Sergeant Baek Jaesung 2
I wasn't sure if it was intentional, but the gender ratio in the 1st Landing Battalion trainees was a perfect 5:5—ten men and ten women.
All the support roles were on the women's side. Jueun was in support too, and including her, there were five of them. That meant about two-thirds of the combat roles were men.
A strange tension rippled through us guys as we arrived at the barracks. We all knew each other's faces, but aside from me, Hwang Cheolmin, and Han Seungjin, no one was close enough to chat casually.
"Whoa, the vibe's way more awkward than I expected."
Hwang Cheolmin, who'd ghosted right next to me to snag a bed, said that. Our dorm was set up with five bunks on each side.
I claimed the one by the window at the far end. For the record, Han Seungjin was right across from me.
"Ahem! Since we're all here together, fate and all that—how about we introduce ourselves?"
The bald guy broke the ice. He was a giant, pushing 190cm.
Standing in the middle of the dorm like that, pulling all the aggro, he got Hwang Cheolmin hyped.
"Sounds good to me."
Everyone else seemed to agree, nodding one by one starting with him. The bald guy who sparked it went first.
"Name's Jang Gun-gi. From Seoul."
Starting with Jang Gun-gi, we went around sharing names.
I jumped in casually to blend with the flow. No need to stand out here.
Han Seungjin was last.
"Han Seungjin. From Seoul. Nice to meet you all."
"Seungjin, you look even hotter up close than on TV."
Hwang Cheolmin, buzzed on the warming vibe, latched onto Han Seungjin quick. He was clearly eager to buddy up.
"Haha, thanks."
Han Seungjin brushed it off smoothly.
Once the icy mood thawed, the guys erupted into chatter like a dam breaking. Dudes can be surprisingly gossipy.
The awkwardness from moments ago felt like a lie amid the market-square noise.
"Oh yeah, isn't there someone here who passed that special project qualifier?"
"Me, me~! This Hwang Cheolmin aced that brutal special project qualifier test!"
Hwang Cheolmin raised his hand like a showoff.
"What about you, Seungjin...?"
"Ah, yeah. I passed too."
"Whoa~! Impressive. I bombed it. Probably barely scraped by on the landing battalion exam too."
I didn't join the noisy bullshit. It wasn't worth the calories.
If it were cute girls, I'd yap endlessly regardless, but no thanks to yapping with these blue-balled dudes. So I just flopped onto my bunk.
"Quiet!"
Suddenly the door slammed open and a soldier stormed in. Beret badge showed sergeant stripes with two stars above—a Hyun-sa rank.
Hyun-sa was above Won-sa, basically hunter-only promotion. So this guy was a hunter.
"You think this is still civilian life!? This is the army! Silence!"
The sudden roar froze the dorm cold again.
I clocked the name embroidered on his uniform chest: Kim Sang-in. That prickly fucker's name.
"I'm Hyun-sa Kim Sang-in, in charge of your training for the next four weeks. You're not civilians—you're soldiers! Stay quiet while waiting!"
He barked that and slammed the door on his way out. Thought we might be in for pushups or some shit, but nope.
Kim Sang-in's shakeup reset the dorm to pre-intros. Fine by me—no more of Hwang Cheolmin's yapping.
Bbapparabappbba bbapparabappbba!
That shitty noise echoed in my ears. Huh? Was I asleep?
"Ughhh...!"
Hwang Cheolmin's death-rattle breathing came from next door.
Fuck, right.
I enlisted.
Hit me like suddenly remembering a buried memory.
"Reveille! Reveille! Training platoon, reveille! Morning roll call at the parade ground today."
I barely dragged myself up. Way shittier morning than usual. Everyone else looked the same—most still hadn't opened their eyes.
Bang!
Dorm door flew open rough. Same as yesterday. Knew who without looking.
"On your feet! Reveille time! Everybody up! Change to combat uniforms now!"
Kim Sang-in was hollering like he wanted to shatter our eardrums. His roar woke even the diehards still dreaming.
"Combat uniforms now! Roll call in 10 minutes!"
Swapped comfy PT gear for goddamn uncomfortable combat fatigues. Freshly issued yesterday. The rough camo fabric grated my skin.
Already felt like pure shit.
With my recruit depot experience, I changed fastest. Still took the whole dorm over 10 minutes.
We shuffled zombie-like to the parade ground. Kim Sang-in stood there with a megaphone around his neck.
'Girls still not out.'
Kim Sang-in's face was pissed solid. He checked his watch, scanning dorm entrance and ground nonstop. Women showed 10 minutes later.
"Roll call's 15 minutes late! Time is life for soldiers! You call this soldiering!?"
His raging face reminded me of Hog sergeant.
"You need to fix your attitudes before training! Mountain run—now!!"
Day starting with mountain run. Head already hurt.
Hunter-wise, not tough—just annoying.
'Wanna eat breakfast...'
Empty stomach made my head fuzzy.
But Kim Sang-in didn't give a fuck.
He lined us up in two rows.
"Mountain run starts now! No stragglers!"
He slow-jogged ahead; we followed like ducklings.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Steep incline path. Uphill straight to training field.
"Jaesung, check it. Other trainees over there. Civilians, looks like."
Opposite our crumbling barracks, parade ground had a crowd. Way more than us—nearly 100.
"No chit-chat! Run!"
Kim Sang-in nixed even whispers. Barreling up the trail, spotted mock-building training ground.
Sign at entrance: Counter-Terror Training Field. We kept pounding pavement. Wondered how long this run would drag.
Kim Sang-in's way of breaking us was simple and brutal: run us till we dropped dead.
Dungeon hunters like us had stamina way above civvies, but not infinite.
Most here were 8-rank dungeon hunters with that endurance. Kim Sang-in drained us to zero. Except me and Han Seungjin, of course.
"Huff...! Huff...! Huff...!"
Over three hours, no breakfast, up down endless trails—even off-path spots.
His hardcore morning run knocked out all but a few. Survivors: me, Han Seungjin, and my girls.
"Pathetic! Collapse after this little run!?"
Kim Sang-in spat venom at the dropouts, then eyed us still going.
"Some decent ones at least. Run ends here for today. But late for tomorrow's roll call? Double this tomorrow."
No bluff, like Hog sergeant.
We trudged back to barracks.
"Mess hall's in admin building. Note: miss meal time, no food. Breakfast skipped."
Some trainees deflated like punctured soccer balls, grumbling.
"At least feed us before the torture!"
Bald prick boldly mouthed off to Kim Sang-in. Gonna backfire big.
"Army chow's for soldiers only. You? Not yet. Lunch too—training instead. Parade ground by noon."
11 a.m. now. Everyone glared daggers at Jang Gun-gi.
First day was Kim Sang-in taming us. He knew how to break prideful dungeon hunters.
"Weaklings! That all it takes!?"
We ate our first meal next morning after the hardcore run. Grumbly hunters turned buttery before him. He was way stronger than most here anyway.
Group punishment spiked my blood pressure to my scalp, but I didn't go rogue like another timeline. This was reality. Mix it with fantasy, and my ass is grass.
"Good. Real training starts today. First, basics: drill."
First week: drill training. Not only that, though.
Stamina base: 4+ hours daily mountain runs, then barracks muscle training.
Surprisingly chill stamina sessions. All hunters here, used to it. Trouble brewed in drill time.
"You! Salute right! No palm visible!"
"Unity."
"Voice too weak! Louder! Skip breakfast!?"
"Still pre-breakfast, sir."
"Who said backtalk? You again. Trainee 3! Want another breakfast run?"
"N-no, sir!"
Drill was cakewalk for me. Paid off grinding at Kakkil recruit depot.
"Good! Break here. Mess march."
Army grub tasted like ass, so I barely touched it. Sneaking dungeon rations from inventory was better.
"Whoa~! Jaesung, chow's so good, right?"
Others scarfed it like gold. Reminded me of Kakkil basics—made me chuckle dryly.