Graduation Day and His First Assignment
On one day in August, when the sunlight was sharper than usual, the main field of Chungju Central Police Academy was already packed with people from early morning.
It was the day they had all been waiting for: the final moment at the end of thirty-four weeks of training.
In immaculate uniforms, 2,354 cadets marched down in perfect formation, not a single line out of place.
They had repeated the drill hundreds of times, but today, every face carried a different kind of tension and elation.
The ceremony proceeded in calm accordance with protocol.
After the national anthem, the past thirty-four weeks of training were recited in the announcer’s steady voice.
At last, the presentation of diplomas began.
Each time a name was called, a cadet rose smartly and stepped up onto the stage.
“Next, the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency will present awards to the top achievers. Presidential Award, Police Officer Song Tan; Prime Minister’s Award—”
Each time a name rang out, the cadet in question stood briskly from his seat.
At the very front of them all stood Song Tan.
He wore a police uniform so neatly pressed it seemed almost ceremonial.
The classmates around him whispered as they watched.
“Look at Han Gi-tae’s face. He looks like he’s rotting from the inside out.”
In truth, Han Gi-tae couldn’t even look at the podium. His shoulders were trembling.
“Serves him right. Who told him to go around doing all that dirty shit behind people’s backs?”
“At first I really thought he was a good guy. I mean, his face was so friendly.”
“All a mask. He’s the textbook type to smile to your face and act like a bastard behind it.”
“Has there ever been a graduating class where the education captain got treated like complete trash all the way to graduation? This might be the first.”
“And I heard they’re sending him to some brutal mobile unit for his assignment too... Anyway, serves him right.”
The cadets whispering and side-eyeing Han Gi-tae snapped to attention when the police commissioner’s voice rang out.
“Presidential Award. Police Officer Song Tan. You have achieved the highest marks in the New Police Officer Class 310 training course, and are hereby presented with this citation. Read on behalf of President Park Chang-su.”
Clap, clap, clap—
The field erupted in thunderous applause.
The classmates couldn’t hide their envy as they looked at Song Tan receiving the Presidential Award.
“Man, I’m so jealous...”
“Still, he deserves it. His practical scores were ridiculous.”
“Weren’t the rest of the subjects kind of iffy?”
“Did you forget what he did while he was out on leave?”
“Ah...”
The cadet who had been objecting shut his mouth at once.
Because there was no arguing with that.
“Next, there will be a special commendation from the Commissioner General.”
The announcer’s voice rolled across the field once more.
“The commendation being awarded today is an exceptionally rare and meaningful honor, given despite the recipient still being a police trainee, because his achievement was extraordinary.”
A low murmur spread through the crowded field.
“Police Officer Song Tan. In a sudden crisis, you used your quick judgment to protect the lives and safety of numerous citizens. This went beyond mere courage; it was an act that proved in deed what a police officer should be. The recipient’s actions inspired deep trust from the public and greatly raised the honor and standing of the entire police organization, and for that reason this commendation is hereby awarded.”
The moment the commissioner handed over the citation—
Snap, snap—click, click!
Camera shutters fired, and applause burst out again.
Watching from far away, Song Bong-gu wiped at the corner of his eyes with his sleeve.
My boy. You’ve done well.
How shocked he had been at first.
When he learned that the citizen who had subdued the knife-wielding man in the Chungju Station rampage—the case that had caused such a public uproar—had been his own son, anger had surged through him all at once.
It had been a dangerous situation. One careless moment, and Tan might have lost his life.
But once he saw the child taken hostage, and the mother screaming in desperation, Bong-gu could no longer feel the same way.
He was a father himself, responsible for a child’s life, and he knew that feeling too well.
As his anger gradually subsided, pride filled the space it left behind.
If it were up to him, he would have wanted to boast about it all day to everyone in the neighborhood.
But he knew his son wouldn’t want that, so he held it all in quietly.
In Bong-gu’s eyes, his son stood there saluting smartly, the image of discipline itself.
And then, as Bong-gu looked up toward the sky, his gaze filled with longing for the person he could never reach again.
Honey, are you watching? Our boy has grown up so magnificently.
That day, Song Bong-gu came to understand something.
Dreams were not only things that came true. Sometimes, they carried on.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Next is a very meaningful segment. At this moment, as you take your first step forward as a police officer of the people, carrying your duty to the end, we have prepared a video expressing the gratitude to family that words alone could never fully convey. Please watch with us now.”
With the announcer’s words, a video began to play on the giant screen.
“Huh?”
Song Bong-gu’s lips parted in surprise as he instinctively looked up.
His son’s face had appeared large across the screen.
Song Tan stood there in his police duty uniform, neat and proper.
His expression was calm, but he couldn’t hide the tremor in his eyes.
“Ahem. Father. It’s your son, Tan. I came here because I wanted to say the things I’ve never been able to say in person, even if only through a video.”
As if embarrassed by the camera, the Tan on the screen scratched his head.
“When I was young... back when I was still foolish, there were times I thought I was ashamed of you. I saw other people’s eyes before I saw you. I’d lower my head for no reason, and sometimes I even hid a step behind you. I didn’t know then how pathetic that was. It’s late, but I want to apologize now.”
Before long, the tension had vanished, and a smile appeared at the corner of Song Tan’s mouth.
“Father always held my hand. On rainy days, you’d stand in the way without even realizing your own feet were getting wetter just so my shoes wouldn’t be soaked. And when I was a little kid who might fall, you’d stand in front of me without noticing how much more your own back was bending just to keep me safe.”
The murmuring field fell silent.
“You thought I wouldn’t remember, didn’t you? I still remember it as clearly as a photograph. One dawn, I suddenly ran a fever, and when no taxi could be found, you carried me on your back and ran without thinking. You ran for an hour in that difficult body of yours to get me to the hospital, and your knees and back ended up paying the price for months afterward. Foolishly, I thought that was just how things were. But now I understand. I understand how immense that love was.”
Song Bong-gu stared blankly at the screen, his mouth slightly open.
He had never imagined his son remembered even those early days, back when he had only just begun to find his voice.
“Father used to tell me all the time that the strong should care for and respect the weak even more. Father. Today I become a police officer. I become someone who protects others. And now I can say this with pride: the reason I made it here is because you were my father.”
At last, tears gathered in Song Bong-gu’s eyes.
“You’re probably watching me from somewhere not too noticeable again today. Um... if I had to guess, I’d say you’re standing on the hill behind the field.”
In unison, thousands of people turned their heads.
Their eyes landed on a small middle-aged man standing alone on a raised mound in the distance.
Embarrassed, Song Bong-gu hurriedly wiped away his tears.
“Thank you. And I respect you deeply, truly. Because I know my father is always behind me, I’m not afraid of what comes next, not even a little. I love you, Father.”
And with that, the video ended.
“Attention!!!!”
From the podium, Song Tan gave a thunderous salute toward his father.
It was the most respectful greeting he could give, offered to the one person he admired most in the world.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
When the graduation ceremony ended, the neat ranks dissolved, and smiles finally spread over the uniforms.
Song Tan walked side by side with his father, guiding him around the academy grounds.
“This is where I lived, and that building over there is the gym they call the First Heart Hall.”
Song Bong-gu nodded, stretching his neck like a meerkat as he looked around here and there.
This was the place where his beloved son had spent months living.
He couldn’t help being curious.
As Tan showed him around the facilities, he eventually stopped walking.
“Let’s take a picture here.”
It was a spot crowded with people.
The famous photo spot on the main building steps.
“Oh, no. I’ll take the picture for you. You stand there alone.”
Bong-gu waved his hands in immediate refusal.
Because of his physical insecurities, he had always hated having his picture taken.
“Come on, let’s take one together. You only get one life.”
When his son grabbed his wrist and pulled, Bong-gu reluctantly stood beside him.
“Excuse me, could you take a picture for us?”
At Tan’s request, a middle-aged woman took his phone.
“Oh my, you’re the top graduate? Hohoho, you two look so good together. Father and son, what a lovely sight.”
The woman squinted kindly as she held the phone horizontally.
“All right, let’s take it. Father, try to relax a little.”
At those words, the awkward stiffness in Bong-gu’s bent shoulders eased a little.
“Okay, I’m taking it. One, two, three.”
Apparently pleased with the shot, the woman smiled and handed the phone back.
“The picture came out beautifully.”
“Thank you.”
“Hoho, you raised your son so well. If my youngest daughter weren’t already married, I’d have introduced her to him right away. What a pity.”
At her easy chatter, Bong-gu’s mouth twitched at the corners.
Praise for his son always disarmed him.
The two of them strolled a little farther, as if out for a walk, then turned back toward the field.
Bong-gu’s steps slowed slightly; he had been walking longer than usual, and his knees were beginning to ache.
Noticing that, Song Tan suddenly knelt down.
“Get on.”
“What?”
Startled, Bong-gu waved him off.
“People are watching. Forget it, kid.”
“Don’t say that. Get on. When else are you going to ride on your son’s back if not now?”
Feeling the unyielding firmness in his son’s voice, Bong-gu shook his head again and again.
“You know, I wonder who you take after. Your stubbornness is unbelievable.”
“Who else but you, Father?”
In the end, Bong-gu carefully settled himself onto his son’s back.
He was so worried about making him uncomfortable that even the smallest movement felt cautious.
“Hup.”
With his back straight, Song Tan supported his father firmly and strode forward with confident steps.
A steady posture, not even the slightest wobble.
“Isn’t it heavy?”
“Not at all.”
Riding on his son’s back, Bong-gu gazed quietly at the back of his head.
“Do you remember? How you used to climb onto the dresser with your own feet and then cry your eyes out because you were always so scared?”
“That’s why Father always carried me.”
“Ahem. Did I?”
Still on his son’s back, Bong-gu rubbed at his nose.
“Do you remember going to the amusement park with Dad?”
“I remember you getting dizzy on the merry-go-round and getting off halfway through.”
“You little brat, you kept begging me to ride again and again, so I ended up going around on that thing ten times that day.”
“But you stayed with me until the end.”
“Well... you were smiling like a real kid for the first time.”
Looking up at the clear sky, Bong-gu continued.
“When we get home, there’ll be a photo from that day. I tried to stand on my toes to make myself look taller, and ended up cramping up for it too.”
Father and son laughed at the same time.
They wore expressions full of longing, as though they had gone back to those days.
For a moment, silence settled between them.
A warm wind brushed through the leaves.
“Thank you, Tan.”
“I should be the one thanking you.”
Song Tan found himself thinking, once again, that the warmth pressing against his back was truly gentle.
And so the two of them slowly crossed the campus together, sharing old memories along with their laughter.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A week after graduation, Song Tan finally received his assignment order to report to the first post he had hoped for.
Annam City, a den of monsters notorious for having the highest number of incidents and accidents in the entire country.
And within it, the Macheon Police Substation, known for having the highest demand for public security of them all.