111 – Farewell Party

A bird perched on a branch chirped noisily. Hayoon stared blankly at the ceiling, eyes fluttering open.

Sunlight streamed through the window, yet the dormitory was quiet. This would have been impossible on a weekday, but it was a mandatory day off, making it possible.

A few months ago, back when Yoon Serin was still around, they never skipped morning roll call, even on mandatory days off. But after Kim Sunah took over, she abolished morning roll call on those days.

Of course, not reporting the headcount to the instructors was out of the question, so Kim Sunah still had to get up, but thanks to her efforts, they could sleep in on holidays without being disturbed for the past few months.

The result was this quiet stillness. Hayoon sluggishly sat up and scratched her head. Then, she glanced around the dormitory and sighed deeply.

‘Tomorrow is discharge day.’

It was a day that every trainee knew would come, but it still felt unreal that it was just around the corner. Hayoon ran a hand down her face, still scratching her head.

To be honest, it didn’t feel real. It had already been half a year. It felt like there were still months to go, and she couldn’t believe she was leaving tomorrow.

Hayoon thought about this and shuddered.

‘Am I… going to miss this? Leaving this place?’

Am I crazy? She seriously wondered.

Not as an instructor, but as a trainee, she had spent half a year getting fucked and punched. She should be glad to leave, not miss it. Only a madman would think otherwise.

As Hayoon seriously pondered her sanity, Kim Sunah entered the dormitory and exclaimed in surprise.

“Oh? What brings you up so early on a holiday?”

“Going to the administration office?”

“Yeah, to report the roll call.”

Hayoon didn’t reply but instead asked a question. Kim Sunah nodded, seemingly unconcerned, and casually walked over to sit beside her. Just as casually, Hayoon put her arm around her waist and said,

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow it is.”

They didn’t specify what they were referring to, but the two of them sat shoulder to shoulder. Kim Sunah felt the warmth from her shoulder and quietly said,

“I went to the administration office today, and Instructor Gan told me. My owner has been decided.”

“Not some weirdo, right?”

“It’s okay. It’s someone I know. Remember when I told you I went into hiding for about a month before coming to the training center? It’s the guy who helped me back then.”

“Ah, the guy who took your cherry?”

“Don’t put it like that…”

She lightly punched Hayoon’s chest with a small, balled-up fist, as if embarrassed. Hayoon chuckled at her playful gesture.

“Does that friend of yours have some money? Buying a defective is usually not possible with ordinary money.”

“He worked it out with my family and got government support. Originally, only immediate family members are eligible, but… my parents know him well, so they must have allowed it.”

Hayoon felt a twinge of jealousy at her somewhat wistful tone. But she didn’t want to spoil the mood.

If anyone else had said that, she would have immediately crafted a scathing remark to hurt them, but this was Kim Sunah.

‘If I had a family, would I have been able to go back to them instead of Wooshin?’

Hayoon paused for a moment and chuckled.

They abandoned me at an orphanage instead of raising me. They would have ignored me, let alone helped me.

“That’s great. You get to see your family again.”

Hayoon suppressed the jealousy that was slowly rising in her chest and subtly massaged her waist.

Kim Sunah, tickled by the touch, burst into a clear laugh and nodded, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes.

“Yeah. I had half given up, but I never thought I’d really be able to go back. Really… really…”

The corners of her mouth, which had been smiling, slowly drooped. Her smiling face gradually contorted, and eventually, she completely broke down and shed tears.

Kim Sunah covered her mouth and sobbed.

“I, I was so scared. Sniff That I would never see my family again… that I would disappear from the world…”

Hayoon didn’t answer but instead pulled her into an embrace. Kim Sunah hugged her tightly and continued,

“The reason I kept talking to you and helping you, Hayoon, and pretending to be okay all this time, was because I didn’t think I could handle it otherwise…!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Hayoon patted Kim Sunah, who was sobbing in her arms.

She knew all along that she was deliberately pretending to be strong. Kim Sunah was the one who was crying on the bus to the training center and who failed Instructor Gan’s simple test and got beaten.

But she quickly adapted to the training center within days and even spoke directly to Instructor Gan for her sake, who was being punished.

Logically, it didn’t make sense. How could someone so fragile and unable to understand simple instructions, to the point of crying on the bus, do such a thing in just a few days?

No matter how good her personality was, she couldn’t have done that even in a situation where she was barely able to take care of herself.

She was on the verge of collapsing, so how could she take care of someone else? No, in fact, she must have been wearing that mask because she couldn’t handle it.

She must have done that to hold onto her crumbling sanity. The reason she can finally let go of everything and break down now is probably because the worries that have been tormenting her have been completely resolved.

Hayoon stroked Kim Sunah’s head, who was sniffling.

“Congratulations, Kim Sunah. For being able to go home.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

“You know you can’t forget me even after you go back, right?”

“Of course not!”

Kim Sunah, as if she hadn’t been sniffling just moments ago, raised her head and exclaimed.

She saw a foolish face with teary eyes and a vague expression. Hayoon raised one corner of her mouth. The vague expression turned into a rotten one.

Damn it, I should have just stayed still. Hayoon muttered to herself and kissed Kim Sunah, who was shedding tears. When in doubt, kissing is the best solution.

“Those two are making a fuss from morning…”

Someone said that, but she didn’t care.

Despite the commotion in the morning, the day went by as usual. Hayoon stayed close to Kim Sunah for a long time after lunch, and while she was taking a nap, Hayoon went out to the parade ground for a light walk.

As she walked, she briefly recalled what had happened in the morning.

‘Sunah, when did she get so close to those other bitches?’

Everyone in the dormitory knew that Hayoon and Kim Sunah were being discharged tomorrow. Perhaps because of this, the people in the dormitory flocked to Kim Sunah after breakfast and said a few words.

Saying they were jealous that she was being discharged tomorrow, worrying that she wouldn’t be sold to some weirdo, thanking her for her help all this time. Come to think of it, there wasn’t anyone in the current dormitory who hadn’t received some kind of help from Kim Sunah.

Ah, except for Jo Yeonhwa. She took her as soon as she came. Perhaps because of this, Jo Yeonhwa came to her feet and whined while everyone else was gathered around Kim Sunah.

She didn’t know if she was sad to be separated or if it was because the owner who dominated her was disappearing, but she had already lost interest, so she kicked her away, telling her to get lost.

Yelp! She screamed and ran away, as if she had forgotten human language, but she didn’t care anyway.

She was leaving tomorrow, so why bother paying attention to the people who would be left behind? Hayoon thought and walked through the campus.

Four years as an instructor, half a year as a trainee. She had stayed at this Somang Training Center for about five years.

Now, tomorrow, she would never return to this place. She wouldn’t deliberately come, either. Hayoon stood a little away from the parade ground and took in the scenery of the Somang Training Center.

‘Now that it’s time to leave, I’ve become very sentimental.’

Hayoon clicked her tongue at her own behavior. But she didn’t stop taking in the scenery. She was moving her gaze when…

“Yo-! Hayoon!”

“…Instructor Park?”

Instructor Park waved his arm from afar. She had a bad feeling about this. Hayoon approached Instructor Park without running away, even though she had a constipated expression.

Even though she was being discharged tomorrow, she was still a trainee here. She couldn’t disobey the instructor’s words.

But the sullen mood didn’t disappear, so she immediately said as soon as she got closer.

“Why did you call me? I was trying to finish the last day quietly.”

“Oh? You’re going to act like that? That’s not a good idea, is it?”

“Stop joking and get to the point.”

“You’re no fun.”

Instructor Park grumbled and then smiled.

“It’s nothing much, I was just wondering if we could have a small farewell party among ourselves.”

“A farewell party? Out of the blue?”

“You’re a trainee now, but you were a colleague once, right? We had no choice but to just send you away back then, but not now.”

Was he talking about when she accidentally beat a trainee to death? Well, she was kicked out of the school right away before she could do anything back then, so there was no time for a farewell party or anything.

But she wasn’t sure about accepting it. As Hayoon couldn’t easily make a decision, Instructor Park smiled and took something out.

It was a cold can of beer with water droplets on the surface and Hayoon’s favorite cigarettes (Gold).

“If you come now, these are unlimited…”

“Was Instructor Park’s room on the second floor?”

“Haha! That’s Hayoon for you. I like how cool you are.”

Instructor Park laughed loudly at Hayoon’s appearance, who was about to lead the way as if she had never had a suspicious expression.

Of course, Hayoon wasn’t foolishly lured by beer and cigarettes. It was clear that all sorts of dirty acts would follow behind the name of the farewell party.

But what was the big deal? It wasn’t the first time she had sex with Instructor Park. If she was going to drink, smoke, and have sex as the last of the trainees, it was a healthy farewell party.

“Instructor Park, hurry up! What if the alcohol gets cold?”

Hayoon thought and urged Instructor Park. She couldn’t stand it, thinking about the alcohol and cigarettes waiting for her.