The Relativity of Memories (2)
Today’s content was a taste test of Korean military combat rations.
I’d eaten them before in my past life, so I had a rough idea of what they tasted like. Still, I wondered if the combat rations in this world would be the same.
"Let’s give it a try."
I quickly finished heating it up, then took the first bite with equal parts anticipation and dread.
- Ooooooh
- He ate it
- Damn, this brings back memories
Even the viewers, waiting for my reaction, were overflowing with excitement in the chat.
If I was a streamer meant to entertain people and make them laugh, I couldn’t let that kind of expectation down.
Whether it tasted good or bad, an exaggerated reaction was mandatory.
To be honest, the taste of combat rations as I remembered them wasn’t something I could praise, not even politely.
They were a calorie supplement with an aggressively artificial, chemical smell—so stimulating it almost felt nauseating.
That was what Korean military combat rations were to me.
At least, until I tasted them again today.
"What the hell? Why does this taste good?"
Still reeling, I scooped up another mouthful with trembling hands, but to my surprise, my opinion of the taste didn’t change.
It really was good.
- ??
- You’re saying that tastes good?
- For real?
- Did the streamer’s tongue get messed up or something?
- You’re not just acting, right?
"No, guys...! I’m serious, it’s actually good!"
The viewers, who had expected me to gag and toss the ration in the trash, came up with a hundred different guesses, but this reaction came from the heart, with not a shred of pretense in it.
If it had tasted bad, I wouldn’t have been shoveling it in like I was in the middle of a desperate assault.
"Seriously, what is this? Why is it good?"
- What is it? Seriously, what is it?
- Dunno lol
- The streamer’s acting weird...
Faced with an utterly incomprehensible situation, both I and the viewers began turning the problem over in our heads, trying to figure out how something so absurd could be happening.
- What did the streamer eat back in the war?
- Wasn’t it something like MREs?
- Yeah, he mentioned that before
- What kind of food do you have to live on for that trash to start tasting good?
"Ah! Wait a second...!"
As I sat there chewing and staring at the chat, a flash of insight suddenly struck me.
The combat rations I’d been eating in Solomon had all been terrible enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with American MREs.
Even the regular meals I’d been issued in the rear were all Middle Eastern dishes, so they hadn’t suited my palate at all.
"I’ve been eating nothing but insanely bad food this whole time, so this stuff tastes insanely good!"
- LMAO
- Holy crap lol
- What must Solomon combat rations taste like...
- Let’s not find out
- Damnnnn lol
Was this what they meant by relativity or whatever?
If they’d handed out combat rations like this while I was grinding myself to the bone in Solomon, I probably would’ve fought a hell of a lot harder.
Even if combat rations were made for quickly and conveniently replenishing calories in the field, they still had to guarantee at least a minimum level of taste.
Soldiers forced to live on disgusting food naturally lose morale, and that becomes an indirect cause of defeat when they clash with an enemy whose troops are fed properly and have enough spirit to fight.
I’d endured three years on those disgusting vegetable crackers, so it made sense that the familiar taste of Korean combat rations would seem delicious after so long.
When the donation alert chimed and the message appeared, I nodded and offered a quick thought of my own.
"I don’t know about in the field, but at least if you eat them with properly prepared hot water, they’re way better than you’d expect."
- From what I’ve seen in reviews by foreign streamers, they really don’t seem bad at all
- Then why do I remember them tasting like dog food?
- Jjayojjayo?
- Lmao
- Man, jjayojjayo is such a nostalgic word lol
"What’s jjayojjayo?"
The jjayojjayo I knew was a yogurt snack for kids.
But the confusion I’d felt while staring at the chat was quickly cleared up by the viewers’ explanations.
- It’s when you mix your leftovers into a plastic bag and eat it in the army
- Yeah, mixing mess hall food in a plastic bag
- In our unit we called it human Churu lol
- Holy shit lol
- LMAOOOO
"Ah, you mean that thing where you mix rice in a bag. If you go to the PX and buy some ham and a packet of Matdaesi to throw in together..."
- Kyaaa
- At least that’s food in some sense...
- Look at you, you actually know your stuff lol
- You only get to do that once you’ve got some time in service lol
- For real lol
- If they serve something soupy, it’s hell for real
- It gets so damn soggy;;;
As soon as that familiar topic came up, the chat immediately filled with combat veterans trading war stories.
Since everyone shared the same miserable memories, it was easy for them to empathize and bond.
Even I, who had experienced military life in my previous existence, had bad memories of bag rice, so I blended naturally into the nostalgic mood.
"Bag rice is really... just food waste..."
- Do they eat bag rice in Solomon too?
- How would the streamer know?
- ?
- ?
"Because I’ve eaten it, that’s how I know... that tasteless crap..."
Aside from convenience, bag rice fails on every front—appearance, taste, everything—and is one of the worst things ever passed off as military food.
As I searched through my memories, I shuddered at the damp, sticky sensation that came back to me.
"When they throw bag rice at you during training, there’s nothing more pathetic than that..."
- It’s seriously fucking awful
- The very fact that you have to suck rice out of a bag is disgusting...
- For real
- It feels like your humanity’s being stripped away
- Why are the veterans so angry?
- Because that’s your future, idiot
- Damn
- Lol
- LOL
"Pffft..."
And so I spent the rest of the ration tasting bits at a time while chatting quietly with the viewers about the army, successfully wrapping up my return stream.
A bridge had formed between us through the shared language of military life, and I’d been able to draw a little closer to the viewers because of it.
If I kept slowly narrowing that distance, maybe I really could succeed someday.
And maybe even escape this life of hardship while I was at it.
.
.
.
.
"Leader, dinner... won’t be necessary, I suppose."
"Yeah, probably not. I already ate a ton of combat rations."
"I’ll take care of the leftovers."
After the broadcast ended, Akira greeted Seong-hyeon as he came out of the room with a bright grin, scooping up the combat ration he’d left behind, and Seong-hyeon stepped into the living room before collapsing across the sofa.
"Ugh... I’m tired..."
"Then why don’t you sleep a little? You’ve been streaming since morning, so take a nap."
Even if he was getting used to it, running a stream watched by so many people was still far from easy on the nerves.
When Akira suggested it while slowly eating the combat ration with a spoon, Seong-hyeon was tempted for a moment and quietly got up, heading for the bed in his room.
"Maybe I will...? Wake me up when it’s time for dinner..."
"Got it!"
"And don’t fight with Iris again..."
"You don’t need to worry about that!"
At Akira’s enthusiastic answer, her eyes bright and sparkling, Seong-hyeon let out a small laugh and threw himself onto the mattress.
Thanks to the mental fatigue lingering from the explanation he’d had to give after that surprise stream ended, he fell asleep almost instantly.
Without even knowing who might be lying beside him.
"..."
A little while later, once his restless movements had faded and his breathing had settled into a steady rhythm, the pure smile vanished from Akira’s face in an instant.
As she stared at Seong-hyeon’s unguarded back, the waves of desire rising from instinct alone made her breathing turn ragged.
"...Leader, are you asleep?"
She swallowed thick saliva with difficulty and asked cautiously, but there was no answer.
Seong-hyeon was completely asleep, and Iris hadn’t returned yet after going out for a walk.
She was alone with Seong-hyeon in Seong-hyeon’s house.
"Hah..."
It was only natural that the dirty little desires hidden deep in her chest would suddenly lift their heads.
"Hmph... no."
But Akira shook her head and swept away all the lewd thoughts swirling in her mind.
Focus returned to her half-lidded eyes, and the trembling in her body, which had seemed ready to lunge at Seong-hyeon at any moment, slowly subsided.
"I’m not like that menhera bitch. I’m not about to go sneaking around to do yobaI on the leader."
Her face was still flushed red, but the gaze she fixed on Seong-hyeon’s face held something hotter than mere desire.
"I can’t use cowardly tricks like that menhera bitch. I’m Arisugawa Akira."
Slowly backing away from Seong-hyeon’s bed, Akira murmured to herself.
"Rather than secretly coveting the person I love, I should make the person I love fall head over heels for me. That’s my way."
This was a promise she made to herself.
An oath to remain unashamed as the eldest daughter of the Arisugawa family.
Leaving Seong-hyeon to sleep in peace, Akira walked back toward the living room.
As she headed for the sofa, her own genuine smile returned, faint but unmistakable.
"...Still, maybe a little bit is fine?"
Of course, it was Akira, whose resolve toward chastity began wobbling just ten seconds after she’d made it.
"...I should do it in the bathroom."
At least she could take pride in the fact that she’d relieved herself without touching Seong-hyeon’s body.
Unlike Iris, whom she hated precisely because that girl was so shamelessly filthy and perverted.