The Drill Sergeant's Legacy
6:00 AM. While everyone was still asleep, I finished getting ready and slipped into my mother's room. She looked beautiful, sleeping so soundly. I gently stroked her cheek.
"Hmm?"
"Honey, I'm heading out for training..."
"Mm, be careful..."
Leaving my mother behind as she saw me off in her half-asleep state, I stepped out of the house. "Might as well walk to loosen up my body." Perhaps because summer was just around the corner, the air was already humid despite the early hour.
"You're here."
"Oh? Suhyun, you really came!"
Yang Hayun was in her workout gear, warming up. Chae Ryu-a was sitting on a nearby bench, busy on her phone. "Yes, hello."
"It's just us here..."
"Who else would come at this hour?"
It had been a long time since I’d been to a training ground. Back when I was in school, I spent all day here, but I hadn't set foot in one since graduation. 'The location might be different, but the training ground always looks the same.'
"But... what kind of training are we doing?"
I didn't know about them, but there was nothing for me to train here. There were no sparring partners at my level, and repeating basic drills was meaningless to me. Yang Hayun spoke up.
"I thought about it a bit, and if you don't mind, could you train us?"
"Pardon?"
"I figured you'd know our weaknesses, Suhyun."
"Yeah, I do."
"Then that's settled. You can be the instructor today." Chae Ryu-a put her phone away and walked over.
"I've never taught anyone before, so all I can do is teach you the training I received myself."
"The training from Hunter Academy? We've done that stuff to death."
"Then why are you in that shape?"
"Hey!" Chae Ryu-a glared at me, grinding her teeth.
"Ryu-a, stop. It's fine. Fundamentals are always important. Alright then, I'll be your one-day instructor!"
"The training I received at school... it might be a bit much. Are you sure you're okay with that?"
"Yes! It's training we've received too!"
"Don't act so cocky!"
"Right, then."
I closed my eyes. I recalled the training I had endured. I remembered every single day that teetered on the thin line between assault and training. The days where, if you fell even a little behind, you were immediately met with a gut punch, followed by 200 laps around the field and four hours of hanging from a rope... After graduation, though I hated to admit it, I realized those drills were effective when I first went into the field. Training must be like real combat... meaning, you must always be able to feel death. I thought of Instructor Kang Hyungoo, an A-rank Hunter who always dragged us to the threshold of death.
"Suhyun?"
"Just a moment. I'm focusing."
I am Kang Hyungoo. I recalled his tone. I recalled his gestures. Now, he is me, and I am him. I opened my eyes. I walked over to the rack where the reinforced wooden practice swords were kept, pulled out two, and tossed them onto the ground.
"Pick them up, you sows."
"What? Suhyun?"
"What the... why is he acting like that?"
"I won't say it twice. Pick up the swords, you sows. From now on, you will address me as Instructor."
"..."
"Unnie, his eyes look weird."
As I stared at them without a word, the two sows approached and picked up the swords. When Yang Hayun grabbed hers, I swung my sword at her.
CLACK!
"Gah!"
"Your reaction speed isn't bad, sow. But you're still far off. You always make life-risking, gambling attacks in combat."
"W-what?"
"I'll fix that rotten mindset of yours. Erase the idea of 'life-risking charges' from your head. The only way for you to climb higher is to polish your skills to the limit through practice. If a situation comes where you have to risk your life, you break through it with the skills you've honed. A life-risking charge isn't a tactic; it's recklessness."
CLACK! CLACK!
Yang Hayun parried my swings reasonably well. THUD! I kicked her calf, and she collapsed to the floor.
"Your lower guard is wide open, sow. Are you begging me to cut your legs off? Get up. While I train the other sow, you're doing 1,000 squats."
"Y-yes, sir!" Yang Hayun jumped up and started her squats. I walked over to Chae Ryu-a.
"D-don't come closer! You're acting weird!"
CLACK! I swung my sword, and the one in Chae Ryu-a's hand went flying.
"Pick it up again, sow."
"Y-you!"
SMACK!
"Eek!" I struck Chae Ryu-a's backside, and she glared at me with a flushed face.
"Call me Instructor. Pick up the sword, sow."
Chae Ryu-a stepped forward to retrieve it. I lunged forward and kicked the sword away.
WHACK!
"Eek?! Why?!"
"A weapon you've let slip from your hands is no longer yours. That's common sense—memorize it. What's with that look? It seems we need to start with mental discipline for you."
"Eek!"
Two hours had passed since we started training.
"Haa...! Haa!" Yang Hayun stood before me, gasping for air while clutching her sword. Seeing her hand tremble, it seemed she had reached her limit.
"You have talent, I'll admit that. From now on, you aren't a sow, you're 'recyclable trash.' Since there's still room for you to be recycled, keep striving. Perform 1,000 overhead sword swings."
"Yes... haa... Instructor."
I turned my head to see the small sow lying flat on the ground, catching her breath. Seeing her lying there while the other trainee was giving her all made something boil in my chest.
"Why are you still lying down, sow?"
"Haa... D-don't come over! No, please don't, Instructor!"
"Get up, sow."
SMACK!
"Eek! O-ouch!" The small sow trembled and tried to crawl away from me on all fours.
"Whew..." I let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through my hair.
"In a way... you're very excellent too, sow."
"Eh?"
"If you're trying to genuinely piss me off, you're truly excellent. You've succeeded."
"T-that's not it!"
"Unfortunately, you aren't the first trainee like you. I'm raising the training intensity to level two. Starting today, I'll make you reborn."
"U-unnie! He's weird! Save me! I've never had training like this!"
CLACK!
Just then, a wooden sword struck the back of my head.
"Ugh!"
"Suhyun!"
My senses returned. "W-what have I done..."
"Are you coming to your senses? Is your head okay?"
The training I had just directed flashed through my mind. "Ah... I must have been too immersed. I'm sorry."
"No, it was actually very informative. The problem is..."
Yang Hayun pointed to where Chae Ryu-a was hiding under the bench, trembling. "Ah..."
Yang Hayun and I approached slowly, as if dealing with a terrified animal. "Ryu-a, it's okay now..."
"Eek!"
"I'm sorry. No, I was just doing what I was taught..."
"Eek!"
Yang Hayun began to soothe Chae Ryu-a as if she were a pet. "There, there... let's go get something delicious to eat."
"Haa..."
'I've really done it now.'
At a Korean BBQ restaurant, after finally calming Chae Ryu-a down, I decided to treat them to breakfast as an apology. Yang Hayun refused, saying it was truly informative, but Chae Ryu-a confidently chose the place herself. As soon as we arrived, she read the menu a few times and ordered with confidence.
"Boss, we'll have 6 servings of Hanwoo sirloin, 3 servings of raw ribs, one soybean paste stew, one kimchi stew, and 3 stone-pot rice bowls."
I opened the menu. -Hanwoo sirloin (1 serving): 79,000 won. I closed the menu immediately after reading the first line. Yang Hayun was smiling awkwardly.
"What are you, a secret chaebol heiress? Why is your appetite so expensive?"
"I know B-rank Hunters have plenty of money. And for hitting my butt..."
"A-alright, alright. Eat up."
"Unnie, let's eat the meat and rice, and then split a cold noodle dish to finish."
"Oh? O-okay."
"Hayun-ssi, don't feel burdened, please eat a lot."
"Why are you only being soft with Unnie?"
"...Do you really not know?"
"Hey!"
"Um... Suhyun-ssi, I have a question."
"Yes."
"The training today... it was very different from what I received at school."
"Ah, I was in a special class, so I received different training from the regular trainees."
THUD! A wet towel flew at me. It was Chae Ryu-a.
"You should have said that before we started!!"
"..."
Back in my trainee days, they selected the top-tier trainees to form a special class. I had tried everything to avoid getting in, knowing what kind of hell awaited, but I eventually got caught by Instructor Kang Hyungoo and was forced in. I couldn't forget what Instructor Kang Hyungoo said when he looked at me.
"This is an interesting one. You might have fooled the other instructors, but you can't fool me. Getting low grades on purpose? This boar will be worth the effort to teach."
After being rolled through the mud for years, I went through many titles—from 'boar' to 'recyclable trash'—and finally earned the title of 'scrap metal.' Even that instructor didn't spare praise for Kang Hyena, calling her a 'gem.' 'What a dirty world.'
"Customer, you may eat now."
"Thank you for the meal."
"Suhyun-ssi, I'll eat well."
"Yes, eat plenty."
The meat was truly delicious. My hands trembled when I saw the receipt with the insane total. 'I should bring Mom here next time... and my sister, too.'
As we headed toward the bus stop, the three of us chatted about this and that.
"Oh, it's here. I'll be going now. Let's definitely train again next time. Thanks for today."
"Yes, get home safely."
"Unnie! Bye~."
Yang Hayun left on the bus.
"Are you taking a taxi?"
"Yeah."
"Then I'll hail one for you."
Chae Ryu-a silently tugged at my sleeve.
"Why?"
"I'm... I'm too exhausted to go home, so let's rest for a bit."
"Where?"
"Over there."
Chae Ryu-a pointed to a motel.
"Haa."
'In the end, it comes to this.'
I had told my family I'd be home in the evening, thinking the training would take longer, so I had plenty of time. However, after my relationship with Chae Ryu-a, I had made a vow to myself not to touch women who had boyfriends. I wasn't sure if I could keep it.
As I hesitated, Chae Ryu-a said, "I said I'm exhausted! You kept hitting my butt! You called me a sow, right? That's right, isn't it?"
"Hey, hey, people around us are listening. Alright. But we're just going in to lie down and rest, okay?"
"What are you expecting!"
Honestly, I already had a gut feeling that sex was a certainty today. 'At the point where you're going to a motel with a man who isn't your boyfriend, aren't you fully prepared to be taken?'