Dirty Sweet Baby Chapter 112

“Were you, by any chance, calculating for things to turn out this way…”

Even as he started to speak, he thought it couldn’t be true.

No matter how you looked at it, that would be too much of a leap. Even for Cha Moogyul, it would be impossible to see through the Central Military Chief’s meeting and make a move. Moreover, he couldn’t have easily obtained information on imprinting, which was a top-level secret.

Most importantly, the existence of the α-Creature was a disaster in itself, something that couldn’t be created through calculation. The statement that only Cha Moogyul could capture such a creature couldn’t be seen as a lie either.

“Does it look like a calculation?”

Cha Moogyul chuckled and pressed another red mark onto Heeheon’s neck. The already red and blotchy area became even darker.

“…No.”

There would be no end to it if he kept having these thoughts, and in any case, the most urgent issue right now was to safely capture the α-Creature. For some reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being drawn into Cha Moogyul’s scheme, but even so, his decision would not change.

‘Right, saving people comes first.’

Besides, because of this, Cha Moogyul and Baek Heeheon would even end up imprinting.

That would completely change the situation.

<If the core of one member of an imprinted pair is destroyed, the other will likewise perish, meeting their death within a few days.>

If an unforeseen accident were to happen on the battlefield, it wouldn’t end with just Baek Heeheon dying in action. Cha Moogyul would be with him. Baek Heeheon would be carrying his life on his shoulders.

If he continued to fight in the field after this, he wouldn’t be able to reduce the risk to his life, which in turn meant Cha Moogyul would also be in danger.

‘Ha… So my mindset can’t help but change.’

If it were just Baek Heeheon alone, he could have put his own neck on the line and fought as much as he wanted.

Cha Moogyul…

For Cha Moogyul to die with him…

‘Fuck, seriously. This is too much.’

There was no way Heeheon could be stubborn now that he was shouldering him. He had even reached a point where he could understand Cha Moogyul’s feelings.

‘Was Cha Moogyul this worried about my life and death too?’

Afraid that Heeheon would die. Afraid that an unforeseen tragedy might occur.

‘I… well of course I was worried about Cha Moogyul too, but not to this serious and critical an extent.’

He didn’t know why, but it felt like even if Baek Heeheon died in the field, Cha Moogyul would survive. There was an immortal image about him. Perfectly Moogyul and one-of-a-kind. An impression that he wouldn’t die even if you killed him. Was that why?

“…Alright.”

Having made his decision, Heeheon gave a heavy nod.

“I’ll do it.”

Even though Heeheon had already nodded and agreed, Cha Moogyul was meticulous. He repeatedly sought confirmation, hammering in the nail so that Heeheon could not go back on the decision he had made.

“You’ve decided for sure, right? Don’t go back on your word.”

“Yeah, I’ve decided.”

“You can never go out into the field again. This means this is the last time. Are you willing to accept that?”

“Yes. Even if this is the last time… still, do it that way.”

Cha Moogyul watched Heeheon steadily as he repeated the same intention over and over. He stared at him intently for a while with heavy, sunken eyes, then his handsome eyes curved into a gentle crescent as he smiled.

The smile that drew a curve on his lips was so captivating and stunning that it stole one’s entire gaze.

“See, you found the answer after thinking it over while we washed up.”

“Youngsters these days are so quick in everything they do. To have already made a decision, I like how straightforward it is.”

After that, it didn’t take long for communications to fly back and forth with the Central Military Chief and for other details to be arranged. From the dispatch date and the convening of a special task force to the formation of a search party comprised solely of users with tracking-type abilities, everything proceeded in a flash. Of course, the preparations for imprinting also went off without a hitch.

“I have issued the approval for imprinting, so go directly to the research and development officer and follow the procedure. Keep in mind that this is a classified matter and must not be leaked to the outside.”

Listening to Captain Choi Yool’s instructions, Heeheon silently bowed his head. Even when visiting the top floor of the Central Administration Building, the Military Strategy General Headquarters, again to meet with the Chief, he no longer felt particularly nervous. It was because the weight on his own shoulders was heavier than the Chief himself.

Cha Moogyul, who hadn’t been nervous from the start, expertly handled the conversation and gave a reply.

“I hope everything goes smoothly until the very end, Mr. Chief.”

“Of course, it has to. That is something I should be asking of you, rather.”

“If that is the case, I will look forward to seeing you attend the promotion ceremony.”

“Ho ho, what a truly thorough fellow… I will be sure to arrange a seat for you.”

Captain Choi extended his hand. This time, Cha Moogyul did not refuse and shook it. Then, a hand was extended in front of Heeheon, and Heeheon reached out his arm with a complicated heart.

Even while shaking hands with Captain Choi, the Chief before him did not register in his mind. The scheduled dispatch and imprinting. Just thinking about the two futures to come was enough to fill his head.

Captain Choi, who gripped Heeheon’s hand firmly, held on and shook it up and down. It was a strength unbelievable for an old man around sixty. It made him a little curious about what he was like in his prime.

“Don’t resent me too much. I am a man who will be leaving, and it is people like you who will be bringing in a new wind.”

“…Yes, Mr. Chief.”

“The heart that Lieutenant Baek now holds, what they call the original intention… I hope you do not forget it and cherish it for a long time. For consistency is a great value that is not defeated by any strength.”

“I will take your words to heart.”

Heeheon raised his eyes and gazed at Captain Choi’s face.

The confusion in his mind, which had been hazy as if covered by clouds, cleared up a little, and his thoughts became distinct.

He found himself thinking anew about what past and history Captain Choi had gone through to reach that position, and what his feelings might be, with his retirement ahead of him.

It was easy to guess that in an era with the absolute threat of Creatures, his life at the top, managing the manifested Awakened and leading the battlefield, must not have been ordinary.

And perhaps, just as Baek Heeheon had felt a bond with Captain Sung Ahwon, he might have been a person with whom he could feel the same kind of bond as Captain Choi Yool. Although he would be the one leaving, and Baek Heeheon would be the one staying.

“Unfortunately, my era was only one of control and oppression. Leading by blindly commanding was all there was to it.”

“…”

“But I wonder what your era will be like, ho ho ho.”

His deep laughter sounded like a dedication to a bygone era. Captain Choi Yool would soon step down from his seat of power, and Cha Moogyul would rise to the top of the 2nd Division. Just as water flows from high to low, the sun sets from east to west, and time is perpetual, so the era would change.

Heeheon once again recognized that he was standing on some small part of that history.

He felt as if he could feel the hands of countless predecessors who had pushed him forward to get to where he was. And he thought that he too would one day live his life pushing the back of someone who would live in the era to come. That was why the smiling face of Oh Yoolbin from Sesang Elementary School kept coming to mind.

‘Is it… all is one, and one is all.’

It was a strange feeling. Grade difference. Imprinting. α-Creature. The binding of cores. And the final mission. Fragmentary pieces swirled like a vortex in his mind before gradually subsiding.

Because of this decision, Heeheon would never again step out into the field, and he would have no reason to guide as a guide. That was not all. He would imprint with Cha Moogyul, their cores would be completely bound, and they would share life and death.

Even with an overwhelming future before him, Heeheon could not stop.

He did not want to stop either.

There was a time when he had to muster great courage just to face himself without running away, and he had constantly worried over the problems of his reality, but life was too precious to remain stagnant and stuck like that.

The decision was already made, and now all that was left was to face it.

The dispatch was not far off.

He had to protect the people from the α-Creature that was likely hiding in the basement of the general residential district.

Heeheon retiring from the field as a guide and shouldering Cha Moogyul’s life was also a matter that required careful consideration. But at the same time, it was something he could not avoid. Hesitating wouldn’t make someone else solve it for him, and worrying wouldn’t erase the risks.

‘It’s sudden, but I’ll have to bear it.’

If he kept struggling and trying like this, a day would come when he would adapt. To leaving the field and rising to the top with Cha Moogyul in the 2nd Division, and to sharing his life with Cha Moogyul.

To the fact that Baek Heeheon’s life, in both life and death, would be completely and thoroughly accompanied by Cha Moogyul…

Just as he was about to nod, Captain Choi pulled on Heeheon’s hand.

“Lieutenant Baek Heeheon.”

Bringing his face close to his ear, Captain Choi whispered in a small voice that only Heeheon could likely hear.

“Please take good care of Junior Lieutenant Cha. That fellow is dangerous. I’m sure you know as well, but…”

“Yes…?”

“A sword needs a scabbard.”

“…”

Captain Choi quickly let go of Heeheon’s hand without any lingering attachment and burst out into a loud laugh.

“Good. Excellent. Really, if only my grandson were a quarter of a quarter of a quarter like you… Ho ho ho.”

He laughed affably as he saw the two of them off.

Thus, the second meeting with the Central Military Chief ended, and Heeheon, along with Cha Moogyul, passed through the security scanner, came down from the headquarters office, and left the Central Administration Building.