastard,' or 'Actually, such a guy didn't matter at all.'
He lowered the smartphone. The last messages from Nagisa and Seia, glimpsed briefly, weren't much different from Mika's. Each word, each phrase felt like tearing at his heart, so Kenji let out a sigh with a suppressed groan.
If, just if, he could survive by being with 'them.' Would it be okay to go meet the three afterward? Could he hold them in his arms with a smile, saying that cliché line about returning? Do I, have the nerve to do that?
...It was a meaningless assumption. Kenji threw the smartphone containing everyone's traces to the ground and started moving his halted steps again.
It didn't take long to reach the promised location. Through the thick fog, a dark-skinned man came into view. He too seemed to have spotted Kenji and turned his head. His voice echoed softly through the cracked-like fissures.
"Did you say your goodbyes?"
"No."
"That's fine if that's what you want."
"...."
"If you say so. I won't interfere any further."
The man said that and walked ahead into the alley of the street. Kenji followed him. The sound of two sets of footsteps echoed a few more times before cleanly stopping. The man stopped at the end of the alley, in front of an ornately crafted door, yanked it open, and went inside. Then he looked back at Kenji.
"Come in. We can't sign the contract outside."
"...."
Instead of answering, Kenji stepped inside the room. It was an unnecessarily wide room. The ceiling was high, but there were no windows. Instead, blue aquariums were placed everywhere. A desk suitable for an office was placed on one side of the room, with a table and sofa arranged in front of it. The man carefully sat on the sofa and flicked his finger with a *tap*.
Then a piece of paper flew from somewhere and settled in his grasp. The man skimmed over the content on the paper, made his single eye sparkle, and nodded.
"I've written down all the contract terms. Please check them here."
After a brief silence, Kenji received the contract the man offered and sat down opposite him.
The content written on the contract was quite extensive. There was nothing that could be read carelessly, and the content was varied enough to strip him to the bone if he didn't think multiple times. But one thing was certain. Kenji let out a hollow laugh and put down the contract.
"Hey, you son of a bitch."
Kenji twisted the corner of his mouth. Similarly, the man's mouth also stretched wide. He placed his elbows on the table, neatly folded his hands, and tilted his head.
"What's the matter? Is there a clause you don't like?"
"Did you think writing it subtly would make me not notice?"
"I'm not sure what you're talking about."
"Clause 1 here. 'We will not recklessly interfere with persons related to the contractor.' Quite cleverly written, isn't it?"
"It seems like a clause with no problems."
"That's how it looks on the surface."
Kenji shook the contract in his hand as he spoke.
"This damn paper doesn't say who 'we' refers to, or what penalties occur if they mess with the kids. The other clauses are similar too. They all look proper, but in reality, they're just vague."
"...."
"Do I look like such an idiot in your eyes that I can't even figure this shit out?"
Kenji growled lowly. At that sight, the man chuckled and took the contract back from Kenji's hand.
"Fine. Let's change the content. The term 'we' will all be changed to 'Gematria,' and the penalties will be set to whatever you want. What do you want?"
Kenji pondered briefly, then answered with an expressionless face.
"To leave Gematria after my body is safe."
"Hmm... Unfortunately, but understood. Then let's set it as that."
The man flicked his finger with a *tap*. With just that gesture, the content of the contract transformed. The man offered the changed contract to Kenji again, and Kenji skimmed through it. It still had many clauses, but they had all become specific. Wondering if even this was a scam, he looked at the man, but his face was utterly calm. The contract content was the same. No matter how many times he read it, he couldn't find any more strange corners.
"The pen is here."
The man placed a fountain pen in front of Kenji. Kenji stared at the sharp pen tip, clicked his tongue, and put down the contract.
Among the many contents written on the contract, he considered five to be important.
[1. The contractor 'Park Siwoo' becomes a member of Gematria in exchange for their help. He promises to cooperate with Gematria as both research material and colleague.]
[2. Members of Gematria promise not to interfere with 'Park Siwoo' or persons related to him by any means. If this is violated, he may leave Gematria.]
[3. Members of Gematria promise to do their best to resolve 'Park Siwoo's' problem. Also, 'Park Siwoo' clearly states that he will risk his life in the resolution process. It is explicitly stated that this is a treaty made with the understanding that death may occur during experiments.]
[4. The content of the contract concluded here must not be known by anyone except the contractor 'Park Siwoo' and the intermediary 'Nameless One.' If the contractor 'Park Siwoo' violates this, he becomes subordinate to Gematria. If the intermediary 'Nameless One' violates this, 'Park Siwoo' can legally leave Gematria simultaneously with losing the contract with the 'Unnamed Priest.']
[5. The contractor 'Park Siwoo' promises to continue acting as a member of Gematria even after the problem is resolved. It is clearly stated that his departure timing, unless due to penalty from clause violation, must be decided by all of Gematria.]
Kenji picked up the pen with an expressionless face. Black ink seeped from between the sharp pen tip. His pupils looked at the contract. The contract covered in black writing had only the signature line left blank. Kenji looked down at that blank with cold eyes, clenched his lips tightly, and made the pen in his hand tremble.
The moment he signs here, everything becomes distorted.
—That's exactly why he came here. Such trivial worries had long been settled. He licked his lips, crushed and torn by his teeth, and brought the pen to the signature line.
Suddenly, his gaze turned upward on the contract. Under the word 'Contract' written in bold letters, the small word 'Graduation Ceremony' caught his eye. When he threw a questioning look at the man as if asking what this meant, he shrugged his shoulders and answered in a nonchalant voice.
"Wasn't yesterday the graduation ceremony? So it's a small gift prepared for you who no longer attends school. Just to set the mood. It has no other meaning."
The man chuckled as he said that. Kenji, who had been glaring at him, let out a deep sigh and lowered his head. Then he engraved his name in the blank signature line. Park Siwoo. As those three syllables were engraved, the paper turned into smoke and disappeared. Simultaneously, a sensation as if something was binding his body was felt.
The binding force of the contract had been engraved. On both Kenji and the man. Kenji frowned at the strange sensation, and the man stood up with a low laugh.
"Congratulations on your graduation."
"...."
"And."
The man said that and took out a piece of paper from thin air. -Riiip. As he tore the paper, the space they were standing in changed. The sophisticated wooden walls twisted into cold metal, and the light pouring from the ceiling distorted into red lighting.
It was an alien space. Just standing there created the illusion of insects crawling all over his body. Kenji forced himself to ignore the filthy sensation and lowered his head. A round table, and surrounding it, three unidentified lifeforms besides the dark-skinned man came into his view.
Every single one of them was strange. One woman with red skin and dozens of eyes, one mannequin with two heads, one headless man holding a picture showing a gentleman's back, and one man in a black suit. Kenji looked at them and let out a hollow laugh.
The man spoke to him with a laugh.
"Welcome to Gematria."
"...Ha."
The corner of Kenji's mouth twisted.