By Zephyria 
—First day of exploration.
Seo Young-jun, Oh Nam-gi, Park Mu-jin, and ten other soldiers were looking out the windows of the moving bus. Half of the bus was filled with armed soldiers, and the other half with geologists, surveyors, mineralogists, and others.
In a solemn atmosphere, the vehicle left district a and drove for a long time. Just as boredom was piling up, they arrived at a site where excavators, large trucks, and construction robots were busily moving.
Oh Nam-gi, who had been watching it, nudged Seo Young-jun.
“Is this the place?”
“Yeah. I think so.”
“The scale is enormous.”
Park Mu-jin, who had been listening silently, openly sneered.
“Wake up from your dreams. You guys can’t even dream of getting in there.”
A year and a half ago, when a major earthquake struck the heart of the city, people were terrified. So, experts from various fields were gathered to create a new district here. With an ambitious plan to create a city where only the richest of the rich would live.
Leaving the site, the bus arrived in front of a lake. The huge lake was surrounded by mountains, and except for the fact that the water had risen due to the heavy rain a few days ago, it was an ordinary sight to anyone.
As they came to a complete stop and got off the bus, Kim Ha-yoon and Lieutenant Colonel Kim Seon-oh had already arrived. They politely saluted them, whom they hadn’t seen in a long time, and they accepted it with a smile, unlike usual. All they could see was the lake and the mountains, so they were even more curious about why they had come here.
At that moment, a car rushed in from afar. The old jeep looked suspicious to anyone. As the soldiers went on alert at the unexpected appearance, Kim Seon-oh ordered them to put away their guns. Then the jeep stopped, and the driver’s seat door opened, revealing someone they never expected.
“Oh! Ire,”
Oh Nam-gi tried to call his name but stopped and looked around. The person who got out of the car was none other than Ire. He saw Seo Young-jun and Oh Nam-gi but didn’t acknowledge them and went straight to Kim Ha-yoon. Seeing this, Park Mu-jin sneered.
“That bastard is alive and well. But he shows up here? Without any fear?”
Seo Young-jun couldn’t say anything. Park Mu-jin was a Sergeant, and he was a Staff Sergeant. How could he argue with his superior, who was like the sky? He had no choice but to shut his mouth, no matter how dirty it was. Meanwhile, Ire was talking to Kim Ha-yoon, and large boxes were being unloaded from the truck that followed. The boxes contained wetsuits, and they were immediately ordered to change into them.
He was so happy to see his old comrades that he was almost in tears. Was it Kim Ha-yoon’s consideration that he brought Seo Young-jun and Oh Nam-gi among so many soldiers? If so, why was that Park Mu-jin bastard here? He wanted to greet them, but he barely held back, fearing what kind of trouble he might cause.
In the meantime, Kim Ha-yoon caught his eye. He had seen him a few days ago, and the bruises on his face had disappeared, and the wound on his ear was healing.
“Hey, long time no see. How have you been?”
The person who greeted him so naturally was Kim Seon-oh. He knew how he was doing, but he was still asking if he was doing well, which was absurd. He hasn’t changed, this guy.
“Hello….”
“Your hair has grown a lot. And your eyes are still pretty.”
As Kim Seon-oh tried to touch his hair, Kim Ha-yoon grabbed his hand and pushed it aside. The process was so smooth and natural that Kim Seon-oh was momentarily stunned before quickly regaining his composure and taking care of his subordinates. Meanwhile, Kim Ha-yoon took a wetsuit and handed it to Ire.
“Wear it.”
“I don’t need it.”
Kim Ha-yoon turned his head and admired the swollen lake. The destination they were going to was the mountain in front of them. To be exact, it was a cave under it. After the boat behind the trailer was moved to the lake, they began to board it one by one.
“Signal me if it’s too hard.”
Ire didn’t even pretend to listen to Kim Ha-yoon and turned away. He’d rather die than ask you for help. Then he got on the boat and crossed the lake. After docking at the place where it met the mountain, they put on their oxygen masks and began to dive into the water one by one.
The soldiers helped the civilians enter, one on one. Even with the lights on, they couldn’t see properly, so some of them looked visibly flustered. As a huge hole appeared under the mountain, Ire entered first, and the remaining people followed one by one.
It was a structure where you could pass through a short underwater tunnel and come out on the other side. It was unknown when and how the cave inside the mountain was created. Ire, who came out, wiped his wet face, removed the water from his gun, and slung it back over his shoulder.
When he turned on the lantern, bizarre rocks surrounding all sides appeared. The people who came up to the surface also took off their oxygen masks and were mesmerized by the sight.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
The smooth rocks felt like they had been poured with oil. Meanwhile, Seo Young-jun launched a small exploration drone and tried to move forward. The geologist stopped along the way and carefully examined the ore, and the mineralogist scraped the wall with a small drill.
Kim Ha-yoon and Ire followed at the very end, and Kim Ha-yoon was looking at Ire the whole time, not forward.
“Now that we’re here, do you want to stop by home?”
Ire didn’t answer.
“You miss your siblings, don’t you?”
When he first opened his eyes, he had made a fuss about going back to district a. He was furious and resentful at Baek Seol, Gilsu, and Jang-cheon, who had acted against his will, and he had actually driven his car back and forth near the area several times.
Then he gradually changed his mind. Would this have happened if I had power? He felt sorry for the others, but he wasn’t interested in the revolution or whatever they were talking about. He built up his strength to protect what was his, and now he was trying to get them back.
“Let’s go with me. Okay?”
Kim Seon-oh glanced back when Kim Ha-yoon’s voice grew louder. Ire elbowed him in the side to tell him to stop talking. Just as he was pretending to be hurt, the mineralogist who was walking ahead stopped.
“Just a moment.”
He shone his lantern on the wall and scraped the surface with something that looked like sandpaper. Ah-, a sound of admiration was heard, and then everyone around him rubbed the area in the same way. When they shone the light, endless veins of gold appeared. Everyone’s eyes widened when they saw it.
“It’s gold….”
“It was strange from the beginning. If the black rock I saw at the entrance is real, then someone painted it to disguise it.”
He borrowed a lantern and lit up the surroundings. Gold appeared wherever he rubbed, and the others couldn’t close their mouths. While he was collecting samples, some people subtly scraped the wall with their fingernails or small pieces of metal.
Ire had already known about it, so he waited for them to move again with a calm expression. Then he looked at Kim Ha-yoon, who was still only looking at him. Shouldn’t he be happier than anyone else and dance? Or does he have so much that he has no greed?
While he was thinking that, Seo Young-jun, who was in front, suddenly made a sound, “Uh, uh.” He pressed the switch on the controller he was holding and had a small conversation with Oh Nam-gi, who was behind him.
“Is there a problem?”
Seo Young-jun turned around at Kim Seon-oh’s question in the middle.
“A strange object has appeared in front, and the signal has been lost.”
At the same time as his words, a strange sound of squeak- squeak– was heard from afar. Was it a bat? But it was stranger than that. All the lights were facing forward, and Ire pushed through the people and squeezed between Seo Young-jun and Oh Nam-gi.
When he checked Seo Young-jun’s equipment, there was no response. He played the previous screen and increased the brightness, and a strangely shaped object was captured.
“What is this…?”
At Oh Nam-gi’s words, Ire shouted to the back.
“I think we should get out of here first!”
Park Mu-jin frowned and shouted in anger.
“Who are you to give orders! Do you still think you’re a soldier? Damn it, Seo Young-jun, get a grip! You’re handing over equipment to a civilian?”
Ire glared fiercely at Park Mu-jin. That bastard is still a guy he doesn’t like, whether in the past or now. Seo Young-jun looked at Kim Seon-oh with a troubled expression. After all, he had all the authority here.
But then, with a whoosh- a sound of cutting through the wind, a long whip-like thing flew in. It was aimed directly at Seo Young-jun, so Ire grabbed the back of his neck first and pulled him back. The controller was quickly snatched from Seo Young-jun’s hand, who fell on his butt, and it disappeared into the darkness.
“……”
As if by agreement, everyone in the cave fell silent. Then someone regained their senses and shouted.
“Damn it! Wh-what is that!”
“That just now, that wasn’t a person, was it?”
“Let’s get out of here. Let’s go, quickly.”
Seo Young-jun’s face turned white, and the others were also dumbfounded and stepped back. Ire stopped breathing and stared into the darkness. Was what he had seen before not a mistake? Then he met Kim Ha-yoon’s eyes, which were shining with interest.