In that case, he’d rather throw his body out there ten, a hundred times more instead. Even if he was overworked, it was thousands of times more comfortable for him to be the one overworked.
“If it were a solo one-man operation, that would be one thing, but I can’t cooperate with people who are no different from civilians.”
He had the conviction that even if his arm fell off or his leg fell off, even if he became one-armed or lame, he wouldn’t fall into despair.
Despite their superhuman physical structures, Espers who suffered permanent damage to their limbs also said this. That they were able to survive rather than die because they weren’t civilians. Because there existed years of training to think of it as a tragedy that could happen anytime, anywhere, and to endure it.
But to Guides, it was all just fantasy talk. Because they weren’t supposed to stand at the front lines but rather be protected.
So hoping for collusion between Guides and Espers in the high-difficulty operation to deal with the intelligent monster Siren was a decision no different from scientists immersed in folk beliefs like feng shui.
To find a more specific analogy, it would be like an empty can with no contents, or a steamed bun with no red bean paste.
Kwon Jeonghoo asked a beat late.
“Why?”
“It’s an operation where numerous casualties and deaths will occur. I can’t accept it when we all obviously know that.”
“Sounds like you’re laying the groundwork in advance because you’re not confident you can protect them.”
Kwon Jeonghoo disparaged Yeo Dowoon’s true feelings quite skillfully.
The guy who had rushed headlong into even the most reckless operations, wagging his invisible tail enthusiastically, was being selectively cautious only about this operation.
“After getting swallowed by a monster’s stomach, you think you don’t want it to happen twice?”
“I learned that we must always consider the survival possibility of the maximum number.”
“Since when did you carry out operations calculating probabilities.”
An eerie sneer settled in Kwon Jeonghoo’s lips.
“If you’re going to be swayed by every single personal element, hand in your position and transfer to a general department.”
“…….”
“Picking up monster scraps would suit your operation taste perfectly.”
It was a sharp scolding, but Yeo Dowoon only displayed calmness as he listened. Rather, his pent-up indigestion was even being swept away. From the daggers Kwon Jeonghoo stabbed deeply, dim memories instead blew gently like a summer breeze. There was once a time when he had gotten into a brawl with him and shouted loudly.
‘If you’re going to work like that, quit, you bastard. There’s a limit to how long you can act arrogant.’
‘Instead of just threatening, why don’t you let me quit? Show me through action. Action. You always just tell me to quit with your mouth.’
‘Ha, in all my life, I’ve never met a bastard as brazen as you…’
‘Yes yes, pleased to meet you. How about I bow three times right here in front of you?’
Kwon Jeonghoo, who lost his patience from the continued quarrel, grabbed his collar with force, and the two bodies began an intense fistfight right there, shocking those around them.
‘I’m fucking sick of watching a person who’s not even worth one punch acting up just because they got an armband!’
‘Who said I wore an armband to look good to you?’
It was a bloody brawl with not a single person backing down.
The atmosphere was too extreme for someone unrelated to the situation to intervene and mediate. They were fighting saying “you’re dead, I’m dead,” and if someone fearlessly butted in, it would be fortunate if they didn’t suffer hardship.
‘Captain or whatever! Why the hell are you my captain, a bastard like you? By whose authority?’
A sound like two beasts growling and roaring filled the wide training ground.
Since it was such a hot-blooded time, they swung their fists recklessly without caring that the other’s face was becoming a terrible sight.
The scene was so brutal that all the onlookers had turned pale.
‘Ko Ijae. I’ll take the Captain, will you take Yeo Dowoon?’
‘No. I think it’s better not to take either of them.’
When the Espers called Team Delta’s two leaders caused a ruckus, the remaining personnel could only anxiously stamp their feet.
They thought about using their abilities to stop them, but the probability of being attacked in reverse was extremely high, so they kept buffering. But if they just left them alone, they would suffer consequences later.
‘…What if the sparks fly to us too?’
‘We’ll have to accept it as fate, Seonwoo.’
In the midst of not being able to find a solution at all, the two men who were punching each other while crushing each other once began to roll around merged as one.
‘Let go of this, you son of a bitch…!’
‘Anyway, you ill-mannered bastard…. You let go first, dude.’
After grabbing each other’s collars and grappling back and forth, they wasted nearly two hours like that before panting and entering a ceaseoff.
At the end of the incredible bloody battle, Yeo Dowoon had a nosebleed from both nostrils, and Kwon Jeonghoo had bruises on both eyelids and looked for raw eggs constantly.
‘Kwon Jeonghoo’s face back then was really something to see. He looked like a panda too.’
When Yeo Dowoon, who was reminiscing about the past alone, folded his eyes in half as if delighted, Kwon Jeonghoo asked sharply.
“…What are you grinning about when you did nothing right?”
“I’m grinning?”
Yeo Dowoon, who hadn’t realized he was smiling, casually touched the corners of his mouth. Unbelievably, his entire mouth line was really tilted slightly upward.
Yeo Dowoon said in a voice steeped in sentimentality.
“Just, being scolded by Captain…, it makes me think of the old days bit by bit.”
His eyes had also become noticeably softer than before. As he gazed at Kwon Jeonghoo with eyes filled with affection or warmth, he continued as if embarrassed.
“Getting caught and scolded feels surprisingly good.”
“A guy who only used to pout his lips, making sweet talk.”
“When did I ever only pout my lips.”
Then Kwon Jeonghoo, who had been giving off cold vibes, also showed a momentarily softened face. His angry eyebrows found their place, and the strength slightly loosened from his tightly closed jaw.
If he had stopped there, it would have been perfect, but Yeo Dowoon stubbornly added an afterthought and poked at Kwon Jeonghoo. An unwelcome question flowed through his lips.
“Hyung. Doesn’t this make us feel just like we’ve gone back to the old days?”
“…….”
“Back when there were no problems between you and me.”
When there were no problems. A particularly strong accent was placed on that expression.
Yeo Dowoon scratched the back of his head and looked up at Kwon Jeonghoo. The man who had consistently stayed by his side for 10 years, a time said to be enough for landscapes to change, was precisely this person, Kwon Jeonghoo.
Of course there were many times when he was hateful, but when he wasn’t hateful, there were many, many more times than that—a strange person. He believed that a solid relationship existed that could never be broken by the superficial emotion called love alone.
Yeo Dowoon gulped and murmured.
“I hope there are no problems in the future either…”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I’m sick of problems arising too. It’s annoying to death.”
Between Kwon Jeonghoo and himself, this much distance was just right, no more, no less.
So to Yeo Dowoon, Kwon Jeonghoo trying to suddenly break the balance and harmony he had painstakingly sculpted over 10 years felt petty and mean.
Instead of wavering, Yeo Dowoon decided to put an appropriate period at the appropriate point.
“We suit being hyung and dongsaeng. You know?”
He thought Kwon Jeonghoo would readily agree, but it was a needless worry. He delayed his answer and asked back in a tone as naive as a country bumpkin.
“What’s the problem you’re talking about?”
“Huh?”
“What exactly is this hyung-dongsaeng relationship you’re talking about.”
While slightly raising the end of his words as if revealing his doubt.
“Well, that’s…”
But Yeo Dowoon pretended to be oblivious and ignored his question. He just carelessly straightened his twisted clothes and put down the metal file he was holding nearby.
“Why are you interrogating me when you know. It’s embarrassing.”
When he roughly ruffled through his hair, the shabby appearance from when he first entered this place was recreated. At Yeo Dowoon’s lukewarm answer, Kwon Jeonghoo spat out with self-mockery added.
“If I knew, I wouldn’t have left it alone long ago.”
“…Leave it alone, please. I’m tired.”
“There’s no such thing as a hyung-dongsaeng relationship in this world where they kiss and press their bodies together, Dowoon.”
His gaze had become damp and moist like a shower that pattered down one morning. Playing by spinning the shiny ashtray placed on the desk clockwise, he added sternly.
“I emphasize it every time. We’ve already crossed the line.”
However, his restless hand movements didn’t cease, revealing the impatience he felt to the surface. Yeo Dowoon finally faced him with a firm gaze. He let out a heavy sigh and pressed on.
“I’m pretty sure I also emphasized treating it like it never happened, but… You know one thing but don’t know two.”
“Right. I really don’t know, so smart you should tell me from the side.”
Kwon Jeonghoo requested without hesitation. With an air that didn’t seem to find his one-way street miserable.
“I need to know what the problem is so I can reflect and deal with it.”
“…….”
“Or did you just throw those words out there for my amusement?”
