As If Nothing Had Happened

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At the soft rustling sound, I stirred awake — and the moment I looked down, I nearly screamed.

The Commander was straddling me.

Completely naked.

"Sorry. Did I startle you? I figured it was about time to wake you up."

The Commander apologized as if she had nothing to be ashamed of.

"Um… why are you naked…?"

There were plenty of questions I could have asked, but that one seemed like the thing to get out of the way first.

"Hm? What are you talking about? This is how I always wake you, isn't it?"

Oh.

Come to think of it… I suppose that was true.

Not every day, but it had happened before.

"You worked hard yesterday, so as a reward…."

With those words, the Commander placed her hand between my legs.

She slipped my underwear down and wrapped her fingers around me.

Embarrassing as it was to admit, I was already hard.

"Commander…."

Her hand was soft and yielding.

The sensation was better than I could have imagined, and my body jolted.

"I told you, haven't I? When we're at home, you can call me Mom."

Her voice was gentle yet firm, like a mother gently scolding her son.

Right. She had said that.

It was still a form of address I struggled to get used to.

When I was young, I lost my family to criminals.

The one who took in an orphaned boy was the Commander — or rather, my adoptive mother, Mia.

From that day on, I lived under her roof.

More than ten years ago now.

"You were such a little thing back then, and look how you've grown… Your morning wood works just fine too, huh?"

My adoptive mother rubbed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me as she spoke, sounding genuinely proud.

No, Mia — it's not because of morning wood, it's just….

I couldn't even bear to finish the thought.

Simply that Mia's body was too damn arousing.

"Oh my."

Her caressing fingers felt so good that I came almost immediately.

"I'm sorry, Command— I mean, Mom. I should have warned you first."

"It's fine."

She brought her cum-slicked hand to her lips and licked it clean.

"So this is what it tastes like. My son's cum. I'll remember that."

"You really don't need to remember that…."

"Well then — now that we've gotten one energetic release out of the way, time to get up, don't you think? You'll be late for your morning lecture at this rate."

At that, I grabbed the phone sitting by my pillow and checked the time.

Just as she said, it was dangerously close.

"Oh no…!"

I shot out of bed.

After a quick wash, I threw on my clothes and rushed out of the house, running the whole way to the station without a single break.

"Why isn't he here yet…."

When I arrived, I found her sulking and muttering to herself.

"Grey— I mean, Eun-ah!"

At the sound of my voice, her face lit up for an instant — then, as if nothing had happened, she turned away with an annoyed look.

"What took you so long? I'm gonna be late because of you."

"Sorry. Were you waiting long?"

"I wasn't waiting or anything… Well, after yesterday, you must be tired. I'll let it slide just for today."

Yesterday.

At that word, my mind went back to it.

Operation Guillotine.

We had launched a full-scale assault on BBC's headquarters.

The operation was wrapped up successfully.

Though it was, at best, only half a victory.

The key players had caught wind of it long before and fled.

Every last document tied to them had been scrubbed clean — we didn't salvage a shred of usable intelligence.

At this rate, all we'd done was rough them up a little.

While I was lost in thought, a horn sounded from the speaker overhead.

"Perfect timing, I see."

"Oh, yeah."

"What are you brooding about this time? Off daydreaming your serious little scenarios again? You're too serious about everything, you know. It's a wonder you haven't broken down by now."

Eun-ah said this, then pressed her index finger against my forehead.

"Even a small victory is a victory — you've got to enjoy it while you can. Right, Commander?"

Eun-ah grinned playfully.

No one would ever believe that this innocent, adorable girl was Grey Hound — that cold, taciturn hero.

Even I find it hard to swallow sometimes.

Eun-ah and I had been friends since childhood.

Or to be precise, we met through my parents — that is, through my adoptive mother, the former Lone Wolf, Mia.

Eun-ah had idolized heroes since she was little.

So she begged and begged Mia to train her.

And now she'd grown into a hero in her own right — no, more than that, the kind of hero Mia could honestly call her pride.

Ordinarily, though, she looks like nothing more than an ordinary university student like this.

"By the way, did you finish the assignment?"

Eun-ah asked as we stepped onto the train.

"Yeah. Finished it all before the operation."

"Great. Show me later. I haven't done a single one."

"Keep that up and you'll actually fail."

"So what? Heroes don't need to study anyway~"

Eun-ah said breezily.

"And what happens when the world's finally at peace? What then?"

At my remark, Eun-ah went "Hmm…" and paused for a moment before breaking into a mischievous smile.

"Well, then… I guess I'll just freeload off you?"

"Who said anything about taking care of you?"

I shot back, exasperated.

"Fine, don't. Hmph."

Eun-ah's face instantly turned wounded.

How does this girl stay such a child no matter how old she gets?

"Kidding. We look out for each other, that's all."

"That is not what I meant! Seriously, you…."

Eun-ah heaved a long-suffering sigh, as if she'd given up on me.

Around then, the train pulled away from the platform.

Our university was four stations away.

It ranked fairly well domestically, but honestly, we'd chosen it less for that than for how close it was.

A degree was nothing more than a surface, after all.

The Supreme Commander — my adoptive mother — wished for me to live a normal life, but unfortunately, that's something I can't do.

My parents were police officers.

Detectives in violent crimes, to be exact.

Upright and incorruptible — the very model of what a detective should be.

But then as now, South Korea was no place for righteous people to stay safe.

My parents were no exception.

They died in an operation to root out a criminal syndicate.

The killer walked away with a mere four-year sentence, served a short stint behind bars, and walked free.

Even that was nothing but the organization cutting off its own tail through a low-level pawn.

Such was the reality of South Korea today.

A rotten society where money, power, and brute force were the only absolutes.

Someone had to set it right. That was what I believed.

And so I chose this path.

Unsung and precarious though it may be — the path of seeing justice done.

"Oh, right — apparently we're getting a transfer student today."

As we got off at our stop and rode the escalator down, Eun-ah brought it up.

"A transfer student? This late in the semester?"

"Yeah. I heard it in the department group chat."

"Is that so?"

"Honestly, pay a little attention to what's around you, will you? The girls who follow you around would cry."

"As if such girls exist."

I chuckled at the absurdity of it.

"Suuure they don't."

If I were a girl, I think I'd hate a guy like me too — drab, and serious to a fault.

Well, Eun-ah probably only said it for my own good.

Still, a transfer student.

Not even at the start of the semester — who on earth transfers now?

That question answered itself the moment we walked into the lecture hall.

There he was, impossible to miss. Someone we'd never seen before.

Blond hair, deeply tanned skin.

A combination that fit together not at all — features that looked nothing like a Korean's — and yet, ironically, his face itself was unmistakably, classically Korean.

Even as a man, my very first thought was that he was remarkably handsome.

Handsome enough that that bizarre combination didn't come off the slightest bit ridiculous.

"I guess that's the transfer student."

"Looks like it."

While Eun-ah and I were whispering, my eyes met the transfer student's.

He let out an "Oh." — then immediately rose from his seat and came over.

"Wh-what is it?"

Eun-ah panicked, ducking behind me and peeking out.

A rare sight, that.

Eun-ah, scared.

Strictly speaking, it was less fear than wariness — the man simply looked too alien.

"Nice to meet ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you, Ha Seung-woo. And you're Lee Eun-ah, right? I'm John Yoo. Yoo's the family name, John's the given name."

John extended his hand as if offering a handshake.

With a sour look, I took it — and he shook my arm hard enough to make it ache.

"Uh, sorry, but… do we know each other?"

At my question, John flashed a slick smile, leaned his face in close, and whispered.

"You'll find out soon enough. Brother."

Then he gave my shoulder a couple of pats and sauntered back to his seat.

"Wh-what's with that guy…? Do you know him?"

"No. I have no idea…."

He didn't approach us again for the rest of the morning.

After lectures ended, Eun-ah and I parted ways to head home.

That's what it looked like, at least.

Only our destination wasn't home.

The basement of an aging commercial building, two blocks from the station.

On paper, it's a storage space — but in practice, it serves a very different purpose.

The hidden base of the Justice Corps: a vigilante organization of heroes, operating in secret.

You enter the building, take the elevator, and punch in the floor numbers like a sequence of passwords.

With a soft clunk, the elevator lurches into motion and descends to the third basement level — a floor that shouldn't exist.

When the doors open, a narrow corridor stretches out ahead.

Follow that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠straight line of bare concrete to its end, and a door appears.

Pass the iris scan ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and fingerprint check, and it slides open on its own to reveal a vast chamber.

The tactical operations room of the Justice Corps.

The room was already buzzing by the time we stepped in.

"Ah — perfect timing, Commander."

The Supreme Commander's voice rang out from across the floor.

We pressed deeper inside — and were greeted by a rather startling sight.

"Since everyone's here, allow me to introduce our newest member — a physical therapist joining the team as of today."

Where the Supreme Commander pointed stood a face I recognized.

I'd only seen him hours ago, and yet his image was already seared vividly into my memory.

His features were simply too striking to forget.

"I'm John Yoo. Yoo is the family name, John is the given name. Feel free to call me whichever you prefer."

John said with a bright smile.

Then he stepped over to the Supreme Commander and murmured something in her ear.

And for some reason, the Supreme Commander's face flushed a shy red.

"John, honestly…. Ah — for the record, John is my nephew. I've known him since he was little. He lived in America his whole life before coming over this time. He's still young, but his skill is nothing short of exceptional. That much, I can personally guarantee."

"You flatter me, Auntie."

It was a side of the Supreme Commander we almost never saw — that emotional, almost giddy.

And more than that, how should I put it… there was a sweetness between them, the kind you'd expect from a couple.

They stood far too close, too.

Close enough to grate on the nerves.

"My aunt introduced me as a physical therapist — a physiotherapist, if you like — but I think of myself as an engineer. The human body runs on mechanisms not so different from a machine's. And I can optimize those mechanisms for you, effectively and efficiently."

"For the record, John's parents run a medical business in the United States. In that field, their name carries real weight — anyone who's anyone knows it. His parents have given their blessing to his joining us as well. I expect he'll be a tremendous asset to this team."

"Whatever the injury, I'm your man. I can take care of all of it."

John turned to face everyone, his voice brimming with confidence.

"Why is he here…?!"

Reeling from the shock, I could only whisper the words.