Yoon Ga-eul sat in a desolate room. The space was dark and narrow, with only a metal desk and chair, resembling an interrogation room. The man who brought her here had only told her to wait before leaving. It felt almost identical to the interrogation rooms of the Awakener Management Bureau.
âDid they design it like this on purpose?â
That could be the case. The interrogation rooms at the Bureau were known to be the most disliked spaces by Awakeners. Maybe it was meant to suppress their energy. Ga-eul stretched her legs out. She shouldâve brought her English vocabulary book.
How much time had passed? She didnât have a clock, but it felt like several tens of minutes. She had hummed over ten songs in her head by now. She glanced around. Was there a two-way mirror here, like in the Bureau's interrogation rooms? Were they observing her from outside? She knew she shouldnât be flustered, but her body wouldnât cooperate.
âIf only I had more experienceâ¦â
The last time she saw J, he had been kicked to the ground, rolling across the floor. Did he suffer because of me, enduring hardships he shouldnât have had to face? Ga-eul rubbed her cold, clammy hands together. If she kept overthinking, thereâd be no end to it. She forced herself to think of something else.
âThey called him âBrother,â didnât they?â
Ga-eul bit her lip hard.
âHow do they know about me?â
Her personal information was a top-secret within the Awakener Management Bureau. She was a third-year high school student, a minor, and an S-class mental Awakener with no combat abilities. She was the perfect target for all kinds of shady people. The public only knew that a new S-class Awakener would start activities after coming of age.
âWhere did the information leak fromâ¦â
Ga-eul nervously bit her thumb. She felt anxious. Though she had a sense of duty to stop the apocalypse, she felt utterly powerless. When she was pulled into the destroyed world, she relied on Jâs help. While others were risking their lives in battle, she had been kidnapped and dragged to a place like this. She constantly talked about stopping the apocalypse, but when the time came, she felt completely useless.
âAm I really that uselessâ¦â