Chapter 1
Eun-su stood before the bathroom mirror in her pajamas.
Under the fluorescent light, she studied her reflection.
Her face was still there.
Faintly.
From the curve of her cheekbones to the line of her jaw.
Beyond it, the pale bathroom tiles showed through.
Her forehead was different.
Some things grew clearer as they faded.
Beneath the fluorescent light, the outline of her brain glowed with startling clarity.
She watched it for a moment before turning on the faucet.
Cold water splashed across her face.
She closed her eyes.
Only the sound of running water remained.
When she finished drying her face, she opened the drawer beneath the sink.
A tube of concealing cream rested inside.
She squeezed a small amount onto the back of her hand.
Slowly, she spread it across her face.
Her neck.
The backs of her hands.
One thin layer.
Then another.
She looked into the mirror again.
The rest would be hidden beneath her clothes.
She looked ordinary now.
Her gaze dropped to the inside of her left forearm.
Beneath her skin, the biochip glowed softly.
A number floated there.
Lumi 73.
One higher than yesterday.
She pulled down her sleeve and gathered her toiletries.
A sound drifted from the kitchen.
The refrigerator door.
Opening.
Closing.
Min-woo.
When she stepped out, he was standing in front of the refrigerator.
Eggs in one hand.
A pouch of red ginseng in the other.
“Drink this before breakfast.”
Eun-su looked at the pouch for a moment.
Healthy food didn’t lower your Lumi.
She knew that.
Her own body had taught her.
“Thank you.”
She took the pouch from him.
Tore it open.
Drank.
The bitter liquid slid down her throat.
For a brief moment, she watched it travel beneath the translucent skin of her neck.
Min-woo said nothing.
His eyes lingered there for only a second.
Then he turned back to the refrigerator.
“Eat the eggs too.
Both of them.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll eat later.”
A lie.
He always said that.
And somehow, he always ended up eating anyway.
Eun-su pulled out a chair and sat down.
Two fried eggs rested on the plate.
Min-woo slid it toward her.
“Eat.”
“You should have one.”
He smiled awkwardly and took one back.
The fork scraped softly against the plate.
Eun-su pressed the tip of her fork gently into the yolk.
Careful not to break it.
When Eun-su opened the apartment door, she heard the elevator.
Its doors slid open somewhere down the hallway.
She stepped outside.
At the same moment, the door across from hers opened as well.
The elderly couple.
The old man came out first, wearing a light windbreaker.
His wife followed a few steps behind.
While she checked the lock on the front door, he simply stood and waited.
He always did.
There was never any hurry.
Every morning, they went for a walk.
Sunny or cloudy.
It never seemed to matter.
“Oh, Eun-su.”
The old man noticed her first.
His eyes were small.
Gentle.
The cuffs of his jacket had ridden up slightly, exposing his wrists.
His hands were faintly translucent.
The sleeves concealed the biochip beneath his skin, but at his age, a low Lumi was unlikely.
Even so, beneath the hallway lights, the outline of his brain shone with remarkable clarity.
“Did you sleep well?”
“I did.”
“Off to work already?”
“I am.”
“Did you have breakfast?”
“Yes.”
The old woman finished checking the lock and turned around.
She looked much the same.
The line of her neck showed faintly beneath her skin.
She wasn’t wearing concealing cream either.
After so many years together, they seemed to be fading at almost exactly the same pace.
“It’s chilly today.”
She smiled.
“Make sure you dress warmly.”
Her eyes rested on Eun-su’s face.
The concealing cream.
Then—
the places it couldn’t hide.
She said nothing.
Only smiled.
“The weather’s beautiful today.
Try to go outside for lunch.
Eat something good.”
Eun-su nodded.
The three of them stepped into the elevator together.
A small space.
Three quiet people.
The old man pressed the button for the first floor.
The doors closed.
No one spoke.
Only the soft hum of the elevator filled the silence.
The old woman slipped her arm through her husband’s.
As naturally as breathing.
He didn’t look at her.
Only the faint tightening of his arm betrayed that he had noticed.
The elevator came to a stop.
The doors slid open.
“We’ll see you later.”
The elderly couple stepped out first.
Side by side, they disappeared into the morning sunlight.
Eun-su watched them for a moment.
Their bodies shimmered beneath the light.
Not blending into one another.
Each fading quietly in their own place.
Then she turned
and walked the other way.
The clinic opened at nine.
Eun-su had just settled into her office and unfolded the day’s schedule when the door swung open without a knock.
Ji-yeon.
One of the nurses.
“Doctor, we’ve got an emergency admission.”
“What happened?”
“They said she... peeled off her own skin.”
Ji-yeon hesitated.
“They said she wanted to give it to her daughter.”
Eun-su set down her pen.
“How old is the daughter?”
“Five.”
She stepped into the hallway.
A quiet sob drifted from the emergency room.
A woman’s voice.
Beside her stood a small child.
Silent.
The child wasn’t crying.
Even beneath the fluorescent lights, her body was translucent.
The white wall behind her showed faintly through her small frame.
She wasn’t wearing concealing cream.
Above her head, the delicate outline of her brain shone with startling clarity.
The biochip beneath the skin of her forearm glowed softly.
Five years old.
And already—
that Lumi.
Eun-su stopped.
The child looked up.
Their eyes met.
There was no fear.
No sadness.
Only the eyes of someone who already knew.
Someone who had known for a very long time.
Eun-su walked toward her.
