SOG Ch 57

“You didn’t even know that you had suffered significant losses.”

Seon Jae-chan said, recalling Nam Hae-sol from the past.

Stamping the seal on Lim Jeong-wook was meant to be a stepping stone for the opportunities she would face later on in Guide Team 5’s missions. However, instead of leaving a good impression, it only made her seem more dislikable.

She lost her chance to be registered as a formal guide a few months later.

“…Well, I think it’s you who suffered significant losses, Guide-nim.”

Hae-sol unexpectedly retorted to Jae-chan.

Seon Jae-chan turned around, his anxious eyes meeting her stubborn gaze.

“Me? What losses have I suffered?”

Jae-chan genuinely asked, thinking that he hadn’t suffered any losses at all.

For a moment, only the sound of raindrops could be heard between the two. Hae-sol faced the unrelenting silence, her lips tightly sealed, her determination unwavering.

She then took a step back and opened her umbrella.

She quickly turned away. Underneath the delicate transparent vinyl umbrella, her hair, which had been tightly bound, was now loose and flowing in a curly tail, swaying as if to show off its ends.

Huh?

A vague sigh escaped from Jae-chan’s lips.

He had thought she was different from the other fledgling apprentices. In any case, even the scent of innocence seemed to be wafting gently from Nam Hae-sol.

*

At the same time, in the Z-14 area, a rocky plateau dividing the borders of the Union and the conflict zone.

Another disastrous scene was taking place against the backdrop of the vast desert area that occupied two-thirds of the conflict area and the deafening sound of military helicopter propellers going up and down the landing site.

“Esper Go Woo-jin…?”

Jin Dae-ho, currently serving as the leader of the 1st Special Operations Force E-SOF, couldn’t hide his trembling as he spoke. He frowned at the gusts of sand and the intense light of the rising sun.

“Just now… What did you say…?”

Behind them, the TY-07 heavy transport helicopter was waiting in the distance. The roaring sound of the two sets of propellers arranged in series, consuming most of the sound, made communication difficult. However, Go Woo-jin’s firm voice was the only one that distinctly reached them.

“I said I’m staying.”

“…What did I say before that?”

Despite raising his voice, Team Leader Jin couldn’t hide his surprise. He looked up at Go Woo-jin’s pale face through the goggles. Go Woo-jin nonchalantly lifted the massive barrel of the E7A11 he was carrying slanted over his shoulder and replied.

“You said to withdraw.”

His voice was as dry as the sandstorm hitting the lenses of his goggles, as irritating as the natural environment of Zone Z.

The context of the situation was as follows.

After more than a month of searching, E-SOF’s unit discovered the target’s hideout, codenamed ‘Snow Leopard,’ in Area Z-14. It was an exquisitely hidden safe house between clay sedimentary rock valleys.

The reconnaissance mission quickly turned into a strike operation. Since there were no civilians around, the team leader ordered the installation of a bomb at the final coordinates. The process, amplified by the abilities of the Espers after a month of grueling pursuit, to the point of completely blowing up the two-story building, was far from smooth.

‘Let’s withdraw!’

Team leader Jin Dae-ho shouted after checking the text [No biological response] on the monitor of the heat sensor. Since he was appointed to be the Esper Special Operations Force Team Leader, this was his first long-term operation achievement since the successful pirate sweep operation on Mentosa Island in August of last year. Especially since the E-SOF unit was notorious for having team leaders change frequently for no clear reason, Jin Dae-ho had gone through quite a bit of trouble.

‘Return to the forward base!’

Team Leader Jin shouted in excitement.

‘Team Leader. I will stay.’

Suddenly, Go Woo-jin poured cold water on him. He wanted to make sure the target was dead.

Of course, it was good that he was willing to take on the dirty work, but…

“Hey, can’t you see the building collapsing over there?”

Jin Dae-ho’s neatly arranged mustache twitched. Go Woo-jin’s behavior felt like he was deliberately giving him a hard time.

Frustrated and about to point at the wreckage of the building, the team leader suddenly stopped.

It was because of Go Woo-jin’s resolute gaze looking down at him due to his height advantage. Also, it was due to the stares of the E-SOF unit members behind Go Woo-jin. The quiet attention in that situation suddenly became an overwhelming barrier that seemed to push him away.

Team leader Jin pursed his lips. He recalled the words the previous team leader, who had been a major officer, had thrown at him.

“E-SOF members are divided, half in the Ability Center and half in the military units. They’re different from regular soldiers and even from other special units. When commanding E-SOF-affiliated Espers, there’s one thing you should remember.”

With four orchids pinned on his uniform and once being a remarkable figure who had gone as far as being a Chief of staff, he had emphasized in a meaningful way.

‘Remember. They have their own way of doing things.’

Team leader Jin, who likes to make connections in various places, and is very quick-witted, understood the meaning of the words at once.

Within the team, it meant that there was an Esper who secretly played the role of the “real team leader.”

Some of the special forces originally had a noncommissioned officer in charge of the field team leader. Because of this, Team Leader Jin didn’t think much of it at first, thinking that the naive general must have had a hard time. He was simply curious about who it could be.

The moment he found out was surprisingly quick.

It was probably about a month after he seemed to be the newly appointed team leader. It was after the successful completion of the pirate sweep operation on Mentosa Island. Go Woo-jin, who had a high name value among the public and was nominally in charge of dealing with pirate remnants, suddenly made an emergency call.

‘Requesting combat force support.’

He wanted to save oppressed islanders somewhere, whether it was Siren Village or where they were facing military compensation claims or future unrest. The reason was that even if they were to achieve victory, it wouldn’t hold much significance.

When he submitted the report to the higher-ups, there was an unsatisfactory response. Crucially, Yoon Seo-mi of the J Group has promised overwhelming military support items. On the condition of not helping Go Woo-jin.

Of course, later it turned out that the support supplies were actually bombs, and in the process of tracing her source of acquiring the bombs, an investigation was strictly prohibited under the command’s order… anyway.

The problematic situation arose at that time.

‘I heard there won’t be any additional support troops deployed.’

Not even a few hours later, some of the unit members came to protest when they found out about the situation on Siren Island.

‘I’m going to help Esper Go Woo-jin.’

‘If you don’t order, I’ll go on my own time.’

Where did they get this information from? Was it from Goujin? Did they know this defiance of orders is disobedience?

All kinds of angry questions swirled in Jin Dae-ho’s head. The largest piece of that emotional turmoil was the feeling of ‘my authority has been violated.’ Not even two months into his appointment, he had almost ended up in a confrontation with his own unit members. Fortunately, the situation was resolved when Choi Seung-hwan, the most influential Esper present, was able to contact Go Woo-jin.

‘Oh, you don’t need to come? The situation is over. I just need guiding…’

The next moment. The unit members who seemed like they might rush to Mentos Island right then and there even if they had to trample over Team Leader Jin, scattered with gloomy faces.

It was truly a mixture of relief and disappointment. On one hand, he felt the urge to rebuke them, but on the other, he was relieved that it didn’t escalate. Being a cautious person, Team Leader Jin didn’t want to create friction with influential members.

After that day, the team leader started to pay attention to Go Woo-jin. It seemed that Go Woo-jin was the real leader that the predecessor had been talking about.

Once he knew, it all made so much sense.

To the extent that he wondered how he hadn’t realized who that guy was before.

Even if the order was given, E-SOF troops moved only after Go Woo-jin moved. Go Woo-jin had been an obedient unit member who immediately obeyed orders, so he hadn’t noticed it until now.

The young Go Woo-jin was the practical leader of the airborne and long-range Esper Special Operations Force.

It was hard to believe even when he saw it with his own eyes.

After that, Team Leader Jin, conducted various experiments to validate this understanding.

The 30th anniversary celebration of the President’s inauguration turned out to be an effective means. President Gyeong Jeon-seok suddenly gave the order to mobilize E-SOF’s troops for trivial matters such as suppressing protests. The team leader gave the ridiculous order to Go Woo-jin through the in-ear.

The result was crystal clear. “Understood,” Go Woo-jin accepted, and the members immediately followed his lead with a single gesture from him. It was a completely different scene from their usual grumbling complaints to the receiver.

Does it make sense?

Esper Go Woo-jin is only twenty-one years old.

Not to mention, there were Esper members in E-SOF who were far more experienced than Go Woo-jin. There was Operator Chae Seong-hwan, a 47-year-old senior noncommissioned officer, and even S-class Esper An Suk-yeong, who had worked as a top-notch observer agent.

Suddenly, an early enlistee with less than 4 years of service becomes the unofficial leader?

An S-class Esper who only knew how to win the envy and favor of the public, with that demure and graceful face?

‘Is it because he’s strong?’

Team Leader Jin thought simply. Go Woo-jin was considered to have the highest amount of energy of any Espers in the Union. Were the so-called best Espers suppressed by the law of the strong and weak like beasts?