Movement in the night

Five years had passed since Lindsey was brought to the Houdoug residence. Tonight, somewhere in a hospital in the city of Surabaya — the city Lindsey now called home.

"Move it!" someone hissed. The voice belonged to a grown man, clearly the one in charge.

Three silhouettes crept through the dimly lit hospital corridor, moving in near-perfect silence. Since we don't know their names yet, let's call them Rob1, Rob2, and Rob3.

Rob1 pressed his palm flat against the wall, dragging it slowly along the cold, rough concrete — feeling for anything out of the ordinary. A gap. A seam. Anything.

"What exactly are you doing, boss?" Rob2 asked, tilting his head as he shuffled closer with uncertain steps.

Rob1 snapped. "SHUT UP!!" He wheeled around, glaring daggers at Rob2.

"Are you blind? I'm looking for an opening," he hissed, jabbing a finger at the wall.

Rob3 drifted closer, hunching over to peer at the section Rob1 was examining. "There's nothing here though?" he said, eyebrow raised.

"That's exactly why I'm still looking," Rob1 shot back, stepping forward.

"Move—!" He shoved Rob3 aside to reclaim his spot.

Rob1 pressed both his palm and his ear against the wall this time, going completely still.

"Instead of just standing there, do the same thing!" he ordered, not bothering to look back.

Rob2 and Rob3 exchanged a quick glance, then scrambled to press their hands against other sections of the wall.

"R— right!" they said, almost in unison.

Time crawled by. After more than half an hour of working their way down the corridor — feeling every inch of the wall — Rob2's hand suddenly caught something. A texture that didn't quite match the rest. He froze and pressed closer.

"Boss, boss!" he called, bouncing slightly on his heels, pointing at the spot with barely contained excitement.

"What?" Rob1 was already moving toward him.

"Something's here, boss!" Rob2 said, patting the section of wall that felt different.

Rob1 shoved him aside without ceremony. "Out of the way, out of the way!" He leaned in, studying the spot with narrowed eyes.

Rob3 propped an arm against the wall and leaned in beside him. "What are you going to do, boss?"

Rob1 reached into his pocket and rummaged around for a moment. He pulled out a small, square object — a piece of clear plastic, slightly clouded.

Carefully, he pressed it against the section of wall Rob2 had found. The moment it made contact, a deep mechanical hum vibrated from somewhere within the structure.

Then the floor shifted.

The section beneath their feet descended smoothly, forming a staircase. A hidden underground room yawned open before them.

All three stumbled back. "Wh— what the—" Rob1 breathed, eyes wide.

After a beat of stunned silence, Rob1 was the first to move. He descended the stairs one careful step at a time, barely breathing. Rob2 and Rob3 followed close behind.

"Whoa," all three murmured, almost at the same time, their eyes sweeping the space below.

It looked like an abandoned laboratory. Dozens of chemical bottles and scientific instruments were scattered across dusty metal tables. The air carried a sharp chemical smell that stung the nose — though none of them seemed particularly bothered by it.

"So... what exactly are we looking for, boss?" Rob2 asked, shrugging as he looked around.

"Are you serious right now? The item, obviously," Rob1 snapped.

"Could it be in here?" Rob3 wandered around a large table at the center of the room, eyes scanning every surface carefully.

The table was cluttered with bottles of vividly colored liquids. Several had already spilled, leaving sticky stains and a sharp, acrid smell across the wood and floor.

After a moment, Rob1 crouched beside the table and began feeling along the underside with his hand — slow, deliberate.

"Hm... what's this?" he murmured, fingers tracing a narrow groove beneath the surface.

Without warning, the large table split apart with a mechanical groan. Several bottles toppled and shattered from the vibration. Some of the liquid hit the floor — and one puddle immediately began eating through the concrete, carving a hole straight down.

Rob2 and Rob3 recoiled, visibly shaken by what they'd just witnessed.

Rob1 didn't flinch. He stepped back calmly, both eyes fixed on the mechanism now exposed beneath the table.

From the gap, a smaller platform rose slowly into view — and mounted permanently on its surface was a transparent jar. Inside it, dozens of capsules glowed with a vivid, unmistakable green.

"Is that— ...!?" Rob1 breathed, his expression shifting into something between disbelief and awe.

---

The following morning. The Houdoug residence — or more precisely, the Houdoug complex, the place Lindsey currently called home.

Lindsey was curled up on the sofa, holding a warm cup of tea with both hands and sipping it slowly. The morning news played quietly on the television in front of her. Five years had passed since she first arrived, and the only thing that had visibly changed about her was her height.

The front door opened. Ryuu walked in with a lazy wave.

"Yo! Lindsey!" he called, strolling toward her.

Lindsey glanced over and set her cup down on the small table in front of her. She returned his wave briefly, expression as flat as ever.

"Where's Grandpa Yolan?" Ryuu asked, looking around the living room.

"Oh, he's—" Lindsey began.

"— he's at the hospital," she finished, reaching for the teapot to refill her cup.

"Oh. Is he sick?" Ryuu's voice shifted, a note of concern creeping in.

"He's had cancer for a long time," Lindsey answered calmly, setting the teapot back down and taking another sip.

"But he said earlier he just wanted to catch up with an old friend," she added, her voice quieter.

"A friend? Huh," Ryuu murmured, looking down as if turning the thought over in his head.

"Anyway — what brings you here, Ryuu?" Lindsey asked, turning to look at him properly.

Ryuu startled slightly. "Oh — right, yeah. My dad wants you to start going to school," he said quickly.

Lindsey blinked a few times, then turned back to the television. "Pass," she said flatly.

"What!? Why?" Ryuu's voice jumped up half an octave.

"It costs money, doesn't it?" Lindsey replied, lifting her cup again.

"Grandpa always said I've already been enough of a burden to Mr. Houdoug," she continued.

"So I can't keep accepting things from you all," she added, setting the empty cup down on the table.

Ryuu exhaled slowly, taking a long breath. "About that — don't worry—"

"— it was actually my dad's idea. He's the one pushing for this," he added quickly, leaning forward a little.

"School's great, you know! You'll make so many friends!" he said, his tone picking up with enthusiasm.

Lindsey shot him a sideways glance, visibly skeptical. "Yeah, yeah, sure," she muttered.

"You'll go? Let's go!" Ryuu lit up immediately, grinning.

Lindsey sighed and reached for the teapot again. "Don't get too excited. I still want to know why your father is so insistent about this," she said, pouring slowly.

"I— that— just ask him yourself," Ryuu replied, his voice wavering just slightly.

Then — Drrrr~ Drrrr~

A phone buzzed from Ryuu's pocket.

He pulled it out and swiped to answer without missing a beat.

"Hello? Ryuu Houdoug speaking," he said.

The person on the other end spoke rapidly. Ryuu listened, his expression shifting.

"What? You want to speak with Lindsey?" he asked, confused.

Lindsey looked up the moment she heard her name.

"Oh — yeah, she's right here with me," Ryuu said, nodding.

He held the phone out toward her. "Here," he said simply.

Lindsey took it with a raised eyebrow. "Hello?" she said, her voice cautious.

The person on the other end spoke in a low, halting voice.

Until finally —

"What!? He suddenly collapsed in the corridor!?"