The Honor That Followed (1)
On August 7, 1782, in the United States, Continental Army Commander-in-Chief George Washington awarded badges to three soldiers of the War of Independence.
It was the first decoration ever given to an ordinary soldier. Through the First and Second World Wars, the badge evolved into the Purple Heart, a purple heart-shaped medallion framed in gold.
Its criteria were simple: soldiers killed, wounded, or reported missing because of enemy action during combat.
After the Gate outbreak, South Korea adopted its own Purple Heart system as well. The criteria differed slightly from the American version, but in essence it came down to one thing: those who had distinguished themselves in the war against monsters.
I was a hunter, not a soldier. By any reasonable standard, I had no business receiving a Purple Heart. And yet the Navy had made the extraordinary decision to award one to me.
It was the decision of An Sang-hyeok, the operations commander of Trap.
"If it isn't Choi Yongki, then who the hell does deserve a Purple Heart!"
Pressed by the command's forceful insistence, the Navy moved quickly.
"The Purple Heart ceremony will now begin."
Beneath a clear sky, countless navy personnel stood in formation across a blue lawn, each one wearing a pristine white dress uniform.
The Marine Corps commander, the Naval Education commander, the superintendent of the Naval Academy, the commander of naval logistics, and more. South Korea's active-duty generals had gathered in one place.
Impressive.
I'd served in the military before, so I knew better than most just how remarkable it was to see all those stars gathered together, from brigadier general to major general, lieutenant general, and full general.
Heo Da-young, who was attending with me, clutched her chest.
"Hunter Choi, why am I the one shaking? I think I ate too much before coming. I feel like I'm going to throw up."
Beneath the podium, representatives from each Busan guild, including Dio, had gathered.
It looked like their injuries still hadn't fully healed. Some leaned on crutches, some wore eye patches, and some had their arms in splints.
Even the Gold Guard Commander was there.
The Gold Guard Commander flashed me a shameless wink.
Heo Da-young checked her phone.
The Purple Heart ceremony was being broadcast live online. The comments on the screen poured in so fast they were nearly impossible to read.
Someone shouted into the microphone.
"Load rifles!"
Ten Navy soldiers raised K0 rifles, an improved version of the K2.
Their rigid, disciplined steps and the way they held their rifles were precise to the millimeter.
"Fire!"
Gunshots rang out over the open sky. The three shots carried three separate meanings.
Bang! One shot for the comrade who had died fighting the Dirty Kraken.
Bang! One for the bereaved family left behind.
Bang! And the last for the safety and peace of the Navy personnel who had survived.
Smoke curled from the muzzles and scattered on the wind.
The military band played, its instruments weaving a solemn, majestic rhythm.
"Next, we will proceed with the medal presentation."
I checked my appearance one last time.
I was wearing a Navy dress uniform as well. A peaked cap with two anchors crossed diagonally on the front, epaulets on my shoulders.
Today, I was Navy too.
"The recipient, please step forward."
I climbed up onto the podium and looked down.
For a moment, everything felt strangely unreal.
Under the blazing sun, the uniformed Navy personnel stood in crisp, straight rows. I could feel the strength in them, the hard, stubborn pride of people who had lived through battle.
There wasn't a single person in the Navy who didn't know what I'd done. I had hauled up the sinking I Seong-gye, saved forty-six sailors aboard her, and after a long, grinding battle, brought down the Dirty Kraken.
From the Navy's point of view, I'd avenged their dead.
And not just the Navy. Families of the fallen were here too, watching the ceremony.
A middle-aged man with fierce, burning eyes stepped forward.
He was the Chief of Naval Staff.
For the record, this was the first time in Navy history that the Chief of Naval Staff had personally come forward to present a Purple Heart.
The Chief of Naval Staff began to speak.
"To the honored veterans of the Navy and the bereaved families, and to all distinguished guests, thank you very much for attending this meaningful occasion. Right now, before us stands a man worthy of receiving South Korea's highest military decoration."
The end of his long speech was near.
"On behalf of the people of the Republic of Korea, I thank Hunter Choi Yongki for his sacrifice and courage, and hereby award him this decoration."
A purple medal was pinned to the left side of my chest.
My pulse raced so hard it felt as though the medal had stabbed straight into my heart.
"Victory!"
I saluted the Chief of Naval Staff.
He returned the salute.
Then I turned back.
What remained was the line of Navy personnel filling the lawn shoulder to shoulder.
I saluted them too.
"Victory!"
Then it happened.
As though a fierce wave had risen across the open sea, the Navy moved as one.
"Victory!!!"
The shout was so thunderous it seemed to shake the ground itself. One by one, every sailor met my eyes with a blazing intensity that made the air feel hot, even in the middle of winter.
What, exactly, is a hero?
What kind of hero do I want to be?
It was a question I had wrestled with endlessly.
At last, I found my answer.
My grandmother used to tell me, over and over, "Whether you're rich or poor doesn't matter. Just do what you believe is right."
This life had already carried me out of poverty. I didn't want to become a chaebol and spend the rest of my days fat and happy by myself.
I wanted to look after the people around me, push myself harshly, train myself to the absolute limit, and become the strongest hero I could be. I wanted to be generous and loving to others, always.
And someday, I wanted to reach a goal even bigger than that.
Something like...
It might sound childish, ridiculous, or grandiose to some.
But wasn't that what comic-book heroes were always like? They stood up no matter what. They never lost hope. And in the end, they saved the entire blue planet.
That was the life I truly wanted. The thing I genuinely longed for. My goal.
A young woman among the bereaved families came into view. She kept wiping away her tears with a handkerchief.
Beside her, a little boy clutching a teddy bear awkwardly tried to imitate the salute.
I clenched my jaw and tightened my fist.
Without fail, I would protect the world that child would grow up in.
The next day, I wore a black suit.
Unlike the clear weather of the day before, rain was falling. Mourners with umbrellas gradually filled the cemetery. The sky seemed to be crying too, sending down heavier and heavier drops.
"We will now proceed with the burial."
A coffin wrapped in the Taegukgi was lowered into the deeply dug earth.
The Navy sailor who had died in the line of duty was being laid to rest in the national cemetery.
The man at the center of the funeral was...
"Navy Major Eom Il-seop. He fought fiercely against sea monsters and gave his life in the sea. May he rest in a peaceful place."
Major was a posthumous rank. Eom Il-seop had been promoted after death.
I had been promoted too, as a hunter.
From D-class to B-class.
A two-rank leap.
The military had been exempted through perfectly legal and legitimate means.
I can't say I'm particularly happy about it.
As the burial went on, sobbing broke out from all around me. The rain seemed to grow harsher in sympathy, as though the sky itself were crying with them.
I remembered the conversation I'd had with Eom Il-seop.
"My father was in the Navy too. He died fighting monsters during a mission."
He took something from his pocket.
A bronze coin engraved with the anchor that symbolized the Navy. It had been handed to me by Eom Il-seop.
"It's an heirloom passed down from my grandfather. My father always gave this to me before he went out to sea, telling me to hold onto it until he came back."
Maybe I really had made it back alive because of this lucky coin.
When Eom Il-seop gave it to me, he had said, "I'm entrusting this to Hunter Choi. Please return it to me someday."
The gravediggers lowered their shovels and covered the coffin.
The lid slowly disappeared beneath the dirt.
Eom Il-seop. I envy you.
I balanced the bronze coin on my thumb and flicked it upward.
In the rain, it spun lazily through the air before settling onto the coffin lid.
I don't have a father as cool as yours.
I closed my eyes and prayed for him.
Hope you and your father have a good time together.
After the funeral, I approached someone standing nearby.
It was the mother and son from yesterday's medal ceremony, still under a black umbrella.
I bowed my head to them.
"I'm sorry."
The apology carried more than one meaning. The guilt of failing to save Eom Il-seop. The shame of having dragged him into this...
Eom Il-seop's wife shook her head firmly.
"No, Hunter Choi."
When I lifted my head and met her eyes, I was a little surprised.
Unlike yesterday, when her face had been drowned in grief, her expression now held a determined sort of resolve.
"I'm proud of him. I hope you can be proud too, Hunter Choi."
Proud.
She wanted me to hold my head high about what I'd done.
So that's how it is.
Like the wife of a brave, stalwart Navy man, she did not surrender to despair. Even in a situation filled with nothing but loss, she still showed the will to keep living.
The little boy holding her hand tilted his head.
"Mom. Who's this guy?"
He looked to be only four or five years old. He was far too young to understand what had happened to him.
The wife bit her lip and held back tears with all her strength.
"He was... your father's comrade."
"Comrade? What's that?"
I knelt down to the boy's height and gently ruffled his hair.
"A friend. A very close friend."
"Ohhh. I get it. Then I'll introduce you to my friend too. This is Terry."
The boy lifted the teddy bear he was holding.
"He has a belly just like Dad's. Hee-hee!"
Watching that bright, innocent smile made my chest ache.
I stood back up and said to the wife, "What's your son's name?"
"Yongho. Eom Yongho."
She went on, looking down at him.
"A brave tiger. Pretty simple name, isn't it? His father gave it to him."
Then her gaze dropped to Yongho again.
"Our boy still loves teddy bears."
A faint smile touched her lips as she remembered.
"Yongho really loved his dad, too... I honestly have no idea how we're supposed to live without him now."
Before I went out to wipe out the Dirty Kraken, I had expected some sacrifice would be necessary.
But now that it had actually happened, the pain of it cut far deeper than I'd imagined.
Still, this incident had not only raised my honor as a hunter.
It had also brought me another benefit.
One of the Dirty Kraken's body parts that had come along with me.
Its mouth.
The Dirty Kraken's mouth was a perfect circle packed with countless sharp teeth.
And every one of those teeth was worth the equivalent of a ten-carat diamond.
If I sold the Dirty Kraken's mouth...
I could make at least several hundred billion won.
I made up my mind.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to take responsibility for Yongho's future."
"Pardon?"
The wife's eyes widened.
"I'll cover his tuition, living expenses, and any other financial support he needs. And to make sure no emotional trauma lingers, I'll arrange psychological counseling as well."
"Ah..."
She bit her lip.
In the end, she couldn't hold it in and broke down crying.
"...Thank you. Thank you so much."
Leaving the woman who had lost her husband behind, I walked out of the national cemetery.
I got into the parked car.
Heo Da-young, who had been eating a hot dog, jumped in surprise.
"Haha. Want one too, Hunter Choi?"
"Sure."
I took the hot dog and said, "Let's go."
"Yep. We're headed to the convention center, right?"
Heo Da-young chattered nonstop around the hot dog in her mouth.
"Wow, Grandpa Lee Chun-bae is amazing. Sold out for every time slot on opening day!"
Life is a comedy when seen from afar, a tragedy when seen up close, isn't that what they say?
After the medal ceremony, after the Navy funeral, today was another meaningful day for Lee Chun-bae.