Please Shoot Me - 16

“Are you sure it’s fine…?”

“Half of them are from our team. It will work out.”

She reassured him and slowly got out of the car. She didn’t have time to knock on the windshield before the officer who had been lurking around politely saluted. Judging by his reaction, he knew who was in the car. She gave a cursory wave and irritably questioned him.

“What are you doing here at the crack of dawn?”

Yuyeon swept her gaze around, and one by one, the people surrounding them saluted her. Even the members of Team B, who only vaguely recognized her face and rank, awkwardly saluted.

“Is everything okay, team leader? The kids were worried when you didn’t come back from your mission at the landfill, thinking something had happened to you.”

“I’m sure I reported to the higher-ups that I’m fine.”

“Oh, you got orders to take full control of the landfill, but I don’t know why I was so anxious for you to get back, so I’m asking just in case. At the very least, we need to make sure the safe zone is secure.”

The officer smiled, stating the obvious. Yuyeon rolled her usual stiff shoulders and casually replied.

“I’m on my way back from there. I’ve killed them all, so we can go back.”

“Oh, is that so? I heard that Ryung went with you yesterday, did he help?”

“How would you know that?”

“Because James was bragging about sleeping in yesterday, and he’s still sleeping in his unit.”

‘Unhelpful assh*le.’

Yuyeon clicked her tongue and repeated the onslaught of insults in her head. At this point, she wasn’t even sure if James was actually cooperating with her and Seonwoo or not. If he was here right, she could ask him for help, but James was never around when she needed him.

“Don’t you think Ryung is better to have around than James? He works harder when he’s with you.”

“Well… That’s true.”

“He’s such a fool. Speaking of him, is he in the car?”

The officer leaned over the windshield and peered inside.

“Yeah. That cocky bastard made his team leader get out and talk with you…”

Yuyeon casually stepped between the car and the officer, pushing him back a little.

“He’s sleeping so he must be tired. Leave him alone.”

“What?”

“Like you even said to yourself, we worked our asses off and we are exhausted, so let him sleep.”

Looking a little puzzled by Yuyeon’s behavior, he backed away, glancing at Ryung through the window and carefully eyeing Yuyeon’s upper body. Perhaps he had noticed that she had taken off a part of her uniform.

“Well… No wonder since you slept outside.”

He muttered, staring off into space. The upturned corners of his mouth and the sinister flint in his narrowed eyes told her what he was thinking.

A lonely man and woman. Ryung’s famous unrequited love. Undressed with each other. It was a misunderstanding, but she welcomed it with open arms.

“I’d like to continue, so why don’t you move out of the way?”

“Oh, give me a minute. I’ll be right back with the report.”

Her brows furrowed as she grabbed her radio and stopped him.

“Report what? There is nothing for you to report.”

“We’ve got orders to report every ant that passes by on the road. I’m guessing that’s how the citizens like to see, the higher-ups keeping a tight reign.”

Yuyeon sighed, running her hand through her sweaty hair.

“Well… Do you really need to keep such a close eye on your own crew?”

“Oh, you know it’s a formality, and you’ve been telling us to report it all to you, too, every time.”

What the officer said had caught Yuyeon off guard. She gritted her teeth, unable to hold him back any longer.

The officer gestured he would be back in a moment, turned away, and picked up his radio to report to his supervisors. From the smooth completion of the landfill mission to the fact that the two officers who hadn’t returned yesterday had just safely returned.

Yuyeon chewed on her nails as she listened to the muffled conversation. Everyone, including the team leader, was just a mouthpiece for the higher-ups, and in the end, they had no choice but to follow orders.

He finished his radio report and returned with a light step.

“I think we should continue with the roadblock, but you can go in first.”

Biting her lip in nervousness, Yuyeon swallowed a small sigh. Just as she was about to be relieved that things seemed to be going smoothly, the officer added.

“But, before you go, we have to do a quick physical examination.”

As he spoke, a m*mber of Team B, who had been standing in the distance, approached with a piece of paper and a camera. Yuyeon squinted at them and asked.

“A physical examination?”

“Oh, there’s a rumor going around that zombies are walking around pretending to be people. Anyway, because of that, they want us to record people passing by. It’s like a show-and-tell, so show me.”

The officers patted the back of his head as if he was bothered about this himself, but the cameras continued to record. Yuyeon thought she shouldn’t have stayed out. The sudden roadblocks and pat-downs were meant to catch and check for the two who hadn’t returned yesterday. Yuyeon grimaced as she pushed the lens away.

“Just move on, then. Why bother us?”

When the m*mber of Team B holding the camera looked confused, she gestured for him to put it down.

“Just take a quick picture, write down your name, and go. The higher-ups already know you’re coming back from a mission, so just go ahead and do it since they told me to do it.”

Amid this non-argument, another officer was tapping on the passenger side window of the car. Yuyeon, who had belatedly noticed, pushed him away. The stranger who was suddenly pushed aside, the subordinate trying to convince her, and the other officers standing in front of the car were all puzzled by her behavior.

‘I’m going to lose it.’

She couldn’t think of any more excuses to make, and she would surely raise suspicion with the prolonged silence.

“Team leader, really, what’s wrong with you? You could just cooperate for a minute…”

The subordinate looked at the other members of Team B and said with a troubled face. They couldn’t understand why she was doing this, as she usually followed orders more closely than anyone else. As expected, a m*mber of Team B held up the radio with a confused face. Yuyeon hastily held out her palm to stop it. There was no way they would let her through.

“If you don’t cooperate, we’ll have no choice but to follow the manual and take you into custody.”

Subtle glances were exchanged among the members of Team B, and the subordinate, sensing it, brushed them off.

“Wait.”

With a serious look on his face, he softly asked as he looked at the others.

“What the hell is going on? There has to be a reason you’re doing this.”

The eyes that met Yuyeon’s were almost pleading. The idea of a team leader being overpowered and taken into custody by another team m*mber was a stain on the reputation of the elite A Team. Yuyeon was both the subordinate’s and Ryung’s sunbae, and she had been with her unit longer than he had been with his. He knew and understood how she usually acted, which made her current behavior all the more baffling.

The words “He’s infected, help,” were lodged in her throat, but she couldn’t bring herself to spit them out. The other officers knew both Yuyeon and Ryung, but they weren’t willing to help them out without knowing what was going on since they were willing to risk getting punished for it. The officer didn’t wish to drag any of his mind into it.

“I don’t have a reason. I just don’t want to do it.”

“Team leader… If you do this, I’m not going to… Nevermind.”

“I know. You guys won’t let me get away.”

She gave the officer a little shove. A m*mber of Team B, who had been watching the situation, picked up his radio at the same Yuyeon picked up hers.

“Team A, this is Seo Yuyeon. I have a final debriefing for you.”

She spoke first, and the room fell silent; there was no reason for them both to bother if the person in question would solve the problem on their own. After a moment of silence, the usual voice game over the comms.

[It’s been a while. I heard from another reporter that you’re on your way back.]

The nasally, affectionate voice only sounded sinister when she realized who it was: he was the executive in charge of A through D in A/Z, the one who gave her direct orders. He was the one who put her in her current position as team leader. Yuyeon glanced at her surroundings, which had quieted down, and at Ryung, who lay still.

“As I reported yesterday, the mission was a success, and… I, team leader Seo Yuyeon, and A Team m*mber Heo Ryung, will be discharged from service effective immediately.”

The subordinate who had been listening with an anxious face immediately walked over and grabbed Yuyeon’s shoulders and shook them as if to wake her up. He wasn’t the only one who panicked, and everyone’s attention was focused on the radio and Yuyeon. After a moment of silence, the radio finally responded.

[Something’s going on.]

The laughter in his voice was despicable. There was no need to hold back now. Yuyeon and the man had both shown their cards. This wasn’t good. She had hoped she would have kept her cards a little closer to her chest and been more docile.

[I’m glad you’re getting out of the army, but you’re going to have to come to headquarters and go through the formalities. I was hoping you would just come in for a face-to-face… You’re at the roadblock, right? You better come if you want to live in the safe zone.]

There was no escape, so she had to get back on her feet and let them drag her away. Yuyeon had no choice but to obey him.

“Alright, I’ll come, but could you please remove the car that’s blocking my way?”

[Hmmm, sure.]

Just as Yuyeon was about to head to the driver’s seat with a nod, the other officers’ radios rang, and a stern, sharp voice came through.

[Seo Yuyeon and Heo Ryung are both to be handed over to headquarters. If they refuse, you can subdue them. This is something that needs to be handled according to procedure, so bring them in at all costs.]

Kofi