The World We Have Passed (★)-1

The 24th sky. Gloomy and starless.

“S-Sergeant Kang In-ho, it’s duty time.”

A woman with a youthful voice woke him.

“Shit.”

Kang In-ho, after confirming his location and the attire of the people around him, couldn’t help but curse.

A world where men and women equally served in the military.

The thrill of that bizarre setting was fleeting, and the resurrected memories of the past made him frown for a while.

It was fortunate that he was the most senior soldier in the company; otherwise, he would have been lynched as a useless soldier who couldn’t even remember the names of the officers and senior soldiers.

‘Let’s get discharged. Let’s stay safe until discharge. Let’s just be like Hana’s locker, doing nothing.’

But the karma created by the body’s original owner wouldn’t leave him alone.

“S-Sergeant Kang… if I get discharged, could we meet up then?”

A woman who had just become a Private First Class after finishing her duty asked.

Not wanting to provoke her unnecessarily, he nodded.

“Ah, Inho~ just become a career NCO. If you get discharged, I’ll only be able to see you during your leave.”

The female Staff Sergeant (P) said, rubbing his right chest with her hand.

Don’t provoke, just get through it. First, let’s think after discharge.

He crossed off the days on the calendar, grateful for each day that passed.

But despite his efforts, the incident occurred a few days before his final leave.

Bang!

A deafening noise echoed through the dark night, and he, guarding the outpost, woke his assistant guard with drowsy eyes.

“Hey, what was that sound just now?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“Call it in.”

“Yes, I understand.”

As his assistant guard made the call, he heard footsteps.

“Halt, halt. Hands up, or I’ll shoot. Three.”

“T-Two.”

As he gave the countersign, a voice came from the other side.

“Who is it?”

“I-It’s Kim Min-ji.”

“Hey, why are you coming here? More importantly, didn’t you hear the sound?”

He picked up an LED lamp and came down from the outpost.

“…….”

Bang!

A gunshot rang out, and he, who was descending the stairs, collapsed and slammed into the ground.

“…W-What?”

With a face that didn’t understand what had happened, he raised his head.

“Kyaa! Sergeant Kang!”

The assistant guard, who was making the call, screamed and frantically picked up the rifle that had been leaning against the wall.

But the safety selector, set to ‘safe’, blocked the trigger, giving the person who had already fired the gun time to pull the trigger again.

Bang!

With the second gunshot, his head snapped back, and he collapsed.

“Ah… it hurts.”

A chilling sensation.

‘What did I do wrong?’

Thud, thud. Approaching military boots. He looked up resentfully at the Private First Class who had shot him.

“Why…? What did I do wrong?”

“I, I know… I know that Staff Sergeant and Sergeant Kang are like that.”

“…Shit.”

Speechless, he closed his mouth.

“Haha… you’re not even denying it. I shot your leg just in case.”

“Good aim.”

“Promising to date me was a lie too, wasn’t it? You just said it to sleep with me, right?”

“…….”

“Say something, at least!”

“What can I say? I don’t even remember.”

As he closed his eyes, seemingly resigned, another gunshot rang out.

He was starting to get used to death.

The 37th sky. Clear, with a cool breeze blowing.

He met a clumsy woman.

A black-haired woman with bangs covering her eyes and a sinister smile.

“Hehe… Oppa, you can live with me here forever.”

“This isn’t tied properly, is it?”

“Ah, why is that…”

As he applied a little force, the rope loosened, and the woman waved her arms in a fluster.

Wanting to see how far she would go, he stayed still, and the woman clumsily moved her hands to tie him up again.

It took her five tries to tie him up again. Even then, the knot would come undone if he applied a little force, but he took pity on her struggling and let it go.

“Here, Ah~ I made this food myself.”

“…It’s not seasoned at all?”

“I-I didn’t put any in for your health. It’s not good to eat salty food.”

“Really?”

As he stared at her, the woman avoided his gaze.

“T-The truth is… I’m out of living expenses…”

Hearing that, he felt sorry for her.

Her plight didn’t end there.

“Oppa’s favorite, chicken~”

“Why is it only half a chicken?”

“I, I already ate and I’m full.”

Growl- A loud noise made her lower her head.

“Let’s eat together.”

“…Okay.”

There were days like this too.

“What’s with the candles?”

“Hehe, today’s the one-year anniversary of Oppa and me living together. I wanted to set the mood.”

“Tell me the truth.”

“I couldn’t pay the electricity bill.”

And days like this.

“Oppa, the gas is cut off, so can I just wipe you down with cold water today?”

“I don’t mind… but wouldn’t it be better for me to work and earn money?”

“No way! There are so many sly girls outside! I can’t let you be taken away!”

And these days.

“Oppa, the basement is a bit much, isn’t it?”

“…It is.”

“Y-Yeah haha….”

“Is the rent… a burden?”

“Huh? No, I was just asking. I… I think I’m going to get another part-time job.”

“Soorin-ah. I think it’s right for me to work too.”

“Absolutely not. Oppa has to stay in this house. Are you feeling stuffy? But I let you see the sunlight once a day.”

Soorin was adamant.

Kang In-ho didn’t feel love for this clumsy woman.

He only felt pity.

It was a twisted love, but her trying to maintain that love somehow…

It was like his own desire for love.

After that day, he secretly went out to work on the days she went to her part-time job.

There was a CCTV camera monitoring the room, but it was easy to deceive her because she didn’t know how to operate it.

He used the money he earned to pay the landlord the rent in advance or secretly put it in her wallet.

“Hehe, I bought a whole chicken today!”

“Oh, what’s the occasion?”

“For some reason, I have some money left over these days. The landlady is also charging less. Could this be… could this be what they call investing?”

“Yeah, let’s go with that.”

Kang In-ho smiled as he watched her jump around.

He thought this kind of life would continue for years.

He planned to slowly persuade her to go out into society.

But the world was three times faster and four times more vicious than he had planned.

“Cancer?”

“Yes, it’s cancer.”

A man in a white coat said in a dry voice.

“No, she’s just in her early twenties.”

“It doesn’t matter with age. Irregular meals, stress, various factors have an impact.”

“I see….”

He looked at Soorin’s face lying on the hospital bed.

“It’s already quite advanced… didn’t the guardian know?”

A voice that was rather reproachful. He squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his head.

“…She didn’t show me she was in pain.”

“She must have endured a lot. Frankly, at this stage, only palliative care is left. Talk it over well.”

Talk it over well.

What did that mean?

He sat in the hospital lounge, looking outside.

The 37th sky was clear. Fucking clear.

Did the hospital have a bad aura?

Soorin’s face, which had always shown a bright appearance, was haggard.

“Oppa.”

She called him, as if she had woken up.

“Yeah.”

He, who had been dozing off next to her, took her hand.

“Ehehe….”

She smiled, as if she was happy about something.

“What are you smiling about so happily?”

Kang In-ho’s voice choked up.

“I’m thankful.”

“W-What for?”

As if submerged in water, his voice faded.

“For being with me.”

A weak smile. But a smile that used all her strength.

Kang In-ho felt like his heart was being squeezed.

“All I did was be with you.”

“That’s how… how… big it is.”

Soorin said, widening her eyes.

Her eyes contained the stars of the sky. They sparkled.

“I was always alone. I was bullied at school for being a kid without a dad, and my mom was busy playing with her lovers and didn’t care about me. Even when I left home, she didn’t even call to look for me.”

She says what she hadn’t said.

“But Oppa was by my side. You gave me a piece of bread when I was hungry and told me to cheer up. You said you had nowhere to go either. You failed the college entrance exam five times.”

As if reading a fairy tale, she tells the story.

“I’m so glad Oppa is by my side. To Oppa, it’s ‘just being next to me,’ but to me, it’s ‘actually being next to me.'”

She lifts her hand with the IV line and wipes away his tears.

“I’m really happy because I have Oppa. It’s a bit sad that we’re parting so soon… but it can’t be helped.”

So….

Soorin said.

“So don’t cry. Oppa.”

The night in the hospital room. Kang In-ho sobbed.

In the empty four-person room, he shed hot tears.

Three months after sending Soorin away.

Until he moved to the next dimension, he didn’t form any relationships with anyone.

He began to think about love.