Last Night on Duty
You're not the type to miss hints, are you? After the brutal winter training wrapped up, the base settled into a peaceful lull. Even the officers left the soldiers alone as much as possible. In that relaxed calm, December—which hadn't had much time left anyway—drew to a close, and the new year arrived. That meant it was the year Seo Joo-hwan would finally discharge.
Seo Joo-hwan lit a cigarette and thought to himself, 'Ah, I want to have sex.'
New year, discharge—none of it mattered. He still couldn't shake the memory of that Christmas night from his head. The night he and Jeong So-ra had ravished each other's bodies with wild intensity. He wanted to rush to her right now and say, "Let's fuck." But reality was a harsh bitch.
'Didn't think she'd shut me down so hard.'
Seo Joo-hwan let out a deep sigh. He'd actually already sent her subtle signals once or twice. But her response had been total silence. Wondering if she hadn't caught on, he'd tried a few more times. Then one day, Jeong So-ra dragged him off to a secluded spot.
He'd gotten his hopes up, thinking finally! But what came back was a sigh-laced scolding.
"Why are you acting up on base? What do you expect to do here? I thought you understood back then... Was I wrong?"
"......"
"Joo-hwan, you're not clueless."
"...Sorry."
Seo Joo-hwan bowed his head in apology. Sure, he felt a bit resentful, but the embarrassment hit harder. On that historic Christmas, it hadn't just been intense physical conversation between them. Especially for Jeong So-ra—she'd rejected his confession and opened up about her mindset during her military service. And here he was, lost in lust, pestering her for sex on base. The shame crashed over him late, but hard.
Once he snapped out of it, he couldn't even look her in the eye.
'Ah, but I still want to fuck.'
The problem was, the desire didn't fade. Of course, he stopped throwing her those creepy looks. But the mind of a 32-year-old geezer freshly awakened clashed with the vigorous body of a guy in his early twenties, creating an unnecessary synergy. It wasn't even thought—it was pure instinct. On top of that, the Mongma's Blessing that had turned him into a stamina king was now acting like poison.
Seo Joo-hwan took drastic measures. To forget his lust, he threw himself into intense workouts.
"Sergeant Seo Joo-hwan, hitting the gym again?"
"Yeah. Wanna run with me?"
"Haha... Nah, I'm good. Go get 'em!"
"Alright."
Once duty hours ended, Seo Joo-hwan devoted himself to training. Exhausting his body with hardcore sessions dulled the lust. Or more precisely, left him too wiped to even think about it.
'Might as well sculpt this body while I'm at it.'
Back then, Seo Joo-hwan had bulked up massively from slacking off after making sergeant and the stress of army life. Any more and it'd be a health risk. Better to burn it off through exercise than waste his time in the barracks.
"Huff, huff, huff!"
He circled the training field about ten laps, then leaned against a tree trunk, gasping for breath. Running hard at his current weight strained the joints, so he walked three laps and jogged one lightly.
> Achievement unlocked: 'Escape from Morbid Obesity!'
> Reward: 300 LP granted.
It was a pathetic reward compared to the 'Pounding the Platoon Leader' one from before. But according to Lucy, most LP came from these minor achievements anyway.
Seo Joo-hwan stared blankly at the message, then scowled.
"Was I morbidly obese?"
Sure, he'd packed on the pounds, but he still had decent strength and stamina. Plenty of muscle under the fat—no way he was morbidly obese. But as if to contradict him, Lucy chimed in.
Your current body fat percentage is 29.92%. You've just barely escaped morbid obesity.
"...For real?"
Yes. For reference, your height is currently 171cm, weight 87.5kg, and skeletal muscle mass 33.7kg.
"...No need for an InBody scan, huh."
Lucy even tracked his skeletal muscle mass. Seo Joo-hwan let out a small sigh at how wrecked his body really was.
Lucy comforted him.
If you keep training like this, you'll hit normal weight in no time.
"Think so?"
You're benefiting from both Mongma's Blessing and Helchang's Blessing, so efficiency is sky-high. Plus, your misassigned karma has normalized, causing ongoing physical changes. Proof: you've grown 1cm taller and dropped nearly 5kg in a week.
Lucy was spot on. He wasn't even strictly dieting, but the fat melted away. His height, stagnant since 17, started inching up too. Who knew normalizing karma would reshape his body like this?
"Alright. Let's hit 80kg before leave."
Positive changes fueled him. He ditched the PX frozen snacks, stuck to a decent meal plan, and dove deeper into training.
"Chest day today."
He pushed open the physical training room door. Thumping club music blasted inside—some workout-loving soldier had smuggled in a cassette to amp the vibe.
That soldier had gotten chewed out endlessly by officers for sneaking in electronics as a private first class. But he'd sweet-talked his way to success. Now, gym users multiplied, and Uljin Base soldiers' average fitness rose.
"Yo, Joo-hwan! Back again? You're killing it lately."
The hero himself, Lee Jeong-hoon—the gym rat—greeted him. In just running shorts, Lee Jeong-hoon's body was impressive at a glance. Broad shoulders, muscles everywhere. Seo Joo-hwan inwardly clicked his tongue. World's so damn unfair. Handsome face, great personality, and now this physique?
You can do it too, Master.
He nodded at Lucy's cheer. Five days into serious training, he was closing in on 80kg. Precisely: +1cm height, -4kg more, down to 83.5kg.
"Hyung, spot me on bench?"
"How much?"
Lee Jeong-hoon, fresh off dips, wiped sweat and asked. They were tight now—bros dropping formalities.
"Start at 70, work down."
"Already?"
"60 felt solid the other day."
"Damn, you're a natural. Steady like this, you'll hit 100 soon."
Lee Jeong-hoon gawked. Seo Joo-hwan's gains were insane. Barely 50kg ten days ago, now +20kg. Beginner gains were fast, but this was ridiculous. All thanks to the blessings.
1. Mongma's Blessing (60 days)
▶ Effect 1: Massive boost to sex-related luck.
▶ Effect 2: +200% proficiency gain on any skill.
▶ Effect 3: Stamina surges.
2. Helchang's Blessing (60 days)
▶ Effect 1: Testosterone skyrockets.
▶ Effect 2: +200% exercise proficiency.
▶ Effect 3: +300% muscle recovery speed.
Mongma's Blessing sped skill mastery; Helchang's Blessing supercharged muscle synthesis. Their proficiencies stacked. Any gym bro would convert religions for this.
Lying on the bench, Seo Joo-hwan warmed up empty, then loaded 25kg plates per side. Bar was 20kg—total 70kg.
'Alright, let's shred these damn pecs!'
He itched to melt that gynecomastia-like chest fat ASAP.
Lee Jeong-hoon gripped the bar's center.
"Ready—I'll spot so it doesn't crush you. Up!"
No injury risk now. Safety first.
"Hngh!"
Hold breath, press up. One, two, three... Eight reps, two sets down. Final set.
"Six! Two left—push!"
"Urgh."
"Seven!"
"Hup!"
"Eight! One more to finish."
Lee Jeong-hoon yelled "one more." Seo Joo-hwan gritted his teeth, squeezing every ounce.
"Huuuup!"
"Nine! Last one!"
"Huuuuuup!"
He wrung out the tenth rep like it was his last. But Lee Jeong-hoon shouted again.
"Real last one!"
You motherfucker.
Tomorrow was Seo Joo-hwan's discharge leave. 4th Company tradition: night duty the eve before. With low manpower, it spared the rest. No duty on return day.
Beep-beep-beep. Ring-ring-ring.
Click.
Alarm hit—he silenced it quick to not wake others.
'Ugh, wiped.'
03:30 sentry shift was killer. Post two-hour guard, reveille was under an hour away. Too awkward to sleep or stay up. Every soldier's nightmare slot.
Clack. Shhh.
Barracks door creaked open. Duty soldier in fatigues to wake the next shift.
He scanned, locked eyes with Seo Joo-hwan.
"Ah, Joo-hwan's up? Jeong-hoon too..."
"Yeah. Tough shift."
"Thanks. You too."
Casual nods, up they got.
"Hyung, ready?"
"Yeah. Smoke first downstairs."
"Cool."
Veterans meant quick prep—time for a cig.
They smoked, headed to command post. Inside: duty officer and aide.
Seo Joo-hwan's eyes widened at the officer.
"Captain Kang. You're duty today?"
Jeong So-ra was on duty. She returned a tired salute, then tilted her head at Lee Jeong-hoon.
"You two together?"
"Yes."
"Why two seniors?"
Jeong So-ra floated question marks. Standard: one senior, one junior. Seniors teach from lead post.
Seo Joo-hwan (last sergeant) and soon-to-be Lee Jeong-hoon shouldn't pair.
Awkward grin: "Last shift, so with Jeong-hoon."
"Ah."
She nodded understanding. Post-leave, no more duties till discharge. He'd swapped shifts with his closest bro. Lee Jeong-hoon agreed. Forgot to report it, though.
"Sorry, should've notified you."
"Hm. Fine. You've earned it."
Luckily, she let it slide. Lee Jeong-hoon fist-pumped tiny "yes."
Ammo depot guards arrived soon. Issued ammo, headed to posts.
At lead and sub-lead posts, they dodged CCTV, slung rifles casual. Vets knew blind spots cold.
Lee Jeong-hoon leaned on sub-lead bars.
"Can't believe you're discharging already."
"Fortnight left."
"Psh. Back from leave, out next day."
"Heh. You stacked much leave?"
"Eh, was short. Your handoff helped. Thanks, man."
They scanned casually, chatted. Over a year together—endless topics. Ancient history for Seo Joo-hwan, but Lee Jeong-hoon's prompts sparked crystal memories.
Mid-ramble, Lee Jeong-hoon perked up.
"How'd overnight go? Get laid?"
Seo Joo-hwan's heart dropped.