GB 71

When Haero went to the dining hall for dinner, he realized that his inadvertent nod had caused a misunderstanding.

A man as tall as Yoon Moo-hwa entered, greeted the petty officer sitting next to Haero, and sat down across from Haero with his tray.

At first, Haero didn’t think much of it, but he looked up when greeted.

“I’m Second Lieutenant So Eunpa from the 8th Special Forces Battalion, joining the operation.”

The Special Forces Battalion wasn’t exactly part of this ship. They were a special unit under the Navy, participating jointly in operations passing through areas where combat was expected. Even if they boarded together, their operations and teams were different, so there weren’t many occasions for personal greetings.

“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you. I’m Lieutenant Haero, on my first voyage as a medical officer.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you. I wanted to say hello.” Instead of a salute, the extended hand was offering a handshake. 

As Haero stared at it in confusion, someone nudged him with an elbow. He reflexively grasped the offered hand. 

‘Is this a blind date?’ 

As Haero wondered in bewilderment, the man called So Eunpa gripped his hand firmly.

It was an incredibly solid hand. His body must be just as solid. Haero understood what the sailors meant when they said Special Forces members didn’t seem like ordinary people when you saw them in person. However, it wasn’t unfamiliar or scary. Rather, it was a somewhat familiar build.

‘… Ah. This is how Yoon Moo-hwa feels. A more refined version.’

While thinking of Yoon Moo-hwa in his mind, Haero exercised his social skills and addressed So Eunpa. “Lieutenant So…”

“Yes. That’s why my nickname is ‘Sowi’ (a play on words meaning ‘small’).”

It seemed he didn’t laugh much but could make decent corny jokes.

“Is the operations officer here?”

Just then, a large figure ducked through the door Haero had entered.

It was Yoon Moo-hwa.

Everyone stood up. Haero rose reflexively too. Yoon Moo-hwa’s gaze, which had casually swept over them, landed on Haero and So Eunpa’s hands just as they were parting.

Whether by chance or not, his gaze soon dropped.

The operations officer, who had been mumbling something, swallowed and approached Yoon Moo-hwa. The two turned their backs to the others and exchanged words. Haero’s attention naturally focused there.

“You seem to like sweet and sour pork.”

So he didn’t hear So Eunpa addressing him. A playful finger entered Haero’s absent-minded gaze. 

Startled, Haero finally turned his head. “Pardon?”

“I mean the sweet and sour pork.”

The Navy’s meals were quite excellent. 

Haero belatedly responded with an “Ah” and nodded. “Is there anyone who doesn’t like it?”

“I don’t really like food that’s been soaked. I prefer dipping crispy things, you see.”

Haero had no idea how much pointless conversation people engage in to build rapport with someone they like. He had never tried to gain Yoon Moo-hwa’s favor, and that was still true now, even as he came to steal his heart. It was unnecessary because the two already knew each other more than enough.

“I see…” Haero mumbled, trailing off.

The small talk continued after that. He said this was his third operation. During the last operation, they encountered pirates for three consecutive days, and by the time the situation ended, the salt from their sweat had seeped into the handles of their personal firearms.

“Sowi got injured then too, didn’t he?”

“Ah, well. Why mention injuries as if it’s something to brag about?”

While Haero was preoccupied elsewhere, the sociable medical officer continued the conversation on his behalf. Eventually, yielding to his urging, So Eunpa rolled up his sleeve. On the exposed skin was a scar very similar to the one on Yoon Moo-hwa’s eye.

“Oh.” Haero, who had unconsciously glanced over, let out a short exclamation. “This, what kind of weapon caused it? What kind of injury is it?”

Unlike before, as Haero showed active interest, So Eunpa explained, looking a bit proud. There were illegally modified tear gas grenades that, when they exploded, shot sparks around. He said it was a very dangerous weapon that could cause burns like oil splatter and if hit by fragments, they could embed themselves in the skin.

It sounded cruel just hearing about it. It was painful even to imagine. Haero frowned as he slowly and lingeringly rubbed So Eunpa’s forearm.

The medical officer smiled subtly at the fingertips that showed no sign of letting go, and So Eunpa’s face slowly began to redden.

“It seems like it would hurt a lot… Did it hurt then…”

Before Haero could finish his question with a serious expression, there was a sound of something like water cups falling over nearby. Although they weren’t made of breakable material, the sound of them rolling on the floor was quite loud.

Turning his head at the sudden commotion, Haero saw Yoon Moo-hwa at the end of it. He had knocked over the water cups next to him. Was he dizzy? Just as Haero unconsciously stood up abruptly, the ship swayed. Simultaneously, an announcement came over the ship’s broadcast system warning of swells and to be careful of collisions or falls. The following expected wave height was enough to issue a storm warning.

‘How surprising. I thought he was going to faint… They say he knows when something’s going to happen like a ghost, it’s really amazing.’

Haero slumped back down, feeling drained from relief.

By then, the ship had fully entered the Red Zone. In other words, it was an area also known as the Gray Pit.

After passing through the sizzling equator and descending into the Indian Ocean, they rendezvoused with merchant ships that had requested escort. The six ships were of different nationalities but had in common that they were affiliated with the Allied nations.

Yoon Moo-hwa’s ship took the lead, with the merchant ships following in a line behind. The sea was calm. However, the tension was higher. The vast and lonely Indian Ocean had entered winter as it passed the equator, so the waves were rough. Pirates approached swiftly regardless of the weather, quickly captured their targets, and then disappeared. Even the sight of a small unreported fishing boat was enough to make everyone nervous. According to recent reports, they were even operating small-scale submarines.

While informing the merchant ships of their course and speed, they collected information on whether they had seen any suspicious signs that could be pirate activity.

They said it had been peaceful.

There were no words more unsettling than “peaceful” in this place.

And that unease grew vigorously during the day, bearing fruit at night.

As the short winter sun disappeared, a pitch-black night descended hastily. The sea, with nothing to provide light like in a city, was only eerily audible with the sound of crashing waves.

The suddenly started swells grew larger than expected. This was because hot water rising from the depths of the sea repeatedly struck the surface, and the capricious winter weather began to violently shake the ship.

Access to the outer deck was restricted. Even those who had been smoking hurriedly came inside, and objects fixed with screws creaked, making ominous sounds.

It was pitch black all around and the weather conditions were poor. Even with searchlights at full brightness, there were limits. The ships maintaining their course in the same direction, each a mile apart, could only rely on radar to maintain their formation, widening the distance between them but not straying too far.

Reports kept coming in from the fleets positioned behind and to the right of the merchant ships, and the satellite phone was constantly busy receiving situation reports from the six merchant ships every hour.

The infirmary was in a similar state of chaos.

“Keep the syringes filled so we can inject immediately, and collect the empty ampoules so they don’t fall.” Haero issued orders rapidly.

Currently, the estimated swell was approaching 4 meters. The worse news was that it might get even higher.

The bridge was particularly busy because even veteran sailors were succumbing to seasickness. They were short-handed. Everyone had vomited to the point of scraping out stomach acid, and were on the verge of throwing up purple bile. The corridors twisted like snakes, and people were constantly falling on stairs as steep as vertical ladders.

The infirmary was literally on the verge of bursting.

And as misfortune never comes alone, an alarm sounded at that very moment. An unidentified vessel was approaching on radar.

“Is it a pirate ship? Or just seawater?!”

“It’s still unidentified. We’ll have to keep watching.”

If it were daytime, they would observe the unidentified vessel’s behavior and, if judged to be a pirate ship, capture and inspect it, but that was impossible at night.

The ship’s temperature, which had been sizzling hot as they crossed the equator, dropped sharply as soon as night fell. Exaggerating slightly, you could see your breath. In this cold, Haero was sweating and catching his breath.

In truth, there wasn’t even time for that.