Please Help Me
“Haa... damn it.”
I was sprawled out on the floor of the training room, gasping for breath.
My entire body was screaming in pain, and every joint from where Nyx had just mercilessly attacked me felt like it was on fire.
Since I’d grabbed her chest by accident, she hadn’t said a single word.
She approached with a cold, emotionless expression as if all feelings had been wiped away, relentlessly throwing techniques at me without a moment’s pause.
This was no longer sparring meant to teach skills.
It was clearly one-sided suppression, more like emotional catharsis.
“Ugh… I’ll charge you for the hospital bill, just you wait.”
I managed to spit out the words in a groan. Nyx brushed her sweat-soaked emerald-blue hair aside once and replied coolly.
“Suit yourself. That’s enough for today. Good job.”
She turned without even glancing back at me and headed toward the shower room set up in one corner of the training room.
The door slammed shut with a loud clang.
Insane woman… she’s really tough. I just accidentally touched her, and she goes this far?
Struggling to lift my upper body, the pain spreading through my whole body made me give up and collapse back to the floor.
I reached my hand toward the ceiling, staring blankly at it.
Soft.
The sensation was still vividly fresh in my hand.
It was different from when Yuna’s chest had pressed firmly against my body—something impossible to describe.
During the fight, I’d grabbed her without realizing it, and the intense feeling had been etched into every fingertip on my hand.
“Hey, Kang Jinwoo. You okay?”
Dutch had suddenly appeared and crouched beside me. He scanned the area quickly before lowering his voice in a lewd whisper.
“No, I feel like I’m dying right now.”
“Kkukuk, our hyung’s grip is pretty intense, huh? But honestly, there’s something even more interesting I want to know…”
His eyes sparkled with that ominous gleam.
“That thing earlier… the one about hyung’s chest. How was it? Huh? Tell me how it felt! Was it soft and squishy? Or was it surprisingly firm muscle? What about the size?! I mean, it looked huge from the outside, but the real feel must be different!”
Is this guy serious right now? I was so speechless I couldn’t even answer.
“I don’t feel like entertaining your disgusting curiosity, so get lost already.”
His slight flinch at my cold reply made him step back, but his eyes still brimmed with desperation as he stared at me.
“Aww, come on. As fellow men, just share a little info, will you? I mean, every time I try to learn techniques from you, I’m dying of curiosity. That size would probably just be a light C-cup, right? Not that I’m assuming anything!”
“You disgusting bastard. Is that the only reason you follow Nyx around?”
“Damn, you’re really uptight.”
Dutch clicked his tongue.
I’d disliked him the moment I first saw him.
That hulking frame, the unkempt beard, and the way he acted screamed low-life womanizer.
“If you open that filthy mouth even once more in front of me, I’ll really kill you. Got it? I can’t figure out why Nyx drags a loser like you around.”
“Why are you acting like this? We’re both men, right?”
“Last warning. Don’t say it again.”
My killing gaze made him click his tongue and slink out of the training room.
I worried he might be heading to Nyx’s shower to peek, but luckily he just flopped onto the lobby sofa and stayed put.
After who knows how much time had passed, I received a message that Kaien had returned to her office, so I dragged my aching body over to her.
“I heard you were looking for me?”
Inside the office, Kaien greeted me with her usual cool smile.
“How’s your body? You looked really off earlier.”
“As you can see, not great at all.”
I answered with an awkward laugh.
“Hmm, seems like the wounds got worse while I wasn’t looking. Did you get into another fight with someone?”
She narrowed her eyes, studying me, then snorted.
“Well, Nyx said she’d repay me with combat techniques, so she taught me some. I’m on my way back after learning.”
“Oh? Nyx’s skills are quite impressive. It’s a good idea to learn properly while you can. Even the best pilots need to know how to protect their own bodies.”
“That’s true. Anyway, I came to formally thank you for your support last time.”
Kaien waved dismissively, as if it were nothing.
“What are you thanking me for? Scarlet just caused some trouble again, so I had to step in. And above all, it was only possible because of your skills.”
Kaien stroked her chin for a moment before continuing.
“Actually, I just had a tiring conversation with the higher-ups about your recent incident.”
“Higher-ups… like the Terminus Operations Committee?”
“Well, something like that.”
She got straight to the point.
“No major issues will arise, so don’t worry. I handled all the mobilized forces under my direct command, and the report about the clash with Nexus was filed as self-defense and station security cooperation.”
“So… that’s it?”
It felt suspicious that such a big event was resolved so easily.
Even in this sanctuary for free mercenaries, a direct military clash with a mega-corp shouldn’t have been swept under the rug.
“Yeah, that’s right. Of course it’s not over yet.”
Kaien chuckled and nodded, confirming my guess.
“What should I say… this time it really was just dumb luck.”
She activated the holographic screen on her desk.
“All data from the conflict zone has been completely wiped. Our support mechs’ logs too.”
She let out a heavy sigh.
“I almost got suspected of trying to cover up the incident myself, but luckily evidence was insufficient and I got cleared.”
Data Ghost… that skill is really something.
“Jinwoo, be careful not to cause direct friction with corporations. Honestly, the higher-ups aren’t too fond of you.”
“…So, you mean avoid all combat with corporations?”
“Just don’t poke the hive. They’re just one branch of Nexus. Even with your skills, fighting them head-on is smarter.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Mmm.”
Kaien ruffled her hair lightly.
“Also, look up combat rules and memorize them. When facing corporate ships or mechs, open a specific public channel and clearly state you have no intent to fight, and most unnecessary clashes can be avoided.”
“Huh? Is there such a method?”
“Hmm, you really haven’t heard of it.”
She shook her head slightly, looking troubled.
“It’s amazing you managed to live as a mercenary without knowing basic stuff like this.”
She snapped her fingers, as if a good idea had just struck her.
“Oh! Speaking of which, there’s the perfect person to teach you!”
A polite knock sounded from the office door a moment later.
“This is Nyx. I’ve come because Kaien-nim called me. May I enter?”
The voice from outside already sounded sharp and precise.
“Yeah, come in, Nyx.”
Kaien answered softly and grinned at me.
“I told you a hundred times I don’t like stiff manners. You military types just can’t change, can you? It’s funny, really.”
“Haha… well, it’s not exactly like someone else’s problem.”
“Are you military too?”
By the time she finished, the door had opened and Nyx stepped inside.
She glanced at me briefly before fixing her gaze on Kaien and standing at attention.
“You called, Kaien-nim?”
“Nyx, I told you a million times. I don’t like stiff manners.”
“This is comfortable, actually.”
“No, I find it uncomfortable!”
Kaien patted her own chest in frustration.
“So, may I ask why I called you?”
“Well, apparently you made Jinwoo like this?”
Nyx’s gaze lingered on me for a second before snapping back to Kaien.
She bit her lower lip, as if she might have caused a big problem.
“Since you’re military, you should know all basic combat rules, right?”
“Of course.”
“Okay, quick quiz! What’s the public emergency communication frequency for Nexus?”
“Public channel NC-7700, emergency channel NC-0000.”
“Correct! As expected of Nyx. Well done.”
Kaien raised her thumb in satisfaction.
“You didn’t call me for this, did you?”
“I asked you to take on a mission, right? So I’ve assigned you the perfect one.”
Nyx’s expression hardened slightly.
“I sincerely hope what I’m thinking right now isn’t what you have in mind.”
“You’re pretty sharp. It really is the perfect fit? While you’re at it, give basic theory lessons too.”
“Haa…”
Nyx lowered her head in deep resignation and shot me a resentful glare before answering.
“Understood.”
“Great! Then the two of you handle the schedule. I’ll be going now.”
I followed Nyx out of Kaien’s office.
“For now… we start tomorrow.”
She said it flatly without turning around in the hallway.
“Tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I need to prepare stuff for the lessons. You… have time whenever, right?”
“Of course. I’m not busy.”
“I’ll need to contact you, so here.”
Nyx stopped briefly, pulled a crumpled paper and small pen from her pocket, scribbled something, and handed it over.
“My personal number.”
I entered the number into my terminal and immediately sent a test message.
A short vibration rang from Nyx’s device.
“What is this emoji?”
She checked my message and frowned.
“Muscle emoji.”
I sent the bicep pose again.
“I’ll contact you when the schedule is set.”
Nyx replied briefly and stopped in front of her private room.
“How far do you plan to follow me?”
“Nyx, about earlier in the training room… I know you’re still angry about the accident, but it really was an accident. Huh? More importantly, watch out for that Dutch guy. His eyes looked weird earlier.”
“I know. It was an accident.”
“If you know, maybe loosen up a bit. Honestly, you’ve been scary since earlier.”
Her constantly expressionless face and stiff tone kept nagging at me.
“I’m not mad. Go already.”
She’s not mad in the slightest… it’s all over her face.
She waved her ID card through the terminal and walked into her room without another word.
“Sigh… I should probably find my own place soon.”
Staying at Scarlet’s again would be awkward if the same trouble happened as last time.
Moreover, once she started working, she blasted rock music at full volume through her earphones for hours on end. I couldn’t handle that.
As I walked away from Kaien’s office, my terminal suddenly buzzed with an urgent alert.
From: Yuna
[Please help me.]
The moment I read the short, desperate message, my blood ran cold.
It had to be an emergency. She’d left in a hurry.
There was no way she’d run into trouble in the middle of a mission.
I immediately called her on voice comms.