Chapter 25
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Blackmail, and a Wink
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...What a bothersome woman.
Calling her that might even be biting off more than I can chew. How many guys out there dream of a pretty girl clinging to them like this?
"Let go of me first!"
"No! I don't want to!"
But strangely, now that I'm the one in that position, I can't just be purely happy about it.
My head throbs thanks to Drill Sergeant Kate throwing a tantrum while hugging me tight.
If we're caught by anyone like this, it'll spread like wildfire through the entire training center as some nasty rumor. And once the other women hear it, just imagine the shitstorm they'd unleash.
I can already hear the bullshit lines ringing in my ears.
[You're going around giving it to everyone, huh?]
[Hey, you did her, so why not me?]
Absolutely not.
I've only just earned the Company Commander's trust. Right now, I need to solidify my position and secure my safety no matter what.
If this were some third-rate webnovel writer's ridiculous harem plot, I could roll around with whoever and turn into a total sleazy playboy without a care.
But this is my reality—a hurdle I have to overcome somehow.
If I screw up even once and knock up one of these women, my life is over.
I can't be left alone in this damn world. For the sake of my worried parents and friends back home, I have to return.
I don't want to spend my days doing laundry and serving meals until I die. And besides, there's no kimchi here, no ramen, no cola, no pork cutlets or spicy pork...
Anyway,
To get home, I need to actively use the tattoo and status window.
They always show me my Arousal Points and Military Life Points, and even display how many days I have left in service right on my wrist.
As long as I don't get anyone pregnant,
and keep my pants zipped for two years,
I'll definitely be able to return to my original world.
I can feel it when I look at the tattoo.
As long as no incidents happen,
this strange power will eventually take me home.
"Argh! Let go already! Please!"
So I grunt and shove Drill Sergeant Kate away.
Fooling around with a pretty girl is every guy's dream, but the price for that brief indulgence is way too high here. I have to keep my cool somehow.
"D-Do you hate me? Is that it? Why would you hate me...! I already apologized!"
But Kate clings on relentlessly.
She doesn't even think about letting go. Even if I barely push her off, she crawls right back and grabs my pant leg, hanging on.
"Wait! Just wait a sec! Let's talk...!"
"How can we talk! Mess call is any minute now...! We're screwed! Get a grip!"
I need to get a grip myself.
One wrong twitch down there, and my life ends right here.
Plenty of couples marry on a whim based on looks alone and end up in total wreckage.
Hell, we've only known each other for not even two weeks. This is way too rushed. Even if getting to know each other after marriage is the culture here, it goes against everything I believe in.
And honestly, even before values come into play...
"...Hey, you sleazy bastard."
Looking at Kate, who's hanging on my leg and laying into me, sends chills down my spine first.
"Who the hell are you to keep rejecting me? Think you're hot shit?"
She whines pathetically one second,
then flips her eyes and spits out rough words...
"I said I'd be good to you! A woman like me is going this far for you. Don't you get it?"
Yet somehow she starts sniffling again.
It takes a full ten minutes to finally calm Drill Sergeant Kate down and pry her off me.
In the rigidly scheduled world of the training center, even a tiny bit of time is precious and crucial, yet here I am, heading to mess call without a single break since the run.
"Trainee No. 158, why are you so late!"
"S-Sorry, ma'am!"
And I even get chewed out.
I get a big lecture for not preparing for mess call in advance.
"You're the Squad Leader Trainee. Can't you do anything right?"
"I'll do better, ma'am...!"
I don't make excuses.
In the army, when you get reamed, just keep saying sorry. Never stand on pride.
But one thing grates on my nerves especially.
"Ma'am, sorry! We didn't report it."
It's my squadmates.
Especially the one who gropes me every night, stepping up to cover for me with the instructor.
"Trainee Han Jeong-woo said he was going to the bathroom. We thought he'd be right back, so we didn't report it, but I guess it took longer since he's a guy. Sorry, ma'am."
"Hmm. Is that so?"
I don't particularly want to remember her name,
but the sneaky touches and hot breath in my ear have burned it into my brain too vividly.
Hayes.
Long, silky blonde hair,
a sly, smirking face.
I barely caught her name during introductions after the first run, but her shameless sexual harassment makes it impossible to forget now.
"Next time, make sure to report properly. Anyway, everyone get ready and line up outside the barracks."
After saving me from the instructor,
Hayes shoots me a deep wink.
Gives me the creeps for no reason. She's terrifying the way she acts normal in front of others while being a total deviant.
With her tanned skin and thuggish vibe, she screams delinquent...
"Nice one, Hayes."
"Squad Leader Trainee, sir? Hayes just saved your ass once~"
Hayes's influence is starting to grow as time passes.
I didn't pay her much mind at first,
but now I'm starting to worry.
True to her delinquent looks, she gets chummy with everyone, trades crude jokes, and flaunts her rough edges.
It's a huge threat to me,
but to the other girls, it makes her easy to get along with.
"Whatever. No big deal."
"Jeong-woo, so what were you doing with that instructor earlier? The other squad leader trainees were just prepping for mess call... Why'd she single you out?"
But right now, priority is defending me and Kate.
"Uh, yeah... She said to organize the cleaning tools for today..."
I squeeze out an excuse, sweating bullets.
No one seems to buy it,
but at least I'm averting the worst.
"..."
In the midst of it all,
only Mino watches everyone calmly.
Her gaze shifts between me and Hayes.
I have no idea what she's thinking as she looks at us...
but Mino's serious face always carries a solemn air.
Breakfast time.
Soup, bread, red bean stew,
main dish is beef meatballs.
I shovel it down with my fork to fill my starving stomach. With 3km sprints at near full speed every morning, I have to eat big to avoid collapsing.
"Hey."
But while eating, Mino next to me speaks up. She's already polished off her tray clean and stares right at me.
"Yeah?"
"Don't get close to Drill Sergeant Kate."
And drops this random advice. Mino always chimes in at the weirdest times.
"...W-What do you mean close? She's an instructor. As squad leader trainee, I have to keep smooth relations with them. It's for the squad."
"Oh?"
After my reasonable reply, a brief silence follows. Mino's not much of a talker to begin with, and I'm awkward at starting convos, so it just gets awkwardly tense between us.
"Got it."
And honestly,
I still don't know much about this girl Mino.
We're both kinda outsiders who don't quite fit in, so we bonded a bit faster than others. We're subtly detached from the rest of 2-2 squad.
"Hey, no chit-chat. If you're done, wait at the exit."
"Yes, ma'am."
An instructor patrolling inside the mess hall calls us out, so Mino leaves my side. Now I can finish my tray quietly alone...
"Hi~"
But a girl three seats over, scarfing her food, picks up her tray and slides into Mino's empty spot.
Instructors' eyes don't faze her apparently. Boldly pulling this dumb stunt as a trainee isn't smart...
"Tasty?"
She doesn't care about petty stuff like that.
Bad vibe.
No sense of personal space,
being this close just annoys me.
She's pretty, sure. Yeah, no denying that. The girls here all seem above average looks-wise.
But pretty in a weird, off-putting way.
Y'know, like those hot delinquent chicks back on Earth.
"Jeong-woo, if anything's tough, tell me anytime, okay?"
"...Yeah, thanks."
Her palm naturally on my thigh,
face way too close.
The other squadmates giggle. Of course instructors are far off right now.
Or do they wait for blind spots to pounce?
"Let's do our best today too? Fighting!"
"You too, Hayes. Fighting."
I just want this over with.
If she gets bored of my dead reaction and buzzes off, perfect.
"One more time: if it's hard, tell me?"
"Yeah."
Hayes strokes my thigh gently and whispers in my ear.
"...Don't play with Drill Sergeant Kate, okay?"
Shit.
I fumble and drop my fork.
"If you get caught wrong, you'll both get booted... Heh. Wouldn't it be better just messing around together? It'll get real messy~"
Ting-
All eyes turn my way.
Hayes, aware of it, plays dumb again, grabs her tray nonchalantly, and heads to the dish return...
And on the way,
staring straight into my eyes, she winks.
Wink!