By Zephyria 
Ire watched the equipment moving frantically on the screen. Excavators were demolishing buildings ruined by bombing long ago, and robots were loading the debris onto trucks and moving them out of district a.
Since unexploded ordnance occasionally appeared, the military was deployed simultaneously with the demolition work. Afterward, experts were scheduled to conduct safety assessments on relatively intact buildings and leave only those that could be used.
Every time long-grown trees and grass were removed, a tragic sight was revealed, and dozens of bone fragments were recovered daily. Infected individuals, barely able to move from starvation, were also found underground, and each time, Ire felt a chill run down his spine, as if he were facing himself. The Incinerator operated without a day’s rest, its peculiar smell piercing his nostrils all day long.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, my family gets to stay in a good place.”
An old man had approached him and started talking. He was someone who had saved Kim Ha-yoon in the underground city and was now confirmed to be relocating here. When Ire first made the offer, the old man had hesitated, but it seemed he decided it was better to move considering his family.
According to Kim Ha-yoon, the old man was a doctor who lived in district a decades ago and was respected by people. Ire had heard why he was driven out of the district and knew what beliefs he held, so he believed he would be helpful in the future.
“Please help me a lot. I don’t know much.”
“Help? You’re already doing wonderfully.”
He smiled with a face full of regret as he looked around the research institute.
“This place. I’ve been here a few times before. My student used to run it.”
“Are you talking about Kim Ha-yoon’s mother?”
“That’s right. She looked just like her mother. Her stubborn mouth was identical.”
“…”
“She was a smart friend. Full of passion. Sometimes that made things difficult for people, but she was more sincere about research than anyone else. Though it seems she couldn’t give her son enough love.”
Listening to the old man’s words, Ire thought of Kim Ha-yoon.
Can I come see you anytime if I miss you?
He had worried that Ha-yoon might visit too often, but he hadn’t heard from him in over ten days. While he told himself it was for the best, he hated himself for looking through the people arriving from district a every morning, wondering if Kim Ha-yoon might be among them.
After a long conversation with the old man, he came outside. Afterward, his routine was to drive around and survey various locations. He had entrusted tasks to his colleagues, but receiving reports alone wasn’t enough.
Then, he spotted a helicopter approaching this area. Laden with boxes, it dropped the items at the precise location. District a and Zone D were far apart, so urgently needed items were sometimes transported by helicopter or drone.
It was still strange to see transport ships, not reconnaissance or combat aircraft, traveling between the two areas. As he watched it, he turned back the way he came, and Gangsan waved from a distance. When he went over, beckoned by Gangsan to come quickly, a wild boar was roasting over a bonfire.
“Where did you catch that?”
“It ran at me, so I smacked it with my hand.”
“You’re lying. Jang-cheon threw a rock and caught it.”
Whether caught by hand or rock, it was undeniably enormous. Smelling the meat from all around, colleagues began to gather one by one. There were many animals here, and aggressive wild boars were inevitably targets that had to be eliminated.
Sometimes Ire pondered whether it was right to clear forests and eliminate animals. But in the end, like most people, he concluded it was unavoidable.
“Captain, aren’t you eating?”
“No. I’m heading in. Make sure the embers are properly extinguished.”
“Oh, there’s a party later! They sent alcohol and food from district a!”
“Eat plenty amongst yourselves. I’m not interested.”
Someone asked if he was feeling unwell, but he simply had no appetite. Leaving them behind, he moved to the next location and didn’t return to the research institute until dusk. Sitting at his desk, finishing up his remaining work, Ire went up to the rooftop on the upper floor to clear his cluttered mind.
The sky, which had been busy, was now turning a deep red as the sun set.
The equipment that had been moving busily stopped one by one. As Gilsu had said, it seemed like a party was starting, as one area lit up brightly and people began to gather. The noisy music carried all the way here.
Ire, silently looking down, recalled the first time he and Kim Ha-yoon had come here. The same scenery looked so different and unfamiliar. He took out a cigarette, went to a hammock on one side, and lay down.
The hammock swayed left and right, offering a full view of the darkening sky. He closed his eyes. Perhaps due to being unable to sleep for days due to work, his consciousness slowly drifted away.
How long had he slept?
He jolted awake to a buzzing sound near his ear. The hammock swayed, and he tilted to the side. He braced himself on the floor and ran towards the railing.
“Damn it.”
He spotted a helicopter approaching in the distance. A transport ship at this late hour? They usually came and left during the day, so it felt unusually unsettling. He quickly grabbed a telescope from nearby.
A moment later, the helicopter slowed down at its target point. Then, something dropped at high speed.
“What the…”
It was too small to be mere cargo, so he quickly increased the telescope’s magnification. Seeing a parachute suddenly deploy, he scowled. He stopped himself from sounding an alarm and muttered to himself.
No way…
Tucking a gun into his waistband, he hurried down from the rooftop. Running through the forest towards the drop point, he couldn’t shake the feeling of disbelief. After running for a long time, he reached the target location.
His lungs burning, he caught his breath and looked up. Shining his lantern, he saw the parachute had landed some distance away. But there was no person in sight. He shone his light around, on high alert.
Where did they go? Did they get caught in a tree?
Seeing no one, a sense of unease began to creep in.
“C-Captain…?”
As he called out Kim Ha-yoon’s name, he found himself amused. There was no way that man would come here.
Just as he was about to point his light upwards, he felt a presence behind him.
In an instant, he swung his knife, but the other person nimbly dodged it.
“You can sense my presence now?”
Standing a few steps away, Kim Ha-yoon smiled broadly. He casually pushed back his disheveled hair and approached, and Ire looked him up and down with disbelief.
“Are you crazy? Coming here at this hour…”
“How did you know it was me? Were you waiting for me?”
“Who else would do something this insane!”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
He took the knife from Ire, returned it to its place, and suddenly pulled him into an embrace. He said he thought he would die of missing him, that it had only been ten days, and that he couldn’t come because he had too many things to resolve.
After finally pulling away, Ire noticed Ha-yoon’s tired face. Without thinking, he rolled up Ha-yoon’s shirt to check his abdomen. The wound had healed, leaving only a scar. Just as Kwon So-young had said, his recovery was like that of an animal. His arm, which had been injured last, also looked fine, which was a relief.
“You were worried, weren’t you?”
“I had to be. If something happened to you, Captain, our plan would fall apart.”
“Why do you always have to say such harsh things? What’s wrong with being honest?”
Then, calling him annoying, he pinched Ire’s cheek. The moment Ire pushed his hand away, their lips met. He wondered if Ha-yoon had been drinking, sniffing his scent, but detected nothing but the smell of cologne.
“I didn’t drink. I held back from coming here drunk because I missed you. I never knew I was such an impatient person.”
“You could have held back a little longer. Anyway, let’s go quickly.”
Even at night, there were eyes watching. If someone had witnessed the helicopter, they might come to retrieve the items. Ire tried to find a way to send Kim Ha-yoon back, but he just smiled.
“Don’t worry. No one’s coming tonight.”
When Ire asked what he meant, Ha-yoon whispered in his ear.
“I put a lot of sleeping pills in the alcohol we sent today.”
My word. Dumbfounded, Ire glared at him. He asked if it was really sleeping pills, and Ha-yoon confirmed it. He asked if it was poison, and Ha-yoon said he couldn’t tell him. As Ire turned to leave immediately, his neck was grabbed.
“Just kidding. I put in a moderate amount. Everyone will sleep soundly until morning.”
“…”
“Let’s play together until then. Okay?”
He pleaded, pulling Ire back into his arms and kissing him. The sound of a peck was followed by separation, and Ire nervously glanced around. Relieved to see no one, he deepened the kiss. When Ha-yoon didn’t let go until Ire was breathless, he elbowed him in the side, and Ha-yoon pulled away with a frown.
“Am I really leaving?”
Seeing his disappointed expression, Ire moved his lips.
“Shall we go?”
When Ha-yoon asked again, Ire quietly raised his eyes and looked at Kim Ha-yoon. Ah, let’s go in the morning… he answered so softly that it was barely audible, and Ha-yoon’s lips curved upwards. He pulled Ire into a suffocating embrace, his voice filled with affection as he said thank you.