STJ_03

Although his face was hard to see because his back was turned to the light, Doyoung recognized him immediately as Sa Iijun.

He had a sturdy body, almost 2 meters tall, with long, curly brown hair that almost covered his eyes, which was his trademark.

Wearing a special khaki combat uniform with a black bulletproof vest, Sa Iijun exuded a dark aura as if he had just come from a horrific battle scene.

Although his face was not very visible due to the backlight, his two eyes were clearly visible. The pupils shone like a lamp in a dark room.

Like the surface of the exploding sun shining with a dark orange light in his eyes, even though Doyoung didn't know much about Espers, he recognized him.

The person was about to escape.

― Civilians, do you hear this?

Someone's voice was heard at that moment. Turning his attention to where the voice was coming from, he saw a camera and a loudspeaker hanging from the ceiling. Doyoung froze, barely nodding toward the camera.

― Civilians, we ask you not to disturb Esper with big movements and commotion.

It sounded like words spoken to a tourist who fell into a lion's cage at the zoo.

He turned his eyes slowly and carefully and saw Sa Iijun still standing there.

Ah, if Sa Iijun went on a rampage here and there was a big explosion, his mother wouldn't be able to find a single piece of his bones.

Cold sweat poured from his forehead to his temples, and Doyoung saw Sa Iijun's eyes shining brightly as if he was burning everything in front of him.

― Civilians, please do not turn your backs on Esper and slowly take a step back.

What stood before him was a creature far more dangerous and vicious than the wild animals usually seen in zoos. Doyoung hesitantly stepped back, trying to keep a cool head and assess the situation as rationally as possible.

When the wall fell earlier, it was at least 30 centimeters thick. That was enough to reduce the damage as much as possible by trapping the explosion inside. Maybe the people out there had no intention of saving him from the beginning.

Ah, it was all over. He would just be a sad soul who was unlucky enough to be caught in Sa Iijun's rage and disappear from the world without a trace.

Drowning in his despairing thoughts, Doyoung saw Sa Iijun take a step toward him. He remembered the video of Sa Iijun's battle where he blew up, burned, and tore apart the creature there. The building that Sa Iijun blew up during the battle even took less than a minute to burn down.

Sruk, Sa Iijun came closer, dragging his feet as if he was heavy, looking like someone who was sleepwalking or drunk.

"D, don't come any closer!"

― Sierra 2, stop! Are you going to kill the citizens? Don't move!

Someone's urgent voice was heard again from the loudspeaker on the ceiling. This time, it was directed at Sa Iijun, not Doyoung.

Doyoung pressed his back against the wall and shouted desperately.

"I, I said stop moving!"

But as if it couldn't hear his voice, the terrifying killing machine was now right in front of Doyoung. Doyoung was so overcome with fear that he even forgot to breathe. In an instant, the blood in his body seemed to stop flowing.

Sa Iijun's body was 195 cm tall, just as the website said. With such a large body, it seemed that he could kill Doyoung with one hand.

Doyoung had a premonition of his end and closed his eyes tightly.

Seungjae-ya, please take care of the hidden folder on the D drive of my computer. Mother, your poor son is not even a filial is going to die like this.

It's better to kill him with a painless blow.

At that moment, instead of exploding flames, Doyoung felt a weight fall on his shoulder.

Doyoung gently opened his eyes. Sa Iijun's shoulder was visible, his curly brown hair shining in front of his eyes as he leaned his forehead against Doyoung's shoulder.

Iijun murmured in a voice that sounded like a sigh.

"Want to sleep..."

Sa Iijun hadn't slept a single minute in the last five days. He couldn't stand the sleepless training, one of the extreme training of the special forces, and tried to escape.

However, Doyoung, who didn't know anything about it, was still in a panic. He couldn't understand what Sa Iijun was saying as he muttered in his ear.

When he turned his head like a creaking robot that hadn't been lubricated, Doyoung's ear and Iijun's cheek touched lightly.

At that moment, Iijun's large body shook.

"Eh...?"

Iijun raised his head with a surprised face, as if he had just experienced something incredible. For the first time, he could clearly see Doyoung's face.

The orange eyes staring directly at him were shaking like waves in the wind, until they slowly faded to their original brown color.

Iijun looked at Doyoung with a relieved smile, like a traveler in the desert who had found an oasis.

"Why... did you... just come now..."

"......?"

A soft voice, neither high nor low, tickled Doyoung's ears. A large palm wrapped itself warmly around Doyoung's cheeks, still frozen like a statue that only blinked, now wide open.

Before Doyoung understood what was happening, Iijun, who had closed his eyes, turned his face slightly, opened his lips softly, and slowly lowered his head.

Doyoung didn't notice that even though their noses touched, their lips moved closer.

As soon as something soft and hot touched him, like a static electric shock that erupted, Doyoung immediately took a deep breath and tried to move away, but there was only a wall behind his back.

"Umh..."

The two lips met, a boiling snort coming from the other's throat.

As one of the wooden thighs slid between the adjacent legs, Doyoung suddenly realized. He bit the tongue that played between his lips.

"Th, this crazy bastard!"

Doyoung closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fist, which he had never used before, to punch Sa Iijun in the face.

Sa Iijun's large body shook from Doyoung's punch, even though it was not very strong, and staggered to the side.

Sa Iijun, who fell to the ground with a thud like a fallen tree, closed his eyes and did not move.

Doyoung roughly wiped his lips with the back of his hand and stared at the unconscious Sa Iijun.

"You crazy person! Where are you pointing your mouth at me?"

Then the warning lights went out and the partition began to rise. Doyoung still couldn't calm his fear as his heart was still beating fast.

People streamed in, passing Doyoung as if he didn't exist, and headed for Iijun's place.

A middle-aged man in a white lab coat with black-rimmed horn-rimmed glasses approached Sa Iijun first and scanned his entire body with a machine that looked like a metal detector. Then, with a strange expression on his face, he turned around and asked Doyoung.

"You, are you a Guide?"

Why do people here always suspect him of being a Guide?

"No."

With a bored expression on his face, Doyoung opened the examination report he had just received from the doctor and held it up to the researcher's face. The researcher, who glanced up and down the paper while pushing the black horn frame, stared at Doyoung with a suspicious look for a while before losing interest and turning to Sa Iijun.

"Ha."

He (DY) burst out laughing in amazement. From the beginning to the end, it was the worst day ever. One of the things Doyoung hated the most was being swayed without any consideration of his intentions.

"What's going on here? Is an Esper in danger of escaping wandering around like this? Then what do you mean by turning off the blockade? You weren't planning on saving me in the first place, were you?"

The explorer's interest was focused only on the unconscious Esper, and he listened to Doyoung's words by answering without taking a breath.

"Yes, yes. You can go now."

"What did you say?"

Just as Doyoung was about to roll up his sleeves and have a serious debate about right and wrong, two men in military uniforms marked UEFC approached. Each of them was carrying a rifle that looked deadly at first glance.

He was shocked and protested.

"Ha, this doesn't make sense. What's going on? Are you saying that every time you bring someone in, you will use pressure to drive them out?"

Then the scientist turned to Doyoung and said.

"The pressure will be on our side first. Violence against Esper."

"That was self-defense! That bastard used his mouth!"

"Esper is a national treasure. If you make a single scratch on Sa Iijun's body, you should be prepared. The compensation will be huge. While I'm saying this nicely, please leave quietly."

"What did you say? Huh."

Doyoung, who looked shocked, wiped his lips several times while fanning his red face with his hand and shouted.

"Where's the elevator?"

Maybe that way, maybe.

***

"Haha, really?"

Doyoung told Seungjae everything except the kiss on his lips, but Seungjae didn't listen with his ears. Doyoung drained his glass calmly and looked at Seungjae, who was picking up the odeng skewer, with a frustrated face.

"Wow, you don't believe it?"

"Do I believe it? What? You hit Sa Iijun? Don't make it up, man."

"This is real. I hit him and he fainted right away."

"Pfft..."

"You did that? Why is someone like that hiding in Gangho? The legendary power that was sleeping inside has finally awakened..."

Seungjae smiled and poured alcohol into Doyoung's cup, who clenched his fists without the slightest threat.

"I didn't know you had that kind of courage."

"Oh my. Do you want to taste the fire fist?"

Two Korean University graduates were sitting in the corner of the restaurant, talking while exchanging glasses of odeng soup in the middle.

Since he had thrown away all his belongings when he thought of going to America, he thought he would have to stay at Seungjae's house for a while.

"I feel sorry for Jihyun. She will have a military family at her boyfriend's house. She can't come and play comfortably anymore."

"It's okay, she's been busy lately too, so she doesn't come to my house very often. By the way, what about your company?"

"I'll postpone my departure."

"Can you come? The plane."

Instead of answering, Doyoung emptied the glass that Seungjae had poured for him without hesitation. His fingertips felt cold when he thought that he might have to feel the pain again when his breath felt tight as if he was running out of oxygen.

He wasn't confident enough to say that he could make it through.

"Maybe. Haa... I don't know what will happen tomorrow."

He didn't know where to go after being demoted. Just when he felt like he was at a dead end, Doyoung's phone started ringing.

"Eh?"

Doyoung's head turned to the director's name on the screen. Seungjae looked at Doyoung and asked.

"Who is it?"

"Director..."

"Your director doesn't think you're on a plane right now?"

"I don't know... Yes. With me, Joo Doyoung."

Doyoung was surprised and answered the call with a cautious voice. He made conversation with a serious face. His brow furrowed. The call was then hung up in confusion.

"What happened? What did you say?"

Doyoung mumbled to Seungjae who asked anxiously.

"I... I don't think I have to go on the plane."

"Why? Did they say you will be fired completely?"

"No... I was recruited."

"Recruited? Where?"

Doyoung replied with confusion on his face, as if he was dreaming.

"...UEFC."

 

–

TL: Muji

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