OL Ch 47

Even if the Labyrinth didn’t appear, monsters did. Just today, a temporary gate opened at a construction site in Hwagok-dong, and an evacuation order was issued. Soldiers controlled the traffic in the area, and in the meantime, psychics belonging to the special forces were deployed to the construction site.

The monster that came out of the gate was a spider-type monster with a relatively familiar name, the Eight-foot Giant Crab Spider. As its name suggested, its legs were extremely long, and thanks to that, it went back and forth regardless of the ceiling height, giving the agents a hard time. But it wasn’t difficult to deal with.

Mookyeong, who was dispatched to the scene, broke the monster’s leg joints and neck when the agents cornered the Eight-foot Giant Crab Spider in one place. At that moment, the monster, foreseeing its end, tried to lay eggs, and another agent who was dispatched with him froze the spider along with its eggs.

The scene was suppressed relatively quickly, but on the upper floors where the gate opened, the damage to the workers was great. This was because many of them fell to their deaths while fleeing from the spider or suffocated from the spider silk it spewed.

The unit commander, Major Park, grumbled that he was going to get a good scolding and then started pestering them, saying that they should have a drink on days like this.

Of course, Mookyeong had no intention of joining him. He didn’t know how much he had to listen to “back in my day” and complaints after drinking with him once.

Mookyeong avoided the unit commander more stealthily and quickly than when he was deployed on a mission. He barely managed to get off work safely, but he was caught by a matchmaking company employee in a moment of carelessness. It was a pity that he couldn’t hit him because he was a civilian.

The matchmaking company employee only backed away after giving Mookyeong a file and various business cards. As soon as Mookyeong got home, he threw the business cards in the trash. He threw the file in his study, planning to shred it separately.

Even though it was a house where Kim Hayun was staying, he felt a sense of relief because it was home. He thought of washing his dirty body and resting comfortably, but unfortunately, Major Park, whom he thought he had shaken off, clung to him tenaciously.

Moreover, he said he was bringing other unit members with him, not just himself. Mookyeong firmly refused, but Major Park was strangely insistent.

Annoyance surged up first at the words that he would wait until he opened the door. Because he knew he really would. There was nothing more unpleasant than having to fall for a known trick. Mookyeong was about to rush in but closed his mouth when he saw Kim Hayun.

He just didn’t want them to find out about Kim Hayun’s existence. So he sent Kim Hayun out before they came. As soon as Kim Hayun went down, Major Park rang the doorbell.

“Wow, Lieutenant Baek. I thought your house would be like a temple because you live like a monk, but it smells like someone lives here.”

Major Park Jung-woo, Mookyeong’s superior, who entered as soon as he opened the door, was surprised as he looked around Mookyeong’s house. Because the house was plausible, contrary to the personality of Mookyeong he knew.

“The location is good, the floor is good, so the sunlight is good too. And you’ve organized the house well. Wow, you’re living better than me.”

“That’s because you spend all your fortune on drinking, Major Park. It would have been nice if you had bought a house when you were earning well, right?”

“No, is that possible? Really. No,”

When another superior, Captain Lee Kyung-mi, teased him, Major Park blinked. Like a flustered Korean, Major Park just repeated the word “no”.

“No, I probably couldn’t have bought a house like this even then.”

“Oh, come on, Seoul’s land prices weren’t that expensive back then.”

“It was expensive compared to other provinces. So I couldn’t even dream of it. No, and where would I have had the time to buy a house? I didn’t even know when I would die.”

“That’s right. You can only regret it if you’re alive. You did well. It’s not that, but as you said, we don’t know when we’ll die, so we can’t take our fortune to the afterlife.”

Perhaps because Captain Lee’s words were annoying, Major Park pouted. But he didn’t argue with Captain Lee. It was a somewhat crooked attitude for a soldier with a strict chain of command, but no one said anything because Captain Lee was more skilled in combat than Major Park.

Unlike the regular army, where one had to be in the right branch or line, the special forces, where psychics belonged, did not care much about rank.

They were given the rank of second lieutenant just by enlisting after completing the middle and high school courses at an educational institution for psychics.

This was because they had not only tactical knowledge about combat against people and monsters but also field experience. Moreover, it was easy to achieve merits, so promotions were fast, to the point where they were called “water promotions”. It was common for subordinates to become superiors, and they were always exposed to danger, with a high risk of death.

It was possible to be in an unfortunate accident on the field while trying to establish discipline without having the ability. That’s why they prioritized power over rank, unless they were general officers. Because if they had power, they could always build up merits and get a rank, and they had a greater influence on the field.

Major Park was in his late thirties and could strengthen his body like Baek Jinha. But unlike Baek Jinha, he did not leave a big impression on other psychics. This was because he specialized in close combat and was not good enough to deal with multiple opponents.

On the other hand, Captain Lee was an ice ability user and was diligently making her mark on the higher-ups by being selected for various special missions. Perhaps in a year or two, she might be able to catch up to Major Park’s rank.

“This house has nothing to do with my abilities. I inherited it.”

“…..”

Major Park shook his head as if it was no comfort at all. The story that he had inherited it seemed to make him feel even smaller.

“Well, Director Seo’s real estate investment was famous, right? I don’t know about other things, but she bought land and buildings in really amazing places.”

At Captain Lee’s words, Mookyeong smiled slightly and shrugged his shoulders. He acted as if he didn’t know, but he couldn’t not know because he had gone through the inheritance process. In fact, Mookyeong could live without working until he died of old age just with the rent from the buildings he owned.

The reason he deliberately enlisted in the army, where danger lurked, was that it was easier to gather the information he wanted.

Mookyeong’s gaze followed the two unit members who were standing behind Major Park and Captain Lee, just looking around. Both were brand new recruits he had never spoken to.

Major Park, who was in the same unit, rushed in, saying they should have a drink since they didn’t know when they would part. Perhaps because of the nature of his ability, he had a tendency to rush in first. Even if Mookyeong had refused, he would have somehow gotten into the building and waited until he was let in.

Although they got along well, they weren’t close enough to do this. Usually, the unit members did not bother Mookyeong.

Although the number of psychics was just a handful compared to the total population, if you were to divide and compare them, psychics with telekinesis were the most numerous. And eighty percent of them were not suitable for combat.

They mostly ended up floating paper cranes or twisting long-necked spoons.

And among the remaining twenty percent, those who could fight against monsters, not just ordinary people, could be counted on one hand. And Mookyeong was a top-class ability user among them.

He was a psychic of the mental type, to whom general mental brainwashing did not work, and he had no family. He was classified as a psychic who needed intensive management, as he often showed signs of rampage.

But he was quiet for the abilities he possessed, so they tried to manage him in a relatively moderate way, and one of them was marriage. The main purpose was to make him feel a sense of belonging as a member of society. And at the same time, to leave the genes of an outstanding psychic in Korea.

‘Or they thought he would be somewhat rehabilitated.’

Recently, they must have become more anxious as foreign countries, especially in Asia, were constantly trying to make contact. But Mookyeong had never thought of living a faithful life as a member of society or a life as a stud. He didn’t want to have anyone else by his side, leaving Kim Heewon behind, and he didn’t have a strong libido, so he didn’t feel the need to relieve it separately.

He didn’t want to squeeze out his semen and pass it on in such a situation.

The reason they came today was to check Mookyeong’s living environment and have him meet another psychic under the guise of a coincidence. Of course, it would be a forced meeting that was hard to disguise as a coincidence no matter how you looked at it.

“By the way, I thought Lieutenant Baek wouldn’t open the door.”

“That’s right, that’s right. I thought he would pretend to be out.”

When Major Park chuckled, Captain Lee agreed. Captain Lee narrowed her eyes and looked at Mookyeong with a meaningful look.

“He’s a man too, right?”

“…..”

Instead of smiling awkwardly, Mookyeong overtly showed his displeasure. Because Mookyeong had refused them once. But whether Mookyeong did or not, Captain Lee introduced the new recruits who had come with them to Mookyeong.

In the meantime, the doorbell rang once more.

It seemed that the group that was supposed to come later had arrived. Major Park glanced at Mookyeong and then went to the front door himself and opened it.

The short man, Captain Choi Woo-cheol, a military doctor, smiled and entered the house.

“Wow, nice house.”

“Right? The floor is good, the location is good too.”

Captain Choi Woo-cheol nodded at Major Park’s words, who was boasting as if it were his own house, and then approached Mookyeong. He cheerfully massaged Mookyeong’s shoulders and told him to calm down.

“Since you’re here, think of it positively. Thinking negatively is the root of all evil.”

“Isn’t it also a disease to endure it when someone is getting on your nerves?”

“No, no. It’s okay if you think positively.”

Captain Choi Woo-cheol smiled and then started looking around Mookyeong’s house. He went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, and also looked into the utility room.

“Who uses this? There’s a desk in the middle.”

Captain Choi naturally moved on, as if he knew Mookyeong wouldn’t tell him. He then opened the pot with food in it. He didn’t hide the fact that he was trying to ‘inspect’ something.

In the meantime, Major Park and Captain Lee started ordering food, and the two new recruits smiled awkwardly and paced around. Then they found a picture frame on a small shelf at the end of the hallway and spoke to Mookyeong.

“Is this Lieutenant Baek’s graduation picture?”

Suddenly, he felt a pang of regret. Before Mookyeong could answer, the unit members gathered around the picture frame and started looking at it.

“I thought he was young now, but he was even younger then. Ha, seriously. But who’s the kid next to him? He’s not our junior, judging from his clothes.”

At Captain Lee’s words, Captain Choi picked up the picture frame. He stared at Kim Hayun’s face. Then he gently rubbed Kim Hayun’s face with his thumb and then opened his mouth.

“Ah!“

“…?”

“Oh, no wonder his face looked familiar. So he was your friend.”

“You know him?”

“I saw his data when I was receiving a report on Lieutenant Baek a long time ago. He went to our elementary and middle school, and then he got caught up in that day in the first year of high school and became a civilian? I think he had teleportation or some kind of movement ability.”

Somehow, Captain Choi’s words were annoying. His stomach turned cold, and anxiety began to rear its head. Perhaps knowing Mookyeong’s uncomfortable mood, Captain Choi tried to smooth things over with a smile.

“Hey, why are you looking at me so fiercely? I’m a military doctor, so I have to look. Lieutenant Baek is a person of interest.”

“He’s just an attention seeker.”

When Major Park giggled, the others also started laughing. Mookyeong laughed, finding this farce absurd. Captain Choi made a flinching expression and then held out the picture frame and asked.

“This friend was a teleporter, right?”

“Why are you curious about that?”

“That’s right, are you interested in Lieutenant Baek’s friend?”

“I’m not uninterested, but it’s not in the way you guys are thinking. It’s because of the Labyrinth Research Institute.”

“Why’s that?”

“Why, a long time ago. When the Labyrinth opened in Seoul, the Pinocchio guys kidnapped kids and took out their hearts.”

“Oh, I remember. The school was closed back then.”

“When they compiled the statistics of the people who died at that time, they found that they had mainly targeted specific ability users. And they were mostly teleporters.”

“But what does that have to do with the Labyrinth Research Institute?”

“There were a lot of teleporters at the Labyrinth Research Institute. But after that day, even the people who weren’t captured by Pinocchio died suddenly, so the number of people in this field has decreased significantly.”

“There weren’t that many teleporters to begin with, right?”

“Yes. So the Labyrinth Research Institute is working hard to find teleporters. They’re managing the existing registered teleporters and also looking for new ones.”

Captain Choi continued to ramble on, but it was difficult to determine the reason for his interest in Kim Hayun from his words. Captain Lee, who had been listening quietly, was about to point that out when Captain Choi smiled his usual friendly smile.

“But strangely, there have been no new teleporters born since then.”

“Maybe they haven’t been born yet? Or maybe they haven’t awakened yet.”

“Anyway, they’re very worried over there. Whether they should wait longer, or if there’s another reason. Well, it’s good to have a lot of psychics, right? It’s said that if there are many psychics, the national power will be stronger.”

Captain Choi still didn’t put down the picture frame. Mookyeong reached out his hand and took the picture frame himself.

“Psychics have a high probability of giving birth to psychics, right? So I thought, what if we got this friend’s seed? Even though he used too much power and became a civilian, his genes would still be the same, right?”

“Shouldn’t you think about it after getting at least one right?”

Captain Lee tapped Captain Choi’s arm, saying that he was being mean. Captain Choi grabbed his arm and feigned pain. Mookyeong wiped the photo with his sleeve while Captain Choi was turned away. His already bad mood had hit rock bottom.

He couldn’t even remember what the unit members had said or what they had eaten and drunk. He finally came to his senses while cleaning the house after they had left.

Mookyeong, who was cleaning the bedroom, found a condom box and a bunch of unused condoms. The moment he confirmed that the number on the box and the number of remaining condoms were different, he was so annoyed that his head throbbed.

‘What the hell were they doing in someone else’s house?’

Mookyeong immediately opened all the windows and doors in the house. And he opened the bedroom bathroom, which was suspected to be the scene of the act. When he looked at the trash can, there was evidence that was not far from his expectation.

“…Are they dogs?”

It was incomprehensible to Mookyeong’s common sense.

There was a reason why he took his friends out, saying that he was sorry for barging in so suddenly but he couldn’t stay the night.

While he was trembling with anger alone, he felt a presence at the front door. When he went to the front door, Kim Hayun was peeking his head in.

“Are all the guests gone?”

“I told you to stay the night.”

“No, well. It just happened. Can I not come in yet?”

Instead of answering, Mookyeong moved aside so that Kim Hayun could come in. It didn’t matter if Hayun came in since all the guests were gone.

“Wow, you guys must have drunk a lot.”

Kim Hayun, who came into the house, tutted at the sight of the liquor bottles that Mookyeong had collected. And then he started talking about whether many guests had come. It was as annoying as usual to answer, but the annoyance that had been picking at his head had disappeared. At the same time, the drunkenness surged up again.

Mookyeong blinked his stiff eyes. Something was bothering him, but he couldn’t remember what it was. Then he saw the still messy living room. Mookyeong cleaned up the rest of the living room without thinking deeply. Now that the sorting was done, he just had to throw it away later.

When he entered the bedroom, Kim Hayun was standing still in the middle of the room. The moment he saw the back of Kim Hayun’s head, Mookyeong remembered what he had forgotten. The moment he was about to make an excuse, Kim Hayun spoke first.

“Did you…sleep with someone?”

Although the words were short, they were soaked with moisture. His mind instantly went blank. He was about to say no, but a sudden thought stopped Mookyeong’s mouth.

Maybe this is an opportunity to sharpen his dulled mind again?