While ability users may seem to be immortal, they shared a mortality rate of 100%, just like civilians. There was yet to be an immortal being on this earth. Even the average life expectancy of ability users, approximately 37 years, was significantly lower compared to that of ordinary people. Considering the fact that the majority of them had to suffer through battlefields where bullets hailed down like rain and bombs detonated like fireworks for at least half of the year, it was challenging for them to live long enough to have a long life. Perhaps it was the thorough medical treatment given by the military that allowed them to reach the average age of 37 years.
The methods to kill an ability user were far more diverse than I had initially imagined, but the methods available to me were limited. If we were to liken it to a game, abilities were similar to MP, and health was similar to HP. Regardless of how high your MP was, once your HP plunged to zero, your character would die. No matter how special one’s ability was, ability users shared the same body structure as humans, and that included vital points. A precise shot to a perfect vital point like the heart or the head would force them to put their abilities on hold as they focused on healing themselves. If their head were to be blown off during that moment, no matter how formidable of an ability user they were, they would have no choice but to die.
However, theory was just theory, and reality was different from games. It would be difficult to shoot a bullet straight into the head or heart of someone like Jung Haekyung, whose vision far exceeded the notions of ordinary human beings. There was also a substantial chance that, were you to shoot from a distance, you would die before the bullet even reached Jung Haekyung’s body. For a bullet to penetrate him, you would need to position the gun directly against his chest or head and fire. There was also the possibility that he might tense his muscles the moment the bullet was discharged, obstructing its path to his heart, so you also had to make sure that he remained oblivious to what was happening until the very moment the gun touched his body. More importantly, however, it would be a challenge to get into such close proximity with Jung Haekyung. Given his ability to momentarily read the thoughts of others if he put his mind to it, shooting him without his knowledge would also be difficult. Even if you did succeed in making him drop his guard, according to the experimental data obtained from him as a test subject, even if his heart were struck, his abilities would only stop for a total of less than four seconds. Would I be able to execute a perfect kill on that bastard in the span of four seconds?
I could kill him. Because I was the closest to him. Despite my enmity towards him, I was the only one who could touch his head or chest. Furthermore, Jung Haekyung overestimated his own abilities. Unless it was during a mission, he wouldn’t even carry a gun around and rarely bothered to remain vigilant of his surroundings.
And, I was immune to that oh-so-great ability of his. Jung Haekyung couldn’t pry into my thoughts, blind my eyes, or obliterate my head or limbs. While his sheer strength might allow him to tear at my flesh, I could endure that much.
Unless he died of natural causes, I might be the only person who could kill Jung Haekyung. I was unique enough to be considered a limited edition in S.E., a place filled with special espers. My ability would serve as both the beginning and the end of my misfortune. My goal was to put bullets into that man’s head and heart, blowing his brains off.
I had to kill Jung Haekyung. That was the only way. I couldn’t bear to live like this anymore. If someone had to die for the game to end, I wanted to be the one to see the ending. I didn’t want to be forced to partake in this unfair game anymore.
∞
Jung Haekyung was on a mission and therefore absent from S.E. While it was a delightful Saturday for others, I found myself en route to Director Baek’s lab for my health examination. The Science, Technology, and Medical Acceleration Research Institute greeted me as per usual, radiating its pearly-white sheen.
Director Baek wasn’t present, but a variety of theses, books, and file organisers were carelessly stacked on the large desk. The lab was a total mess, as if wanting to shout to the world that it belonged to a mad doctor. It was always headache-inducing, regardless of when I visited. I decided to sit down on a stiff chair, waiting for Director Baek to arrive.
After sitting absentmindedly for a moment, I straightened my back and corrected my posture. Then, I reached a hand towards the desk. The titles of the dissertations, haphazardly stacked in a pile, drew my attention, and I couldn’t bring myself to ignore them.
-Research on Sperm Injection Fertilisation Success Rates
-Report on Embryo Generation Predictions through In Vitro Fertilisation and In Vitro Artificial Insemination
-Success Rate of Uterine Transplantation Targeting Male Espers
Though I couldn’t understand the majority of the words, I took my time reading the thesis anyway. Ability users were always in short supply compared to the military’s needs. It was still unclear how ability users were conceived and awakened. However, the thesis mentioned that, if the sperm of an ability user were to fertilise the egg of another ability user, there was a high possibility that the resulting fetus would be an ability user as well, provided the success of the process, of course.
However, individuals with exceptional self-healing abilities tended to regard nearly all foreign substances as antigens that needed to be dealt with, creating antibodies to eliminate them. Due to the body’s programming, which perceived both sperm and meticulously fertilised embryos as threats, it was often impossible for ability users to undergo fertilisation with one another.
S.E. seemed to desire more than just controlling ability users; they even sought to create their own now. While I was aware of their persistent efforts using various methods, wasn’t the idea of transplanting a uterus into a male ability user and attempting to inject them with sperm way too bizarre?
What could be the motive behind casually leaving these dissertations on the desk, as if it didn’t matter whether or not I saw them? Was it to give me an early notice to start practicing prenatal education? I was well aware of how they treated people as less than human, but once again, I was disgusted by how much they looked down upon me. Nevertheless, I appreciated their kindness, leaving these dissertations here, as if wanting me to see them. Without hesitation, I began to flip through the pages of the thesis.
There was a long list of male ability users with lacking or poor self-healing abilities. My personal information was included as well. However, I did not qualify as a candidate for the uterine transplant experiment. A red stamp marked my name, reading <Disapproved.> It was the seal of Commander Jung Kyungwon.
According to the paper, the success rate of the in vitro fertilisation was less than 4%, with an implantation success rate of less than 0.2%. These figures were practically another term for impossible. Both the success rates of childbirth and the survival of the experimental subjects were entirely omitted. Whether I should view this as fortunate or unfortunate, I wasn’t likely to become a subject of this experiment until the success rates for both the uterine transplants, pregnancy, childbirth, and the survival rates of the experimental subjects all reached 100%. There was a certain someone out there who wouldn’t even entertain a 1% chance of me getting hurt, so there was also a chance that I might never get a uterus transplanted into my body.
Even though this was the current situation, they were already treating me as if I were pregnant. Since the beginning of summer, Director Baek would call me over, conducting nothing but basic examinations all day. She no longer forced me to do any experiments that would cause me pain, but as the hands that once treated me like livestock grew more and more gentle, it actually made me feel even more unsettled. To think that this was the reason why. Even Jung Haekyung had released me easier than expected, and he had been acting much kinder these days.
This sort of behaviour didn’t even surprise me anymore. No, actually, it was a good thing. Whatever the reason, if they wanted to make me feel even a little more comfortable, if they wanted to pretend to treat me well, they could go ahead and do so. As for me, I just had to leave this place before a uterus was transplanted into my body and I’d be injected with Jung Haekyung’s sperm.
After waiting for Director Baek for an hour without her showing up, I left the laboratory. I felt a cool dampness on my cheek. Looking up at the sky, I realised that whitish snow was gently descending. I walked in the snowfall for a while. Then, I settled on a bench in a nearby park, took out a cigarette, and placed it in my mouth. Even though I hadn’t lit it, a white breath escaped from my mouth. The bodyguard, who had promptly begun tailing me upon my exit from the lab, stood behind me. I handed him a cigarette and said, “Come back after you finish this smoke.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m going to make a call,” I said as I retrieved my phone, prompting the bodyguard to take a slight step back. When I glanced at him, he retreated a little further. I lit the cigarette and called Jung Haekyung. After a brief dial tone, Jung Haekyung’s voice came through. His low voice carried hints of joy.
─Euijin-ah?
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Qtja jgf sbe vblcu?”
─Nothing, really.
Gfrqlaf tlr kbgvr, atfgf kfgf jevlyif rbecvr bo qlfgmlcu rmgfjwr, tlut-qlamtfv mglfr, jcv atf ibev mjmbqtbcs bo vbhfcr bo uecrtbar jcv fzqibrlbcr lc atf yjmxugbecv bo atf mjii.
“Vtbeiv P mjii yjmx ijafg?”
─No. I like hearing your voice.
“Prc’a la vjcufgber gluta cbk?”
─It is. Is it too noisy? I’ll be right back.
Coafg atf ibev atecvfglcu bo fzqibrlbcr, j revvfc rlifcmf fcnfibqfv atf reggbecvlcur. Pa yfmjwf rb delfa atja bcf mbeiv tfjg atf rbecv bo rcbk jmmeweijalcu bc atf rifcvfg ygjcmtfr. Vbbc, P mbeiv tfjg Aecu Ljfxsecu’r nblmf jujlc. Pa ybatfgfv wf tbk kfii P mbeiv tfjg tlw. P qgfofggfv atf fjgilfg wbwfcar ktfc tlr nblmf kjr weooifv.
─Is it alright now?
“I’m fine. I was just scared you would get hurt.”
─I like that you’re worrying about me. Do you think I should try and get hurt?
“Sure. If you get hurt, I’ll nurse you.”
Jung Haekyung let out a low chuckle and said,
─What about you? What are you up to?
“Just sitting on a bench.”
─Aren’t you cold?
“A little. It’s snowing right now.”
─You should go inside.
“Yeah. Maybe I should. It’s not the first snow, but I called because I thought of you.”
─Really?
“Really. Don’t you remember? We first met in winter.”
─That’s true. You were really pretty back when you were twenty.
I puffed out the white smoke from my cigarette. The smoke blended with the falling white snow. Flicking the cigarette ash into the air, I tried to recall how I was back then, but the memories didn’t come easily. Still, I must have been prettier than I was now. Jung Haekyung had called me pretty so many times that I was no longer affected by it. The word “pretty” suited him much more, but now that I think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever told him he was pretty.
“You were pretty, too.”
─But right now, you’re the only one who’s both pretty, cool, cute, and erotic.
“I miss you.”
─……
“I miss you, Haekyung-ah.”
─…Me too. I miss you too, Euijin-ah.
“When are you coming back?”
─In a month… No, in two weeks…?
“Alright. Tell me when the date of your return is set. There’s something I want to give you.”
─What is it?
“You’re the one who always determines what I give you, you know. Can I still give it, though?”
─Sure. I’ll accept it.
The noisy sounds grew louder again. I ended the call, promising to call back later. The cigarette had burned all the way down, its heat against my fingertips. After taking the final drag, I tossed the remaining butt onto the ground and placed a new cigarette in my mouth.
The bodyguard approached me from behind again, standing still. It could pose some problems if they continued to tail me around like this. Still, I couldn’t just tell them to slack on the job. Though, things might be different if they were rendered incapable of doing their job instead. After relighting my cigarette, I tossed the lighter onto the ground. The purple plastic lighter fell onto the damp floor, where the little amount of snow that had accumulated had melted. Since I couldn’t lift the lighter with the wind, I told the bodyguard, “Pick it up.”
The bodyguard stepped in front of me with a cross expression, stooping down to pick up the lighter. I pulled out a gun from my pocket, aimed it at the bodyguard’s ear, and pulled the trigger. The bodyguard, who suffered a sudden attack, grabbed their blown-off ear and took a step back. It seemed that the bodyguard had momentarily used their ability on me, but I suffered no damage. Their understanding of their protectee was lacking. Or perhaps their quick judgement was subpar? Well, I was always changing security guards, none of them lasting over a month, so this wasn’t something I should be blaming them for. The security guard swallowed a groan and asked, “What are you doing?”
“I was already feeling terrible enough being stood up by Director Baek, but you didn’t even smoke the cigarette I gave you.”
“…Pardon?”
“Plus, you can’t even block a single bullet… Are you really capable of protecting me?”
“First Lieutenant Kim?”
“It’s a good thing the medical ward is nearby.”
I rose from my seat. I was busy, having things to do and items to take care of before a new bodyguard was assigned to me.
The next day, I woke up late. After uncapping a bottle of water and switching on the television, I locked eyes with the Nighthawk. I went to the kitchen and took out a kitchen knife. Then, I went back to the living room and, using the thick handle of the kitchen knife, struck down on the Nighthawk perched atop the drawer. The plastic model easily broke into pieces.
Holding the kitchen knife, I roamed around the residence, destroying all the things that bothered—the UH-1 helicopter, K1A1 tank, LST-II landing ship, and several others. As I worked hard on breaking apart the self-assembled playthings, grinding them into powder fine enough to sprinkle into a glass of water and drink, my phone on the living room table began to vibrate. I allowed the phone to continue ringing. It persisted, ringing incessantly, and a moment later, the residence’s doorbell rang twice. I called Jung Haekyung before someone could force the door open and barge in. However, a voice informed me that the other line was busy, so I set the phone down and waited. Soon, a whale emoji appeared on the screen. I answered the call.
─Euijin-ah.
“Yeah?”
─What happened?
“I miss you.”
─Huh?
“You can come see me whenever you miss me, but I can’t do the same.”
─That’s not true, you know I can’t come and see you whenever I want.
“Isn’t it unfair?”
─Is it?
“It is. Our relationship is unfair.”
─Does it have to be fair?
“……”
─Why does it have to be fair?
“…The way we feel when we miss each other, it has to be fair.”
─I see. Then, do you want me to return right now?
“No.”
─Didn’t you say you missed me?
“Work hard and earn money. We’re going to have a baby soon.”
─I already have a lot of money, though.
“I do too. But it’s still not enough.”
─Then, would you like to attach a small camera to me?
“Okay.”
─I’ll wear a location tracker as well. We can make it into a ring and both wear one.
“But it’s useless if you take the ring off. Plant it in your head, too.”
─Okay. But you have to use a ring. I don’t want to put anything inside you.
“…Okay.”
─What about the bodyguard?
“They were eavesdropping on the call.”
─Wow.
“I was thinking it’d be nice if the next bodyguard couldn’t hear.”
─Alright.
“While we’re at it, it’d be even better if they couldn’t see and couldn’t speak.”
─Would they still be able to guard you, then?
“Maybe.”
After ending the call with Jung Haekyung, I sank to the floor. I covered my face with my hands and sat there for a while, gathering my breath. Then, I stood up again and continued with what I had to do.
Besties plotting omg