Rustle—!Juo had no time to consider that the person opposite him was glaring awake.The moment Jin Muhae pressed the “Connect” button, the watch vibrated lightly and a hologram appeared before his eyes.Instead of someone’s face in the little square where a video should be, there was an audio waveform.[Connected.]The notification appeared, but for a long moment there was no signal, no voice.Juo, who’d frozen for a second, was the only sound—muffled bites into a sandwich from the other side of the hologram.Crunch, chew. Munch.Swallow. Munch.“Why aren’t you saying anything?”It was Juo again who shattered the silence.He finished the palm-sized sandwich in three or four bites, swallowed clean, and spoke into the air.At that, the waveform jumped a little, as if someone on the other end had made a rustling noise.“Isn’t that Cloud?”“Be quiet.”“Jin Muhae’s been waiting.”“You…! Go into the room.”“I’ll be quiet.”Before they could even confirm whether the other side really was Cloud or some Central staff who’d somehow acquired a signaler, Juo blurted Muhae’s name.A chill ran down Muhae’s spine; he glared at Juo with a fierce expression.“There’s security. It shouldn’t be anyone else…”Juo muttered a small protest, then clamped his mouth shut as if to show he understood.It was annoying enough to want to punch him, but Juo was right. According to Owner Gil, just plugging a signaler into any link watch didn’t connect you to the return network automatically.It was data that Muhae’s father had forcibly implanted into Muhae’s watch. That would include the function to activate the signaler.The weekly-updated link watch verification system had the user registered, the watch had been rooted without Central knowing, and the functions only participants in the return had were likely embedded there.His mouth stayed shut, but the odds were high that the other side really was Cloud.After the failed operation, decades had passed—so it made sense to be cautious about a sudden incoming signal.—Jin Muhae, it said.Sure enough. Not long after Juo’s loose tongue, the distorted voice hummed through the watch like a vibration.The waveform finally began to move properly.—What is your relation to Jin General?Even though the question assumed a relation instinctively, it was asked to confirm.“My late father.”—Ah… I see.Cloud sighed long and deep upon hearing the expected answer, a vague lament mixed with all kinds of feeling.After a brief rustling noise, Cloud’s voice was heard.—There isn’t much time. I can’t speak long.“That’s fine. If it’s not burdensome, I would like to meet you once.”—It can’t not be a burden. Still… all right. I should see him in person.After a moment’s hesitation, Cloud made a decision.—In two days, you will board a short-range mobility for a request.“At the temporary stop.”—Yes. That place will be good.—…Sir, …regarding …that…—11:00 a.m. Thank you for understanding.Beep.The connection with Cloud, which had begun abruptly, was suddenly cut off.Even after the hologram and waveform disappeared from before his eyes, Jin Muhae kept staring into the empty air.“Aren’t you going to eat, Jin Muhae?”Whether because he didn’t know the mood or was pretending not to, Juo asked as he popped peas into his mouth one by one.Only then did Muhae’s eyes slide down to the sandwich, one half of which was still untouched.“You don’t get any.”“I wasn’t going to steal it!”The protest, sounding wronged, eased his dazed mood a little.Two days later at 11 a.m. The rendezvous with Cloud was set.At last, the stalled matter of the return had taken a concrete step.The temporary stop was, luckily, quiet. Not completely empty, so Muhae stood armed as usual.He couldn’t help being tense; his face was a little stiff, but he never had the gentle expression anyway, so this was more natural.“I won’t say anything.”“You’d better not.”Juo, tugging at the sleeve of his newly fitted jacket, made a solemn face.For him to be so serious was surprising. The way the hat shaded his eyes somehow suited him and made Muhae want to laugh, but he didn’t have the headspace to do so.Sss—Before long, a black mobility approached them.It was the kind of moderately small model the Company sent.No sooner had the door opened than Juo climbed in without an ounce of suspicion. Muhae, having been outpaced, made a strange face, sighed, and followed.Clack. When the door closed the interior lights came on. Someone sat in the opposite seat.A middle-aged woman with neatly cropped short hair. Her plainly tailored outfit was so refined it gave her the air of someone of a certain standing.A soft cloth garment that fit well, flawless skin without a scar or dermatitis. From the look of her, she gave off the kind of aura one might see in Central more often than Muhae or his father.“I half-expected this.”Cloud was the first to speak inside the slowly moving mobility.“She really does resemble her.”Muhae had expected a light greeting, but she began with an unexpected comment.Muhae furrowed his brow and looked at Cloud. The small plans he had in mind for how to greet Cloud almost scattered.“Jin Muhae. I received the return records from my father.”“…Call me Cloud. I was involved in the past return.”Fortunately the greeting finished more or less satisfactorily, but Cloud’s opening line left a strong impression.The mention of his mother in any speculation was something Muhae had not expected. Even the word “mother” itself felt foreign; he felt like an outsider listening to someone else’s story.Of course, unless Jin Seong-jo had produced Muhae through asexual reproduction and split his own body, he must have a mother.But Muhae had never deeply contemplated that existence. From the start of his memories at five years old, there had been no room for anything resembling a mother in his life.The place he grew up in made it common for one or both parents to be absent. People who had no parents at all might have fared better. Muhae had never been given the chance to grow up comfortably carefree enough to wonder about “the mothers others have.”So Muhae had no interest in his mother. But if a participant in the return mentioned her, that was different.If his mother had been involved in the return, she’d be an inner circle member—closer than Teacher Jeong or Owner Gil. He couldn’t brush that off easily.“Do you know my mother?”The title was filthy unfamiliar on his tongue. Cloud, seeing Muhae’s expression, suddenly fell silent.She was practiced with people; her expression gave little away, yet Muhae # Nоvеlight # felt a twinge, as if she’d realized something.The complicated, subtle silence made her seem like someone who held secrets she couldn’t tell him.Then—buzz—Cloud’s own watch vibrated. She checked it casually and returned her arm to its place.It seemed she really didn’t have much time. Muhae sensed Cloud was someone who would soon have to leave for work.Cloud fixed her gaze on Juo.“This person?”“You needn’t worry. He’s not the type to leak things or cause trouble.”That second part couldn’t be certain. Still, could she really say in this setting, “He’s scatterbrained and impulsive, but helpful and kind”? Not honestly.Anyway, Juo was someone who’d involuntarily become involved in the return. Cloud likely sensed it would be hard to separate him.Clearing her throat, Cloud got to the point.“What do you want?”“I’m gathering scattered return materials from various places. If former participants could help, it would make directing the work easier.”“Hmm… Well, Jin General probably couldn’t have taken everything and run alone.”Cloud quietly agreed, as if she knew the situation back then. She seemed to understand why Muhae had gone to the trouble of cycling signalers around.But she didn’t offer help rashly.“Honestly, I’m a bit surprised. Things that were supposed to never work are suddenly ringing now.”“Did we offend you?”“Well. Maybe not offended, but let me point one thing out for your sake.”Cloud continued in a matter-of-fact tone.“I answered this call out of simple curiosity. I have no reason to take a risk now to help you.”“……”“Consider this a friendly warning. Don’t expect past members to agree with whatever ambitions carried over to today. There are more people now whose pasts are worrying than those who are friendly.”Her words struck home. Muhae clearly remembered Shin Dae-su’s anxious face when they went to the Taeul district.“I assumed as much. But…”Muhae shifted his gaze to the window and fell silent. In the intentional pause, Cloud’s eyes tightened slightly.“For that long a time?”“…What?”“You knew it wouldn’t work again and had no regrets, yet why leave a dangerous device in the link watch for over twenty years, expecting anything?”

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