9. Relocation (2)

The day had finally come.

After a stretch of talking people around and hammering a system into place, I could at last split the singles from the couples.

"All right, everybody listen while you eat. Starting today, we can divide the dorms. If you're already ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a couple, or you want to become one, you stay here. If you don't need any of that and you'd rather live quietly among other singles, head over to Chaerin's."

"Heeh...? Commander, once we pick, we can't come back?"

"No. You can go back and forth whenever you like. And tomorrow a new dorm goes up. I'm going to build that one nice and roomy and keep it strictly for couples. So singles who want to pair off can live in the same place, and if you click, you move into a couple's room."

"Um... what if we do that and then break up? And what if the couple rooms are already full?"

A sharp question. I was ready for it.

"You come back to your original dorm. You're free to break up. I'm building the couple dorm big, but the odds that rooms run short all the time are still pretty high. So among the couples staying in the singles dorm, the ones with the highest contribution get ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠assigned first. Later, once we put up more dorms and there's room to spare, that rule goes away."

"Commander! Then how do you score contribution?"

That was Yeonju. She had her boyfriend's arm locked in both hands and was up on her toes.

"I credit you for as much as you bring into the base. Lumber you've cut, minerals, fieldwork, cooking at the hearth. All of it."

"Do the two of us have to do it together?"

"No. You each pile up your own, and once you become ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a couple, I add the two of you together."

Then some guy without a partner shot his hand into the air.

"So what if I stack a bunch in advance while I'm still single?"

"You take it with you as is. And every score is going public. I'll stand a board up by the hearth and write names and points on it."

"Ooooh... that's genius...?"

"As expected, our Commander's the best!"

"Waaaaah!"

The whole crowd went wild. A little embarrassed, I rubbed the back of my head, bowed to everyone, and headed back to the commander's office.

For better or worse, Seoah wasn't there.

"Whew. First time in a while I get to rest easy on my own, huh?"

I flopped onto the bed spread-eagle, pulled out my phone, and dropped into the community. A flood of posts was waiting.

"Good thing everybody's into it. Still, getting too famous on the boards could turn into its own problem..."

I tapped the Trending tab to see what the fuss was about lately. What came up was a heap of posts gushing over Sector 8, and one trending post so fresh it was still warm.

Knock, knock.

"Commander... are you asleep?"

Chaerin's voice.

...No. I really wanted to sleep alone tonight.

I set the phone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠down and opened the door. She must have just washed — the ends of Chaerin's hair were damp. A loose T-shirt and shorts. Soap smell rolled off the nape of her neck.

"If I take the kids over tomorrow, I won't see you for a while. I wanted to at least say hello."

"Ah... sure. Come in."

Chaerin stepped inside and shut the door behind her.

Click. She even locked it.

"...Hm?"

"Clothes off. Hurry."

Chaerin shoved my chest with her palm. My calf caught the edge of the bed, and I dropped straight down onto it. She pushed in between my knees, then flung her own clothes off in one motion. There was nothing underneath. A heavy pair of breasts spilled free and swayed.

Whoa... so this is the flavor of a MILF?

In the time it took me to swallow, Chaerin was already hauling my waistband down. She went still for a beat when it sprang free.

"...Oh my."

"......"

"Is all of this going to fit...? I've been starving for a while."

Chaerin wet her lips with the tip of her tongue and lowered her head. Hot, slick mouth closed around the head.

"Hn—!"

My hips jerked before I could stop them.

Then—

Rattle. Rattle-rattle.

"Oppa? Why's the door locked?"

Seoah.

I'm fucked.

Chaerin let go with a wet slip and lifted her head.

"Who is it?"

"That's... uh......"

Before I could get a word out, Chaerin stood and walked to the door. Nothing on from the waist up.

"W-wait a second, Chaerin...!"

Click.

Chaerin opened the door, and she and Seoah stood face to face. Seoah's eyes traveled from Chaerin's breasts to me on the bed, then back up to Chaerin's face. That feeling hit again. The feeling that I was completely screwed.

"...Wooow."

"Who?"

"Seoah. Oppa's girlfriend."

Seoah came into the room and locked the door behind her. Then she walked past Chaerin, climbed onto the bed, and sat down beside me.

"Oppa. Did unni come here to eat Oppa up?"

"No, she... she came to say hello, and then......"

"Hello? A hello with Oppa's dick?"

Seoah took hold of me in her hand. Still glistening with Chaerin's spit, the veins standing furious.

"Hmmmm... This feels like I just walked in on an affair. Does nobody have anything to say to me?"

"S... sorry...?"

I ducked my head and apologized. Truth was, we weren't even dating, and I didn't really know why I had to apologize. More like, if I didn't, I could forget about sleeping tonight, and I had a strong feeling I'd get clawed to ribbons.

But then—

"This just got interesting. Little miss, have you ever done a threesome?"

"...?"

Silence swallowed the room in an instant.

"I-I... this is all my fault..."

"Oppa, be quiet. Unni, have you ever been eaten by a woman?"

"Oh my? Look how bold. I've done the eating, sure. I was just about to start eating you."

"You think that's going to go as easily as you say?"

So this was what they called a catfight. Chaerin glared at Seoah, then started toward us. What on earth was she planning? In an ordinary drama this was where someone hauled out a tub of kimchi and slapped a face with it. Fortunately my room had no refrigerator, so that was off the table...

"Oh my?"

Chaerin started yanking Seoah's clothes off. Then she leaned in and whispered against her ear.

"How about this? The pussy the Commander admitted tastes better eats the other slutty little pussy."

Legendary.

Ma Deoksoo tossed his phone onto the desk.

"Doosik."

"Yes, boss."

Hwang Doosik, who had been standing by the door, came over.

"You know Sector 8?"

"Yes. You mean the place that's up on the gallery every day lately."

"Go there."

"...Yes?"

Deoksoo lit a cigarette.

"Spy. Get in, gather information, and send it."

"...Do you think I can pull that off, boss?"

"You'll pull it off somehow, dumbass. Come back and I'll set you up with a seat. Knock the bitches who don't listen into line, squeeze a little milk — how about that? If you get horny while you're at it, you can fuck them too."

"Th-that does sound good, but... what am I supposed to do?"

"Look around. How many there are, how many women and how many men, where the commander brat sleeps. What their strength looks like."

"...Understood, boss."

Once Doosik was gone, Deoksoo blew out a long stream of smoke and picked the phone back up.

Idiots. The world's gone to shit and they're still living on that stale, moldy way of thinking.

Deoksoo looked out the window. Inside the wire, men had their heads down, tilling the field.

You just let them rape somebody as the wage for working hard. What's so complicated about that? And these clowns have the nerve to sit around debating whether the women get to choose?

He scrolled, and another post asking the way to Sector 8 had gone up. It looked like a woman had written it.

Then again, if the women stop getting supplied over there, the whole thing's a wash, isn't it?

Hwang Doosik shifted the bundle on his shoulder and looked ahead. A line stretched from the entrance of Sector 8. Even a rough count put it past thirty.

"You here off the gallery too, mister?"

The young man in front of him turned his head.

"...Yeah. You too?"

"Yes. I got here yesterday, but there were so many people they said there's no room in the dorms. Still, they hand out sleeping bags for free, and they just give you food?"

"Food? What do they give you?"

"Breadfruit. Despite the name, it tastes like sweet potato."

"...Are there a lot of women?"

"Yes! Lots of pretty ones, too. They even say... there are tons of sluts!"

The young man grinned, heh heh. Doosik only nodded and looked past the entrance.

There was no wire fence anywhere. In its place, two men with crossbows on their backs were taking names at the gate and writing them down.

Only two crossbows... and there's a guy carrying one inside, too.

Smoke rose from a hearth farther in. Beside it stood a big board packed with names and scores. Beyond that, one large dorm that looked newly raised. The smell of new lumber reached all the way out here.

"Ah, shit! Second place again!"

A man who had set down a sack of minerals shouted in front of the board. The woman beside him burst out laughing and smacked his forearm.

...Livelier than our dorms, I'll give it that.

Then the front of the line stirred.

"The Commander's here!"

Doosik craned his neck. Messy hair, horn-rimmed glasses. Soft, drooping eyes, and a T-shirt with the collar stretched out. The kind of face you'd run into at any neighborhood PC cafe.

...That's him? That's the commander of Sector 8?

The man came along the line, dipping his head to each person in turn.

"You came from far off, didn't you? Go in and eat first. I'll scrape a spot together somehow."

"Whoa... he really is taking everyone......"

The man beside Doosik muttered it, looking overwhelmed. The commander stopped in front of him.

"Welcome. Your name?"

"...Hwang Doosik."

"Mr. Doosik. Good to meet you."

The commander held out his hand. Doosik took it. A soft hand, without a single callus.

...Why is this place so wide open?

Today, too, our base was packed shoulder to shoulder.

At this pace the repeating crossbow unlocks the day after tomorrow... and the workshop level-up won't be far behind either.

I was humming under my breath when I stopped.

...But if I keep letting just anyone in, the first thing anybody who's played a strategy game will do is plant a spy.

I switched on Squad Member Vision Share and started checking them one by one.

The first view. A gallery post filled the phone screen.

Why is everybody so obsessed with somebody else's dick?

Next.

Through the shaking leaves, Yeonju's voice carried over.

"Haaang... baby... right there...!"

At that point they were just enjoying sex outdoors. Seemed like the kind of thing where the nerves would kill it. I wasn't sure I'd even get there.

Next.

In a corner of the dorm, two men were under a single blanket.

...LGBT. In my base.

Next.

This time a woman was mounted on top of whoever owned the view.

"I like that you're gay, oppa. You don't get clingy after we're done."

"Noona... I really don't get hard for women..."

"You're hard. Shut up and lie there."

What kind of arrangement was that? Interesting enough, I'll admit. Usually that sort of thing only showed up in smut some guy wrote while fantasizing about fucking lesbians. Hmm.

Next.

A narrow bathroom stall. A text window on a phone.

A name floated at the edge of the view.

The mister I'd shaken hands with in line a little while ago. Sunburnt, square-jawed, the one who'd taken my hand awkwardly with his bundle still on his shoulder.

...Well, well. He actually came.