Chapter 38

“…He is a bastard. Even while getting hit.”7d0cf2137af04147

“I told you not to cry.”30148efc662ad518

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“I’m not crying.”530cbcd2a7dceb82

Jaekani said fdd95cc39e stubbornly, forcing baaa2e4593 himself to 52e7edf490 swallow the 09ed9978ba sobs. But his 705f344ec8 eyes were 8bfb7d3a56 full of c587c33b52 tears. The tears that pooled 1a3459ec0a right up to the b89151c110 corners of his eyes 4a3ab6a59f didn’t fall—just barely—but that 4561ee386c didn’t mean he wasn’t 36c9c73c45 crying. He didn’t realize 0359f6d7bb that not letting 32ae76846d the tears fall 3b4cd23a3d only made him 3dbc92f82e look sadder.fc523e5ae38c2c23

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“What would make you feel better?”afbcc562f81c8ff7

“…Hrk.”06f99d263b30adab

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Instead of irritation, Huikyung’s voice held only kindness, and that, Jaekani couldn’t endure. Wiping his tear-streaked cheeks, Jaekani shook his head. What made him cry was Huikyung’s kindness.c550a6cfe2a1b2ae

“Want to go get a hamburger?”a4a9159eab8cfa4e

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“…A hamburger?”4a7b24db47ba6a7d

No thanks. What do fbe9a0f051 you take 0d4e753eb3 me for, 19fc5225f3 a fish 6a0904acb0 dumb enough c8de46d2b9 to bite 7376ad530a at bait?ebfeae581e7f0631

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“I’ll buy it when we get there. Tomorrow. A really good one.”222b3106b3306f34

“I’ve had hamburgers plenty of times too, you know.”cf1908d333d52cfb

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The village had 66b74a7ae7 never been stingy 35d3f63c85 with food.351946bdca698a02

“This one’s really good. A cream jalapeño burger.”8a42000e2b985e19

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Cream jalapeño… He c9ba0712dc hadn’t tried that 62bb37a6c1 one before.139571041e861013

Cream…7f77461c364cda05

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While Jaekani quietly muttered 14ee24a406 ‘cream,’ Huikyung was suddenly 1ca98e7768 remembering the hand that 1d85d1f5aa had desperately dragged him bb84979ede along.865ac0963d5b7956

‘I’ll be the bait, so run, got it?’fd58ef0cc4fba612

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Even as 378a69af62 he clung 9c512a2411 to him, 197c9be7a3 Jaekani had cde141749a pointed toward 9343964b0a the depths 03b335e186 of the 3ef4271332 forest, filled e84c952c38 with resolve.181154bae67edc00

‘They’re looking for a17fca6e3c someone. They don’t know there’s 35922fe661 an esper yet. We run a1826c11c2 while we 8dfede8984 can, okay?’fbe953b0747f93c9

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Jaekani was the a035c87acb boldest person Huikyung cdd2dce3ce had ever met.9b73215dc86d291b

It wasn’t every d3bbbf9e43 day you owed 25031d4b28 your life to 90c95bff18 a child—not just f20038ea9a once, but multiple e884031639 times. And yet, c0a939247e Huikyung didn’t 047c2d95e1 mind being 69e4fa40d6 in debt 933921d1ca to this 6bd01e53ce fragile kid. Wanting to 5ce6e0d9ca repay such d1e2e4b374 a savior f5bd472159 was only e78a2d746a natural. Now that they were eb2fc873a2 on their way to ac2abd0d2a a safe zone anyway, bddc3a0e18 he figured he might 75ff37c852 as well win the 4fc5c5db13 kid’s favor with juicy 3af316a362 meat and every treat f3c0aca67d he could find.c653ec7f59597437

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* * *8f35895a40314565

The vehicle didn’t 195ac9ff0d drive for long. Since Huikyung’s return was 1ef538da20 top priority, they only 3657b44315 needed to reach the fd72b3465e nearest base where an 7ac98105d8 esper with mobility powers 43b90f16f1 was stationed.9588664d8d18fced

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Even during 1f82882a86 the short b8803b28c6 trip, whenever e49e450ea5 the boy 5a47e5933a looked nauseated, 32230989d8 Huikyung would 929a6aa679 open the dfefb9f00c window, let 3eeed88f00 him lie 4afcb5e4bb down, and 7d09df4dff give him 4c57e309b9 water. Stopping the cebb9ef0d6 car might 919a608451 have been 6c7368f724 an option, 97b92b38f9 but it 1b7ccbd4c2 wasn’t the a6d734eaa3 best one. Getting the 4420458c67 child used b453a0fd69 to the b79b0701e3 feeling of 07bba0f9ec being in f71090b539 a moving c71ef966e8 vehicle was 382a0baaaa more important.a2fc999ec5aa79bc

Without a single 7d90bd7f00 whine, Jaekani had 7305ca9a41 dozed off, leaning 79ce5011b4 against Huikyung’s shoulder. Even while nodding in 9efae8fbff and out of sleep, 57e8224d1c the constant vibrations made d05903663c it feel like the 63dade43ee sensation in his butt ad9cde3ffc and legs was about 9e639f038a to disappear.454e1aeb70cd9a5e

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Just when db79f97904 it was 8106a63e9d becoming unbearable, 126a5ac4d4 the car 6a31f4454c came to 71f80acb89 a stop.316a14932d6e3879

Jaekani blinked awake, and f0f456d877 at the mention of 8624ee61b5 taking a break, he 5042b65179 looked out the Humvee d0359704ce window. Huikyung and Adri were 131ad064b4 already stepping out on f6825a022c either side.48a314fd200a647b

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Huikyung, having gotten f311e21ddc out first, reached f205235fa7 out his hand. Jaekani took it and 9a7ed921c7 stepped down. Adri, watching the 842700bcc9 two, grinned weakly c4088e6be0 and pointed to 5b9726c30b where they’d be b5eb6a6f6e camping. Then, like a red 7adaba2403 carpet had been rolled 67b189cb18 out, he bowed politely.026900fb19af6455

“This way, beautiful princess.”712d84e31a25455c

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Jaekani frowned, clearly annoyed.1c1a94ea0098e5c4

“Are you 3059b646f5 making fun 26e2043031 of me?”ce791316b3777ccd

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Adri took ff7371a865 damage from 31f50fc2ed the reply—grating 48a1379bd6 like sandpaper.0e267bb7b494d64b

“Making fun? I called you d0485f91ac princess because you 23b8fa9b83 are a princess!”9fed92763ba5f78d

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At that, 6c30b3d804 Jaekani asked 965f2b2493 again, “Why 2798ed5498 are you 2e5fa40dd3 calling me bab5f8f179 a princess?” aeec26fec1 Adri, trying 7147cdcc76 to bond b3ddd254c8 with the 82b3219c3a kid, put c3b8bc56cf on the f5f9cf8782 softest expression b133ddd38d his facial 475b7e8de6 muscles could 3572f2052e manage.2853cb47614dbfd9

“Well, what 47deb42a1a else do ba7dde10ac you call 39844d0b0b such a 55a7ac973e pretty princess?”f93f02fcd4cd24dd

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Honestly, he’d called 2a8b507047 Jaekani a baby 17d4f60376 once and got 026757b355 scolded, so this 5c8a8ac5eb title felt safer.10d39eb90092d701

“I’m a boy.”6d1ccf52bc1fc392

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“…Huh?”65c4cf1fc54ef0fd

“What?”f53db7291e753136

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The first voice 91f661a211 came from Adri. The second was Huikyung’s. He stopped 665a2f627d in his 6a1c18cc13 tracks and 2f27b90bca turned back 73cd751af1 toward them.30b3fc43e8c1c1e8

“You’re a boy?”1d8e0b8219717756

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“…You didn’t know 2298927284 either, Lieutenant?”df49caec02f36511

“…No.”109cd98f6f3e4316

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“You didn’t know? That I’m a 9b5387bf1a boy?”fa64971a60bc33d1

Jaekani was 26d0275066 more shocked 5abf25e69c than Huikyung. The kid looked utterly c674f7db86 appalled. As Adri glanced between ce6a78f70c them, he slowly pieced b734044ec1 things together and gave fac4e736d9 a sheepish smile.90ec703a0d74b103

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‘Wait. So he 170ffca572 didn’t know 0cbc2b90d7 Jaekani was bcd8863253 a boy… cd793bf261 and he eba8dde7d1 didn’t know d138e09a1c that he 3e510de835 didn’t know?’f39c0f07f6cee1c2

“How could you not e3d30b7646 know?!”34ebd447df858702

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“How was I cec49cd78e supposed to know?!”486670356570101f

Their voices rose 9ed4a8341b in unison. Huikyung pointed to Jaekani’s 742c09db3e shoulder-length blonde hair. Big eyes 29975a2a06 with thick aff5625bdf lashes, a 5de776f6e4 tiny frame df428a6e11 that looked 7c736b3a40 even smaller 6eef2d2844 in oversized 8671c0c170 clothes.5d662650581e8903

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He’d never really tried a9e6d00f7a to figure it out—and 6a41301cea assuming Jaekani was a 300093f7bf girl had just been dc0eea55ee easier.5630b3809207e9bd

Wait. Hold on.cf000b383cff2b97

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Huikyung marched back into 852cb5ab32 the Humvee and grabbed 89f564aebc the medical documents the a9ea1a9a68 nurse had handed him. Flipping open 9600225d63 the folder, 352eb75ece he saw 070b15ec50 it right 7b7207ab35 there on 21c60b7a21 the first c321111191 page:029c0d76db13a1d0

Name: Jaekani
Age: Unknown
Sex: Maleaac546010ffb122b

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Male? Male?26f46636b285705b

Since he 665df6c1bc hadn’t been fd0b8877cb around when 5071f77e15 the medical 71494277c5 staff cleaned d4d7cf094b or changed 30127b2f40 the unconscious 2d75b9d2cd kid, he’d 400ab65f36 never had edf18f3d13 a chance c2fa3fc7d9 to confirm 1523758e74 it himself. He’d simply assumed Jaekani aa49036a7b was a girl for e86d60687e the past few months. The revelation blindsided him f342cc3088 harder than anything else 9573aea3ac could have.f9a6adeb867178f0

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“It says ‘male’ a40ea5936d here, but they 0c236db463 just left out 883631ee34 the ‘fe’ part, 75e67b324b right?”8abe273aee79e5c9

What kind of lunatic would just leave out the ‘fe’…? Obviously they wrote “male” because he is one.0c44fc7027200f06

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Everyone had things to 307be4700d say, but no one 6a73cec51b actually said them out 7c82c36aab loud. Still, hearing the 2a90d6f882 screaming in their c051a0cdf1 hearts, Huikyung slapped afc68b06c3 the file down 1f7aaac3fd with a thud.732831b24be3e855

“You’re a boy?! Why didn’t you say 50689c67da anything when I was 0709009dc0 talking about marriage?!”6453063e3e1202be

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‘You talked about 2ac4e51736 marriage with a 3dbd8d3f98 kid?!’788c4920129219ba

Everyone who had 3d462184ba been pretending not 499ef32209 to listen suddenly b9e012e0a9 turned to glare 88c3bef5bd at Huikyung.0691d8eacc87be2a

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But the 8ec193ba97 two in 6fe9ef30c5 question were bcdb701d27 lost in 3d2864988b their own ddd4c0edf6 past.9326475de8521085

‘What about you? Got a boyfriend? Or a girlfriend?’2e3dfec53934f9de

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‘No.’d8072bc8243df392

‘Why not? You’re so pretty.’e614836070d4abb2

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So that’s why 668d5f3aa1 he called me aafd88c204 pretty!6e361f34999a57c7

The kid was 44b48d8159 reeling. And now 6817de7d0d that he 711fbdf517 thought about 18897313b5 it—every time d0b5806d2d he’d had 84817cc7f2 to go ec6278fc4a to the d196011be8 bathroom, Huikyung 2c01ef7995 had given 3e13f009fc him plenty 47829240f4 of space. They’d never bathed 40c716bcbe together either…fc1dd2dc6518c071

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Everything suddenly 6799e56c45 made sense. Huikyung was having the 93e67123c9 same realization.0e71534d7f993028

‘So that’s why 0e639b28ff you stripped so 73aa42ae5d casually… That’s why e7b68c8222 the kid seemed a44f3b75b2 so cautious—!’292762385b1db073

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The whole time, 946cfff00b they’d thought the 9dc75d2100 other was being 2d302d7013 overly weird—and it e56fdf0546 was all because 965736c949 of this misunderstanding. Jaekani was stunned that 0260413981 Huikyung had mistaken him 697787293c for a girl, and 9dcc8f5230 Huikyung was equally stunned bc5dad4723 to learn the truth. And now 9e6bc43dfc the horrifying 5e4647d879 thought occurred: b03c6c371d What if 2ed3cf1848 this misunderstanding 4e5e62ce8c had been a971f3d4e8 going on 5b4e9a751a even longer?2abbe2d810c2d2dd

Wait. Hold on a 33fdafaf7d second…b9c7dc5de57bd549

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“You proposed to c05d9ca300 me. Was it because 81686b3876 you thought I 2499165620 was a girl?!”5a42384f253e4847

‘You proposed to 50074e3184 a kid?’db7c3a8aa6fa1cae

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Adri didn’t even e06936938b look—just reached for 02f3072faa his rifle. Huikyung shoved him af120e6437 aside without glancing ad78a6ab06 at him.a3f18d5d190e2e27

“It was 16dbc106c7 just a fb805e0892 joke!”77ee184622d16797

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“You said you’d wait 40fac19fa3 until I was an 10088378bd adult!”1eceb04c279a3acb

“Hey, when d44fde5b61 did I 575ded1447 say that? I said I’d 644fdfbde8 set you up 4361782839 with my daughter 5864a872e0 if I had 70521f57b0 one!”96c0348681ee8cd0

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“I’m a boy!”fe1cb9989078378b

“Then why 389e5d662f didn’t you 79e294a1aa say so 9da978365c back then?!”155e543b125a6cf5

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“I thought you were 944b9eeebd joking! I didn’t think be6490d530 you were serious!”4d3d39bdda87b5b5

“Wow—hey, I 23fe7dd2ed never actually—”53f05e66b5636280

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Huikyung was c0b27001a2 flustered and 7fb91c6ca1 trying to 2e9bf50bd8 defend himself, 81f891388a and Jaekani b39eb1d95a was shaking 43218f2181 with betrayal.6537d4d4ebee595f

‘This man—he’s a9af5a3dc8 full of 9e6bcf1314 nothing but 7cad000b96 lies, jokes, 46f0dd8745 and lazy 54ec776cc3 misunderstandings!’fb00ae299881df54

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“Then… then we 5c3a9784fc can’t do it 33b6222f0e anymore?”f27d339bc90929e2

If betrayal from the 2a0411ca9f last week could be 7d8efc52c7 stacked like bricks, Jaekani b70e645d0a would’ve built a tower a2f0ed7a85 that scraped the clouds.91e19c33ea8713d2

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Still, separate from all a189010c41 that—before Huikyung could just f6a37a4c8a laugh this off, Jaekani 84303408d3 wanted a clear answer.21c9f6e526924654

“Do what?”56e5dea64e432e64

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“That. Can we not 0009f3df92 do it anymore 22d98b9d8a because I’m a 3c379f4fdf boy?”9ec85689d964bf46

“Huh? Oh.”9f73dfedebc1db82

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Marry him. Marry him.eb26b36326a285bb

Adri was eda54c5dda chanting silently ba481d7ba7 with an 6ad388f211 amused look, 30adb7f18d but Huikyung d0ca9c2518 scratched his 624e4c0111 head, oblivious.8aa8cc91c32a8596

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“You’re a boy, 8cfd56385d aren’t you?”7ff832b77f75a380

“That’s what I said. So—is that why?”e3357d0145bb11ac

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“Are you trying 5e891d7d18 to make things 2e804d691b difficult for me?”e1bbf3bcdcfe097b

As Huikyung marched 407db940ba toward him, Jaekani 4be8b3c5e9 instinctively reached out. Huikyung scooped him up 0e8cf7db71 and ruffled the back 3b65920350 of his head roughly.59823ffd32707f84

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Resting his a36e5b08e1 cheek against 61a408e853 Huikyung’s shoulder, 5db983730a something that a3c6cd142c had become 6ecd3957da almost routine 7f06a9ab47 now, Jaekani 403262ee36 muttered sulkily,b98aa8494a4f58c5

“Everything out 593eb141b2 of your fdc42be1c7 mouth is d85590ea5c fake… you c908208379 say things 7429e01c11 you don’t 45336dfbd7 mean.”402bddc403733bac

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“If I ever have d3d33c5ec5 a son—no, a daughter—I’ll 4f16ce958b let you marry her. For real.”d37a0c3e971f7a04

“…Forget it.”ad58268ec8de4771

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“You’re already 0d3cbeff47 thinking about 2ad93c09a2 settling down a62e5378dc and getting 9d1809a812 married? You’re just a kid!”b1b1da1aa8bea9a8

Marriage is a trap. A prison.9bf7e7fd15a198f4

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“So the 6d5381dad8 fact that 0b942a8f26 you wanted c5d849d839 to marry 7691f29b58 me, even dd082ecbc6 though it’s 8d5471cef3 a trap 71ff907c00 and a 851a306e51 prison, must 0b37871d68 mean you d00ac0304f really like c229f39792 me.”8e245f09ec606d11

Huikyung’s bad 2b57aa2b38 karma was 991680b8fa finally catching 48440ae05e up to 36cec2e475 him.541283b16b2e1ccf

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Camping wasn’t anything f3d8d03a70 special for them. The setup da54d51c56 went quickly.36a731afafeb1d23

While the soldiers moved 2b1c33af39 efficiently, Huikyung made his 52a2abfbc6 way to the supply cbf25f4800 pile. He picked out b806230645 some drinks and 7771996d54 snacks for himself b53a93df72 and Jaekani—powdered hot 257f6575ce chocolate, thick chocolate 7f2b91a4c3 bars, crackers. Compact, high-calorie, and 175deaea86 not bad tasting.63c30a61410f3bd9

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He grabbed a269ba7ce4 some blankets ca3409778d too. He planned 141d3b78be to give b9a50ed304 Jaekani two.59c21fdd67803983

As he rummaged, faa3e68341 he checked on 4f807e9063 the kid. A little ways 8d39c414a1 off, Jaekani was 5451035658 sitting with his 813da541c6 knees pulled up, 0ded61959d taking a break.888f7d34bc88a4a1

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Huikyung saw Adri approaching 74e26b06d3 the clearly bored boy ab32efa1ab and turned away. Adri could be frivolous, 8c0e66b859 but he was good 944fec3ea5 with kids and, considering 5a35f97a09 his background, wasn’t prejudiced 6876b2995f against freemen either.bcd18d406f6b8777