NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6 - Meeting
Feeling a hunger as if I hadn’t eaten for a month, I headed towards the convenience store.
The road to the convenience store was quite quiet with no people around.
Gray buildings contrasting with the yellow buildings I saw in Solomon.
Expensive foreign cars parked on the street.
The Japanese pickup trucks I saw to the point of nausea on the battlefield are nowhere to be seen.
Looking up at the sky, a clean blue sky without sand dust greets me.
Now it feels real that I’ve returned to Korea.
A world where I no longer need to kill anyone or be killed.
“…Not bad.”
Muttering that, I walked and before I knew it, I arrived at the entrance of the convenience store.
I felt a bit uncomfortable since there was a minor incident with the part-timer here yesterday.
But I’m too lazy to go elsewhere, ignoring the convenience store near my house.
I’ll just buy some ramen and get out quickly.
Ding-
“Welco…me?”
As soon as I opened the door and entered, a familiar voice was heard from the counter.
Turning my head slightly, I saw the part-timer blushing as she looked at me.
I tried to ignore her bright smile and grab some ramen, but she was faster than me.
“Ah, hello? You came again today?”
“Yeah, well…”
“Is there something you’re looking for?”
“Uh… Um… Cup noodles…”
I find myself hesitating at her enthusiastic questioning, as if she’s in a good mood.
It’s a bit burdensome that she’s being so friendly when we just met yesterday.
Thinking I should get out of this situation, I turned my head and…
“Oh?”
“?”
I made eye contact with a woman eating ramen while sitting by the window.
Snow-white hair and black eyes.
Familiar desert camouflage combat uniform.
The woman frozen with cup noodle strands held by her chopsticks.
A voice full of bewilderment leaked from her slightly parted lips.
“Uh… Leader?”
“Iris?”
Why are you here.
.
.
.
.
.
“So… you came for a trip?”
“Yep.”
“And you’ve been home?”
“Yep.”
Iris, sitting next to me, answered indifferently while sipping banana milk through a straw.
Watching her constantly brushing back the hair falling from under her combat cap and tapping her feet, I’m reminded of old times.
Her name is Iris Michelle.
Originally from France, she’s a comrade who served with me in the Cerberus platoon.
She was an all-round combat engineer in charge of various explosive ordnance disposal and equipment repairs.
The number of explosives she disarmed easily exceeds hundreds.
I can’t even guess how many allied lives were saved from death thanks to her.
She was one of the closest members to me, having fought together since “Operation Cobra,” which was our first mission after joining the Cerberus platoon.
Her characteristically quiet personality made it difficult for her to mingle with other members, so she spent more time with me during rest periods, which had a big influence.
On the day we parted after the Cerberus platoon was disbanded following the end of the war, she said at the airport that she was going back to her hometown.
She said she would go see her parents whom she hadn’t seen for a long time and that we should have a meal together next time.
Why is she now in Korea?
We had a brief conversation sitting on a park bench near the convenience store, but she wouldn’t tell me why she entered Korea.
It was too sudden a visit to say it was simply for travel.
It was only two days ago that I returned to Korea.
We parted with the other members last week, so the period between Iris returning to her hometown in France, seeing her parents, and visiting Korea again was too short.
I carefully observed Iris’s expression while watching her reaction.
I couldn’t catch any fragment of emotion on her face as she continued to sip banana milk.
Her eyes were unfocused, staring at who knows where, and she answered all my questions with short responses.
“…You haven’t changed.”
“Yep.”
I’m glad to see her unchanged from how she was on the battlefield, but I’m curious about her reason for coming to Korea.
Clearly, when we were rolling around in Solomon, she always told me she wanted to return to her hometown.
That she missed her parents and younger sibling, that she missed the dog they were raising at home.
She sincerely longed for her family.
For her, who was like that, to say she came on a trip so soon after reuniting with her family, I can’t help but be bewildered.
But I decided to refrain from asking more detailed questions.
She must have her own circumstances for visiting Korea.
Tung-
Iris, who had finished a banana milk, lightly tossed the plastic container into the trash can next to the bench.
Seeing her indifferent manner, I casually asked her a question.
“So what are your travel plans?”
“I just came to see the Leader.”
“Huh?”
However, the answer was so unexpected that I couldn’t help but make a dumb sound.
“Me?”
“Yep.”
“Uh… Did something happen?”
“No. I just came because I wanted to see the Leader.”
I was at a loss for words at her resolute answer.
Originally, Iris did show signs of depending on me a lot on the battlefield, but I didn’t expect her to come all the way to Korea saying she wanted to see me.
Feeling embarrassed, I scratched the back of my head and said to Iris.
“If you were planning to come see me, you could have at least contacted me…”
“You don’t have a phone, Leader.”
“Ah.”
I bought a phone after parting with the members.
So there’s no way Iris would know my number.
“Ahem… Anyway, then what were you planning to do after meeting me?”
“I was just going to stay with you.”
“…Huh?”
Have my ears finally gone bad after being abused by gunfire and explosions day after day?
Grasping my dizzy mind, I asked Iris again.
“Did I hear that wrong?”
“I packed my bags to stay with the Leader.”
Iris pointed to the black backpack she was wearing.
“Is that one bag all your luggage?”
“I packed some underwear and casual clothes.”
“Nothing else?”
“Just my passport and wallet.”
Slap-
I hit my forehead with my hand as my hopes crumbled.
Is this a dream or reality?
I feel a stinging pain when I lightly pinch my forearm.
It’s reality.
“Th-Then… What about accommodation…?”
I asked Iris with a desperate heart, but.
“I didn’t book any accommodation separately. I’m planning to sleep at the Leader’s house.”
The answer that came back was even more shocking.
“U-Uh, Iris? Won’t it be uncomfortable? I just finished moving yesterday, so my house isn’t organized at all.”
“We slept on more uncomfortable ground in Solomon. It’s fine.”
“I’m a man, you know.”
“We all slept in the same tent in the field anyway, didn’t we?”
“That’s… true.”
It doesn’t seem right, but Iris’s words are strangely persuasive.
It’s a bit surprising, but Iris isn’t the type to do anything untoward to me, and we were close originally, so it might be okay to stay together for a while.
Seeing that she didn’t even book accommodation, it seems she came with determination.
For now, partially accepting cohabitation with Iris, I asked her:
“How long are you planning to stay in Korea?”
“A year.”
Perhaps Iris is trying to mess with me.
.
.
.
.
.
The Leader I met after a long time was still beautiful.
How surprised I was to see that modest charm even in shabby sweatpants.
Seeing him in casual clothes rather than the military uniform I was always used to dangerously stimulated my heart.
However, whether he knew this fact or not, the Leader carelessly lowered his sweatpants zipper, revealing his smooth collarbones.
Seeing that innocent appearance, I became needlessly anxious about whether flies had gathered around him while I was back in my hometown.
For the Leader who had enchanted all the members of the Cerberus platoon, unconsciously seducing Korean women would be no big deal.
The thought that someone might approach the Leader made me unable to rest comfortably even in my hometown.
The decision I finally made was to meet the Leader and live together.
We’ve slept in the same tent in the field anyway, and he doesn’t seem particularly uncomfortable with me, so it should be fine.
If I had known the Leader’s phone number, I would have contacted him in advance, but unfortunately, he didn’t have a phone when we parted.
Still, after inquiring with other members, I found out the Leader’s residence, and I happened to run into the Leader while eating ramen after arriving in Korea without any plans, so you could say the plan went well.
The Leader seemed surprised at my proposal to live together, but I was secretly relieved to see him accept soon after.
If he had a girlfriend, he would have refused to let me into his house.
I was relieved.
The world these days is too rough, full of all sorts of strange people.
I absolutely cannot allow such people to approach the Leader.
Because the Leader was the only one who embraced me when I killed a comrade.
Because the Leader gifted me a new life.
Because he’s mine.
It’s right for me to stay by his side and protect him.
Leader, I sincerely love you.
Someday, I hope I can convey these feelings to you.