A faint, ambiguous sound answered from behind the newspaper. Taeui bobbed his head slightly toward the unseen speaker, then turned away.Since he hadn’t closed the door, they still occupied the same space, but stepping into his own room helped him calm down a bit. He sighed silently.He must have made a bad impression in that one session.Even if they’d never needed to meet over something like this, their personalities hardly seemed compatible. Still, he had hoped to get along without trouble.Now these coming two weeks felt even heavier.“Maybe the problem really is me….”As he shrugged off his sweat-drenched, rumpled clothes, he paused and muttered to himself. Whenever his life took a slightly painful turn, wasn’t it because, at some choice point, he unconsciously picked that path? Even now, if he’d just agreed blandly—“Yes, that’s right”—and then pretended not to hear, it would have ended without issue.But he always had to add that one extra word.“In the past too… I could’ve just left, but no, I had to land that one blow and dig my own grave… When I was in Dresden and learned he was there, I could’ve slipped away, but I insisted on finding that book… And when I chased my brother all the way to Frankfurt, knowing neither of us would get hurt, just to worry about him….”Counting each regret on his fingers made him more melancholic.Was it all his fault, then?…No. Thinking back, every fiasco involved Ilrey. So it’s his fault.…but then again, I’m the one who decided to live with him.His thoughts tangled and tangled until it felt like his brain might short-circuit. Better to stop thinking.His self-preservation instincts kicked in, and he shelved the thoughts as he finished undressing. Even in the shower, leaving the door open to hear any disturbance, he felt a pang of sadness—but he chased that away too.“I want to be a boa constrictor….”Waiting his turn in the shooting booth, Taeui stared at the ceiling and mumbled.In the two-person shooting drill, Qing was paired with him and glanced up in surprise at his muttering. Following his gaze, he spotted a tiny lizard—no thicker than a finger—scuttling through a vent.“No idea how it got here, but that poor thing must be terrified. I wonder if it can find its way out.”“At depth three? It’ll be tough. Maybe by level one or so….”“Still, at least it hasn’t fallen all the way to the bottom.”Qing laughed lightly. If it had been crawling on the walls or floor, he’d have scooped it up and let it loose outside, but seeing it in the vent, he clicked his tongue. It was clear the lizard’s fate was sealed. Taeui thought the same; a wild creature in a human building seldom fares well.“But the gap between a lizard and a boa’s world is huge. Why a boa all of a sudden?”“I don’t care. Any creature that can dislocate its jaw at will will do.”“Dislocate its jaw? Are you okay, man?”Qing cocked his head in confusion. Taeui fell silent for a moment, then, his expression dark, muttered:“In the next life, I should be born a boa….”He sighed heavily, and just then a mechanical beep sounded. Above them, the ceiling panels lit up with scores: 9.8, 10, 10, 9.5, 10, 10, 10… “Wow, one perfect run mixed in. Booth 13—who’s the sharpshooter?”Hearing Qing’s voice, Taeui clicked his tongue in annoyance. No need to look; he already knew who was inside.“Hah. Just gorged on fancy meals and pressed the trigger.”His tone full of malice, Taeui turned away. He knew that blasted Kim Jeong-pil would emerge any moment—the one whose marksmanship had never faltered since cadet days. (And Taeui barely hit the average.)This afternoon’s training finally had him cross paths with Kim Jeong-pil. Everyone in the branch already knew they’d brawled in the crowded mess hall on day one, so when Qing muttered, “If you’re going to meet him, why in a shooting drill? It’s no fun,” Taeui had lightly kicked him away.Whether good or bad, since this was individual shooting, no further conflict would arise—though that guarantee lasted only as long as they remained apart.From the distant booth, he saw Kim Jeong-pil strut out. Determined not to face that triumphant look, he continued glaring at the ceiling lizard. He didn’t even hear Qing warn, “Careful, you’re going to punch a hole through that lizard.”But then—a hole did appear.A massive blade, far larger than the lizard’s body, plunged into it.Taeui gasped. Before him, the lizard writhed as its tail was severed by the flying blade, then the tailless body dropped. Mid-fall, it landed in a white hand.“You want to be a reptile? You’d best start your research. Here.”The hand holding the slicing blade approached him, the lizard wriggling. Reluctant to take it, he nonetheless did, fearing the hand might crush the tiny creature otherwise. Looking around, he spotted an empty tumbler on the windowsill by the corridor and gently placed the lizard inside.“In the next life, a boa… You plan on granting that wish again? Thanks. What should I be, then….”Calmly, almost cheerfully, Ilrey Regrow muttered. Damn it. Qing watched with a suspicious look, uncertain.“A humpback whale might suit you—though being aquatic could get tricky.”If only he could slap that smug face.“Why are you here if you’re not taking part in training?”Taeui scowled at Ilrey, who had appeared out of nowhere. Ilrey scanned the range disinterestedly.“You can’t skip the drill your team’s in. Of course I came. Besides, Hogan’s busy with the duty-shift training in the afternoon—I doubt there’d be any point watching that.”So he’d come because Hogan wouldn’t notice and he was bored.In the ten-meter circle around Ilrey, the air temperature seemed to drop a few degrees. Taeui stood stoically, waiting for his turn. Once the previous team exited, it’d be his.Ilrey, surveying the room, looked as fresh as ever—no wonder, after skipping sleep since dawn. Taeui swallowed a curse.It was early this morning. After a day or two of nothing happening, his tension had eased. When his alarm rang at 5:30, he lazily thought:—Can’t I just lie and say I overslept? I went last night, yesterday morning, the day before… what’s one morning off?In this routine of visiting Ilrey morning and evening, he indulged that lazy thought and burrowed under the covers.Sure, it’s brutal to satisfy the man twice daily. But his body felt rested. Yet every exit from Ilrey’s room left his jaw sore and mouth sticky no matter how many times he rinsed.One day off couldn’t hurt. Ilrey has some pity, right?So he silenced the alarm and buried himself in blankets.…But his drowsy mind overlooked a fatal flaw: When had Ilrey ever shown pity? Never. Why had he expected it?Exactly one hour later, a beep woke him. He realized only after it rang again that it was the doorbell.Glancing at the clock—6:30—he scratched his head and left the bed, wondering who’d come so early. Hogan’s door was shut; muffled water sounds suggested he was showering.“Who is it?”Half-asleep, Taeui opened the door—and gasped when he saw Ilrey Regrow, smiling slightly down at him. He recalled the alarm he’d turned off.“Good morning.”Ilrey stepped inside casually. Taeui, frozen a moment, then stammered as he hurried in after him.“Oh, it’s late already. I must’ve slept through the alarm… Were you waiting?”He thought of the mornings when Ilrey had been asleep in bed, showing no sign of waiting. Yet Ilrey simply said, “Yes.”This bastard waited for me on purpose?!“And Hogan?”Ilrey looked toward Hogan’s door without anger.“I think he’s showering. He usually comes out after seven. Need to see him?”“You leave your door open even when you sleep?”Ilrey ignored the question and eyed the doorstop holding Taeui’s room open. Taeui looked too and shrugged.“I have to keep track of when Hogan leaves and returns.”“Is that so? Too bad, Taei. You always seemed to hate being seen.”“Huh? Too bad how…?” Taeui glanced at Ilrey—then froze.Ilrey, perched on the bed, unfastened his trousers. Taeui looked on in shock until Ilrey beckoned him closer, holding his exposed member.“You looked tired. I thought I should make the effort to come find you. Don’t want to miss a morning because you overslept. It’s supposed to be fun for both of us—I should cooperate.”“…!!”Taeui kicked away the doorstop and slammed the door. Behind closed wood, he mouthed:“You ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) can skip a day, so what?”“Enjoying it is part of the deal.”“That’s not—”He trailed off. Ilrey was already rubbing at the door. He knew it was over.“Hogan won’t come out before seven, and work starts at eight. Fine, Taei. Six o’clock then. If I’m not here by morning, I’ll come find you. As for evening, any time works—meal time, right before sleep—as long as it’s before midnight.”Ilrey, smirking, beckoned him with one hand. Taeui clicked his tongue bitterly and approached.Since there was no escaping now, better to finish quickly. At least before Hogan emerges.“There’s no time, right? Lie down, Taei. We’ll do it together. No time for taking turns.”Pulling him onto the bed, Ilrey, without waiting for protest, flipped him over, yanked down his pajamas and underwear.“Hey, wait—I’m good—”“Taei. This is our luxury twice a day. Turning off an alarm to skip it is cruel, don’t you think?”Taeui stayed silent.

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