“Training for today is over. Thank you all for your hard work.”The moment the instructor’s words fell, light and heavy sighs burst out all around. Taeui was no exception. He not only sighed but simply collapsed to the ground.“Ughhh… I’m going to die doing this.” He wiped his brow with his forearm; sweat soaked the fabric. Yet he remembered to check the time. Exactly five o’clock.Now the instructors would return to the office to report on the day’s events and have a brief discussion among themselves, and then their workday would end. That would be around half past five. He still had about thirty minutes to spare. On afternoons with training, the deputy instructor also participated, so in the morning Taeui had trailed Hogan, serving as his guard, and in the afternoon had joined the training. Now that the session was over, he had to return to his post as deputy.Besides, during the afternoon drills the instructors worked in teams, so Taeui didn’t need to watch Hogan personally; but in thirty minutes it would be individual time. In other words, it would soon be time for the task his uncle had entrusted him with—that was, after all, the deputy instructor’s duty.“I suppose I should eat something, take a quick shower… but that won’t work, will it?” If he hurried like lightning, nothing would be impossible—but he didn’t want to eat and shower in a rush. He decided to endure the discomfort for now, satisfy his hunger in peace, and go back to his room to wash up at night. Having made up his mind, Taeui mustered the strength to stand up from the floor.At that moment, Qing, passing behind him, grabbed the nape of his neck and hauled him upright. “Come on, get up.”“Ugh… thanks for the support, but you’re going to kill me.” His collar had crept up, choking him; he coughed dryly. Rubbing his neck, Taeui synchronized his steps with Qing.“Training here still kills people. You’ve done well to endure so far.”“It’s not fair to say that on the first day. We knew the intensity would ramp up. Today was supposed to be easy.” Even as he spoke, Qing’s exhaustion showed plainly on his face. He seemed to crave rest more than food and muttered, “I’m going to the barracks to catch a nap.”Out in the corridor, members of another team who had just finished sparring were streaming out of the adjacent practice room. Taeui spotted a familiar face—Alta—and lifted his hand in greeting. Alta raised his hand energetically ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) despite being drenched in sweat and approached with vigor.“Hey, good work on the first day’s training. Were you on the same team as Qing?”“Yeah. What about you?”“As you can see.” Through the doorway Alta had just exited, Carlo appeared. He looked over here and gave a slight wave of recognition.“Qing’s heading back to the barracks to crash. Carlo and I plan to shower first and then go to the mess hall. Want to join us?”“No, I need to eat first. I have to go see Instructor Hogan soon.” Taeui tapped his wristwatch, and Alta nodded knowingly.“Poor guy, no time to rest. Being a deputy instructor sucks. If you end up under a workaholic instructor like Instructor Talban, you’ll die.”“He’s the deputy under Talban in the barracks. He sleeps past midnight and wakes before sunrise, always harassed by Talban,” Alta said, feigning a shudder. Qing, rubbing his eyes as if tired, asked casually, “How’s that Hogan guy?”“He’s fine.” Taeui answered without much thought.Instructor-ranked Ronald Hogan was in charge of duties more akin to training than study, but his workload wasn’t noticeably different from the other instructors’. It was hard to compare his ability to theirs; and his competence was average. Neither capable nor incapable—just middle of the road.“As a direct superior, he’s not bad. No unnecessary complications. …Then again, it’s only the first day. How much can we really know?”“If you think about it, you’ll only be together for at most two weeks. How much can you learn in that time?” At Qing’s reply, Taeui chuckled, “True enough.”He hoped the coming days would pass as smoothly as today.“I sincerely hope nothing goes wrong.”“No chance of that.” Before Taeui could finish muttering, Carlo—who had crept up behind him—spoke crisply.“What do you mean ‘no chance’? Why make such a gloomy prediction?”“I’m not just guessing; I have solid reasons to predict it.” Carlo shook his head. He looked reluctant to speak, his lips curling in distaste before his gaze landed on Taeui. Taeui looked at him in puzzlement; Carlo exhaled deeply.“Is it because of you?”“Huh?” Caught off guard, Taeui blinked. Carlo clicked his tongue.“If you’d come as an instructor, you wouldn’t have to spar during training. Why did you join as regular personnel, you idiot…?!”Taeui fell silent. Suddenly everyone else fell silent, too. Without needing explanation, each had thought of the same person. Taeui swallowed his bitter taste.“…Did you spar with him today?”“No! But you never know when you’ll run into him. During training, you’re guaranteed to face him at least once.”“I suppose so…”“It’s not ‘suppose.’ It’s inevitable. Your team doesn’t get a pass either.” The training schedule was designed so every team would inevitably face every other team at least once. Willingly or not.Taeui scratched his head. He wondered where that “madman,” whose reputation echoed throughout the base, might be now. Which unlucky team had faced him today? Which cursed comrades had ended up in his group?“Don’t be too hard on the kid. He’s the most pitiable—Taeui, that is. Just unlucky to be chosen.” Qing patted Taeui, as if to protect him. ...He appreciated the gesture, but it didn’t uplift him.Right. Who else could be more cursed than him? As he listened to the murmuring opinions around him with mixed feelings, he mumbled, “Well, not necessarily…” but no one paid him any mind.Unsure whether to be grateful or saddened by his comrades’ concern, Taeui smacked his lips.“But why… I haven’t heard any rumors yet of someone charging at him with a .50-caliber revolver to kill him like before.”“We just finished day one. We still have nearly two weeks left.” Beside the negative Carlo, Qing again clicked his tongue sympathetically at Taeui.“Well, it’s not like those days when, during joint training with the European branch, he slew people. It’s been years since then, so not many brood personal grudges anymore. It won’t be as minefield-like as back then. In fact, among those who joined in the last two or three years, quite a few don’t even know him.”People who knew him hated even uttering his name, Qing said. True enough, the word “him” was used throughout the conversation, with no proper noun in sight. He understood why nobody wanted to say the name.“Still, some do bear grudges. On nighttime marches in the field, be careful. Even if a frontal fight is hopeless, someone might think to ambush him and break a leg or two.”“I know several who tried that… I wish them luck.” Taeui murmured, recalling memories of those who targeted his legs only to have their own limbs shattered. Things were better than before, but still. Considering the many grudges he’d sown, it was no wonder someone somewhere wanted to rip out his throat.“…” He got what he deserved, and yet, he thought that most of the blame lay with him—still, it left a bad taste. He couldn’t fault them, but he sided with them in the end.“But Taeui, you’d better hope not to be struck by lightning standing next to that ruthless guy.”“Huh?”“If someone’s gunning for him, they might target you. You’d better be cautious.” Alta’s casual remark floated by: If that happened, innocent Taeui would be in more danger than the one who’d earned the hatred. Taeui stared blankly and thought: Me? Really?“That’s unfair! That’s completely unjust!!” Suddenly alert, Taeui cried out, but no one heeded his desperate plea. Only the indifferent sneer: “Serves you right for picking the wrong side.” The mess hall was overflowing. It made sense—it was right after quitting time. After grueling training, who could blame the exhausted and hungry soldiers for swarming the mess in search of food?There wasn’t the time or space to get a proper full meal and find a seat. Taeui, whose watch still showed time to spare, grabbed two loaves of bread and a carton of milk and left the hall. Finding a seat inside was hopeless; better to look for a chair in the corridor or on the stairs.“Hey… Taeui?” A hesitant voice called from behind. Taeui, scanning for a seat, turned to see Yun Chang-o watching him.Sitting alone on a chair beside the central stairs, he waved cheerfully when he confirmed it was Taeui. In that hand was a loaf of bread identical to Taeui’s.“Why are you just eating bread here?”Putting aside that Chang-o held the same bread, Taeui sat next to him and asked. Chang-o smiled tiredly.“I’m so exhausted I can’t stomach much. I just needed something to settle my stomach.”“A Republic of Korea Army captain saying he’s this tired over a little bread—how will you defend the country?”“So what? I don’t have any subordinates here.” In front of his subordinates, Captain Yun would bark orders as though he’d dined on a feast even if he’d only had porridge—but here, he bit into his bread with a wry grin. Taeui chuckled and bit into his own loaf.“You should eat up. We still have two weeks to go.”“What about you?”“Oh, I still have duties to do. I need to eat quickly and get back.” Though he knew it wasn’t too late, Taeui checked his watch out of habit. Chang-o muttered around a mouthful of bread,“How was today’s training?”“It was tough. Felt like running laps on the drill ground.” Chang-o exhaled deeply. Hearing that after a long time, Taeui smiled again.He and Chang-o had been acquaintances since cadet school, though not especially close. Still, it never felt awkward or like it’d been long since they’d last met. Maybe that was just getting older.“How are the others from our class? Doing well?”“They’re mostly fine. Some who left the service hardly keep in touch, but overall they’re doing okay.”“That many have left?”“Well, those who felt this wasn’t for them quit before they got too old to start something else. It gets harder to change paths as you age.” Chang-o muttered, “Unless you retire after earning stars”—meaning becoming a general—“so it’s different.” Taeui nodded, thinking social structures wouldn’t change in a few years, and it seemed the same here.“How about you? Does military life suit you?”He asked Chang-o, who had seemed gentle and not the kind to thrive in a strict hierarchy back in the academy. Chang-o shrugged lightly.“Me? I don’t have any other talents to fall back on. I’m married now—I can’t starve.”

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