By Zephyria 
Kim Seon-oh, who woke up early in the morning, was speechless when he saw Kim Ha-yoon. He knew from his subordinate that he had come in the early morning, but he had not expected to see him with bruises around his eyes. He looked at the bandage wrapped around his left hand, then at the tip of his ear, which had been torn by a gun and was starting to heal, and finally returned to his face.
“You look a sight.”
He shook his head. It was surprising that he had come here in person despite being busy, but what was even stranger was that despite his face being in that state, he had a relieved expression. He knew without looking who had made him look like that.
“I knew Hyung was a pervert, but I didn’t know he had such strange sexual desires. He must be enjoying it to that extent.”
Just then, Ire was coming from afar to get breakfast. He looked haggard, probably because he hadn’t slept well while standing guard. He laughed when he saw him, but at some point, his expression twisted. A guy named Gilsu was following Ire, and he had a familiar object on his waist.
He was glaring silently when the team leader who had gone on patrol approached from afar. He had sent a robot inside last night to search the cave and was there to report on the video footage. After giving a brief salute, he allowed the two men to see the screen. The first thing they saw was a comprehensive view of the inside of the cave.
“It was difficult because there were so many obstacles. According to the footage we’ve taken so far, there are a total of three forks in the road at the 40-meter mark. Last night, we examined numbers 1 and 2, and no peculiarities were found. We plan to search the remaining number 3 after lunch.”
“How long will it take?”
“One day will be enough.”
As soon as he heard the definite answer, Kim Ha-yoon nodded with a satisfied expression. After the team leader greeted him and disappeared, a smile spread across Kim Seon-oh’s face.
“If we’re lucky, we might be able to go back sooner than we thought.”
“Don’t be so sure. There are still areas left.”
“Sounds like you’re hoping there’s something there?”
Kim Ha-yoon smiled, pulling up one corner of his mouth. As if. He knew because he had faced it directly. It was beyond the realm of humans and different from ordinary infected. Knowing his thoughts, Kim Seon-oh raised his chin and boasted.
“Whatever it is, it’s a good opportunity. We can test the new weapons while we’re at it.”
An opportunity. The old me would have agreed, but not anymore. I was always a confident man, but that changed after meeting Ire.
Even when he injected Ire with the serum, Kim Ha-yoon thought everything would work out. He thought he would be able to cure the disease safely like him, and even if he couldn’t, he thought there might be other alternatives. But everything I expected went wrong, and only irreversible wounds were inflicted on someone’s heart.
If that someone had been someone outside of my interest, I would never have felt this way in my life. This unpleasant, sticky, gut-wrenching feeling. He looked at Ire, who was eating in the distance. He was talking to his colleagues and smiling brightly.
He’s showing his precious front teeth to other bastards.
Seeing that, the emotions he had barely suppressed began to creep up.
* * *
Gilsu, who had been rolling around in the tent scratching his stomach, yawned widely and came outside. Ire had left to attend a meeting or something, and Baek Seol, Jang-cheon, and some other colleagues were busy catching fish nearby.
I was worried, but it’s nothing.
Feeling like he was on a picnic, he momentarily forgot about the existence of the monster that might be out there. After stretching languidly, he turned his steps toward the lake. He rummaged through his pockets but couldn’t find any cigarettes. He was wondering if he should go back to the tent when a fancy cigarette popped out. It was something he couldn’t even see where they lived.
When he looked up, Kim Ha-yoon was smiling at him. “Smoke.” He reluctantly took it and put it in his mouth, and he even lit it for him. He felt elated that a high-ranking person was being kind to him. He put his arm around Kim Ha-yoon’s shoulder as if to show the soldiers watching from afar.
Of course, because he was so much taller, it looked like he was clinging to him.
“It’s no use being nice to me. I won’t tolerate you eyeing our leader.”
Instead of answering, Kim Ha-yoon looked at the boat on the shore. He went that way without saying anything, and Gilsu followed him feeling awkward.
“Did you hear what I said? I’m warning you just in case, don’t hit on our leader. He’s using you, he’s not with you because he likes you.”
Kim Ha-yoon, who had been staring at the boat, turned around.
“Ire said that? That he’s using me?”
Gilsu shut his mouth and looked away, and Kim Ha-yoon strode onto the boat.
“Want to get on?”
Gilsu hesitated for a moment. His colleagues were far away catching fish and didn’t pay any attention to them. He had never been on a boat before, so he was tempted. As he stood there hesitating, Kim Ha-yoon gestured for him to come.
There are a lot of people watching, what can he do to me? With that thought in mind, he suddenly felt brave. He got on the boat as if to show off, and Kim Ha-yoon sat in the driver’s seat and started the engine. The sound of the motor turning filled the air, and a stream of water appeared behind them.
Soon, the boat moved away from the shore and sped forward. Watching the cool stream of water stretching out behind him made him feel refreshed. He was momentarily lost in the atmosphere, but then he noticed that the boat was getting farther and farther away from the people.
Aren’t we going too far? Well, he must have a plan. Then the speed decreased and the boat slowly stopped. He had come so far that his colleagues looked as small as ants. When he looked down, the water was a dark blue color, so deep that he couldn’t gauge the depth. A chill ran down his spine, but Gilsu didn’t show it and confidently rested one arm on the boat’s railing.
“Ah, this is nice. I’m starting to get hungry, shall we go back now?”
Then Kim Ha-yoon took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it. After brushing back his hair that had been blown by the wind, the man continued to stare straight ahead. Gilsu sighed deeply and frowned. “Hey. Are you listening? I said let’s go back.”
Kim Ha-yoon looked at Gilsu with a cigarette in his mouth and smiled.
“A young punk using informal speech.”
Then he flicked the half-smoked cigarette into the lake and exhaled the smoke in his mouth. In the hazy smoke, he could clearly see the corner of his mouth twisting upward. Gilsu bit his lower lip and glanced back. His colleagues had completely disappeared from view.
“It’s no use looking back. It’s lunchtime.”
“So what? Are you going to kill me here or something?”
Kim Ha-yoon’s gaze went down. Feeling a chill, Gilsu made an X with his arms to cover his chest.
“Fuck! Are you after me too, on top of the leader?”
Kim Ha-yoon snorted and gestured with his eyes to Gilsu’s waist.
“That knife. Who gave it to you?”
Gilsu lowered his head. Ah, so that’s why he was so angry. What’s the big deal about one knife? But he forgot for a moment. That he was the kind of guy who would point a gun at your head for pretending to kiss. He regretted following him too late, but he raised his voice to avoid being intimidated.
“The leader gave it to me! He really cares about me.”
“Ah- really? He cares about you a lot?”
“Yeah! He trusts and likes me the most.”
Gilsu had some conviction. That this man liked Ire, so he wouldn’t be able to harm him because he didn’t want to be hated. As if acknowledging that, Kim Ha-yoon nodded. “Okay, then. I can’t help it.”
He moved the boat without saying a word. He thought he was going back, but suddenly he turned sharply. As the boat spun in place, it tilted sharply to one side. Water splashed and Gilsu’s body was about to be thrown out. Then he saw the seat belt. Just as he was about to pull it to secure it so he wouldn’t fall, Kim Ha-yoon smiled at him.
“Goodbye.”
As if he had been waiting for it, he kicked Gilsu with his foot, and his body plunged into the lake. Gilsu floundered in the water. He knew how to swim to some extent, so he tried to get back on the boat, but Kim Ha-yoon grabbed his hair and pressed him down.
“Ugh, ugh,” he reached his hands up and struggled to survive. His breath caught in his throat and his consciousness became blurred. He was going to die like this, fear washed over him. And just before he really died, his hair was grabbed and pulled up.
With bloodshot eyes, he gasped for breath, and Kim Ha-yoon looked down at him coldly from the boat. The murderous intent lurked in his eyes, which had lost their smile. He had the knife he had received from Ire in his hand, having taken it at some point.
“I’ll ask you again, so answer me straight. Who cares about whom?”