STJ_05

"Isn't he amazing? This Sa Iijun."

Haesu said with a proud face as she looked out the window. Her voice was full of pride like a parent showing off his son's achievements.

"......"

Doyoung, who was in awe, did not answer. There, the Crawlers exploded into shapeless pieces.

Sa Iijun looked somehow free amidst the blood that was scattered in the air along with the billowing black smoke. There was no fear of injury or death on his blurry face, as if he was under the influence of drugs.

Did he always fight like this? He didn't seem to care when he would die.

Haesu continued to talk to Doyoung, who was completely overwhelmed by Iijun's appearance.

"Full Metal Baby, doesn't that nickname fit him well?"

"......yes."

"People think it was made up by fans, but it was actually a nickname given by one of the UEFC executives."

Only then did Doyoung realize his task and immediately picked up a pen and began to take notes.

[Where did Sa Iijun's nickname come from? It was given by UEFC executives.]

He thought it would be great to include it in the article and get a lot of reactions. This was a world where what Sa Iijun ate and wore became a hot topic.

"Having two attributes is one thing, but there's something else that makes Sa Iijun really special. It's that most attacks don't work on him. He's completely full metal, a steel. Did you know that the Creature's claws are poisonous? Our Sa Iijun is immune to that."

"Is it okay to record this information?"

"No, it doesn't matter. This is also known. Even if the Creature could read the newspaper, what would it do?"

Creatures have tremendous destructive power, but they are not intelligent. The only thing they have is hunger and aggression like a barbel.

Doyoung, who was nodding his head and taking notes, suddenly felt confused and asked Haesu.

"Besides Full Metal, the nickname Baby... Could it be because he's still young, 22 years old?"

"No..."

Her answering voice sounded like a sigh that seemed to be filled with some kind of deep lamentation.

"Then..."

"That's because he's such a crybaby."

"......ah."

"He's a good kid. Doyoung-ssi would know that if he knew him."

Doyoung thought about what he might have to go through with Sa Iijun.

"Ah, if it's a secret. It'll be hard when our Sa Iijun fans leave. Half of the kids who enlist in the military these days come just to see him."

[Baby? Crybaby.]

Doyoung drew a line across the text he had just written. On the other side, a blazing flame radiated from outside the glass. The rumbling sound of the earth shaking continued.

"Haa..."

Sighing sadly, he looked back and saw the researchers in white coats holding their foreheads. Their half-resigned expressions seemed to say, 'Okay. Just kill them, kill them all', accompanied by a feeling of resignation.

In an instant, their expressions changed.

"Huh? What's wrong with him?"

Doyoung turned his head again at these words. Outside the window, Sa Iijun stood motionless like a statue in the middle of the Arena, staring at them.

For a moment, he felt as if he had made eye contact with him. Doyoung then asked the female soldier sitting at the console.

"Excuse me. Is it possible for our side to be seen from the outside?"

"Not visible."

Feeling relieved for no reason, Doyoung nodded and went back to writing. But for some reason, he felt something inexplicable.

When he looked up again, he saw the figure of Sa Iijun coming towards him.

His partner, who had used telekinesis to push the Creature in the opposite direction, was furious.

"Crazy bastard! Where did you go?"

Sa Iijun turned for a moment to face his screaming Esper partner. Immediately, with a splashing sound, the body of the Creature chasing him was ripped apart.

When he turned around, his eyes shone as if they were on fire.

Sa Iijun closed his eyes and pressed both of his hands against the glass, as if trying to look into something invisible, his orange glow still fixed on the side where Doyoung was.

"Ah, are you sure he can't see it?"

Feeling uneasy, Doyoung asked again.

"He doesn't see it now. He feels it."

The answer came from Haesu. Iijun tapped the glass with the tip of his index finger and signaled for the observation room door to open, but Haesu pretended not to see him and spoke to Doyoung.

"Chief Joo Doyoung, have you ever heard of a fish called knifefish?"

"No."

"It is a fish that lives in the rivers of South America. They use electric currents to classify and find food and mates. They also communicate with each other through electric currents and build a living environment with their own power."

Only then did he remember that the nature of water as an electrolyte is also electric.

"Everyone has different currents. Espers with electrical attributes can sense it."

"Ah... I see."

While the two were talking, Colonel Gong Hyeongcheol grabbed the microphone again and shouted.

"Why are you here? Go to the recovery room and get instructions."

He spoke like he was chasing a dog before turning off the microphone and giving orders to the soldier sitting at the console.

"Don't listen to this guy and open B2."

After the soldier manipulated the panel at Gong Hyeongcheol's command, the opposite wall split open, revealing a passageway. The other Espers fled through the passage to the recovery room and the cleaning of the Arena began automatically.

Disinfectant was sprayed from the ceiling onto the part of the open wall, then machines like vacuum cleaners came out and began to clean up the remains of the Creature.

Iijun, however, was still standing right in front of the observation room window, his lips puckered and pouting. Then he gestured as if to tell him(DY) to go away.

"......?"

What do you mean by that? Don't tell me, that's impossible.

Doyoung tried to calm his nerves and concentrate on what he had to do. He observed every corner of the Arena and made a brief note of the extraordinary level of technical skill.

"Ahh, tha, that bastard!"

At that moment, Colonel Gong Hyeongcheol's urgent voice was heard. When he looked up, he saw Sa Iijun placing his palm on the window in a sentimental manner like a movie hero reuniting with his lover after a long separation.

Immediately after that, a cracking sound was heard. Cracks began to appear from where his palm was, glowing red like lava.

Doyoung was shocked and unconsciously took a step back.

"Everyone, step back!"

As soon as Colonel Gong Hyeongcheol shouted, a thunderous sound was heard and the glass separating the observation room from the Arena shattered and fell to the ground.

Iijun jumped out of the open window and entered the observation room. The soldiers, standing like a wall, raised their weapons and prepared to shoot at Sa Iijun.

As if not seeing them, Iijun calmly approached Doyoung.

His eyes burned like the exploding sun, but his face was flushed, like a fresh scent of spring.

"You came to see me, right?"

"......?"

The people's eyes gathered. Doyoung blinked his eyelids a few times in confusion.

He even forgot what to say because of his embarrassment. Iijun, who was standing right in front of Doyoung, spoke passionately with a trembling voice, almost like a confession of love.

"That day, that feeling... I wasn't the only one who felt it."

"Yes?"

"You don't know how long I waited."

Doyoung's eyes, which had been roaming around, finally turned to Iijun. The whites on either side of his orange eyes were very clean. That was what crossed his mind as soon as their eyes met.

Sa Iijun had such clear eyes.

His grandmother's words were true. Crazy people have clear eyes.

However, he didn't have time to continue his thoughts because Sa Iijun's action of immediately attaching his thick forearm to his waist successfully made Doyoung's body feel like it was being sucked into Iijun's embrace.

The body was like iron metal, and the air that had gathered in his lungs came out gasping when he hit it. The edge of the notebook he was holding was soaked with the Creature's blood, which stuck to Sa Iijun's clothes.

"You are right. I also have a Guide. Haa..."

The high bridge of his nose pressed against Doyoung's neck. Iijun, bending his back, put his nose under Doyoung's earlobe and sniffed it for a long time, as if he enjoyed foreplay before dinner.

Slurp.

His rough tongue tasted the back of Doyoung's neck as if he were tasting it.

Doyoung stiffened in the same position as when he had held his notebook, sending goosebumps from the back of his head down his entire body, to the point where he could not even move a single finger.

It was as if he had been captured by a large animal. Every time his neck was licked by that tongue, like a lion tasting its prey, its sharp teeth lightly grazed his smooth skin. It was an unreasonable thought, but the fear of being eaten appeared in his mind. Because of this feeling of fear, his body stiffened.

Haesu rescued the frozen Doyoung.

"Enough of this. Second Lieutenant Sa Iijun, you are subject to disciplinary action under Article 69 of the Military Criminal Law for damaging military facilities and Article 44 for disobeying orders."

Iijun, who was busy with intense activities that were heating up, turned around and glared at Haesu.

"Why! I did nothing wrong!"

"Your charges were added for insulting a superior."

Haesu calmly made a slight gesture with his face. Then four or five armed soldiers approached.

Haesu's stern voice could be heard again.

"Second Lieutenant Sa Iijun, let go immediately and cooperate with the arrest."

"Are you crazy? No way.”

As if not wanting to lose what he had, Iijun crossed his arms and turned to the side while hugging Doyoung tightly.

Doyoung's toes left the ground and floated in the air. He was hugged so tightly that it felt like his ribs would break.

"This is an order. If you don't obey, you will never see him again."

"......!"

Iijun, who had been struggling between reason and instinct, put Doyoung down with a grim face. After that, the soldiers surrounded Iijun.

Haesu ordered the soldiers as if threatening them.

"If Junior Lieutenant Sa Iijun resists arrest, report it immediately. We will make him unable to see the sunlight for a long time.

Jeon Haesu was almost the only person Sa Iijun had listened to since his youth.

Sa Iijun, his face filled with hatred, was taken out by the soldiers. Even as he stomped away, Iijun never took his eyes off Doyoung.

"I will be back soon, so wait for me. You can't go anywhere, okay? Okay?"

After the man left, Haesu looked at Doyoung, who looked half-dazed, and asked.

"Why is he like that? Chief Joo Doyoung."

"I don't know either.”

Haesu, who seemed to be thinking, looked at Doyoung who was standing in front of the door where Iijun had left with a suspicious look and asked a question that had secretly crossed her mind.

"You really don't know? Why did he do that?"

"....huh?"

Haesu removed the doubt from her face and smiled mysteriously in her heart again.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

Then she stretched her body as if tired and made a suggestion in a casual tone.

"Chief Joo, if you are not busy, why don't we have tea together to get to know each other?"

"Yes? Tea?"

Doyoung asked, tilting his head.

Does the commander here still have time to have tea with an employee who used to be a reporter?

Haesu waved her hand as if she understood Doyoung's thoughts and continued.

"I'm not going to eat you. I just want to talk to a civilian. I'm also curious how Chief Joo lives."

At that moment, the deep voice of a strange man interrupted their conversation.

"I want to talk to you first."

Doyoung turned to see who the voice belonged to and sighed sadly.

Why was the world so cruel to him?

The man who suddenly appeared was Sa Kangjun, who Doyoung had recently written about in his article. And according to his memory, it was not a favorable article.

 

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TL: Muji

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