Clark's Worry

The sky was as blue as velvet.

Bright sunlight poured down, and a gentle spring breeze stirred the cherry blossom branches on the school campus.

Cherry blossom petals fluttered down, a beautiful and colorful sight.

Students walked back and forth with books in their arms, gathering in twos and threes to chat.

David and the others walked through the school. Beside him, Clark's brow was furrowed with worry, and he kept glancing at David.

Like a parent always afraid their child will go astray, Clark felt that as an older brother, he had a responsibility to prevent his younger brother from losing his innate kindness while navigating the world, turning cold or even evil.

Especially after discovering that David possessed power far beyond that of an ordinary person.

Clark had been thinking about this all night—how to pull David back from the brink of darkness.

"Beating someone into a vegetative state without a second thought, no guilt at all—that's more than just a hint of going bad."

That was Clark's take.

He felt his brother's thoughts and mindset were already teetering on the edge of a dangerous cliff.

One more step would be the start of a fall, placing himself arbitrarily above others.

Noticing Clark was frantically searching for an angle to step in as his life coach, David didn't know what to say.

Clark's worry +6, +5, +7...

But since yesterday, the rate at which Clark was giving him emotional points had suddenly spiked, as if he'd been thinking about David nonstop from yesterday until now.

"At this rate, I might finish the full fusion soon and unlock the next template."

Didn't expect an unexpected bonus. David was in a good mood.

He wondered what the next template would be—weaker, on par with the Thanos template, or even stronger?

They stepped into the building.

"Why is everyone looking at us?"

Students in the hallway kept casting curious, surprised glances at the group. Pete whispered, a hint of narcissism in his voice.

"Have they finally realized that being short doesn't actually dim my charm?"

"Give it a rest, Pete."

Chloe, buried in a newspaper, looked up and observed.

"They're obviously staring at Clark and David—mostly David."

She was a bit puzzled too, wondering why so many people were focused on the two.

David didn't have Clark's super hearing, but his keen senses made it easy to pick up the reason from others' whispers.

"Like the townsfolk here always say, in a town no bigger than a bottle cap like Smallville, news spreads fast."

For example, someone saw a few of the high school football team's biggest stars—usually the pride of the town—trying to bully someone in a bar, only to get taken down.

A helpless look crossed Clark's face.

He'd heard it too.

The taller brother getting pinned down and roughed up, then the younger brother showing up and taking out the bullies cleanly.

"Looks like Lana's coming for you, Clark."

Pete elbowed his buddy Clark. "Quick, wipe that 'why am I such a loser' look off your face."

Was he really that obvious?

Seeing the beautiful, gentle girl with black hair walking toward them from the end of the hall, Clark coughed, grumbled inwardly, and subtly straightened his back.

Just after a big fight with her boyfriend, Lana looked upset. She hurried over to apologize to Clark, her voice soft with a hint of post-cry hoarseness.

"I'm sorry, Clark.

I had no idea Whitney was so childish—that he'd go after you just because I said two words to you."

Hearing the rumors spreading around campus, she'd immediately gone to Whitney to confirm, hoping he'd tell her it was all hearsay.

But Whitney, feeling deeply humiliated, admitted it angrily, with a hint of accusation—that Lana had shown a different attitude toward Clark, and in a fit of jealousy, he'd gone after him.

"I'm really fine, Lana."

Clark smiled. "Don't blame Whitney."

"I can't accept him lying to me. He was the one who picked a fight with you, and he lost the necklace I gave him."

At the mention of that, Lana grew even sadder, her eyes reddening, her voice dropping. "And he said some drunk guy in the bar provoked him."

"I think I need to rethink my relationship with Whitney."

Watching Lana's sorrowful, plaintive expression, Clark—who had no experience with this—scratched the back of his head, flustered and unsure how to comfort her, only repeating that she shouldn't cry.

"I ran into Whitney at the bar. Maybe he was drunk and that's why he acted so irrationally."

Clark, do you even hear yourself? As long as the girl you secretly love feels better, you'll even make excuses for your rival?

David shook his head inwardly, feeling the guy was hopeless.

Even without Kryptonite, Clark's current personality couldn't possibly catch up to this cheerleader.

"David."

Clark subtly signaled David with his eyes, urging him to do as they'd agreed yesterday—take out the meteorite necklace that meant so much to Lana and return it to her. If the necklace was recovered, maybe Lana would stop being sad.

"David, I'm sorry."

Remembering something, Lana wiped her tears and turned to David earnestly.

"Because of me, Whitney caused trouble for you guys."

"It's fine."

He didn't see it as trouble. David's tone was flat as he casually pulled the necklace from his pants pocket and handed it to her.

"This is your necklace. Clark found it the other day and had me hold onto it."

Clark desperately wanted to hand the necklace to Lana himself.

But he figured if he didn't want to pull out the necklace while simultaneously performing a faceplant on the spot, lying there for ages unable to get up, and making an even bigger fool of himself, it was best to let David pass it along.

"My necklace."

Taking the necklace, surprise lit up Lana's eyes, a smile breaking through her tear-streaked face.

"Thank you, David... and Clark."

She seemed to misunderstand something.

If Clark had found it, why wouldn't he give it back himself?

Lana thought David was trying to set her up with his older brother, Clark.

Seeing David's indifferent attitude toward her, unlike everyone else at school, and how he looked away after handing over the necklace, leaving space for Clark and her to talk.

For some reason, driven by an inexplicable urge, she secretly stole a couple more glances at David.

Usually, like Clark, he didn't participate in any sports. Occasionally seen holding a book in a corner of the campus, tall but without bulging, obvious muscles—how had he beaten Whitney and his teammates?

Clark, who had been closely watching his goddess, not missing a single expression, looked from Lana to his younger brother.

His heart skipped a beat. Why did he have a bad feeling about this?

Thump, thump!

Suddenly, footsteps echoed from the corridor corner.

"Lana!"

Whitney, furious and fuming, had already regretted it. Realizing he shouldn't have acted that way, his face tense with anxiety, he wanted to chase after his girlfriend and win her back.

"David, Clark, I'm leaving."

Lana didn't want to see him right now. Her expression shifted, and after quickly greeting Chloe and Pete, she turned and hurried away.

Whitney caught up, passing by David. An unnatural look flickered across his face, and he left with shame and anger in his eyes.

David couldn't care less.

Around a stairwell corner.

A figure coldly watched all of this in silence, like the gaze of some cold-blooded creature, shifting between David and Clark.