The setting sun dyed the street orange-red.
The shadows of the three of them were stretched long, weaving together unsteadily on the asphalt road.
Griseo walked in the middle, hugging her drawing board, her steps small.
Su Yu led the way in front, occasionally glancing back to confirm the positions of the two behind him.
Kiana followed at the very end, maintaining a distance of about 1.2 meters from Su Yu—no more, no less, perfectly toeing the edge of that invisible boundary.
It wasn't distant, but it couldn't be called close either; it was the distance between ordinary friends.
Griseo's gaze moved back and forth between the two.
She looked at Su Yu's back, then at Kiana's side profile.
Kiana's expression was calm, her gaze fixed on a point somewhere ahead, looking neither at Su Yu nor at her.
That pair of heterochromatic eyes appeared exceptionally translucent in the setting sun, but they inadvertently revealed a hint of dejection.
Griseo tilted her head.
She didn't understand.
Just now in the milk tea shop, this big sister had clearly smiled.
Though it was brief and small, Griseo had caught it.
In that instant, the colors around the big sister had become much warmer.
But now...
"What is it?"
Kiana's voice sounded out of the blue.
She wasn't an idiot, even if many people said she was.
She had, of course, noticed Griseo staring at her, but the feeling of being repeatedly sized up made her a bit uncomfortable.
She stopped, tilted her head up, and looked at Kiana seriously.
"...When Big Sister Kiana smiled just now."
Her voice was very soft, as if sharing a secret.
"The colors were prettier than they are now, much more... warm."
Kiana froze for a moment.
She knew what Griseo was talking about.
That way of perceiving the world through colors sounded mystical, but she understood it for some inexplicable reason.
When she smiled just now? Was it when Su Yu was being pointed at and called a 'big meanie'? Or was it when she heard the words 'amusement park'?
She couldn't remember herself.
Kiana couldn't remember how long it had been since she had last opened her heart and laughed with complete abandon.
Even with a place to stay, even with someone to rely on, that trauma was still buried deep in Kiana's heart.
She could never go back.
She could never go back to that time of being a carefree idiot who could laugh without a single worry.
"Mm."
She only acknowledged it with a sound, showing no further expression.
It was a subconscious aloofness, a way of wrapping herself up.
Like a startled hedgehog hiding its soft belly, showing only its spines.
Especially in front of a child like Griseo, who could see right through her, she felt a little scared.
Scared of exposing her sin-covered self to this innocent child.
Griseo looked at her, blinked, and didn't press further.
She just hugged her drawing board tightly again and started walking forward with her small steps.
Mobius Laboratory was located in an unremarkable building.
The security guard at the entrance knew Griseo and waved at her from afar.
Griseo waved back, then turned to look at Su Yu and Kiana.
"...Brother Su Yu."
"What is it?"
"The script... Griseo will draw it seriously."
Her voice was still just as soft, but her tone was more solemn than before.
"When Griseo finishes drawing it, I'll send it to Brother Su Yu."
Su Yu smiled and rubbed her head.
"Alright, I'll be waiting."
Griseo nodded, then looked at Kiana.
"Big Sister Kiana..."
"What?"
"The next time we meet." Griseo hugged her drawing board and tilted her head. "I hope Big Sister's colors will be a little warmer."
Kiana's lips twitched, but in the end, she said nothing.
Griseo didn't seem to expect a response either. She turned and ran toward the laboratory entrance.
The guard received her, nodded at Su Yu, and then led Griseo through the door.
Su Yu took out his phone and quickly typed a few words to send to Mobius.
[Griseo has arrived, a staff member picked her up.]
After sending it, he put his phone back in his pocket and turned to look at Kiana beside him.
The white-haired girl stood on the spot, her gaze still fixed on the laboratory's main entrance, her expression hidden in the deepening twilight.
"Let's go," Su Yu said.
Kiana came back to her senses and silently followed his steps.
The two walked side by side on the gradually darkening street.
The streetlights lit up one after another, casting dim yellow halos on the ground.
The pedestrians grew sparse, leaving only the low hum of engines from the occasional passing vehicle.
"Kiana."
"...What is it." Her voice was muffled.
"Want to get a late-night snack?"
Su Yu's tone was very casual.
But Kiana's footsteps clearly paused for a second.
"...A late-night snack?"
"Mhm." Su Yu glanced at her, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. "Let's celebrate finding a partner. How about we get some barbecue tonight?"
Barbecue.
Those two words were like some kind of magic spell.
Something lit up in Kiana's otherwise placid eyes. Although she quickly suppressed it, Su Yu caught it.
Su Yu saw it all and chuckled inwardly.
Just as he thought.
Su Yu laughed to himself.
Just as he thought.
No matter how thick the armor she wore, no matter how much cruelty she had experienced, the glutton deep in Kiana Kaslana's bones had never disappeared.
Food was the shortest path to her heart.
"...Okay."
Kiana's voice was very quiet, tinged with anticipation.
Su Yu didn't expose her, just smiled and continued walking forward.
They walked under the streetlights, their shadows stretched long on the ground.
Kiana followed behind him, the distance between them a little closer than before.
She might not have even realized the change herself.
Or perhaps she did, but chose to ignore it.
Su Yu didn't look back, only slowing his pace so that their shadows nearly overlapped under the next streetlight.
Around the street corner, the sign of a barbecue shop was flashing.
The aroma of grilled meat drifted over with the evening breeze, making one's mouth water.
"We're here."
Su Yu pushed open the glass door.
A wave of heat mixed with an even richer aroma rushed to greet them.
The shop was noisy with the clamor of voices, the sounds of drinking games, cheerful curses, and the sizzle of grease dripping onto the grill all mixed together.
Kiana followed him inside and sat down in the booth opposite him.
The plastic seat was a bit hard, and the table was covered with a disposable plastic sheet printed with a faded beer advertisement.
But compared to before, that invisible boundary seemed to have softened a little.
"What do you want to eat?" Su Yu passed the menu over.
Kiana took the menu and flipped through it, her expression as focused as if she were studying an important document.
Soon.
"Beef belly." Kiana's voice came from behind the menu. "And chicken wings. And grilled corn."
"That's it?"
"...And bacon-wrapped enoki mushrooms."
"Got it."
Su Yu waved to the busy lady boss behind the counter and called out the order.
The lady boss called back in acknowledgment, her iron tongs deftly picking up skewers of meat and laying them over the red-hot charcoal fire.
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