Reunited in the Barracks
We were back.
This crisp, refreshing air! The thick plumes of smoke billowing from the smoking area over there! Even the gravel rolling around the parade ground!
...I wanted to die.
"Where do you think you're going? Situation Room first. We report our return and then head back."
"Ah, we have to report?"
"Of course. No matter what, this kind of thing has to be done properly."
At least it wasn't the absolute worst-case scenario—Kim Heejin's attitude had softened a lot.
The words that always came back whenever I said something this stupid: Where the hell do you hear things?...
It had been embarrassing. I didn't used to feel this much like an idiot. Really.
"Understood."
"Seo Harang."
"Superhuman Seo Harang."
"Not bad. I figured you'd keep talking down to me even after we crossed the base gate."
"Ahaha. Last time I went out with Hero Han Jihye I got burned pretty hard, so I don't make that mistake anymore."
"...I'm jealous."
"What do you mean by that?"
Kim Heejin waved her hand as if telling me not to dig. A faint shadow had fallen over the generous expression she'd worn just a moment ago.
But I was a sensible junior. I knew the best move in times like this was not to pry.
I trotted after Kim Heejin toward the Situation Room. As always, a cadre with a tired face and a situation orderly were there.
"Returning from leave?"
"Yes. The two of us."
"Yeah—get the return signature form from over there—"
When I shifted my gaze, the situation orderly greeted us.
"Superhuman Kim Heejin and... Harang... Harang?"
"Superhuman Seo Harang?"
"Harang! Our little cutie finally came back!? Aww!"
Who are you?
I hadn't memorized every senior from the other living quarters. And since I almost never set foot in the Situation Room, I had even less idea who this senior was.
But a welcome like this... maybe it wasn't so bad?
"Ahaha... thank you."
"Hey."
Thud.
One word from Kim Heejin sent a chill through the Situation Room. The temperature felt like it had dropped several degrees.
"Answer."
"Uh, Superhuman Baek Seohee."
From the way Baek Seohee's eyes were swimming after giving her rank and name, the drop in temperature clearly wasn't just my imagination.
"What were you about to do just now?"
"Uh, what do you mean?"
"Don't ask again when you already know. I can see you thinking up an answer."
"Ah, th-that... I was going to pull out the return signature form and get signatures..."
Baek Seohee's voice grew progressively smaller. She seemed to have realized what kind of person was standing in front of her. She might not know the details, but she knew something of hers had touched a reverse scale.
"Not that. That hand."
"Ah, this... I just wanted to pet Harang's head a little."
"Are you out of your mind?"
"Uh, what do you mean?"
"Why is some bitch from another living quarter touching our kid's head? You wanna die?"
"Ah, no. Uh... why are you like this, Superhuman Kim Heejin. It's me. Me. The Baek Seohee you used to dote on... Ah! Are you in a bad mood because you just got back from leave? If that's the case, frozen—"
Kim Heejin looked at the flustered Baek Seohee. Even from her own perspective she seemed to sense something was off; she pressed her bangs down once and chewed her lip.
"...Ah, sorry. I've been a little on edge lately."
"Ah... no, it's fine."
Ah! "No, it's fine"!
That was something I said a lot. You say it like that and then, when you're alone, you curse the person out as a son of a bitch and a bastard. Baek Seohee was probably killing Kim Heejin a few times in her head right now.
"I'll buy you something later."
"...You'll buy me something? Superhuman Kim Heejin, aren't you famous for being cheap?"
Good lord. What kind of iron face did you need to say something like that in front of an angry Kim Heejin? And to the same Kim Heejin who had just been furious!
There seemed to be more shameless people gathered here than I'd thought. Or maybe it was a survival requirement in this unit.
"Something came up. Looks like I can spend a little money now."
"Oh... then I'll look forward to it. Anyway, just sign here."
Kim Heejin took the pen and signed. I took it next and signed as well.
After the simple return report, we opened the living quarter door. The TV was on, and Han Jihye was sprawled out exactly as always. How was it possible that nothing had changed since before we left?
"Oh, you're back?"
"We've returned, ma'am."
"How is Hero Han Jihye in the exact same pose as when I left on leave? Are you a fossil?"
"This little shit comes back and the first thing out of her mouth is..."
After that free-and-easy exchange, Kim Heejin sat down and started unpacking.
I slipped in behind her. In this situation, maybe I could go unnoticed...!
Knowing that drawing attention for no reason would just make things tiring, I crept inside like I was filming Mission: Impossible.
The exact moment I took one careful step, Han Jihye spoke.
"Hey, but didn't you come back with Harang? Where is she? You returned together, right?"
"Ah, she's right behind me."
"Seo Harang!"
"Superhuman Seo Harang."
Damn, already caught. Did I literally glow just by existing? At this point even breathing seemed to pull aggro.
"Harang!"
Han Jihye sat up. It felt like watching a museum exhibit come to life. No, a fossil was moving, okay?
"Harang missed Unnie, right!?"
"Superhuman Seo Harang, yes."
"Come on, you didn't even contact me once."
Damn it! Why did you have to ask!
"Unnie was really sad. Unnie was stuck here worrying that our Harang might've gotten mixed up in something... that some bad guy had gotten hold of her and something terrible had happened, so she couldn't even sleep. But Harang just ate well and rested well the whole time, huh. Enough not to even call."
Han Jihye's sulking after a full five days. You might think I'd feel empty without it? Not even a little!
It was always new and always exhausting. Always so goddamn annoying it brought tears to my eyes.
Still, this part was something I could laugh off for now. The sulking was rooted in worry, after all.
"You're smiling?"
I couldn't smile. What a world, where even a smile needed permission.
"Well, good work. No—we did more of the hard work. Do you know how many standby sorties we went on while you two were gone?"
"How many times did you go out?"
"We went out once."
"Hey! You!"
"Wow, Hero Han Jihye has really gone soft. Back when you were a fresh private you used to roll like the world was ending."
"When was that? Wasn't that when I was a teenager?"
Han Jihye shot back at the line Yeon Byeori had casually dropped. Han Jihye, Kim Heejin, then Yeon Byeori—one generation after another—so it wasn't strange that she knew the old days well.
I liked this kind of atmosphere. The noisy back-and-forth of banter flying around.
"Huh? Harang's smiling again?"
"Ah, sorry. The noise made me feel at ease."
"This makes you feel at ease? Did you develop a kink for getting roasted?"
"I don't have that kind of kink. It's just that. It reminded me of when I used to work."
The atmosphere sank. These people who kept a conversation going fine would stop the moment the topic turned to me.
I knew they were doing it out of consideration, but when the person in question—me—didn't care and they still reacted like that, it made me feel burdened too.
...That was how I used to think. Now it was different.
I could control these people's emotions! If I could sell something like this and make things even a little easier for myself, I'd do it a hundred more times!
"There were only middle-aged guys around, so the conversation topics never matched and it was hard. But gathering with people around my age like this, it's fun even if I just sit still."
—Squeeze...
"Eh."
"Huh?"
"Uhh?"
Someone pulled me into a hug and everyone made startled noises. Even Han Jihye's eyes widened a little, so you could tell at a glance how serious this was.
So what was going on?
...Kim Heejin was hugging me.
Kim Heejin.
That Kim Heejin. The woman the other unit members called a demon, the thorn who would dig right into any opening she saw.
Separate from her strict personality, the embrace was warm. Through the gaps in the training clothes she was wearing I could feel her body heat and heartbeat. Whether it was always like that or not, it seemed to be beating faster than a normal person's.
"Hey, Harang."
"Su-Superhuman Seo Harang?"
"How the hell have you been living this hard, seriously."
"Uungh?"
That was the questioning sound I made.
Kim Heejin, who until now had never really shown she cared, was acting like this... reacting like some sensitive teenage girl overflowing with emotion!
Had I awakened not in physical ability but in the direction of moving people's feelings? Was my potential actually not this low?
While I was freezing solid at the impossible situation, I felt a gaze.
The owner of that gaze was Jeong Seung-a, visible over Kim Heejin's shoulder.
Honestly I thought it wasn't her. It wasn't the warm look I knew.
Even that golden hair that used to feel like spring looked somehow dull and dark today. It seemed like she had a whole pile of things she was unhappy about.
Ah, right. The youngest had gone on leave, so she might have gotten tangled up in a lot of hard work. If that was it.
Superhuman Jeong Seung-a, don't worry! I'm back now so I'll work hard from here on!
A wink packed with will and ambition.
And then Jeong Seung-a's reaction.
"Ah..."
She froze with both eyes round, as if she couldn't believe it.
Even after Kim Heejin's hug ended, Jeong Seung-a's rigid body showed no sign of recovering. Looks like I'd done something pointless.
Honestly, I thought it would look fine.
This face, right? I figured I could get away with anything.
But apparently not. It seemed more horror than cuteness had hit her.
Let's put myself in her shoes. A person of the same gender, while being hugged by someone else, was sending a wink her way.
...I understood. Reverse empathy really was invincible logic.
From Jeong Seung-a's perspective a picture of hell had unfolded. From now on, keep my posture proper and never do wink-type crap again.
It had been a day of good lessons.
What? What is this? Is Harang flirting with me right now?
Jeong Seung-a was flustered.
Ah...! So that's it! I get it.
Still, it didn't take long for her to grasp Seo Harang's intention.
Harang must have been lonely too during leave because she couldn't see me...!
No. She had completely missed the mark.
Well, I made up for it by secretly smelling Harang's laundry, but Harang didn't have anything like that.
She had even secretly smelled it, apparently. Jeong Seung-a had gone and done it after all.
So? It's not just my imagination, right? She even winked. I don't know what Superhuman Kim Heejin is thinking doing that, but there's no way she likes Harang the way I do or anything. Definitely not.
Wrong again this time too.
Because Jeong Seung-a had formed the hypothesis that going on leave together had made Kim Heejin empathize with Seo Harang's situation, she hadn't even considered Kim Heejin entering the fray.
Which was why she kept replaying only Seo Harang's wink.
...If you tempt me like that, what am I supposed to do, Harang? Can I take it as us feeling the same way?
Unable to ask for the true meaning, Jeong Seung-a fretted and groaned. It looked like the nights of lying awake with worry were going to get longer.