Good morning, my.

4. Longing

Min Yoongi couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Perhaps it was because the scent of the person that always lingered when he opened his eyes had faded and disappeared.
Anyway, that's what happened.
Fear overwhelmed me, pressing down on my heart. But it still pounded. I took a deep breath, but it wasn't enough.
I grabbed the medicine bag
I'm afraid of losing you like this again.

I was scared.

Autumn has finally arrived again. I've never felt this anxious before. The doorbell rang.



Jeong Yeon-su...! Where are you...?

............like this

........ah..

What if you have no fear?



Namjoon stood at the door. His face paled, and he gripped the doorknob tightly. But Min Yoongi couldn't resist Namjoon's strength. A silver wing ornament hung from Namjoon's shirt collar.



Let go of this.

........let's talk.

I have nothing to say.

I didn't come here to catch you, hyung. I came here at your request.

....Yeonsu?

I told you to protect your brother.

.......where are you?

I don't know either.

Did you divert it to the government?

no.

Tell me straight. Where are you?

I really don't know. My sister didn't even tell me where she was going..!



Namjoon shouted in an angry voice. But this was also an act. He couldn't carelessly ruin Yeonsoo's plans, so he had to pretend not to notice.
Yeonsu asked Namjoon a favor. And that was to protect her. Namjoon glanced around and whispered quietly in her ear.

Brother, the government is still looking for you. Be careful.

Ah, ah.
Have we not escaped yet?
His withered figure, crouched and head bowed, was quite pitiful. It was heartbreaking. Nevertheless, the government sought them out and attempted to use them as combat weapons.

I wonder if they arrived safely in Busan. Jimin would treat them well, but I wasn't completely uneasy. I slowly stroked Min Yoongi's trembling back. Just like Yeonsoo had done at the center before the two of them fled.

Min Yoongi, his eyes bloodshot, lifted his head slightly and looked at Namjoon. His hands, resting on the floor, trembled.



.....



Namjoon opened the cupboard with a familiar gesture and took out a cup. He brewed a coffee from a brand Min Yoongi had always liked and handed it to him. Warmth spread through the cup he held.



Please eat.

.......



Yeah, we know each other so well.

Namjoon plopped down next to Min Yoongi. He then sipped his coffee. "You look better than before, hyung," Namjoon said lightly. He said he'd grown a lot since he left and was now in a high-ranking position. It was the first time in a while that he'd heard stories from the past.



...Good work.

The other kids are still on the same team.

Looks like you're doing well.

....no.

......

Brother, we don't want to forgive our people who ran away at some point.

....

But I don't want to kill them either. But... those who rule over us don't see us as anything more than battle machines.



We must kill the ogres. We must kill them. If we live like that and our utility diminishes, our end will be death.
But we must live. We do not fight like this because we are not afraid of death.
So live. Even if you can't die, survive. Don't feel guilty about being a monster.
Please, please.
Even though we're monsters, you're just a guide, right? Right?

Namjoon lamented his situation to Yoongi. He wanted to calm Min Yoongi down, who was on the verge of a rage.
And this was true. Without the Sentinel by his side, he would live as an ordinary person.

He wanted to protect his colleague and his lover. Namjoon wanted to protect everything.













126-7.
Somewhere in Busan, smoke billowed and the atmosphere was terrifying. People were screaming, unable to evacuate in time. "Oh, if you scream like that, you'll die...
A sharp, distant sound of a knife stabbing into the chest. That's what happened to the Sentinel. All of my senses were on edge. I could hear sounds better than others, and I could feel pain more clearly. But I was just getting used to it.
The death of others was nothing to him. Park Jimin and Jeong Yeon-su were half-wits, without a guide, yet no one could overcome them. The other Sentinels, Ogodo's allies, sensed this.

Jimin's subordinates looked at the two with eyes of wonder as they saw someone, who was hard to tell if he was a man or a woman with short black hair fluttering in the wind, moving in unison like Jimin's closest confidant.

He flew like the wind. And he killed people more naturally than anyone else. They were just strangers, close to allies, but to others, they seemed like more than just comrades.
Jimin's power was to manipulate gravity. People were pinned to the ground, crushed. People died instantly. Yeonsoo's power was fire. A fire more dazzling than anyone else's. Fire itself was Yeonsoo, and Yeonsoo herself was the fire.

I won't be a flower
Instead, I will be your flame
I'll live like that and light a fire in your heart
So that you can survive
So that you can live like that.

Others called it hellfire. Its blue flames were hotter than anything else.

Even though Yeon-su possessed blue flames, she always used only red flames. Those that glowed at the lowest temperatures. This was because the moment the red flames changed color, they reached a temperature that ordinary humans could not endure. Even the enemies she fought had difficulty withstanding Yeon-su's flames. It was that hot.
When Yeon-su was in government, his team members also did not see Yeon-su use anything more than a yellow flame.

Even when Jungkook occasionally begged her to show him flames, Yeonsoo would only show him yellow flames. Her teammates understood her because she believed she didn't want to hurt those around her.












Jimin found the red flames dazzling. While he was certain that pyromaniacs existed everywhere, he had never encountered one as brilliant as Yeonsoo's. Light enveloped Yeonsoo.

ah.
It's pretty.

Jimin's brilliance dominated his mind at every moment of the fight.
The ogres were quickly dispatched. Thanks to him. The number on his wrist was blinking at nearly 80%.
Now I'm going back to get my shot. Every time I do, I'll remember you and hold my breath.



Where are you hurt?

Thanks to you, there isn't any



Yeonsu smiled faintly and patted Jimin on the back. "Good work."
A familiar word I haven't heard in a long time.











I miss you.
You, whom I don't even remember anymore.