Chapter 43. Shared Room and Unspoken Thought

Chapter 43. Shared Room and Unspoken Thought

Kai, Moon, Ruby, Minji, and James finally arrived at Base #12072008 through the teleporter.

As they stepped out of the glowing portal, an odd silence surrounded the group.

Moon was quiet. Kai, too.

Ruby blinked in surprise.

Minji and James exchanged looks.

It wasn't like Moon to be this silent. He was always the loud, joking type—but even he seemed serious now. Ruby could feel the shift in atmosphere, but didn't ask. She knew this wasn't the time.

Moon and Kai wore black masks that covered most of their faces. It helped them blend in, hide their identity.

Without saying much, the non-identical twins walked ahead, leading the group toward the room they had been assigned the first time they came to the Shifting Expanse.

Since all the nearby hotels were already booked and the queue at the portal office was ridiculously long, Ruby, James, and Minji decided to crash in Moon and Kai's room for the night.

Kai used his fingerprint to unlock the door. A soft beep, and the lock clicked open.

As the group stepped inside, a familiar scent of sterilized air and metal polish brushed past them. The faint hum of the room's energy stabilizer echoed softly, just like before.

The space itself was nothing special—clean white walls blended with pale grey borders, a soft floor made of synthetic cooling tiles, and two beds neatly tucked on opposite corners. A small desk stood in the middle, untouched since the day Moon and Kai had first left it. The ceiling lights glowed with a dull, passive warmth, trying too hard to make the room feel alive.

But for Moon and Kai, it wasn't the walls, or the beds, or even the air that greeted them.

It was the silence.

That thick, echoing silence that had once wrapped around them right before their world was torn apart.

They remembered how, just months ago, they had stood in this exact room—freshly teleported, uncertain, still holding onto some hope about their potential. They joked a little, made sarcastic comments about the bland color scheme,system and even argued over who would take the bed near the door.

But that lightness had lasted less than two days.

Not in person, but in presence—in the form of that monstrous essence creature they weren't ready to face. It dragged them into a battle they couldn't win, crushed their bones, broke their confidence, and pushed them to the edge of death.

The memory was still fresh—Kai remembered the exact angle of light when they first collapsed on the floor, Moon remembered the taste of blood in his mouth, the coldness of his fingers. This room wasn't just a shelter; it was the final stop before everything burned.

Kai blinked, breaking the stream of thought, and quietly pushed those memories to the back of his mind. This wasn't the time to relive pain.

He turned back toward the group and said with a steady voice, "Come in. There's space."

Kai quickly shoved the thought to the back of his mind.

He turned around and said, "Come in. There's space."

As everyone entered, James looked around and raised a brow. "Damn, this room's bigger than the usual two-person ones. How did you land this one?"

Kai replied casually, "We used a hunter's reference card ."

James nodded in understanding. Ruby and Minji were too tired to speak. They just stared at the room, their muscles sore and minds foggy from the long journey.

Everyone settled in.

Moon and Kai took one bed.

Ruby and Minji shared the other.

James… ended up on the floor with a blanket and a grumble.

---

The Next Morning

Ruby was the first to stir as morning light filtered softly through the pale curtains. The room was quiet, the only sound being the subtle rhythm of breathing from the others.

Moving carefully so she wouldn't wake anyone, she slid out of bed and tiptoed into the bathroom.

With a gentle twist of the tap, the shower came alive—warm water cascading down like rain. For the first time in weeks, she was inside a real bathroom. Not in wild pouring cold water from a bucket and mug.

But a simple, quiet space… just for her.

She stepped under the stream and closed her eyes.

The water hit her skin like a slow embrace, loosening the stiffness in her shoulders and dissolving the layers of dirt, sweat, and exhaustion that had clung to her during their time in the Expanse.

She didn't rush. She let the warmth sink deep into her muscles, her fingers resting against the smooth wall as she breathed in the steam.

Minutes passed. Then more.

The mirror fogged over, the tiled walls blurred with mist. Her long black hair—matted from days of battle and no care—began to soften. Water streamed through it, washing out the dried blood and dust until it clung to her back like silk.

She tilted her head back, letting the water trail down her face, her neck, her spine.

It wasn't just a shower.

It felt like shedding a layer of war.

Forty-five minutes later, she finally stepped out, wrapping herself in a white-pink towel. Her eyes, naturally a soft red, looked brighter now—calmer. Her skin glowed faintly from the heat, and her damp hair was bundled neatly in a twist above her head.

For the first time in weeks, Ruby felt… human again.

By the time she stepped out, she looked… peaceful.

She wore a white t-shirt and blue denim shorts, her damp black hair wrapped in a white-pink towel. Her jade white skin seemed to glow faintly in the morning light. Her soft red eyes scanned the room quietly, unaware that she looked like an angel who had just descended from heaven.

Minji, now awake and sitting on the bed, had been checking her phone—finally catching up on what happened in the past month inside the Expanse, where technology rarely worked.

The moment she heard the bathroom door open, she grabbed her clothes and towel and ran in—shoving Ruby aside playfully.

"Move! My turn!"

Ruby laughed softly and stepped aside.

Moon, Kai, and James were still asleep.

But the sudden slam of the bathroom door echoed through the quiet room, jolting Moon awake.

He groaned softly, blinking against the soft morning light filtering in through the curtains. His vision was still hazy, but he could make out a silhouette near the mirror—tall, poised, familiar.

Ruby.

She stood in front of the mirror with a towel draped over her shoulders, gently patting her damp hair. Her movements were calm, almost meditative, as she twisted her long black strands into a neat bun. The steam from her long shower still lingered in the air, adding a faint warmth to the cool room.

Moon sat up slowly, his body still heavy with sleep. He rubbed his face and dragged himself to the bathroom without a word.

Five minutes later, the flush echoed faintly, and he stepped back out, now fully awake and brushing water off his hands.

Ruby was sitting cross-legged on the bed, scrolling casually through her phone. Her hair had been undone and tied back again—this time into her usual ponytail.

Moon glanced at her, yawned, then said in his usual dry tone,

"That bun looked better on you than the ponytail."

Ruby blinked, caught off guard for a second. Then, a faint smile tugged at her lips—barely there, but warm.

She didn't reply. But that smile lingered as she kept scrolling.

Moon grabbed his toothbrush without another word and began brushing.