Fractures in the Special Response Team
……………
"Yujin, are you okay?"
"Yes?"
"You look exhausted. If you're having a hard time, you can head home."
"No, I'm fine."
Of course, it was a lie. I wasn't fine at all.
Baek Sehee stared at me quietly before speaking up.
"Really? Your face doesn't look so sure."
"……."
"Wouldn't it be more comfortable staying home with me than out here?"
She was right. Being alone with Baek Sehee at her place meant my body could rest easy. I could just kill time doing nothing—playing games or surfing the web. And honestly, my mind felt at ease too. She took care of me and indulged my every whim.
That single-family house where we'd started living together was truly a cozy nest. Protected by the mother bird named Baek Sehee, fed and nurtured by her. It was incomparable to the harsh outside world.
But—
'If I always take the easy path, nothing will change.'
I couldn't live forever dependent on Baek Sehee in comfort. This was something I'd reminded myself of over and over, ever since I'd expressed my desire to work for her. I had to do something. I couldn't just go home and sit idle. If I stayed like that, I'd drown in the comfort she provided.
"No."
I steeled my resolve and shook my head.
"Really. I'm not tired."
Then Baek Sehee's expression changed. Just for an instant—truly a split second—it looked like she'd been shocked. Her eyes widened slightly, her lips stiffened. But it was over in a flash. A smile returned to her face soon after.
"……I see. Got it."
Baek Sehee nodded.
"Then for the morning, observe our Special Response Team's training from here."
"Yes."
Baek Sehee walked to the center of the training ground. I leaned against the wall.
'Observe, huh……'
It basically meant I had nothing specific to do. She wasn't going to teach me hands-on; I was just supposed to watch.
But what could I do? It was my first day.
Special Response Team members moved around the training ground, testing their abilities, attacking targets, or working on physical conditioning.
But soon, I noticed something odd.
As far as I knew, the Special Response Team had nine members excluding Baek Sehee. Yet they were clearly divided into two groups.
Four on the left side of the training ground, five on the right.
At first, I thought it was just coincidence. But as time passed, the formation didn't change. The left group stuck together on the left, the right on the right. They paired up only within their groups—for conversations, training, even grabbing water. They didn't even glance at each other.
'……What's going on?'
Kang Haneul had always operated solo, so I'd never seen Awakeners train in teams before. But I hadn't expected this level of division.
Baek Sehee had to know. She was an EX-rank Awakener and the team leader. Of course she knew.
So why let it slide? Had she tried to fix it and failed? Or was she just indifferent?
'I'll watch a bit more.'
It was in the middle of the morning training when Baek Sehee clapped her hands to gather the team.
"Now for two-person pair training. I'll assign the pairs."
The team members lined up in front of her. Four from the left group, five from the right. Still separated.
Baek Sehee looked at the assembled members and said,
"First pair…… An Kyungtae and Kim Taeyang. You two together."
The air in the training ground turned icy in an instant.
An Kyungtae was from the left group—a guy who looked like he'd stepped out of a comic, wearing shiny glasses. Kim Taeyang was from the right, with bleached blond hair and tanned bronze skin.
An Kyungtae spoke up.
"Team leader, can't I pair with someone else?"
Kim Taeyang chimed in almost simultaneously.
"I'd prefer someone else too!"
'……Refusing the team leader's orders?'
Was Baek Sehee being underestimated? But that didn't seem likely. I'd seen her handle business over the phone while staying at the house. She wasn't lacking in ability or presence.
'Then……'
My guess: the Awakeners' egos were too inflated. In this world, Awakeners were like heroes from hero movies working for a government agency. They hated submitting to the hierarchy that ordinary people followed.
No hard evidence, but based on Moon Yujin's past memories, it felt right. Like a web-slinging hero never fully obeying a higher-ranked metal-suited one.
Baek Sehee stared at them silently for a moment, then hardened her expression.
"No. Follow my orders."
'Oh……'
But no matter how strong their egos, this was Korea, and they were Awakeners, not heroes. At Baek Sehee's firm command, An Kyungtae and Kim Taeyang didn't hide their displeasure but complied.
The mock battle began.
Kim Taeyang charged forward. His ability seemed close-combat enhancement. Flames wrapped around his fist as he hammered the front line.
But his opponents didn't sit idle. The front counterattacked, while the back provided ranged support. Kim Taeyang was quickly overwhelmed.
He glanced back.
"Hey! What the hell?!"
His rearguard, An Kyungtae, stood at the back. He hadn't activated his ability. He was just……watching.
Kim Taeyang yelled,
"An Kyungtae! Support! Help me out!"
Only then did An Kyungtae provide cover. His attack……beams shot from his glasses.
But they all missed. Suspiciously so—his accuracy was abysmal.
In the end, Kim Taeyang went down. Not fatally, since it was mock battle, but he'd taken real hits.
The fight ended.
Soon after, a recovered Kim Taeyang jumped up and stormed toward An Kyungtae.
"You bastard!"
He grabbed An Kyungtae's collar.
"Why didn't you support me?! You saw me charge!"
An Kyungtae shook off his hand.
"Me? Support you? Why should I?"
"You fucking—!!"
Flames erupted on Kim Taeyang's fist. An Kyungtae didn't back down. His glasses flashed brightly.
Both were dead serious now—far beyond the mock battle intensity, clearly out for blood.
"Hey, hey, stop it!"
Finally, the other team members rushed in to separate them. No bloodshed occurred.
Kim Taeyang panted heavily, glaring at An Kyungtae. An Kyungtae stared back expressionlessly.
As things settled, Baek Sehee stepped forward, arms crossed.
"Morning training ends here. Go wash up and have lunch."
The team dispersed. Into their two groups, as always.
And I watched it all from the bench.
'……There's bad blood between those two.'
Not just personality clash. A personal grudge.
And Baek Sehee……was just letting it happen.
Baek Sehee walked over to me.
"Yujin, let's go eat lunch."
"Ah, yes!"
I stood and followed her. As we left the training ground, I glanced back.
The Special Response Team was still split into two groups.
We finished lunch and returned to the training ground. Afternoon training wasn't starting for a while yet. The team members were scattered, resting.
Baek Sehee headed to a small office in one corner. It was cramped but equipped with a desk, chair, printer, and file cabinets—everything needed.
She sat at the desk and said,
"Yujin, I have paperwork to do until afternoon training starts."
She pulled out her laptop and set it on the desk.
"Is there anything I can help with?"
Baek Sehee paused as if thinking, then took something from her bag. A handheld game console.
The one she'd brought to the house so I wouldn't get bored. I'd actually played it quite a bit and enjoyed it.
"I brought this just in case. You can play with it while I work."
She placed the console in my hands.
"Yes……?"
My mind went blank.
A game console? During work hours, at the Awakener Association HQ training ground? Like tossing a toy to a puppy?
My chest tightened.
"I……don't think that's necessary."
Baek Sehee tilted her head.
"Why? You'll get bored."
"Still……."
It was hard to respond. How should I explain? That I wasn't here to play, but to work? But she was my employer. If she said there was nothing to do and to relax, what could I say?
Of course, I could follow her orders and goof off. That was the easiest path.
But I didn't want to.
It would make me truly worthless.
"Sehee."
"Yes?"
"I……have something I want to do."
Baek Sehee's fingers paused over the laptop keyboard.
"I'd like to observe the training ground more. Watch the Special Response Team members train some more."
Silence fell. For a few seconds.
I couldn't read her expression since she was facing the screen. But……something felt off. Her fingers, which had been typing steadily, had stopped. Just frozen.
But the eerie stillness didn't last.
"……Got it."
Baek Sehee spoke again. Though her tone was subtly different—lower, somehow.
"Do that, then."
A curt reply.
"Thank you!"
Baek Sehee resumed typing, eyes on her screen. I set the console on the desk and headed to the training ground.
I felt her gaze on my back. But when I turned, she was looking at her laptop.
'……She's not upset that I won't play games, is she? No, that can't be.'
I shook my head and walked toward the training ground.