"Tell me your story first," James countered, eyeing Ja-yoon, who looked more mature than her drama counterpart.
Jazz played softly in the café, masking the tense air. Ja-yoon clutched her cup, taking a deep breath, sneaking glances at James. He stirred his coffee leisurely, the spoon twirling in his fingers.
She glanced at her new clothes, bruises healing ten times faster than normal but still stark. Her eyes flashed red, recalling recent days.
"I was living fine," she began.
Sunlight dimmed as clouds passed. Posing as a normal girl, her headaches worsened, memory fragments of lab experiments resurfacing like knives. She'd used her powers openly, leaving clumsy clues to draw Dr. Baek's people, needing their drugs to ease her symptoms.
"I was wrong." Ja-yoon crushed her cup, coffee dripping. "They don't need live subjects anymore."
James's brow lifted. His super vision saw purplish-black capillaries near her temples—neural toxin buildup from brain overdevelopment.
"Humanoid robots, stronger than me!" Ja-yoon's lips curled bitterly.
Three nights ago, in the rain, Dr. Baek's "invitation" came—not tranquilizers, but three metallic-eyed peers. Their fists shattered bulletproof steel, faster than her peak. No pain, no emotions, just cold obedience.
"I tore two of their arms off," she stared at her trembling palm, "but the third crushed my shoulder blade."
James's x-ray vision confirmed a healing fracture in her left shoulder, a crippling injury for a normal person. Her heart rate was steady—she wasn't lying.
"I tried going home," her voice broke.
Her rural foster home was ash, her foster parents dead, their sunflower garden uprooted.
James's expression shifted. This deviated far from The Witch's plot, where Ja-yoon dominated. Now, robots chased her? A wild reinterpretation, but fitting for a superhuman world.
"Why go to your friend?" He nodded toward the park. "Not afraid of dragging her in?"
Ja-yoon looked up, calm again. "The robots scan retinas at transport hubs. I ran into Dohui by chance."
Her body spasmed, leaning forward. James touched her forehead, feeling heat. His micro-vision saw an overactive brain region, like an overloaded circuit.
"Neural collapse precursor," James noted, intrigued. The robots caused more than physical damage.
Ja-yoon panted, sweat soaking her shirt. James's hand left, and her headache vanished. "How'd you do that?"
The café shook violently! Windows shattered, explosions echoing. James's super hearing caught fifteen synchronized heartbeats closing in from three directions.
"Your friends are here—not robots," he chuckled. "They're not scary."
Ja-yoon paled. "Pretty Boy's team! How'd they find me?"
"Tracker chip in your shoulder blade," James said casually. "Tiny."
Ja-yoon touched her back, fear flashing. She hadn't noticed.
"It's disabled," James said, pressing the air. "But they locked onto its last signal—here."
Brakes screeched outside. Six armed men in black sealed the exits. Patrons stirred.
Ja-yoon tensed for a fight. James sipped his coffee. "Watch."
Pretty Boy and five enhanced soldiers burst in, guns aimed. As they fired, time froze. Bullets hung midair, soldiers posed like statues.
James yawned. "Sleep."
He flicked a finger.
Bang!
The six turned to sand, Pretty Boy gone without a word.
Ja-yoon gaped. No fight, no flair—just a flick, and Dr. Baek's elite team was dust.
"Now," James smiled, turning to her, "let's talk about your revenge."
He grabbed her shoulder. The world warped, landing them atop a 400-meter TV tower, Seoul's lights sprawling below.
"Spatial movement?" Ja-yoon clutched the railing, dizzy despite her enhanced body.
"Just speed," James said, pointing southeast to a nondescript building. "That's the real lab. The one you hit was a trap."
Ja-yoon followed his gaze, pupils shrinking. On the building's roof, a woman in a white coat peered through binoculars at the café—Dr. Baek!
"Impossible! She's dead…" Ja-yoon stammered.
"The one you killed in the warehouse?" James chuckled. "A clone."
He touched her forehead. "Choose: keep running, or end her with me?"
Healing energy flowed, clearing her pain and foggy memories. Ja-yoon's eyes locked on the lab, her lips curling into the Witch's dangerous smile.
"Lead the way."