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Alice squints her eyes.
As a world-class assassin, she has seen a lot of things. Betrayal, pain, sorrow, desperation - she has seen it all. She knows how people can flip colors as easily as turning on a switch. But this - this seriously puzzles her.
After the near escape from the hunting dogs, Alice took the first flight to Thailand and escaped from Korea. It took some shoplifting, threatening a frightened identity papers forger, and a sprinkle of help from the Numbers but she made it.
Her brother and she have been here for a couple of months. Living as Lucy from Romania, she has managed to erase most of her tracks but she does not doubt that the Forest is still looking for her. They’re relentless if nothing else, like spindly bed bugs.
She was just passing by the beach to buy some supplies from the hardware store, but what she sees is just so bizarre she has to stop to take a second glance.
A boy with long golden blocks has a scrawny boy - no older than fifteen - caught in a headlock and he looks disgruntled but allows himself to be manhandled by the older boy. From the side, another boy with black hair in a man bun jumps over them, splashing the water everywhere. The surface smooths for a few seconds before the three heads pop back up gasping for air.
Suddenly, she realizes, someone is holding a knife against her back. She blinks; she hadn’t even realized someone had crept up.
“Who are yo-” Pinpricks of panic begin to settle but she jumps out of the stranger’s grasp before she can finish the statement.
“Alice?!”
Familiar platinum blonde hair and a muscular build - “005?”
Almost instantaneously, both of them deflate. “Sorry about the knife. I was just worried about the boys because you were staring rather intently.”
Alice’s mouth forms an O-shape. “I - well, honestly, I didn’t expect to see them here.”
005 smirks a little. “It looks too peaceful to be people like us is what you mean.”
Alice tears her eyes away, unable to refute.
“I feel the same way, frankly and I know all of them do too. They look relaxed but all of them will probably be more relieved if a danger reveals itself. Otherwise, it feels like being stuck in a purgatory.”
“Cumin, did we get cumin?” Voices call out from behind them. Alice spares a glance and finds, even more bizarrely, 002 dressed in an apron standing with spatulas.
“Here you go,” 005 says, tossing a jar from her polythene bag.
002 catches it with ease but he doesn’t look away. “Alice?”
“I go by Lucy here,” she says with a humorless smile. 002 nods and doesn’t question further. He starts flipping the meat over the grill nonchalantly.
“Would you like to join us for lunch, Lucy?” 005 extends an olive branch.
Alice bites her lip. It looks fun, she can’t deny. Even so … “Is it okay for me to?”
“Absolutely not! She tried to kill us!” Out of nowhere, 004 appears, a blue towel strewn over his shoulders. He is still in beachwear, dripping wet all over the sand.
002 does not say anything but looks about close to rolling his eyes. Alice is not sure how she can tell when just a meeting ago he seemed so impassive and unreadable.
“Oh, come on. It’s in the past now,” 005 insists. “Besides-”
“Nope, you will not be using him as an excuse. He’s not one of us anymore.”
005’s eyes darken. “Take that back.”
“Nope, will not. What are you gonna do about it, huh? Complain to him?”
“You know what, maybe I will. I will tell him all about how you pulled an all-nighter to ensure his friend’s safety that one time.”
Alice gazes between the two. It seems to be an old worn-out argument that they picked up from the middle. She quite frankly does not understand half of it, but it seems one of the Numbers left. She bites her lip but does not comment. The argument, for all intents, feels very childish and non-hostile.
“You guys are like a family,” she finds herself saying before she processes it. Immediately, a silence descends.
“Haaaah?” 004 turns red to the tips of his ears.
“You could say that, I suppose,” 002 replies calmly.
“Wait, did I just hear 002 finally admit to caring,” 006 appears from behind him, grinning like a Cheshire cat. He tries to throw an arm over 002 but he flicks it off using his spatula.
“I’m cooking, genius.”
005 snorts beside her. She looks happy, genuinely so. None of the temple lines and early wrinkles on her face that seem to characterize this line of work.
“I’ll take my leave then. I hope you guys enjoy your … vacation?”
“It is a vacation,” 005 confirms. “But hey, weren’t you staying?”
“I left my brother home,” she replies, “Besides, I don’t want to impose.”
005 looks reluctant but does not insist. As the distance grows, she hears them grow a little louder. There is a camaraderie among them that she finds herself feeling jealous of. Could she have been like this with her Forest colleagues if they chose to escape together like the Numbers? She takes a deep breath. No use pondering on what-ifs in a world where tomorrow is a miracle.
…
The next day, she takes her brother out for a stroll around the town. They mostly scale the beach. The wheel-chair gets a little rusty after braving the seaside sand but it still works so Alice counts it as a win.
“Is there anything you would like?” Alice asks him as they pass through the markets.
“Not in particular,” he shakes his head.
“Are you sure?”
He looks away but nods his head. Alice rolls her eyes. “Just be honest.”
“Can we get some ramen? I have been craving some since we left Korea.”
Alice snorts. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
He flushes a light pink as he responds. “...it’s embarrassing.”
“It’s not embarrassing to want things,” Alice says decisively, already wheeling them towards the convenience store.
It’s a small 24-hour store with a couple of high-school part-timers manning the place. She browses through the stack of noodles when she notices some people in the next aisle. With a large build, heavy muscles, and towering height, it is unmistakably 008. Next to him, with blond hair and an oversized hoodie is 016.
However, it’s none of her business so she pretends not to notice for the sake of both of them. As much as they have a temporary truce at the moment, relationships are too fragile when toeing the line between life and death. It’s best to not get too friendly.
“I like this one,” her brother points to a pink packet. Alice picks it up and some beer to go along with it. Soon, they move to the cash register … except the cashier is 018. Broody black eyes, inky hair, and a signature face mask. 018, for his part, doesn’t react. He simply takes the packet and scans the barcode.
“115 baht,” he says. “Any membership card?”
Alice shakes her head as she fishes out the notes. She takes her leave, the automatic doors parting to let her brother and her out. A silence fills the space between them on the way back home. She can’t help but feel this nagging feeling that she is forgetting something. Standing in front of the elevator, she can’t help tapping her foot.
“Calm down, Alice,” her brother frowns.
She bites her lips and stills. “I’m sorry.”
Suddenly, a young brunette comes barrelling into the lobby, followed by an older boy who seems to be chasing her. They’re both grinning. By the time, the girl reaches the elevator, she is panting and sporting a smug smile.
“I win,” she tells her brother.
“You cheated.”
“Oh, come on now. You saw me get here first-”
“Oh, hi Miss Lucy,” the brother quickly diverts her attention toward Alice.
Alice smiles softly at her neighbors. “Hello, Arthit and Chompoo.”
These two remind her a lot of the kid she left behind in Korea. Ijin and her sister.
Oh.
It clicks then what she had been forgetting. Her eyes widen.
As soon as the elevator opens, she quickly heads towards their apartment unit and shoves the door open. “I have to go for a bit. I’ll be right back,” she tells her brother, wheeling him into the living room.
“Alright. Just be safe,” he calls out as she already finds herself heading out.
Starting from 002 to 032, all the active numbers, she’s seen all of them in Thailand so far. She had had one request to them, and sure it was a bit of a tall order, but dammit, they promised! If they’re all here, who’s protecting the kid? Sure, Ijin is strong and can hold his ground against most opponents but the hunting dogs aren’t just about anyone!
She keeps running until she is at the beach again. There, just like yesterday, the Numbers are huddled around, except, this time it’s twilight, and under the pink-purple sky, they are roasting marshmallows(?) around a bonfire.
“You guys!” she calls out, panting. “You accepted the request back then!”
The numbers all pause and fix her with a quizzical gaze. Dread begins to pool into her stomach. From the very beginning, had they ever taken it seriously, or did they just agree for the sake of it?
“I know I have no agency over you guys but the kid is a civilian! How could all of you just leave him alone in Korea while the hunting dogs are still trying to track me?”
Realization seems to dawn on them. 004 lets out a disgruntled grunt. “Not this again. I’m too sober for this. Pass me the beer please.”
002 rolls his eyes but passes him a can. 032 looks mildly uncomfortable and shifts in place.
“He’s plenty strong himself,” 006 attempts to reason, shrugging his shoulders. Meanwhile, 005 is biting down on her lips, her eyes glinting.
“I am more than aware as someone who has worked with him. However, the hunting dogs aren’t just anyone. Even I barely survived last time!”
At that, all of them stare at her for a couple of seconds.
“You guys aren’t taking this seriously because you haven’t met them!”
002 shoots her a glare. “Careful. Are you insinuating we cannot accurately assess our opponents?”
Alice quickly raises her arms in surrender. “That’s not what I meant, I’m sorry! It’s just that I don’t believe there is any way he can protect himself against them. Besides, he is just a civilian. He should not be getting involved in my problems.”
“Lucky bastard,” 004 grumbles. 005 elbows him in the ribs.
005 sighs. “All things considered, we can assure his safety-” she begins when 002 cuts her off.
“Do you honestly believe they can win against him?”
“Well, they almost managed to kill me,” she points out.
“Let me rephrase then,” 002 leans back. “Do you think you stand a chance against him?”
At first, she feels affronted. She was at the top of her class so theoretically, she is stronger than all civilians. Except, this question is coming from 002. One of the only people she could consider equal or could even be stronger. If someone like him acknowledges Ijin…
“What are you trying to say?” she asks cautiously.
“Forget about it,” he replies. “As 005 mentioned, we have ensured his safety.”
Alice clenches her jaw as she stares at him. Suddenly, he feels just as passive as before, completely unreadable. A stone block.
She is only shaken from the reverie when she feels footsteps approach them. They’re soft, so soft - almost like an assassin. Alarm bells go off in her head.
She snaps her head to find a black figure cutting into the twilight sky, holding two large polythene bags.
“Hey guys, I got us fried chicken,” he says, the tone of his voice all find and strangely familiar - “Alice?”
She blinks. There, in all his 5’11 Ash-blond glory, stands Yu Ijin. “Ijin?”
He lets out a deep sigh.
“Did you get more beer too?” 004 calls out.
“I’m still underage,” he reminds him.
005 snorts. “Yeah, right. Because that would be the most illegal thing you’ve ever done.”
“Hey, the celeb’s finally making time for us. Let’s be nice to him,” 006 snipes in, smirking.
Ijin groans. “Hey, I’m just a normal high school student. I don’t know what you expect from me.”
All the numbers burst out laughing. “Gosh, him having gained a sense of humor has to be the most shocking thing about tonight,” 006 comments.
“Can I have the chicken please?” 032 asks politely, reaching his hands out.
Ijin seamlessly fits into the group leaving Alice even more confused. She feels like she is missing a major puzzle piece here. Did they perhaps befriend him when protecting him? She immediately discards the idea. The Numbers are as bad at social skills as they are good at combat. Then … is he one of them?
001 is dead and 003 is a woman so … 007?
But the way they react to him, almost reverently … one would think she is their leader. Even 002 seems quiet in his presence. Besides, the camp only raised kids who had no one to protect them. Ijin clearly has a family.
“I’m afraid I did not take a guest into consideration but there should be enough for everyone,” Ijin says handing her a leg piece on a tissue.
“Who are you?” she blurts out.
Suddenly, all of the Numbers appear guarded, ready to fight. The 007 theory seems to make the most sense … still, something’s not clicking.
“Calm down you all,” Ijin says, eyeing the others. “It’s okay, I trust her.”
“She tried to kill us.” It’s 016 who says this, but weirdly enough, it sounds like a reminder, an old conversation picked up from the middle.
“She hasn’t been hostile since then though,” Ijin points out.
“It seems like being in high school has smoothed out your brain,” 004 grits.
Ijin pointedly ignores that as he turns towards Alice. “Hello Alice,” he starts, his face even more blank than 002. “I’m 001.”
As a world-class assassin, Alice has seen a lot of things. Assassins who can kill with a single bullet, combatants who can single-handedly disarm an entire army, and generals who regularly fake death after undercover missions.
Even so, this has to be the most bizarre thing she has heard in all her time.
Alice snorts. “So, what? Your sister is a hired actress?” she asks in disbelief.
Ijin doesn’t flinch under the pressure of her gaze. “It’s complicated,” he says. “A lot of things happened and now I am a normal high school student. My family is very real just as your brother is real.”
“001 found his family after leaving camp,” 032 explains.
“Yup! He gets to be a normal, happy high-schooler after all that,” 004 remarks, swaying just a little.
001 just smiles patiently. “I’ve been very lucky,” he replies.
Alice just stares at him in disbelief. Understatement of the century, she thinks. Not only did he manage to fool all the big institutes with his fake death, but he also found his family and retained his previous relationship with the rest of the numbers.
The Numbers continue munching on the meat and talking over each other about this and that. Alice sits among them, equally as enthralled as confused. At one point, 005 - who reintroduces herself as Maya - ropes her into a conversation about hair care. It’s all overwhelming but at the same time, so much falls into place.
The Numbers protected her so many times when they had no reason to. However, if she thinks about the time she helped Ijin’s sister or refrained from attacking the SW chairman, it makes sense. 001 is their leader after all. She watches them, and despite not being one of them, she feels strangely at peace.
Perhaps, people like them aren’t doomed to eternal damnation, she thinks as the last light flickers out and the night takes a midnight blue, pale moonlight shining like hope.
“You’re always welcome at my home,” Ijin tells her before she leaves.
Strangely, she finds herself thinking of the Numbers not as wanderers fated to meet but as destinations she would like to revisit. She finds herself really considering visiting Ijin and his sister. Perhaps, they’ll share a meal together and then they’ll share stories like close acquaintances.
She stares at the moon, leaning against the railing of the balcony.
“Did something good happen?” her brother asks from inside.
“It’s a full moon today,” she replies.
“Really? I wanna see it too”
“Alright, I’ll take you to the balcony.”
The night fades into dawn and a new day starts. Alice and her brother survive. Arthit and Chompoo, her neighbors sometimes come over. She doesn’t particularly enjoy her job as a sous Chef at the Mexican restaurant but it’s an honest job.
It’s been nice here , Alice thinks. Let’s hope for another good day .