Having finished speaking, Yeon Dogyeong continued organizing the luggage. Joo Seonghan lowered his eyes from looking at him. The barrel in his hands was heavy and cold.
“Where should I start explaining.”
Kang Hyeonjoo, who had taken off his shoulder holster and put on a vest capable of storing more guns and magazines, approached Joo Seonghan without complaint. Park Gyujin scooted over on his bottom to make space. Han Jaejun’s gaze, who had been applying medicine to his thigh, landed on Park Gyujin, who was moving sluggishly. Park Gyujin, who had settled in a corner, was looking at the map and writing something in a notebook.
“Park Gyujin-ssi, aren’t you packing anything?”
Han Jaejun, who had stopped applying medicine, asked. Park Gyujin opened his mouth without even lifting his head.
“Ah, I haven’t served yet. I don’t know how to shoot a gun. And I already packed what I need.”
Joo Seonghan, who had been listening to the firearm explanation, raised his head. A slight twitch. He could see Han Jaejun’s lips squirming. Park Gyujin, who was scribbling with his pen with a carefree face, didn’t notice, and when Han Jaejun’s mouth opened toward him, “Jaejun, want to eat this?” Yeon Dogyeong asked Han Jaejun with a smile. Han Jaejun, who shut his mouth with a thud, held out his palm. Yeon Dogyeong placed a peppermint candy on it.
“Like the K-2, you use this for burst fire, automatic fire…. Why?”
Kang Hyeonjoo, who had been rattling off explanations, looked at Joo Seonghan. Joo Seonghan’s eyes were on Yeon Dogyeong, who was constantly smiling.
“No, it’s just… he seems incredibly… kind.”
“Our Team Leader-nim? Well, he does look that way. But opinions are extremely divided. Some say he’s kind and affectionate, some say he’s a fire fox that ate five hundred grass snakes.”
A fire fox that ate five hundred grass snakes? Joo Seonghan repeated Kang Hyeonjoo’s words to himself. He thought about it briefly, but he couldn’t understand what that meant.
“There’s one common opinion. You can’t tell what he’s thinking. But people close to Team Leader Yeon all know. Befitting the leader of the accident-free team, Team Leader Yeon just isn’t thinking about anything.”
Kang Hyeonjoo, who spoke in a lowered voice, bent his waist and brought his lips close to Joo Seonghan’s ear. Then he whispered to finish his words. He’s an idiot, really.
“……”
“For real.”
Kang Hyeonjoo, who straightened his back, emphasized. Before too, he had called his team leader an idiot who just goes around grinning. Joo Seonghan agreed with the part about Yeon Dogyeong going around grinning, but somehow he didn’t want to agree with calling him an idiot. Was it because he came beyond the Guimun, where no one would come to rescue them, and saved their lives?
“You’ll understand once you spend time together. Anyway, I’ll continue explaining. Let’s finish quickly and rest.”
“Ah, yes.”
Joo Seonghan, who turned his eyes away from the reliable reinforcement, dove back into the world of guns with Kang Hyeonjoo. Yeon Dogyeong’s gaze touched Joo Seonghan’s face and quickly disappeared.
* * *
“Umm… I believe Joo Seonghan-ssi was reported as missing. The noraebang incident was reported as a small-scale arson.”
Splash. Park Gyujin, who answered Joo Seonghan’s question about how things were on the other side, washed his face with wet hands. Joo Seonghan, who had been sitting side by side next to him soaking his body in the pond, stopped the hand that had been massaging his thigh.
“The survivors…”
“One pregnant woman. Come to think of it, they said someone rescued her…. Was that perhaps you, Joo Seonghan-ssi?”
Joo Seonghan nodded slightly. Even though he heard that Deputy Lee survived, Joo Seonghan’s heart remained heavy. It was rare for a person to go missing in a small arson case. What were his parents doing right now? They would naturally be worried. Their only son evaporated during a company dinner, and all his workplace colleagues died. Had they been sleeping properly these past few days? Joo Seonghan bit the inside of his cheek while moving his stopped hand.
“That’s amazing.”
Park Gyujin said while fiddling with grass growing near the pond. Joo Seonghan, who had nothing else to say, kept his mouth shut. Park Gyujin, who had been glancing at such a Joo Seonghan, suddenly smiled brightly.
“Anyway, please take care of me from now on. Let’s definitely survive and get out of here!”
He, who had come to this place on his own feet, spoke as if getting out of here alive was his goal. Though puzzled, Joo Seonghan only answered, “Yes.”
“Then I’ll sleep first. I wonder if the Semi-Human Department is still in a meeting?”
Park Gyujin, who finished his words as a monologue, got out of the pond. Semi-Human Department Team 3 was remaining in the room having a meeting. They shared each other’s information and made plans for the future, and they told Joo Seonghan and Park Gyujin to wash first, so only the two came to the pond. The sound of Park Gyujin’s footsteps, who left making a splash, gradually grew distant.
Left alone, Joo Seonghan raised his right hand, which he had kept out of the water the whole time. When he unwrapped the piece of cloth deeply stained with blood, he could see the wound on his palm from the noraebang had opened up red. It seemed to have happened while he was struggling desperately to escape from the semi-human choking his throat. Joo Seonghan, who had been looking down at the wound, dipped the red piece of cloth in the pond and shook it.
The pond made sounds. The cloth created curves here and there, and water rippled along that path. Joo Seonghan moved his arm a bit larger. Splash, splish, the water that bounced up hit his chest. The surging waves and his breath, which had become rough before he knew it, shattered chaotically. Gradually, it became noisy.
Smack!
Joo Seonghan, who struck the surface with his palm, held his breath. Then he dove underwater. Small bubbles rose up, pushing through the water enveloping his face. The water blocking his ears rang stuffily. Joo Seonghan covered his face with both hands. It’s hard…. The moment he thought that, someone roughly grabbed his arm.
A large hand pulled Joo Seonghan forcefully out of the water. Puhah! Startled, he inhaled and swallowed water. Joo Seonghan held his stinging nose and coughed. He rubbed his face. When he opened his stinging eyes, he could see him. Yeon Dogyeong with a smile on his lips.
“Did I interrupt?”
Unlike his smiling face, the strength of the hand gripping his arm was strong. When he lowered his eyes while exhaling ragged breaths, he let go of Joo Seonghan’s arm. He thought he would withdraw his hand as is, but he grabbed Joo Seonghan’s right wrist and lifted it up.
“It’s not good if water touches it.”
“Ah…”
Yeon Dogyeong rubbed around the wound with his finger and let go of his hand. He, who had gone out of the water, took off his wet pants. Whether he was going to wash, he wasn’t wearing anything on his upper body. His large body with tightly packed muscles had many scars. Bumpy scars scratched by something sharp received the pale moonlight and created shadows. He calmly accepted Joo Seonghan’s gaze and took off his underwear. His eyes went down without him realizing. Joo Seonghan stared intently between Yeon Dogyeong’s legs with narrowed brows. A grass snake. A grass snake was there.
“It gets bigger when I get an erection.”
“…What?”
He asked back stupidly while raising his head. Yeon Dogyeong, who closed his eyes, entered the pond. The water dipped and gathered.
“You were staring at it curiously.”
His face heated up belatedly. “I’m sorry,” he apologized and bent his knees to sit on a rock submerged in water. The pond was deep only in the middle and relatively shallow at the edges. Joo Seonghan followed with his eyes as he swam to the deep part, submerged up to his waist in the pond. Having reached his desired spot, he who had stopped showed his face rather than his back.
“The guys are sleeping. They said they’d get up and wash, but I don’t know if they’ll actually get up.”
As if not expecting an answer, he who finished speaking went underwater. These past few days had been a rough journey. They walked all day and when they got tired, they took turns napping. They couldn’t sleep deeply because they didn’t know when a semi-human might pop out. Both they and Joo Seonghan were physically and mentally exhausted.
“…They said no one would come.”
When Yeon Dogyeong, who had been submerged, pulled his face out of the water, he spoke. It was a small voice, but aside from the sound of water being stirred, the surroundings were so quiet it felt loud.
“Thank you for coming, and for saving us.”
He gave his belated thanks. Yeon Dogyeong, who smiled crookedly, moved away. He, who swam several laps around the small pond, parted the water and approached Joo Seonghan. He sat at his feet and swept down his face with his hand. Water droplets on his face left traces here and there.
“I heard Joo Seonghan-ssi’s parents cried a lot.”
Joo Seonghan tightly shut his lips that had opened without him realizing. He really didn’t want to make them worry. He wanted to be a good son until the day he died. Thinking of his parents who must be anxious thinking of Joo Seonghan even at this very moment, his chest felt stuffy. It was regrettable that he couldn’t even make one call to say it’s okay, that he’s still alive.
“You’ll have to be filial when you return.”
Swoosh. Following Yeon Dogyeong’s neat voice came the sound of water droplets rising. Yeon Dogyeong, who stood up shaking off the water that was clinging and hanging on, held out his hand to Joo Seonghan. When he just stared at his face without saying anything, he shook his outstretched hand as if to tell him to grab it quickly. Joo Seonghan grabbed his hand with the uninjured one. He, who pulled Joo Seonghan to his feet, went out of the water first. Though it was closer to summer if he had to categorize it, he had been in the water for quite a while so it was a bit cold. Perhaps that’s why the hand he was holding felt warm.
“We’ll be able to return soon.”
Yeon Dogyeong, who picked up the clothes he had taken off on the ground, said. His clothes were also in his hand. Joo Seonghan, who answered “Yes” in a small voice, walked toward the old house holding his hand while naked. Yeon Dogyeong, who placed the clothes on the wooden hall floor next to the annex where snoring sounds could be heard, sat Joo Seonghan on top of them.
