Chapter 78

The funeral for Sien was held quietly. That day, the researchers removed their white lab coats and wore the neatest casual clothes they could find in their closets.

The weather, which had been gloomy for days, was unusually bright today.

Considering how much Sien had disliked the laboratory during her lifetime, they decided to bury her body outside the lab, near the lake.

However, the government intervened. If they wanted to bury her outside the lab, they had to hand over her body.

“No.”

Tiago immediately protested.

“……We can’t hand over our Senior’s body. She hated the higher-ups even more than she hated the lab.”

Everyone agreed with Tiago’s opinion. In the end, Sien’s body was buried near a riverside far from the main laboratory.

“…….”

Even with Sien’s grave in front of her, bearing her name, Benny couldn’t believe she was gone.

Sien had never once shown signs of hardship. Benny had thought Sien, like her father, was incapable of feeling sadness or fear.

“……May the Lord guide this pure soul to heaven…….”

Without a priest present, the eldest researcher recited a prayer.

Sounds of quiet sobbing could be heard here and there. Benny stood frozen. This was her first experience with the death of someone close to her, and it felt so unfamiliar that she couldn’t shed a tear.

“Little Miss. It’ll be alright.”

But she already felt strangely alright.

She stared blankly at Rene’s tears, held her breath as she watched Tiago cry, and joined in prayer as she saw Alres weep.

It was a short funeral.

***

The subsequent experiments for NOK One were almost entirely successful. Only a few final adjustments remained.

The now-silent laboratory was filled with dry, empty emotions. The death that had occurred just before the final stages of the research had drained the remaining energy from the researchers.

Realizing the mood too late, the higher-ups decided to grant the researchers a single day of leave as a reward for their hard work.

Even on this so-called “day off,” they had to be accompanied by security personnel and submit reports and records of wherever they went.

Still, the researchers were excited about the single day of freedom they had earned after a year.

“Here.”

Her father handed Benny four sheets of paper.

The papers bore the familiar mascot.

She realized that what he handed her were tickets to the amusement park she had always wanted to visit.

“Go with Rene and someone else.”

“Someone else? ……Tiago and Alres?”

“Yes.”

Benny looked at her father.

“Why aren’t you coming?”

“I don’t like amusement parks.”

“Why not?”

“They’re noisy. I don’t like noise.”

She liked amusement parks, but without her father, the trip felt meaningless.

“Then aren’t you going anywhere? I want to go with you.”

“I’ll stay at the lab.”

Her father’s answer left her visibly disappointed.

“Everyone else is going out, though.”

“Yes, but I’ll stay. I have something to do on my own.”

Her father drew the line.

“Go, Benny.”

Hesitating, she tightly gripped the tickets he had handed her.

“I already told Rene. So, talk to her and the others about the rest.”

With nothing more to say, her father turned his back on her.

“…….”

Even though she had finally gotten the amusement park tickets she had longed for, she didn’t feel excited.

With the funeral just recently concluded, what joy could an artificial amusement park possibly bring her?

“Little Miss. You’ve heard about the amusement park, right?”

Tiago, who came to her room, forced himself to sound excited about the trip. Seeing his face like this was more painful than watching him cry and complain about how hard things were.

“Yes.”

Looking at Tiago’s strained expression, she couldn’t bring herself to say she didn’t want to go.

“I’ll go with you too, Little Miss.” 

Rene said.

Although Alres hadn’t shown up, Tiago said he was looking forward to the amusement park as well.

‘That’s a lie.’

It was the amusement park she had so desperately wanted to visit. But without her father, it felt meaningless.

‘No matter how much I think about it, I don’t want to go to the amusement park without him.’

The light blue sky outside the window was tinged with red. Eventually, before night fell completely, she got up.

Since her feelings hadn’t been conveyed earlier, she decided to go to her father now and express them directly.

At this time, her father would be in Lab 3, filling the chalkboard alone.

“Benny, I told you not to wander around on your own.”

“Ah…….”

Dr. Rydier, whom she encountered in the hallway, blocked her path. Beside him stood Alres, who hadn’t been seen earlier, with a pale face. Seeing Alres’s cold expression for the first time frightened her.

“I was just going to see my father…….”

“What if you cause trouble again?”

“Doctor, just let her go.”

Alres grabbed Dr. Rydier’s arm and gestured toward Benny with his eyes. He was telling her to go quickly. Understanding his meaning, she immediately moved and slipped into the adjacent hallway.

“What if she causes trouble again, Alres? Will you take responsibility?”

As soon as she entered the side hallway, Dr. Rydier’s voice rang clearly.

“……No trouble could be worse than looking at the NOK One blueprint. She should at least feel free inside the lab.”

Alres’s low voice responded. Benny closed her eyes tightly. There wasn’t much time before night fell.

She had to move. She resumed walking toward where her father was.

“…….”

As expected, her father was sitting in front of the chalkboard, deep in thought. Through the transparent door, he looked magnified, as if seen through a lens.

When she quietly opened the door and stepped inside, her father turned his head toward her.

“Benny.”

Her father called her name.

“Are you…… feeling unwell?”

“No.”

A lie.

“I’m fine.”

Her father wasn’t crying. Yet, why did he look as though he was?

“Really?”

She approached her father and grabbed his arm. What had seemed fine on the surface trembled like a quaking tree as soon as she touched it.

Her father’s slight trembling weighed heavily on her.

“Benny.”

“…….”

“Why are you here?”

It was such a typical question from him.

“I just wanted to tell you something…….”

“So do I.”

Today, her father seemed different from usual. Before she could ask, he grabbed her arm. Without giving her time to react, her body was enveloped in his arms.

Caught off guard by his unexpected action, she held her breath and widened her eyes.

What was happening?

Her body froze, unable to move. Her father’s trembling spread throughout her.

“Live.”

Her father spoke.

“Live freely.”

Live.

Her father wasn’t crying with tears but with his heart. She finally realized it now.

Her father, whom she thought had silently accepted Sien’s death, had been trembling more than anyone else. Perhaps even before that.

When had her father started crying like this?

“Benny, you must live.”

Her father wasn’t just afraid of Sien’s death like the other researchers.

He was afraid of her.

To be precise, he feared that she, like Sien, might disappear one day.

“……Don’t die.”

Her father’s embrace felt so small. Yet, for the first time, it felt more comforting and vast than her mother, Ire. Tears welled up uncontrollably.

“A-And you too.”

Her father, her mother, and Sien had all left her.

But among them, only her father had returned.

I’ll live, Father.

“I-I’ll live, so you must live too…….”

Once the NOK One project ends, let’s leave for a beautiful garden where no one can oppress us.

Not an amusement park, but a garden.

A free garden. A peaceful garden.

Let’s go there.

***

They arrived at the village.

During the journey to this place, Irini’s condition had worsened. The trembling she had initially felt was now completely gone, and Irini no longer moved.

What could have been the problem? Was it the last snack I had given her? Or was it the moment I handed Irini over through the second-floor window?

“Is anyone there?”

She struggled to catch her breath as she immediately searched for an animal hospital.

The streets of the village, just touched by daylight, were wide and quiet. Most of the shops were closed, and the animal hospital was no exception.

She continued knocking on the door, staring into the empty interior. The vibrations against the glass window grew louder.

“Please!”

Sweat dripped down and left marks on the ground. The number of marks steadily increased, but there was no movement inside the hospital.

‘Please! Please! Please…….’

Her desperation was overwhelming.

“Is anyone there?”

She couldn’t lose Irini like this.

She couldn’t imagine parting with Irini in such a way.

“Please……! Someone, anyone!”

“Madame.”

Costance’s voice stopped her actions. His words sounded like a death sentence.

Through the window, she could see Irini curled up and motionless in Costance’s arms.

Just a moment ago, Irini’s body had been moving faintly. Now, her small frame was completely still.