The first thing Jo Won-Gu did on the morning of one fine Saturday was head to the nearest smoking area. Once he lit one up, he sat down and stared at the distant skies above in silence.

“...Hey, Won-Gu.”

“Mm?” Jo Won-Gu snapped awake when someone called out his name.

His mate, Choi Se-Han, walked over and sat next to him. “You don't look so good, man. What's the matter? Did something bad happen?”

“Something bad, you say?”

“Yeah. I mean, you look like you stepped on dogsh*t, you see?”

Jo Won-Gu sighed softly. “Nothing's bad in my life, man. Nothing at all. Yeah, everything's just smooth sailing…”

“Smooth sailing? How so?”

“Well, we have a super rookie in the realm of not Grade A, but Grade S in our squad, you see.”

“Oh, you mean Kang Jin-Ho?”

Jo Won-Gu blinked his eyes and stared at his mate. “Huh? How do you know him?”

“Man, everyone in the base has already heard about that kid. I heard he's supposedly not even human. Is it true?”

Jo Won-Gu wordlessly nodded.

Choi Se-Han was taken aback. “Wow. How bad is it, then?”

Jo Won-Gu took a deep drag of his cigarette. “...I want to run away.”

“Eh?”

“I gotta get discharged, pronto. That's the only way, man.”

“...Huh?” Choi Se-Han was left slack-jawed by Jo Won-Gu's response.

What was Jo Won-Gu's nickname among his peers? He had been nicknamed venomous snake, as he would always find crafty ways to torment his juniors. However, such a man had actually said that he wanted to run away from a newbie? It might be more believable to say that a whale was a terrestrial animal!

Choi Se-Han gulped back and cautiously asked, “What happened, exactly?”

“...Hey, man. Listen.”

“Yeah?”

“Sure. Fine. I can accept that guy's incredible...