Chicken Cravings and a Surprise Visit
"I want to eat chicken."
"Our Harang's brain must have gone completely. Come to your senses. There isn't any real chicken around here, so even if you want to eat, you can't."
"Kkueung... Why does it feel like I know exactly why this is branded chicken. Now I don't think I can be satisfied with just seasoned chicken. I shouldn't have let my palate get this refined."
"Why not? You're earning money now, right? You could eat chicken for every meal for a day. What's the problem?"
—Of course, it wouldn't work here.
The added remark made my shoulders slump.
Maybe I should just think positively. Once something becomes familiar, it starts to feel boring, right? I should treat it as a kind of emotional buffer for when I actually get to eat it again.
Just as we were chatting about pointless things like chicken, leaves, and little sisters, Kim Heejin stood up from her seat.
Lately Kim Heejin hadn't been saying much. Even though our call count had gone up, every single one of those calls carried a heavy mix of irritation that made them feel like they were with someone I wasn't close to.
"Superhuman Kim Heejin."
"Huh? What is it?"
"Ooh."
I thought it had become familiar, but it hadn't.
Or had I always been the one with the most intimidating face? The eyes that looked like they could bury a person alive had made me flinch.
"...Ooh is casual speech."
But even so, there was no energy in it. The words "casual speech" carried no real weight at all.
It was completely different from the Kim Heejin I knew.
"Are you working out today?"
"...Pass."
"Understood."
Overall, there was zero enthusiasm. The voice only rose when we actually talked. It wasn't like I was in a good mood; it felt more like my blood pressure was spiking.
I could figure out the reason from yesterday's visit. I get told I'm dense, but I'm not a complete idiot.
Kim Huijeong. The one who called her sister and got angry, that was Kim Heejin. But yesterday Hayan said Kim Heejin was listed on a missing person poster.
That was a suspicious contradiction.
—Knock knock...
Even Conan would be surprised by the knock. Followed by a voice with sharp tension coming from outside the door.
"Apprentice Awakener Lee Jeonghee! I have business in Living Quarter 1! May I enter?"
"Oh, you studied well? Come in."
Lee Jeonghee opened the door and gave a crisp salute.
"Y-Yes."
"A... so, um..."
"Huh? What's wrong? The senior didn't lower her hand first?"
"Hik! I'm sorry!"
"You're already late. Who was the matching senior?"
"I'm sorry...!"
Han Jihye, seeing Lee Jeonghee bow her head dejectedly, shook her head slightly.
"It's fine. You don't have a sense of humor. Harang-ah."
"Superhuman Seo Harang. Did you call for me?"
"Then who else would I have called?"
"Ah."
"Hehe... This one is definitely better."
Where exactly? By my reaction, it should have been me who was more embarrassing.
Han Jihye, who was faintly smiling at my own dull reaction, gestured for Lee Jeonghee to speak.
"Ah...! Uh, the greeting staff told us to hand out documents in every living quarter..."
"Greeting staff? Was it Yesul?"
"Yes."
"She's showing off and making me do it. Hey, bring her over."
"Hik...!"
"Not you. Seo Harang."
Why!
I wanted to protest but only cried inside.
It wasn't real luck; I was just shedding tears in my heart. My heart wouldn't break that easily.
Han Jihye added that it was a joke, then took a piece of paper from Lee Jeonghee. It was an A4 sheet with bars extending like a ruler.
"Ah, it's next month's vacation schedule."
"Vacation?"
"Yeah. Ah, right. You haven't gone yet, have you?"
"No."
"What did you do back then?"
"Um... Since the other seniors were gone, I didn't even go."
"Ah, I see. Then you must have accumulated a lot of vacation time."
I didn't know. I didn't know how the vacation accumulation system worked or how many basic vacation days there were.
But I didn't say I didn't know. The moment I did, the constant attacks of "If you don't know, does that mean your Awakener life is over?" would come at me.
"I suppose some have accumulated."
"Oh, then it's about time to use some. Here."
Han Jihye handed me the paper. It was a schedule with a month's period and bars of varying lengths marked on it.
Names were written inside. They looked like those who had applied for vacation.
Our living quarter members were also listed.
One other senior and Kim Heejin.
Only Kim Heejin's bar was a bit different. Unlike the others, it was roughly drawn by hand instead of using a computer.
"Heejin is looking at the vacation period? You do it this way if you want to apply for vacation too. Draw a line with the pen where you want and write your name there."
Ah, so that's how you apply. Kim Heejin must have already applied separately.
Five days. It wasn't a very long vacation. Since she'd been in the unit for a while, she probably had a lot accumulated.
Thinking about it, Kim Heejin always took a vacation once a month. Was there a reason? Or did she just want to refresh once a month?
"Jeonghee-ya."
"Apprentice Awakener! Lee Jeonghee!"
"You really have a sense of tension. This one."
I looked at Lee Jeonghee at Han Jihye's words. Her shoulders were heavily slumped. As the youngest in the whole unit, it was only natural that seniors would treat her that way.
After experiencing all sorts of things here, I developed one dream. To become a kind senior to her junior.
For that reason,
"Jeonghee-ya."
I called her in a gentle voice.
"Apprentice Awakener Lee Jeonghee!"
"Can I go to the Situation Room with you for a bit? After all, this is our living quarter's last visit, right? In terms of location?"
"T-That's... Understood."
"Oh, Harang's trying to act like a real senior."
No!
"Harang-ah. Do it behind the barracks instead of the smoking area. Smoking would be heard by everyone here."
No!
After flatly denying it, I went outside with Lee Jeonghee.
Lee Jeonghee, unsure what I was going to say, started glancing around nervously. Of course it wasn't anything bad.
"I'm not trying to say anything bad about you. I'm just going to the greeting staff, and I wanted to go with you."
"With me?"
"Yeah. Anyway, you probably wanted to go out soon too, right?"
"Ah...!"
Lee Jeonghee, realizing my intention, lowered her head with sparkling eyes.
"Thank you so much...! Actually, it was really scary... I have no idea what Han Jihye Hero-nim is thinking, and Kim Heejin Superhuman-nim looked extremely unhappy from the moment I entered..."
Everyone feels the same, right? With Lee Jeonghee who thought the same as me, we entered the Situation Room.
"Apprentice Yesul, welcome back."
"You passed them out? Huh?"
The greeting staff at the computer looked at me.
"Harang? What's going on? Did you come because you missed your sister? Oh, what an honor."
"Honor? That's ridiculous."
"It's completely an honor. Our Harang is a popular idol in the unit?"
Really? I hadn't known that.
Or rather, it was fine. Even if I was popular as an idol, it would just mean I had a lot of popularity as an easy-to-tease junior.
"Thank you."
"Oh, it's a style where you're indifferent to that kind of thing? Of course, Harang's appearance would have made you popular even outside."
"Haha, I did get popular outside."
"Whoa, you're just dumping it as official now. Rather than saying no, it's more like being liked. So? Who was it popular with?"
"Around the time I got used to work, the hard labor uncles really liked me. I could drink a little and matched the atmosphere."
"Ah..."
The atmosphere turned somber.
"U-Um... Yeah? Ah, thinking about it, you said something like that before, right? Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
Feeling embarrassed, while we kept saying we're fine and sorry, the completely clueless Lee Jeonghee asked,
"Um... Does Superhuman Seo Harang have any skills?"
"Jeonghee-ya, don't pay attention? Harang lived an incredibly tough life compared to us?"
She lived an incomparably tough life. The heavy lifting and day labor from before she awakened must have been exaggerated.
Actually, it wasn't really exaggerated. At the time, I was so busy I didn't have any time to think.
"It's fine, Jeonghee-ya. I really don't mind. More importantly, I came because I have something curious to ask."
"Oh! Ask anything! I'll tell you everything I know!"
"I'm curious how much vacation is left..."
Wada-dak.
A powerful typing sound went by like an effect.
"Right now there are 33 days. Basic 30 days plus 3 days from senior recommendation and combat rewards. 30 days every 6 months... I guess it won't be long before more accumulate."
My grateful thanks came back immediately like an automatic response.
"This isn't too much of a burden, so come whenever it's convenient. 1st living quarter is already exhausting."
"Ahahaha... It's not that hard. The 1st living seniors are all kind and make it fun."
"Kabi. If you said that here, I'd have gone and pinched you right away."
There isn't a single believable person in the world. In a world of survival of the fittest, the weak get eliminated.
I praised myself for the wisdom of navigating the situation.
While doing so, I gave a clear answer to the question. It seemed like the one seeing me favorably was genuine.
Then, since I was asking, should I ask about Kim Heejin too? Since she handles the greeting side, she probably knows everything.
"Um, Apprentice Yesul?"
"Huh?"
"Is there a Kim Heejin Superhuman?"
"Yes? Then?"
"I'd like to know about her family relationship."
"...What nonsense is this?"
Surprised by my sudden question, Yesul showed an odd expression.
"I know Kim Heejin Superhuman has a sister, but every time I call she's got a displeased look, so I was curious."
"...She said she called? That's weird."
Yesul tapped the keyboard and showed me a new window. It was information about Kim Heejin.
Father... Deceased.
Mother... Deceased.
Up to here, it was the same for me. Most of the unit probably had the same situation.
But below that, it was a bit different.
Sister... The word written next to the Chinese character for sister. 'Missing'.
"When I first came to our unit, I already knew she was missing? But she said she called? Not someone else?"
Up to there I didn't know. I hadn't listened to the call content.
"Harang-ah. Don't think anything weird? You might not know yet, but Kim Heejin Superhuman-nim doesn't like talking about her family."
"Understood."
Originally I wasn't thinking anything strange, so I was being bold.
I couldn't hold back my curiosity. Especially if the person I'm training with and a strong pillar of the unit had zero enthusiasm, it would be a huge loss for the unit.
"Can I apply for vacation here?"
"Huh? Well, Harang. How many days are you using?"
"I'm using 5 days."
"...5 days? Well, it's just right."
Yesul, who agreed with my words, opened a window. It was the date schedule Lee Jeonghee had shown earlier.
When she asked from which day to use, I pointed to the dates I had already set without hesitation.
Yesul blinked and delayed her words for a moment.
"Is there a problem?"
"No, it's not that... You're not thinking something weird, are you? For real?"
"No. To meet my brother, this time is the most natural, so I chose here."
"In that case... Okay, I'll do it then."
With Yesul's approval, I set the vacation dates.
Same period as when Kim Heejin left.