“Shall we lower the feed now?”
Seol Young-jun cautiously mustered up his courage and shuffled closer. A typical day at the lab began like this—checking in on Cat and starting with breakfast.
When I gave a small nod, Seol Young-jun headed over to the control booth, which was set a bit away from the wall. Moments later, the ceiling inside the wall began to vibrate faintly. S8A152 abruptly lifted his head, eyes zeroing in on the seams of the ceiling.
Before long, it began to rumble and split apart to both sides. Then, dangling slowly from a rope, the feed began its descent through the gap.
–……!
The beast’s eyes gleamed with a flash.
In the blink of an eye, it leapt up. As always, the rope was instantly shredded by claws that were practically weapons. Before the heavy feed could even hit the ground, S8A152 had snatched it midair, trotted over to my side, and flung it onto the floor with a wet thud. His hunger-stricken eyes drilled holes into my lips, silently demanding permission.
“Eat.”
As always, he waited for my signal before starting to eat. The food, though it looked like raw meat, was a synthetic product infused with human blood, made specifically for monsters. For a creature whose main diet was human flesh, it was the best possible nourishment the ship could offer. It was a privilege afforded to him because he needed full monitoring and care over his condition and overall health.
With his snout buried in the bulky meal, devouring it with gusto, Cat looked especially content today. He must have been pleased with the reward for his performance at the demonstration. While observing him, I meticulously recorded every minor movement in my log.
Right after eating, he lingered around me, pacing lazily in circles, wanting to play. All we did was walk side by side from one end of the wall to the other, but it was Cat’s second favorite time of the day after meals.
–Rrmmmm…
He suddenly flopped over, belly up with a loud thud, rubbing his back on the floor and kicking his legs in the air. It was something he did only when he was in an exceptionally good mood.
“……”
While I was momentarily absorbed in watching him, Lee Seo-rim and Seol Young-jun quietly picked up my slack and continued writing in the log.
Having completed all the morning checks, my team and I exited the observation room.
After the tension had eased, the three of us headed to the meeting room to review footage of S8A152 and hold a briefing. By the time that wrapped up, it was lunch.
“I think I finally get why Team Leader doesn’t date.”
As we were eating together in the cafeteria, Lee Seo-rim suddenly muttered.
“That look in your eyes when you were watching S8A152… You’re secretly dating him, aren’t you?”
“Team Leader, just ignore her when she says weird stuff like this,” Seol Young-jun added, half-unamused. I watched the two of them bicker and let out a soft chuckle.
“See, even that smile wasn’t as tender as earlier.”
Lee Seo-rim continued seriously.
“You looked so affectionate it made my heart flutter.”
“Maybe that was just because you were scared of S8A152?”
“Yeong-jun, I’m not as easily scared as you are.”
“Oh, give me a break. I totally saw you backing away earlier.”
As the two of them squabbled while wiping their mouths with tissues, I responded.
“I’ve known Cat for a long time. That’s probably why. He’s kind of cute when he’s not throwing a fit.”
“C-Cute…?”
Seol Young-jun looked like he couldn’t believe what he just heard. Lee Seo-rim’s jaw dropped.
“Honestly… it’s downright awe-inspiring at this point.”
Lee Seo-rim put down her chopsticks with a light clack and shook her head.
“No matter how long I stay here, I don’t think I could ever be like you. How did you even manage to tame him?”
“……Hm.”
A monster wasn’t the kind of creature you could grow fond of just by spending time together. I took a moment to think carefully about how best to respond to Lee Seo-rim’s question.
What I’d come to realize over time was that I had a peculiar trait. Something my parents had always quietly suspected—and something I, too, had found baffling.
Whenever I made eye contact with a monster, without exception, it would begin to act favorably toward me.
After experiencing this repeatedly at the lab, I could no longer deny it.
“It might sound ridiculous, but…”
It was already widely known that I had an unusual affinity with monsters. But there was no need to go around revealing the root cause. No—I must never reveal it.
It would be a relief if people dismissed it as just some absurd joke. But if someone suggested that my body should be studied…
I might lose the very right to autonomy over myself.
So, all I could offer to the teammates sitting across from me was something vague like this:
“Don’t be afraid of them.”
Lee Seo-rim and Seol Young-jun’s eyes widened.
“Don’t be afraid…”
Monsters, with their heightened senses—vision, hearing, and smell—could instantly pick up on human physiological reactions. Heart rate, perspiration, eye movement. It was incredibly easy for them to determine whether someone feared them or not.
So in the end, no matter how composed a human pretended to be, if they harbored fear, they were nothing more than prey in a monster’s eyes. If that prey cried out in terror, screamed, or tried to flee, it only made sense for the monster to grow excited and give chase.
“Do you think that’s even possible?”
“It sounds simple, but it’s too hard.”
The team members slumped their shoulders.
Without a word, I slid their desserts toward them.
***
While I was reviewing the detailed data for the next phase of the project, I heard a knock at the door.
Lifting my head, I pressed my tired eyes firmly with my fingers.
“Yes.”
Through the cracked door, the team members appeared. They were already out of their lab coats.
“Team Leader, you’re not leaving?”
“…Ah.”
Had it gotten that late already? I glanced at my watch.
“I just want to finish what I was looking at. You two go ahead.”
“Alright. Thanks for your hard work.”
“See you tomorrow!”
When I nodded, the two of them shut the door and disappeared. Their voices grew faint as they chatted and walked down the corridor.
By the time I finished everything for the day, it had already been a couple of hours since the others left. After neatly organizing the documents, I got up from my chair and stretched. I took off my coat and hung it on the rack, preparing to go home—when, as if on cue, my watch rang with an incoming call. It was Min Yugeon.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
–You done for the day?
From the noise in the background, it sounded like he was walking outside, probably just getting off work too. Right… I think he said he wasn’t on night duty today.
“Just about to.”
–I just finished too. I’m heading to the store. Want anything for dinner?
No matter how busy he was, Min Yugeon never skipped meals or workouts. Honestly, I owed most of my health to him. Without him, I’d probably be a wreck.
“Hmm. It’s already pretty late…”
I walked toward the door to leave, then stopped.
The door was slightly ajar.
–What’s wrong?
Min Yugeon asked mid-sentence.
Frowning, I stared at the gap. I was sure the team members had closed it properly when they left…
I grasped the handle and slowly pulled it open. The door opened silently, revealing the corridor still lit by overhead lights. I turned my head left and right to scan the area, but no one was around.
–Seo Suho?
“Yeah.”
–Something happen?
“No.”
Something felt off.
After telling Min Yugeon I didn’t care what he brought, I ended the call and exited the building. Outside, two soldiers on guard were gathered together. The atmosphere between them was tense.
“If you step away without saying a word, what the hell do you think you’re doing? You think you can just do whatever the hell you want?”
“S-sorry, sir! I really had to go to the bathroom, and you weren’t here when I came back…”
“Oh, really? So now it’s my fault, huh? That it?”
“N-no, sir!”
The junior soldier was floundering so much it was hard to watch. As I passed by at a distance, I caught a glimpse of his young face—full of suppressed frustration and humiliation he couldn’t quite hide.
The lab housed monsters and dealt with mission-critical information essential to the survival of the ship, so it made sense that the security was tight. It had been the same for the home where my family once lived.
Even a brief, unscheduled absence could get you chewed out…
“……”
Once, a civilian had wandered into our residential area out of mere curiosity. The soldiers stationed at the entrance, thinking he was a family acquaintance, let him through without challenge. That civilian made it all the way to Ji Chanwoo, the head officer.
After turning him away, Ji Chanwoo scolded the soldiers, saying that even if the man really was an acquaintance, they should have verified his identity through the watch system. His tone wasn’t exactly gentle, but he hadn’t lashed out in a way that made others uncomfortable like that senior soldier just now.
He respected people, regardless of rank, and kept his criticisms fair and within bounds.
Ji Chanwoo had always been someone you could tell was a good person, just by looking.
Unlike my parents, whose bodies had at least been partially recovered from the wreckage, not a single trace of him was ever found.
When the news broke, everyone who had known Ji Chanwoo had been left utterly speechless.
