All Alone in the Barracks
"Harang-ah!"
"Superhuman Seo Harang?"
"Why were you trying to wake up?"
"I woke up to wash."
"You can't do that!"
Shower? I can't even do that! I demand you guarantee human autonomy!
The thought lodged deep in my chest, but it couldn't break free.
Jeong Seung-ah shook her head sharply and looked at me.
"Still, it feels so weird. I think I need to wash at least once a day."
"Are you going to take a shower?"
"I was planning to shower at night. Since it's morning, I just wanted to wash my face and hair."
"But—"
"Hey, Seung-ah."
"Superhuman Jeong Seung-ah?"
"Leave that to me. If Harang stays still like this, she'll get itchy."
The same body ability line? Kim Heejin took a stance that understood me.
At least I wanted to wash my hair and wipe my face. I wanted to erase the lingering sleepiness that clung to me.
"...Understood."
Jeong Seung-ah took one step back.
I thanked Kim Heejin and quickly picked up the washbasin and headed to the bathroom.
...
Completely gone sleepiness and a refreshed face. The first thing I noticed upon returning was the speaker sound.
—Huk, huk. Mission scheduled. Three members of the rest area personnel, please come to the situation room wearing mission gear. Thank you.
Three people.
Actually, even one was enough. That was my destiny as the youngest.
My body reacted first because the phrase "when I see it, I have to go" was burned into my head and ears.
I took off my slippers, wiped my feet, and put on my sneakers—
"What are you doing?"
"Superhuman Seo Harang? Going to work—"
"Rest."
"Yeah, when I see it. When I see it."
Han Jihye agreed with Kim Heejin's words. She probably didn't care since I wasn't going anyway.
—Ah, corrected. All personnel in the rest area, please gather to the situation room wearing mission gear. Thank you.
Han Jihye's movements stopped with the speaker cut off.
I can't believe it's a full assembly. Han Jihye, who had been analyzing the words from the speaker, slunk back.
"Don't say I was here."
"...Understood. Hey, let's go. Harang is resting."
Kim Heejin put on her sneakers as if she had expected that. In the meantime, telling me to rest felt like a threat.
The seniors all left, leaving the quiet barracks.
Being alone here, where there was always at least one other person, gave me a new feeling.
"Everyone gone?"
...Corrected. Just the two of us, the most dangerous person and me.
It was like being trapped with a wild beast that hadn't been tamed and a cage.
Every part of my body began to sound danger alarms.
"Harang!"
And that wild beast found me. A beast whose inner thoughts were unknown.
"Khehhe... Only the two of us left? Did unnie come here only to watch this?"
"I-I don't know... I won't do it."
"Oh! You knew? Great. So? Why would unnie target the two of us, Harang and me?"
I don't know! If I say I don't know, won't she attack with "If you don't know, does the Awakener life end?"!
Even if I gave the wrong answer, I had to somehow convey my thoughts. That was the only way to deal with the "If you don't know, does the Awakener life end?" attack.
"Th... I was thinking of checking if it's a lie or not..."
"What? You had the report from the beginning. You wouldn't lie about that."
It seemed like Han Jihye's own trust. So what was the reason?
Did she read my mind? Han Jihye leaped over the corridor and came right next to me.
And she lay down beside me.
Close enough that our shoulders touched. But since she lay on her side, it naturally touched something else, not the shoulder.
Overwhelming, huge, warm, and soft. I was startled and slightly pulled away my shoulder. Han Jihye didn't seem to mind at all.
"Give me a hint?"
"I would like you to."
"It's about something related to our barracks kids."
"...The other seniors?"
"Right?"
She targeted just the two of us to talk about the other seniors?
I thought about the connection between me and the other seniors. There was no difficulty in the inference.
"Is it because the seniors' attitudes have changed lately?"
"Oh! Harang is smart? As expected, our kid doesn't just study, she has basic smarts."
Han Jihye gently stroked my hair and laughed. Actually, this person always smiled.
"Seung-ah has always been good to you, and Heejin became friends after coming back from vacation, right?"
"Yes."
"Heejin isn't the type to be so kind to people, you know?"
"I don't really know that."
"If you don't know, does the Awakener life end?"
Damn! She really came out with that attack!
"Anyway, Heejin suddenly became friends with you, and Byeori too. I've heard she helped, but it's hard to understand. Byeori tells me, but she draws a clear line?"
She seemed to be talking without taking it too seriously, as she was thinking of excuses while speaking.
"Yes. I was really struggling at first."
"But suddenly she became so close. Since I heard Byeori's story... What happened to Heejin? Can you tell me?"
"You wouldn't stop unless I told you, right?"
"You're so smart!"
As expected, I couldn't figure it out. What she was thinking, or what purpose she had in saying that.
She didn't seem hostile at all. If I felt even a little like "Why are you interfering on your own?" I would have said sorry right away, but—
Anyway, there was nothing to do, and if I just stayed still, sleep probably wouldn't come. Wasn't it okay to talk a little while hiding my personal stuff? Why, the seniors would be back soon and if I was doing nothing, they'd be unhappy. If I was attached to Han Jihye, she would understand.
"Then... First, let's talk about the incident when Superhuman Kim Heejin was on vacation."
I finished talking while hiding Kim Heejin's family history as much as possible. There were no fillers, but it seemed Han Jihye had listened.
Three minutes? Five minutes? After talking for quite a while, Han Jihye nodded in response.
"Yeah, when we go out together it's different. I also went out with you during combat rest and got pretty close. Right?"
"Yes."
"I don't think so?"
"I really think I'm too close to Jihye unnie. I hope Jihye unnie talks to me often."
"You speak so nicely."
Good! That was a good deflection!
"Since Harang says that, unnie can't just stay still. I'll keep poking at you often from now on."
No! I completely failed! I failed because of the deflection!
I stepped one step too far and got protected by Han Jihye. There are cases where excessive interest becomes poison in this world, and it seemed like that moment.
"And Superhuman Yeon Byeori..."
"No, she already knows roughly, right? More than that, it's not fun anymore."
She was completely selfish!
"I don't like hearing other girls' names coming out of Harang's mouth."
"Other girls' names... Aren't they people from the same barracks?"
"That's that, and this is this. Unnie would like it if only stories related to unnie came out of Harang's mouth."
It was clearly a joke. She had a selfish tendency, but Han Jihye, who cared about the barracks people, was the type.
Moreover, Kim Heejin had directly said "Jihye cares more for her people than I do," so I was sure.
When I didn't speak, Han Jihye added "joke" as if it was a joke. As expected.
"Becoming close to them and you is good, but unnie will be sad if Harang floats around."
Han Jihye said that and took out her phone.
"Hurry up and recover."
"...Are you worried about me?"
"Ah! What are you listening to that for! In here, you have to pretend you didn't hear it! Sensible!"
"Sorry!"
"It's fine. Out of embarrassment, I should go too. Turn off the lights? Sleep or not, do whatever."
Feeling like she cared was embarrassing, so Han Jihye stuffed her phone into her pocket and left.
She really turned off the lights. It was daytime.
The curtains were drawn, making the room pitch black. An empty barracks.
In the silence, just my breathing was enough to urge me to sleep even if I wasn't sleepy.
If I slept now, it would be dangerous. It might not end with being a loser.
The seniors returned covered in fatigue, and could they see the youngest one sleeping comfortably? Absolutely not!
I picked up my phone to force myself awake. Watching a video or playing a game—
...That wouldn't be bad either?
But I was about to put my phone back down because I felt like it would upset the seniors' mood when it buzzed.
[Unnie]
[Look at this]
[(Mobile growth game screen capture)]
[She looks like unnie]
It was my little sister.
It seemed like she was talking about the character in the center of the capture image.
Long black hair, the eye shape, the body lines—everything felt familiar. It was my image reflected in the mirror, so it made sense.
[Yeah]
[She really looks like her]
I replied, but I couldn't respond further.
[Anyway, unnie is bored there, right?]
[So]
[Try this game]
[It's really fun]
[Especially this]
[You can marry the character and the protagonist?]
[Can you marry girl-girl?]
It was completely useless information. Was it LGBT? There seemed to be something much longer than that.
I got curious for a moment and looked it up.
Ah, this was it. LGBTTQQIAAP.
Anyway, this was the trend, it seemed. It seemed like they added settings where girls connected with girls to suit the current era, and honestly, it was fine.
But my sister recommended it, and since I was lying here with nothing to do now, trying it wouldn't be bad.
[This character]
[The appearance is cool, but she's really useless]
[So I'm raising her alone]
[I'm the ranker now]
[Cool!]
It was cool. It felt like sibling love.
She only had a great physique. She was similar to me in many ways, not just appearance.
The character in the captured screen seemed to be crying with me.