The Absolute Authority of Seniors
There was one rule that was never to be broken.
That was the absolute authority of the seniors in this unit.
While it was said that orders, instructions, and interference between Awakened personnel were forbidden, of course they were never followed.
It didn’t matter how long they’d been in the unit; it was simply because in ordinary Awakener units, the longer someone stayed, the stronger they were.
Before Gates had wiped out the previous enemy, the army that used this base had supposedly stopped after eating enough rice cakes to retire—another way of saying they’d left active duty.
But the Awakened were different.
Every day, Gates and monsters appeared, and the people who had voluntarily signed up to deal with them formed a group.
Unless they went out of their own free will, they had no choice but to keep doing this work forever.
Moreover, the contract clearly stated that once you went out, you could never re-enroll.
In other words, whether you died, suffered a major injury, or voluntarily resigned, you couldn’t put the uniform back on once you stepped away.
“Ha.”
That was why it was understandable that Kim Heejin had shown such a reaction.
“What…? Did I hear that wrong?”
It was also understandable that Yeon Byeori, who was always looking at her phone without saying anything, had reacted that way.
“Hey, Yuna. What did you just say? That’s not right… You’re still a junior compared to Harang, Seung-ah, and Hyeon. You can’t say something like that.”
Yeon Byeori had said it wasn’t right. It was only natural when comparing deployment numbers.
In some cases, they went out more than five times a week, and at least twice a week.
And the more it piled up, the bigger the gap became.
Even just looking at me and Jeong Seung-ah made the answer obvious.
Direct senior. She was only three months older than me, but the experience clearing Gates and monsters differed by two full decades.
So what about Kim Heejin and Jeong Seung-ah, who had more than two years of experience? It didn’t even need to be said.
Jeong Seung-ah was the direct senior, but in the end, even Ji Yuna had an unbridgeable gap with Kim Heejin.
“Hey.”
Kim Heejin said it in the same tone she always used, which made it even scarier.
“Hey.”
When there was no answer, she asked again while pulling her hair tie out to tie the back of her hair into one thick ponytail.
The back of her neck was exposed because the long hair that reached her shoulders was now tied up.
It was a thin, pale neck that didn’t look particularly strong.
Yet no one could open their mouth. Not even the one who had sighed.
“Hey, Yuna.”
“C-c-combat-type Ji Yuna.”
“What did I just hear?”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“Do you know how big the difference is?”
Kim Heejin’s tone had begun to slip. The standard language she always used was cracking.
What did that mean? She was really angry.
“You and me. It’s been more than two years. You damn brat.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Even if you only deployed twice a week, you think you know how big the difference is? Hey, go ahead and calculate it yourself.”
“I’m sorry…”
“How many people under me and that guy died over two years? How many retired for not being able to handle it? Did you go crazy because you were too friendly with me and that human?”
“I’m sorry…”
“What do you have to be sorry for? Hey, did I call you a dog? I told you to do something you weren’t doing and you just lay there with a sigh.”
In the heavy atmosphere, Kim Heejin waved her hand in a hwe-hwe gesture toward Yuna.
“If you don’t want to do it, just stay here. Don’t deploy, don’t eat, damn it. I even covered for you every time you deployed, and now…”
“R-really. I’m really sorry.”
The atmosphere was stifling. Even if I stayed still, it felt like it would stick to my skin. It wasn’t the situation I always cried about and wanted to cry over.
It was just the eyes darting around.
Yuna’s face had already turned pale and then completely white, and Kim Heejin’s forehead wasn’t about to smooth out.
Thankfully, she hadn’t even touched her. If she had gone even a little further, it would have been a situation that couldn’t be undone.
“Hah!”
I raised my hand. If asked why, I would answer boldly. “Because I felt like throwing up.”
“…Seo Harang.”
“Combat-type Seo Harang! I think we should start now!”
There was a brief silence.
“Is there anyone who wants to go to the seniors?”
Not long after, Kim Heejin poked my side and said that.
“Combat-type Seo Harang. I’m sorry. If we stay like this…”
“I know. I thought those idiots on the other side might come looking for us.”
“No. Actually, I just felt like I was going to throw up.”
“Pffh… That’s funny. Hoo…”
Did my face look that ridiculous? Kim Heejin, who had glanced at me, calmed down.
She wiped her face with both hands and walked outside.
And without anyone saying a word, I followed right behind. Except for Yuna.
Yuna, who had been hesitating on what to do in this situation, missed her chance to slip in between us.
“That bastard probably just wanted to live however he wanted.”
That had been the worst choice.
But there was nothing more I could do about it now…
No, what else could I have done? I was satisfied enough just to get out of that situation.
Feeling the refreshing wind that refreshed the atmosphere, I asked Kim Heejin.
“Kim Heejin Combat-type?”
“Mm? What?”
“Did the anger subside at all?”
“Anger?”
She hadn’t been angry at all, but apparently she had been.
“Mm, thanks to you, it did a little.”
“Thanks to me? It was just that the atmosphere became super friendly…”
“That’s true. But I could tell the anger had cooled when you couldn’t pull your face worth a damn.”
“Ah.”
Hey, earn your face.
That was a line I’d heard way too much lately.
Wasn’t I fitting in? If I could look in a mirror at my own actions, I’d be happy.
Anyway, I hurried to the assembly point. I hadn’t even thought we might be the last ones.
But it turned out like this.
“…It’s a complete mess.”
Kim Heejin’s words matched the scene: a group scattered without any rules.
When I glanced around, the seniors were missing. Other living quarters seemed to be following the same pattern as ours.
“These crazy kids.”
And Kim Heejin was looking at the second living quarter of ours.
In the entire unit, it was one of the top seniors—within five fingers.
It was a stark reminder of how broken the balance between living quarters had become.
With that one word, the old timers who had been scattered were now gathering busily. Apparently, when senior members gathered, it was supposed to look cool, but why was there no coolness at all? And I was in the middle of it, so it probably looked spectacular from a distance.
“Um… Everyone’s here?”
The officer standing on the podium asked. He was the kind of person who never managed to lift his spirits and just lived like that. As a high officer, the actual old timers were Kim Jihye and Kim Heejin, who were far above him.
“Get your asses moving. Bring… them here.”
Kim Heejin walked around and pulled up everyone who had been hiding under her. It was impressive how they shuffled over with their shoulders slumped, as if they’d gotten caught in some mouse hole.
“Ready to start? You already know how it is since you’ve done it yourself, but it’s not that bad. Just make sure the numbers match when reporting to the top. Ah! Of course, those who actually have to work with their bodies are exceptions!”
A few words of understanding were muttered from the crowd, including my own.
“Ugh… I just deployed yesterday.”
“Ha… I still have to stand guard a bit later.”
“What is this physical training?”
There were even traces of irritation about excessive duties.
Or maybe not. The officer didn’t care much. There was also Kim Heejin’s support, and it was more important to send photos to the top than to check everything one by one.
+++
“Ugh.”
Yuna swallowed hard and struggled to move her legs.
The feet that had been dragged along the floor, leaving skid marks, stopped.
“I couldn’t hold it in.”
Late regret wouldn’t change anything. She hadn’t even said the curse in front of the seniors.
“Damn… I was thinking the same thing from the start.”
After a moment of regret, the feeling that covered it up was “You’re all the same.”
“Why did that bastard have to get involved?”
Even the arrowhead had turned toward Seo Harang, who had saved her.
She had hated the fact that the youngest in a lower rank than herself had saved her.
“So… what now?”
Setting that aside for now, the important thing right now was Kim Heejin.
A dialect had slipped out. The tone had completely flipped. She had never shown this side except during conflicts with other units.
“Ah, I don’t know. Really…”
She flopped onto the cot.
“She’s not coming to look for me. This is definitely one of two things…”
Either they wanted her to cool off, or they were treating her as if she didn’t exist.
“…Even so, it’s not like they’re treating me like a transparent person. At least they keep track of their own people.”
Probably the first one. Thinking that, she felt a little relieved.
Once she felt relieved, anger surged over the unfairness of the situation.
“Ha…”
Yuna stood up from her seat and stared straight at the barracks across from hers. It was Seo Harang’s barracks.
People normally targeted those weaker than themselves. It had to be why she felt irritated toward Seo Harang without realizing it.
Jeong Seung-ah’s direct senior, but she couldn’t touch Jeong Seung-ah. She was acting like an ace in the living quarter, and her Awakener abilities were a rare lineage.
“Seo Harang is just a reaction I can’t catch. She’s not like a real ace, right? She just gets told off all the time.”
Yuna bit her nails hard while recalling the past Seo Harang.
It didn’t take long for even a sliver of anxiety and complaint to turn into hatred.
Fortunately, unlike other Awakener units, this unit operated independently. It meant there weren’t many eyes watching them.
The army that used to use this place had said there were all sorts of irregularities. In other words, it was a perfect environment to let out personal grudges.
“Anyway, I know she’s a jerk.”
When they deployed and fought, it was hard to tell, but in normal daily life, she often did actions that seemed a bit off. Even if she didn’t pick at it, it would just get caught in the net on its own.
“If I let off a little steam, I’ll feel better. If I just stay quiet for a bit, Kim Heejin’s anger will cool down too.”
Thinking this way, she looked outside through the window on the door. She saw the juniors running hard.
“Honestly, as a senior, I’m in a pretty ambiguous position.”
She thought that, but no? In the living quarter, she was responsible for three juniors along with Seo Harang and Jeong Seung-ah.
But because she had deliberately slacked off like this, it seemed like her rank had risen.
The reality was that she was just burned by Kim Heejin’s anger, but wasn’t it the same feeling as sitting alone in the living quarter skipping duty?!
…So, in the end, Yuna had never participated in the physical training schedule.
“Ha.”
When Kim Heejin returned and let out a sigh, she looked away.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
She glared at Seo Harang, who was lightly wiping her neck with a sports towel.