Dirty Sweet Baby Chapter 116

The vehicle entered the Center’s grounds. From a distance, I could feel a tension like a tightly drawn bowstring. As this was a large-scale, major mission to capture the culprit of the Level 4 incident, the agents’ morale was more intense than ever.

It made me think, So this is how amazing a formal sortie is.

A mission as a regular soldier, not a reservist, truly felt different.

Transport helicopters, loaded with supplies and filled with fuel, were lined up endlessly at the massive airfield, and the summoned agents were boarding them in orderly lines.

First, the search unit took off and flew away, and then, one by one, the combat units also began to move out.

Cha Moogyul and Baek Heeheon, who had gotten out of the military vehicle, were also guided to their assigned helicopter.

The aircraft was black, with a large main rotor on top and a smaller tail rotor on the tail. As they approached, through the wide-open large door, they could see neatly stacked military weapons and the faces of the special mission unit members sitting in their seats, fastening their seatbelts.

‘I wonder if there’s an S-rank guide among them.’

Heeheon found himself scanning the people. He tried not to think about it, but he couldn’t help but be concerned.

‘I don’t see one here. Were they assigned to a different helicopter…?’

Perhaps it was a relief.

Heeheon secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He followed Cha Moogyul to board through the open door, when his eyes met with an agent waving from inside.

‘Captain Sung?’

Captain Sung Ahwon was smiling and welcoming Heeheon.

The last time he had seen him was in the infirmary, and his atmosphere was quite different from then. He had heard about his decision to erase his memories, but seeing him like this was truly… a mix of troubled thoughts crossed his mind.

<It’s for the best. I’m glad I could meet Lieutenant Baek Heeheon before this memory disappears. I hope you will be the last one to listen to me.>

<Once I’ve wiped it all away, even this miserable feeling will vanish. Please, remember for me, Lieutenant. Please.>

‘Right… He’s forgotten.’

He had carved out the deaths of his colleagues from his mind and returned to this place.

He had said he’d become afraid of creatures, that his arm trembled just from standing on the training grounds, but he had forgotten it all and was now heading out on a mission with a smile. The expression that welcomed Heeheon so warmly was enough to make his steps halt and his eyes waver.

‘Still, I didn’t think he would be able to smile so brightly.’

It was a bright, flawless smile.

Instead, it was Heeheon’s heart that sank upon seeing that expression.

Perhaps because he had stopped while boarding the transport helicopter, Cha Moogyul, who had been walking ahead, looked back at Heeheon. He could feel his gaze. Heeheon composed his expression, but he thought Cha Moogyul must have seen it. Even if he hadn’t, it was obvious that someone like him would notice the subtle shift.

“…”

Just as he thought. A silent pressure was being conveyed.

Heeheon tensed his jaw, lifted his head, and started walking into the transport helicopter again. Cha Moogyul was still watching Heeheon persistently. As Heeheon drew closer, his lips slowly parted. It seemed like he was about to say something.

But, a step ahead of him, Captain Sung Ahwon suddenly cut in.

“Good day, Brigadier General.”

After first saluting Cha Moogyul, he immediately turned his head to look at Heeheon. Welcoming him brightly, he pushed the goggles he was wearing up onto his forehead.

“Lieutenant Baek! Wow… how are you everywhere I go? I didn’t know you were participating in this mission too, Lieutenant.”

His brown eyes, tinged with delight, were incredibly clear.

Heeheon held his breath and stared at Cha Moogyul before accepting Captain Sung’s greeting.

“Yes, Captain. You are also on this sortie today, Captain Sung.”

“Of course. If I’m not the first one to run in, who will?”

Captain Sung Ahwon, after a quick glance around, took a step forward and moved even closer to Heeheon.

Before he could be surprised by the suddenly narrowed distance, he heard a lowered voice whisper in his ear.

“The one who killed my colleagues is alive. We can’t let that damn entity, that α-creature bastard, loose in the world.”

Looking at him up close, his eyes, which had seemed only bright, were faintly simmering. Heeheon couldn’t help but naturally agree with him.

“Congratulations on your safe return. And it’s an honor to be on this mission with you, Captain Sung.”

“No, those are my words to you! The honor is all mine. How could this be… our unit assignments were different so I never had a chance to go into the field with Lieutenant Baek, and now I get to see you like this today.”

Captain Sung Ahwon abruptly grabbed Heeheon’s hand and shook it vigorously. It looked as if he were shaking with both hands. He was full of energy. And he looked so strong.

Having erased the memories of the annihilated 2nd Special Mission Unit and gotten back on his feet, he seemed like an Awakened who was ten times more excellent and greater than before. Of course, he had thought he was amazing before, but now he was at a point of genuine admiration.

With Awakened like Captain Sung reliably protecting the front lines, a sense of camaraderie, or perhaps a sense of belonging, began to blossom. He was dependable. It was truly an honor to be able to go to the front lines together.

Especially since for Heeheon, today was his last field mission.

“To be honest, I never thought you would be here, Lieutenant. In the infirmary back then… I happened to hear about you.”

“Ah, yes. That’s right. You must have heard.”

“That you overexerted your core, that…”

“That’s correct. For that reason, today will likely be my last sortie.”

Heeheon affirmed calmly and nodded his head. He had said with his own mouth in the infirmary that something was wrong with his core, that he was undergoing a detailed examination, and there was no way a veteran Esper like him wouldn’t know that the source of the problem was an overload due to the rank difference.

Originally, Baek Heeheon should have been dismissed as Cha Moogyul’s dedicated guide and would not have been able to come out to the field.

But since he was here now with Cha Moogyul, it was no wonder Captain Sung was surprised.

“Ah… your last.”

He muttered as if he had come to a realization.

Heeheon slowly let go of his hand and spoke.

“Yes, my last. So I must focus on this mission and return safely.”

The transport helicopter was not a good place for a long conversation. There were other special mission unit members around, and above all, Cha Moogyul was right in front of him. Catching up could wait until after the mission was over.

And besides, they both knew better than anyone what kind of mindset the other was bringing into this battle.

“I wish you good luck.”

The one who carried the lives of the 2nd Special Mission Unit, who had even erased the memories of that day to stand on the front lines, and Baek Heeheon, who was on the front lines for the last time because he couldn’t handle the overload from the rank difference. It was impossible for one Awakened not to know the feelings of another.

Heeheon, who finished the conversation first, turned away from Captain Sung. It was time to wait with Cha Moogyul in their assigned seats. Until the helicopter took off, arrived at the destination, and landed.

Heeheon sat down and tried to fasten the X-shaped belt.

Just then, he heard a low whisper.

“You seem friendly.”

Cha Moogyul, who had been watching Heeheon until the very end, slowly approached, snatched the seatbelt from his hand, and buckled it himself for Heeheon.

“It’s Captain Sung. We were just exchanging greetings.”

Heeheon handed the belt over to him and sat up straight in his seat. Cha Moogyul snickered and tightened the belt hard. So that it fit Heeheon’s body snugly. So that his upper body would be fixed in place even if the aircraft shook.

“Do you exchange greetings with a whisper?”

The belt pressed against his chest, pulled taut. It was almost suffocating. Even when Heeheon let out a slightly uncomfortable, “Ugh,” Cha Moogyul pulled the belt even tighter and fastened it securely. As if to lock Heeheon in place.

He wondered if this was Cha Moogyul’s way of showing his displeasure, since he couldn’t hold him in his arms with so many eyes watching.

Heeheon moved his lips, at a loss.

It was awkward to talk here about Captain Sung Ahwon’s decision to erase his memories, and to do that, he would have to explain that he met him in the infirmary. Above all, it felt a little inappropriate to discuss such a private, personal matter in a transport helicopter just before a sortie. After all, with so many eyes watching, there were just as many ears listening.

“Something came up. I’ll tell you later.”

Heeheon decided to postpone it for now. He thought that, once again, the timing for their conversation was off. But then.

“Excuse me.”

Once again, Captain Sung Ahwon approached abruptly.

“Pardon the intrusion, Lieutenant Baek.”

“…Yes?”

He felt the surrounding air strangely settle.

The gazes of the special mission unit members waiting in their seats were drawn here, and one by one, they began to pay attention. Heeheon looked up at Captain Sung, bewildered. He was already worried about Cha Moogyul.

“If this is your last sortie, then how about you join me from the very next one?”

For a moment, Heeheon did not understand the meaning of Captain Sung’s words.

If this is the last one, how could he join Captain Sung for the next one…? What sortie?

“I would like Lieutenant Baek Heeheon to become my dedicated guide.”