Save Me, Scrapper!

Ji Hayeon glared fiercely at Sawon. Even with that icy stare, his lashes still looked like they’d flutter if you breathed on them. Ji tore his gaze away.
“Then I’ll go by myself. Please check my Metena status.”
“Ah… yes. Would you come this way?”
Glancing nervously between the two of them, the medic walked past the partition. Sawon’s head tilted at an angle.
“You’re going by yourself.”
“Yeah.”
'He’s serious, this bastard.'
As the medic and Ji disappeared behind the partition, Sawon followed after them in long strides.
“Go where, exactly.”
“I just told you.”
“Did you already forget what we talked about yesterday?”
Director Kwon had set the infiltration date for the Institute as three days later. Today was only the day after.
“And what did I say. If the Chief goes, I go. If I go, the Chief comes with me.”
“Then you can come too.”
“I said I’m not going.”
“Then I’ll just have to go alone.”
The back-and-forth sounded like a spear and a shield clashing. The medic holding the Metena meter spoke up carefully.
“Um… could you take your clothes off first, please?”
Ji started to undress, then flinched and froze. In an instant, the scene in the hospital flashed through Sawon’s mind. The white arm covered in scars. Even then, Ji had been reluctant to show him his bare body. Sure enough, Ji shot him a look toward the door.
“Wait outside.”
He was clutching the hem of his shirt like a lifeline. For some reason, that grated on him.
Seriously, you’re a researcher. You could’ve just quietly stuck to experiments and studies. Why the hell did you run yourself into the ground like that.
Arms folded, Sawon answered.
“No.”
“Then wait back there, at least.”
Ignoring him completely, Sawon dropped onto the bed next to him and jerked his chin.
“Just take it off. We’re both men. What’s the big deal.”
Watching Ji hesitate, he started getting irritated.
If they’re scars you’re too embarrassed to even show someone, maybe try treating your body with a little more care?
But Ji kept trying to crawl down a path that was only going to make the damage worse. Saying he had to go to the Institute today was part of that too.
“I told you to go over there.”

Cold sweat was starting to bead on the medic’s forehead. For all his stubborn front, Ji’s hands only clutched his shirt tighter. The crumpled hem of his T-shirt caught Sawon’s eye. Just that one little movement made his resolve wobble. His tone softened a notch.
“What did the doctor say yesterday. Didn’t they tell you not to push yourself for a while? If you wanted to go back fast, you should’ve at least eaten properly. You picked at a single burger like a bird. You think that’s enough to get your condition back up?”
This time there was genuine worry in his voice. But the more he showed that sincerity, the more mercilessly Ji’s T-shirt hem got crushed in his fist. A brief silence stretched—and then the door burst open.
“Hey, Gu Sawon!”
It was Mok Geonho. His heavy steps thudded across the infirmary as he strode over.
“The director’s going nuts telling me to drag you in. Why aren’t you answering your pager? Do I really have to come all the way down he—llo… Chief.”
The moment he saw Ji, Mok Geonho straightened up and greeted him with stiff politeness. Ji gave him the bare minimum acknowledgment and jerked his chin toward Sawon.
“I need to get treatment, so please take him and wait outside.”
“Yes, sir. But he’s not the one getting treated too, is he?”
Mok Geonho frowned at Sawon sitting on the bed. Naturally, there was nowhere on Sawon that needed treating. Let’s go, let’s go—under Mok Geonho’s prodding, he had no choice but to back off. Of course, if he really wanted to, he could have held his ground. He could’ve used force and kept Ji from getting his Metena measured at all. But seeing how anxious Ji was, the urge to “win” against him just evaporated.
As he stepped out of the infirmary, even Sawon found himself strange. Until now, neither the director nor his colleagues had ever seen him let something slide like this. The click of the closing door stirred the question in his head for a moment.
'Why is he the one I can’t beat…?'
Despite the medic’s warning not to push himself for three days, only a single day had passed when Ji’s Metena was declared normal. Granted, it was information that came from Ji’s own mouth, so the credibility wasn’t high—but Sawon pretended to believe him. They weren’t family or lovers. Any more involvement than this felt excessive. He also felt the need to guard against the way he kept wanting to interfere.
Once treatment and the Metena check were done, Ji headed to the conference room with Sawon.
“It’s an unprecedented reaction. A fissure that evolved into a Heukgu within an hour has never been reported before.”
The researchers seated around the table recited the facts.
“There’s no way to describe it except as a different pattern of fissure.”
“The readings from the scene were practically zero. We detected almost no Metena discharge at the moment of Heukgu formation.”
Tap, tap. Director Kwon drummed his index finger on the table.
“If fissures like this keep appearing… the damage will be severe.”
Until now, fissures had always entered a kind of dormant prep phase before expanding into Heukgu. On top of that, the moment they evolved, they emitted a distinct Metena wave, which usually made response and detection possible. Even so, casualties and property damage were grave in reality. Silently listening, Sawon replayed what had happened at the burger joint.
'…A bug?'
'Ng.'
He thought of Nine, who had pinpointed the fissure with his hand. And the baby monkey’s eyes, flaring blue for an instant. At the same time, Sawon’s heart had slammed in his chest. It hadn’t been a simple beat. It was the reflexive alert sent by instinct when it sensed Metena. In short, he had perceived the wave of a Heukgu they said couldn’t be measured—felt it with his body. He’d been able to save Ji thanks to how quickly he reacted.
'What was that, back then?'
He started to raise his hand to speak, only to find his palm stuck flat to the tabletop.
'Huh?'
Nine, in his guard form, was pressed tight against the surface, refusing to let him lift his hand. It was the first time Nine had ever reacted like this.
“What’s wrong, Nine.”
Sawon «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» bent his head and murmured under his breath. Nine just trembled, showing no other response. Across from him, Director Kwon spoke.
“Hunter Gu Sawon. Could you focus on the meeting.”
Sawon lifted his head.
'You don’t even know what I’m doing and you’re on my case already.'
But before he could open his mouth, Ji, seated beside him, spoke up first.
“There definitely are cases where the wave is low. Speculation will only increase uncertainty. Let’s compile the data, organize it, and pick this back up the day after tomorrow.”
At his words, Director Kwon folded his arms and leaned back.
“You can have it ready in two days?”
Then one of the researchers at the end of the table raised a hand.
“Um… the wave data for fissures is currently in the Institute records room…”
Director Kim Inhee rubbed his forehead.
“Records room data is locked down from external access, same as the forty-third floor. It’s sealed with a biometric security system too, so someone has to go in and lift the restrictions manually.”
All eyes turned to Sawon and Ji. Ji had clearly anticipated this situation. His stubborn insistence on going to the Institute today had included this calculation.
'Thorough. Thorough as hell…'
With a resigned expression, Sawon started to prop his chin on his hand. But Nine still wouldn’t let him raise it.
'What’s with him?'
After a moment’s thought, he gave up on speaking. Whatever he’d gone through at the burger joint, he’d have to figure out why Nine was stopping him before he laid it all out. While he was thinking, the meeting went on. The final call was made by Ji.
“We don’t know when another mutated fissure might appear. We don’t have the luxury of dragging this out. I’ll go today.”
He turned to Sawon and added one more line.
“Please cooperate.”
With a light laugh, Sawon flopped forward onto the table. His voice came out flattened between his squashed cheek and the wood.
“Where the needle goes, the thread has to follow.”
***
At midnight, two motorcycles pulled up in front of the Institute. As he swung off his bike, Sawon bent at the waist—then snapped his upper body straight.
“Uaaaghhh!”
Letting out a howl, he stretched. Every gaze in the area snapped toward him at once. The security staff guarding the entrance and Ji all shot him dirty looks.
“Keep it down. You trying to advertise to the Deaters that we’re here?”
Stretching his body all the way out, Sawon jerked his chin toward the Institute building.
“There’s a barrier up.”
The entire building was wrapped in a wavering blue curtain of Metena, like it had been covered in construction tarp. While he pulled his arms left and right, loosening up, Ji popped open the motorcycle seat and took out a combat field jacket. Sliding his arms into the sleeves went smoothly enough, but his hands stalled around his chest when it came time to fasten it. Hunter combat uniforms prioritized practicality, so they were bristling with buttons and clasps for all kinds of uses. There were several straps meant to cinch the body tight, and for someone like Ji, unfamiliar with how to wear it, the whole outfit was bewildering. As he finished his stretches, Sawon walked over to him.
“Hold it open.”
“Huh?”
“What are you so startled about. I said hold your arms out.”
“…I’ll do it myself.”
“Even rookies spend days fumbling with their combat gear. Hurry up and raise your arms.”
Gripping Ji’s forearms, Sawon lifted them like he was setting up a scarecrow. Then he drew Ji in, wrapping him up in his arms to reach around his back. Ji held his breath as Sawon suddenly came in close.
When he stepped back, there was a strap in his hand, shaped like a bag buckle. He fastened it loosely and said,
“You start by buckling this first.”
“…Okay.”
Ji nodded obediently. As he helped him into the jacket, Sawon’s gaze lingered on him.
Times like this, he seems like such a tame kid… but from the way he acts most of the time, he’s got one hell of a temper too…