The rain had stopped completely.

But the sky remained covered by heavy gray clouds, as if the storm had not entirely left the city behind.

Inside the P.S.A headquarters, the smell of coffee filled the corridors.

Employees moved between departments, and some of them looked more exhausted than usual.

After a long week of continuous missions, everyone was eagerly waiting for the end of the month.

---

In the Archives...

The old file was still on the table.

TOROKI

The employee who had found it passed by again.

He stopped.

His eyes moved from the cover...

to the clock.

He had dozens of other files waiting for him.

After hesitating for a moment, he returned the folder to its place.

"Later."

He closed the cabinet.

Then took his keys.

He didn't know that some things inside the P.S.A had been waiting for years for their time to come.

---

Upstairs...

The meeting bell rang.

Employees entered the operations room one after another.

Haro sat at the back of the room while one of the officers stood in front of the screen.

A map of the city appeared.

"Before we begin..."

She looked at everyone.

"I have some good news."

Silence filled the room.

One of the employees raised his hand.

"Did you finally find coffee that's actually drinkable?"

Several people laughed.

The officer stared at him coldly.

"You can resign if you'd like."

Haro burst out laughing.

"I don't think that's a good way to start a meeting."

She smiled slightly.

"On the contrary. It means everyone is still alive."

Then she changed the screen.

A new schedule appeared.

"Starting at the end of this week, personnel in the field departments will receive one week of leave."

The room fell silent for two seconds.

Then—

"What?"

"An entire week?"

"Is this real?"

Even Haro raised his head with interest.

The officer continued:

"There will be no regular missions during the leave period, except in cases of emergency."

One employee muttered:

"I thought the word 'vacation' had disappeared from the P.S.A dictionary."

Haro said,

"Looks like they found it in an old archive."

The man beside him laughed.

But the officer didn't smile this time.

"Make the most of it."

She paused.

"Because we don't know when we'll be able to give you another week."

A brief silence followed.

Her words weren't dramatic.

They were simply the truth.

Everyone understood that.

---

After the Meeting...

The employees left the room and entered the corridor.

The vacation was almost the only thing anyone talked about.

"What are you going to do?"

One employee asked his colleague.

"Sleep."

"For an entire week?"

"I'll try."

At the other end of the corridor, Haru was walking beside Sako.

"What about you?"

Sako looked at him.

"What?"

"What are you going to do during the vacation?"

Sako thought for a moment.

"I don't know."

Haro smiled.

"I knew you'd say that."

"And you?"

"Me?"

Haro put his hands behind his head.

"I'm going to disappear."

Sako looked at him.

"Where?"

"I don't know."

"Then how are you going to disappear?"

Haro stopped for a moment.

Then, with exaggerated seriousness, he said,

"Technical details."

A small smile appeared on Sako's face.

"Idiot."

"Finally."

Haro grinned.

"You're learning."

They parted ways at the end of the corridor.

The conversation wasn't important.

But those small moments were enough to make the day feel a little lighter.

---

In the Medical Department...

Maya was organizing some equipment inside her drawer.

She placed the last file inside.

Then closed it.

The vacation was getting closer.

And yet, sleep wasn't what occupied her thoughts.

On her desk lay a small booklet.

She opened it.

Its pages were filled with handwritten notes.

Emergency Medicine.

Trauma Care.

Advanced Infection Response.

She sat down.

Her finger traced one of the pages.

This wasn't merely a hobby.

For years, she had wanted something specific.

She wanted to become capable of treating people in situations where others failed.

Not in a quiet operating room.

Nor in a hospital equipped with everything imaginable.

But in places where only a few minutes were available to save someone's life.

She closed the booklet.

A female colleague entered the room.

"You're still studying?"

Maya looked up.

"A little."

"The vacation starts tomorrow."

"I know."

"Normal people use vacations to sleep."

Maya smiled.

"Maybe I'll try."

Her colleague glanced at the booklet.

"Do you still want to specialize in emergency medicine?"

Maya remained silent for a moment.

Then she said,

"I want to be better."

"Better than what?"

Maya looked down at her hands.

"Better than the person I was when I started."

She fell silent for a moment.

Then smiled.

"I don't want to stand in front of someone who's bleeding someday and think that there was something else I could have done."

Her colleague couldn't find an immediate answer.

So she said,

"That's a big goal."

"I know."

"And what are you going to do during the vacation?"

Maya closed the booklet.

"I'm going to start an advanced first-aid course."

Her colleague sighed.

"I knew you'd do that."

Maya laughed.

"This is my vacation."

---

Later that Day...

A new mission arrived.

It wasn't a major assignment.

But it required a small team.

Location: Eastern Sector.

Objective: Inspect an abandoned residential building following reports of sounds and movement coming from the lower floors.

There was no evidence of injured people.

Nor were there any signs of a major threat.

Just an inspection.

And this type of mission was usually boring.

But the officer selected four people.

Haro.

Sako.

A relatively new field operative named Lena Voss.

And a field medic named Ren.

Lena was around twenty-three years old, with short hair, and she always carried a small notebook where she recorded everything.

Ren...

was completely different.

Quiet.

Thin.

And he wore prescription glasses that he didn't always need, but had grown accustomed to wearing.

After reading the mission details, he said,

"Sounds and movement in an abandoned building."

He looked at Haro.

"Is this an actual mission, or a test of our ability to survive boredom?"

Haro replied,

"At the P.S.A, the difference between the two isn't very clear."

Ren answered,

"Very reassuring."

---

The team arrived at the building before sunset.

It was an old residential building.

The exterior was worn down.

Several windows were broken.

And wild plants had begun covering part of the entrance.

They entered.

The smell of dust and dampness was unmistakable.

Lena pulled out her detector.

"No signs of life."

Ren said,

"And that means?"

"We won't die within the first five minutes."

Haro smiled.

"I like her."

Lena continued forward.

"I'm not joking."

"That's what I like about you."

---

On the second floor, they found an apartment with its door open.

No furniture.

No electricity.

But there was an empty food container on the floor.

Then another.

And a third.

Ren crouched down.

"These are recent."

Haro looked around.

"Then someone is living here."

Before he could finish—

they heard a sound from above.

A step.

Then another.

Everyone raised their weapons.

Haro moved forward carefully.

They reached the third floor.

The sound stopped.

Then it came from behind them.

They turned.

No one.

Lena said,

"Did you hear that?"

"Yes."

Ren moved toward one of the doors.

It was locked.

He slowly opened it.

Inside, they found an elderly man sitting in the room.

He was holding a small lamp.

He raised his hand.

"Don't shoot."

Haro lowered his weapon slightly.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Elias."

"What are you doing here?"

The old man looked around.

"I live here."

Lena said,

"This building isn't fit for habitation."

The old man smiled.

"Neither am I."

Ren looked at Haro.

He tried to hide his smile.

Haro asked,

"Are you alone?"

"Yes."

"And the sounds?"

The man pointed toward the ceiling.

"Cats."

Everyone fell silent.

Then Haro asked,

"Cats?"

"A lot of them."

At that moment, they heard a very clear meow from the floor above.

Haro looked at Lena.

Then at Ren.

Ren said,

"I suggest we write in the report: severe biological threat."

Haro laughed.

Even Lena couldn't stop herself from smiling.

---

But as they were leaving...

Sako noticed something on the ground near the stairs.

A small metal piece.

He picked it up.

It wasn't part of the building's equipment.

It was a component from an old device.

He turned it between his fingers.

Ren asked,

"Something important?"

"I don't know."

Sako handed it to Haro.

Haro examined it.

"Maybe part of a surveillance device."

He kept it.

They didn't discuss it any further.

It was just an old piece of metal.

At least...

that's how it appeared.

---

On the way back, the sky had begun turning orange.

Lena sat in the back seat.

She had been quiet since they left the building.

Ren asked,

"Your first mission?"

"No."

"Then why do you look nervous?"

She looked out the window.

"Because I expected things to be different."

"Different how?"

She thought for a moment.

"More dangerous."

Haro laughed.

"Don't worry."

He looked at her through the rearview mirror.

"Today was an exception."

"Why?"

"Because we found cats."

She laughed.

Then looked at Sako.

He was staring silently out the window.

She asked,

"And you?"

Sako turned toward her.

"What?"

"What are you going to do during the vacation?"

He thought for a moment.

"Probably nothing."

Haro said,

"Boring answer."

Sako replied,

"You asked."

"True."

Silence returned.

But this time, it wasn't heavy.

---

That Evening...

Maya was getting ready to leave headquarters.

She picked up her bag.

Before leaving, she returned to her desk.

She opened the drawer.

Placed the first-aid booklet inside.

Then took out a small piece of paper.

There was a short list written on it:

The course.

Visit the old hospital.

Buy some books.

One day without work.

She looked at the last line.

Then laughed softly.

"That'll be the hardest one."

She closed the drawer.

And turned off the light.

---

In the Archives...

The employee passed by the old cabinet.

He stopped for a moment.

He didn't open it.

But his eyes fell on the same folder.

TOROKI

Then he continued walking.

---

Outside...

The weekend break was approaching.

For the first time in a while, there would be no constant orders for every employee.

Some wanted to sleep.

Some wanted to travel.

Some simply wanted to get away from the P.S.A.

Others...

were carrying small goals they had never found the time to pursue.

And somewhere, among old files and forgotten names...

the past was waiting.

Not loudly.

Nor with a clear answer.

Just...

patiently.

And as the city slowly entered a quiet night, no one knew that the coming week would not be quite as peaceful as they expected.