Chapter 470: Unit Assignment
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 470: Unit Assignment
“You’re lying!”
Seo Ye-rin cried out, clutching onto me.
She had been hanging onto my back, but now she was clinging to me like a leech, sobbing.
“You’re lying! There’s still time left! We just started!”
“Ye-rin…”
My heart ached.
I, too, felt like leaving was a tragedy.
I had thought six hours would be plenty of time, but before I knew it, it was time to head back.
I had decided to return on my own. My peers would likely be lingering nearby until the very last second, and I didn't want to cause a scene by showing up with the girls.
“Sniff! You have to come out on leave as soon as you get to your unit, okay? Promise me!”
“I’ll do my best to get as much leave as possible.”
I couldn't bring myself to say something as cruel as needing to save up my terminal leave to a girl who was currently a mess of tears and snot.
As I gently set Ye-rin down, Yoo Ah-rin suddenly lunged at me.
“Oof!”
It was a tackle straight out of a pro-wrestling match.
The only difference was that she was hugging me tight, refusing to let go.
“Take me with you, you bastard! I’ll volunteer for the army!”
“Even if you volunteer, we won't be in the same place.”
I sighed and stroked her hair. It was the same when we went on our trip last time; she seemed to get more emotional whenever it was time for me to return.
Ah-rin was also sobbing, but she tried to hide it by burying her face in my chest.
I stroked her head, letting her vent her frustration as much as possible. After a few minutes, she slowly pulled away.
Seeing a patch of my combat uniform soaked with her tears made my heart ache even more.
“…”
Finally, there was Choi I-seo.
She stood there silently, staring at me.
I waited, thinking she might have something to say, and even reached out my arms in case she wanted a hug.
Instead, she simply waved and gave a soft smile.
“Go on.”
“I-seo?”
“It’s okay, just go. We’re parting for now, but it’s only eighteen months. Compared to the time we’ll have in the future, that’s nothing.”
“Oh.”
“Wow.”
Exclamations of admiration broke out from both sides.
Seo Ye-rin made me feel like I was someone precious, and Yoo Ah-rin showed me just how desperately she loved me.
And finally, Choi I-seo guided me in the direction that would be the least painful for me.
Because they each loved me in their own way, I couldn't rank them or put one above the others. It was like trying to compare a soccer score to a basketball score.
“If that’s the case, maybe you should have waited eighteen months to have sex, too.”
“Seriously. Fuck, after all that sucking and biting earlier.”
“…That’s different.”
I-seo defended herself against the two grumbling girls without missing a beat.
“Alright, I’m off.”
As I slowly walked out, the three of them followed me to the front door to see me off one last time.
“Fighting! Hang in there, Woo-jin!”
“You said you can use your phone at your unit, right? Text and call me every day, okay?”
“Be careful. Don’t overdo it during training.”
“Yeah, I’ll be back.”
I smiled to reassure them.
Yes, with a smile, I returned to the training center.
* * *
Clack.
Kim Woo-jin stepped outside.
The three women stood blankly in front of the door for a long time, not saying a word.
His presence, which had filled the room, vanished instantly like air escaping a balloon.
“Sob.”
The sound that broke the silence was a sob.
The significant part was that the person making that sound was Choi I-seo, who had just sent Kim Woo-jin away as if everything were fine.
“I-seo?”
“Huh?”
Seo Ye-rin and Yoo Ah-rin had cried so much they barely had any energy left.
But Choi I-seo, who had been barely holding it together until a moment ago, finally began to weep.
“Don’t… tell him,” I-seo said, struggling to hold back the flood of tears. The other two gently hugged and comforted her.
“I think I-seo is the one who keeps our group balanced.”
“Sigh, yeah. I knew something was off.”
“Sniff.”
“Let’s sleep here tonight! It smells like Woo-jini!”
“Let’s have some beer. I need a drink to be able to sleep.”
“Sniff, okay. Let’s drink.”
In their own ways, the three of them would miss the departed Kim Woo-jin while waiting for the day they would meet again.
* * *
A few days later.
The day of deployment.
“You worked hard, Woo-jin.”
I shook hands with Number 28, Kim Young-ho, who had been in the bunk next to mine. He had been assigned as a driver and was heading to the Driver Training Center.
I, on the other hand, was assigned to a unit in Gangwon-do.
It meant we were unlikely to see each other again, and the guys heading to Gangwon-do with me were all unfamiliar faces.
“Man, I’m so jealous of ‘Driver-vegas.’”
“It’s ‘Driver-prison,’ man.”
After one last round of the same jokes we’d shared a dozen times, we shared a smirk and a handshake.
“Keep in touch.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
There was a group chat for the 1st Company. We’d probably spend our time there talking about our respective units.
I’d heard that these military bonds naturally fade once you get to your permanent unit.
Even knowing that, we spoke as if we’d be brothers forever. Regardless, it was true that we’d struggled together for a month.
Number 3, the model, left.
Number 11, the deadweight, left.
Number 21, the gangster, was gone too.
And then, it was my turn.
I headed to my unit carrying a duffle bag that had swollen to the size of my torso thanks to my frantic packing.
* * *
‘Shit, what is this?’
45th Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion, Headquarters Company.
I was assigned to a place called the Combat Support Platoon.
How should I put it?
When we were drawing lots, I’d heard people say I was screwed, and they were right.
Because the barracks here were shipping containers.
Creeak.
“This is your barracks. Wait a second.”
A senior soldier (a Private First Class) who looked like an administrative clerk knocked on the container and stepped inside.
“Ah, you’re all here. We’ve got a new combat recruit.”
“A newbie?!”
“Oh, shit! A fresh one?”
“Is he S-rank? What’s he like?”
“His physical stats were all Special Class.”
I could hear them evaluating me from inside. I felt like a character in a gacha game.
“All Special Class? Is he another one of those instructors? The ones who leave after two weeks?”
“I’m not sure about that.”
For context, "instructor" referred to training center assistants.
A few select individuals chosen as assistants at the training center are sometimes deployed to other units for about two weeks. They hide their identity and go about military life quietly before returning to the training center.
Basically, it was like playing a game of Mafia in the army.
Unfortunately, that wasn't me.
I’d been offered an assistant position, but I turned it down immediately when they said I’d have to do a 20km march every time new recruits came in.
The administrative soldier came back out and gestured to me.
“Go in and introduce yourself.”
“Understood!”
I stepped into the container.
The interior was even more cramped and shabby than I’d expected.
Lockers were crammed together.
It was immediately obvious that the tiny space right in front of each locker was the only territory a soldier could call his own. A space just big enough for one person to lie down.
That was the only place of freedom I would have for the rest of my military service.
About six senior soldiers were there.
To a man, they were either lying down or sitting, staring intently at me.
They seemed to have been watching the TV mounted at the end of the container, where female idols were smiling and dancing.
“Su-min, help him unpack.”
“Yes, corporal.”
The soldier called Su-min immediately came over, took my duffle bag, and dumped the contents out.
As he was organizing things, the other seniors suddenly started grabbing my rolls of toilet paper.
“Oh, fuck! I was out of tissue, this is perfect!”
“Me too! Man, I couldn't even take a shit because I didn't have any paper.”
What the hell?
At first, I thought they were messing with me, but seeing them scramble for the toilet paper like that, it seemed to be the grim reality.
“Newbie, introduce yourself.”
At the command of a tall, capable-looking senior sitting in the middle, I immediately began my introduction.
“Private Kim Woo-jin! As of today—!”
“Ah, not that crap. What were you doing on the outside?”
“Why’d you stop him? I wanted to see how far he’d go.”
They chuckled amongst themselves.
I felt like a monkey in a zoo, but I figured this was a sort of initiation and answered immediately.
“I was a student in the English Literature department at Gahyeon University.”
“Gahyeon University? Whoa, that’s a good school.”
“Isn't that place always in the news?”
“Yeah, a ton of scandals broke out there recently. This kid must be a troublemaker.”
“…”
Something felt off.
How should I describe it?
It felt like the barracks was split into two extremes.
The senior helping me, Su-min, was quiet and timid as he assisted me.
Furthermore, one of the soldiers who looked like a high-ranking senior remained completely silent.
But on the other hand...
Three of them were rowdy and mocking me like a bunch of thugs.
“Su-min, just finish up the packing and take him on a tour of the base.”
“Understood.”
At the word of the quiet senior wearing glasses, the unpacking sped up.
Even then, the three rowdy ones continued their barrage of questions.
“Hey, did you come straight from the training center?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Whoa! A pureblood? Holy shit, how long has it been since we had a pureblood?”
Pureblood?
What did that mean?
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
“No, I do not.”
“Figured as much.”
“If you’re an instructor, tell us now. That way we won't waste energy on you.”
“Understood.”
After a series of questions and answers, Senior Su-min and I stepped outside.
There were containers scattered here and there, and he began introducing the base.
“We’re staying here for now because they’re building new barracks. Oh, by the way, I’m Jeong Su-min. I’m a Private First Class.”
“Private Kim Woo-jin! I look forward to working with you!”
“No need to be so tense. For now, just focus on learning the seniors' faces. Everyone you see is your senior, so make sure to greet them properly. That’s half the battle.”
“Understood.”
“Yeah, okay. And one more thing…”
Jeong Su-min’s expression darkened.
With a sigh, he whispered in a low voice so no one else could hear.
“Our platoon is… what you’d call a ‘slop bucket.’”
“…I beg your pardon?”
I almost blurted out "What?" in shock.
Unaware of my internal crisis, Jeong Su-min continued.
“You heard them mention ‘pureblood’ earlier, right? That means there was no one here who started out in the Combat Support Platoon.”
“…”
“It means this place is full of people who were sent here for hazing others, or people who were sent here because they were the victims of hazing.”
Ah.
So, in other words...
‘I’m fucked.’
This was a dumping ground for either the troublemakers or the broken.