I shook my head, sliding my knight to c3,
"Well, I don't know. We just met when we joined the program."
He rubbed his chin, studying the board,
"Right, alright then."
Suddenly, he whipped his head up,
"Hey, you look like you haven't slept in months. Do you want to quit ?"
I rubbed my eyes, letting out a yawn,
"Huh ?"
He repeated himself,
"Do you need a break ?"
"Sure." I nodded, helping him tidy up the pieces,
"I don't think I slept enough yesterday."
He picked up the stool and board, returning them to their original spots. Then he gently opened the door, letting me step out into the corridor.
I smiled and bowed slightly,
"I had a really nice time talking with you."
He fumbled with the handle for a second before bowing even lower than me,
"Oh, it's nothing ! I had fun too. Thank you so much !"
I waved as I walked away. By the time I had gone far enough, a grandfather clock chimed. Instinctively, my head whipped toward the sound.
A rare antique in an era like this...
"Hey ! What are you staring at ?"
Standing not far away was Grigoriy, arms crossed arms as he tried to stand as tall as possible.
He raised a brow and strode over,
"It's 5 p.m.—in case that mind of yours can't comprehend basic time. Now, what are you doing here ?"
I tilted my head slightly,
"Well I just had a match with a fan of mine—"
"Oh, that guy. I know him." he cut in,
"Now come along, the Boss told me to bring you and your friends to your room."
I fell into steps behind him,
"Where is the room ?"
Grigoriy paused, pulling out a map,
"District R."
"Where is that ?" I leaned in for a closer look,
"Don't tell me you don't know either..."
He scoffed, shoving the map inside his pocket,
"Of course I know where. Don't underestimate my tracking skills. I had a better skill than Efim."
A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth,
"Alright then, lead the way."
He marched ahead, frantically scanning the walls for HoloSigns. As we turned, Grigoriy glanced at the room we had step into. The ceiling lights flickered irregularly, leaving a portion of the room dim.
Grigoriy turned around,
"Wrong way. We should go back—"
Before he can proceed, I ran inside the room and paused in front of a line of storage cabinet. Just as I was about to stroll around, Grigoriy gripped the collar and pulled me away.
He walked in front of me,
"That floor tile is empty. Unless you want to fall to an unknown pit, I'll let you."
I stared at the empty floor tile. Standing up, I followed Grigoriy carefully. The floor was scratched and dull in some places. Most of the cabinets have electronic displays, even though the dead ones are covered with dust.
I tried to crack a joke to ease the tension,
"Do you guys really not fix this ? This place is poorly lit. Imagine the lights went shut—"
By the time I uttered that statement, the room went dark. Both of us halted in an instant. I fidgeted the hem of my shirt, eyes darting around the room to spot any illuminating light.
CLICK
The lights flickered back to life, a weight slammed into me. In the sudden glare, I realized Grigoriy was practically climbing up my shoulders, clinging to me for dear life
He slowly raised his head, dropping his legs to the floor,
"It... turned on ?"
I nodded, letting him recover his balance,
"You know, you shouldn't act all cold and serious. You're still young."
"You won't get it." He scoffed at me even as he wiped the dust off a dead screen,
"It's my personal matters. Nothing important for you anyways."
Exactly when I squatted beside him, I titled my head and smiled at him,
"You know, if you continue to act like that, you might miss out a lot of things."
"Yeah, of course I know that. But responsibilities are going to be in my hands sooner or later." He crossed his arms as he opened a storage unit stuffed with uncategorized supplies,
"Seriously ? These people can't even sort objects correctly."
He took out a bandage and headed to another storage unit. Simultaneously as he rearranged the bandage to its original place, he shut the door with a heavy sigh.
I took a step closer,
"Anything wrong ?"
He shook his head, frowning,
"Nothing. I just... need some time alone. Go by yourself. I need to find Efim for a while."
He hurried away from the room, leaving me alone in a dimly lit part. I caught a glimpse of a warning sticker that was starting to peel off. Instinctively, I pressed on that sticker before heading out of the room.
◇ ◇ ◇
While strolling around, my thoughts continued to drift to that tunnel.
Why did that happen ? Whenever I press that button, that never happens. So how did that happen and why ?
BEEP BEEP
I glanced up to the source of the voice. IRIS hovered around, snatching my arms whilst pulling it. While following IRIS, my eyes continued to dart around the building.
Across a specific hall, paintings of people were displayed. IRIS paused for a moment just as it observed the paintings. On the bottom of the wall, an empth canvas was placed.
IRIS tilted itself to the side, accompanied by a confused BEEP. I took a step forward, raising my hand to touch that canvas. Besides that, each of the painting showed the individuals with a straight face.
On the very top left of the wall, a small painting about an older distinguished looking man with a mature presence was placed.
At first, I paid no mind to it until I checked the other one that was on the right side. A painting of a woman wearing glasses was sipping a cup of drink.
I rubbed my chin as I continue to analyze it.
Who are these people ?
And on the very top, a portrait of Vera was hanging. She looked younger here, and perhaps even more joyful than the current one. But there was one thing that caught my attention.
Every brushstroke and every subtle flaws seemed like it was made by the same hand. My gazed drifted to the large painting on the center.
A family of four was depicted in the main composition. That same unknown woman was sat beside the younger Vera. While on the other other hand, the elderly man rested his arms on a young boy's shoulder.
All three of them faced to the front, except for the young boy who was distracted, excitedly holding up a piece of paper for that man to see.
"So, you actually noticed these paintings ?"
A woman's voice broke the silence from behind me. I spun around and noticed Vera holding a mug.
She walked up beside me, raising her head to stare at the paintings,
"Those paintings are made by Grigoriy."
My jaw dropped slightly,
"And who are that man and woman ?"
She looked away from the painting, her expression softening,
"They're... the previous owner."
I tilted my head, focusing once more on the young boy at the center picture,
"And him ?"
She took a slow sip from her mug before taking a deep breath,
"My younger brother, Grigoriy."
The moment she uttered those words, everything finally click. I widened my eyes at the grand canvas.
No wonder why Grigoiry behaved like that.