No. No. He's fine. He's safe. He's safe. It's not just because the world doesn't make sense that he's, that he's—

—but this makes no sense. This makes no sense. Why is this happening? What is he trying to accomplish? How sure are they that their sense-data reflect reality they're safe.

"... Should we go - ask - someone questions or. Go hide in my silo until the world maybe makes sense again????"

He might notice that she's started trembling. No no no no no damn it she didn't want to be right she didn't want to be right why isn't it over what's he DOING!!!

He needs to hug her. She's trembling, he's terrified, hugging is how you solve this.

"I... I don't know."

Whine. Lean.

"Okay. ... Okay. How - sure is - everyone of the power suppression."

"Prez said... very sure?" The article also explains a lot more details about Kang Jaeha's powers, details that had been confidential, so apparently Kang Jaeha confessed to those too, which means that people must trust the suppression at least enough that even while they're aware of his powers they're still... interacting... with him...?

"Then what the fuck!!!! ... I wonder if people will let me go ask him directly what the fuck, as the person who was almost assassinated. And on a, a - timer to teleport out regardless."

"Hye-jin-ah—"

"It's better than waiting around seeing how the fuck he's going to spin this!" she defends, immediately.

"I, I, I get it, just—I'm scared. He, he, he already tried—"

"Yes. But now he's apparently locked up and depowered and - look, I - don't want to be blindsided, again."

He hides his face in her hair. "Okay." Not that he needs to give her permission to do it, but...

... but he sure is unhappy with her, yeah.

Sigh. Hug.

"........ or I could just video call him," she admits, after several seconds of actually thinking about logistics. "Or email, but I'm not sure he's getting email in prison."

He'd feel a lot safer if she video called him, yes.

...but also if it were him he would not want to do it via video. He's not going to do it regardless but if he were going to. Video just feels... too impersonal.

"I will support you no matter what you want to do."

"I will... ask. Someone. I guess. ... I will ask my lawyer to ask, how about, and we then go hide under the ocean for a while. Does that sound good to you?"

"...yeah. It does. Thank you."

"Okay." Kiss. "Sorry."

So, uh. Apparently Kim Hye-jin wants to speak with him. He does not by any means have to. But he can. If he consents.

...yeah, he does. Is she... coming here...?

(They still haven't decided on a full sentence for him. His prison cell is comfortable. And, like, this is Korea, not America, but still, why did they have to make his prison cell comfortable.)

No. Video call.

A little tablet is set up in his cell, and after some fumbling:

Here is Kim Hye-jin. Even in video, she holds herself differently than Nightmare did when it was pretending to be her. It was always casual and languid and sort of catlike - the woman shown on the screen is stock straight, completely humorless, and looks like she is terrified and deals with this terror by killing all of the things that scare her personally. It's pretty clear that if she could incinerate him through the screen, she'd be tempted.

"... Hi," she says, lamely, staring at him like she's waiting for him to turn into a viper and rush through the screen to bite her.

.....aaaaaahhh????

Well, she's half-Korean and half-Japanese, even if he can't properly grovel he can rest his forehead on the table so that the video camera is showing the crown of his head. That's what matters, anyway. "I am so, so sorry, Kim Hye-jin-nim. I—" But he has no idea what to even say.

".... okay. Sure. Now please explain what the fuck your game is because I do not wish to have an exciting new surprise for the fourth fucking time."

"There is no game. I—has—I'm not sure what information's been made public. Do you know about the handcuffs...?"

"They are suppressing your powers very thoroughly, apparently," she says, cautiously, like she doesn't even trust that.