Please Shoot Me - 7

“We slept together.”

As she pondered the implications of those words, Yuyeon jerked her head around like a broken robot. Ryung fiddled his gun with a sour look on his face.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”

Ryung seemed so angry that he was taking it out on the gun. Yuyeon thought back to yesterday.

“You know… you’re human, you have a s*x drive, and I’m afraid because you interact with all those other men.”

“Why laugh, isn’t that an honest thought? It’s lonely in the troops.”

“Just shut up and drink.”

Conversations that had the potential to take on that tone were quickly cut short. A man and a woman, a team leader and a teammate, a line in the sand. There was no way she was going to mess that up.

“Don’t lie to me. It at least has to be funny…”

She snorted and shook her head, and Ryung snorted back.

“And who do you think took you home last night?”

“I’m a good staggerer when I’m drunk.”

“Yeah, I noticed you were staggering.”

“At least I don’t sleep with others when I’m drunk.”

At the assurance in her voice, Ryung’s eyes widened and his mouth curled, a sudden change in his demeanor. Loosening his gaze, he scanned Yuyeon’s body from head to toe and asked.

“Is your body okay?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Good, because I thought you might be swollen and sore from all that sucking.”

“What?”

“I must have cleaned up too much because I would have spent the morning cuddling with you n*ked if I knew you would say you didn’t remember this much…”

Yuyeon followed his gaze down her body, her senses tingling. Her p*ssy and n*pples seemed to be a little sore now. The pain was clear in the moment of awareness, and the pain triggered new memories.

“Once I start, you can’t stop me.”

“Oh, yes, Ryung…”

She felt the blood drain from her body as the unfamiliar voices of her and Ryun rang in her head. When Yuyeon was quiet, Ryung whirled around to meet her eyes.

“You must have remembered something, didn’t you?”

“… I don’t remember.”

Yuyeon lowered her head and began walking past him. Sensing something, the sharp-eyed Ryung followed after her, adding information she didn’t even want to know.

“You kissed me first, grabbing my neck and telling me to open it… You were so rough.”

“… Stop talking and focus on the mission.”

“It’s a shame you took my virginity and don’t remember it. You didn’t let me go yesterday.”

Something had happened between them. Maybe it was the fact that he was feeling great, as opposed to her poor condition, or it was the fact that Ryung got rid of a lot of pent-up frustration. As her head spun, memories came flooding back. She vigorously shook her head, deliberately blocking the memories.

“Even if I did, it must have been a mistake. Again, I don’t remember.”

“Of course you don’t.”

“Stop deflecting.”

“I didn’t make a mistake.”

“Today’s mission was me and James, why are you here?!”

“What? Do you like James more than me? What’s going on between you two? Do you have a thing for foreigners? Do you pick up guys when you’re drinking? Just like yesterday, smiling so pretty, eyes like this, dangerous stumbling… with someone other than me…!”

With the muzzle of her gun right in front of his nose, the nonstop babbling quieted down.

“Say any more, and I’ll blow a hole in your mouth.”

Yuyeon snarled. He glared at her with disgruntled eyes and put the muzzle of her weapon in his own mouth.

“You, you…!”

Flustered by Ryung’s refusal to back down, Yuyeon took a step back. Ryung leaned in closer, pushing the muzzle deeper into his mouth.

“Ryung.”

He knew that Yuyeon wasn’t going to pull the trigger, but he closed his eyes like a man preoccupied with death. As if he was waiting for her judgment, Yuyeon holstered the gun and wiped the muzzle, glistening with his saliva.

“Anyway, I’ve lost all fear…”

“A woman like you shouldn’t be scared. It’s just how I feel, and I’m saying it because I’ll regret it if I don’t. Don’t let it bother you.”

His tone was light as if he didn’t want to put any pressure on her, but Ryung’s heart felt heavy from his affection for her. Five years ago, his affection would have been tucked away in the corner of his heart, but now it had built up to a point where it was lodged in his throat. As he cleared the pain from his stinging throat, he noticed a subtle change in her expression and changed the subject.

“What’s the mission today, anyway? The landfill?”

“We got a report of a zombie in a building inside here. It’s most likely a mistake, but… You came out without knowing the mission?”

“It’s just me and you, so I jumped at the chance to go on a mission. When James said he wanted to switch, I jumped to take his place. I’m unpaid right now.”

“James, you f*cking assh*le. Why the f*ck would you agree to this assh*le?”

“What? I’m an assh*le?”

Yuyeon’s face crumpled into a frown as Ryung threw up his hands in an unnecessarily patronizing gesture. In the lingering silence, he loudly coughed.

“I considered it a date with you, so I don’t mind, and I don’t really need the money.”

There’s actually something quite painful about the way he blurted it out. In today’s world, not needing money means not having a family to support.

Rumor has it that he was raised in an orphanage and enlisted in the army, but his personality was so fierce as a child that despite his good looks, he had no friends and no adoption inquiries. Yuyeon also lost her family when she was young and was always alone, so she understood his loneliness. He said he liked her, so he was probably chasing her around to relieve his loneliness. This life is only worth living if you have a place to attach yourself to, and your ego is only stabilized if you have a psychological safety base to return to.

“Let’s get this done and get back to work. Then we can spend the rest of the day chatting over coffee?”

He smirked as usual, and she nodded in approval.

“Yeah, if we get this over with, I have something I want to ask you, and…”

“Uh…? Really?” He asked, looking even more puzzled by her question.

“I didn’t bring my wallet, so you can buy it. I also want some cake…. Tiramisu.”

“Of course, you can even have a second and third!”

After just the thought of two or three hours of coffee together, he wagged his tail and his eyes lit up like a puppy seeing snow for the first time. The joy of someone so obviously touched made Yuyeon’s heart feel a little warmer.

It was then. The sound of distant footsteps made them both turn at the same time. Beyond the pile of garbage, a zombie with no arms had spotted them and was running at full speed. Yuyeon straightened into a fighting stance and aimed at the zombie.

“I got this.”

Ryung gently pulled the barrel of Yuyeon’s rifle down, and she eased off the trigger. A single shot rang out, and the headless zombie collapsed.

Ryung had eliminated his target in one fell swoop, wasting no bullets. Keen senses, quick judgment, and excellent motor skills. It was a talent to be admired. If anyone could survive a zombie outbreak, it would be him. With a successful shot, he looked back at Yuyeon with a low sigh.

“There’s… something here. I thought we were just going to patrol, but I have a bad feeling.”

She, too, had picked up an ominous feeling.

Within 10 minutes of entering the landfill, they encountered a zombie. Yuyeon casually examined the fallen zombie’s clothing. It was a work uniform, so it must have been someone who worked here, which meant that the half-living zombie hadn’t just crawled out by accident, but had been infected from within. Yuyeon immediately radioed headquarters.

“We spotted and killed one zombie before we reached the building. Judging by the clothes it was wearing, it was probably a man who worked here.”

[Only one?]

“So far, just one, but if the infection was carried out inside the landfill, I suspect there are more. I’ll report back if we find anything else unusual.”

Yuyeon had no idea how many zombies there might be, but she knew it was too early to call for backup. It was still early in the day, and there was a chance that there weren’t any more zombies. She doubted that the higher-ups would listen to her if she suggested that the land be closed and abandoned because it was too dangerous. In the end, it was up to the two members of Team A to clean up the mess.

“Whew, I need coffee. Let’s hurry.”

“Relax, there might be more.”

“Yeah, yeah. Always be on your toes, or you’ll get your head blown off, as my esteemed senior taught me.”

She didn’t like his smirk, but she knew he was good, so she didn’t say anything.

As they meandered through the hills, they spotted and killed three zombies, all done by Ryung and his exceptional reaction time. It was quite unusual for her, who usually leads the team from the front, to have nothing to do.

Finally, they reached the building in question. The building was only one story, but at first glance, it seemed quite large. However, the few windows were blocked by various objects, and the building was almost completely dark.

“I expected it, but it looks more like a factory than a building. Do you think it’s haunted?”

“I don’t know about ghosts, but I’m guessing at least zombies.”

“Oh, zombies aren’t my thing.”

Ryung groped around the wall and flicked what appeared to be a light switch a few times before letting out a self-deprecating laugh.

“I’m screwed.”

Kofi