“Hey, you fucking homo!”The coarse voice, heavy with scorn, made Taeui freeze in his tracks for a moment. The phrase was painfully familiar—“fucking homo” was the taunt Second Lieutenant Kim spat whenever he saw Taeui.But the voice did not belong to Lieutenant Kim, nor was he speaking to Taeui. The insult came from around the corner behind the barracks, just out of sight.There was no need to wonder if there was someone else in the unit who shared his tastes. Pushing forward, Taeui rounded the corner.“Hey, hey. That’s enough.”The laughter and bustling noises halted as soon as Taeui spoke. He glanced at the faces and rank patches of four men standing there—Privates First Class and Corporals he recognized. Three were below Lieutenant Kim; one was in Taeui’s squad.He walked slowly toward them, posture relaxed, then fixed his gaze on his own squad mate—a young face he barely knew.“Do you like guys?” he asked, tone flat.“I—I’m Private First Class Cho Chang-sik! No, sir!” the Private stammered.Taeui murmured “Oh?” at the Private’s obvious unease, then turned to the other three who stood stiffly.“Fuck him,” he said lightly.At that curt order, the three looked bewildered for a moment, then, seeing the slight hardening in Taeui’s gaze, hastily hit the deck and pressed their foreheads against the ground.“Why are you picking fights when he says he’s not into it? Hey, Corporal Jeong In-tae—”“Corporal Jeong In-tae!”“Why are you attacking a guy from another squad? If you’ve got grievances, spit them out. I’ll listen.”The corporal to Taeui’s right, highest in rank among the three, squeezed out a trembling “Nothing, sir,” his face flushed from bowing so low.“Why are you stirring up unrest in the unit? Is it fun for you? Bored?”Again came the squeezed “No, sir!” Taeui watched the Private beside them, who cowered at his gaze. Taeui clicked his tongue.Normally, he despised bullying and would have let this slide, but today he was in a foul mood. He had no intention of taking it out on others, yet it rankled that these underlings of Lieutenant Kim should be tormenting his man—and then freeze in fear when he stepped in.Fuck, I don’t want any of it. I hate you guys!He could almost hear himself shouting it across the unit. Everyone already knew of his sexuality, thanks to Lieutenant Kim’s incessant taunts. But he swore on his honor that no comrade had ever looked at him that way. Even those few who came close to his taste, once they were simply “people,” «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the matter ended there.Yet because of Kim’s slurs, even comrades who’d spent years together sometimes shot him awkward glances. Sometimes officers joked, “Long day of training—you tired? Want some help to perk you up tonight?” He’d laugh along—but it was sickening every time.Everyone—upper and lower ranks alike. I told you, I don’t want any of it!He had shouted that in his mind countless times. He’d even considered quitting the army altogether—his life’s work now seemed meaningless. But today was worse. He was just returning from the company commander’s office, where the commander had hinted at “unsavory rumors” circulating in the unit. Taeui had bit back a curse at Lieutenant Kim.“They learn the worst behaviors first, then wonder how to survive this cruel world. Don’t go breaking down—hold on. If you break, your time gets extended.”He’d glanced at his wristwatch, thinking to leave it at that, when—“What are you doing?!”A shout like lightning from behind. This time the voice was unmistakable.Without fully turning, Taeui cocked his head and saw Lieutenant Kim striding toward him, face sharp with fury, the awkward Privates at his side and the three underlings still prone on the ground.“Get up right now!” Kim barked.“If I get up, I’ll die,” one whimpered, but Kim’s glare only darkened.“You won’t move? You little shits?!”With his men watching anxiously, Kim whirled on Taeui.“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”“I’m reprimanding these guys who were harassing my squad member,” Taeui replied evenly.“What?!”Kim glared at the Private First Class hiding behind Taeui, then swept his gaze over the three still on the ground.“I told them to get up—what are they doing?”“I told them to stay down. You want to spoil discipline, Second Lieutenant Kim? They might not be in your squad, but I outrank them.”Taeui’s eyes narrowed. Kim snorted derisively and then kicked the three prone men, sending one screaming as he tumbled, the others following like dominoes.“Fucking idiots,” Kim muttered as he kicked them once or twice more, then turned back to Taeui, his eyes bloodshot. He must have been seething after his talk with the commander.But you’re not the only one in a foul mood, asshole.“You, Second Lieutenant Jung—just who the hell are you to drill my men? You wanna die, you fucking homo?!”“I was correcting my guys for calling my man a homo. Why does every squad have the same damn mouth? You teaching them that, Kim Jung-pil?”Kim snorted again. He seemed to grasp the situation and kicked the prone men aside, then glared at the Private First Class awkwardly standing behind Taeui before finally fixing Taeui with a sneer.“You sure look gay. Or maybe you already are—given how you hang around. Hey, Private First Class behind me, speak up—have you slept with this guy? Isn’t he fucking every guy in the squad? What’s the technique like—blowjobs or murder?”He’d never apologize—just a pretty mouth on him.Another time, Taeui might have dismissed such taunts with a snort, but today he was furious. So furious he felt a screw snap in his head.“Why do you care about my technique? If you like it, I’ll teach you. Oh, I heard you got dumped by Ms. Yoon-mi recently—guess your technique wasn’t up to par, huh? Or maybe you’re premature? Impotent? Ha, better be gay than impotent.”“You son of a bitch?!”Kim’s eyes flared as he shoved Taeui’s shoulder with a savage crack.Normally, Taeui would have grabbed Kim’s arm and a brawl would have ensued, but as Taeui stumbled back uttering, “You son of a—,” his foot caught the legs of the prone men, and he lost his balance.“Uh…”His hand shot out, reflexively grabbing Kim’s collar. But Kim, unprepared to support him, tumbled on top of Taeui, both of them crashing down together.“Hey, let go of me…?!”Despite Kim’s panicked shout, Taeui, sprawling atop the three men, didn’t release his grip on Kim’s collar. If he was going down, he wasn’t going down alone.…But Kim was heavier than he looked—lean but muscular.“Ack!”“Ah!”Most screams came from the three beneath them, though Taeui or Kim may have uttered a pained shout or two. Kim, pinned awkwardly atop Taeui, gasped for a moment, then glared up.“You bastard—let go! Move your ass!”Taeui still held Kim’s collar tight, shaking him as he shouted. Kim said nothing for a moment, neither moving nor speaking.Had Kim twisted something fall­ing, Taeui wondered, before Kim snapped irritably, “You’re tearing my eardrum, you fucking homo,” and shoved himself aside. He seemed uninjured.Taeui flexed his limbs—a quick check confirmed he was fine too.And yet Kim hadn’t apologized. Well, he never would—if he ever apologized, he wouldn’t be Kim.Rising without a word, Kim brushed his wrist irritably. Taeui followed, scowling, and muttered,“You know, do you like me or something? That’s why you hang around, picking at me, trying to get attention by spouting crap? You trample people underfoot…”He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth—he wasn’t the one being trampled, and underfoot by this prick was the last thing on earth. Muttering “Christ, what a mood-killer,” he stretched his arms and legs.“What, you bastard…?!”Before he could even turn, a fist drove into his belly, hard enough to knock the breath out of him.In that instant, his air went, and the next instant, a fire ignited in his head: today was the day.Kim seemed of the same mind—eyes rolling, letting loose incomprehensible curses as he pounded his fists. If Kim had dropped sanity, so had Taeui.Let’s finish this. Die today, motherfucker.What followed was carnage. Blood spurted, flesh gave way, bones cracked—the chaos of shouts, and pleas to stop, blended into nothing in Taeui’s ears. Five years of pent-up patience snapped. Only one thought remained: slaughter this bastard today.When he came to, he lay in the military hospital.Unluckily, the bed next to his held that fucking jerk. Though asleep and mute, Kim’s profile earned a click of Taeui’s tongue.“Enjoy having your knee blown to pieces?”A doctor he recognized tapped Taeui’s head with a file’s edge, tutting. Taeui mumbled, “It hurts,” through a pout.“Good work. One with a destroyed knee, one with a shattered arm.”

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