Chapter 1 (2/2)
“Me, sir.”
Joon-young was surprised to see a senior commander still fighting on the field. But one brief look of his brand new equipment and he understood immediately.
‘Kuk, so the rumours were true.’
A rumour had been going around amongst the veteran soldiers and officers in the army. Officers who continued to fight until the end are guaranteed of their position and pension, in hopes that it would lower the desertion rate. When these words spread, missing generals and officers began to pop up left and right. The war was over anyway. By joining at the last second, they get to secure their jobs and retirement while avoiding martial court at the end of the war.
Joon-young had never seen this commander before. As a veteran who had been fighting since the start of the war, he not only knew most of the veteran officers in the army, but could also tell if an officer had field experience just by looking at their faces. Joon-young confirmed the rumours once more as he looked back at the commander.
Joon-young gave a rather limp looking salute to the commander, which agitated the commander even further and brought him face to face.
“So you’re the famous Crazy Terrorist, Sergeant Kim Joon-young. I know you’ve achieved some feats on the battlefield, but to think a mere NCO is taking the role of a company commander…”
“I believe I’m currently a Captain.”
“Tsk! Do you think having that t.i.tle means anything? And why aren’t you preparing for imminent battle with the j.a.ps at this moment!”
As the colonel raged on and on, he caught a glimpse of the white flag the boy was holding. The boy’s eyes met the commanders. He dropped the flag as fast as possible while the colonel reached for his pistol.
Click!
The squad leaders reacted faster, aiming their guns at the colonel before he could pull out his pistol. They had been fighting with Joon-young since the start of the war, and they were going to see his intentions through until the end. A newcomer wasn’t going to change their mind, no matter their rank.
While the newest recruits shakily looked between Joon-young and the platoon leaders, the veterans simply laughed and treated it as entertainment.
“Is this a revolt?”
“Those are harsh words, sir. I’m just trying to let the kids live at least, since we’re all about to die.”
The baffled commander shouted, while Joon-young replied casually.
“You should know that desertion is not forgiven!”
“Desertion? These kids were surrendering to the j.a.ps under my orders.”
“Cowards! How dare you run from this war instead of fighting to your last breath for this nation!”
“Those words might be true for us, but they are just children. Using child soldiers… what kind of a joke is this? You forcefully brought them here in the first place. These kids who never had basic training are just baggage. They’ll get us killed instead.”
“You think those excuses will work in the court!”
“Excuses? Then let me ask, why did the higher ups run from this nation? The entire world knows we’ve been labelled as the rebel forces, and I sure as h.e.l.l won’t let them die as one. Their family won’t even get compensation, since they fought for the rebel army. I guess it doesn’t matter since you still get your pension.”
“Bulls.h.i.+t! No matter what you say, what you’ve done is an unforgivable crime! It doesn’t matter what you’ve done until now! It’s the death sentence for you now!”
Joon-young breathed deeply with a cigarette in his mouth. The smoke filled his lungs, and the children watched helplessly as the smoke escaped his mouth.
“Death sentence… It is a good day to die. s.h.i.+t, I don’t know who said that, but I’m sure he’s in h.e.l.l right now…”
With those words, Joon-young pulled out his pistol and aimed at the head of the Colonel.
“Why do you think they call me the Crazy Terrorist?”
“Wha-“
Joon-young’s pistol fired before the colonel could finish his words. The bullet came out the back of his skull, scrambling his brain on its way.
“Eeek!”
The children screamed. They didn’t think Joon-young would actually pull the trigger.
The battalion commander’s body dropped to the floor, blood oozing out of his head. Joon-young spat his cigarette at the body, the blood extinguis.h.i.+ng what embers remained in the cigarette b.u.t.t.
Joon-young turned to ask the boy again.
“Would you like execution for ma.s.s desertion and the murder of higher ranking officer? Or would you prefer surrender?”
The kids had no choice.
They began to cross the bridge, while the rest of the soldiers watched them off with a straight face.
“Oi! You guys better be strong!”
“Don’t give up! You have to live for us too!”
“…We’re not filming a war movie guys.”
As the soldiers shouted their last farewells across the bridge, the children began to cry. Their faces contorted with a mix of guilt and relief. Joon-young watched the scene without a shred of emotion. His tears have dried out long ago. He’s lost too many men and lived through their sacrifices. He soon noticed that the squad leaders made a circle around the colonel’s dead body, snickering towards Joon-young.
“Crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.”
“Not as much as you, sir.”
Joon-young smiled at Min Won-hoo’s words. These squad leaders had survived the initial onslaught with Joon-young, and had been following him ever since. They were true brothers in arms, ready to die for each other.
“What do we do?”
Joon-young asked the driver of the transport car. His face was familiar to Joon-young, meaning he had been in the fight just as long as he has.
The driver answered back.
“Which one shall we say, sniper or misfire?”
“How about suicide?”
Joon-young ignored Min Won-hoo’s words.
“Let’s go with sniper. I doubt they’d believe it anyway.”
“Yes sir. I’ll report that the j.a.ps sniped him during the inspection.”
The driver dragged the body back into the car, then drove back to the headquarters.
Min Won-hoo asked as they watched the car drive into the distance.
“Won’t we get in trouble when they investigate?”
“How can they have time for that when the battle’s going to start tonight.”
“But are we really dying for the nation?”
“You r.e.t.a.r.d. We’re going to survive until the higher ups declare surrender. If we die now, it’s all for nothing. Our family won’t get their compensation, if you have any left.”
Joon-young’s family were in Busan.
Busan was destroyed during the initial landing of the j.a.panese forces. As the urban warfare raged on against the South Korean army, the j.a.ps managed to bring a MOAB to speed up their landing. His family were at the centre of the explosion. The army tasked with defending Busan were routed when they saw the mushroom clouds the bomb made. Not even ashes remained of his family.
PR Note: A MOAB is a large-yield bomb developed by the U.S. Technically, it isn’t nuclear so it is cleared for use internationally.
Joon-young no longer had a reason to live on anymore. But he wasn’t interested in suicidal tactics either. He was a machine, ever in search of battles to fight.
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