That was when it happened.
Thwack.
Squad Leader Sam slammed his baton onto the podium and shouted.
"Trainees do not talk amongst themselves."
"Yes, sir."
"Why?"
At Kim Hyeokgwon’s insolent reply, Squad Leader Sam snarled fiercely.
"Trainee Kim. Are you not here to receive training?"
"I’m here because I want to."
"Then you will follow this Instructor’s orders. You clearly promised and vowed this before arrival. Did you not?"
"I did, but I didn’t hear it was going to be like this."
Kim Hyeokgwon answered with a brazen face.
Only Taesu and Jeong Minsu felt like they were going crazy and wanted to jump up and down.
"Please, for the love of God."
"Just do what they tell you to."
It wasn’t a request; it was a desperate plea.
However, Kim Hyeokgwon found the two of them burdensome.
"Why are these doctors suddenly making weird faces? It’s burdensome."
"A little."
"Well, what do you want me to do about it?"
Kim Hyeokgwon had no idea what he was doing wrong.
By now, Taesu and Jeong Minsu were starting to feel like Kim Hyeokgwon was doing this on purpose.
Squad Leader Sam also seemed to have decided that this wouldn’t do.
"I will completely tear down and rebuild your mental state from scratch."
"All of a sudden?"
"On one, sit and get your mind right. On two, stand and come to attention. One."
"Mind right."
Taesu and Jeong Minsu squatted down with faces that said they had seen this coming.
However, Kim Hyeokgwon stood still and protested.
"What did I do wrong that I should be told my mental state is strange?"
"Hyeokgwon."
"Hold on. Hey. Sam, I’m asking what I did wrong."
Kim Hyeokgwon pushed away Taesu’s urging hand, feeling genuinely offended.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu let go of everything at that moment.
"So much for getting through training quietly."
"Taesu, honestly, I’m starting to get scared."
"Minsu, you can’t lose it too."
"Dang it. Dang it."
Jeong Minsu grabbed his head.
Seeing that, Taesu truly felt like he was going out of his mind.
The three of them had come to train together.
And yet, one of them was like a torturer, and the other had nerves of glass.
He couldn’t exactly say his peers were ill-fated, since Taesu had recruited them himself, so there was no one to blame.
‘Should I quit even now?’
He was seriously considering it.
But that was when it happened.
Squad Leader Sam called out to Kim Hyeokgwon in a solemn voice.
"Trainee Kim, step forward."
"Why?"
"Follow the Instructor’s orders. Step forward immediately."
"Damn, what a pain."
Trudge, trudge.
Perhaps because discontent was gradually building up, Kim Hyeokgwon’s steps grew cocky and insolent.
At that moment, Jeong Minsu spoke from beside him in a voice even more anxious.
"Taesu, you don’t think Sam will hit Hyeokgwon, do you?"
"Who knows."
"What if he really hits him? What if he beats and torments us throughout the training……. What would we do then?"
His nerves of glass were already shattering.
At that moment, Taesu also let go of everything.
‘Let it be as it may.’
This wasn’t something that could be fixed by persuading or urging them.
He felt it would be easier to just let everything go to hell and train alone.
But the situation unfolded completely differently from what Taesu had expected.
The beginning of that reversal started after Squad Leader Sam lowered his posture and said a few words to Kim Hyeokgwon.
Whisper, whisper.
"……I will straighten up."
"Trainee Kim, to your position."
"To my position."
Swish.
Kim Hyeokgwon returned like lightning and stood firmly planted at Taesu’s side.
He radiated discipline.
The moment Taesu saw that, he could infer all too clearly what conversation had transpired.
"So they pay out a lot for training, do they?"
"Trainee Choi, the Instructor said conversation among trainees is forbidden."
"Yes. Still, thank you."
Taesu spoke, packing his words with all sincerity.
But there was still Jeong Minsu remaining.
That problem was solved by Squad Leader Sam.
"Trainee Jeong, stand up."
"Huk, yes."
He shot up.
"Look the Instructor in the eye. Empty your mind. Focus only on the Instructor’s commands."
"Ah, I understand."
Jeong Minsu was so nervous his eyes were wide and round.
Taesu was rather glad to see that stiff posture.
They were truly a varied bunch, but he was satisfied with the flow that suggested training could finally begin.
After all the twists and turns, a training atmosphere was finally established.
As if Squad Leader Sam felt it too, he gave a brief explanation.
"Trainees, during the training period, you will understand even if somewhat forceful and fierce words are exchanged."
"Yes, sir."
"It is a decision for the trainees’ rapid acquisition and safety, so please follow well. Do you understand?"
"We understand."
"Good. Then, assistant instructors, forward."
The moment Squad Leader Sam’s words fell.
Click, click.
The soldiers who had been waiting nearby walked over in step.
Their uniforms were similar to Squad Leader Sam’s, and they wore their military caps pulled down low in the same way.
The soldiers stood before each of the three.
Up close, he could tell who they were at a glance.
Sergeant Ryan, Corporal Guspia, and Private Anthony.
They were always people he was grateful and glad to see.
But now, they wore expressions colder than ice.
That was when it happened.
Thwack.
Along with the sound of the baton, Squad Leader Sam’s voice rang out.
"The assistant instructors standing before you will manage the trainees on a one-to-one dedicated basis."
"…...."
"Remember that the assistant instructors are not soldiers who have shared friendships with the trainees during the training period."
"Yes, sir."
The three answered in unison.
At that moment, a smile formed at Squad Leader Sam’s lips for the first time.
"I sincerely welcome the trainees’ arrival."
It was a calm welcoming speech.
But with the low voice and thin smile combined, a strange chill seemed to circulate.
In that instant, Taesu had a bad feeling.
He had been told that the person who planned this training was none other than Colonel Clark.
Memories of strongly resisting at the officer’s quarters filled his head. Memories of meeting him in the lounge before that also came to mind simultaneously.
They were moments when he had pushed away Clark’s serious warnings twice.
If Colonel Clark’s trusted subordinates were the instructors and assistant instructors?
Taesu’s instinct rapidly rang the emergency alarm.
Beep, beep.
Emergency.
‘Run…….’
If there was an opportunity, it was now.
It wasn’t the time to worry about Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon.
The crisis facing him was more serious.
The moment he thought that.
Thwack.
Sergeant Ryan had already approached close and grabbed Taesu.
"Trainee Choi, do not move."
"R-Ryan?"
"I’m the assistant instructor."
"Assistant Instructor, sir, my stomach suddenly hurts a little……"
"Trainees do not lie. Didn’t you come mentally prepared for at least this much?"
At Sergeant Ryan’s resolute words, Taesu made a feeble excuse.
"I don’t know exactly what ‘this much’ is, but I don’t think I prepared for this much."
"You will feel it directly with your body."
"Still, go a little easy…… Aw, come on, with our relationship."
Wink.
Taesu even shot a quick wink.
Then Sergeant Ryan said in a low voice.
"Trainee Choi, recall the words you often say."
"The words I often say…… No way?"
"Trainee Choi, welcome to hell."
Grin.
Sergeant Ryan showed a deep smile.
With his eyes covered by the military cap, it felt like only his lips moved.
That smile felt horrifyingly sinister to Taesu.
It had been an eventful time since they arrived.
After all the twists and turns, the enlistment ceremony ended, and the first thing they did was change clothes.
Naturally, it was a military uniform.
The reason was that the material was tough and good for training.
But the problem was the quarters.
It was a structure where everyone from the instructors to the trainees stayed in one barracks room.
Seeing that, he felt it.
"There won’t be any time to rest."
Taesu’s intuition was accurate.
"Trainees, assemble within one minute."
"One minute until assembly."
When the Instructor shouted, the assistant instructors immediately echoed it right beside them, loud and clear.
Without even a chance to cry out, they had to change their clothes immediately.
The first session was, fortunately, theory training.
"There will only be theory this one time, so listen attentively. Rappelling is……"
Squad Leader Sam continued the explanation with prepared materials.
Once the education began, Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Kim Hyeokgwon also started focusing.
The unexpected thing was that there were several types of rappelling.
Depending on the terrain of the landing zone, the method changed slightly, and there were explanations for completely different rappelling methods as well.
From the afternoon, they went into rappelling training.
The practice process was simple.
It was a basic practice of climbing a ladder and moving along a wire connected to the opposite wall.
The first to go was Kim Hyeokgwon.
He had even volunteered by raising his hand.
His proactive attitude alone was something to be grateful for.
Soon, Kim Hyeokgwon climbed to the top of the ladder.
Clack.
As he grabbed the safety bar, Squad Leader Sam, who was waiting, asked.
"Are you ready?"
"I’m ready."
"Do you have someone you love?"
At that question, Kim Hyeokgwon glanced over and asked back.
"Why are you asking that now?"
"It is a question to draw out courage. So, do you have one or not?"
"Love, my foot. If I had one, do you think I’d be alone right now?"
"Trainee."
When Squad Leader Sam called out sharply, Kim Hyeokgwon answered with a sour face.
"Yes."
"Then is there someone you miss?"
"There isn’t."
At Kim Hyeokgwon’s overly brazen shout, Squad Leader Sam was even more flustered.
"Then…… do you have something you want to say?"
"I do have that."
"That’s a relie—. Ahem. Shout it toward the front vigorously and jump."
Tock.
The moment Squad Leader Sam gave the signal.
Kim Hyeokgwon jumped forward without hesitation, shouting.
"Choi Taesu, give me my life back."
Within the resonant shout, sincerity was strangely felt.
Taesu, who was watching from below, made a sullen expression at that shout.
"I told you not to do it if you didn’t want to."
He felt like he was being cursed at for no reason.
Still, it was a good thing to be training together with Kim Hyeokgwon.
In the second turn, Jeong Minsu climbed to the top of the ladder.
He showed the exact opposite appearance from Kim Hyeokgwon.
Tremble, tremble, tremble.
"H-h-high……."
"Trainee, look forward."
"I c-…. I can’t look."
It looked like his legs would give out at any moment, and his face was pale white.
It was a display of all kinds of timidity bursting forth.
Squad Leader Sam also seemed to be at a loss, as if this was his first time with such a trainee. Still, he shouted to urge Jeong Minsu on.
"Trainee, get a grip."
"I c-…. Aaah, I can’t get a grip……."
"Ahem. Trainee, take a deep breath."
"Hoo, hoo."
Jeong Minsu’s breathing was as shallow and rapid as if he had just run a hundred meters.
After a few more breaths, Squad Leader Sam asked again.
"Are you ready now?"
"I’m not ready."
"Sigh. Pull yourself together once more."
"I can’t do it."
"We’ll start over from the beginning. Calm your mind first."
Squad Leader Sam had to pressure and coax Jeong Minsu several times after that.
Only then was Jeong Minsu barely able to jump.
"Mamaaa."
The entire time he moved by rappel, screams continued at an ear-splitting volume.
Everyone was already tired of waiting, so they simply thought, ‘I guess that’s just how it is.’