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.254dbaae88a82c4d

“New face, huh? Just got here?”762cead6917dbaf3

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“Yeah…”86d6824f7c30a54a

“How old are you?”d351fc8543ad0de6

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“Twenty.”d6b5f1b06533be2d

“Wow, still a baby. You better eat a lot.”838f6591e57877d5

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Seeing the pile of 27720b4229 meat on one side 721d1c486a of the tray made 7eb8963fc4 his mouth water unexpectedly. After receiving rice 1e2a5941be and side dishes, 47455a991c he sat in edc59c17bf an empty spot, 6fcb47b312 said a prayer, 1fa6a41cea and picked up 6bca50e1ba the meat first 3de79ccb42 with his chopsticks. The moment he daa3d35344 put it in 2f4d231aed his mouth, he 41c2406116 almost swore out 85d3203274 loud.7e697b54f0008ffa

He used to buy 8f452e3629 meat from the market fbc54c9209 with the money he a1b60da878 earned from odd jobs, 91fa4c3b85 but it was always 0a5eff4682 so tough it felt a7c5bf129d like chewing rubber bands. He usually a1e095de87 boiled it d05a173635 in soup, 46a2ddd43e but even 92a19de6e8 that had eb0bfa1f4d become expensive c14813a0da lately. Sometimes, he even went 2f532abf1a to the mountains to 757294404c catch small birds or 2b2b9ca5a4 animals.2b0e11e3463c90b8

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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.300834b3d1ba75de

“Look at this beggar, stuffing his face. Want some more?”df55e6cb60797396

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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.b8475bbd24a4c000

“Hey, newbie. They say in Zone B, they eat people because there’s no meat. Is that true?”388cc6353379c6af

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“Oh, I don’t like that. Better watch out for the guys sharing your room. Must be scary as hell.”9680cddc083a7763

“Shouldn’t we tie him up with a rope?”8eaa1f1c4017e720

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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.dbeed760d478528f

“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?”dc2edc0e4f25d48c

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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.7488cd3d94999937

With all eyes still 66c179d03e on him, Ire finished 5f50a7ceb6 his meal without a d10e319ff9 care. There were always troublemakers ef1cc81928 everywhere, and right now, 7c5511a5cb filling his stomach was 752eebe56c more important than worrying c697190c6b about them.91fc004d8f8e4cc0

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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.d4b6f64266c0b9c5

“Childish bastards.”03cf1c4b680acc45

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Frowning, he looked for c461948016 something to erase the e43bf4525e words. Soon, he heard murmuring 8b48daa399 voices, and his roommates 32f0d93adb entered, looking visibly flustered.dcf550a4b61fb8cc

“It wasn’t us, really.”10ff47377ad4f37f

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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.c4b6ba05deb2d99a

“It’s obvious who did it.”8794ffbd75740528

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“Park Mujin?”40b6089fd6ae0560

“Who else would come to someone else’s room and do this?”e5b61a0236597cb7

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So the guy 6f585f270c who caused trouble d2e71e3d1b earlier was named d90f8e4c4e Park Mujin. The man with glasses ed559ad45d handed the cream to 4860528ac9 Ire, saying he could 3548194308 use it to erase 76f5fdf68f if it happened again. Unsure if he should bdb6f5aa93 accept it, he looked d9d0545f1f at him, and the c3432cbbe7 man adjusted his glasses def7e52eb4 and awkwardly extended his dcf00b4892 hand.d4a75c83866b899c

“I didn’t introduce myself… I’m Hangyeol. Twenty-two. Nice to meet you.”95ebd9051a904b44

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As Ire shook 4ca627209d his hand, a 4a2a9c8fbe nearby man chimed 30f4452b20 in. It was Seo Youngjun, ebf216c045 who had shown the 4c862ae310 most friendliness to Ire 137705b229 among the three.badc1a7097b95c1a

“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.”3b8c418eb1753634

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“Honestly, we were all on edge, worried something might happen.”b38f2c931f20c9d0

“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.”7aad2f224897bc05

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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.b760258bb6e9048e

“They must be even more pissed because Captain Kim Hayoon vouched for you. They all want to get in Kim Hayoon’s good books.”e240b8720683b124

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Ire frowned at the mention of Kim Hayoon’s name.29a3d2059867090a

“Kim Hayoon?”a481b0141de69c79

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“Yeah. He brought you here, didn’t he? You don’t know?”e7401846b2a04409

He closed his mouth. How could he not 92d4695134 know? That annoying guy. Because of f62cfac15c him, he e01fe86182 was stuck 7ee73c6c95 here like c7798724a2 this. Should he not 879c875198 blame him since 954d0f2ed1 it was his b6257881a3 choice? As he pondered, Ire fe1b978091 asked a question.44cad83f5ae7a03e

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“Is captain… a high rank?”f467c84625be1bad

He was 2c9cbcfdd4 curious about e3efc02649 how high 6d28c7e23b it had 042a990e64 to be 473b291e60 to kill f590016994 someone and edf275978c still be d1ffd931bc fine.50a9d439434f7749

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“Does rank even matter to him?”fcd79ff2c4e25cc6

“What do you mean?”8e32d8e7d239c518

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“He’s from a very prestigious family. We can’t even imagine.”e8c76c7319b6a857

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.f0c0da9de5726b4f

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“I’d rather not run into him if I can help it. He’s scary. Though more people respect him.”021e0761151996c5

“Honestly, his face is amazing. Even as a guy, I can’t help but look.”1fe46b4b9a5b2293

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“Stop it. You’ll get your eyes gouged out.”248f9013c3d7aafd

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.8fb2395c688a5f26

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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.c67e4a58bcae04a6

***084c2c1d137ccfbf

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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.91b774905c7fa8fe

Across from him, Kim 2c876d0092 Docheol, who had brought d34656fb54 the report, was passionately 4a1ef9a8ac ranting.0518b0f2c579dea6

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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.”9f6086c63d4b7d51

Kim Hayoon continued ed6ddd58e9 flipping through the f72e21ef9d documents, his lips 4b2156aa57 twisting more and cf0d4b576b more.6dbf6dbd3a7d801b

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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.”171823b591042180

As the criticism 7baa1062d7 continued, Kim Hayoon 65f8d6304e threw what he 29bfe631e3 was holding onto 729c9e6e99 the table and 6fd78f2ebd pulled out a 87ae6596ee cigarette.3b26b7142c023e3f

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“People must be complaining a lot.”82a4a9b0a0c555c5

“Of course. Even if they don’t show it, they’re probably cursing your judgment.”ebe75616dcd6404c

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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.3f331beb0d5dee79

But getting the lowest c5f65ed299 scores in training seemed 2b9d4c7cba deliberate. He had thought it 2f00b9d05a commendable that he was d30cbe141a getting along quietly, but 5271983309 it seemed this guy f85363bded was preparing to stab c4078a3679 him in the back.5f26e11158d23b40

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“If this continues, he’ll be out before the completion ceremony. There’s no reason to keep him.”d53d2c3c2a13f211

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.2d3cb78066fbba4a

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“Tell him to come to my room after training in the evening.”c403219ef09b63d0

Kim Docheol, observing 29c4b109fe his expression, asked a57cdefb85 with a look 3154c86b2a of disbelief.8c920ae9b29c7196

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“You’re not going to kill him, are you?”bc8f5df7f11aac17

Kill him? Why waste something 208ece9cd4 so precious?4959940328775df1

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Hayoon replied with d0e0120d89 a mischievous smile.1a6af5e2dd589650

“Naughty students need a spanking.”abc08c7540d0314c

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