RTN 26

chapter 26

The clear face holding out the tablet, saying Baek Ihyun told her to do it, was still vivid in my mind. It had been a lie.

Seol Ah-yeon, who lied without even blinking, was one thing—but the fact that I had accepted the tablet without a hint of suspicion left me dumbfounded.

I had let my guard down. No excuse would work now. I immediately lowered my head. Between clenched teeth, I spoke precisely.

“I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”

“I’m not scolding you.”

Baek Ihyun raised his hand, signaling the team to step back. Once the door closed, only the two of us were in the clean room.

Kim Do-woon watched tensely as Baek Ihyun expertly tore out the remains behind my left shoulder with his right hand. A black root of the wing fell to the floor with a splat of blood.

Without any tools, using only his hands to remove the debris from my right shoulder, Baek Ihyun’s face showed no expression whatsoever.

A chill ran down my spine. No matter how many days I spent with him, the fear never dulled—it would strike unexpectedly.

If Baek Ihyun decided to kill me here—though it wouldn’t happen—he could easily do so in an instant.

“Kim Do-woon.”

“Yes.”

My voice cracked. I tried to steady it and spoke again.

“Yes. Please tell me.”

“I’m asking. Why did you handle it instead?”

Many excuses flashed through my mind, but they were useless. I answered honestly.

“I was deceived.”

“You’re not someone who is easily deceived.”

“They came to a restaurant with many eyes and handed me the tablet. They said it was my responsibility. Their attitude was so confident that I didn’t even dare suspect it was a lie. It was my fault.”

“The remarks column had details for each task. It was for Seol Ah-yeon, who didn’t know. You should have known it wasn’t your job.”

“I’m sorry, but there was no remarks column.”

Of course. Seol Ah-yeon had erased it. And then, as if nothing happened, she extended her hand, saying something about being one team. The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed.

“Why do you think Seol Ah-yeon handed over the task?”

I swallowed hard, struggling to think through the fog of fear of Baek Ihyun and anger at Seol Ah-yeon.

Probably, Seol Ah-yeon had gone straight to the prisoner camp as soon as she received the task. The safety of the outsiders was her top priority, and it didn’t seem like she had anywhere else to go. Logically, consulting with the parties involved would have been natural.

Something must have gone wrong there. Just thinking that far gave me the answer.

“She probably judged it would be a disadvantage to be directly involved in task assignment. Maybe there was friction with the outsiders, or she predicted there would be.”

Outsiders generally don’t cooperate. They compete for survival.

Moreover, Seol Ah-yeon wasn’t an ordinary human. To the outsiders, it would be difficult to recognize her as part of the same group.

In fact, the fact that their safety depended on someone unknown like Seol Ah-yeon might have made them even more uneasy.

“She probably still intended to protect the other outsiders as much as possible but didn’t want to appear as if she was controlling the task assignment.”

Baek Ihyun removed the scabbard from his waist and tossed it into the collection bin. Already cracked, it split open further from the impact, revealing the sword inside.

The blade was ruined, all the teeth gone. It was surprising it hadn’t shattered completely.

He continued removing weapons from his body one by one, throwing them into the collection bin, and finally spoke.

“So cautious, like a newborn beast. How do you even train something this sensitive?”

I didn’t reply. It wasn’t my concern. Training wasn’t my responsibility, and I had no desire to sit in such a troublesome position anyway.

What mattered for now was that Baek Ihyun wasn’t severely scolding me for handling Seol Ah-yeon’s task. That was important. The immediate crisis had passed.

Then Baek Ihyun spoke again.

“Isn’t it strange?”

I tensed again.

“Why would the cautious Seol Ah-yeon lie to you?”

I had no idea, but I looked at him respectfully.

“What was Seol Ah-yeon’s reason for judging you safe? It’s a lie that would be discovered soon anyway. She isn’t a fool who tells lies to someone who could harm her and gets caught in a day or two.”

For the first time, I thought Baek Ihyun could misjudge.

“She underestimated me.”

“Seol Ah-yeon underestimates nothing. You know that from experience. The only time she acts without thinking is when someone else’s life is in her hands.”

Panic surged. I tried not to avoid his gaze.

“Task assignment isn’t urgent. Yet she risked lying to you.”

Baek Ihyun stared intently, removing his gloves. His pupils were still tinged with red. He asked,

“Anything else?”

“No.”

I denied it quickly, though my voice cracked. Cold sweat ran down.

If Baek Ihyun found out that Seol Ah-yeon had suggested being ‘one team’ with me, it would be irreparable. I would be tied to Seol Ah-yeon.

I could never let that happen…

“Take charge of training Seol Ah-yeon.”

“No.”

I responded instinctively, startled. I added urgently,

“I’m sorry. I cannot. I’m not qualified.”

I had never defied Baek Ihyun’s orders before. Fear made my spine stiffen. After a few breaths, he asked,

“Why?”

Why. I hadn’t slept all night. I couldn’t shake the feeling that Seol Ah-yeon had gotten the better of me. And now I knew she had.

Then why did she?

Because in a restaurant full of eyes, she mentioned Baek Ihyun freely. Because her attitude was confident. Because she erased the remarks column.

All true. But that wasn’t enough. There was a deeper reason. I didn’t want to admit it, but I couldn’t think of any other.

“I’ll be honest.”

I straightened my back. I had never summoned this much courage recently.

“She’s too beautiful.”

Baek Ihyun said nothing, merely looking at me impassively. I drew in courage again, needing to speak clearly.

I truly had no confidence in training Seol Ah-yeon. I knew I couldn’t do it. If I were in charge, everyone would fail.

I was also embarrassed. I usually had little interest in the opposite sex. Apart from a clear goal of returning home, everything else was a luxury. I barely had time to save my own life—how could I care about a woman?

But Seol Ah-yeon was different. I had a strong feeling that things would go wrong if I got more involved. Maybe it wasn’t Baek Ihyun who had changed since her appearance—it was me.

Having survived life-or-death situations on the battlefield, I had developed a knack for sensing misfortune. That sense was fully active now.

“I was deceived by Seol Ah-yeon and made a mistake by handling her task. This will happen again. Please do not consider my foolish self; assign someone wise as her trainer.”

Training Seol Ah-yeon was a difficult position but a clear chance for promotion. If she succeeded in the operation, the trainer would share the credit.

It was a coveted mission. Many others could take it; I wasn’t the only option.

Baek Ihyun, who had been silently observing me, turned and approached the collection bin. He loosened the hook near his chest. The blood-soaked, torn cloak fell heavily to the floor.

Fragments of black wings scattered everywhere. One brushed sharply against my hand, but I didn’t flinch.

I froze, watching as Baek Ihyun casually tore off the commander insignia and wing attachments from his chest and coat, tossing them onto the shelf next to the collection bin.

Finally, he spoke, his gaze still fixed on the contamination monitor of the clean room, as if he didn’t need to look at me.

“Is that the only reason?”

“It’s serious to me.”

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll exclude you from all training and sorties. You will be in charge of Seol Ah-yeon.”

“Sir, I…”

“Lieutenant Kim Do-woon.”

Baek Ihyun turned to me.

“Are you joking with me?”