Before Taeui could finish his sentence, Kim Jeongpil swung his fist. The powerful punch landed squarely as he grabbed Taeui by the collar, sending him crashing to the ground. Almost immediately, Taeui felt the sting of a split lip, the taste of blood spreading in his mouth.

“You hit me…….?”

Taeui gingerly touched the wound with his tongue for a moment, then shot a sharp, cold glare at Kim Jeongpil. It seemed like today he had really stepped into trouble.

“Hey, they’re fighting! They’re fighting! I heard Taeui’s going up against his old rival!” The curious onlookers, with no intention of breaking up the fight, gathered around, cheering excitedly. Among the crowd, voices rang out: “Taeui, don’t lose!” or “Hey, don’t call the instructor yet, let’s see how this goes!”

Only Yoon Changoh made any effort to stop the fight, but his attempts were in vain. As he tried to say: “Taeui, calm down. Jeongpil, stop this!”, both had already grabbed each other’s collars and were locked in a brawl.

“YOU BASTARD, WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST STAY IN TAE-REUNG* AND DIE? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, PULLING THIS STUNT?”

“YOU FREAKING WEIRDO GAY!”

They hurled insults while throwing punches, tumbling over each other on the ground. The scuffle had no clear direction, with a few spectators getting caught in the crossfire, receiving stray punches or kicks. The fight grew increasingly violent, with curses flying: “You jerk! You piece of trash!”; “You’re going down today, you scumbag!”

The crowd abandoned their seats, pushing and shoving as they gathered closer around the fighters. The brawl unfolded almost like a staged combat, attracting more and more attention. Bystanders began to ask: “What’s going on? Is it a fight?”

But the fighters no longer cared about the growing crowd.

By now, Taeui had completely lost control, and Kim Jeongpil, gripping his collar tightly as if to strangle him, was no better.

“Hey, Taeui, Jeongpil, stop this…….,” – Yoon Changoh’s voice pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears. In fact, no sound reached their ears anymore, not the cheers nor the boos of the crowd.

Suddenly, a heavy blow landed on Taeui’s right jaw. Had he managed to pull back in time, it might have softened the impact, but with his grip still firmly on Jeongpil’s collar, the punch struck him full force.

In an instant, stars exploded before Taeui’s eyes. As he stumbled backward, some unlucky bystanders who couldn’t get out of the way were knocked over, crying out in pain: “Ah! My leg!”; “Ow! My shin’s broken!”

“That punch was as soft as a pillow, and you still had the nerve to throw it, you damn freak gay ass…….”

Kim Jeongpil spat out the insult between heavy breaths. Despite his bravado, he wasn’t in great shape either.

“――Fine, then. How about I let you taste that ‘pillow punch’ again, but this time the real thing.”

Taeui gritted his teeth. Grabbing Kim Jeongpil’s collar once more – after momentarily losing his grip – he clenched his right fist tight. This time, he was determined to smash that smug face. Pulling his arm back, he prepared to deliver a powerful blow.

But just at that moment.

The crowd, which had seemingly backed off to a safe distance, wasn’t as far away as Taeui thought. He suddenly felt his arm collide forcefully with something behind him. It wasn’t just a bump, but a hard, jarring impact.

“Huh…….?”

Taeui had been so caught up in the fight that he hadn’t cared if he hit anyone in the crowd, but this collision was too big to ignore. The force was strong enough that he realized it instantly.

A frown creased his face as a flicker of guilt crossed his mind, thinking some fool must have stood too close and got caught in the crossfire. Taeui lowered his arm and turned around.

But something was wrong.

The air had fallen into a strange silence.

Odd. Just moments ago, the crowd’s murmur and laughter had been buzzing in the background. But now, nothing. The people were still packed tightly around them, yet an eerie quiet had settled over the scene.

No, it wasn’t just quiet. Everyone seemed frozen in place, their eyes locked on something behind Taeui – where the collision had just occurred.

“…………..”

This wasn’t just strange anymore……. Taeui felt an unsettling sense of foreboding creeping in.

Slowly, he turned his head, almost like a rusty, creaking robot, to where his arm had struck someone. There, clutching their chest where they had been hit, stood a figure.

For some reason, Taeui couldn’t bring himself to look up and see his face. An inexplicable fear had gripped him, a deep, instinctual dread. He didn’t even want to know why the atmosphere around him had turned so cold, as if someone had doused him in ice water.

“……… Cough.”

The man who had taken the full brunt of Taeui’s elbow to his chest finally let out a soft cough. Taeui still hadn’t looked up, slowly, very slowly, pulling his arm and elbow away from the man. That cough—it sounded so unnervingly familiar.

“Nice job, huh? You even hit innocent people now?”

The air around them grew cold, and even under the weight of the strange tension, Kim Jeongpil couldn’t resist throwing in a bitter remark as he glanced around. His eyes eventually landed on the man Taeui had just struck. A brief stunned – “Oh…….” – slipped out from his mouth.

“You’re the guy we ran into on the staircase landing the other day……. right?”

Damn it.

Taeui swallowed down the anger rising to the tip of his tongue. A bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

There was no avoiding this now. Slowly, ever so slowly, he raised his head bit by bit. And, with no other choice, he found himself face to face with Ilay, who was quietly gazing down at him.

“……………”

He didn’t mean to hit him—absolutely not. Taeui definitely hadn’t intended to strike Ilay. His mind raced, searching for a way to explain this situation. Meanwhile, Ilay calmly rubbed his chest and spoke in a low steady voice:

“Be more careful. Someone could’ve gotten hurt.”

Taeui couldn’t believe his ears. But it wasn’t just him—everyone around them, frozen since the moment Ilay had been hit, now widened their eyes in disbelief at what they had just heard.

That statement didn’t suit Ilay at all.

Especially after what had just happened. Even if it was an accident, Taeui had elbowed Ilay squarely in the chest. Yet Ilay merely coughed softly and rubbed his chest as if it were no big deal. Someone like that—how could they have ‘almost gotten hurt’?

“………….. I’m sorry.”

Taeui quietly apologized and took a small step back, all while Ilay’s eyes stayed fixed on him. Thank God. Ilay didn’t seem like he was about to retaliate with a punch.

All of this—this was Kim Jeongpil’s fault. That bastard was going to get him into serious trouble. It was, without a doubt, the most effective way for that jerk to make Taeui suffer.

“Hey, man, are you okay?”

The one asking was Yoon Changoh, his voice full of concern, completely oblivious to the strange looks everyone around him was giving. He didn’t seem to care that he was showing concern for a monster—someone who, even if attacked with axes or heavy weapons (boom, bombs included), would leave the attackers dead while remaining completely unscathed.

Standing between Taeui and Ilay, Yoon Changoh appeared confused, glancing back and forth between the two. Unsure of what to say, he pointed to Ilay and addressed Taeui, as if trying to introduce them:

“Taeui, this is one of our team members.”

“What?!”

So Ilay was part of Changoh’s group! (Now that he thought about it, Kim Jeongpil was also in the group, though Taeui didn’t feel an ounce of sympathy for whatever bad luck stuck to him.)

Even though they were in the same group, Kim Jeongpil seemed clueless about the fact that Ilay was one of them. Blinking in surprise, he muttered: “Really? How come I didn’t see you today?”. He shot Ilay with an almost apologetic look for not recognizing him.

Ilay raised an eyebrow and gave a faint smile.

“Probably. I only attended the morning theory lecture, didn’t take part in the afternoon training.”

“Oh, that’s why? No wonder I didn’t remember you——But why didn’t you join the training? Is that allowed?”

Kim Jeongpil joked, saying he wished he could skip training too. Facing him, Ilay responded calmly.

“I was in the medical room. I probably won’t be able to participate in the daily training sessions for a while. I have a medical certificate saying I’m not in good health, so it’s difficult for me to join.”

LIAR!

The furious roars echoed silently through the minds of the crowd watching from a distance. Of course, Taeui’s inner voice was part of the chorus.

Unhealthy? What a joke! It wasn’t that he couldn’t join the training, but rather the instructors were smart enough not to assign him tasks!

Despite the silent outcry from the crowd, the clueless Kim Jeongpil just nodded along.

“Yeah, that’s true. The training here is brutal; it’s not something an average person can handle easily……. You’ve probably never done any hard labor, right? Just looking at your hands, I can tell you’ve never lifted anything heavy.”

Kim Jeongpil chuckled, clearly assuming Ilay was some kind of office worker. He added: “Take care of your health”. Yoon Changoh was standing nearby, nodded in naïve agreement. Ilay’s lips curled into a faint smile.

“Thanks for understanding. Maybe because I’ve cleverly avoided training, no one in the group talks to me, which makes me feel a bit distant.”

YOU KNOW THAT’S NOT THE REAL REASON!

Once again, the internal cries of anguish roared through the minds of everyone nearby, yet they had no effect.

Taeui suddenly felt all the energy drain from his body. His head started to ache.

He couldn’t figure out what had gotten into Ilay to make him act like this, but something felt off. For some reason, Taeui had the nagging suspicion that Ilay’s casual conversation with the others wasn’t just a coincidence.

“Ilay.”

Taeui rubbed his forehead, pressing his thumb against his temple, and grumbled in a tired tone.

“Don’t butt in. This isn’t your business, and it has nothing to do with me and you. This is my personal issue. None of your concern.”

“Butt in? Me?” – Ilay snorted.

“I’m just standing here watching. Who was it that punched an innocent bystander like me?”

Ilay spread his arms and shrugged with an air of indifference, leaving Taeui speechless, unsure how to respond. Ilay was right. He hadn’t interfered or provoked Taeui in any way.

Taeui scratched his head and frowned. Beside him, Kim Jeongpil glanced between the two of them, looking confused. Then he turned to Ilay and asked:

“Is that your name? Il――.”

“Rick.”

Before Jeongpil could finish, Ilay cut him off, curtly.

“Rick? But just now he called you Il――.”

“Rick.”

Ilay repeated once more, his gaze cold as ice, staring down at Kim Jeongpil.

Caught off guard by Ilay’s piercing look, Jeongpil flinched slightly, muttering under his breath, “Oh, I see.”

“But hey, Tae-i.”

The drawling tone in Ilay’s voice made Taeui suspicious. He looked up, wondering what this guy was about to say now.

“Are you sure about the time? I just saw Horgan finish up and head back to his room a moment ago.”

“…….―!”

Damn it. Taeui grimaced. He’d completely forgotten. He quickly glanced at his watch and realized he was already running late.

While having Ilay right in front of him helped ease some of his immediate worries, the fact remained—being late was a sign of irresponsibility, something he couldn’t afford to show.

“Well, seeing as it’s already like this, why not take your time, grab a bite, and head back at your leisure? Who knows, maybe Horgan’s even happier without you around?”

Ilay’s smirk was especially infuriating today.

Taeui silently cursed to himself, thinking that if he’d known this earlier, he would have punched him harder in the chest. With no time to waste, he hurried off.

“HEY, WHERE ARE YOU GOING! DON’T THINK YOU CAN RUN AWAY!”

Kim Jeongpil shouted from behind as if he had just remembered the fight wasn’t over. But now that the tension had died down, it was hard to reignite. The crowd around them began to disperse.

“Run away? As if. Anyway, during training, I’ll have the misfortune of seeing your ugly face again, whether I like it or not, so quit whining, you bastard!”

As he walked away, straightening his wrinkled and torn shirt, Taeui didn’t hold back, shouting back over his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Ilay’s smile as he dashed up the stairs, but he simply turned away in silence.

What a disaster. What a disaster.

Only one word echoed in his mind.

*********************************

Horgan didn’t say a word. When he saw Taeui, he simply remarked – “Oh, you’re back” – as if Taeui had arrived just in time.

Taeui had almost prepared himself to face at least a cold stare, if not a sharp reprimand, but instead, he stood there dumbfounded, watching Horgan casually flip through the evening newspaper, paying him no mind. All Taeui could do was scratch his head and mumble: “Sorry.”

There were no signs that Horgan was about to issue any orders or say anything further, so Taeui quietly started to head back to his room. But just as he was about to leave, Horgan noticed his disheveled appearance and called out.

“What happened to your clothes? Did you just get into a fight with someone?”

“Huh? Oh……. yeah. It’s just……. there was this guy I don’t get along with, so…….”

“Hmm? If you dislike someone that much, it’s better to avoid them. So, who was it? Was it someone from this branch?”

Taeui hesitated for a moment. Saying outright that he didn’t get along with someone felt a bit like tattling, which made him uncomfortable.

But then again, as the instructor, Horgan probably should know about the basic relationships between his subordinates.

“No, he’s an external personnel. He’s here for this training session. His name is Kim Jeongpil, a Captain from South Korea.”

“External personnel? Kim Jeongpil? Did you know him before this?”

Horgan asked, sounding puzzled. It didn’t make much sense to him that two people from different branches would be at each other’s throats on the first day. Taeui forced a weak smile and nodded.

“Yeah. We went to the same school. We’ve had some issues since back then.”

“Same school?”

Horgan seemed to become more interested in the story. He folded up his newspaper, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his legs. He pointed to the seat across from him. Taeui didn’t hesitate long before sitting down.

“If you went to the same school as a Captain, does that mean you were also in the military?”

“Yeah, I graduated from the military academy and was commissioned as a second lieutenant, but I didn’t stay long. I left the service and became a civilian.”

Taeui chuckled, adding that part of the reason he left was because of Kim Jeongpil.

Horgan nodded thoughtfully. “A former officer, huh.”

“So, what did you do after you left the military? Did you come straight to this branch?”

“Yeah. My uncle works here, so I ended up working here temporarily for a while…….”

As Taeui answered, he suddenly tilted his head, sensing something strange. “Huh?”

What Taeui was saying was just the basic facts of his background. Yet Horgan seemed completely unaware of it.

There was no way someone in Horgan’s position, who needed to be cautious, wouldn’t conduct a basic survey of his surroundings……. Well, maybe now was the time for him to gather information. After all, it was only the first day.

Taeui nodded to himself in agreement. However, it still seemed strange that Horgan didn’t know such fundamental details. Normally, the personal history of subordinates should already be available in their files.

This meant that, to some extent, the information had been restricted, possibly by his uncle or someone higher up. But Taeui wasn’t sure how much of his story he should share. He didn’t want to foolishly overstep by lying and end up increasing suspicion.

In this case, it might be best to stick to things that anyone could easily find out by asking around.

“So, have you been working here continuously since then?” – Horgan asked.

“No, I had some relationship issues with people here, so I quit midway and went on a long trip.”

Horgan’s eyes narrowed. His expression silently conveyed his thoughts: someone who had issues both at the military academy and here at this branch – causing trouble everywhere they went – was probably the problem themselves.

Taeui could partly agree with that judgment, but since it involved him directly, he couldn’t help feeling a bit wronged. Sure, the academy issues might have been his fault, but here at the branch, the problems were caused by others.

“You should try to get along with the people around you. If you’re constantly making enemies over minor annoyances, life will be very difficult.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

The sense of injustice rose to Taeui’s throat, but he forced it down. Hearing this advice from someone who had enough enemies of his own to hire someone like Ilay for protection made the situation feel a bit ironic and complicated.

“So why did you come back? Have all the colleagues you had issues with left?”

“Yes, partly that. But I also realized I couldn’t just keep wandering around. At the end of the day, people need to work to survive.”

It wasn’t entirely the truth, but it wasn’t a complete lie either.

It had been years since Taeui had lived without a steady job (not that it was possible to hold a legitimate job when you were a wanted man). Lately, he’d been thinking that maybe it was time to do something productive, although the Riegrow brothers hadn’t given him any clear answers.

In truth, this current job wasn’t something Taeui had willingly taken on, but to comfort himself, he decided to think: “Well, it’s been a while since I’ve had work to do. Might as well use that as motivation.”

……. On second thought, maybe he had said a bit too much to his uncle.

The first night he arrived here, he had already decided to help out. He didn’t want to spoil the mood by grumbling or complaining, so he’d sighed softly and said: “Anyway, it feels good to have something to do after such a long time.”

He had said this while pulling a beer from his uncle’s fridge and looking at himself in the mirror. His uncle, who was busy wrapping up paperwork for the day, glanced at him and smiled: “Thanks for saying that.”

That’s why Taeui felt a bit weighed down, as though his thighs had suddenly grown thicker.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Taeui patted his thigh, which made his uncle raise an eyebrow in surprise. It was odd to hear such a comment – one usually made by young women – coming from Taeui.

“Your thighs? What’s up, are your pants too tight?”

“No, not really, but it just feels that way……. Now that you mention it, the pants do feel a little tight.”

“Then just buy a new pair. Don’t tell me you don’t have money for pants because you’re not working?”

Taeui sighed at his uncle’s teasing and replied: “That’s not the issue”. The card he had ‘borrowed’ from Tarten in Dresden was still in his wallet. When he’d tried to give it back, Ilay had just shrugged and told him to use it as he pleased, not even caring. (Later, as if remembering something, Ilay had even chuckled and said: “Come to think of it, I guess you did promise to take care of me”.)

“No, that’s not the problem.”

“Then what is?”

“I don’t know how to put it……. I guess I’m starting to understand how someone feels when they complain about their thighs getting bigger after a long time of sitting around and not riding horses anymore.”

“……………”

His uncle had finished sorting his paperwork, stacked the documents neatly on the desk and just stared at him intently.

“I’m not sure if you have some grand mission you need to accomplish at all costs, like some people……. but if you think about it, I don’t see any reason why you should worry about your thighs getting bigger. It’s probably just in your head.”

“…….? Why is that? Don’t they look bigger to you?”

Taeui glanced down at his thighs. His uncle had sharp eyes, so if he said they hadn’t gotten bigger, he was probably right. While Taeui was mulling this over, he lightly patted his thigh. But his uncle, casually stapling his stack of papers, dropped a verbal bomb.

“*You often get exhausted from all that physical exertion, far more than your words let on – or you’re completely worn out – then how would you even have the chance to gain weight?”

“…….I’ve always thought……. you have a real knack for saying the most embarrassing things with a completely straight face.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment” – The uncle replied with a grin, while Taeui shot him a sharp glare. But no comeback came to mind, and even if one did, it would only dig him deeper into the hole, so he wisely kept quiet.

It was foolish of him to forget. It was always like this. No matter what he said, with this man, the result never changed.

Still, as his uncle laughed and said – “Keep up the good work!” – Taeui couldn’t help but think about strangling Horgan right then and there.

“Yeah, you’re right……. Living just to fool around doesn’t amount to much. People need to work.”

The man nodded in agreement, blissfully unaware of Taeui’s murderous thoughts.

Thank goodness no one can read minds, Taeui thought, smiling back: “Exactly, that’s how it should be.”

“So, how long have you been here? You seem like you only came back recently.”

“Oh, I arrived just in time for this training session. I haven’t been here long.”

“…….Hmm.”

Horgan muttered softly, adjusting his hands on his lap, his brow slightly furrowing.

“So, you arrived around the same time as me. And right away, you were given a position to manage…….?”

*****************************************

(*Tae-Reung: A military camp known in Korea, possibly referencing a place where soldiers train, here used to taunt the character.)

(*In the above sentence, it can be understood in multiple ways, as the word ‘말’ has several meanings depending on the context; it can mean ‘words’ or ‘horse’. If interpreted figuratively, it could be translated as: “You’re probably often exhausted from wildly riding a horse – or getting knocked around – so how would you have time to gain weight?”……. Changin is such a sly fox)