By Zephyria 
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“Ah, Instructor Jin. I heard you’ll be accompanying us during the practical training.”
“I plan to. I think it would be helpful if I tagged along at least three or four times.”
Jin Mu-hae’s daily routine was slowly finding its orbit. There were many reasons for this, but the reality that the paid leave granted at the Defense Force’s discretion had come to an end played a significant part.
That fixed expenses draining away tick-tock, and a bank balance that made one hesitate even when buying a few hot dogs, were far more terrifying than Aberrants… As a mercenary from the slums, he knew this all too well.
His life continued with a cycle of commuting to central in the mornings and intermittently leaving the city as the sun set.
Now, people were more surprised by the fact that he remained physically intact despite wandering around at such hours than by the fact that he was searching for his dead companions.
Rumors circulated privately that while he might have gone a bit crazy, his skills were still top-notch—a case of “even a rotten fish is still a fish.”
“Therefore, when facing an Aberrant of Grade 2 or higher that exhibits a certain level of intelligence, it is safer to follow the standard manual while additionally considering decoys that utilize the five senses.”
Of course, no reckless person dared to spout such things within the Defense Force. The events of that day were reported as an accident where a central official, blinded by a lack of safety awareness, was attacked by an Aberrant.
Jin Mu-hae, who lost his colleagues after getting caught up while trying to help them, was not a subject of ridicule unless his personality was completely ruined. Nor had he done anything particularly out of character since returning to work.
“After a ten-minute break, we will have a restraint simulation. Since today is Wednesday… Lee Su-hak and Jang Ji-su, you two will take the role of the Aberrant.”
“Ah… of all days, Wednesday.”
As for whether he had become strange, to the junior members, he had always been a strange human being.
He was an instructor who would spit while mimicking an Aberrant in the middle of the classroom. They simply felt sorry for the sudden disappearance of the teaching assistant; they didn’t necessarily feel that Jin Mu-hae had lost his mind.
His fellow instructors seemed to view it as a kind of pain one must experience at least once in the Defense Force. Whenever Jin Mu-hae passed by, they would touch the corner of one eye as if experiencing phantom pain, their gaze turning moist.
Thanks to that, Mu-hae maintained a certain level of presence even within the city.
Vrooooom—!
At dusk, the place he headed on his bike was sometimes the east of Goryeo City, sometimes the south.
There was no specific destination. Any location that was deserted and overgrown with grass was fine.
Jin Mu-hae still carried armfuls of colorful cereal—which he wouldn’t even consider as food—and street food.
Once he left them on the ground or on a rock, paced around aimlessly for a bit, and then returned, the day’s “crazy act” was over.
It was a much safer and more comfortable method than wandering aimlessly through danger zones.
“How long are you going to keep doing that gosure?”
“I haven’t done it that often.”
“In all my life, I’ve never seen a guy go out to feed wild animals.”
Director Gil clicked his tongue while replacing the battery of the Taser.
The one eating it wouldn’t be a wild animal, but an Aberrant, but since it looked the same to those who didn’t know the circumstances, there was no need to correct him.
As he put his hand in his jacket pocket, he felt something round and hard. Olga’s red bead. To be precise, it was an object Joo-oh had received from her as a gift.
For some reason, Mu-hae kept carrying it with him. The face of the man who had repeatedly urged him to keep it always came to mind, and after finding it again when he got his broken equipment back, he found himself gripping it often.
“Ahem, I’m talking to you.”
As he drifted into other thoughts for a moment, Director Gil hurriedly called him back. When Mu-hae cocked an eyebrow and looked back, Gil handed over the Taser and continued.
“The work you were doing… are you going to quit now?”
“I never quit. I just put it off for a bit.”
“If you’re exhausted, it’s fine to just let it go. There’s no need for you to take responsibility for something that should have ended at our level.”
Director Gil brought up something unexpected. The face of the man who had pulled out a cigar was bitter yet calm.
He was someone who had originally advised him to live a normal life if he didn’t want this. Though he had been certain that Mu-hae would accept the work of the Return flight.
“I don’t know. It’s my business now.”
However, those leading the Return flight now were not the worn-out and exhausted people of the past. Even if the first choice was mixed with a fleeting sense of kinship and longing for a blood relative, now, only Mu-hae’s choice and will held onto the failed project.
As he had told Director Gil, and Teacher Jung a few days ago, he had simply postponed it. Because there was still something more important that remained unresolved.
‘Something more important…’
Ha. A small, hollow laugh escaped him. Mu-hae nodded absentmindedly as he packed his gear into his bag.
When he first faced the work of the Return flight, he could never have imagined that something more important could arise.
The mission, wrapped in glittering packaging like “great will” or “the greater good,” now seemed faded.
It was a strange thing to say, but every time he ignored Gu-reum’s contact and left the city, Mu-hae felt as if he were deviating from the orbit assigned to him.
It felt like walking toward a dangerous and unpredictable future. Unlike the moment he discovered his father’s records, it didn’t feel like a perfect fit.
“The patient discount is only until today. From next time, I’ll charge the full price, so stop messing around and go earn some money.”
“I haven’t received the full 200,000 Deal yet.”
“It’s not even 200,000 Deal anymore. Half of it was deducted a long time ago.”
He headed home, smoothly countering the scolding that came instead of a farewell. As he opened the front door, a sense of silence enveloped him without fail.
Mu-hae habitually entered the study and blew on the frame on the desk. The dust that had accumulated over half a day fluttered away.
“I wonder if he’s not coming, or if he can’t come.”
He spoke softly to himself, a habit he hadn’t had before. With no one to listen, it was truly a pointless act.
Whether it was the former or the latter, quite some time had passed since Joo-oh disappeared. Even the mercenaries who used to chatter excitedly now accepted Mu-hae’s wanderings as normal.
Whenever he left food in places where human footsteps rarely reached, Mu-hae would visit the same spot again, like a criminal returning to the scene of the crime.
Since the items he left were completely gone and the spot was clean, he thought that he was likely the one eating them. If it had been a beast or a wild animal, there should have been a piece or two of trash rolling around.
“So you’re just eating and not working, huh.”
He grumbled at the empty air as he packed his things. He planned to go for a drive outside the city again today.
Recently, he had managed to get some meat skewers through a mercenary who had headed to Seogyeong City. Thinking of the low-grade meat he had seen in the industrial district still made him lose his appetite, but since someone liked this stuff immensely, it would be more effective than something like hot dogs.
‘Gosure, my foot.’
Even though he always just left the food and returned, in his own way, this was all a lure.
So, rather than a free soup kitchen for Aberrants, it was closer to the dough bait thrown before casting a fishing line for crucian carp. Mu-hae rotated his shoulders with a cracking sound and wrapped the warmed skewers tightly in plastic.
Today, he headed toward an exceptionally dangerous area. It was a place where a Thorn wolf had jumped out recently, nearly overturning a logistics transport vehicle.
Since the supply routes had changed again after that, no one would be lingering around here anymore.
Mu-hae fearlessly took the meat skewers, which smelled delicious, out of the plastic and placed them on the ground.
Click. The end of the wire he had wrapped around a tree caught at his waist. He tightened his red jacket and leaned his back against a rough tree trunk; it became so quiet that he could hear the sound of leaves shaking in the wind.
‘If I wander around places like this, my friend will worry.’
He hadn’t intended to go this far, but he was becoming more and more sentimental.
Since he started thinking that Joo-oh was still lingering somewhere nearby, though he didn’t say it, each day felt longer and more tedious.
It was a guy he’d known for less than a year. It was absurd that he felt a void as if they had been together for ten years.
The things he had experienced with Joo-oh during that short period occasionally drifted back to him. That smooth face, stamping his feet in excitement because he liked him so much. The warmth of him clinging to his arm whenever he got the chance.
“…….”
How long had he been standing there? As he quietly traced his memories, an unpleasant sensation reached him from somewhere.
The tingling sensation at the nape of his neck, as if someone were glaring at him, was an unmistakable warning of instinct.
Rustle.
Grrrrr…
Sure enough. A giant furry beast was slowly approaching through the bushes.
The pungent smell of musk announced the presence of the beast. It was a Thorn wolf. The aggressive beast approached, disregarding even the direction of the wind, viewing this side as insignificant.
Bang—!
Pzzzzzt!
Yelp!
He immediately launched an attack. The wolf, twisting this way and that from the shock of its body being seared, radiated murderous intent as if enraged.
The beast’s eyes gleamed as they fixed on Mu-hae, and soon, the house-sized bulk lunged again.
Naturally, this level of attack was laughable. Mu-hae easily avoided the trajectory and readjusted his grip on the firearm.
Bang! With the gunshot, the Thorn wolf was knocked back once more. The beast, scrubbing its body against the dirt ground, bristled its fur.
Grrk, Grrr-agh!
Perhaps his role as a Defense Force instructor had helped him. He could read the beast’s intentions more clearly than before.
This time, it planned to leap from the opposite direction. Mu-hae timed the movement of the creature’s hind legs and nimbly slid to the side.
But at that moment, tug, his clothes were pulled, and his body came to an unintended halt.
“Ugh!”
What is this? The wire he had wrapped earlier was hindering his movement. While he hesitated, the wolf seized the opportunity and jumped with its maw wide open.
“Damn it!”
He urgently reached out, but the high-quality wire only rattled no matter how much he shook it; it wouldn’t break.
Damn it. Just as the future of blood spraying from a claw embedded in an unlucky spot was right before his eyes.
Grrr… Yelp!
Suddenly, the wolf changed direction and tumbled clumsily. The claws that narrowly brushed past only scratched his neck slightly.
As he rubbed the stinging spot, blood stained his fingers. Despite the prey being injured, the wolf was scrambling backward.
Trembling legs. A tail tucked so far between its legs it was invisible.
Mu-hae let out a long sigh at the sight of the beast, which was so frozen it could barely even step back.
“……As I thought.”
Though Mu-hae was sensitive to all sorts of signals, he was still far from matching the instincts of a wild animal.
He had wandered around with the radar on a few times, but every time, the traces had vanished from the radius as if by magic.
Tuk. Jin Mu-hae easily released the hook of the wire he had been clumsily tugging at and checked the direction in which the Thorn wolf was frantically crawling away.
The moment he shifted his gaze toward the dense thicket—Whoosh!
Finally, an intense energy descended, as if pouncing on him, covering the surroundings. Mu-hae staggered involuntarily and gripped a tree branch.
A fear that felt like it was carving into his heart, the pressure of that day was surging back once again.
187 – Became a Monster in a Dead Game