As Ire opened the door and entered the dining hall, the attention of everyone gathered there focused on him. The pouring gaze was uncomfortable, but he couldn’t starve himself. He skillfully grabbed a nearby tray and went to the serving window, where a jovial middle-aged man greeted him.
“Haven’t seen your face around here before? You new?”
“Yes…”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty.”
“Wow—still a baby. You need to eat a lot.”
Seeing the pile of meat heaped on one side of his tray unexpectedly made his mouth water. He took his rice and side dishes, sat at an empty seat, and after saying a prayer, picked up his chopsticks and grabbed the meat first. The moment he put it in his mouth, he almost cursed without realizing it.
He sometimes did odd jobs and used the money to buy meat at the market, but it was so tough that it felt like chewing rubber bands every time he ate it. He mainly boiled it in soup, but even that had become difficult to obtain recently due to rising prices. So, he often went to the mountains to catch small birds or animals.
But the meat here was tender and juicy as he chewed, which was amazing. If his siblings were here, they would have loved it…. As he was thinking that and eating ravenously, he heard a thunk and a tray was placed across from him. The moment he looked up, someone grabbed his shoulder forcefully from behind. Then, in an instant, several burly men surrounded him.
“You beggar. You’re really burying your face in it, huh? Want some more?”
When there was no answer, the man sitting across from him scooped up the remaining meat on his tray with a spoon and placed it on Ire’s tray. The gang snickered at the sight.
“Hey, newbie. I heard they eat people in District B because there’s no meat. Is it true?”
“Oh, I don’t like that. I gotta be careful of the guys I share a room with. Sounds really scary.”
“Damn, shouldn’t we tie him up with rope?”
When there was no reaction, the man in front of him rested his chin on his hand and stared intently at Ire. The man with the scorpion tattoo on his neck had his hair cut very short, making him look like a chestnut, and his eyes were stretched like a snake’s, which made him look familiar.
“Newbie. Listen carefully. I don’t know how long you’ll be here, but as long as I’ve got my eye on you, don’t even think about living comfortably. Got it?”
The man pointed to Ire after poking his own eyes with his index and middle fingers. Ire couldn’t tell if it meant he would be watching him or if he would gouge his eyes out. Just then, a person in military uniform appeared, and the men who had gathered got up and rushed out of the dining hall.
Amidst everyone’s attention, Ire, left alone, didn’t care and finished all the food. There were always guys looking for trouble everywhere, and right now, filling his stomach was more important than worrying about them.
After finishing his meal, he moved to his room. Ire paused as he opened the door and entered. The room was empty, but words like “Hybrid,” “beggar,” and “monster” were written in red on his cabinet. He tried to erase the words with his hand, but it was no use.
“Childish bastards.”
He frowned and looked for something to erase them with, and after a while, he heard the murmuring of voices and his roommates came in. Their faces were clearly flustered.
“W-we didn’t do that.”
Seo Young-jun hurriedly explained. Ire knew that. Even if they didn’t like him, they didn’t seem childish enough to do something like this. Then, the man with glasses sighed and opened his cabinet to take something out. It looked like cream, and he applied it to the words and wiped them off with a rag. Surprisingly, the words were easily erased.
“It’s obvious who did it.”
“Park Mu-jin?”
“Who else would come to someone else’s room and do something like this?”
So, the guy who picked a fight with him earlier was named Park Mu-jin. The man with glasses handed the cream to Ire, saying that he could use it to erase them if it happened again. Ire looked at him, wondering if he should accept it, and the man adjusted his glasses and awkwardly extended his hand.
“I didn’t introduce myself… I’m Han-gyeol. Twenty-two. Nice to meet you.”
As Ire readily shook his hand, the man nearby chimed in.
It was Seo Young-jun, who had shown the most kindness to Ire out of the three.
“You’ve got guts. I was surprised in the dining hall. It’s not easy to stand up to those guys. You’ve got a lot of nerve.”
“Honestly, we were all on edge. We were worried something might happen.”
“You handled it well. If you had thrown a punch there, we wouldn’t have been able to sleep tonight and would have had to train all night. If that happened, the other guys would have really hated us. That’s probably what those bastards were aiming for.”
The three of them chattered non-stop, and Ire was a little dumbfounded. They didn’t hate him…? But when he thought about it, he had been wary of them first. He had assumed that they would naturally dislike him because he grew up in a different district.
“Those bastards must have been even more pissed because Captain Kim Ha-yoon put you in here. They’re all desperate to get in Captain Kim Ha-yoon’s good graces.”
Ire frowned at the mention of Kim Ha-yoon’s name.
“Kim Ha-yoon?”
“Yeah. He’s the one who brought you here, right? You don’t know?”
Ire closed his mouth. How could he not know? That unlucky bastard. Who was he stuck here in this mess because of? But he chose this, so he shouldn’t blame anyone. After thinking it over, Ire asked cautiously.
“A captain… is that high-ranking?”
He wondered how high-ranking he had to be to get away with murder. That was what he was curious about.
“Does rank even matter to that guy?”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s from a very distinguished family. More than we can even imagine.”
He didn’t ask how high-ranking because it wasn’t out of fear, but because he didn’t want to know. So, it wasn’t an empty boast when he said that no one would punish him even if he burned down all of District B.
“I don’t want to run into him if I can help it. He’s scary. Of course, there are more guys who respect him.”
“Honestly, he’s got killer looks. Even as a guy, I can’t help but stare.”
“Stop it. You’ll get your eyes gouged out.”
The three of them chuckled and laughed, and Ire pictured Kim Ha-yoon’s face in his mind. He was definitely handsome. Like a carefully crafted sculpture, you could say. But he wanted to punch him every time he opened his mouth.
Time passed, and as they each did their own thing, it was almost time for bed. With the lights out, everything became quiet. Ire lay on the top bunk and stared blankly at the ceiling. It felt unfamiliar. He felt like if he closed his eyes and opened them, he would be back home. He tossed and turned, and time continued to pass. It had been a tiring day, but it was a night when he couldn’t fall asleep at all.
Kim Ha-yoon’s furrowed brow showed no sign of smoothing out. He held a report about Ire in his hand. It had been over a week since he started training, and unlike what he had expected, his grades were unbelievably terrible.
Across from him, Kim Do-cheol, who had brought the report, was vehemently ranting, spitting as he spoke.
“He’s just got a pretty face, and he’s not good at anything. He shot his gun at another guy’s target next to him. I could do better even if I shot with my eyes closed. The instructor even took him to get his vision checked again.”
Kim Ha-yoon continued to flip through the documents. The corners of his mouth were gradually twisting.
“I don’t know what you expected from that guy, but he’s hopeless. He’s not exceptional at anything! He can’t even swim. Yesterday, they pulled him out of the water just before he passed out. And what about his running? He crawls faster than that.”
At the continued criticism, Kim Ha-yoon threw what he was holding on the table and took out a cigarette.
“Everyone must be very dissatisfied.”
“Of course. Even if they don’t show it, they’re probably cursing your poor judgment in their heads.”
Ha-yoon lit the end of his cigarette and sank back into the sofa. He had expected some trouble with the others when he put Ire in as a trainee. He had heard that there were guys who were bullying him in subtle ways, and he thought it was admirable that he wasn’t responding in any way.
But the fact that he had received the lowest scores in all the training could only be seen as intentional. He had thought it was admirable that he was being compliant, but it seemed like this bastard was preparing to stab him in the back.
“If things continue like this, he’ll be out before the graduation ceremony. There’s no reason to keep him around any longer.”
At Kim Do-cheol’s words, Kim Ha-yoon closed his eyes and exhaled a long stream of smoke. That wouldn’t do. Not on his watch. That was probably what Ire wanted most. To be kicked out of the training camp and return to District B. After thinking it over, Kim Ha-yoon made a few requests to Kim Do-cheol.
“Tell him to come to my room after training tonight.”
Kim Do-cheol, studying his expression, asked with a look of disbelief.
“You’re not going to kill him, are you?”
Kill him? Why would he kill something so precious?
Ha-yoon replied with a strange smile.
“A disobedient student needs to have his ass spanked.”