“Wait here for a moment.”
He entered the annex. Joo Seonghan looked at the half-open door, then lowered his gaze to his feet. Lush green grass tickled his soles. The air was cool, so he searched through the clothes he was sitting on and found his dress shirt to put on. The dirty clothes with holes everywhere smelled of dirt and blood. Could it be that he was still dreaming even now? Joo Seonghan looked down at the red wound on his palm. Semi-human monsters and a blue forest where no insect sounds could be heard, and a sky that had lost the sun. What am I doing here? How did I end up here?
Clatter. The sound of a door interrupted Joo Seonghan’s thoughts. At the following footsteps, he turned his head to see Yeon Dogyeong walking over with pants carelessly pulled on. Holding a black T-shirt and a small handbag, he approached and sat cross-legged beside Joo Seonghan. Wearing only pants without underwear, he hadn’t even pulled up the zipper, let alone the buckle. Because of that, his pubic hair was visible. Joo Seonghan barely tore his gaze away and examined the handbag Yeon Dogyeong had brought. Meanwhile, Yeon Dogyeong rolled up the T-shirt for easy wearing and pulled it over Joo Seonghan’s head.
“It doesn’t smell. I don’t sweat much.”
“……”
“Ah, is it like an attachment dress shirt or something?”
It wasn’t like that. Joo Seonghan took off the dress shirt he was wearing and threaded his arms through the black short-sleeved T-shirt. Yeon Dogyeong smiled and opened the handbag. It was a medical bag containing medicine, gauze, bandages, scissors, and the like.
“Hand.”
At Yeon Dogyeong’s short demand that resembled an order, Joo Seonghan hesitated for a moment, then held out his injured hand to him. Yeon Dogyeong turned on a flashlight and placed it in Joo Seonghan’s other hand. When he tactfully shone it on the wound, Yeon Dogyeong took out disinfectant and dropped it on the wound. Since he was tense, he endured the stinging pain well. However, the ordeal came the next moment.
The pink ointment that covered the wound hurt much more than the disinfectant—whatever ingredient was in it—making him unintentionally flinch his hand. Yeon Dogyeong, who briefly raised his eyes, blew a short breath and spread the ointment on the wound. His wrist kept brushing against Joo Seonghan’s fingertips. He bent his fingers slightly. Yeon Dogyeong grabbed and straightened the fingers, then took out a bandage and wrapped it skillfully. Joo Seonghan watched the long hands move busily, then opened his mouth.
“…Thank you.”
“Yes.”
Yeon Dogyeong, who received the thanks with a smiling face, secured the bandage and let go of the hand. Joo Seonghan returned the flashlight to him and clenched and unclenched his bandaged hand a few times. It was comfortable to move—neither loose nor wrapped too tightly.
“Put on your clothes and go inside to sleep.”
He who had organized the bag stood up as he spoke. At the suddenly elevated line of sight, Joo Seonghan raised his head and looked up at him.
“Yeon Team Leader-nim… aren’t you going to sleep?”
He wasn’t Joo Seonghan’s superior, but since everyone called him Yeon Team Leader-nim, it felt awkward to call him by name alone. Fortunately, Yeon Dogyeong didn’t say anything about Joo Seonghan’s form of address, as if it wasn’t uncomfortable.
“Yes. I’m fine.”
He turned and entered the room. Is he sleepless? Joo Seonghan thought to himself as he stood up. He gathered and put on his bottoms, spread out Yeon Dogyeong’s wet pants and underwear on the wooden floor, then approached the room. Yeon Dogyeong, who had already finished arming himself, came out with a long gun slung over his shoulder and made way for Joo Seonghan.
“Sleep well.”
“…Good night.”
“I told you I’m not sleeping.”
Yeon Dogyeong spoke with a smile and closed the door. Loud snoring devoured the sound of Yeon Dogyeong’s retreating footsteps. Joo Seonghan scratched his ear and lay down in the dark corner of the room. As he shifted a little to find a comfortable position, skin touched the back of his hand. What is it? When he raised his upper body slightly and looked to the side, he saw Kang Hyeonjoo’s bare legs.
“……”
So he didn’t bring an extra pair of pants, but took them. As soon as he realized this, Kang Hyeonjoo turned on his side and curled up. Joo Seonghan covered Kang Hyeonjoo’s legs with the worn dress shirt he had brought in, then lay down looking at the ceiling. Click. The sound of metal moving could be heard faintly from beyond the door. He closed his eyes. It seemed he could fall into a deep sleep.
* * *
A chilly air had been circulating since the day before yesterday. It was fine while walking, but every time they stopped to rest, their bodies were cold. To make matters worse, they couldn’t find a place to lie down and had to sleep under trees. They slept huddled together to maintain body temperature, and the five took turns keeping watch. However, when it came to time alone, Yeon Dogyeong kept watch the longest. The reason Joo Seonghan, whose wristwatch had broken, knew this fact was because he often saw Yeon Dogyeong awake alone when he opened his eyes while sleeping.
Once, when he opened his eyes, he was next to the thigh of Yeon Dogyeong, who was sitting leaning against a tree. Did I seek out a warm place in my sleep? Feeling embarrassed because he seemed to be clinging too closely, he raised his eyes while wondering whether to move. His eyes met Yeon Dogyeong’s. He smiled slowly without any sign of fatigue, and Joo Seonghan, who had been looking at that face for a moment, buried his face in his leg and continued sleeping.
It was an uncomfortable yet comfortable feeling. With people to rely on, both the unfamiliar cold and the gradually accumulating fatigue were bearable. Everyone, including Joo Seonghan, must have thought that way for the past two days. However, as heavy moisture filled the air, a new kind of worried voice began to emerge.
“Ssibal, it can’t rain.”
Han Jaejun said while looking up at the sky filled with clouds so thick that the stars and moon couldn’t be seen. When it rained, Han Jaejun’s visibility shortened. They had been moving in the shortest distance while shooting and killing every semi-human they encountered rather than avoiding them, which was a method possible because of Han Jaejun’s eyes.
“Park Gyujin-ssi, there’s still a lot left, right?”
Kang Hyeonjoo, who had adjusted the rifle on his shoulder, asked Park Gyujin, who was panting beside him. Park Gyujin nodded vigorously.
“Of course. We haven’t even come halfway. The five days I mentioned was the distance if we walked without resting.”
“Wow, it’ll take a week if we go while resting.”
Han Jaejun spoke crookedly. Park Gyujin, who realized that statement was directed at him, stuck out his lips. Bang! At the sudden gunshot, all the party members’ steps stopped. Park Gyujin, who heard the sound up close, opened his eyes wide and looked back at the smoking muzzle. Han Jaejun, who had lowered his gun, frowned and looked into the distance.
“How many?”
Yeon Dogyeong, who was standing behind Joo Seonghan, asked. Two, answered Han Jaejun as he changed direction and pulled the trigger. Bang! It was an atmosphere where if there had been birds, fluttering wing sounds would have been heard. Han Jaejun, who had slung the gun over his shoulder, continued his steps that had been briefly stopped. Park Gyujin, who exhaled heavily, stood close to him with a pale face.
“Are you very timid?”
Kang Hyeonjoo, who had been walking nearby, asked Park Gyujin in a voice mixed with playfulness. In Kang Hyeonjoo’s opinion, among the Semi-Human Department members here, the person most likely to take care of those nearby was Han Jaejun. Even though he spat out words sharply, Han Jaejun had a strong spirit of sacrifice. Park Gyujin, who instinctively sought out a safe position, was interesting. Was it the survival strategy of weak animals? Whether Kang Hyeonjoo thought that or not, Park Gyujin held tightly to his bag strap without answering. Kang Hyeonjoo looked down at the somehow suspicious companion and added more words.
“It’s impressive that you came beyond the Guimun.”
“…Only I… Because this is something only I can do.”
He expected him to get angry or show he was upset, but Park Gyujin only muttered with his gaze lowered. Kang Hyeonjoo, who didn’t care about reading others’ moods, shrugged his shoulders.
“You must have some special ability.”
“No! It’s not because of talent or good luck, it’s because I came all the way here by studying hard on my own the map that the Research Director told me to know just in case. So the berries and grass…”
Park Gyujin, who had been speaking urgently, shut his mouth tightly and swallowed dry saliva. Kang Hyeonjoo, who glanced at Han Jaejun’s uninterested face, turned his head to look at Yeon Dogyeong walking at the very back. Yeon Dogyeong, who raised his eyes, smiled at him. Don’t know what he’s thinking. Kang Hyeonjoo, who muttered quietly, shook his head from side to side and diligently moved his steps.
Joo Seonghan, who had quietly observed the series of events, reached back without any particular reaction and fumbled with his backpack. Finding the end of the zipper, he opened the bag and took out water. As he was about to put it back after taking a sip, a hand came from behind and took the water bottle.
“Are you tired?”
Yeon Dogyeong, who had emptied half the bottle in one go, asked. Joo Seonghan answered no and waited for him to return the water bottle. He smiled refreshingly and put the water bottle back in Joo Seonghan’s backpack.
“Yeon Team Leader-nim.”
He slowed his steps slightly and called him. Tap tap, Yeon Dogyeong, who tapped the backpack to let him know he had closed the zipper, stood beside Joo Seonghan and said yes.
“Do semi-humans have bad hearing?”
He had been curious for several days. When loud gunshots rang out, it seemed like semi-humans who were hostile to humans would swarm, but that had never happened once. This was the semi-humans’ territory and humans were the invaders. However, semi-humans weren’t interested in the gunshots made by humans. That didn’t mean they ran away either. According to Han Jaejun, who was skilled in long-range shooting, even when a nearby comrade was shot, the semi-humans didn’t seem very surprised and either approached their bleeding comrade or looked around. Was it because they couldn’t grasp the correlation between gunshots and death? Or was it simply because they weren’t sensitive to sounds?
“Why are you curious about that?”
“…Because it seems like semi-humans don’t react to gunshots.”
“Not that—why are you suddenly curious about that?”
Joo Seonghan turned his head and looked up at Yeon Dogyeong. Yeon Dogyeong was purely asking why he was curious about such a thing. Joo Seonghan brought out the words he had chosen from his mouth.
