“You want to leave this place… suddenly?”
Seoryeong looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze. It didn’t seem like he meant simply leaving the monastery or going on a short vacation. The pulse beneath his neck began to beat rapidly. As she only looked at him without saying anything, the same sharp gaze returned to her. The answer had actually been there from the beginning, but for some reason, her mouth felt difficult to open.
“I…”
You know, I can’t just leave. That sentence felt stuck at the edge of her chest, making Seoryeong only able to take a step back. At that moment, Lee Wooshin frowned and took a hurried breath, as if suppressing something. His hand suddenly gripped Seoryeong’s hand tightly.
“――!”
The man looked at her with anxious eyes and held her hand firmly. His gaze directed at her felt so intense—whether full of passion or despair—that Seoryeong’s lower chest felt tight. The grip was hot. However… because she hadn’t been able to hold Kim Hyeon accountable for anything yet, the unease that shook her heart was swallowed whole. As long as that wasn’t resolved, Seoryeong felt she wouldn’t be able to move anywhere, not even a single step. So she changed the subject, as if shifting the atmosphere.
“…Before your wound gets worse, you should put some medicine on it.”
“……”
Lee Wooshin closed his eyes in silence. As if accepting reality with resignation. However, his furrowed brow clearly showed how sensitive his feelings were. Even so, the man still didn’t let go of her hand. Seoryeong’s wrist, trapped in his grip, felt throbbing. Soon after, the team members began putting the children into a small trailer prepared by the monastery. Along with them, several blankets, spare diapers, water bottles, towels, and other small items were also included. The trailer was connected to a truck, and the team members immediately sat in their respective places, as if everything had been arranged beforehand. Seoryeong, still standing in place, looked confused about where to go, until Jin Hoje came over while chewing on dried carrots and offered her a snack.
“It seems one person has to go with the children in the trailer.”
“Then I’ll go.”
Seoryeong reflexively accepted the dried vegetable snack and replied. But at that moment, Lee Wooshin appeared, closing one of the trailer doors and signaling coldly.
“Member Han Seoryeong, you sit next to me.”
“……”
Her expression instantly froze. Unconsciously, Seoryeong looked up at the sky. Jin Hoje, seeing them looking back and forth, finally hurriedly picked up the last child and said, “Then I’ll just go inside!” and immediately entered the trailer. Seoryeong clenched her fist and obediently got into the passenger seat. But as she put on her seatbelt, her movements were rough and hurried.
“Are you going to keep acting like this?”
He asked in a low voice, sounding like a protest. An order from a superior had to be obeyed. Yes, it really did… but an inexplicable annoyance kept bubbling up from within. Ever since arriving at this monastery, Lee Wooshin’s constant protectiveness had been enough to make her uncomfortable. Even so, she still tried to restrain herself and obey, because she didn’t want to go against orders just because of her feelings.
“Do you feel burdened?”
“No, it’s because of the Instructor that I’m working without even feeling burdened.”
Seoryeong replied coldly, biting into a piece of carrot. The end of her sentence somehow sounded sharper than she had intended. As Wooshin turned towards her and started the engine, suddenly the sound of banging on the trailer wall was heard. It was a signal from Jin Hoje, who approached the front window with an awkward expression while scratching his forehead.
“Sorry, Chief… one of the girls wet herself…”
“So what?”
“If one pees, the others follow suit…”
“I’ll go back there.”
Seoryeong immediately released her seatbelt and was about to get out. However, Wooshin quickly pulled the belt back and locked it with a click. Seoryeong’s body, which was almost out, was pushed back by the locked belt. She looked at Wooshin with a disbelieving expression.
“Member Jin Hoje, return to your position.”
The man’s cold breath felt very close. Jin Hoje looked uneasy, then finally backed away. Seoryeong bit her lower lip. Ah… I can’t take this anymore. Was he really going to be this harsh? The pent-up annoyance finally reached the top of her head.
“Instructor, let me go to the back. I can change diapers without blinking. Before joining Blast Corps, that was my job. I can do it quickly, without wasting any time.”
“Return to your position.”
“I’m not like the other members who are good at shooting or strategy, but why do I keep…!”
Finally, she couldn’t hold back anymore and snapped. She roughly wiped her forehead and glared at the man with angry eyes.
“Is this what you meant when you said I shouldn’t do anything?”
“Member Han Seoryeong.”
“If I’m just going to sit next to you like this, do you really consider me a team member?”
“I’m the one who judges that, as the team leader.”
“Yes, I know. That’s why I’ve tried my best to follow all your orders.”
She gritted her teeth and turned her face to the window. But that low voice echoed near her ear: “Look at me when I talk.”
Suddenly, her face was forced to turn back. The cheek that was touched felt hot. With trembling eyes, Seoryeong continued: “I feel… you’re treating me not as a team member, but like a keychain.”
“New members aren’t meant to work, just do as they’re told.”
“……!”
“You sit there just to stay quiet and know your place. But—”
He narrowed one eye, then looked at Seoryeong.
“Why do you keep trying to do something?”
Seoryeong’s anger peaked, but she took a deep breath and restrained herself. This had happened several times since they came to Sakhalin. Told to participate, then told to step back. Even though she had heard several times that she was being treated specially, Seoryeong still obeyed the team’s orders. She endured the awkwardness in front of her seniors.
“Do I have to explain everything one by one to a new member like you?”
“…….”
“Adjust your seating position. Your seatbelt is twisted.”
His tone was cold as he reprimanded Seoryeong’s seating position, which looked as if she was ready to jump out. Their gazes met and immediately felt like an electric shock. Seoryeong instead unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the passenger door.
“Then, you might as well just give me a sanction.”
“……!”
Without turning her head even slightly, she walked towards the trailer and switched places with Jin Hoje. Her heart pounded loudly as if Lee Wooshin would chase after her immediately, but the truck, which had seemed broken and silent, suddenly let out a rough exhaust sound and began to move forward. His driving was very rough, like someone who was annoyed. Although her breathing was ragged, Seoryeong pressed her throbbing temples. Since coming to this place, not a single thing had gone smoothly.
She did blame everything on that man, but in reality, she herself was just as unstable. She wanted to refuse and trample on every word that came out of his mouth. She wasn’t going through puberty anymore, but for some reason, all her words came out sharply. Inside the vehicle that shook as it went over the dirt road, Seoryeong approached the smelly children with a tense face. With mechanical movements, she put diapers on them or replaced the heavy ones with new ones. It seemed they hadn’t been properly bathed for several days. The children’s buttocks were chafed and festering with sores from feces. Seoryeong adjusted the positions of the swaying children while holding her breath heavily. As despair began to engulf her, the color of her face also faded to pale. Ku-Kwang—! Kwang—!
“――!”
The ear-splitting sound of an explosion made her body bounce. The back of her head slammed hard against the ceiling, and her vision briefly turned blue. She didn’t have time to think clearly about what was happening. What was that… the sound of an explosion…? There really was an explosion just now…―. The trailer, as if hit by a large object, detached from the truck, then floated and rolled over once, making a sharp scraping sound. Even though her body was slammed hard against the trailer wall, Seoryeong still stretched out her arms, trying to protect the children.
“Ugh…!”
Her scalp felt hot, probably bleeding. She suppressed her nausea and forced her eyes open, seeing that the side of the trailer was severely crumpled. With her consciousness almost gone, she bit her tongue.
“Hh… Ugh…”
Moving even slightly made the pain in her body feel like her bones were breaking. But she gritted her teeth and forced herself to get up. She checked the children lying scattered one by one, searching for their pulses. Not dead… they’re not dead. Just unconscious…. Her eyelashes trembled violently. Then suddenly, her drooping head snapped up. Then… the truck in front? What about the other members?
“Hh…!”
With a face frozen in fear, she suppressed a sob. She forced her body to move, trying to push the door that was crumpled like paper, then began kicking it forcefully. As soon as the door opened, a terrifying heat touched her skin.
“――!”
As soon as she got out, she saw dark red flames raging menacingly. Stuck in the ground was something shaped like an arrow—a long missile. That thing had been fired from afar, severing the steel connection between the trailer and the truck, and separating them in a horrific way. The split trailer and truck were clearly visible in the distance. The front of the truck was still emitting sparks and was overturned, continuing to slide on the ground.
“Instructor―!”
She screamed at the top of her lungs. But because her ears were ringing loudly as if her eardrums had burst, she didn’t realize that someone was approaching her from behind. Sususuk, sususuk—the sound of someone breaking through the bushes. When Seoryeong finally noticed and turned around, a heavy blow struck her body and knocked her down in one attack.
“――.”
In an inverted view, she caught a neat jawline, a wide-open mouth, and strangely constricted pupils. A familiar face, carrying an RPG launcher like shouldering a fishing rod. That face was faintly smiling—whether grim or not—and Seoryeong’s entire body stiffened. Her limp body began to be dragged away just like that. The man’s footsteps were incredibly light. The uneven rocky ground scraped her feet like a whip. She tried to struggle, but only useless grains of soil got under her fingernails.
I-Instructor…―. Her vision slowly went black.