STJ_08

For a moment, Doyoung doubted his ears. Either he couldn't pronounce it correctly or he was deliberately teasing him by calling him 'Master', but Iijun, who was shouting loudly, immediately came towards him.

Quickly, Doyoung looked away and pretended not to see.

"Master!"

Then the sound of the call grew louder. Iijun ran toward him carrying a tray. He (DY) could see the bean sprout soup in his bowl overflowing above the surface of the water. Doyoung immediately reassured Iijun.

"I understand, so walk! Walk!"

Only then did Iijun, who had braked both his legs and slowed down, come with a happy face like a dog that had found its master.

The people at the same table looked uncomfortable as an Esper in battle gear approached. He (DY) felt a strange incompatibility. The atmosphere was awkward, as if someone everyone avoided had shown up at a birthday party uninvited.

But that made no sense. There was no way they would be uncomfortable with an Esper who was welcome everywhere and coveted by many.

"Master..."

Iijun, standing right in front of the table, smiled brightly and called out to Doyoung in an affectionate voice. If he had a tail, it would definitely be wagging behind him.

Feeling like he was the center of everyone's attention in the cafeteria, Doyoung made a shadow with his hand over his eyebrows to cover his face.

"First of all, can you pronounce it correctly? Not 'Master*,' but ‘Chief**’’."

*t/n: *주인(ju-in); **주임(ju-im).

"Let's eat together."

A thin line appeared between Doyoung's eyebrows. Iijun didn't listen to Doyoung's words and just said what he wanted to say. He (IJ) then looked down and stared coldly at Hyeju who was sitting in front of Doyoung.

Doyoung quickly drew a line.

"Sorry. I was with my friend."

"Friend? What are you eating with that person?"

Hyeju, who had suddenly become 'that person', looked at Iijun to see. Hyeju, who was disturbed by the aura released by Iijun who looked down with his cold eyes as if telling her to go alone, grabbed the food tray and lifted her butt from the chair.

"I'm, I'm going somewhere else..."

"Where are you going?"

Doyoung grabbed Hyeju and stopped her. Meanwhile, Iijun's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at Doyoung's hand holding Hyeju's arm.

Despite Iijun's expression, Doyoung subtly expressed his refusal.

"I'm sorry, but there are things that should be discussed between people from the same department."

".....yes?”

Iijun tilted his head like a curious puppy.

"I need to talk to her about something."

"Is that so? Then go?"

Sa Iijun tilted his head in the opposite direction. The scene was very cute, but in addition to the cuteness, he was also amazed by Sa Iijun's determination not to back down. Had this child never been rejected by anyone?

"We finished eating. Wouldn't it be nice if Esper Sa Iijun ate with his comrades?"

"Ah..."

Iijun exclaimed briefly, as if he finally realized that Doyoung had rejected him.

Sa Iijun's bright eyes turned dark for a moment. He moved his lips a few times as if he did not know what to say, sighed heavily, and turned away with sadness on his face.

Hyeju leaned over and asked in a dead voice.

"Sa Iijun, why is he like this? Chief Joo, do you know Esper Sa Iijun?"

"No, I don't. I think he mistook me for someone else."

"That's right. But that's a bit... unfortunately."

"Yes?"

Hyeju gestured instead of answering her question. Doyoung turned his head and looked in the direction he pointed.

Iijun's back was getting smaller. Although Sa Iijun's inverted triangular back was quite wide, he looked shabby because of his drooping shoulders.

There was something furry hanging from the belt holster of his combat uniform. It was a keychain for the famous children's cartoon character 'Yopy'.

Every time he walked, the golden-furred stuffed dog hanging from his waist looked pitiful. I don't know why he kept staring at it.

The Esper sitting nearby giggled and pointed at Sa Iijun as he walked with heavy steps.

Sa Iijun, who had placed his untouched plate in the plate return bin as if it had been thrown away, created a basketball-sized fireball in the palm of his hand and threw it at the table where his colleagues were sitting. The table caught fire.

"Uwaah!"

In a few seconds, the sprinklers activated and the fire was extinguished, but the Espers were as wet as drowned rats.

***

There is a park between the UEFC headquarters and the staff residence. The park, which has an area of about 5,000 pyeong* and includes large buildings, is called 'Sa Geonho Memorial Park'.

*t/n: about 1.6 hectares.

After their meal, Doyoung went out to buy a cup of coffee for Hyeju as they walked around the park.

"I thought the weather would be hot since people are out having picnics."

Doyoung nodded at Hyeju's words and looked around.

In the beautiful garden, with spring colors as far as the eye could see, there was a large lawn with lush trees behind it. He could see people lying on picnic mats, resting and reading books.

"Shall we sit there?"

Hyeju pointed to the bench in front of the statue. The closer he came, the more surprised he was by the size and refinement of the statue.

The statue, made by a famous sculptor over the years, was of Sa Geonho with an unreadable poker face.

"Wow…”

When he stood in front of the statue, he was reminded of the two brothers, Sa Kangjun and Sa Iijun. In particular, Sa Kangjun looked more like his father, Sa Geonho, as if his entire appearance had been taken from him.

On the other hand, Sa Iijun, who resembled his mother and looked nothing like his father, inherited the flame that was an attribute of Sa Geonho.

"After all, it's still a statue of a living person..."

Doyoung sat on the bench and muttered to himself. Hyeju smiled and nodded slightly in agreement.

"Still, it's an achievement worthy of a statue."

Doyoung nodded in agreement as well. It was an achievement he had no choice but to acknowledge.

The gate had first appeared on the European continent. About 30 years ago, the Gate appeared in Asia, which was considered safe.

Without Sa Geonho, the only S-class Esper in Korea at that time, the initial suppression would not have been possible, and Seoul's rescue operation would have failed. There would have been millions of casualties. Maybe even ten million.

"By the way, Chief Joo, how did you get here? It must have been difficult for you to make that decision."

Indeed, in the few days since he had arrived at the UEFC, he had met people who looked at him with hostility. Starting with the Esper, because he had written an article about the UEFC, they felt quite confident in their position, so they felt resentful.

"I don't think it makes sense either. The people I criticized until yesterday suddenly became colleagues. So I asked the UEFC HR representative at the meeting and got three times the salary I was getting."

"Wow, and what did they say?"

"I talked to someone on the phone and they said it was great."

"That's great... If I get a recruitment offer later, I'll try it too."

Doyoung, who was discussing this and that with Hyeju, accidentally turned his attention to a building in front of him. The UEFC logo was shining on the top of a large building, overwhelming the people standing in front of it.

Hyeju asked Doyoung, who was sipping a hot Americano in the cold weather.

"Chief Joo, did you say you were going to look around the research building tomorrow?"

"Yes. They said I can only go in if I have level 3 or higher security, so I decided to meet someone at headquarters to guide me."

"Uhh, that's scary. Be careful.”

Hyeju shivered and rubbed her arms.

"What is it? Ah, I heard there's a Creature for research as well?"

He had heard that the UEFC captured Creatures and locked them up for research. At first, he thought it was just a rumor, but after seeing the training in the Arena with his own eyes last time, he had no choice but to believe it.

"It's not that. It's an Esper."

Doyoung looked at Hyeju with a confused expression.

"What about the Esper?"

"I'm afraid they'll go on a rampage."

"Ah, rampage."

"Just... They don't look human. The more I look at them, the more frightening they are... Chief Joo, did you know? Our country receives money and lends Esper to other countries."

"Yes?"

"They call it overseas business trips or military missions, but I don't think that's what it is. UEFC looks like a defense company, and the Esper is a weapon similar to a next-generation fighter plane.”

Hyeju has a weak heart. She joined the UEFC at the request of her parents, who wanted her to have a steady job, but the work here and what she saw and learned on the job did not suit her personality at all.

"Espers become soldiers as soon as they are born. Even at the age of eight or nine, they can become soldiers. They practice killing from childhood. At our age of memorizing the multiplication table, they learn where and how to attack and die."

"......"

"When you see them swarming around in black combat uniforms, it looks like a black flag calling for death..."

Doyoung looked at the shiny silver building and dreamed.

What exactly is an Esper?

The social phenomenon called 'alone in the crowd' seemed to refer to them, the Esper, who were envied yet admired by many. Still, no one wanted to stand next to them.

The only time they were seen was when the Creatures appeared, and they came with the risks they took. If it were not for the war, they would just be dangerous elements on the verge of escaping and killing others at any moment.

"Anyway, if you go to the lab, be careful."

".....okay. I understand.”

Doyoung answered Hyeju's worried words with a bitter smile on his lips.

Until that moment, he hadn't expected the kind of surprise he would receive at the research lab he had visited for his report.

It was a scene that Doyoung saw the next day that would stay in his mind for a very long time and would never go away.

–

TL: Muji

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