TTOA Chapter 144
by VolareTaming the Obsessive Maniac – Episode 144
#144
Early spring. The season when the world awakens from its winter slumber. Marked by a period of transition, signs of new beginnings were evident everywhere. The clear air was not dry but held moisture, and newly sprouted grass scattered a sweet fragrance.
Midday, with the sun high in the sky, shimmering gray clouds obscured its light. The faint clouds seemed likely to be swept away by the wind soon, but for now, they posed a threat by blocking the midday sun.
Day by day, the anticipation of the predicted Creature Wave intensified, and even the current peaceful moment felt like the calm before the storm, rather than true peace.
This was because the military high command had finally issued a formal order to prepare for the unprecedented event of the Creature Wave.
Facing a battle comparable to, or even greater than, the last large-scale conflict, the Special Task Force members prepared for war against the creatures through joint training.
With each passing day, an ominous atmosphere grew stronger, and the heat intensified.
News began to spread that reconnaissance planes were spotting creatures moving south, and attention shifted from the disturbances of Mutants or S-rank Guiding to a bloody battle for survival. Tension rose with the imminent danger, and the weight of duty and responsibility on their shoulders increased.
The fear that today might be their last gnawed at the Espers.
They had trained endlessly for many years, but they knew there was no certainty in battle. No matter how thoroughly prepared, a promising Special Task Force could be annihilated in an instant, while other units would desperately return from seemingly impossible situations.
Nevertheless, they fought back, hoping for victory.
Believing in the cause they were given, trusting in the years of training, they armed themselves and stood against the enemy. They were soldiers, and their reason for existence was to fight and survive for humanity and their beliefs.
So, in the end, it was inevitable. Their guns could only be pointed at the creatures, not at each other.
In the midst of all this, Kwon Jae-jin’s Esper Registration Code was issued.
He was given an Identification Tag according to his affiliation and rank, and basic supplies were provided: Five sets of combat uniforms, one set of dress uniform, two pairs of combat boots, two pairs of combat gloves, one face mask, one combat cap, two personal rifles, two HMD Goggles, one personal pager, an army insignia, a Sergeant patch, and even a Healing Factor.
Kwon Jae-jin stared at the Identification Tag with the military dog tag with a strange look, but unable to bring himself to wear it around his neck, he shoved it into his pocket. Seo Eui-woo, who had been watching Kwon Jae-jin, also stuffed his reissued Identification Tag into his pocket in the same way.
After returning home, Seo Eui-woo casually said to Kwon Jae-jin, who was organizing the combat uniforms in the dressing room, “Check the equipment. If there’s anything defective, you’ll have to go back and exchange it.”
“Ah. Okay.”
Kwon Jae-jin immediately put on the goggles and turned them on. Then, a message sent by Seo Eui-woo popped up on the blue hologram screen.
[Jae-jin, can you see it well?]
Turning to the side, he saw Seo Eui-woo wearing goggles on his handsome face and smiling.
Suddenly, he was reminded of the old days when he and Seo Eui-woo exchanged endless texts, and the corners of Jae-jin’s lips twitched. He almost burst out laughing but managed to hold it back.
[How is it? Does it look okay?]
[Wow, but I’m contacting Jae-jin through his personal line right now. Wow.]
[Jae-jin’s line. I’m texting Jae-jin directly.]
Kwon Jae-jin fumbled through the goggles settings with his eyes. He opened the settings window with small pictograms and switched it to voice mode.
“I can see it well.”
As he answered, the same text was immediately entered on the goggle screen.
[I can see it well.]
When he sent it, Seo Eui-woo smiled broadly, confirming that it had been sent correctly. A dimple appeared beside his flawless, precise face.
[Yes. I can see you well too. It looks like there’s nothing wrong.]
The voice seems to be working…
Kwon Jae-jin entered the settings window again. He slowly manipulated it to return to the existing automatic mode, then stared at the message window and rolled his eyes.
He was told that he could input text with hands-free, using only eye-tracking. That was supposed to be more effective in combat situations.
[Eui-woo]
Jae-jin focused on the movement of his eyes for a while and entered the text. He was flustered because the shape of the keyboard was unfamiliar, but after several trials and errors, he was able to write ‘Eui-woo.’
Seo Eui-woo watched Kwon Jae-jin awkwardly manipulating the goggles with a pleased expression, like watching a baby adapt to playing with a toy. When the text [Eui-woo] appeared, he exclaimed in surprise.
Seo Eui-woo sent a reply as fast as lightning. It was a mystery how he could type so quickly.
[What, you’ve already mastered it? Are you a genius, baby?]
Reading this text, he couldn’t hold back and his lips crumbled. Suppressing the rising smile, Kwon Jae-jin entered a reply. This time, he was able to send it quickly.
[.]
Seo Eui-woo burst into laughter at the single dot that came back. Hearing his low, chuckling laughter, Kwon Jae-jin couldn’t hide his smile either. He simply smiled comfortably and continued texting.
[Jae-jin is so cute]
[.]
[And do you know what? Personal line texts get saved]
[.]
[You can store them. You can lock them with a password. What does that mean? All of Jae-jin’s messages are mine now?]
For a while, they exchanged trivial chatter with Seo Eui-woo. Seo Eui-woo was thrilled to the point of madness even when Kwon Jae-jin accidentally sent a comma [,] instead of a dot [.]
[Calm down]
Kwon Jae-jin didn’t know how many texts Seo Eui-woo sent while he was completing just three letters.
Seo Eui-woo subtly lowered his posture. He completely bent his large, muscular body and lay sideways on the bed, looking up at Kwon Jae-jin’s face from a low angle. He wanted to peek at the black eyes moving within the narrow gap under the goggles.
Between Jae-jin’s nose and the goggle screen, his engrossed eyes were tantalizingly visible. They were cold and intellectual eyes.
Kwon Jae-jin might not know it, but he could also take photos and record videos with the goggles. Seo Eui-woo took a photo of Jae-jin’s focused face and saved it, using the date they started dating as the password. Then, he attached the photo and sent it as a message.
[Photo]
Seeing the photo of his own face filling the screen, Kwon Jae-jin muttered, “What?” Seo Eui-woo laughed loudly. Then, Seo Eui-woo took a series of photos of Jae-jin’s flustered expression and sent them all at once.
[Photo]
[Photo]
[Photo]
[Photo]
When Jae-jin told him to stop, he took a video with the voice saying to stop and sent it.
Unable to bear it any longer, Jae-jin carefully searched the settings. He finally found the shooting mode and took pictures of Seo Eui-woo as if retaliating. Several pictures of Seo Eui-woo in a blurry state were taken and saved. In the photos, Seo Eui-woo was wearing goggles and smiling brightly.
[But Jae-jin, did you already know how to use the goggles?]
[Did the future me teach you this too? Then you should have just said so.]
As Seo Eui-woo asked lightly, Kwon Jae-jin’s lips stiffened slightly.
It was the kind of expression he would make when an unhealed wound was carelessly pointed out.
“Ah…….”
The goggles,
How to use the goggles…….
In a dream…….
Passeuk, the peaceful moment shattered like thin glass.
It felt like a small whisper was coming from a corner of Kwon Jae-jin’s mind.
That the 1st timeline’s Seo Eui-woo was waiting.
That he was watching even now…….
“……”
As if a cold wind had entered, a corner of his mind became chilling. He didn’t know why he couldn’t even have a moment to relax.
Kwon Jae-jin silently turned off the goggles and took them off his head.
“What. Why are you taking them off already? It was good.”
Seo Eui-woo messed up Jae-jin’s hair with his hands, which had been disheveled from taking off the goggles. He brushed his bangs back to reveal his forehead, playing around. Kwon Jae-jin let him touch his hair without resistance, then turned his gaze away.
“…That’s.”
“Huh? What is it?”
Seo Eui-woo murmured languidly and brought his face close to Kwon Jae-jin’s white forehead in front of him. Then, he placed his lips on the exposed forehead as if it were natural. His smiling face was close.
Because it was ticklish, Jae-jin wiggled his toes a little. But this was not the time for this.
He had to tell him about the 24-year-old Seo Eui-woo.
He had to tell him that he was having dreams about him.
After a moment of silence, Jae-jin slowly raised his head.
“I have something to say.”
The 24-year-old Seo Eui-woo, Kwon Jae-jin’s mind was agitated by the inexplicable mystery.
“I’ve been having dreams… Actually, I’ve been having some strange dreams.”
“Ah, yeah. You used to have nightmares sometimes, Jae-jin.”
“Yeah… that’s it.”
Jae-jin carefully chose his words.
“It’s a dream where creatures are swarming in groups. Fighting creatures… And that….”
“And? What is it?”
Seo Eui-woo, who had sensed the conflict hidden in the subtle silence, urged him with a subtle look. His gray eyes were quite calm.
Kwon Jae-jin let out a helpless sigh. Covering his eyes with a resigned hand, he murmured softly.
“Seo Eui-woo appears.”
“…….”
“Seo Eui-woo before the regression, when he was 24 years old.”
“……What?”