Confession
"One, two."
"Got it!"
"Manager! There, hold it up more right there!"
"Alright!"
"Hngh."
After breakfast came the big cleanup. Base members hauled every corpse from the first floor to the fourth out to the playground. Dozens of them—chunks scattered with guts and fragments flying everywhere.
"Third floor's done!"
No one complained, though. These people had all suffered the Liberation Army's brutality firsthand. They knew exactly why these bastards had died.
"Unnie, help me with this one."
"Yeah, Yuri. Where's Seoyul?"
"She went to puke in the bathroom."
"Ah..."
Of course, a few dropped out midway from the gruesome scenes, but that was another story. Nine people puked or grimaced but pulled together to clean up Gaeseong High School from top to bottom.
"First floor's wrapped up too!"
"Alright, everyone grab mops from the cleaning closet!"
"Yes sir! Where do we start, Manager?!"
"Third floor, obviously! Start from the bottom and you'll just track blood everywhere! Hurry up—we gotta finish before the boss shows!"
"Got it!"
Cleanup wrapped around one in the afternoon. Choi Yuri and Kim Yunjin emerged from the cafeteria, calling everyone over.
"Lunchtime, people!"
"Roger!"
I watched the crowd pour into the cafeteria, then blinked up to the rooftop.
Meeting at two, huh.
The big assembly. I'd already decided to skip it. Back when Hwang Jinseok and Lee Jeongsu rebelled, I'd backed Jeong Suhyun to give him leverage.
Of course, this move's softened up the base crew for sure.
Suhyun's personality meant he'd shoot first if shit hit the fan—no worries there. But I wasn't planning to attend any more big meetings. I had way more to handle outside than in.
Whoooosh.
Fourth-floor main building rooftop. I breathed in the chilly wind and peered down. Dongseong Market and alleys toward Namdong Station came into view. Just the buildings from the urban area where I'd blinked before.
Definitely solid.
Good spot, but still. I blinked down to the front gate. Wanted to eyeball all four sides myself.
Front gate first. You had to cross the full playground to reach it, putting it right up against Room 409—the night watch command post on the fourth floor. We could see them, but they couldn't see us. Kill the lights at night, and we'd always get first strike. Easy to defend. Couldn't even see inside from there.
Next, the sides. Right flank was where I'd blinked in—toward Dongseong Market and Namdong Station. Most worrisome direction, but 3-to-4-meter walls meant climbers would struggle hard.
And sturdy too.
Left side was identical. Big trees and brick walls—if we kept detection rotations on time, no damage would get through.
Last, the back gate. There was a rear exit, but sealed shut. Blinked over for a touch—rusted solid. The alley behind led to sketchy backstreets, so they'd probably blocked it off ages ago.
About two meters high.
Not tall, not short. Screeeeech. Grazed it, and it let out a hair-raising creak. Anyone forcing through would make noise for sure. Risky, but not bad. Gave us time to react.
Plus, no people around here anyway.
If I weren't off hunting family, this could've been a perfect base. One sentry way back there, one per floor up top—bam, instant response.
Creak. Click.
I circled the interior once more. Main building, gym, cafeteria.
"Ah, Boss!"
Thud thud thud.
But as I checked the cafeteria, Kim Yunjin—who'd been at the door—rushed over.
Still hanging around?
Pretty sure I'd seen everyone leave earlier. Guess she stayed for cleanup.
"Kim Yunjin?"
"Figured you weren't coming."
Hehe. Kim Yunjin grinned. Not her usual self. She'd been dead serious at breakfast—face and tone—but these glimpses were kinda cute.
"Here."
She handed me a tray and utensils.
This thing...
I flipped the cafeteria tray over. School lunch tray. Never thought I'd see one again pushing thirty.
Eating off these, huh.
Made sense—no point hauling fancy plates when these washed easy.
"What's up?"
"Nah, just... been a while."
Last time was the army, probably. My generation didn't even get trays in reserves anymore. Nostalgic.
She blinked at me.
"Oh right. You're the same age as Suhyun, aren't you."
Nodding, Kim Yunjin. Felt weird, so I asked.
"...Why the face?"
"Nah, you just look young. Minus the fierce vibe. Only six years older than me, right?"
Young-looking. Six years was a gap. But "fierce" bugged me more.
"First time anyone's called me fierce."
Weird word. Not scary, not sharp—fierce?
She beamed.
"Well, you're handsome anyway. I like you fierce."
"......"
Flirting hard. She'd made the first move before, but never this bold.
"Anyway, you must be starving. Eat up."
Before I could respond, she dragged me to the food line.
"Oh."
My eyes lit up. First post-apocalypse spread like this. Fruit punch, fritters, and...
"...Seasoned ribs?"
"Hehe, yep. My handiwork."
"You cook too?"
"Hobby. Pretty good for a hobby, right? All mine."
She shrugged. Damn right. She guided me, introducing each dish.
"Made fruit punch 'cause we had soda. Rice fritters from Joo Seonghyeon's summons—found batter mix. And these ribs... supposed to marinate, but people gotta eat..."
Chattering away. I just watched.
If I hadn't hit Our Love Church...
No Choi Yuri, no Jeong Dojin. Probably no Kim Jungshik crew. No Kim Yunjin smiling like this.
Made me feel good. Like my efforts weren't wasted.
But...
"Boss?"
My thoughts snapped. She'd leaned in, peering.
"Yeah."
She blinked.
"Hehe, talked too much? Dig in."
"Sure."
She scooped food onto my tray. I started eating.
"Good, right?"
"Damn good."
No lie. Homemade and delicious.
"Better tools here. Church was just grill or pot. Proper kitchen makes it easy."
"Makes sense."
I cooked too—got it. But massive pots into gourmet? Impressive.
"Oh, water too."
"Thanks."
Finished a full, real meal for once.
"Thanks for the grub, Yunjin."
"No biggie."
She beamed. We washed up together, then I sat.
"So."
"Hm?"
Blinking at me.
"What'd you wanna say, waiting like that?"
I stared. She glanced around.
"Meeting's soon."
1:50 now. Lunch at one, meeting at two—she shouldn't be here. Spotted me skipping and waited, probably.
Some dilemma?
Hard to spill alone sometimes.
"Spit it out."
Better catch problems early.
I watched her fidget. She pondered, then spoke.
"...Gonna confess to you, Boss. Rationally. I like you."
I froze. Took a second to process.
"...What?"
Confession. Out of nowhere.
I knew she liked me. But this urgent?
"Yunjin."
"What? You said casual."
Staring dead serious. Black obsidian eyes locked on mine.
"......"
Tricky. Didn't see it coming.
But had to answer. She mustered courage.
"I..."
"Nah."
"Huh?"
She shook her head.
"No answer needed. Just reserving you."
"Reserving?"
I frowned. She ignored it.
"I know what you do. Know the situation. Don't wanna get in your way."
"This already messed with my head."
Would linger now.
She smiled faintly.
"Yeah? Still, wanted to say it before dying."
"Dying?"
No way she'd die.
But she shook her head.
"Just... after talking this morning, it hit me. World's unpredictable."
"......"
"Don't say 'you won't.' I know shit's not that simple."
"That so."
"Yeah."
Her dark eyes held mine. I sighed.
"...One question."
"Shoot."
"Why me?"
I was curious. Knew the attraction. But not just rescue gratitude. Hearts are messy—wanted reasons.
She pouted, incredulous.
"...Reasons? You just like people."
"......"
I shut up. She laughed.
"Just is. No reason."
"......"
I stared. She went materialistic.
"Fine, crass take: Snag this guy, eat well forever? And your face is my type?"
Pfft. She cracked up, tapping the tray. Tick tick.
"Ugh, damn it. Anyway, answer later—after everything. I've got tons of patience. I'll wait."
She stood, heading to the main building.
"Argh! Mortifying!"
Bolted without my reply. Willful girl.
"Haa..."
But her words rang true. One more worry piled on.
Frustrating.
No answers. Too much to do, like she said.
Click.
I headed straight to the command post, Room 409.