It was an afternoon where a murky sandstorm blew beyond the guard post. The sunlight filtering through the glass of the Operations Command Room stretched long across the desk. Hyun-woo was reviewing the report on the shooting drill results, but his gaze had been fixed on the edge of the parade ground for ten minutes now. Specifically, on Major Seo Do-jin, who was standing in front of a vending machine facing another platoon leader.

Do-jin was listening to the other person with his usual languid smile. His soft, long hair, which rode the fine line of military regulations, fluttered slightly in the wind. Perhaps the other soldier had made a funny joke, as Do-jin's thin, long fox-like eyes curved particularly warmly. Then, Do-jin laughed lightly and tapped the other man's shoulder.

Easygoing sociability. A kindness shared equally with everyone. That ordinary daily life made Hyun-woo's throat tighten. Watching a smile that could never be his made his heart dry up every time, as if he were standing on the firing line. Whenever that kindness hovered around him under the guise of a joke, he felt pathetic for deluding himself into thinking it was a special privilege granted only to him.

That guy is just good-natured, and I'm the only one going crazy and being serious.

"...Tsk."

Hyun-woo unconsciously frowned his thick eyebrows and lightly bit the inside of his cheek. The tips of his fingers trembled slightly as he set down the fountain pen he was holding. An unidentified surge of heat welled up from a corner of his chest, making the back of his neck flush hot. It was a childish and foul jealousy. A dirty emotion that would end him both as a soldier and as a man the moment it was discovered.

Just then, as if sensing someone's gaze from afar, Do-jin turned his head and looked toward the window of the Operations Command Room. Hyun-woo felt a shock that made his heart drop and reflexively turned his head, burying his gaze in a pile of documents. Beneath his frozen expression, the tips of his ears were already burning bright red of their own accord.