Chapter 264
After witnessing the bizarre snowfall, a heavy silence settled over the apartment.
The four of them gathered in the living room, each lost in their own thoughts.
No one spoke.
Suzy couldn’t pinpoint exactly what had caused the strange phenomenon, but her instincts told her it was somehow connected to the dimensional collapse the system had warned her about.
"Forget it," Leonard finally said. "There’s no point obsessing over it tonight. Let’s see what tomorrow brings."
It was getting late.
Soon afterward, he practically herded Suzy back to the apartment across the hall to get some rest.
Before bed, they carefully checked every window.
Everything seemed secure.
Outside, however, the strange snowfall continued.
Suzy stood by the window for a long time, staring into the darkness.
At first, the sight filled her with unease.
Eventually, though, she grew accustomed to it.
There was nothing she could do to change what was happening.
The only thing within her control was protecting the people around her.
Then a thought suddenly struck her.
Liam. She needed to warn Liam and Noah.
Suzy immediately dug out her walkie-talkie. She had given it to Liam some time ago, but neither of them used it very often.
Liam rarely initiated contact. And recently, nothing urgent had happened that required immediate communication.
After fiddling with the device for a moment, she pressed the transmission button.
"Liam, are you asleep?"
A faint crackle of static came through. Then Liam’s voice answered––low and slightly husky, as though he had already settled into bed before being interrupted.
"Not yet. What’s wrong?"
"It’s snowing outside. Have you seen it?"
Suzy stepped toward the window and pulled back a corner of the curtain. Beyond the glass, the gray-white snowfall continued silently, endlessly.
Liam fell silent for a moment.
"I’ve seen it." His voice grew quieter. "The color doesn’t look right."
"Exactly. That’s why I called." Suzy glanced outside again. "Are all your windows shut? Don’t let any of that snow inside. Something about it feels wrong."
Her voice had softened unconsciously. Even she found it strange.
Clearing her throat, she added, "And don’t let Noah touch it either."
"They’re all closed." Liam paused. "Make sure yours are too."
Silence followed.
Only the faint hiss of static remained between them, accompanied by the distant whisper of wind outside.
Leaning against the window, Suzy held the walkie-talkie in her hand and suddenly realized she had nothing more to say.
She had only called to warn him about the snow. That should have been the end of it. Yet neither of them disconnected.
"You’re standing by the window, aren’t you?" Liam spoke unexpectedly.
Suzy blinked in surprise. "How did you know?"
"I heard the curtain move."
His tone remained calm. Suzy stared at the curtain in disbelief.
How could he hear that?
Quietly, she released the fabric.
"I thought you’d already gone to sleep."
"I couldn’t."
"Why not?"
A long silence followed. So long that Suzy thought the conversation had ended.
Then Liam finally spoke. "I’ve been thinking."
Suzy didn’t ask what he was thinking about. Instead, she changed the subject.
"Is Noah asleep?"
"He is." A trace of amusement colored Liam’s voice. "He was talking about you before bed."
Suzy couldn’t help smiling.
"Then what does he want to eat tomorrow?"
Another brief silence. When Liam spoke again, his voice was softer than before.
"You don’t have to bring him food every time."
"I want to." Suzy smiled. "As long as he likes it."
Through the walkie-talkie, she heard Liam sigh quietly.
Food had become unimaginably precious in the apocalypse, yet Suzy continued to share so generously with them.
The feelings it stirred within him were difficult to describe. Her kindness made it impossible not to read too much into her actions.
Then Suzy suddenly asked, "What about you?"
Liam hesitated. "What?"
She laughed softly. "Is there anything you want to eat?"
For a moment, Liam seemed caught off guard.
Then he answered quietly, "I don’t need anything."
A pause. "As long as you come tomorrow."
"Alright."
***
The next morning, Suzy’s first stop was the window. She wanted to see whether anything had changed overnight.
What she found was even stranger––everything looked perfectly normal. The world outside was blanketed in pristine white snow. The gray snowfall from the previous night had vanished completely. Any trace of it had been buried beneath fresh layers of ordinary snow.
It was as though the strange phenomenon had never existed.
Suzy remained at the window for a long time. For a brief moment, she even wondered whether she had imagined the entire thing.
"Suzy, what’s wrong?"
Leonard’s sleepy voice came from behind her.
"Why are you standing there spacing out first thing in the morning?"
Turning around, she found him standing in the doorway with hair sticking up in every direction and a yawn halfway off his lips.
Suzy motioned him over.
"Uncle, look." She pointed outside. "There’s nothing."
Leonard shuffled over in his slippers and peered through the glass.
His expression slowly froze. Then he rubbed his eyes.
"Why doesn’t anything look different?"
Suzy shook her head.
Leonard squinted, then opened his eyes again.
"Did I seriously hallucinate last night?"
Suzy met his gaze. "I’m starting to wonder the same thing."
"...That doesn’t make sense." Leonard frowned.
He had seen those ash-like flakes with his own eyes. He still remembered the foul odor released when they melted against his skin.
"I honestly thought the whole world would look different this morning."
Apparently, the strange gray snowfall had only lasted a short time before ordinary snow resumed.
"Forget it." Suzy finally sighed. "Since we’re not leaving the apartment anytime soon, let’s eat."
She retrieved breakfast from her space.
After a simple meal, Suzy returned to her room, entered her space, and began her usual morning training routine.
Once she finished exercising, she headed across the hall.
The morning passed quickly. Before she knew it, noon had arrived.
Suzy hadn’t forgotten the promise she’d made to Liam and Noah. She had told them she would visit around lunchtime.
"I’m heading downstairs," she announced. "I won’t be eating lunch here."
"Again?" Derek’s dissatisfaction was immediate. "You promised them yesterday."
Suzy laughed and patted his shoulder.
"Don’t make that face."
"Then come back early."
His tone remained noticeably sour. Derek was far from thrilled about Suzy spending time at Liam’s apartment.