Creed of the Awakened Forces.
One.
I am a proud Awakened Soldier of Korea.
Two.
I dedicate my strength to protect the homeland and humanity from Gates and aberrations.
Three.
I use the power of awakening rightly, obeying orders and regulations.
Four.
I stand firmly united with my comrades, never neglecting training or combat.
"Five, I shall devote myself to the nation and its people, and ultimately safeguard the peace of the world."
From a man wearing a bloodstained uniform with the rank of sergeant, a cry tinged with regret flowed out.
"I have kept none of these words I always spoke."
The man was aiming his rifle at an Awakened as he spoke.
Around him, encircling him, were the armed soldiers of the Hongik Battalion, the foremost frontline Awakened Forces unit of the Republic of Korea.
From among them, the Hongik Battalion Commander emerged and faced him.
"Shin-hyeok."
"Battalion Commander."
The man called Shin-hyeok looked at the Battalion Commander and asked.
"Didn't you tell me there would be no problems? That you would surely save them..."
He ground his teeth and shouted.
"That you would surely save my family, at least!"
He fired the rifle at the kneeling man.
Bang!
The Awakened, his cheek pierced, collapsed sideways. At the same moment, the Battalion Commander kicked off the ground and shattered Shin-hyeok's mana hall—his dantian.
Pak!
Mana exploded out, and Shin-hyeok was thrown into the air.
"Yoo Shin-hyeok!"
The one called Yoo Shin-hyeok closed his eyes as he fell to the ground.
'If only everything were a dream...'
He thought, watching his comrades rushing toward him and the Battalion Commander's still gaze.
'If only this were a dream.'
Thus, he lost his mana. At the same time, he was forcibly discharged.
Why did it come to this?
Why did the world turn so cruel only to me? So many thoughts flooded in.
Bound and tied all over, countless thoughts arose.
Was it a vain fantasy for a non-Awakened like me to dream of fighting monsters?
Was it too much for me to have tried so hard and entered Hongik, the finest unit in Korea?
Or—was it a mistake to trust the words of that man, who was like a father to me since childhood?
Ah, how I regret it.
My mother and younger siblings, swallowed by a Gate and missing.
My father, who died in the line of duty while serving alongside Battalion Commander Lee Kang-yeol in the past.
Now not a single trace of family remained, and my heart was utterly empty.
With hollow eyes, I watched Battalion Commander Lee Kang-yeol approach.
"Shin-hyeok. Shin-hyeok. Bu Shin-hyeok!"
Called by yet another name, he spoke with a self-deprecating face.
"You're using my 'real' name. That's 'classified.'"
"Why? Why!"
Battalion Commander Lee Kang-yeol grabbed the bound Shin-hyeok's head and shouted.
"Why."
"Battalion Commander. No—Ahjussi."
Shin-hyeok spoke to the Battalion Commander, whose face was filled with indignation and genuine, deep regret.
"Let's never meet again. Absolutely, never again..."
Right away.
He was hauled up and dragged away. The Battalion Commander watched him with eyes of regret.
"I'm sorry. It was a mistake."
The Battalion Commander murmured, watching Shin-hyeok dragged away as a broken man.
While being transported, Shin-hyeok looked at his former comrades and his senior.
"I'll just go back to being a civilian now."
"Damn it, you punk. What are you talking about!"
To Captain Baek Seok-hun, who was crying and shouting, he gave a faint smile.
"Looks like I wasn't meant to be a soldier after all. Should've just stayed home."
He leaned his head back with a thud, tilting his neck. Through the faintly visible window, he watched the great catastrophe stained with blood.
'Let me go back to my place.'
* * *
Interrogation room.
An agent from the National Intelligence Service questioned him.
"I'll summarize again. Sergeant Yoo Shin-hyeok, without due legal process, willfully used force to inflict damage on the Guild Persona, which had caused civilian casualties by neglecting the Jeju Island Gate Break."
To Shin-hyeok, sitting with a haggard expression, the investigator slowly recounted everything.
"In the process, the guild leader, an A-rank Awakened, fell into a coma, and over a hundred guild members were all killed. During your arrest, you lost your mana. Is that correct?"
Nod.
The investigator couldn't hide his complicated feelings.
"You will likely spend the rest of your life in prison."
"Just send me anywhere, please. I'd rather die alone in there."
"..."
Looking at Shin-hyeok, who had already let go of everything, the investigator held back his words.
"Please wait. Someone will come soon to transport you."
Shin-hyeok sat in the interrogation room, waiting with an empty heart and face. Soon, military police arrived, and Shin-hyeok stood.
The way out of the interrogation room and toward the outside.
A military police vehicle was waiting. Dressed in prison garb and bound with rope, he walked to board it.
He stepped outside and was about to get into the vehicle when the military police stopped him.
"Huh?"
The MP untied the rope and held out his military uniform.
"Why?"
"Consider it never happened."
A familiar voice came from the side. Battalion Commander Lee Kang-yeol had come out to meet him.
"Why."
"I'll only say that various circumstances came together. It's been settled that you'll be discharged as is."
Shin-hyeok chuckled hollowly and looked down at the uniform in his hand.
"Shin-hyeok."
"Don't use that name. Ever again."
Shin-hyeok let the uniform fall to the ground. Just as he was, in prison clothes, he walked away.
"Bu Shin-hyeok!"
He heard something from behind, but he ignored it. Walking out barefoot and in prison clothes, he drew people's attention.
'Now I'll never protect this damn country again.'
He had neither the heart nor the ability to do so anymore.
With that resolve, he left.
* * *
8 years later.
A shabby studio apartment. A man scratching his belly checked his smartphone.
"Haa, they're gonna chew me out for being late again."
He threw on some clothes roughly and left the house.
"Refreshing."
Clear air, clear sky, and a goblin with a simple face.
And one soldier collapsed in front of it.
"Keeeek!"
"Haa, seriously, just..."
Shin-hyeok picked up a brick from the ground and lightly tossed it.
"Kwek!?"
The goblin, struck on the head, looked around in confusion.
Shin-hyeok dashed out in an instant and picked up the rifle the soldier had dropped.
"Here, look over here. Say cheese."
When the goblin's attention focused again, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
The goblin, riddled with holes, fell, and the soldier stared blankly.
"Ah, crap! The boss's calling!"
Shin-hyeok frowned and carefully answered.
- Hey! Again, again! Why do you keep being late!
Shin-hyeok carefully switched the call to video mode and showed the scene.
"This wasn't on purpose. No, really—a goblin popped out and a poor soldier was down. Shouldn't I help him?"
"Hey! Just leave it alone! What are you, Awakened Forces? Always going around beating up monsters! Just leave it and take care of our convenience store, you punk!"
Click.
Shin-hyeok hung up and held the rifle out to the soldier.
"Gonna get an earful again later. Here, take this quick."
The soldier took his rifle with a dazed look.
"Th-thank you. Can I at least get your name? I'll recommend you for a brave citizen award!"
"Forget that crap. Just don't ever show your face around me again."
At the harsh words flying at him so amiably, the soldier was even more dumbfounded.
As he walked away, Shin-hyeok added.
"Don't misunderstand. It's not you, Ahjussi—it's the Awakened Forces that are like that, so no misunderstanding, okay!"
The soldier mulled over those words.
"Isn't that the same thing?"
Shin-hyeok pretended to have run, acting breathless as he opened the convenience store door.
"Whew! Barely made it—safe!"
Whoosh.
An expired triangle kimbap flew at him. Shin-hyeok caught it deftly and grinned like a lackey.
"Haha, boss, why do you keep doing this?"
"Haa, seriously, I can't just kill you, and I don't have the strength to anyway. Aigoo, what a fate. You're sick of the Awakened Forces, Gates, monsters, so why do you always save them? Why! Whyyyyy!"
As the boss's siren-like voice grew louder, Shin-hyeok quickly unwrapped the kimbap and blocked his mouth.
"Mmph mmph mmph mmph!"
"If you get angrier, at your age, high blood pressure—bam! You'll have a heart attack. So quickly, go on. Quickly!"
"Mmph!"
Gulp.
The boss, shoved toward the stockroom door, yelled.
"Hey! Your reserve forces training notice came. For god's sake, use your own address, your own house! Why do you keep having mail come to the store!"
Shin-hyeok sighed and said.
"Because someone keeps annoying me, that's why. Alright, I get it, so hurry up and go! Hurry, clock out!"
Waving his hands, he wished for the boss to leave quickly.
"Hrrng~ Let's get this sh*tty day started, shall we."
After confirming the annoying person had gone, Shin-hyeok sat on a chair in the corner of the counter, first finding his phone charger and plugging it in.
"Nice weather. On a day like this, I should be drenching my whole body with soju."
With familiar hand movements, he immediately summoned a friend.
"Hey, you drinking today?"
- Crazy bastard. We drank until dawn yesterday. Damn, how do you drink so much and not die? You're a regular person now, aren't you? Or not?
Shin-hyeok giggled and said.
"Your liver's just weak, you bastard. So, you coming today or not?"
- Forget it, you prick. I've got a date today. So buzz off.
"Haa, please get dumped. Then we'll have a drinking party."
At the earnest curse, his friend cussed with a disgusted tone.
- F*ck off. If I don't get married by the time I'm over 30, I'm blaming you.
"Aw, yeah~ sure, whatever you say."
Endlessly mocking his friend, he freeloaded his way through the convenience store shift.
- Hey, right, you going to reserve training?
At the mention of reserve forces, Shin-hyeok sighed.
"Ugh, I don't wanna go. If I do, that tiresome human will probably be there again."
- Honestly, man, if I knew someone like that, I'd be sucking up hard.
"Aw, yeah~ you can have him. A person like that."
- Anyway, if you're going, let's go together.
"Sure. Set the schedule, I'll match yours."
Click.
He hung up and thought about the reserve training he truly didn't want to attend.
"I mean, if they forcibly discharged me, shouldn't I be exempt from reserves? Why do they make sure I'm in reserve training every time?"
Ding-a-ling.
When a customer came in, he stood up nimbly and greeted them.
"Hello, welcome to GX25."
"A pack of Marlboros."
"Yes~."
He was kindly getting it out when that tiresome human showed up.
One star on the rank insignia, clear on the military uniform.
Brigadier General Lee Kang-yeol, his hair now completely white, looked at Shin-hyeok.
"Why do you keep coming?"
"Just checking if you're alive."
"Ah, yes, I'm still breathing fine, so please go away, heiy~"
Lee Kang-yeol opened the cigarette pack, put one in his mouth, and asked.
"Smoking indoors is prohibited. Please leave before I report you."
"If you were to awaken—would you come back?"
At the question of whether he'd come back, Shin-hyeok smirked.
"Heh, that's hilarious. Aw, yeah~ if I awaken, I'll go. Sure, I'll go. So please, just leave already, heiy~"
Brigadier General Lee Kang-yeol put the plastic wrapper on the counter and left.
"Alright."
"Ah, seriously! Throw your trash in the trash can, please!"
"I don't want to."
Ding-a-ling.
The door closed, and Shin-hyeok let out heavy sighs, roughly opening the trash can and throwing the wrapper away.
"Ugh, so annoying. This won't do. I have to grab anyone and drink today."
Just then, the boss came out the door, and he shouted right away.
"Boss! Drinking today?!"
At that, the boss's expression turned intrigued.
"Drinking! At your studio?"
"Yes! Then shall I bring a case of soju and beer?"
"Haa, that crazy punk, drinking like an Awakened."
The boss shook his head but was smiling.
"Booze, booze, booze~ the booze goes in, glug glug glug glug."
Buzzing at the thought of drinking, he happily finished his convenience store shift.
On the way home, carrying two cases of alcohol, he climbed up to his studio.
"Hup."
"Shin-hyeok, hurry up. What are you doing? This hyung is waiting."
"I'm working, so I'm late. Boss, you just hang around and money still comes in, but if I just hang around, I'm a beggar."
When he opened the door and went in, the convenience store boss had already set up the snacks.
"Then open a convenience store like me, haha."
"Oh, please."
Shin-hyeok opened a bottle of soju first and handed it over.
"Here you go."
"Hey, hey. Pour it into a glass! Who drinks straight from the bottle like some barbarian!"
Shin-hyeok had been about to drink the soju straight from the bottle when he flinched.
"Me?"
Glug, glug.
"Kwaaah, tastes gooood!"
The convenience store boss chuckled wryly and poured himself a glass of soju.
"A genuine drunkard has arrived."
"Kahaha! This is what I live for! Now, pour it down!"
"Let's drink slower! Hey!"
Ten minutes later, the convenience store boss was knocked out cold.
"Oooh, the world's spinning round."
Watching the boss who had passed out fast, Shin-hyeok tilted back a bomb shot alone.
"The world always spins."
The boss suddenly shot up, grabbed Shin-hyeok's crown, and said.
"Why are you doing this again?"
"Just—man! Because I like it, I like it so much! My life's savior! The nation-saving hero, man!"
"Ah, please. No talking about the past!"
"I don't wanna, man! I love that you saved my life! And it's freaking amazing that you came from the Hongik Battalion, so whyyyyy—are you hiding it! Why! Uh, ooogh!"
"Aack!"
Shin-hyeok grabbed the boss, who was about to vomit, and threw him into the bathroom.
"Puke in there!"
Bwaaaaaaah!
Along with the sound of violent vomiting, the boss staggered back out.
"That's why you... have to go."
Shin-hyeok smirked and asked.
"Where?"
"Military. Go back to Hongik, man. That's your fate, you bastard!"
Thud.
The convenience store boss collapsed right there on the bathroom floor and started snoring.
"That's funny. Why would I go back there? If I went, I'd be a crazy person."
Suddenly, the boss regained his senses, whipped his head around, and glared at Shin-hyeok with bloodshot eyes, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Goooooooo!"
Thud.
His eyes closed again, and once more he started to snore.
"I'm not going, you punk."
It left a bitter feeling.
Drinking alone was too quiet, so he turned on the TV.
- Breaking news. An additional bill related to awakening has passed. A bill that requires even discharged male soldiers to reenlist if they awaken has been passed, causing much controversy.
Listening to the breaking news, Shin-hyeok giggled.
"Wow, if you get discharged and then awaken, that'd really suck, huh? Heh."
Using that nonsense as a drinking snack, he earnestly tilted his glass until he checked a text from his friend.
- Day after tomorrow, reserve training, go?
"Damn, that's fast."
Shin-hyeok used his toe to touch the smartphone and replied.
- ㅇㅇ