Seol opened her eyes.
Even in the darkness, she could tell immediately. Jean was on her right, and Leon was on her left. Seol turned her head to the left. In the dimness, she could faintly make out Leon’s sleeping face. His peacefully sleeping expression was both annoying and endearing.
"How long have I been asleep?"
The blackout curtains covered the windows entirely, making it impossible to tell whether it was day or night.
"Well, it doesn’t matter."
She wanted to sleep more.
Just as Seol was about to close her eyes again, Leon gently stroked her stomach. His touch was soft, almost like a caress. At the same time, he murmured sleepily,
"Did you wake up? A bad dream?"
Hearing Leon’s drowsy voice, Seol felt something well up inside her.
Even Jean and Leon weren’t made of steel.
For nearly a month now, they had been hyper-aware of her movements even in their sleep. That constant vigilance must have been exhausting.
Her eyes burned. She shut them tightly, and cool tears slipped down her temples.
"Seol?"
Jean called her name softly and carefully turned on a small mood lamp. Both of them looked at her with concern.
"Did you have a bad dream?"
"Was it too much? Are you okay?"
Seeing them so worried, tears welled up again, this time accompanied by laughter.
Seol shook her head.
"No, I just... I'm happy. It’s nothing. I’m okay."
Leon gently wiped away her tears and said,
"Then that’s a relief. Was it good?"
At his softly whispered words, Seol laughed again and playfully punched him. But in the end, she had to admit it honestly.
"It was good. A little too much, though."
"I’ll go easier next time."
Leon nodded as if he were making a mental note to adjust the intensity.
"Promise?"
Seol said, closing her eyes and tightly holding both of their hands.
"Let’s go back to sleep. It’s okay now, you don’t have to wake up anymore."
She whispered. She felt gentle kisses on the back of her hands from both Leon and Jean, making her smile softly in the darkness. Then, with a quiet sigh, she murmured,
"I wish we could stay like this forever... Just the three of us."
And once again, Seol drifted off into sleep.
---
When she opened her eyes again, she was on her bed.
She was neatly wrapped up in a blanket, lying on the bed. It took Seol a while of struggling inside the covers before she could finally get out. As she listened carefully, she heard voices from outside.
"They must be up already."
When would she ever be the first one to wake up?
Seol crawled off the bed slowly. Her joints ached. There was still a strange sensation between her legs, and her hips-
"It's not as bad as I thought."
Shaking her head, Seol entered the bathroom. The moment she stood in front of the mirror, she was at a loss for words.
Her body was in such a state that it was embarrassing to even look at.
There were red handprints in some places, and there wasn't a single spot without kiss marks.
Her nipples were still swollen, and in the softer areas, faint bite marks remained.
"I look like I got eaten whole."
Thinking that, she pressed the button to turn on the shower. As warm water poured down forcefully, a sigh of relief escaped her lips.
The lingering discomfort between her legs made her adjust the showerhead to a gentler setting and carefully wash herself. It seemed like the two had already cleaned her up before she woke up.
After washing with mild soap and shampoo, she finally felt refreshed. Switching the controls to drying mode, hot air blasted out, quickly drying her off. Once she finished drying her hair, Seol stepped out of the bathroom.
"I really don't want to bend over right now."
She wanted to move her joints as little as possible. Handling two large men at once was no small task. Thinking this, Seol carefully got dressed.
When she opened the door, the sound of a radio playing reached her ears.
The living room was empty.
Seol looked around in surprise. The kitchen...empty. The other rooms...silent.
"Jean? Leon?"
She called out their names, feeling like a child who woke up only to find their parents gone. But calling for them didn't make them magically appear.
Still, Seol searched the entire place again, just to be sure. It was a small house, so it took less than a minute to check every room.
After going around three, four times, she finally collapsed onto the sofa.
"Looks like they both left."
Leaving the radio on was that their way of being considerate?
"Radio off."
With a grumpy tone, she gave the command, and the radio fell silent. A hush settled over the room. Seol curled up.
"What the hell... You could've at least stayed until morning."
She mumbled to herself, then suddenly froze.
"Wait... When did I become so dependent?"
Without them, she felt lonely, empty, and restless. She didn't even need them to do anything special, just hearing their voices would've been enough.
Jean's deep, heavy voice. Leon's light, smooth voice.
Even just listening to them bicker in the background made her happy.
"I miss them."
Seol sat up abruptly.
"If I miss them, I can just call. Or I could go see them myself."
"Computer, connect to the network."
Connecting to the network. Who would you like to call?
Beep-
Just then, the familiar sound of the front door lock disengaging echoed through the room.
"That's why I said to ignore them. Who do they think they are? Or do you want a promotion? If that's the case, I don't really mind-"
"Promotion? Come on, ending things on a bad note isn't- Oh, Seol, you're awake?"
"You're already up? Why didn’t I get an alarm?"
Seeing the two walk in casually through the front door, Seol shot up from her seat and rushed toward them.
"Jean! Leon!"
Jean gently brushed her cheek, looking apologetic.
"You were surprised because we weren’t here, huh? That’s why I said we should at least leave a note."
"We were coming right back. It was just supposed to be a quick trip, but it took longer than expected. Sorry."
Seol quickly shook her head.
Leon lifted the paper bag in his hand and waved it.
"We got sandwiches. You’re hungry, right?"
Seol immediately took the bag from him. It was warm, and the moment she opened it, a delicious aroma filled the air. Her stomach growled on cue.
"I'll make some coffee."
Humming a tune, she headed to the kitchen.
"I'll do it."
Jean followed her in. At some point, he had bought a coffee machine, and now a sleek, silver espresso maker sat in the corner of the kitchen. When he pressed a button, the soft grinding of coffee beans echoed through the room.
Before long, the house was filled with the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Seol took out some cups.
Then, recalling their earlier conversation, she asked, "By the way, what was that about getting a star? Jean, are you getting a promotion?"
Jean and Leon flinched, exchanging glances. The air between them suddenly turned odd. Seol tilted her head in confusion.
"No? Then what is it?"
"Uh...why don’t we eat first?"
Leon quickly placed plates on the table. Sensing the unusual atmosphere, Seol simply nodded.
When she unwrapped the paper, she found a golden, perfectly toasted baguette filled with lettuce, onions, olives, and crispy bacon.
They each placed a sandwich on a plate, poured a cup of strong black coffee, and sat down. As Seol added a splash of milk to her coffee, she pressed again.
"So? What’s the story?"
Leon cleared his throat before speaking.
"Actually… Jean and I are thinking about retiring."
Seol’s eyes widened. Her golden and blue pupils dilated in shock.
"We're considering setting up a small private firm. With the peace treaty in place, the Blue Fang unit is likely going to be reorganized anyway."
Jean tilted his head slightly.
"Personally, I’m just… tired of it."
"Tired of what?"
Seol blurted out the question without thinking, and Jean let out a faint, cynical chuckle.
"Of patriots."
For some reason, Seol found herself nodding in understanding. Leon grinned, laced his fingers behind his head, and leaned back in his chair.
"Well, we gave our youth to the country. I’d say that’s enough. So, with the money we made from stocks, we’re setting up a private firm. I guess you could call it a mercenary business?"
Seol glanced between the two of them.
They said they were considering it, but it sounded more like a done deal.
Wait... If it was such a major decision, shouldn’t they have told her too?
Then again, I was in no condition to have that conversation… Still, this felt way too sudden.
"Are both of you really quitting?"
At Seol’s question, both men nodded. Leon pointed at Jean as he spoke.
"They're trying to keep Jean somehow, offering him a newly created department to lead or even a shocking promotion to Captain of the Road Bat unit."
"But I don’t really care about ranks."
Jean shook his head, looking thoroughly unimpressed.
"And what about you, Leon?"
When Seol asked, Leon looked slightly surprised before smiling.
"I got my fair share of offers too, but I turned them all down."
"I see."
Jean studied her expression carefully.
"You admired Alpha Team and joined because of them. If you want to stay and keep working with them, that’s fine. In case… that’s something you're worried about."
"And if I die somewhere out there, you two would never know, right?"
At Seol’s words, Jean and Leon fell silent. Then Leon smiled slightly.
"That’s something we’d have to accept."
When special forces agents were deployed, no one knew where they were going, what they were doing, or when they’d return.
If they came back as a corpse, even seeing the body wasn’t guaranteed. Their cause of death or what they had been doing at the time was rarely disclosed.
'Especially if you’re not even married.'
The three of them were only lovers, just a personal relationship. The government wouldn’t notify them if something happened. If she were to die, these two would only find out from someone else.
Or maybe they wouldn’t find out at all.
Feeling uneasy, Seol took a bite of her sandwich.
'...Delicious!'
Her eyes widened. The baguette was crispy, the vegetables inside were fresh and crunchy, and the bacon wasn’t overly salty. Whatever sauce they had used was incredible.
'This is amazing…'
Even in the middle of such a serious conversation, even though she felt emotionally drained, good food was still good food.
'It even makes me feel a little better.'
In the silence, Seol focused on chewing and swallowing her sandwich.
The coffee was just as excellent, rich and strong.
As if they could read her mind, the two men remained quiet, waiting until she had satisfied her hunger.
An empty stomach wasn’t good for making decisions.
Once she set her cup down, Leon finally spoke.
"Seol, so about that…"
Her ears perked up as she turned to him.
Leon reached out his hand, and she instinctively took it.
He fiddled with her fingers for a moment before slipping a ring onto her finger.
"!"
Seol stared at the ring in shock.
"Will you marry us, our lovely lady?"
She blinked at Leon before turning to Jean. Jean casually raised his hand, revealing a matching ring on his finger.
Seol, stunned, looked back at Leon, and sure enough, he loosened his other hand to show his own ring.
For some reason, she burst into laughter. But strangely, tears also threatened to fall.
"Yes, yes!"
She said it twice, then giggled before repeating once more:
"Let's get married."
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