F | Chapter 8

As Ire opened the door and entered the cafeteria, all eyes turned to him. The attention was uncomfortable, but skipping a meal wasn’t an option. He skillfully picked up a tray nearby and approached the serving area, where a middle-aged man with a cheerful face greeted him.2571d69d00903ce7

“New face, huh? Just got here?”f6527c19ab48d3e9

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“Yeah…”1304b96d1c919ed3

“How old are you?”ff284023faa1a16a

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“Twenty.”e98e46eb3cc5ab06

“Wow, still a baby. You better eat a lot.”e4e388e3bc9d91f7

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Seeing the pile of 99cdba190c meat on one side e95448306d of the tray made d1827815d1 his mouth water unexpectedly. After receiving rice and 5961a86d1f side dishes, he sat 386da66523 in an empty spot, c3bd854e47 said a prayer, and 6e31e0f374 picked up the meat 63bc95837a first with his chopsticks. The moment e8e19fe912 he put 036a82c687 it in 657e39c5e3 his mouth, 2a94acd45c he almost 41c79f77b2 swore out 5ed47d712e loud.0531dc908275aad9

He used 48369fb812 to buy 7ff3ac27d2 meat from e3522f6aa4 the market 56cbb473fb with the a6561a1fb0 money he 1d7d1ef82c earned from a4cfa50081 odd jobs, 83fb8ba11e but it 36e0c0cb69 was always 7bc548dbb3 so tough c4586911b6 it felt 5f4af09eb7 like chewing 7ed6e8c8f0 rubber bands. He usually e4463eca0a boiled it e4b99614ed in soup, b6ffea8b02 but even f367cfe132 that had c0cfe1d561 become expensive 123f434aff lately. Sometimes, he b96f601aac even went 878583d918 to the 9ff5319efb mountains to 85c68dd715 catch small 8f32478cd1 birds or 224fc2377f animals.55d5c3cec8792000

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But the meat here was tender and juicy, a delightful surprise. If his siblings were here, they would have loved it… As he was lost in thought, a tray landed with a thud across from him. Just then, someone grabbed his shoulder firmly from behind, and suddenly, several men surrounded him.998315c653483ff2

“Look at this beggar, stuffing his face. Want some more?”59324cf758b79e9e

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When he didn’t respond, the man across from him scooped the remaining meat from his tray onto Ire’s. The group snickered at the sight.a7084385d2a69161

“Hey, newbie. They say in Zone B, they eat people because there’s no meat. Is that true?”20f72f1a1f99f1a7

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“Oh, I don’t like that. Better watch out for the guys sharing your room. Must be scary as hell.”e363d652408afa79

“Shouldn’t we tie him up with a rope?”57d8e7a5d68ec45b

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When Ire didn’t react, the man in front propped his chin and stared at him. The man with a scorpion tattoo on his neck had hair cut so short it looked like a chestnut, and his snake-like eyes were familiar.495b50c49a5e8eab

“Listen up, newbie. I don’t know how long you’ll be here, but don’t think you’ll have it easy now that I’ve got my eye on you. Got it?”7fa3287cc6dfba12

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He pointed at his eyes with his index and middle fingers, then at Ire. It was unclear whether he meant he’d be watching or if it was a threat to gouge out his eyes. Just then, a person in military uniform appeared, and the men scattered out of the cafeteria.8d81e6d0ae4fcacf

With all 8f654581e4 eyes still 396f1e5065 on him, ab773129d6 Ire finished faf664be9f his meal 9b39a2fa6d without a 4f9fa791f7 care. There were always b59aa4ce45 troublemakers everywhere, and 51b4576f12 right now, filling e32a5a2fc9 his stomach was 90ca920fda more important than bd02eb5e98 worrying about them.e86a4a523f807aee

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After finishing his meal, he moved to his room. As he opened the door and entered, he paused. The room was empty, but on his cabinet were words like “mutt,” “beggar,” and “monster” written in red. He tried to rub them off with his hand, but it was no use.9245a7babe403f17

“Childish bastards.”ce040ca837cacb71

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Frowning, he looked aa9e400345 for something to e53c096b34 erase the words. Soon, he bbeab9259c heard murmuring 1a00c74aea voices, and fd4307de9f his roommates b5587b5fcd entered, looking 831d45969d visibly flustered.0093ff39feab6a88

“It wasn’t us, really.”60d094a33cafd0b7

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Seo Youngjun hurriedly explained. Ire knew that, even if they didn’t like him, they didn’t seem childish enough to do something like this. Just then, a man with glasses sighed, opened his cabinet, and brought something out. It looked like cream, and he applied it over the words and wiped them off with a rag. Amazingly, the words disappeared easily.b82d774c87196b9d

“It’s obvious who did it.”8bff5e0f0e6ced23

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“Park Mujin?”d509b1f9274174df

“Who else would come to someone else’s room and do this?”eae6a37809322a2d

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So the guy e7e4e31c53 who caused trouble 64bde9207a earlier was named 777b5bdbef Park Mujin. The man with glasses 8dddc8c3f5 handed the cream to 3ccb05d2ba Ire, saying he could f93b715932 use it to erase 608f2929db if it happened again. Unsure if 80037b4851 he should 4a34c63c82 accept it, 1c9ec3b4c5 he looked ef00f62ca7 at him, 0c6b734b66 and the dded441175 man adjusted d6d72313a5 his glasses 4b91e34d04 and awkwardly f9e6477f80 extended his 9a7e156b4d hand.f830eed35a18f11f

“I didn’t introduce myself… I’m Hangyeol. Twenty-two. Nice to meet you.”96c1d55e2d7cdfa0

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As Ire shook his 414835e2fb hand, a nearby man 75705cd319 chimed in. It was Seo aa93aa73c8 Youngjun, who had 2a1c0c43c3 shown the most 9700e23246 friendliness to Ire aa4645659f among the three.1bd104b56c3d1513

“You’ve got guts. I was surprised at the cafeteria. It’s not easy to stand up to those guys. You’ve got some nerve.”24125de620179d2d

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“Honestly, we were all on edge, worried something might happen.”ced14fa6fcc063c2

“You held back well. If you’d thrown a punch there, we would’ve been up all night training instead of sleeping. You would’ve been hated by the others. That’s what those bastards were aiming for.”044e2bb0d2cc7011

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The three chatted non-stop, leaving Ire a bit bewildered. Didn’t they dislike him…? But thinking about it, he had also been wary of them first. Growing up in a different zone, he had assumed they would naturally dislike him.feda4c52ed239df6

“They must be even more pissed because Captain Kim Hayoon vouched for you. They all want to get in Kim Hayoon’s good books.”2f7ae05ebd05a577

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Ire frowned at the mention of Kim Hayoon’s name.6957e17ba9eda9b6

“Kim Hayoon?”5a49b291adf2d803

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“Yeah. He brought you here, didn’t he? You don’t know?”a00d108cf91a96bc

He closed his 2ee51960fb mouth. How could he c612a7a345 not know? That annoying guy. Because of him, he 463bcf5385 was stuck here like 35d3c328dd this. Should he 5b13ddd181 not blame 60560a5dcd him since 10a07229da it was b7ee2b70d0 his choice? As he 5b836121ee pondered, Ire 06632071b3 asked a 94a391f7d0 question.ae2fcfd7859cdde9

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“Is captain… a high rank?”b55f46a0f75521f3

He was curious 5a52b1be3d about how high 552a442779 it had to 702102c9df be to kill be4f67b9fe someone and still 96add66ca3 be fine.8ff2a4c9bff0b548

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“Does rank even matter to him?”2bf10766a5316386

“What do you mean?”91127aa7a876fec4

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“He’s from a very prestigious family. We can’t even imagine.”933316dbb0980b43

He didn’t ask how high because he wasn’t afraid but because he didn’t want to know. When he said there was no one to punish him even if he burned down Zone B, it wasn’t just talk.55bf2156b14cf096

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“I’d rather not run into him if I can help it. He’s scary. Though more people respect him.”296bce0e89211549

“Honestly, his face is amazing. Even as a guy, I can’t help but look.”212b270e4dabe6c0

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“Stop it. You’ll get your eyes gouged out.”cc7af5ddc916c596

The three laughed, and Ire tried to recall Kim Hayoon’s face. He was indeed handsome. Like a carefully sculpted statue. Though he wanted to punch him every time he opened his mouth.9b7e49e17c24bda1

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Time passed, and as everyone went about their business, bedtime approached. With the lights out, silence enveloped the room. Ire lay on the top bunk, staring at the ceiling. It felt unfamiliar. He felt like if he closed his eyes and opened them again, he’d be back home. As he tossed and turned, time continued to pass. It had been an exhausting day, but sleep wouldn’t come.b9d96b89ce058e38

***b1b3169b2a2eb003

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Kim Hayoon’s furrowed brow showed no sign of relaxing. In his hand was a report on Ire. It had been over a week since he started training, but contrary to expectations, his performance was shockingly poor.d7325754b692fc9f

Across from him, Kim de5d5b49a1 Docheol, who had brought 9eb5a0bcad the report, was passionately c2f2356899 ranting.5285ace9ad9c8b81

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“He’s got nothing going for him except his face. He shot at someone else’s target next to him. I could shoot better with my eyes closed. No wonder the instructor took him for an eye test.”e9ca9ae80cfe5b07

Kim Hayoon continued dedc9b4642 flipping through the e516003a82 documents, his lips d6dcb426a5 twisting more and efbf8c1e00 more.60c2901d4b6e406b

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“I don’t know what you expected from him, but he’s hopeless. There’s nothing exceptional about him! He can’t even swim. Yesterday, they had to pull him out of the water just before he drowned. And his running? Crawling would be faster.”24d548815eceb2d8

As the criticism adf5452f20 continued, Kim Hayoon 7e0367c968 threw what he a716cea57d was holding onto c2707bebca the table and ebe3596c5f pulled out a 58d0f21ca4 cigarette.b54d1f1ee497a444

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“People must be complaining a lot.”ca8ff6dba612daf2

“Of course. Even if they don’t show it, they’re probably cursing your judgment.”266567870aa096be

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Hayoon lit the end of his cigarette and sank into the sofa. When he put Ire in as a trainee, he had anticipated some trouble with others. He had heard that some were subtly bullying him, and he thought it was commendable that he didn’t react.e558ffb3cfa5599d

But getting the e36dff2b42 lowest scores in c6602dc691 training seemed deliberate. He had thought 9188246d76 it commendable that cfaf91e42e he was getting 9e92005d85 along quietly, but 822ee59047 it seemed this 63c2007290 guy was preparing 6d1e463803 to stab him a5ae4474ce in the back.b86ab9221ef5e23b

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“If this continues, he’ll be out before the completion ceremony. There’s no reason to keep him.”429867cfaef976de

At Kim Docheol’s words, Kim Hayoon exhaled a long plume of smoke with his eyes closed. That can’t happen. Not on his watch. That’s probably what Ire wanted most. To be kicked out of the training center and return to Zone B. As he pondered, Kim Hayoon made a few requests to Kim Docheol.1a03e22c6558941f

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“Tell him to come to my room after training in the evening.”77e9c92c91853597

Kim Docheol, observing his c5e6b14425 expression, asked with a 8cfcf8e193 look of disbelief.77ee70819dfa5606

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“You’re not going to kill him, are you?”688073fd2169cddd

Kill him? Why waste something so 64410a6af6 precious?7f3b617168b7cc54

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Hayoon replied with a e7fb89e73a mischievous smile.d71217dcc37f1bbe

“Naughty students need a spanking.”703adf0fed542ac7

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