Why...?
'Why?'
Ji Yun-ah looked bewildered.
'Why?'
She was deeply stunned.
"Kuk!"
Her balance wobbled on a foot that had twisted accidentally, as if she had been handed the very humiliation she had inflicted on Seo Harang.
A flash-like fist grazed her chin at the exact moment she had tried to seize it.
It had been dangerous. If she had been a split second slower, the fist would have landed squarely on her jaw.
Following the path of the fist, the trees shook. The power behind it was one that human strength could never produce.
A leaf dropped from the swaying tree and blocked her view.
Strange. Both the fact that the leaf had fallen from a branch that had been perfectly attached and that it had precisely blocked her sight felt too coincidental to be mere chance.
"You damn...!"
Quickly clearing her vision, Ji Yun-ah accidentally clenched her fist. Sweat had soaked her palm.
The combination of shock and tension made her limbs feel unresponsive.
Why?
Why? Why was she being pushed back?
Her back touched something soft and comforting. It was the breasts of Han Jihye.
"Crazy bitch. What are you doing with your back there? Get off again."
Han Jihye pushed her away, and Ji Yun-ah found herself standing back on the front lines, facing Seo Harang once more as she stared at her.
'Why... she's just my junior. She's below me. Why is she doing this...'
She laughed with a gaze full of contempt, as if looking at some feral cat. The kind of person who gives off that look and is naturally inferior, someone who barely qualifies as a soldier.
But what had come back? Who had been intimidated by that gaze?
"No! No way! Hey, Seo Harang! You damn bastard! Are you even looking your senior in the eye like that?"
"If I lose here, I'll be removed from my position. Do I have the leisure to say something like that?"
Ah! That sharp glare! She wasn't even afraid at all!
She didn't retreat. She didn't back down. She was actually pressing down on her with all her might, trying to pin her to the ground for real.
Crack!
"Kuk!"
She barely dodged a leg that came flying like a whip.
But the incidental damage from her ankle scraping the ground couldn't be avoided.
The dust kicked up by her toes covered her. The particles that had dug into her eyes closed her vision.
"You damn...!"
Such bold tricks. What on earth was she planning with that?
Every Awaker lived for their experience. Compared to Seo Harang, who had only watched from the side, Ji Yun-ah had gone on far more missions. To her, this was nothing.
...That was what she told herself, but in truth Ji Yun-ah had no meaningful difference in experience from Seo Harang.
The only thing she had gained from missions was watching from afar. In comparison, Seo Harang had actually fought in front of them.
She might have the quantity, but not the quality. Being pushed back was the natural outcome.
'This is really... really dangerous...!'
Realizing the situation was bad, Ji Yun-ah looked elsewhere.
Until now, the entire senior layer, who hadn't said a word, were all staring at her.
It felt like the world had turned upside down. And if it ended with her being removed from her position...
"You damn bitch!"
She lifted her head sharply.
—Slap!
"Ouch!"
And her cheek stung, causing her head to snap to the side.
It had snapped to the side.
The force in her palm had been that light.
"C-cough...!"
"Are you really my senior? Seo Harang-senior."
She was still using respectful language, but that was as far as it would go. If she lost and was eaten, there was nothing left to say.
"Huuuuh..."
"If you're going to whine after taking one hit, why did you do it to me? You can't even use your hands properly."
"W-wait a second...!"
—Slap!
"Aaaah!!!"
Her mind went blank from the second slap that came without hesitation.
A brief flash of light and searing pain.
Finally snapping out of it, Ji Yun-ah desperately looked around for an escape.
There was a hole she could slip through! There!
Kim Heejin, fighting the monster alone over there. She was her only way out of this situation.
'Hey, Yun-ah. Last time I was the one who was sorry.'
'I'm fine.'
Last time, the apology and forgiveness between the two of them.
She had deliberately called her aside to say it, which meant she had taken her side.
That meant...!
"K-Kim...! Kim Heejin-senior! Please quickly wrap up the situation!"
Ji Yun-ah reached out her hand.
Because her voice was so loud, no one could ignore it.
Kim Heejin's gaze met hers while fighting the giant monster.
But what came back was,
"Idiot."
A mocking laugh that was deliberately loud enough for everyone to hear.
...
The flow that followed was, of course, obvious without looking.
Ji Yun-ah had been thrown to the ground by Seo Harang. The hierarchy between senior and junior had become crystal clear.
Even though a clear act of insubordination had occurred—her junior striking back at her senior—everyone remained silent, as if they had been given a command.
They had turned a blind eye.
Kim Heejin, who had been stalling, finally took down the monster and, as the situation came to an end, everyone returned to the unit.
Among the rarely heard voices, Seo Harang and Ji Yun-ah remained silent.
+++
—Ah, it's 6:30. Wake up, please. Wake up.
Thud.
The wake-up broadcast from the situation room. The moment she heard it, she shot up from her bed.
Her body was light and her mind was clear. It had nothing to do with yesterday's events.
"I'm already awake."
Before she could even think about waking Jeong Seung-ah, the answer came first. Glancing sideways, she saw that the other side was looking back at her too.
"...Harang looks like she's in a good mood."
"Yes. I think I can finally stretch my legs now."
"I'm sorry. I wanted to help..."
"It's fine. You're a senior, aren't you, Jeong Seung-ah-senior?"
She had been a senior.
She turned her gaze toward where Ji Yun-ah had been.
She was curled up sleeping inside her sleeping bag.
She pulled her gaze away.
"I should wake up the other seniors."
"Understood."
"I'll help."
"Ah! No, I'll do it."
"We need to hurry, so let's do it together."
"...Thank you."
"Then I'll turn on the light."
Click. When the light came on, groans could be heard from all sides. Of course, the seniors, including Han Jihye, were the exception.
"It's time to wake up."
"Uuu..."
"You need to get up. We're about to do roll call."
"Kuuu..."
Using Jeong Seung-ah's help, she woke each senior one by one. After finally rousing Han Jihye, she began to tidy up the bedding.
When she stuffed the tightly compressed sleeping bags into their covers as if making a rose shape, Jeong Seung-ah spoke.
"You don't have to do it that way anymore."
"Ah..."
"Eh, don't be too harsh. If you do that, it makes us seem the same as you."
"Understood."
At Kim Heejin's words, she pulled out the sleeping bags again.
"No, you already finished cleaning them, right? That's a waste, so just leave them."
"Ah, I'm sorry."
"If you're sorry, does that mean the life of an Awaker ends?—"
Kim Heejin approached and lightly touched the top of her head.
The tone was kind and free of malice, something incomparable to Ji Yun-ah.
She glanced sideways. Ji Yun-ah was still curled up inside her sleeping bag.
"Why? Is there something there?"
Han Jihye looked at her sideways and casually pushed the mattress and sleeping bag into the storage with her foot.
She was treated as nonexistent.
Other seniors, it seemed, walked right past the spot where Ji Yun-ah was.
"Ugh."
Even though she made an anguished sound from being stepped on, she paid no attention.
"...Hey, Seo Harang."
"Superhuman Seo Harang."
"I'm not feeling sorry for you, right? After all, it's the result of your own choice. If you feel that way, you'll be really disappointed. You know?"
"I'm not feeling sorry at all."
Even if she did feel sorry, recalling what she had endured made it disappear instantly.
She was paying back the karma for what she had done.
That's how she decided to think.
"Let's go to roll call."
"Understood."
Following Han Jihye's words, they filed out together.
Although it was a unit, no one was wearing uniforms or anything like that. Some wore just training clothes, others dolphin shorts. Some even came out wearing only underwear.
"Are you crazy? Who goes to roll call in just underwear?"
"I'm sorry!"
At Han Jihye's shout, the senior in only underwear rushed into the living quarter. Of course, this was abnormal.
Anyway, once the people had gathered, the officer quickly counted the unit members.
"Jeong Seung-ah-senior."
"Hm?"
"How many times has our unit's leadership changed?"
"Um... if we take the time when I first came as the standard, it's three times?"
"Did it all look that urgent?"
"Yes. I don't know the reason either."
"Is it because of the gossip during roll call? Has the world really gotten that much better?"
"I'm sorry."
Kim Heejin was difficult to deal with, as expected. No, the seniors in general were difficult to deal with.
Just as she was thinking that Jeong Seung-ah was the only light and salt in her life, the officer who was counting the members narrowed his brows slightly.
"It seems like one person is missing..."
"No one is missing."
"Really?"
With a smooth motion, the officer's gaze swept over them. Then he said,
"If Ji-hye says so, then that's how it is. Well... don't make it too difficult."
The tone sounded like he understood that something had happened.
Was it really okay? But she couldn't say anything about it anyway. Rather, she should be grateful that he was going along with it.
"Anyway, in that sense, there's one matter to be announced. It's something that came down from the top, so I have no choice but to follow it. I'll let you know in advance."
"What is it?"
"Starting next week, there will be a reorganization of the unit."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd at the word "reorganization."
What did reorganization mean?
"Uh... Jeong Seung-ah-senior."
"What?"
"No, your expression is really scary..."
Who would have expected such pressure to come from Jeong Seung-ah's face?
It was a moment of one hundred percent empathy with the saying, 'When a normally kind person gets angry, it's terrifying.'
"No, it's nothing serious. You'll only know after hearing it. Why? Is there something you want to ask?"
"Ah... I just thought the meaning of reorganization was a little unclear and wanted to ask."
"It means reorganizing and reassigning the organization."
Reorganizing and reassigning.
That meant...
She glanced at Han Jihye. She was yawning without a care in the world in front of her.
She glanced at Kim Heejin. She was standing with her arms crossed as usual.
Was this the end of this life together? Was she going to be separated from those people?
Ah! It was so sad! She felt like tears were about to spill out!
"Regarding the unit reorganization, there are people who might think that people will be changed and such, but that's not the case at all. If we look at it that way, the people and the unit buildings will remain as they are."
It wasn't a reorganization of the living quarter personnel. The tears that had seemed likely vanished.
"Then what kind of reorganization is it?"
"The roles will be assigned so that everything fits perfectly. Just a moment. I'll bring the document I received."
The officer went into the situation room.
Amid the restless crowd, Jeong Seung-ah showed a leisurely smile again.
"Thank goodness. Right?"
"Ah... yes. I'm really relieved."
In truth, she had felt lonely. After all, she had experienced the ugly side of Han Jihye, Kim Heejin, and everyone in their own way.
She was relieved that the members weren't changing.
...Truly.