Chapter 1
Prologue
“Hey, Nur! Guess what?!”
Nur looked up, blinking. “Yes, brother?”
“Any clue what we’re doing tomorrow?!”
“I don’t know yet… you said it was a surprise.”
“Huhu, you said you wanted to visit the new theme park, didn’t you?”
Nur’s eyes widened a little, the way they always did when he was excited.
“Really?”
“Really.”
From the kitchen, Mother joined our conversation.
“Hero was the one who suggested that your father take us there together. He knew how much you’ve always wanted to go.”
“Mom!” Hero yelled.
“…Really?!”
Nur’s eyes met his.
“…Thank you.”
Nur smiled a small but genuine smile. The kind of smile he rarely showed to anyone except Hero.
Nur trusted Hero. Everyone in the family knew it. If Nur was scared, he would search for Hero. If he needed help, he would ask Hero out. If he wanted to say something he couldn’t say out loud, he whispered it to Hero.
And Hero never failed him.
Hero leaned over and ruffled Nur’s already messy hair.
“I’ll be right there. Next to you.”
But Hero wasn’t there enough
The air reeked of burnt rubber and the metallic scent of blood.
Hero struggled to breathe. The air felt heavy, as if something were pressing down on his chest. Something far heavier than anything he had ever felt before.
It… hurts.
He looked terrified, pale, as if he had seen a ghost. Perhaps he did.
It… hurts…
Noise surrounded him. Voices, footsteps, someone’s shouting… But it all felt distant, as if he were underwater–Drowning.
“Brother…”
“N… Nur…?”
His voice trembled.
“Hey… answer me… Nur…?”
His chest felt as if it were tearing apart from inside.
“Brother…”
Hero’s heart clenched.
“Brother… it hurts…”
A sharp tightness gripped Hero’s chest, stronger than anything. His vision blurred, and he clutched at his chest, wanting to break down and cry—but above all else, what filled him was an unbearable feeling of helplessness, teasing his emotions, taunting him, slowly breaking him from within.
“I… I am here,” Hero said, his voice shaking.
“I am right here, Nur…”
But the words felt empty the moment he said them.
Because he hadn’t been there enough.
Because he—
