Protective Gear Is for Cowards

Morning broke.

Being on the seventh floor, the morning view was genuinely stunning. The sunlight blazed bright.

Everything was fine, except—

Frost clung to the wall on the 702 side.

"…"

Was Tatiana some kind of living humidifier? What the hell had she been doing?

Ju Eunseong's romance fantasy game is still bugging me, too.

The heroine's family name had been Karstein.

Obviously a coincidence. Probably a common name in German-speaking countries.

I'd ask Tatiana about it later. First priority was making breakfast. Had to feed the kids a solid meal before sending them off to school.

Creak.

The door opened and Yulha appeared looking perfectly put-together.

"Good morning, Director."

"Ugh… Unnieee… so sleepy…"

Arin, on the other hand, was a complete mess. Still, at least she'd gotten up.

"Morning, kids."

But one person was missing.

Even the little ones had managed to wake themselves up, yet the fully grown woman with an actual job was nowhere to be seen.

"Yu Seoa!!"

Still hadn't fixed that habit of sleeping in. Time for a proper wake-up call!

I threw the door open and found a cocoon of blankets rolled up like a swaddled baby.

"Zzz… zzz…"

Just her face peeking out, sleeping with zero self-preservation. Someone could cart her off and she wouldn't even notice.

I pinched Seoa's cheek and pulled.

"Euuuugh… stop iiit…"

Soft as a rice cake. Maximum squish factor.

After about a minute of relentless cheek-squishing, Yu Seoa finally sat up.

But I was completely unprepared for what came next.

As the blanket slid away, her clothes were fully revealed — a skin-tight spaghetti-strap top and dolphin shorts.

Seoa yawned and stretched her arms high overhead.

"Hwaaam…"

Oh, for fuck's sake.

The most violent stretch of my entire life.

Still half-asleep, Yu Seoa stumbled. I caught her around the waist and she melted right into my arms.

"…Sniiiiiff."

Why was she smelling me?

"You smell like Oppa. Hehehe…"

This wasn't going to work. Ready, Magnum?

Woof woof!

Mirror therapy, commence.

I pulled Seoa in tight and drew a deep breath into my lungs. A dizzyingly good scent rose from her body.

"Heehee… that tickles…"

Ten seconds passed.

"Hkyyaaaaah!!?"

Thwap thwap thwap thwap.

Yu Seoa went bright red and started pounding on my chest.

I woke you up, so take a shot.

Take a shot.

Day one of the second job.

I'd sent Yulha and Arin off to school.

Haaah. Why am I even…

I'd packed Puk-jjik-i properly, too.

Somehow I'd ended up commuting with Seoa and Tatiana, and both of them had this weird edge to their voices.

"C-Chief! Good morning!"

"Mm. Good morning. …Did you sleep well?"

"Pardon? Y-yes. …Why do you ask, if I may?"

Woman-speak was seriously hard.

Guys only needed three phrases: "thanks," "sorry," and "you bastard."

I followed the two of them into an ordinary-looking building. We took the stairs down to the third basement level, where a dust-caked freight elevator waited.

"998. Remember this well. This is one of the entrances to Site 277."

"Oppa. You have to press the elevator buttons in sequence."

Felt like an elevator to another world.

A moment later, with a grinding rattle, the elevator began its descent into the deep underground.

When the doors opened, a familiar style of corridor stretched out before us.

Walls blanketed in restrained gray concrete, security personnel with blank expressions, researchers in lab coats hurrying past.

The Management Bureau…

…The attraction!

Everyone was already deep in character this early in the morning. I'd better bring some spirit of my own.

"Chief, I'll head to the control room first."

"Go ahead. 998? The men's locker room is that way. Show your security ID and Logistics will issue your gear."

Pretty damn systematic. I could almost believe this was real.

I followed procedure and changed in the locker room.

Full combat loadout. Been a while.

Ah! Those precious, high-spirited days at the Marine stronghold!

In the mirror stood a man fully geared in black body armor.

My second job: actor for the Management Bureau attraction's Containment Special Forces. Employee and guest rolled into one.

For replicas, the equipment felt surprisingly high-grade. The gun looked close to the real thing, though naturally they hadn't issued live rounds.

When I stepped out of the locker room, Tatiana was waiting.

"998. It suits you."

"Thanks. But are you going to keep calling me by that serial number?"

"…Consider it a nickname."

A nickname?

I stared at her, and Tatiana's eyes rolled sideways with a slow swivel.

Had this woman been day-drinking?

Whatever.

We entered what looked like a command-and-control room. Several other fully geared Containment Special Forces operators were already standing around.

Appraising stares prickled from every direction.

"That the guy? Looks passable, at least."

"Isn't he an anomaly origin? Be honest — you think he'll manage even a quarter of what Tankjangyeon could do?"

"He's got a few achievements on record, but aren't those padded? Probably stole other people's credit."

Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the endless handshake requests.

A bunch of nobodies throwing around territorial bullshit.

…Or so I could have thought, but society worked that way. Everyone got touchy about someone taking their rice bowl.

"998. Pay them no mind."

"I know. Results do the talking."

"…Heh. That's the spirit."

When Tatiana walked to the center, everyone shut their mouths.

Apparently Tatiana ranked pretty high among the actors.

"Attention. I will brief the operation overview. This operation was jointly planned by the bases within Wide-Area Containment Zone 82. Containment Special Forces stationed at Sites 277, 50, and 388, as well as the Management Bureau's direct-command Containment Special Forces, will…"

Shit. I was already bored out of my skull.

I was gritting my teeth and pinching my thigh when Puk-jjik-i spoke up.

Hey. Hey. Snap out of it. You're gonna trash your image on day one.

But…

No wonder ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you're a middle school dropout. Pathetic♡ Moron♡

Excuse me?

Oh.

Thanks to Puk-jjik-i, I was wide awake.

By then Tatiana had pulled up a map and was explaining.

"I'll say it again: the objective of this operation is to resolve the sharp increase in possession phenomena over recent years. Our targets are corporations manufacturing and distributing unauthorized Objets. Simultaneous strikes will be conducted worldwide at the same hour."

"How many strike teams for the Republic of Korea?"

"Thirty teams. Refer to the operation briefs you've been issued for target corporations and locations. Capture corporate executives alive if possible."

There was an operation brief in front of me, too.

As I flipped through the pages, someone asked,

"Major Karstein. Who's handling the rookie?"

"I will, personally. 998?"

Tatiana looked at me.

"For this operation, you are temporarily assigned to Containment Special Forces unit Paradise Lost. My call sign is Sig-1. Yours is Sig-13. Understood?"

"Understood."

I nodded with full seriousness. Because I'd come to respect these people.

They're acting at a level that's basically indistinguishable from the real thing.

I had zero intention of mocking their professional pride. I'd throw everything I had into this too.

"We depart in thirty minutes. Each strike team is to review the operation, check weapons, and move to the hangar."

I followed behind Tatiana.

Thup-thup-thup-thup-thup-thup—

The helicopter's roar hammered against my eardrums. The high-altitude air I hadn't tasted in so long was bracing.

Lee Shin looked down at the distant ground below.

Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province?

Imposing buildings lined both sides of a neatly ordered main road.

Through his tactical visor, one building was highlighted and magnified.

Eden Software.

Tatiana tapped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lee Shin on the shoulder. Her radio cut through the propeller noise.

"Sig-13. Your Special Forces file says you've done rappel drops before."

"Like eating a meal. Used to go rappelling and North Korean fishing trips with Marine Hwang Geunchul all the time — brotherhood stuff."

How much of that was even true?

Tatiana shrugged. She'd grown somewhat accustomed to Lee Shin's nonsense by now.

The Special Forces' current target was Eden Software's Korea branch.

It was known as the developer of SIN-064, Mistook It for a Demon-Slaying Game — the anomaly that had possessed Lee Shin's older brother.

In reality, they were randomly scattering Objets that connected to other worlds.

Over a thousand people in Korea alone had gone missing after being possessed by that game. The numbers in the US, where the headquarters was located, were far higher.

Naturally, the truth had been kept from Lee Shin. They hadn't shown him the possession records either.

If he found out they were his brother's enemies, there was no telling how he'd go off.

Tatiana gave Lee Shin one more reminder.

"Sig-13. The most important thing in an operation is teamwork. I know better than anyone how exceptional your abilities are."

"Got it. No solo actions."

"Appreciate it. Ideally you wouldn't manifest any anomalous properties without orders from above, either, but…"

Telling a man who didn't even know he was a real anomaly would be pointless anyway.

"Sig-1. Over the target building."

Rappel lines dropped from the helicopter toward the rooftop. Just as the entire Special Forces unit stood to begin the descent, a problem arose.

"Enemy infantry on the roof! MANPADS armed!"

"Ah, you've gotta be kidding me."

In a country where firearms were illegal, how the hell had they gotten their hands on man-portable anti-air missiles?

The fact that they could was exactly why they were hostile to the Management Bureau.

The helicopter banked hard and the passengers lurched. A violent shudder ran through the entire airframe.

"One hit! Hull barrier depleted!"

"Suppressing fire."

Under a hail of bullets, the rooftop infantry dropped one after another. Tatiana kept her aim steady and thought,

Their response time is abnormally fast. How did they know?

If infantry were attempting anti-air interception, the interior would already be deep into evidence destruction. Armed forces could come pouring out at any moment.

"Sig-1. Switching to Plan B? Ground strike team is standing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠by for entry."

"There'll be some bleeding."

Not an ideal situation.

But one variable remained.

Lee Shin, who had been listening in silence, transmitted for the first time.

"Sig-1. There's a tactic I used back when I was active duty. Requesting authorization."

"…Without an explanation?"

"We're short on time, aren't we? Target is the thirty-eighth floor, correct?"

"Correct."

When Tatiana nodded, Lee Shin grabbed a rappel line.

"…Sig-13? Why aren't you wearing protective gloves?"

"That stuff is for cowards."

His older brother — a walking embodiment of pure testosterone — had said it just like this.

Lee Shin. My little brother. Listen well. The sole purpose of protective gear is drip. The second you put it on because you don't want to get hurt, you become a coward.

Brother Kars. What about a cup, then?

The moment you wear one, three generations of balls rot and fall off!! Anyway… the important thing is faith!

Brother. How are you standing on water?

With enough faith, you can do it too. For example, rappelling bare-handed—

"Rappelling bare-handed is gonna burn like hell, right?"

But it looked cool. Cool was romance.

And maybe he'd throw a spoonful of fighting spirit on top.

Lee Shin gripped the rappel with one hand and drew his dagger with the other.

Tick.

The unbreakable dagger touched the line. Azazel recoiled in horror at the sensation running through her body.

Hey. …You're not. I feel pain at full intensity, you know?

"Puk-jjik-i! Spray me some spectacular sparks!!"

Shrrrk, krrrrrk-krrrk!!!

Lee Shin grabbed the line and leapt from the helicopter.

AAAAAAAGH!! H-hot, it's so fucking hot!!

In the helicopter above.

"…"

While the entirety of Containment Special Forces Paradise Lost stood dumbstruck, Tatiana stared blankly downward.

Friction smoke rose from Lee Shin's right hand, then caught fire. The sparks kicked up by the dagger grinding against the rappel line scattered brilliantly across the open sky.

The human tinderbox traced a perfect arc and smashed through a thirty-eighth-floor window.

"…"

"…Whoa."

Was that thing even human?

Crackle.

A voice came through the radio.

Tatiana let out a hollow laugh.

"You think that's possible? Want to try it yourself?"

"…? Please retransmit."

"Change of tactics. All of Paradise Lost will support Sig-13."

Thirty-eighth floor.

Eden Software Korea Branch, Business Team 2.

The Team 2 manager leisurely drew his pistol.

"Boss. Rooftop forces wiped out."

"The helicopter?"

"Pulled back to distance."

"Figures. Common sense says you don't push in when you could get shot down. They'll come up from the first floor."

Hundreds of booby traps would be waiting to greet them.

After that, a kill zone packed with auto-turrets and unregistered anomalies.

Even the Management Bureau wouldn't suppress this place quickly. This was why you needed a solid backer.

Thanks to that, I've made enough money to last a lifetime. Time to retire.

Illegal businesses always made the easy money.

A smile crept onto his lips unbidden.

"The executives?"

"They've gone through the portal. Stabilizing the next one now. Get ready."

"Good. Appreciate the hard work."

Ten minutes, tops, and he'd be out of here.

As for the meat shields downstairs… well. Just bad luck on their part.

Common sense said nobody would come in through a thirty-eighth-floor window with armed personnel pointing guns at it.

Common sense said.

The manager turned his back to the window and twisted his lips into a smirk.

That was when someone pointed behind him.

"…What the hell is that?"

"What. Just pack your stuff."

"N-no. Behind you — behind!!"

What was behind him that had them screeching like that?

The manager clicked his tongue and turned toward the window.

"Huh?"

A massive Containment Special Forces operator was mid-body-slam against the glass from outside.

Clutching a flaming king-sized fist-bomb of a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠punch in one hand, and a dagger finished with a fire-attribute enchantment in the other.