As they arrived at the entrance of the unit, Ire got out of the car with a tense expression. He was already under house arrest, and now he had gone out without permission, so he didn’t think he would get away with it lightly. But Captain Kim Ha-yoon called Ire before leaving.
“Don’t worry. I’ve already told them everything.”
“What did you say…?”
“I said I took you out because we had something private to discuss.”
“……”
Wasn’t that even stranger? The feeling given by the word ‘private’ wasn’t very welcome, but Captain Kim Ha-yoon didn’t seem to care. Well, what would this guy care about anyway?
Oblivious to Ire’s feelings, Captain Kim Ha-yoon waved his hand lightly, turned the car around, and disappeared. Ire stood there until his car was completely gone, then sighed and turned around. But a group of men was approaching him from a distance. The man with the short-cropped hair was Park Woo-jin, Park Mu-jin’s older brother.
“Who is this? The Hybrid from District B looks good, doesn’t he? My brother lost two of his front teeth because of someone. Huh?”
When Ire tried to ignore him and pass by, he blocked his way and shoved his shoulder roughly. Instead of avoiding him, this time he stared straight into his eyes.
“Ha-! Look at this bastard. Captain Kim Ha-yoon dotes on you so you don’t see anything in your eyes?”
Park Woo-jin, who had been smiling menacingly, suddenly grabbed Ire by the collar. Then he pulled him forward and brought his lips to his ear.
“Listen carefully, Hybrid. You’re on my radar. Interesting things will happen in the future, so watch out.”
When Ire knocked away the hand grabbing his collar, Park Woo-jin laughed, made a gesture of slitting his throat with his hand, and went to the opposite side with his cronies, chuckling. Ire pulled at his crumpled clothes to straighten them and muttered a curse under his breath.
Why are those brothers so desperate to eat me alive? If he had known this would happen, he would have beaten Park Mu-jin even more. Regretting it, he entered the dormitory, where Seo Young-jun and Oh Nam-gi had already arrived.
“Where have you been?”
“Out for a walk.”
“Were you getting antsy from being confined?”
Ire just smiled. He was about to go into the bathroom to wash up when he heard Seo Young-jun’s voice from behind.
“It’s true. My uncle heard it directly. The higher-ups are having a headache because of it, apparently.”
“Eh, it can’t be. In a den where only drug addicts live? Even if it’s true, what can they do?”
“Originally, if your stomach hurts often, poop comes out. It’s bound to burst someday.”
“You bastard, why do you have to use poop as an analogy?”
“There’s no difference between poop and those guys. They’re dirty bastards.”
“You talk like you’ve actually been to Area C. Well, I guess you’ll be going soon.”
Ire turned around and naturally joined the conversation.
“Were you just talking about Area C?”
Seo Young-jun’s eyes sparkled even more brightly, as if glad that Ire was showing interest in his story. He even adjusted his posture and explained the whole situation from beginning to end. He said his uncle was a high-ranking officer in a regular unit. He had overheard his uncle talking to his father when he came home after a long time.
“So, you’re saying there’s a rebel force in Area C?”
“That’s right. Isn’t it funny? Even the guys in District B are staying put,”
Seo Young-jun stopped talking and smiled awkwardly at Ire. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to say that in front of you.”
“It’s okay, go on.”
“They sent people from here, but they’re hiding like ghosts, so they can’t find them. So the higher-ups are even talking about getting rid of Area C altogether.”
“Get rid of it? How?”
Seo Young-jun made a fist and drew a parabola in the air. “Phew-” Then he spread his hands wide. “Boom-!”
“But Captain Kim Ha-yoon opposed it to the end, so it was called off.”
“Captain Kim Ha-yoon?”
He couldn’t believe the plan to detonate a missile in a place where so many people lived and kill them all, but he also couldn’t believe that Captain Kim Ha-yoon had opposed it. He didn’t think he would be merciful, given his personality.
Suddenly, he remembered the soldiers he had met there. Was the reason they were there, disguised as ordinary people, to find the base of the rebel forces…? He was putting the pieces together in his head when the door burst open and someone came in.
The man with the short-cropped hair and scratches was one of Park Mu-jin’s gang. Without even greeting them, he threw his luggage onto Ire’s bed.
“I’m staying here from today. I don’t plan on getting along, so don’t talk to me, you retards.”
Han-gyeol had left and another trainee was coming, and it turned out to be this guy. Seo Young-jun bristled at the sudden declaration of war.
“If you’re coming in late, show some respect. That’s Ire’s spot.”
“Really? That’s great. It’s my spot from today. Got a problem with that, Hybrid?”
He glared at Ire with his eyes wide. He didn’t know why this guy had been put in the same room, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that. He was sick of fighting, and he still wanted to live here as quietly as possible.
“I don’t care, use it.”
He answered casually, went to the bathroom, locked the door, and took off his clothes one by one. Then he took a shower and came out, but the atmosphere was tense. Seo Young-jun and Oh Nam-gi were doing their own things and sighing deeply, while the new guy was chuckling while looking at a porn magazine.
Ire lay down on the bottom bunk that Han-gyeol had used and covered himself with the blanket. The sound of turning pages, small giggles, and the faint sound of music coming from outside the headset were the only things lingering in the room.
As he was lying down, he unconsciously touched the back of his neck. The torn flesh had already healed. Was the rapid recovery and regeneration genetic? Then he thought about the people who were his parents. He didn’t know their faces or names, but he sometimes wondered what kind of people they were.
Were they like him? His mother was said to be dead, and his father? Where did he go? Would he recognize him if he ever met him? One thought led to another, and he couldn’t help but toss and turn until late at night.
“Arong-ah- Darong-ah-“
Kim Do-cheol had a gloomy expression as he looked at the hideous corpse lying in front of the incinerator. Captain Kim Ha-yoon thought he was putting on an act, but he didn’t bother to say it out loud.
“Who the hell did this! Huh?”
The monsters’ appearances had changed so much that it was impossible to imagine what they had looked like before. Kim Do-cheol, who had even given them names and fed them, was as sad as if his own child had died, and Captain Kim Ha-yoon never revealed that Ire had done it. After all, wasn’t it Kim Do-cheol who had directly handed him the key?
“It must have been the guy who stole my key. He doesn’t even show up when you check the CCTV. Isn’t that strange?”
“That’s why you shouldn’t drink so much. Don’t you know it’s forbidden in the unit?”
“It was just one bottle!”
If he had drunk a whole bottle of strong liquor close to alcohol, it was understandable that he would have blacked out. Captain Kim Ha-yoon crossed his arms and stared at the burning flames with indifferent eyes.
“Judging by the way he neatly cut their hair, this bastard is no ordinary guy.”
Captain Kim Ha-yoon was thinking something similar. Even trained soldiers tend to shrink back when they go into actual combat. They develop immunity as they repeat it, but Ire was different. He was like that at the motel, and he was like that just by looking at the way he had made those monstrous guys like that. He seemed to back down, but when it came down to it, he performed the mission better than anyone else.
Was it innate? Or was it because he had grown up in District B? But considering how rough he had grown up, his skin was very soft. It felt good in his hand, and it was a different feeling from a woman. Soft but firm, smooth but also…
Suddenly, he became curious. How would that face change when he had sex? If he wanted to satisfy his curiosity, should he find a woman for that guy? Kwon So-young would be overjoyed to hear that.
“Just in case, it would be better to close down the old lab. It would be good to cover it with concrete.”
“No way. That’s my sanctuary.”
“Enjoy your rest at home. The unit isn’t your playground.”
“Then let’s send the kids into the sewers to search before we close it down. Something’s definitely strange about this.”
“Great. You can go in, Hyung.”
At those words, Kim Do-cheol was disgusted. He said he had a weak stomach, so it wasn’t easy for him to go into the sewers. But he fondled the smelly monsters just fine. Then something caught Captain Kim Ha-yoon’s eye. He rummaged through the corpses without even wearing gloves.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
Soon after, a small bead came out in his hand.
Captain Kim Ha-yoon’s brow furrowed as he held it up to the light.
“What is it? It’s a bullet, isn’t it?”
Instead of answering, Captain Kim Ha-yoon thought of someone’s brazen face.
-I was alone.
The corners of his lips twisted.
“What a liar.”
Captain Kim Ha-yoon put the bullet in his pocket. Anyway, he would need to check the source. Soon after, the remaining corpses were thrown into the incinerator. As he watched them turn black in the flames, memories from his childhood were revived.
He didn’t want to think about it anymore, so he turned to leave, but Kim Do-cheol followed him and looked up at the sky.
“The weather’s cloudy. I hope it doesn’t rain when we go to the island.”
Captain Kim Ha-yoon stopped and turned around.
“I can already hear the kids crying. Do you remember last year? One guy peed his pants while looking for his mom. The number of weird guys just keeps increasing every year. Sometimes I feel like I’ve become a babysitter.”
“When is the training?”
“In two days. Why?”
Captain Kim Ha-yoon’s face, which had been deep in thought, broke into a meaningful smile.
“I should go too.”
Kim Do-cheol was surprised and asked if he was serious. Why, when he had never gone before? Then one person came to his mind. Captain Kim Ha-yoon’s biggest interest these days. The person who made him linger in front of the window every day.
He was about to probe him, just in case, but Captain Kim Ha-yoon strode away.