Chapter 5 – Counterforce
Seo Joo-hwan ordered the company members to build a more perfect position. Thanks to this, the soldiers of the 4th Company were sweating profusely on a snowy winter day. The sun had already set a long time ago and it was dark.
“Sergeant Seo Joo-hwan, do you really need to make it this far?”
Several successors spoke in a disgruntled tone. It was a very cumbersome and difficult task to camouflage by collecting fallen leaves and tree trunks beyond simply capturing the shape. But Seo Joo-hwan was adamant.
“This time, the opposing army is deployed. If you do it as usual, the bag will come off. This training is conducted at the level of a division, but if even one is robbed, it will be a big deal.”
Seo Joo-hwan explained in a calm voice. The dissatisfied expression on the faces of the successors, though a little, faded. But there was one guy who resisted until the end.
“With the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd companies in front of us, how could the opposing army come this far? I think it will be resolved beforehand. Isn’t it useless….”
Kim Jong-hak grumbles at the end of his words. It’s a loud voice that seems to be heard by everyone. When I looked at him in bewilderment, he even stared at me with a defiant look as if he had said something wrong. They had been complaining nonstop since before, and now it was almost like fighting.
Seo Joo-hwan was full of energy and let out a blank laugh.
‘I really looked down on you quite a bit.’
To be honest, I expected complaints. Who likes to buy and suffer? Had he been in the opposite position, he might have been dissatisfied.
However.
At least it wasn’t like this during training.
If you have any complaints, you can tell them after the training is over. At least it is right to come quietly and speak. Who would glar at and say something to a senior with a gap of more than half a year during training, and even to the oldest and the squad leader, as if he were going to fight?
If he endures here, he is nothing more than a squad leader and nothing more than an idiot.
“Kim Jong-hak.”
Seo Joo-hwan threw down the branch he was holding and strode towards Kim Jong-hak. Kim Jong-hak’s face was stained with tension, probably not knowing that he would come out like this.
“Kim Jong-hak.”
“…….”
“Aren’t you going to answer me?”
“… Yes.”
“Where did you throw away the official name? Are you my successor? Or am I your successor? That’s why you’re talking nonsense to me.”
Seo Ju-hwan frowned. His eyes, which had been slanted to the side, looked sharper as he frowned. Even empty words didn’t make a good impression, but at least it was valid in this situation.
Kim Jong-hak muttered, avoiding his eyes.
“No, when did I speak half-heartedly… “
“I still do. I can’t come to my senses until the end. Do you know who is sick? Did you think that if I pretended to be talking to myself, it would just go away if I just started talking?”
Seo Joo-hwan came out strong. I’ve already lived a timid and stale life in my past life. He didn’t want to live that way even this life.
And what’s more important is the fact.
‘If you do as Kim Jong-hak says, everything will be robbed.’
Contrary to Kim Jong-hak’s idea, the counter-army robs the 3rd company first before coming here.
Normally, when training, it was an unspoken promise to start from the 1st company in order, but this time the situation was different. A tacit promise is only tacit and not formally determined. In the end, the entire 1st Battalion was robbed by Sergeant Yoon who returned from the foot of the mountain, and it was the expected ending.
In order to change the ending, it was necessary to actively step forward. It didn’t fit my personality, but now wasn’t the time to say nice things.
‘… But what more should I do here?’
You know what you crave, you should have tried. The atmosphere was set to the fullest, and I was already standing in front of Kim Jong-hak with great energy, but I couldn’t think of what to do anymore. Can I just stare at it like this?
For about 5 seconds, there was such a heavy silence.
Lee Jeong-hoon, who had approached me before I knew it, lowered his head instead of Kim Jong-hak and said.
“Sorry! I couldn’t properly manage my successor! I will definitely educate you when I go back!”
The mouths of the members of the 4th Company, who had been silent at the sight, opened up. In fact, it was a shock that the 25-year-old eldest brother, who had more weight than the squad leader Seo Ju-hwan, bowed his head.
I was surprised that Seo Joo-hwan was the same, so I was embarrassed, but Lee Jung-hoon pressed Kim Jong-hak’s head down.
Lee Jeong-hoon whispered to Kim Jong-hak in a low voice.
“Are you going to go all the way? I’m going to keep embarrassing myself with the appointment! Stop stretching and finish quickly when the sergeant gives you a chance.”
Unlike his usual sad voice his, his low-pitched voice his is quite brutal.
In the end, Kim Jong-hak spoke in a trembling voice.
“I’m sorry.”
It’s not an apology because you sincerely think you’ve done something wrong, but an apology made out of bewilderment. But now, the fact that you apologized is important.
Seo Joo-hwan had no intention of arguing further. I didn’t have time for that.
“Whoa. It’s okay, so hurry up and do the repair work again. Make sure to camouflage as well.”
“… Yes.”
“When your position is over, take responsibility and help the successors.”
“… All right.”
“Now, you guys, stop watching and start over quickly. Hurry up.”
“Yep!”
As Seo Joo-hwan clapped his hands and spoke, the company members moved busily. It was a quicker movement than before. He returned to his seat and spoke to Lee Jung-hoon in a small voice.
“Hyung, it was difficult, but thank you.”
“Thank you. It was scary because Joo-hwan weighed you down, hey. He is charismatic.”
“Oh, don’t make fun of me. What is charisma?”
“Hmm. Hey, Jonghak Kim. Don’t you answer? Where did you leave the official name?”
Lee Jeong-hoon deliberately lowered his voice and imitated the situation from earlier. Seo Joo-hwan got goosebumps at that sight.
“Ah, brother!”
“Oops. I’m sorry, squad leader!”
“Oh really. Hyung also makes up quickly. Because I have to do something else.”
“Is there anything else to do?”
Lee Jeong-hoon narrowed his eyes as if he was puzzled. In no time at all, the tone of voice his had returned to normal.
Seo Joo-hwan grinned and took out a cutter knife and a volunteer flashlight from his pocket.
“This will reward us.”
“A reward? This?”
“Yes.”
Instead of explaining one by one, Seo Joo-hwan started working.
Cack cack.
Grind the pre-marked area with a cutter knife until a hole is pierced. The marked location is where the battery is located. Eventually, a scabbard appeared and a gap opened. If you insert paper between the batteries visible through this gap, it is complete.
After Seo Joo-hwan finished the work, he made sure it was working properly.
Click.
Even when I flipped the switch, the flashlight didn’t come on. In that state, when the paper was pulled out, the battery interlocked and the light came on brightly.
“Done. Complete the luminescent obstacle.”
The work is finally over.
The current time is 20:15. I can’t remember exactly, but the time has come.
Seo Joo-hwan got up from his seat and came out of the camp.
“Everyone is doing well. I’ll install this and come back.”
“Okay… Sergeant Seo Joo-hwan? The obstacle installation direction is over there.”
Lee Jung-hoon, who saw the direction he was going, corrected the obstacle installation location.
“No, this is right.”
Seo Joo-hwan smiled confidently.
***
Sergeant Yoon Jeong-soo, who was dispatched from the 3rd Battalion to act as a counterforce.
He was proud of his nickname of counterforce specialist.
‘Let’s set a record today.’
Sergeant Yoon was confident that he would be able to set an all-time record today. That much is because he thoroughly prepared in advance and even the environment took his side of him.
An absolutely favorable night for the opposing forces.
The opponent’s supplies that you know in advance.
All conditions for victory were met. It was a battle that could not be lost. In particular, it was a great harvest to find out that there were no luminous obstacles among the supplies of the 1st Battalion.
It’s been snowing since yesterday. The thick snow made the sound of small squeaking footsteps, but instead masked the sounds of branches and bushes.
The only thing to be careful about now was the vocal barrier. In addition, unlike the luminous obstacle, the risk of the exact location being discovered was low for the vocal obstacle.
“Guys, are you ready?”
At Sergeant Yoon’s words, the platoon members waiting behind answered.
“Are you ready to ride the bounty?”
“The preparations were over a long time ago.”
Sergeant Yoon let out a laugh at the trustworthy platoon members’ answers.
“Don’t worry. If you rob more than two companies this time, I will take responsibility and make a reward for you.”
“Nice. As expected, Sergeant Yoon”
“Shh. Get ready now. Do you know Kidobinik?”
“Yep.”
“Let’s go.”
Sergeant Yoon led five opposing troops and started climbing the mountain. The 3rd company has already been quickly subdued. Now, if you subdue the 4th company and go to the 2nd and 1st companies in order, it seems that you can rob all the companies within the time as planned.
‘It’s a bit cheesy, but… What can I do I was told to shoot it from above.’
Originally, it was an unspoken rule to attack in order from the 1st company, but this time the story was different. Now, the unit is in a situation where it has to appeal to the training results somehow after the division commander and operation commander have changed. In response, the 1st Battalion Commander and his motive his and rival his, the 3rd Battalion Commander, directly asked Sergeant Yoon.
‘Hey, Sergeant Yoon.’
‘Sergeant, Yoon Jeong-soo!’
‘Since when was there a rule to go in order from the 1st company? Is it written in the military law?’
‘Oh, no!’
‘You understand what I mean?’
‘Yes, I understand!’
Because of this, Sergeant Yoon was in the state of grasping all the mountain trails while conducting a preliminary field trip. As he climbed the mountain through an unknown byway, he was able to reach his goal without any obstacles.
‘But where is the truth? It must have been something like this’
Even when I arrived at the destination, I couldn’t see anything resembling a camp. It was night, so it was dark around them, but their eyes were already accustomed to the darkness. There was something strange about not seeing it this far.
‘Tsk. I can’t help it.’
Sergeant Yoon had no choice but to come a little closer.
‘Boys, turn left and right like before. Be careful not to get caught.’
Sergeant Yoon gives orders through hand signals. The soldiers who had been concentrating nodded in response and began to disperse.
How long did you walk with the sound of footsteps like that?
‘Is that… ?’
Seemed to see something. However, I wasn’t sure if what I saw was just a landscape or a serious one. Sergeant Yoon approached a little further to confirm.
It was then.
Flash!
“Huh?!”
“Hup!”
A bright light came on with a short scream.
*
Flash!
The light-emitting obstacles installed were activated. The volunteer flashlight emitted light and informed the location of the opponents.
“Catch!”
At the same time as Seo Ju-hwan shouted, three soldiers ran out. The three of them acted swiftly. They ran in the direction of the opponents and fired shots from their mouths.
“”Bread! Bread! Bread!”
A look of despair appeared on the faces of the opponents. It’s not a real gun, but in a situation this obvious, you can’t even argue that it didn’t fit.
“One, follow me! There’s one more on this side!”
Seo Joo-hwan shouted while running to the farthest light. Lee Jung-hoon quickly chased after him.
The fugitive was Sergeant Yoon Jeong-soo. As soon as the light came on, he turned and ran away. He couldn’t say anything because he hadn’t even fired a shot.
Seo Joo-hwan gritted his teeth and ran down the mountain path.
‘Huh, huh. What, what is so fast?’
The back of Sergeant Yoon Jeong-soo, who was running away, was getting farther and farther away. I was afraid that someone might not be a special warrior, so I was filthy fast.
Judgment quickly. I can’t even catch it if I try to chase it here.
Seo Joo-hwan slowed down a little and took out his walkie-talkie.
“Here is… Uh…”
This crazy All of a sudden, I couldn’t remember the real name.
Owl? Eagle? Magpie?
There was no time to think.
Seo Joo-hwan shouted at once.
“Company commander, heavy damage!”
Chijik.
[… ] Sergeant Seo Joo-hwan, are you insane? Who radios like that.]
An angry voice came from the walkie-talkie. However, there is no time to explain the situation one by one and apologize. He just spoke into the walkie-talkie again.
“Find six behemoths! Defeat Five! One person is currently on the run!”
[… ] What?]
“The behemoth on the run is wearing a black beanie with brown padding! Currently, a soldier other than myself is pursuing!”
[Where are you now… !]
Jeong So-ra’s voice sounds urgent.
Then another radio interrupted her and came in.
[Captain Jeong So-ra.]
[Yes, yep! Captain!]
Hearing that he was a battalion commander, Seo Ju-hwan drew in a breath.
‘No, why is the battle commander here!’
When I checked the radio in surprise, the radio that had been set to the company channel was set to a common channel for the battle. It seems that the channel was turned by mistake during the chase. It was said that all the members of the battalion had overheard what he had shouted out loud, ignoring the reporting system a moment ago.
‘Ah, it’s ruined.’
Somehow, Jung So-ra’s voice was bloody and not joking. She must have said that the reason she didn’t swear was because it was a common channel. She later picked up a package of swear words and ended up eating it.
While I was blaming myself, the battalion commander’s voice came over the radio.
[Captain Jeong So-ra, take the soldiers and start the search right away.]
[Yes, I understand!]
At this moment, Seo Ju-hwan was in conflict. There is a high possibility that he will not be able to find Sergeant Yoon even if he follows the battalion commander’s words and starts searching. No, he’s there, so he’ll eventually find it somehow, but it’s less efficient. If Sergeant Yoon decided to hide, he did not know when he would be able to catch him.
The conflict was brief. Shouldn’t you go all the way to the end anyway?
Seo Ju-hwan pressed the radio button and intervened.
“I am Sergeant Seo Joo-hwan. Sorry for the sudden interruption. Battalion commander, you can’t just search.”
[… ] Did you say Seo Joo-hwan?]
“Sergeant, Seo Joo-hwan. That’s right.”
[Tell me what that means.]
Seo Joo-hwan swallowed his saliva. I don’t know how it started to become so big that I started to buy Jung So-ra’s crush. It’s like a fucking walkie-talkie.
Fortunately, unlike his confused mind, the voice coming out of his mouth his was very calm and clear.
“The path the rebels have taken is different from what we expected. There is an inconspicuous side road, and I came through it. The opponents who are currently fleeing are also fleeing by that byway.”
[By way? Captain Jeong So-ra, wait a minute.]
[Yes!]
[Sergeant Seo Joo-hwan, continue talking.]
“Yes. The location of the side road is… And each critical situation….”
Seo Joo-hwan expressed his opinion that the situation of each company should be reassessed while informing the location of the side road through the radio. It was clear that the 3rd Company had already been occupied, given that the opposing forces had come this way.
After confirming the situation, the battle commander immediately established an operation.
He and Lee Jung-hoon, who are currently in pursuit, chase after Sergeant Yoon, and Jung So-ra leads the crew to predict Sgt. Yoon’s escape route and come down. And considering the possibility of fleeing to the surroundings, a large number of soldiers from the 2nd Company are placed in the surroundings to conduct a search.
It was a simple and sure operation.
***
Soon after, the situation ended when Sergeant Yoon was caught in the hands of Jung So-ra, the commander of the 4th company.
In fact, it was as if the game was over when you touched the glowing obstacle. The soldiers of his 1st Battalion, including Seo Ju-hwan, returned to their units earlier than expected.
“Sergeant Seo Joo-hwan, you were amazing.”
“Seo Snake, it was really great. I never thought you would make such a luminous obstacle.”
In the camp smoking area, the successors of the 4th company raised their thumbs and praised Seo Ju-hwan. Then, he began to explain the situation to the members of the 4th Company, who were in different groups.
“Wow, I don’t know, but our group’s position must have made it the hardest in the battle.”
“The snake suddenly took out a cutter knife and sharpened the volunteer flashlight….”
The company members who heard the story looked at Seo Ju-hwan with admiration. He was embarrassed and took a step back.
‘It’s very embarrassing.’
It wasn’t a bad feeling. No, honestly, it felt good. It was almost the first time in my life that I had received attention in such a good way.
As I smoked a cigarette with a proud smile on my heart, a crackling mechanical sound and a broadcast within the compound rang.
[Ah, command and control room informs you. The command and control room will notify you. Sergeant Seo Joo-hwan of the 4th Company, please come to the command and control room immediately. We remind you once again. Sergeant Seo Joo-hwan of the 4th company… ]
“Oh, Sergeant Seo Joo-hwan. Are you coming to get the reward you mentioned earlier?”
Lee Jung-hoon said with a mischievous smile. Seo Joo-hwan raised his thumb and left him behind and headed for the command and control room.
Today was the time to be rewarded for all your hard work.
